Here comes the sun!

I know it's a little ironic to talk about the sun right now when we had a beautiful few days earlier in the week and right now the forecast is dreary and rainy. But hey, those of you who know me already know that I'm an optimist at heart. Besides, a smart lady told me today that we need this rain so that May flowers can start blooming.

In any case, though, what I'm really referring to is a lifting of spirits. I feel like I have been under so much strain and pressure for the past six months or so that it is just an amazing release to get a chance to relax, to see the sun shining again, and to finally stop worrying about everything on my to-do list. I think the work on my research proposal was a big part of my stress this semester, but a lot of other things were going on too. Most of all, I felt constantly tired and frustrated that I couldn't ever just STOP for a while. Every day there was a new priority based on what absolutely needed done for the following day and I could never seem to get ahead. But all of that is over now (hopefully for a good long while). I got to catch up on all the shows that were piling up on my TiVo playlist and I bought a fiction book today that I am planning on reading just for the pleasure of it.

It's been such a long time since I read a book for fun instead of textbooks, journal articles and research methodology books. And for me, that's difficult because I've always been an avid reader. The book I picked up is called The Host by Stephenie Meyer. I loved her Twilight series so I have high hopes for this one. I'm really excited to get started reading it. I'll post more once I'm finished.

I also ordered -- drumroll, please -- my very first, brand spanking new iPod nano! Woohoo! I can't wait until it arrives... I realize this is probably old hat to many and that I'm probably one of the last people around to have never owned (or really even used) an iPod. Even my father who often cannot manage to work his TV remote control got one last year. So, OK, I'm a little slow. Hopefully it will be worth the wait. I am looking forward to hooking it up to the voice activated Sync system in my car.