Checking in. Certainly Not Avoiding Housework. No!

Figured it was time to check in with both of you.

So what has happened since May?

Well not a vacation that is for sure.

I finally landed a school counseling job! So yay!

That meant my summer was spent paring my full time private therapy practice down to a veeerrrry very part time private practice. I also had a demanding summer class, did a show, and trained for my new job.

All and all it felt pretty damn busy.

So the school counseling job is going well?
It's hard to tell. There is so much to learn and figure out, that it is hard for me to feel like I can judge how I am doing. I have gotten some good feedback here and there, so I suppose that is a good thing. I'll be glad to have the first year under my belt that is for sure. Maybe next year I can feel like I am effective every once and a while.

Keeping the practice going even on a very VERY part time basis is pretty hectic. The jury is definitely still out on how long I am going to try and keep it up. BH starts the fall musical at his school next week, and I know both of you know how hectic that gets around here. It may be what does me in.

I have picked up the camera a few times over the summer. Mainly to take pictures at a few family gatherings. I did some family pictures for my aunt. I took about 300 shots. I think 90 were decent. I really can't decide if that is a good ratio or not. They were happy with the photos, so I guess in the end that is what's really important.  I took a lot of pictures of my flowers this summer too. I really love the nature photos and my efforts are usually so much more pleasing to me than my attempts at capturing people on camera. I think my next lens purchase will be a macro lens. That will be fun to use on the flowers next summer. I just have to save my pennies. Lenses are expensive.

Still taking classes. Keeping my promise to only take one class. Sort of. I had to do an internship this semester, so it is technically 2 classes but there is very little in the way of expectations for assignments so it is manageable. One more class and one more internship and then I am done. Praise baby Jeebus.

#2 started middle school this year. So far so good. #1 is a sophomore. Oy. I can't think much about that. Didn't I just post those famous wizard hat cupcake pictures from her birthday party a few weeks ago? BH went on a huge hiking trip in Boston over the summer in celebration of turning 40 this year. Longest we have been apart since we married. I am pretty sure I don't want a repeat any time soon. He was cast in Spamalot, and as usual has done a phenomenal job in his role(s).

I think that pretty well catches things up.

See you again in a few months.

Mother's Work

These are not fabulous shots I realize. I'm out of practice with the zoom, and trying to be quiet  and still so as not to scare away the mommy bird proved to be a bit of a challenge for me.

I Took a Picture Today!

Finished up my last assignment for the Spring semester last night. Now I have a Whole! Week! Off! Before the summer semester starts. The summer semester should only be a month long, so that takes some of the sting out of it. I should be maintaining my 4.0 unless I really screwed something up with the last assignment. Let us hope that does not happen.

Since this is the first weekend in about 3 weeks that I had no homework, I decided the perfect way to spend some time was to start hacking down the jungle that is our backyard. We sadly had to have our dog put down at the beginning of the year. She has had the run of our back yard for the majority of the 11 years we have lived in this house. So we have never really done much with the back yard except keep it mowed. Mostly. Needless to say it needs a lot of work. We started that process today by getting out the clippers and starting to cut down the brush. I think what I really needed was a machete. Anyway as I was snipping, cutting and pulling away, look at what I discovered!

I am so excited about this little nest of Robin eggs! It was in a small bushy-tree something or other, and a perfect height for me to peek in to.

Now I am officially on bird nest watch duty. I am hoping this perfect little nest will give me some great photo opportunities in the coming days and weeks. It at the very least will be a lovely bit of distraction from this awful grind of work all day followed by homework all evening.

Things I Would Like to Take Back

Or thing, rather.

That would be my decision to take two classes this semester. Oy. Big mistake. I am keeping up the grades, but it is sucking my time away in a fashion that leaves me grumpy and seriously burned out.

So, if any of you are left to even read this thing, I don't expect the infrequent updating of  this blog to end any time soon. Maybe mid June. I'll do what I can, but that ain't gonna be much.

Sorry. I hate to disappoint even two people, but I suspect that was done long ago.

Second Go 'Round

So here we are back at January 1, and I have decided to give Project 365 another go. This time I won't just hold myself to pictures taken with my DSLR. I will allow iPhone pictures too. Sometimes I get a good one and hey a picture is a picture. So here we go. Seeing it is the first I decided to take a picture of the first thing I noticed when I went to get my camera.

(unspent iTunes giftcards)

These were sitting on a shelf just below my camera bag. Haven't decided what to buy yet. Music? Apps? Wait and use them for the new season of Mad Men? 

Sometimes gift cards stress me out.