Somehow it’s already August 1st, which means that all the reports I’ve been working on since November need to be completed by August 31st.  I have edits back on three reports, and still need to finish three (four?) neglected reports. It will all come together, but it will be a little crazy.  I was rescheduling field work with my project manager yesterday, and I requested to stay in the office the week of August 27th.  “That way I can be here if there are some last-minute edits.”  He gave me a skeptical look.  “Not if,” he said.  “When.”

I taught my class last week. It wasn’t my best class, it wasn’t my worst class. I received my first 2 out of 4 evaluation because, gasp! I talk too fast.  People have been telling me I talk too fast for years; in 2010, when I considered being an actress for 5 seconds after being an extra on a show (it got canceled after two episodes, so my days of stardom never happened), my acting teacher would rant that I ruined scenes with my fast talking.  SO.  I know it’s a problem.  I was bothered by it at first, since I usually get good reviews for my classes.  But I remembered something I saw on Instagram several weeks ago – the concept of breaking success down by good, better, and best.  I got through the class without making a total idiot of myself, I still received decent reviews, and as busy as I was last week, that’s all I could hope for.  And I won’t always get the professional version of a participation ribbon.  It’s better to have something concrete and constructive to work on, instead of getting feedback for class elements that are out of my control.  (My favorite is getting complaints that the room is too cold.  I HAVE ZERO CONTROL OVER THIS.)

I’m trying to start a hiking club with my friends.  My husband, friend, and I explored McKinney Falls State Park last weekend.  We hiked about 4 to 5 miles before we were feeling toasty.  We woke up early, took our coffee with us, and were at the park by 8:30.  It was great!  This weekend more of my friends are joining us for another hike.  I’m just trying to maximize all the park/friend time as much as possible, especially if we have to move next year.

There’s an egret in the background!

The irony is we didn’t hike Enchanted Rock last weekend, but still had this rocky surface to traverse.  

This weekend I finally removed my wedding flowers from the silica gel.  How long has it been sitting in the silica gel? I’m soooo glad you guys asked that question.  Since before my honeymoon.  I need to figure out what to do with the dried flowers.  In the meantime, I placed a couple in a booklet I got from Flow Magazine.

I’m also steadily making progress with my seaside shawl…I know it doesn’t look like I have.  But look, you can see the anchor now!

WHY DOES MY TABLE LOOK PINK? Photographers of WordPress, lend me your ears.

Well, I need to get ready for work. I hope you all have a great week!