I'm going to start with putting away these marriage/self-help books for a while. Read for pleasure for a little while.
What else?
I think that is an excellent idea. Knowledge is power - but you need some light entertainment as well.
I know you're out there GAL, and, by the way, I don't think its realistic that we can all snap our fingesr and just suddenly have a well rounded fulfilling GAL in the period of a few months either (and some posters beat themselves up way too much for this). Didn't you say you were a photographer? I have to believe that there are a lot of charitable organizations that would love to have the services of a professional. I know the animal resuce I occasionally help out, is always begging for a photographer to take better looking pictures of the rescues. You mentioned making your home feel more "permanent" - are their other projects you can do to achieve this?
Also - it doesn't sound like your daughter is into sports, but is there an activity that you can get involved in together (volunteering, girl scouts etc)? I volunteered to coach D6s soccer team on a whim (having never coached before) and I have to say that being around a bunch of joyous 6-7 year old girls always gives me such a mental and emotional boost. It's become my favorite time of the week.
Finally - about not getting away because all your friends are married. Honestly some of the best trips I have ever taken were by myself during my sngle days. I didn't have to compromise and could do whatever the heck I wanted. Truly. Give it a try.
BTW - that change of mindset where I said I wouldn't have any expectations for improvement until at least the end of the year? That helped me tremendously. It let me stop focusing H quite so much and it was easier to accept that saying "No expecations" forever.
