Josh is at muay thai class, which always prompts me to consider working out myself. I do so at home sometimes, but it just seems silly, lifting weights in the living room and doing sit ups in front of the t.v. I could join a gym, but I'm afraid I wouldn't be motivated to go and it would be a waste of money. I could walk around the neighborhood, but I don't feel comfortable doing that at night by myself. I could, but I don't, so I make lots of excuses. If only we had a treadmill...sigh. Perhaps I can console myself in the fact that laundry is waiting for me in the basement, and the trips up and down the stairs might tone my thighs as much as a jaunt around the neighborhood. Such is wishful thinking :)

I can tell my focus isn't in writing (ironic, since I started the blog to have a place to focus), so instead of long drawn-out paragraphs, tonight you're getting the Reader's Digest version:

• Mom and Daddy came up this weekend and, after some skillful manuevering, managed to install their old washer and dryer in our basement. No more waiting til we go home to do laundry! Yay! On top of that, we had a great visit.
• Mom seems to be doing well, still recovering. Am sure she had a headache, but she didn't complain once, and she didn't seem too tired. I found emails Josh and I had sent while she was in the hospital--so hard to believe it was only a few months ago. It seems like Mom was sick a lifetime ago. It seems like yesterday.
• Rach got the list for jobs open in the Rockford school district today. I'm really praying she finds something new. Her job now is such a weight on her shoulders. I'd like to see the load lighten a bit, to see her enjoy teaching as much as she did when she taught bi-lingual preschool.
• Have officially started the job search. Josh is helping, and our landlord (ie, the best landlord EVER) offered to keep his ear to the groud for me. So perhaps before long I'll have a job that pays real money!
• Got the go-ahead from Dr. VW for my paper topic--gender tensions/representations in Spoon River Anthology. Am really excited about this. I've loved SPA since high school. This will be the first paper I've really cared about or felt invested in in over a year. A nice way to end my education, I think.
• Josh and I have decided to stay in Rockford for at least another year, and our landlord's bringing a new lease in the next couple weeks. This really excites me. It will be the first summer in three years that I haven't moved. And it means we get to stay in our first married home a little while longer. In a completely sentimental way, this pleases me more than I can express.
• Yesterday we went to Rachel's for lunch after church (to see Mom and Dad off, too), and Fritzie didn't growl or hiss at me once. This may be the first time, ever. I was thrilled.
• I love the sound of birds in spring. Even when they wake me up.

And now...to the laundry.