Catching up, keeping busy

I mentioned the other day that it's been an interesting experience being unemployed the last month.  I feel like I vacillate between enjoying it for the time and feeling down and unsure of myself.  Probably a lot comes down to the fact that I don't sit still well.  And I have no patience, like at all.  Oh, and I really, really like to plan things ahead and know what's coming.  (Hey, at least I recognize these things about myself, right?).

Some of the things I've accomplished are:

• Cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning!  I've rearranged furniture, sorted things, pulled out donations, made plans for new office furniture, done tons of laundry, and reorganized the storage unit.
• Catching up on medical appointments, including the eye doctor, orthodontist, and dentist.
• Connected with contacts, added new references to my resume, and sent out job applications.
• Looked into volunteer opportunities, particularly helping out Program on the Environment, UW Pipeline, and Seattle Tilth.
• Renewed my CPR certification.
• Booked tickets for some upcoming weddings in DC and Memphis!
• Had fun at a cooking class, attended Mariner's opening night, said goodbye to some friends for 6 months, read a great book (yup, it took a while), watched some good movies, played some games, planned a party, and did some cooking.

Overall I'm pretty proud of how much I've gotten done, in addition to working on getting my head back on straight post-school, and taking much needed time for friends, family, and my husband!

It's so hard to plan not knowing how much longer it will be until a job works out (I'm hopeful about a few opportunities), but some of the things I plan to focus on in the coming days are things from my goals for 2011:

• Workouts!  Unfortunately the boot camp I was hoping to do didn't fill, so I'm on my own.  Dave is super supportive, and has offered to work out with me to help with motivation now that I don't have gym access.  We're hoping to focus on biking, running (ugh), and yoga.  We're also taking walks after dinner almost every night, which has been a great way to avoid the post-dinner low and just talk and enjoy each other.
• Eating healthy.  I think Dave and I mostly do pretty well on our food choices, but we both have a serious love of bread, pasta, and cheese.  A lot of people think these are the only options for vegetarians, and they are an easy fall back, but we're trying to focus on our fruit, vegetable, and vegetarian protein intake.  We can't wait until the farmer's market opens for the season and our own veggies start growing again!
• Turning off the TV.  It's really easy for me to get sucked into watching too much TV when I am home.  So, I've been working on turning off the TV more, enjoying quiet time, listening to music, and...
• Reading.  I'm now starting into Water for Elephants, which I'm really excited about.  For fun I also want to read Something Borrowed, since the movie looks silly and cute.
• More projects around the house.  I hope to get our office sorted out, mend some things that need sewing, and hopefully start making a few things for future gifts!
• Planning some fun summer activities.  Believe it or not the summer is already filling up!  Between both our 10 year high school reunions, DC, Memphis, and more weddings and celebrations, it's going to be a fun, whirlwind of a summer.  So I'm working on blocking out weekends for some camping trips and the very silly Tour de France party I want to host!

Thanks to everyone for being so supportive during this weird in-between time!