Trees trees and more trees

I promise I won't gripe and complain this time! I actually have begun to like yoga a little. I just need to get more bendy. I was thinking Pilates would take care of the jiggly belly but it's going to take a heck of a lot of Pilates to do that! I was just kind of annoyed that they changed the class format without telling us.

We had some of our trees trimmed this week to hopefully fend off any major disasters this winter. We have had our fair share of close calls this year. For a few hours of work it cost $1075! And that was a low estimate! Here's the truck with the cherry picker right outside our sunroom.

This is one of the most beautiful trees on our property soon to be in its full fall glory. It's a ginkgo and beautiful as it is, it does shed some pretty stinky fruit now and again.

Stitching progress has been slow. I do wish I could stitch in the car because we have spent many hours on the road checking out colleges for DD. It was worth it though because it has opened her eyes to the endless possibilities and at the same time has helped her narrow down her choices.

Ouch!

A few weeks ago I signed up for a Pilates class at the place where I exercise. Somewhere along the way it got changed to something called Pilates "Fusion". Pilates on Tuesdays, yoga on Thursdays. I did not want yoga...I signed up for Pilates. Now there is a very tender spot in my back from all the weird twists and turns from the yoga class. You want me to do what???

The instructor was telling us what to do as we did it, without the benefit of watching her first. Do you know how hard it is to watch someone while trying to maintain the downward facing dog pose? When it came to the yoga style push up I pretty much said no, I can't do it. I eventually tried and did manage to get a little way down. I don't know if I'm going back because I can't afford to hurt my back right now. I think I will take a Pilates class somewhere else.

I've been trying to keep consistent with my stitching, but there were a few days this week that I didn't pick up a needle. That's OK, I'm making progress on Bitter Flower and looking forward to the next project and maybe an ornie or two.

I gave up one of my responsibilities at work this week. I made a mistake (not a big one in my eyes but it made a few people unhappy) and the criticism that followed put me in a funk. I don't like to be a quitter, but my goal right now in life is to focus on family and home and finding peace in life...I don't need the stress. Retail is very stressful right now. They have us doing multiple tasks at one time and at the same time maintaining that ever cheerful and helpful demeanor. I can do that most of the time but when I have to work 6-7 hours without getting a break, that kind of puts me over the edge.

I have always felt very insecure in my working life. Even being well educated doesn't always prepare one for the real world environment. I never have felt worthy enough to go back to a job in science and therefore have taken the jobs that are the easiest to come by. Low pay and not much satisfaction.

Thank God for my dear husband, who has stood by me through all my ups and downs and has been in the same job for 30 years. I know he itches to retire but is sticking with it until our kids are out of college (unless we win the lottery!). He never complains, even when it's 90 degrees outside and he is working 7 days a week. A good man.

Thanks for stopping by!