My to do list is sitting right beside my keyboard, glowering at me that I dare to take the time to move “blog” up on the priority list. However, every day, lost among the names of people I need to email — either with questions, thanks or just to follow-up on something — always is my long-time creative outlet of written word. Sometimes you just have to tell the rest of the world to wait a minute, and you do your thing.

My husband commented once that, “You always have someone to email.” And he’s right. I suppose to live and die by my email these days. But I love the paper trail it gives me, and I hate making phone calls. So it’s a win/win situation in that respect. But in the same breath, sometimes it gets overwhelming and you really do start to feel like you’re being pulled in multiple directions at once.

As a result, a third of the year 2017 is almost over, and I feel like in some ways I’ve barely acknowledged it began. The first part of the year is always busy with tax season, as I go back and forth from Nashville to Texas. I am so grateful I can help with the family business, and the time I get with family and long-time best-friends is so priceless.

Touring season started early this year for my husband, which worked well with me being gone so much this first third of the year. I wasn’t home any way, so he might as well be out working as well! But now that I am settling back into Nashville full-time, I’m having to get into the mode of not seeing him (more importantly, get reacquainted with lots of alone time!) and working around his crazy schedule.

Last Friday was Aggie Muster. This was my ninth year organizing it here in Middle Tennessee. Luckily big parts of it I now have on auto-pilot, but even more importantly I have people who are absolute rock stars taking parts of the job off my plate. I don’t get nearly as stressed as I did in the past! It went off so smoothly this year, and we’re already formulating a plan for 2018.

I love Muster. It humbles me. It lifts me up. It embodies what it means to be a Texas Aggie.

Now with Muster behind me, though, I can shift a lot of my focus over to the ACC-SEC-B1G Golf Tournament I’ve helped with the last several years. Fixing up the flyer for it is on the to do list that is glaring at me.

I have photography things on my mind as well. In a long story short, I have in my possession a lot of camera gear that once belonged to our wedding photographer. He passed away a couple years ago, and to now have his gear… well, it too humbles me and challenges me to work harder at making my work as a photographer better. His love for photography and his memory will most certainly live on… Of this I promise myself, his memory and his (and my!) loved ones who believe in me.

One thing about the first third of this year, I certainly didn’t lose any of that “winter weight” one puts on through the holidays. Definitely time to make some changes in how active I am as well as in how I eat. Baby steps there, though. It’s been very Oregon in Nashville recently, as it seemed to rain non-stop for three days. I’m ready for some outside exercise time. I’m also ready to plant some veggies in my yard for healthy eating this summer.

I have lots of home projects I want to do. My  husband may just come home off the road one weekend and not recognize his own home. Wouldn’t that be crazy and cool all at the same time?

I am sure with all I have on my year’s wishlist (as well as that ever-changing and pesky to-do list), the next third of the year will pass just as fast at the first third did. I am not in any need to rush it, though. Time to take a moment to smell the roses and enjoy the world around me.

Even if it means putting it on the to do list.