:: Right Now ::

Since returning from Christmas Break, our lives have been a little sluggish and unusual. Since Drew and I have been married, we've both been up to our ears in a combination of work and school and daily duties, but we're transitioning a little to a world where school loses some of its dominance and our time - at least mine - is oddly free. Even throughout December, there were always gifts or ornaments or sweet treats to be made, papers to read and write, and classes to attend. Christmas Break was a welcomed hiatus from all of that, spent just soaking up minutes and days with our favorite people.

Now, we're slowly working ourselves back into a working routine that, for me, doesn't involve any set schedule or time obligations. Finished with all of my coursework, I'm just spending this semester working at my job on campus and on my Master's project and looking forward to graduation in April. Work means spending between five and seven hours a day staring at a computer screen, attempting to decipher and translate the thoughts and fears of college freshmen for the big-wigs on campus who need to know how to make said freshmen happier and more successful. Working on my project currently involves a lot of procrastination and unmaterialized good ideas and very few tangible products. I've applied for full-time jobs off-campus, but a million "application pending" notices are a not-so-subtle indication that most employers are operating on a timeline that is much less urgent than the one I might suggest. Most of these positions are in Salt Lake, which means a 45-minute commute every day, and they tend to be far from what I'd describe as my dream job, but I'll gladly take the associated pay raise and an escape from the same old survey data I've been analyzing for a year now.  

In the midst of feeling both a little stagnant and in flux (can't you tell?), describing life as it is right now in a series of action verbs is surprisingly reviving. I found this tradition on SouleMama, a blog I read frequently, and I think it's a great way to document the days that seem just like every other day.

So, right now, I am...

:: eating too many chocolate cookies, made from this recipe. I pushed Hershey's hugs into the top of ours. Mmmm.

:: resolving to be physically stronger this year. More exercise. More stretching my limits. More good, lean pounds on the scale.

:: watching endless The Biggest Loser episodes on Netflix. It's really fun to watch people do what's hard to change their lives for the better.

:: listening to strong female vocals from Missy Higgins, Deb Talan, The Wailin' Jennys, and Alison Kraus. Their music is soothing, skillful, powerful, and beautiful.

:: cleaning out the closet. Again. Christmas was good to us, but this clothing supply must be culled. Or at least folded neatly.

::celebrating the births of my mom, Drew's dad, Drew, and Drew's mom, as well as my own, all in the space of 3 weeks. 

:: overwhelmed by and alternately dismissive of that Master's project looming on the horizon. It will not conduct itself, but it'd sure be nice if it did.

:: inspired by TED Talks. They remind me that there are a lot of brilliant people out there thinking and doing and creating brilliant things in this world. And, most inspiring of all, they're all really very ordinary people, thinking and doing and creating really very common-sense things.

:: revisiting Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, thanks to Joanne's perfect Christmas gift. Easily one of my all-time favorite books. It's honest and balanced and moving. Take me to a farm, please.

:: marveling at the beautiful, snowy world outside and our wonderful [warm] view from in here.

:: longing for the warmth and freedom of our summer at the beach all the same.

:: searching for good summer internship opportunities for Drew and keeping an eye out for geographically convenient summer endeavors for myself, too.

:: and waiting for something and nothing at the same time. It's an odd feeling to be perfectly satisfied and just plain happy with life as it is, yet anxious and excited for what's to come. I'm ready to say sayonara to jumping through academic hoops, monotonous jobs that promise to be the same year after year after year, and the transitory nature of a student life, and ready to say hola to being meaningfully employed, putting down roots, and living more productively, creatively, and intentionally. At the same time, I love our relatively responsibility-free, fluid life that allows us to do all of those things that are expressly designed for the young and restless, usually whenever we feel like it.

So, while I sometimes get to feeling like our right now is slightly unsettled, it really couldn't be any better. Right now, we're very happy.