Holy crap, I have had a jam packed week! First, I’ve been trying to make up for lost time in my Social Psych class. Sure, I started the class a little late to the game, but three weeks behind? I dunno what the hell happened. Consequently, I have been on a video lecture binge the last several days. And I still have like half the course to go! Oh well, despite my slacker-ass state, I cannot stop gushing about Coursera. Amazing quality, not to mention awesome access (and free!).

Besides the online class, I also scored a one-week pass for free yoga at a local studio (September is National Yoga Month). Because I am insanely motivated/driven by discounts and deals, I ended up doing seven straight days of hot yoga. Yup, I used that pass every damn day it was valid. Of course the classes kicked my ass, but I just convinced myself I was moving one step closer to achieving Linda Hamilton’s T2 body. Haha, yeah right.

What else. Acting class last week was lame again. More ridiculous, silly games and the one commercial exercise we did was of a couple sampling some high-fiber yogurt at Costco. The dialog was just super lame– the couple was unrealistically indecisive and the dialog was just plain stupid. I mean, I still went with the flow, but I would have enjoyed the activity a lot more if we had used an intelligent script. Oh well. Final class is tomorrow.

Other than that, I’ve been blowing a shitload of hours on travel planning. Yup, a few weeks ago, we finally bit the bullet and decided to make this Italy trip happen. It’s been on the list for YEARS, and it almost got nixed again this fall… But John’s kinda in need of another vacation pronto. And since Italy has been on his wishlist forever, it’s go time!

So I went to the library to grab all the guide books. I quickly realized that this was not really a trip to plan in two weeks. Oh no. Most travel books advise that lodging be secured 6-12 months in advance. Eek! Needless to say, a lot of hotels under $200/night were booked already. So then I went to AirBnb. Kinda sketch and/or gross selections. Then I tried Priceline. After two solid days of full-on research, I finally got lodging settled. Whew, what a pain. Why is Italy so fucking pricey??

In other news, my home office makeover is coming along. Before, the smallest bedroom was just a junky, random space that stored my office desk, a pathetic-looking air mattress, laundry racks, and the vacuum. A few months ago, T helped me recover more storage space in the closet and that allowed me to de-clutter the room and hide more of the junk. Now, this room has really transformed it into a practical, organized office AND a legit guest room. (Yeah, no more monster, half-inflated air mattress!) I got a CB2 daybed in July; we put up some Ikea wall shelves in August; I cleaned out my hutch/drawers, removed the hutch, put up some art, got T to inject more design magic, and bam! Whadaya know, I am actually in my office every damn day now getting my shit done! You know what they say: the home is your sanctuary and every room has the potential to promote mental calm and  boost creativity and productivity. Believe in the process, baby!

So last week, I started looking for wall art to fill the large, empty wall in my office. After spending an inordinate amount of time surfing online, I came across a site with really vibrant cowgirl-themed prints. Yup, I dropped some dough on wall art this week. The prints arrive next week, and I cannot wait. The room is gonna pop! Stay tuned.