So long, sweet summer...

So what do you think of this new layout?  Super-cute and ready for school, huh?  Meaning it's totally me at least in ONE respect.

I went to school yesterday for the first time this summer.  I didn't even drop by the office first--I just went straight to my room to have a little face-to-face with Reality.  Walking down the hall, I realized just how much I'd like to have a job where summers last forever.  I'm thinking along the lines of "heiress" or maybe "trophy wife."  Keep an eye out for anything like that and let me know if you get any leads.

This summer has been one of the best of my life.  There is something about having worked my rather large behind off (definitely a figurative statement--otherwise there'd be no need for Weight Watchers) that makes the summer sweeter than usual.  I worked hard in college, don't get me wrong.  I played hard too, though.  I never did anything crazy, but my life was all about my friends and the experiences we had.  Summer was often a bit of a downer because I had to leave all of them behind.

Now that I live in a city that is still foreign to me despite a year of residence, spending my time with the same few friends--I love y'all to death, you know--summer served as a reintroduction to my former life of a varied existence.  I was able to go all kinds of places, see many of the people whom I love, and generally fill all those little spaces that ebbed and waned as I plodded along through the school year.  I even got a tan on the front of my legs between my knees and the line of my shorts!  If that's not a victory in itself...

So here's to my last day of work-week freedom for the next ten months.  Here's to lunches with friends and without children.  Here's to vacation without paperwork.  Here's to spending time with family while not watching a clock.  Here's to spontaneity, flexibility, laziness, gardening, beaches, natural tans, old movies, shopping, thrift stores, farmers' markets, fresh fruit, warm weather, and amore per questa vita bella.

Here's to you, summer.