School is in full swing. I had a quiz Thursday, two big exams Friday, and have another test coming up Tuesday. They were all surprisingly more challenging than I thought they’d be (not at grad school level, but for undergrad classes they definitely were hard). I like that. I like being challenged because it keeps me from becoming bored, and it also encourages me to study more devotedly. This is my future career. I will be working with patients and need to know this material inside and out, and having tons of homework, quizzes, and tough tests keeps me motivated to keep working hard. I’m so happy with this semester though. I’m so happy that I was able to make a change in my life.

I’ve been thinking a lot about happiness lately. Right now I think I am sincerely at one of the happiest places I’ve been in a very long time. And I’ve realized a secret to becoming happy…that a lot of reaching that happiness is under our own control. Happiness if something we are capable of creating in our lives, but we need to be able to be honest with ourselves about what we want, and we have to have the fortitude to make the necessary choices to get there. It’s about respecting and loving yourself, imperfections included. It’s about patiently accepting that some things in life are out of your control, and knowing there is a higher Reason to it all. About taking each day as it comes, enjoying the details of the simplest pleasures, forgiving others, expanding your perspective. It’s about enjoying the search for peace of mind, and celebrating the victories along the way.

Things in my life are not perfect. There are some things I wish I could change: some I’m trying to alter and some are beyond my power. But “wise people count their blessings. Fools count their problems.”

On a less philosophical note, I haven’t been to yoga classes in over a week. I had to skip one because of an appointment with the GI specialist, and the other I skipped because I wasn’t feeling well and thought I was getting the flu. It was a random few hours of illness: uncomfortable throat, low-grade fever, achy muscles, and a cough. The whole thing lasted less than 24 hours though…I was feeling drained and exhausted up until today, so hopefully I kicked it. I got my new running shoes (on sale!) and took them out for a few romps. I think I’d like to try another 5K at the end of October. I want to start training for a half-marathon this fall/winter. I don’t think I’ll do the Austin Half, though…I’ve heard that it’s not the best one for beginners.

Although I’ve been slacking with yoga and running, I have been biking a lot. I try to bike to school, and depending how many trips I take it comes out to 4-8 miles a day (plus any riding I do around campus). I’ve also been trying to bike around town when I can (to bars, to friends houses, even to shop if I know I’m not going to be buying too much).

I also booked a random trip to San Diego in November. There was a big discount on tickets, and two of my friends and I are going to meet up there for a few days. Last time I was in San Diego was two years ago for the SfN conference, and I didn’t really have a chance to play much, so I’m looking forward to this trip a lot. I haven’t had the opportunity to travel much in the past few years (other than trips home), so I think a few days in a new city will be welcome, especially since next year I will have less schedule flexibility than I do now.

Oooo, and Friday night I celebrated the end of the week my making a homemade peach pie. It’s a recipe I got from the mother of one of my best friends. We ate it with friends last night (with some Amy’s ice cream on the side) while watching the PSU white out game. I was actually kind of impressed…the pie was fabulous! I think next time I’d cut down the amount of almond extract I use (it was a little overpowering in my opinion), but the fresh peaches made for a deliciously juicy pie that was a perfect balance or sweet and tartness. Gosh, I love to bake! I’ve been experimenting with new dinner recipes, too. I made stuffed red bell peppers the other night, using a stuffing of rice, tomato sauce, fresh jalapenos, chunks of slow roasted rotisserie chicken, feta cheese, and some chili powder, paprika, and crushed red pepper to taste. It would have been complete if I had some seasoned red kidney beans, but it was still quite yummy.

Ok, times to watch the Colts game and study for my test. :-)