Photo by James Paul Long

I have to admit, this post is being written simply for the sake of adding new content–probably not the best idea for a post and possibly breaking all kinds of unspoken blogger rules, but it’s all I’ve got right now. You see, life has become incredibly busy, complicated, and sleepless over the past few weeks. Once again, I’m in this insomnia cycle, where I’m waking every 2 hours all night long, sometimes unable to fall back to sleep for hours. Last weekend, it culminated in an all-nighter Saturday night. And get this–I had even taken melatonin that night! But enough of the woe is me talk. I do so much complaining about sleep on Twitter that I probably should spare my blog readers!

In a more positive light, I’ve been brainstorming my hopes and goals for the month of August–Jax’s and my birthday month! August is typically my family’s busiest month, with girls’ nights out to celebrate my birthday and all the birthday events for the kiddo, plus last-minute end-of-summer shore trips and other fun things. You know the feeling, I bet–that frantic rush to get done all the things you’d hoped to spend your summer doing but life got in the way!

The biggest goal I have for this month is to manage to find some downtime for the whole family. It is easy for me to overschedule us without realizing it, and I’m afraid this has already happened to some degree. Here is just a peek at some of the things we’ve got planned: BlogHer ’12, birthday girls’ night out, a picnic day at Great Adventure, three family birthdays (me, Jax, my mother-in-law), four birthday parties,  and some dog sitting! Whew!

Given that my husband and I both work full time, most of those things occur on the weekends–leaving very little time for relaxation on weekends. So I guess we’ll have to have calm, event-free weeknights to balance out the crazy weekends! Which for me means lots of bubble baths, I hope. (Note to self: stock up on LUSH products as soon as possible!)

My second biggest goal for this month is to make it to the beach once, maybe twice if I’m really good at planning and juggling. Even if it’s just for a late dinner and a stroll on the boardwalk.

One hope I have for August is that my sweet friend has her baby (preferably after I return from the BlogHer conference!) easily and peacefully. I cannot wait to meet (and hold) this little one.

I also hope for the return of deep, long sleep. That one’s obvious.

Macaroons. They are a goal of mine. Must get some.

Another goal/hope for this month is to reconnect and rebuild a few of my personal relationships that are currently strained or in need of some attention.

I hope that going to BlogHer ’12 refuels my passion for all things blog related. I have been struggling to post lately, as well as to make time to read my favorite blogs. I think it is a side effect of the insomnia and busy schedule more than a lack of ideas. And I don’t hold out hope that attending the conference and hanging out with some of the most awesome and inspiring women in the country is going to cure my insomnia or free up my schedule, but I know it will spark something that may result in a proliferation of new posts to come. Fingers crossed, anyway.

Finally, I hope that turning 35 isn’t painful. That number is ugly & scary to me, but I’m not sure why. I’d almost rather be turning 36 than 35. But I found this article and it gives me a little hope. A very little, but I’m clinging to it.

What are your end-of-summer goals? Better yet, if you’re 35 or older, tell me some good things about turning 35!