This is the problem with daily blogging. Life intervenes. Life in the form of an increased work schedule, the crescendo weeks of American Idol, kids spring concerts and school plays, and don’t forget Cinco De Mayo and beer. Mmmm, beer.

A round up of some weekly conclusions of past “change”. For starters, the vitamin D thing is amazing. I can most definitely feel a difference since starting supplements as well as thanks to increased REAL sunlight! It’s not quite “wow, I popped a Quaalude and suddenly everything is perfect with the world!” (note: I have never actually popped a Quaalude, my exposure to ‘ludes comes solely through Go Ask Alice and other reading material of the hitchhike and peace sign era. I have always wanted to SAY I popped a lude though. It sounds much more exotic than popping a Lexapro or Wellbutrin.) At any rate, the changes have been real. I have noticed distinctly less random body pain and my arthritis has been less active. I’m sleeping a little better and it may be the non-vit. D effects of the sun or it may be directly related to the vit. D, but I feel a little happier.

The vinegar rinse thing is another full scale success! I have had several people compliment me on my new haircut, except I didn’t get a new haircut! The hubster says it just looks sleeker. I think it feels much softer and much less dry, I am shampooing every other day now as a result of no conditioner and that’s been nice too.

Waking 15 minutes early, not quite the rousing success. It’s a battle, and most days I lose. It’s alright. If I try it and it just doesn’t work for me, then that’s just the way it goes. Saying hello to strangers has been nice, but in a town this small I am running out of random strangers. The salmon season starts next week though, and we have a bunch of new commercial fishers in town so there should be some fresh juicy choices to Hello from this weekend!

A few days ago I made a new change. This one is slightly embarrassing to own. I changed my drivers license. This may not sound life impacting but uh… here’s where I am stuck admitting that not only did my prior license actually expire a full two years ago- I acquired it a whole 3 states ago! Why I had not rectified it sooner, I’m not sure. It became this annoying obstacle that I was afraid to fix I think. I figured it’d been so long, it’d be all too difficult to correct. Kind of like returning and paying for a long overdue library book (oh boy, now there’s a future topic…). The process was surprisingly unpainful. Because my prior license had been valid within the past 5 years I simply had to fill out a form, bring in the various paperwork bureaucracy demands, take a written test and pass an eye exam. Two years of waiting (oh okay, if we count the years spent in Hawaii and South Carolina it’s actually been about six years past due) fixed in about 20 minutes time for the reasonable price of $20. I can now rent cars again without worrying they’ll say no and better yet I can pass cops and not break out in a sweat. Almost makes a person want to go speeding down main street- just for the satisfaction of it all!

6- Kissed

Sun-kissed that is. This is one change I can take no credit for, but it needs acknowledgment, because along with it comes a major change in attitude. Oh glowing yellow orb in the sky, thank you for gifting us with your presence. Today marked the first official “we saw 60, and we kicked it’s ass!” day of the year here in south-central Alaska. 64. That’s what the truck temperature display said. 64 degrees.

When you spend a winter in darkness, and much of the spring in wetness, these bright sunny days mean more. When it gets warm enough to strip down to a T-shirt, you’ve hit the big time. Went for a ride out “the road”, found a place to park, and went walking. In the sun. Stopped to lay down and let the rays beat on my face. Eyes closed. Blinded even through my lids by the brightness of the sun. Felt my cheeks tingle under those rays. Danced silently inside my head with pure joy at the peace and satisfaction of it all. Sun kissed.

5- Quarter Hour O' Me

I’m not a morning person. I’m downright scary in the morning. I hit the snooze alarm three times, I drag myself out of bed at the very last possible moment, run downstairs to wake up my young ‘uns (the teenager doesn’t trust my morning madness and wakes an hour before me). The next 40 minutes are filled with chaos as I rush around getting them ready, getting me ready, tending the dog. It isn’t very pleasant; it’s actually quite Unpleasant to be honest.

The idea of NOT hitting the snooze alarm has never really been considered ‘round these parts. That’s why this was such a novel idea for me. What if I resisted the urge and actually got out of bed a whole fifteen minutes early? Nothing crazy, we’re not talking any real loss of sleep. Just eliminating those last lazy fifteen minutes.

On Thursday I tried it. I’ll be bluntly honest and say it hurt a little. It felt a little sad even, losing that last leg of sheet and blanket burrowing that we anti-morning people love so well. However, as my bare feet hit the cold linoleum floor of the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee the teenager had brewed, I had my first glimpse at how nice it might be. I wasn’t running. The young ‘uns were not fighting. It was just quiet and peaceful.

And just like that, I discovered the value of having fifteen minutes to myself in the morning. The teen does his own thing, so it really was just quiet reflective time, not feeling hurried or stressed, and I liked it. Whereas my mindset had been to eak out every minute of sleep possible, by slightly shifting my paradigm I recognized the value of eaking out a little time to myself. What a difference!

15 minutes later, chaos again ensued. We still ran around and prepped for the day in a mad rush, there were still arguments, I still felt like I was leaving just a minute too late…. But that’s okay. I had that ME quarter hour. I felt a little more at peace with the chaos.