Better, just in time to get sick again

Well, let's hope not. I finally got better, went back to work, and today I'm going to be working from home because I'm leaving later in the day to go up to Oregon, and I'm coughing up junk again, and I don't want to get sick because I want to go up and have some fun, dammit!

Vitamin C and hot tea today, it is.

It's been a good week. The weekend was pretty low-key. Did a lot of cooking in preparation for leaving this weekend. Work has been good, just sort of catching up and doing special projects. Shea gave me a great "What Do I Really Want" questionnaire that I'm filling out. I expect to learn a lot from this exercise. I've been thinking about this 5- and 10-year plan I'm supposed to be making this year. I started off trying to separate Life into categories, and get really specific. That's what I was told to do: be really specific. But I'm stuck. I don't think that I operate that way, really. I think what I ought to do is paint a picture with words, make a collage or two, make a few lists, a few goals, a few Wants. And then leave it to the Universe to fill in the blanks.

I don't want to get really specific. What if I change my mind? Getting too specific invites frustration. I'd rather stay general, and true to my heart. A house. A family. Peace. Joy. Financial security. Creativity. I want these things. I'll elaborate a bit, I'll illustrate. But the Universe knows my heart.

It's supposed to be butt-cold up in Oregon. Like, a high of 32. Woo! Packing the warmies! Erin and I may rent shoeshoes on Friday and head up to Alsea (in the Coast Range) and see if we can find some snow to tromp around in. I think that sounds SO. FUN. Saturday is her daughter's 6th birthday party. I should find a few minutes to make a card for her. I'll shop for a gift maybe Saturday morning. I'm excited to see those girls, it's been over a year. Too long. Sunday we're all heading over to Mom's new beau's house, to get to know him a little and see his place and have some dinner. That will be nice, too. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and be all pretty and frosty. California weather has no atmosphere (in general). It bums me out.

But! I have some ideas for paintings. I've been saying for forever that I want to make some big paintings for the kitchen. I get caught up in thinking they have to be Art. But maybe they can just be Pretty. And Fun. I have some ideas. I think I have the big canvasses already. I want to learn oil painting, so maybe this is my incentive to use up a bunch of my acrylics so I have to go buy new paints anyway. I think after all my tiny detailed beadwork, some big splashy exuberant paintings would be great. I'm excited to do them. I have a couple in mind already, just what I want to make. We'll see if the hand cooperates. I also have some pastels that I think would be fun to experiment with. I'm thinking big, soft, bold strokes of color. Vegetables. Fields. I've been inspired by the paintings I'm choosing for one of our programs. Bright cobalt blue skies. Red leaves and fiery fields.

You know, sometimes life really sucks. But usually, there's something good in there somewhere. If life is like a box of chocolates, you've just got to get really good at identifying the caramels and avoiding the gross ones.