Jesus H. Christ. The fact that I haven't touched my journey since my vacation, over a month ago, doesn't really show much improvement in time/work management, does it? This last week was a BITCH, and this weekend was a rollercoaster (work all night Friday-bleh! outing w/ Sage and a new puppy-yay! constant criticism-bleh! date day approaching-yay!). But some lovley things are on the horizon and I'm going to (rather, try to) focus on those instead.

* the local grocery stocks nutrisoda! sweet! I just finished a "Focus," which is mango/peach.
* date day approaches... Saturday we're going to see Order of the Phoenix and have already purchased tickets, so no excuses for not going! Not that THAT is an activity I'd want to back out of!
* less than two weeks unitl Deathly Hallows. Every time I think about it my stomach twists! TJ got the weekend off just so he could manage the 'kids' (Sage AND Gypsy now) and I could read it.
* my 2008 planner is going to be delivered this week! some changes will then ensue, including only sticking meetings in there for work (and sticking to Outlook for my tasks instead of filling up my days with them for some perspective), keeping the majority of my blog in that instead (resurrecting the ancient art of Writing on Paper), etc.

And now, on to the journey...
#38 ritual bath
~used to do these at least weekly but now it's rather difficult to do. perhaps...

#39 food journal
~one plan for my new planner, which is a daily one w/ plenty of writing room.

#40 inner dialogue
~ oh boy wow, plenty of that this week. But agreed that it is important and should be done routinely.

Rather than breezing through a million of these and checking them off (as I'm in a breeze-through, check-off mood) I'll wait to begin the next chapter later this week.

Gratitude Journal ~danke~
1. Last week is over. Truly, I couldn't be more grateful for that.
2. Saturday's outings with Sage & Connie. It's always good to get out of the house... We had a good time, and I was even nice to strangers. One example: after congratulating a couple whose car read "Just Married." I stopped and wondered, "What the hell?" I felt a little like the person I used to be, and I missed her a lot. She was so nice and happy, and she definitely put family and friends before work. She was a lot more fun too...
3. Our new puppy, Gypsy! What a cutie, even if she does have to tinkle every few hours. She looks like a teeny, tiny wolf, and she's the runt of the litter. I always fall for the runt. I think it has something to do with my childhood obsession with Charlotte's Web.
4. My new (used) computer. Though is was quite nasty and I had to clean/disinfect/call hazmat to get it in shape it is quite easier on my tired, desperately-in-need-of-an-exam-and-new-glasses eyes.
5. Actually telling my boss about all of the heinousness of the past couple of weeks... though I don't suppose I'm fully grateful, I am sort of glad that I told her. At least I told someone without blowing up again.

Mirrorbook
My new planner is actually the Seasons of the Witch Daily planner, which is an exquisite combo calendar/journal with tons of info and art in it. I am SO excited about using it, and doing my official Year and a Day in it. See, there WAS a reason for putting it off!

Physical Activity Log
Walkies! New dog aside, we did do a ton of walking all over the place this weekend, and Sage and I have started doing yoga together most days (as opposed to me guiding her through baby yoga only). However, I really want to start incorporating some cardiovascular stuff in my day. The last time I tried, Sage got really whiny in her playpen, but I think she'll just have to whine for half an hour! And now she'll have company whining with our pup.

Smile & Kindness Notes
Lots of love to report on, which is brilliant.
~my youngest sister being a surprising source of comfort
~weird but nice conversations with strangers over the weekend
~Connie being a HUGE help with the laundry (and taking to Gypsy quite quickly!)
~Sage, though biting, being very into sharing and hug-and-kiss giving
~Timothy tolerating my insantiy all week with tongue-in-cheek humor (probably the only thing that kept me from quitting, or killing someone, or both)
~Tam discovering some of it all and making me feel slightly better, if not for just being able to tell someone

Reading... I Like You by Amy Sedaris (for a work project, actually), The Beast of Noor by Janet Lee Carey (still, yes! Not as much time to read as I used to have), and a bunch of awesome entries to the Metamorfic Moon Last Chance Full Moon Showdown.
Watching... We saw Ghostrider last week and it was ok. A lot of rushed stuff and a lot of stuff that should have been rushed, imho, but I still liked it. I also finally saw The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, in which Geoffrey Rush gave yet another stellar performance (as usual). Freedom Writers was really good and made me want to teach again... saw that in early June, actually! Damn, three new movies in a month isn't really so hot, is it? That used to be a week's worth!
Listening to... Plain White T's (whom Lola got me on), Instant Karma (you can buy a copy from Amnesty International to help with Darfur efforts), Wreckless Eric, Rachel Yamagata, Live Earth (wasn't it awesome?), Nick Cave, Snow Patrol, and various versions of "Crazy Love." I heard it on Pandora the other day and did a search for all the artists who have covered it, and each version seems just as awesome as the last.
Writing... A new R/T short series, with all titles based on cliches/song titles (the series is called "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes," and the sections are "1: I Hear the Secrets That You Keep (When You're Talking in Your Sleep," "2: Daydream Believer," "3: It was Just My Imagination," and "4: Now I'm a Believer"). It's for the Metamorfic Moon Challenge and I'm trying to take a different angle on my prompt ("dream") in each section. I have a larger story in mind for my other prompt but I'm not sure I'll make it in time before Deathly Hallows (it's largely speculation on the final battle).