A Summer full of everything and nothing...

Are you having that kind of summer, too? It might just be me.

The days around here are full, so full, that when I look backwards at more than a month to catch up on, I don't know where to start. Except, all these things that have made the summer months so full--well, it's not much to write home (or, in this case, blog) about. I've got no real milestones to report, no big accomplishments to brag about, it's all been little things, some wonderful, some not, that have packed themselves into my days, stolen the hours, and arranged themselves, not even remotely chronologically or even orderly, into my memories. Overall, it has been a wonderful summer so far, and despite a few things that weigh very heavily on my mind and in my heart, I can go to sleep peacefully most nights, with a smile on my face. *sigh* The rest of that crap will just have to work itself out, and I'm attempting to be my very most patient self in regards to it all.

Two milestones did occur, one being that Matt finished (more like, survived) his first full year in law school, and is now in the middle of a summer session of Criminal Law, getting a jump on next semester. Law school continues to be a daily struggle, but every day that passes is another glimpse at the light at the end of the tunnel, for us both. The first year is supposed to be the hardest anyway, right? ;)

Milestone number two passed in late May, when Matt and I celebrated our third anniversary. Hard to believe it's been three years since our wedding, it seems both too long and too short ago for that number. We packed up the doggies and spent the weekend at a cabin in the mountains, and it was a lovely back-yard getaway for us all.

Since then, we've filled the days with fresh veggies and farmer's markets, Biscuit festival, thunderstorms, and sunny days in the garden. My peas did not make it, but the tomatoes and peppers are looking good, and my pumpkin vines (three kinds this year) look to once again take over the yard. Lizards and the occasional snake come bask in the sunshine on our deck, the deer meander through the yard some mornings, and the bunnies play hide and seek at dusk. Two different bird houses have been home to baby wrens so far, and just yesterday a busy little couple built the most adorable hobbit-hole of a nest in my pink New Guinea Impatiens basket. I'd be upset (a nest makes the thing a chore to water carefully now), but it's too precious a home to be discouraged.

Matt and I laid a hardwood floor in our spare room over Memorial Day weekend, with our own little hands and a wealth of borrowed tools. We still haven't put down the finishing trim (a goal for this weekend), but the room looks amazing, and my next task is to refinish the dresser that goes against the back wall. Projects move slow around here lately, but that's okay with me. I'm making peace with not having deadlines and still getting things done, which works just fine if there's no one waiting on you.

We've slowly begun to evolve the cake situation at work lately, and it has really afforded me some opportunity to get creative, with some awesome successes (and a few flops, but such is life, and the customer's didn't seem to notice or care). Adding a smaller size to our repertoire has given me the green light to do some small tiered cakes, and the relative slowness of the summer has meant I can take some extra time with them, and do some really cool stuff. Nothing makes me happier lately than to see an order with an invitation or cocktail napkin to try and match. Getting to play like that has helped me feel less "small" about my current job, but I still have my moments for feeling inadequate. However, that, my friends, is certainly a post for another time.

So far, this summer has been one full of reflection. This is mostly a good thing, but it does tend to bring out the recluse in me. I'm very wrapped up in my own little world right now, and focusing so much on myself and what the hell it is exactly that I want my life to be seems to make me, well, kind of a crappy friend. If I haven't commented, questioned, or generally participated in your life (whether virtual or actual), it's not because I'm not paying attention. I'm just kind of cocooned at the moment, and frankly, hoping all this effort I'm putting into figuring myself out gets me...well...somewhere.

All the rest of my time is simply being spent soaking up Summer.