We have returned from our trip to Crescent City, California, and after a week of living my life by the tide tables I’m back to concerning myself with the patterns of the pedestrian walk signals in my city instead.

Navigating my urban neighborhood is a completely different skillset than driving on a cliffside road and scrambling over tide pools!

We have reached that stage of summer in Minnesota where I stand at the top of the stairs, shirtless, right in front of the air conditioner when I’m braiding my hair after a shower. So much sweat. I don’t think I’ll ever fully adjust to living in a humid climate.

It feels like the first real week of summer break. The kids are home. All the time. They’re just… here. And they don’t leave unless I bring them somewhere. It’s taking some adjustment on my part; I no longer feel (f)unemployed.

I’m trying to get us eating more produce. I’ve done an excellent job during my mothering years of serving a vegetable with almost every dinner and most lunches, but they rarely get eaten. I’m trying to be okay with making cooking mistakes and wasting money on new vegetables nobody eats. I grilled eggplant the other night and it was delicious. I bought beets that only I will eat. We will see how long this experiment lasts.

This week also marked my triumphant return to the gym after three weeks away. Well, more like my grudging return to the gym. But I’m watching Wednesday and enjoying it.

I also returned to my Japanese study on Duolingo. I had to quit Duolingo during vacation because I started a new unit while we were in California and they wanted me to learn all these new words and it was just too much for me to handle at the time. But wow Duolingo really puts on the guilt trip when you fuck up your streak! I’m back now to my usual routine of one regular lesson and one kana lesson per day.

And I managed to put off my book club book until the very last minute; I just started reading it last night! I never pulled shit like this in college.

I also got started on my summer volunteer project. Remember how I really love to tromp through cemeteries? I thought I should turn my weird hobby into a volunteer project and I’m now fulfilling photo requests on FindAGrave.com while I tromp. My kids are not excited.