2013 Midpoint: First Day of Summer

Half the year has gone by already. That is truly hard to believe. Where has the time gone? I know I've been busy and have accomplished a lot already this year, but this annual milestone kind of snuck up on me. I've been so busy making plans and grinding away at everyday life and now I feel the need to sit down and let it sink in for awhile. I'm ready for a sleeping-in-and-lazy-coffee-drinking-Saturday-morning.

This week has been crazy-busy --- like so many other weeks. I've been baking non-stop since last weekend to catch up on dog treat orders before the heat and humidity move in this weekend. Baking in the summer seems as silly to me as the Polar Plunge in winter... you have to be crazy to want to do that! However, when you own a dog treat bakery business, baking in the summer is inevitable. But air-conditioning was installed yesterday and I'm ready to rock in the kitchen! When we're not hiking, Charlie happily patrols the bakery to clean up crumbs and taste-test the treats -- one of the luckiest dogs ever!

I've also been busy at my full-time job... you know, the one that pays the bills. The one that surrounds me with cubicle walls, stale air-conditioning, elevator music and endless clock-watching until the minute hand descends enough to allow me to leave. It's a place-holder, a paycheck, a someday-I'm-going-to-be-self-employed-and-quit-this-job type of job. It's not terrible and it's not wonderful, it's just a job. But sometimes I resent that this Monday-Friday 8-5 job prevents me from doing the things I love - baking and hiking. It may be time to cut back on my full-time hours to make time for doing the fun things in life. Carpe Diem, right?

Speaking of fun things... I've begun mapping out weekends for Ice Age Trail hiking trips! I'm a little stumped as to where I want to go next because I'd totally like to avoid the "tick situation" we dealt with last weekend but I want to continue making progress on the segment hikes. So many of the trails have "prairie" or "grassy" areas which I'm positive will result in another tick infestation so I'd like to stick to the rocky or forested areas near waterways that will inevitably be full of mosquitoes, but hey, that's better than ticks! The weather doesn't look like it'll be cooperating much this weekend either. Today started off with thunderstorms and torrential downpours and the scattered/isolated thunderstorms are projected to continue through the weekend, combined with high temperatures and humidity - not exactly ideal hiking weather. However, weather is not going to deter my hiking schedule - it'll just add to the adventure!

This morning I received the following quote in my inbox from Gretchen Rubin's Moment of Happiness and it pretty much sums up what I'm talking about:

"There is something in living close to the great elemental forces of nature that causes people to rise above small annoyances and discomforts."
- Laura Ingalls Wilder, essay, February 1917

Small annoyances and discomforts aside, the hike will continue! It's the first day of summer, people, get out and enjoy it while it lasts!