Important Things for the day:

1. Yoga. I love this teacher, Sabrina Zan Ferris. I like her vibe and how she teaches. I like that her hair is purple and black and she has some lovely tatoos and she's in her 40s. I also was surprised that she remembered me--I showed up once 5 months ago--and she said, "It's so good to see you. I knew you'd be back." Was nice.

2. Good friends help lots when your own storms build up and shower down buckets on you. Kristina is always good at talking me out of my tree.

3. Crying really hard sometimes sets you free.

4. I am too old to continue to do things that make me miserable, and there is always a way to change what is to be better, even if it is hard to get yourself to make that change.

5. No matter how old I am, I will continue to be surprised at how overwhelmingly powerful and controlling hormones are and how we just have to submit, breathe and wait for a new day.

6. Mercury Retrograde Sucketh. Only 15 days to go. Dear gawd.

Nothing more than a laundry list of life here. Move along, move along.

1. Honey is out of town on biz again. It occured to me that I could actually go to the beach or something after work, hang out, relax, enjoy. Uh-huh. I'll do that.

2. Went to Lowe's and bought many flowers this evening, after working too many hours today. Something about the colors and the scent that help wash off the soul-sucking layers of the job. Anticipate much weeding, prepping of beds and planting to happen the next couple days.

3. Stepping up on the "improve Anastasia's life balance" project recently launched. Tomorrow, I go to yoga at 7:30 a.m., and am paying the woman for 8 weeks worth of classes. Hopefully, will also attend Thurs. eves and/or Sat. mornings with my guy. Having some knarly issues with pain in forearms, so this should help.

4. My cat is in my lap right now, and I LOVE LOVE her.

5. In-laws are comin' to stay Sept. 2-12, so we are running around willy-nilly trying to get shiznet done. I pulled off the gawdawful wallpaper in our main bath last week, and N spent the weekend scraping and scrubbing. Prepped to spackle and paint now. Then new light, towel racks etc. and we gots us a facelift.

6. 20-year High School Reunion. Yes, that's right. This coming weekend. And, we're heading down to San Diego to check out the freakshow. My friend Pamela (who I graduated with) and her husband Patrick (also a great HS pal) will be attending, also. Will most likely be our last--I mean, do you really want to do the 30 and beyond? I'm looking forward to it, just because, well, all the demons are dispelled, and just because.

Pam's asked me at least 4 times what I'm gonna wear. Who plans those things weeks in advance? I think I'm missing some key girl gene for shit like that.

Oh, I'm sure there's more, but isn't this rather boring? Yeah, I thought so. Will write when there's something to actually say.

Lerp!

Have been full of depression and internal angst the last week or so. That quiet kind, that makes you sleep alot.

This, on the heels of eight days away from home -- up in SF and in Marin at SpiritRock Meditation Center. Volunteered at the Family Retreat. Was a counselor/teacher for 10-12 year-old group, along with two other, stellar counselors. Lucky me! Was full of huge personal joy and hard discoveries, as all good retreats, I suppose, should be.

Both events have brought up huge thoughts, not ready to be spewed yet, and also ideas for character development for fiction. Will I write out the thoughts and develop them?

This remains to be seen.