Not long ago I lamented to my husband how exhausted I was.  He looked at me oddly and reminded me that I’d been on sabbatical for the past six weeks.   I understand his confusion.  I reminded him, in a very kind and gentle way 😉 that I was, indeed, still working.  In many ways harder than normal.

I call my time off from teaching every August a sabbatical, but really I should call it a time of refocus.  These days, that refocus is around writing.   So for those of you wondering what I did on sabbatical, here’s a partial list of things both fun, not-so-fun, and surprising.  I don’t feel like as much of a slacker when I read it!

What I did on my summer sabbatical:

1. Wrote the 2nd and 3rd drafts of my fourth book, tentatively titled A FATAL TWIST, including the laborious process of outlining and fixing timing and consistency errors.  Normally this would take over three months! (Yippee, yahoo, and wahooey!)
2. Served on jury duty. Have you done your civic duty lately?
3. Took Tasha dog to 24 rehab appointments: 7 massages, 11 physical therapy sessions, 3 acupuncture treatments, and 3 chiropractor/osteopath appointments. (I actually thought it was more than that! It’s a good thing she enjoys them.)
4. Set up my winter, 2016 book signing tour.  6 stops and 5 cities so far—more to come!
5. Spent waaaaaay too much time on Facebook.  Need I say more?
6. Wrote 7 blog articles.
7. Created the studio’s fall schedule. (A three-times-a-year project that always makes my head spin.)
8. Wrote 6 newsletters. 4 for the studio and 2 author newsletters.
9. Ate dinner out approximately 36 times. Hence the need for new clothes, below.
10. Walked the Tasha-dog.  Approximately 65 walks in all, many at our favorite walking destination, Green Lake!
11. Watched all 39 episodes of Orange is the New Black.  For the record, I already had a character named Crazy Eyes in my third book before I saw the series.
12. Finished the production edits and started sending out advanced copies of Karma’s a Killer.
13. Read and wrote endorsements for 3 fabulous books by authors Susan Obrien, Sharon St. George, and Colleen Shogan. Do yourself a favor and pre-order them now!
14. Put together Tasha’s wheelchair (the chariot!) all by myself.  Hopefully she won’t need it for a very long time. In the meantime, her pal Froggert will keep it warm for her.
15. Harassed hubby until he finally finished my new mobile friendly author website!
16. Scheduled and created the catalogues, contracts and other registration materials for Whole Life Yoga’s 2016 yoga teacher training! Information sessions start in October!

What I didn’t do that I planned:

1. Get even one massage myself.
2. Go on a single trip.
3. Correct teacher training homework.  (Sorry guys.  Today, I promise!)
4. Clean house.  (But that’s no surprise.)
5. Catch up on sleep.
6. Cook a meal that didn’t go from a cardboard box straight to the microwave. (This is a nice continuation of my several-year streak.)
7. Finish the book proposal for my meditation book.
8. Go to a movie.
9. Shop for clothes.  Since I often mess up and wear them inside out, maybe that will double my wardrobe!
10. Start the second mystery series I have rattling around in my head. But if my writing continues to speed up, I may just start it soon!

So, all, I’ve missed you, but I’ve been busy!  I look forward to being back teaching starting tonight.  I hope you all had a fantastic summer, filled with love, joy, and lots of play.

How did you spend your summer vacation?

Tracy Weber

My newest mystery, KARMA’S A KILLER, is now available for pre-order at at Amazon Barnes and Noble, and Whole Life Yoga!

Yee haw, yippee, and yahooey!