Winter quarter is just about dunzo, and I didn't get any better at writing during this round either. I miss it. And, when I sit down to create a post, my mind is swirling with all the things I'd like to put out there. Mind swirling is a common occurance these days. Often, I'm running from one place to another (between work, school, practicum, and home), and my mind can't keep up. When it does catch up, it quickly feels overwhelmed and has a mini-freak out. A freak out of any size cannot be contained in the brain, so I willingly share it, usually with the TBF. I'm a really fun person to live with right now! I promise! He is a trooper.

Although I have lots of work to complete by next Friday, I'm feeling pretty excited right now. Two quarters down, four to go. Spring will be a bit lighter workload-wise in classes, but I'll be busily working on figuring out my practicum placement (three days/week) for next year.

Over spring break, TBF and I are going to visit our good friends in Vegas. We're both excited about this trip! We see these friends individually most often, so this will be our first real "couple time" get together, and it's an intensive, all-weekend-retreat-style hang out. Yay! I've asked friend S if we could please schedule in some sort of spa time during the visit, and she has given me a nice short list of options. One place is a Korean spa that has a lot of great services and amenities, but she informed me that they have been investigated quite a bit for...well, you know. After the 4th of July "foot massage" adventure with Monice, I'm doubtful that anything will faze me in that department, but there is S to consider. I'm also drawn to the sauna options with that spa, and the photos on the site sure do look nice. But, ultimately, S and I have to decide whether or not we want to risk a potentially dodgy scenario at this point or not. Part of me thinks, Why the hell not? I've resigned myself to the fact that I am a situation magnet. It is inevitable, and that's not always a terrible thing. Life is interesting. So here we go!

Quite a bit happened over the past few months. I turned 34 and realized it's go time for coming up with real answers to the bigger life questions that I've had on the back burner for a long time. Namely, do I want to try to have my own children or not. That window is starting to drop, and, at some point, you just have to decide before biology decides for me. I've leaned toward no for a long time, but it's not a definitive no. I'm just not sure. There are lots of reasons on both sides of the question mark.

My birthday was really lovely and lowkey, although I ended up sick for a stretch of a few weeks before, on, and after the day. Still, it was great to be out with friends at a local pub and catch up with people, especially the few I hadn't seen in ages. The week after my birthday, TBF took a few day trip out to Friday Harbor. It was wonderful! We stayed at a great little hotel with fireplaces and big jetted tubs, and there was an incredibly delicious little Italian restaurant just across the way. We spent lots of time walking around town, visited the local winery, and we lounged around the room enjoying the fire and bubbles with champagne, strawberries, and chocolate. Perfect getaway! But (you knew this was coming based on what I said above), we also had one little issue crop up.

TBF and I have gotten in to going for jogs at least one morning on the weekends. So, on our one full day in Friday Harbor, I skipped on over to the reception desk, as the handy little guide book in the room recommended, and asked about routes for a nice "little jog." The receptionist was very helpful, pulling out a map and tracing a route for us near the water. I didn't bother looking at the scale because I thought, this is a small island, so no problem. Well. 6+ miles later, we finally made it back to the hotel. We didn't realize until mid-run what we'd gotten ourselves into with this little jog. We ran and ran and walked and ran and walked some more and ran and walked. We might push two miles on a regular jog, not seven. On our way, we found a woman's lost wallet and managed to call her, run some more, and have her come by to pick it up while we still had miles to go. We were considering asking her for a ride but nixed that idea, since she had a small child with her. We ran by a field where people were clearly having shooting practice, so I picked up the pace. We ran by people decked out in professional-style running gear and thought hmmmmmmm. But, clueless as we were, it didn't dawn on us until much, much later what the fancy duds signaled. Afterward, TBF referred to the experience as the six mile death march. I said, that wasn't so bad! I said that as soon as Friday Harbor was back in sight. I won't tell you what I was saying before that, but the tone might have been slightly different.

Here's a fun little vid for the people who love the LCD Soundsystem and the muppets.