Bliss {Out in the Sun}

{4/9/14 and also perfection} 

I'm having a difficult time deciding my favorite type of weather. Like extremely difficult time. I love rain because I can snuggle indoors with a fire in my woodstove, a mug of delicious tea, perhaps some dark chocolate, and a favorite book. But then this weather we've been having in California... I really don't think the weather could look or feel more perfect. The shining sun, the absolutely stunning clouds, the balmy weather {*mostly* perfect temperature, although it has gotten a bit hot at times}, did I mention the clouds?!

On Sunday I was feeling too lazy to do productive things. So I went outside, climbed onto the trampoline with a giant bag of air-popped popcorn and my phone {which has my current reading: Anna Karenina}, plopped onto my back, and munched contentedly whilst staring at the sky. I was planning to read for a few minutes, but the weather was actually perfect. And I mean that. So I just lay there, letting the day roll by, feeling like the world could go on without me because I was much too comfortable to move.

{I took a picture, but then I actually did this for real. My trusty popcorn by my side.}

{And then I sat up because SKY!}

{Blue sky just barely streaked with white clouds. Too lovely.}

{My walnut tree wanted in on the photoshoot}

{Doesn't the sky look peaceful?}

{Sun-kissed cheeks and pretend sleep. Just for the camera.}

I hope you get a chance to take a break from the world and soak in the sun, this week! Xoxo

The Struggle is Real

{All day, every day}

Post-Spring Break Struggles. I could definitely write a book on that. Instead, I shall take the next fifteen minutes to ramble. 

Spring break is an amazing week, and I am utterly convinced I could not make it through an eighteen week semester without this one lovely chunk of time in the middle to take a break and decompress. HOWEVER, this is the end of my first week back at school, and I'm still struggling to get back into the swing of things with good study habits. It's kind of like running {for myself, at least, I don't know about all you professional runners out there...}. Once I start running, I like to continue running for the duration of whatever distance I have set myself because if I stop to take a walking break it is excruciatingly difficult to get the motivation to start running again. It's mostly a mental thing, I know. Isn't psychology interesting? 

So, here I am, trying to work up the motivation to run again. I definitely wanted to turn off my alarm this morning and curl back into my fluffy blankets without giving a thought to the quiz on Linear approximations, Differentials, and Hyperbolic functions, I had in calculus at 9am. Alas, I really do care about my grades, so I rolled out of bed, did some quick studying before leaving the house, then made my way over to school. 

This morning I was particularly unexcited about life because....

*Grumbles*

1) I did not feel prepared for the math quiz, and I hate feeling unprepared

2) I've been exhausted this entire week, and had a rather large sleep deficit this morning

3) I had to drive up to Santa Rosa, immediately after math class for something I thought was a waste of time and gas

4) Did I mention exhaustion? 

5-8) I was definitely sleepy and tired

As I was walking from my car to my classroom, my phone pinged with an email. It was the daily email that a friend of mine sends out with an encouraging Bible verse: "Behold, the Lord's hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear." (Isaiah 59:1) Reading this verse helped me to pause the whining voice I had going on in my head, calm down, and refocus. I said a quick prayer for alertness before sitting down to take the quiz, and I felt 1000x times better, just from this simple motion. 

*Blessings* 

1) I got 100% on the math quiz, which I really did not deserve because as I mentioned, my study habits have been lacking focus this week

2) The meeting I had in Santa Rosa was a much more profitable use of my time than I had anticipated AND I was able to make it on time because a car pulled out right in front of me before I had been looking more than two minutes for a parking spot. {Note: It can literally take forever to find a parking spot at the SRJC campus. This is huge.}

3) My Spanish class was exciting enough to keep me awake, and I ended up loving today's activities

4) I definitely got home and crashed. I usually don't nap... But when I do, it's for 2.5 hours.

So, my day went a million times better than it really ought to have gone, thank God {literally}. And I think I'll be able to get enough rest over this weekend to get back into the swing of things. No promises. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

• My room redecoration is almost completely finished! I am so close. I shall do a before/after post on it soon because I'm in love with my new set up. 

• I have decided to give up sugar for the remainder of Lent because I have not been feeling as healthy as I would like. So! I'll let you know how it goes. I'm already craving chocolate. This is the right decision, I just know it. Okay, so actually I just realized that this literally means I cannot have chocolate for over three weeks. WHAT HAVE I DONE. 

Ciao&Xx,

PS this took longer than 15 minutes to write