work has restarted after a looong summer break. it was hard to get into the flow again--i was very jittery while prepping; it was like sitting in front of a bunch of rope tied in knots and i didn't know where to start with untangling it. but my first day back went well and i'm so relieved to have that behind me.

• paused scrapbooking. was able to do until the photos from 10/2025, so i'm still around a year behind. might pick it up again during the fall holidays.
• rewatched LOTR. Samwise Gamgee is the real hero of the story and i will die on this hill.

went on a hike with the hubby and my friends from school! i'm glad i could finally introduce them to one another :). we rode a cable car to reach the top of the mountain. during the hike, we saw pretty flowers, interesting bugs (one was fluorescent blue), and of course, a superb view of a big mountain lake. we talked a bunch about work/career paths (as adult friendships do), family/relationships, and true crime documentaries. it was a day well-spent!

• struggling with being consistent about reading! i wanna relearn the habit again but it's been a challenge for me. started reading "Yesteryear" by Caro Claire Burke, but paused reading "The Trial" by Kafka.
• our grocery-bought basil plant has died after about a week with us. we never know how to take care of it. i think it needed to be repotted into fresh soil earlier. RIP and i'm sorry, dear basil.