vacation!

 three days off in a row feels like such luxury! i just completed a solid four-month stretch of working 40 hours a week with no days off except for weekends. it has to be some kind of world record.

 there was a 90-day period after starting at this company when i had no personal or vacation time, and there hasn't been a holiday since late january when i started (with the exception of "floaters" which i was also ineligible to take). luckily i'm allowed to work from home whenever, so i've taken advantage of that a little bit.

 it's hard to get everything done when so much time is eaten up. i didn't even finish unpacking the house until last weekend. i'm weeks behind in the garden. i had three huge and two small photo jobs in the last few weeks that i still haven't finished editing all the photos from, and another wedding coming up in a few weeks--i definitely don't have time for freelance anymore but i do it anyway.

 i got a promotion at work. not a very meaningful one because i'm doing the exact same work and making the same amount of money--it's just a different title. but it's good to know that they think i'm doing a good job, and it does eventually come with a raise, i just have to wait 8 months (year review time) to get it.

the fire pit in my backyard inspired me to try learning guitar. nearly all of my friends are musical, and i have this romantic vision of us sitting around in a circle playing in front of the fire on a cool summer night...so i started taking guitar lessons through community education, and i scored this crazy hand-painted guitar on ebay! i figure even if i don't stick with playing it, it makes a good wall hanging.

someone put a whole lot of love and work into it. i wish i knew the story.

i also started taking tai chi at the idaho botanical gardens with my friend cam. it's a one-hour class every saturday morning all summer long, in a big open field surrounded by beautiful flowers, and it's free for ibg members! we skipped today because it's pouring rain, and because i somehow slept through my alarm and slept in past 9 for the first time in months.

this evening we're having a battlestar galactica finale party. that show is amazing. i got kinda interested in it after that episode of portlandia where "doug" and "claire" get so obsessed that they quit sleeping/working/bathing so they can watch it marathon-style without interruption. cam and her boyfriend each have a copy of the whole dvd set, so they loaned me one. usually i'm not the least bit interested in sci-fi, but this show is fascinating and character-driven and seriously addictive. there were a couple mornings when i got up at 3am and watched as much bsg as i could fit in before work. insanity!

tonight we're getting together to watch the 3-part finale now that i've reached the end. we brainstormed a bunch of theme food to make:

rectangular cake with the corners cut off
ambrosia (green margaritas)
hot dogs (vegan)
algae (kale) with noodles (because adama likes noodles)
toast
starbucks coffee

and i'm bringing over this funky 70s-style astrology symbol tablecloth i thrifted. it's going to be the cutest theme party ever. and FRAK i can't wait to see the finale.