It's Hot

It sure has been hot a lot this summer. It actually started before the official summer season. We had part of the heat dome over us early on too. That kept the rain away. But even though that dome is gone, the heat remains. We’ve also been back to having rain and storms again. I love the rain and storms. I don’t enjoy the heat…LOL

I’ve been back to walking everyday again. For the past 3 weeks, I’ve been out for a walk everyday. I think for now, I may have to stick to just a morning walk, though. The mornings are okay. But the evenings have just been too hot lately. The other night, I took an evening walk. But by the time I was done, I was getting faint from the heat.

I had breakfast outside at First Walk this morning. I’ve been doing that every other weekend lately. It’s on the day I go to Sprouts; which has also become every other weekend, of course. It has been getting a bit too warm to eat outside. So, I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to do that this summer. I may have to resign myself to eating inside when I go until the heat breaks.

I have been wanting to get back to Walt Disney World. But, you guessed it, it has been too hot…LOL The last time I went, it was actually too hot as well. But I was invited by my sister and her husband. I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to spend time with them. So, I ignored the heat…LOL We had a great time despite the heat. I don’t think I ever blogged about that experience? I did log everything, as I’ve grown accustomed to doing on my adventures…hehehe I suppose I’ve been wanting to finish blogging about Our May Vacation…LOL

Speaking of which, I’ve begun the next part of Our May Vacation. It seems I vlogged the first half of the Disney day. But I didn’t vlog past the mid-day break…LOL The next video recordings are from the next day; which wasn’t much either. I think running out of storage on the first day, and the fact I’m not confident in vlogging yet, contributed to me fading away from that mid-vacation 😔 I’ll still produce the vlog I recorded that day and see what comes of it. And I’ll write up about the day. I haven’t decided if the Disney day will be a two parter, or just one. We shall see!

I’ve been sort of in the deep feels about how I’ve slowed my life down quite a bit these past few years. I’ve taken upon myself to make the most of every moment instead of doing or being the most in every moment. Just like a plant takes time, patience, and nutrients to grow into what it becomes, I’m now taking the time, patience, and all of the physical, mental, and spiritual nutrients I need to grow into what God has created me to be. In the right season, my fruit will produce and be sweet. And I’ll go through all of the cycles and seasons I need to in order to always be what He created.

Over the past few weeks, Notesprout has gone through some major changes in how it manages its data. The performance, efficiency, and file storage is much improved. I’ve also closed a lot of gaps that were causing data loss and crashes. I did lose a little bit of data a few times. But fortunately, I baked in backups from the beginning. So, the data loss was minimal. I have some major enhancements to make next. Improving on its existing architecture was very important and I’m glad to have that accomplished.

Paintsprout has been getting some much needed attention as well. Some of the art tools have been getting better. I’m still not quite to a stage where I’m using it to create art, though. At the moment, I’m leveraging the data model from Notesprout so that Paintsprout can finally be used to save and reopen art files. Up to this point, it has only been a “canvas” that gets destroyed after every test…LOL It will soon be usable for at least sketches and some basic painting. Once this current stage is finished, I’m hoping to focus on the paint tools I need to start working on some of the art that is floating around in my head…hehehe It will naturally grow from there as I start using it. That’s how Notesprout became what it is today…hehehe

This week’s Bible study struck a chord with me. In a good way, of course. It also contributed to me being in the feels about how I’ve been slowing things down a bit. I think in a lot of ways, I at one time chased after things because I was trying to cope with the struggles and suffering of my life. Stopping to face my past and present has given me a chance to develop hope for the future. I don’t really want to go through all of the things of my past again. And I’m not too fond of going through the things I am currently dealing with…LOL But at the same time, slowing my life down has given me a perspective to realize that God has been making good things out of all of it. There is a lot about my life that I wouldn’t have or see if I hadn’t gone through all of those things or if I wasn’t facing what I am now. I wouldn’t trade that at all! I’m grateful for it now!

It might be the heat talking…LOL j/k But the “heat” of burning away what isn’t part of me has been a freeing experience. Sure, it’s hot. Very hot actually…both literally, and metaphorically…LOL Yet, I know it is producing a good thing in my heart. I’ve never been happier than I have been lately. That happiness has nothing to do with circumstances. It has everything to do with where my focus has been. It hasn’t been easy. And the distractions are still all around me. But when I do take the time to focus on God, I find Peace.