Andrea Cooley Creative Services

Obviously this is not the view from my house, but it’s one of my favorite sunset shots. I took it from the back door of Adam’s Grandma’s house in eastern Iowa. It doesn’t get much better than that.

There are few things I enjoy more than sitting on our balcony and watching the sun set. The balcony faces north and east, but if i position my chair just right I can catch the setting sun. I especially love how the leaves of the ancient oak whose branches reach up past my second floor perch reflect the final glow of the sun as it finds its resting place.

I went to the gym tonight, for the second night in a row. I definitely deserve a big bowl of ice cream for my effort, which may negate any calories that were burnt, but it’s worth it. Becca used to say the reason she worked out was so she didn’t have to feel guilty about eating desserts. That’s reason enough for me.

I wasn’t able to run the 20K Dam to Dam this year but I think I want to try training for the Des Moines half marathon in October. It’s a big commitment, but I think I can do it. I’ve done it before. The only thing is, I need a running partner. Any one want to join me? Seriously! Even if we only run together once a week. I need to start this week to do the 3 month training schedule.

Today is my 1 month anniversary working at DMU! The month has gone really fast (partly because I’ve had the last 2 Fridays off. It’s taken me this long to adjust to the new schedule. I didn’t realize how spoiled I was to be home all the time. Not that I miss it necessarily, but I miss having evenings free with Adam. Now I’m rushing around fixing dinner, running errands, and working out when I used to just be able to relax with him. I still have a lot to learn about the job, but I feel like I have a good understanding of the 9 programs the school has and I’ve been digging into their Google Adwords campaigns and e-newsletters. The fun thing is that I should be able to see tangible results of the things I work on. E-mails will either be opened and read or they won’t be. Adwords will either generate traffic to the website or not.

I do miss having time to read. I’ve been reading “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston for weeks and it’s only 200 pages. But it’s a slower read and I’m trying to enjoy the language. Don’t be scared away by the southern dialect. It’s beautifully written with passages like: “the sun was gone but he had left his footprints in the sky” “She sat on the porch and watched the moon rise. Soon its amber fluid was drenching the earth, and quenching the thirst of the day.” How beautiful is that image?