How is it already May?  I can hardly believe how quickly this year has flown by.  And it has only gotten better with time.

Bloomsday weekend has arrived!  I'm really excited for it.  It's a really big deal out here in the Northwest.  It's funny.  This is going to sound incredibly... snotty.  But I used to chuckle at the things Northwesterners get excited about.  There are not a lot of "big" things to do in this region of the country.  No huge theme parks, no huge sports teams, no giant shopping malls (until you get to Seattle, of course).  This region of the country boasts its beauty in nature... trails, lakes, rivers, mountains...and that's what draws you in and keeps you here.

And so things that get people excited out here are a lot smaller, a lot simpler than back home.  And at first I didn't like that.  People would tell me how amazing something was, and I would find myself disappointed.  But oddly enough, I have grown to love the simplicity out here.  I've found that I don't get bored anymore like I used to.  I'm satisfied with a day spent in the woods hiking.  A simple dinner out with friends.  I just don't feel like I need a lot of entertainment anymore in order to have fun.

I've adopted a much simpler life than what I once had.  But a much more fulfilling one.  I was talking to my sister last night about just how happy I've been in this phase of my life.  I always knew I was unsettled back in Florida, but I don't think I knew how unhappy I actually was.  And I don't want to convey that every single day I am this happy person walking through life.  No, there are some hard days.  And there have been some hard months.  But overall, as a whole... I'm just happy.  Have I ever really been able to say that before?

Anyway, happy May!

Life as I see it

Well, I said I was going to keep this blog more faithfully.  And thanks to a foot injury that unfortunately kept me out of work tonight, resulting therefore in the inability to go anywhere at this time, I've got a little extra time on my hands tonight.

Yes, a foot injury.  Not exactly certain how serious at this point, but enough that it's difficult to walk.  But it is somewhat better than it was this time last night, so I'm hopeful that by tomorrow it might be even better.  No idea how it happened, though I suspect it's related to running.  Anyway, I'm not here to talk about my foot.

Actually, I'm not really here to talk about anything really.  I guess this is just one of those usual boring updates.

This week has been quite relaxing, honestly (minus said foot injury).  After working crazy overtime last week (which I'm so grateful now that I did!) I gave myself permission to just relax.  Didn't pressure myself to pick up extra this week.  I enjoyed each moment.  I did have some issues with my car registration.  For future reference to those of you out there... think very carefully about buying a car out of state, especially if that state is over three thousand miles from your home state!  That's all I have to say about that.  The issue is quite resolved at this point.  A couple of days ago, we drove out to Green Bluff to go berry picking.  Something I've never done before!  And I'm even more excited now, because come fall we can go apple picking, and pumpkin picking at the pumpkin patch!  Believe me, for Florida girls, this is a novelty!

I have to say, for the first time in my life... I'm happy and content with where I'm at.  Not that my life has been really hard in the past, but there's always been this very unsettled feeling deep down.  I've known pretty much since high school that Florida was not where I would live for the rest of my life.  And since nursing school, that itch to leave never went away.  Taking that leap back in October was the best thing I could have done.  Being in this part of the country somehow just feels right... and I love it!

That isn't to say that life is always just amazing.  But right now, I feel I can take a step back and simply appreciate where it's at.