It's been almost a month now...

that's how i usually start my journal entries, it seems. now i'm doing it with my blog. sheesh, rach.

i think  i probably had to take a breather because april was the craziest month known to man. once that month was over, i guess i just needed to hunker down and focus on my sydney-bear and kirk.

this week i started going to the gym at 5 am. gross, i know. but honestly i love it. i took a break yesterday and didn't go, and it threw off my entire day. i want to keep doing it. i think it will help that i've got an awesome gym buddy who will keep pushing me to go. :)

two nights ago i did something i haven't done in a long time: stayed up until 1:30 finishing a book i had just started the day before. it was the mary higgins clark loves music, loves to dance. i've been reading the classics the past few months and while i love doing that, it was nice to read a good murder mystery. i just had to finish it to see who murdered all those women!

it reminded me just how much i really do love to read. growing up i was not a sporty kid. i would just hunker down (especially on a hot, muggy Houston day) and read, read, read. i would get so into the stories that i would snap at anyone who interrupted me. it got so bad, in fact, that my little brother at one point yelled at me, "i hate it when you read! you're so mean!" seeing him in tears because of  my addiction, i knew i had to have some sort of balance. hopefully i'm not so mean now. :)

i would love to write stories that drew people in like that though. the biggest problem is that i really have the hardest time sitting down and writing. i feel like there are so many other things i could be doing with my time (like cleaning my house, for instance) that i feel guilty. maybe someday i'll get over that. who knows.

right now i am loving being a mom. sydney is almost a year old and she is the happiest, most social kid i know. we'll walk through stores and she will wave and say "hi" in her little southern accent (you'd have to hear it to know what i'm talking about) to every person we pass. she loves it when we're playing on my bed and i push her over (very gently of course). she'll stay lying down and just start giggling. she follows me around everywhere and gets panicky when i turn a corner too fast for her crawl (sometimes salamander style, sometimes on her hands and knees) and follow me. she gives her daddy a huge grin when she sees him. when he's home and i get her up from a nap, i like to whisper in her ear "be vewy quiet. we're hunting daddies!" we'll sneak up to him and then go "hi daddy!" when we see him. (well, i say that. she just grins).

kirk is loving/hating medical school right now. he loves learning everything, it's just a lot of work. he really doesn't complain much except for around test time. recently he injured himself somehow (he twisted his ab weird when he was playing with syd) so he's been walking around like an old man, poor thing. he's recovering quickly though! a few weeks ago we dropped syd off for a night at a good friend's house and stayed in a hotel downtown. we went to the Houston symphony, cuddled on the king-size bed (oh my goodness. so comfy) and watched the royal wedding, and slept in until 7:30. it's sad how i can't sleep in anymore even if i wanted to! anyway we had an amazing time and it was nice to have just us for a little break.

If you reached the end of this post, you rock! (This is an ipod pic, so please excuse the quality).