(no subject)

Tomorrow is the first day of June. And I hope that means a good month for us. May didn't do much for me and ended badly, although nothing has really happened yet today. *knock on wood*

Tomorrow also means it will be exactly one month until Lance and I go to Ohio for a week. I'm so excited. I really miss Ohio - more than I ever expected to - but obviously I miss my family more. Paula is going to come down on July 2nd from Cleveland and we're going to the Franklin Park Conservatory. Horticulture, butterflies and Dale Chihuly glass art...what could be better?

Last night, I went over to Kathy's for hot tubbing. Only they just had the hot tub serviced, so the water wasn't particularly hot. It was taking much longer to heat up than the Aqua Quip man said it would. When I got there, the water temperature was 75 degrees. I didn't get in until the water temp was 80, and even that felt cold. But I got used to it after awhile and sat in the tub until the temp was about 84. I'm sure by now it's where it needs to be. I'll probably go over there for a bit tomorrow after Lance leaves.

Lance is leaving for Oklahoma tomorrow for 10 days. He gets back just in time for my birthday. But he has to work on the 11th anyway. No worries...Kathy is taking me to breakfast at Wild Wheat bakery. Afterwards, her neighbor - a cosmotologist - is going to give us professional pedicures. There may be some hot tubbing. And then Steak 'n' Cake at our place after Lance gets home. Sounds like a pretty nice day to me...hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Of course, I still need to figure out what I'm going to do about the job situation (or lack thereof). I'm still really determined to run my own show, so to speak, and I'm looking at various things. Lance and I had planned for awhile to start up our own internet business. He got all the materials for it already. He wants me to go over everything while he's gone. Additionally, I'm going to do whatever freelance stuff I can do. And maybe...maybe...do a part-time job of some sort. I wonder if Half Price Books or Barnes & Noble or Borders are hiring? At least until I get some sort of steady income coming in from various freelance projects. I'm trying to put a positive spin on this and look at it as an opportunity rather than a total and complete disaster. I'm trying. But I've always been more of a realist than an optimist. And I fully understand the gravity of our situation.

Today...

...has been pretty okay.

Beautiful weather. It's been nice to sit outside on the patio and enjoy cold drinks and watch Reece play in the backyard.

I haven't gone anywhere at all today. It's been awhile since I could remember just staying home all day. Much needed. Lance and I took Reece for a walk earlier, but that was the only time I left the house. Lance stayed home most of the day too, except for a quick trip to Lowe's.

Lance is getting ready for his trip. I've been chatting with Paula on Facebook IM, reminiscing about our college years and discussing what might have happened to certain people we knew back in the day. This has resulted in many Google searches.

Creativity is brewing. I made a list of potential article topics to submit. I am looking to submit a previously published article for publication again and I'm looking for a good place to do that. I've got all kinds of ideas that are going in every which direction. But this is good. Creative chaos. It's been awhile.

I updated my info on Associated Content and I think I'll submit for them again. Probably not on a permanent basis or anything, since they don't pay well. But it's a way to get my feet wet again while I look for bigger publications to query (plus, they pay faster). I know I already want to query to AAA Journey. A friend of mine has done work for them before and she says they pay very well.

So before I admit defeat and start looking for a traditional, boring, unfulfilling job again, I'm going to give this a shot. What do I have to lose? Nothing, at this point.

Completely Random, But...

For some reason, I have this need for a sundress (or two) in my closet. Something cool, loose and comfortable, that also looks flattering.

Not sure why I have this desire, as I hardly wear skirts or dresses, and it's not generally that incredibly hot here anyway.

But I want one.

There was this dress I bought in England 10 years ago, during my study abroad program in Bath. We were in...Glastonbury, I think. I was with my friend Kim, and we walked into some hippy-dippy shop...you know the type of place, with the distinct scent of incense and they sell all these hand-carved wooden trinkets from India, tye-dyed everything, batik stuff, and beaded curtains. I think every college campus has a shop like this (and Glastonbury is the perfect kind of town for this stuff).

Anyway...Kim and I both found identical dresses that we loved, just in different colors. She bought purple and I bought green. They were ankle length, somewhat form-fitting (I had a much better figure then), but still loose enough to be comfortable and flowy. Spaghetti straps. A bit of embroidery here and there, just some small floral pattern. My dress started out light green at top and got darker toward the bottom. Same with Kim's dress and the purple.

We wore these dresses all summer. I wore it for a few years afterwards. I LOVED that dress. I think I gained weight and then got rid of it, for which I am now heartily sorry. Because I still love that dress. And there is at least one picture of me wearing it that summer...Kim and I standing next to each other in our identical dresses. Adorable.

I want a dress like that again.

I think I know what to get with my birthday money.