There's Only So Much Julie to Go Around...

...so the blog suffers, the dog doesn't get as many ear-ruffling "Good boys," and Scott has to make do with several short phone conversations during the day and an even shorter, yawn-filled chat when I finally stumble home. Work. Swamped. Only another few days.

It's bad when a string of 14-hour days at the office start feeling normal.

I'll focus on the good stuff instead.

1. Today I got the official yer-outta-here from the physical therapist. Those twice-weekly sessions have done their job because my ankle feels mostly normal. I've still got some pain and I still brace myself for the worst when approaching any uneven ground. But yesterday I walked at my normal zippy pace without realizing I had until a few minutes later. I'll take it.

2. I had a birthday. And except for the really great roller-skating bash I had at the Skatin' Station when I was in 4th grade, this one was at the top of my Best Birthday list. Scott threw me a surprise party. Almost everyone I'm wild about was there. My good friend from ye olde days at Eastern Michigan University even drove in from Chicago. The details of the surprise are too plentiful to list here, but Scott and my sis really outdid themselves.

I leave you with a rather unflattering photo of myself [Note to self: Clearly the Build-a-Better-Julie Program needs revisiting.] but one that aptly displays my reaction at the moment of revelation.