August 30, 2019
This is my weekly list of things that were good this week, even if they weren’t all unadulteratedly good things. Please share your good things in the comments!
1. We had done a Save the Date with some friends this weekend and didn’t actually pick a thing to do until two days before. That’s very unusual for me BUT it worked out so well – we picked out a festival / carnival thing to attend. There was something for everyone there! We packed a ton of snacks and brought my refillable water bottle to avoid overspending at all the food trucks – I am a sucker for a food truck.
We consciously chose to spend $25 on rides and $4.50 on one treat for everyone to share (an overpriced delicious soft serve cone). JB has never been to a carnival before.
After 3 hours of walking around and running into local friends we didn’t know were going to be there which was extra fun, we sat and talked for an hour, catching up while JB colored. It was a perfect afternoon.
Bonus: I whipped up a perfectly balanced meal in ten minutes after we got home because we already had marinated meat in the fridge, I had some broccolini that requires very little prep, and rice didn’t take long to heat up. I need to make note of this and start to have prepped proteins on hand even if it’s not yet cooked.
2. I experimented with cooking a whole fish, mashing up some recipes, to duplicate an old family recipe and it worked!!! I am so proud of myself.
3. I took a nap and it was pretty amazing, minus that confusion on waking up when you don’t realize that you did fall asleep because you didn’t mean to. Oops? But … it was so refreshing. It’s such a cycle of life – you fight naps as a child, you crave them as an adult. How can we trade??
4. My zucchini lasagna that was lasagna soup: Oops. Is it because I should have salted the zucchini before grilling it? Should I have added eggs to the ricotta? And cheese as well? I definitely forgot a middle of the casserole cheese layer so that’s another fail. It was very edible but obviously still needs a lot of work! That’s ok, this is the kind of work I enjoy right now.
5. Monday Dread isn’t usually a thing I do but it was in full force this week. Might be I’m setting expectations for clearing all my work on a Monday too high? I’m working on tempering that and not by thinking that I should work on weekends specifically to ward off Monday discomfort. What do you dread about Mondays? What do you do to make them better?
6. Happily, I finally snagged a survey that paid $35 in Amazon money. It didn’t come in time to cover an order of sporting equipment that PiC needed but it’ll cover a part of the order we have for eye drops, dog treats for Sera’s training, pill pockets, flea treatment. That list just keeps getting longer
7. My Bing rewards points total after 101 days: 34,425! That’s the equivalent of $25. I like to celebrate the small wins same as the big ones. They take a lot less time 😉 I’m saving these up to cover our robot vacuum or to cover a few items of clothing at Target and thus freeing up cash for the vacuum. My hope is that holiday sales will bring that cost down enough to be not so outrageous.
8. As part of my budget review to trim costs, I have been weighing the cost of maintaining this blog while regular and necessary costs mount each week and I made a decision: I’m going to start offering readers a way to support the blog if they so desire. I’ve added a little widget at the top of the page and will add to that as I experiment with creating neat things!
:: How was your week? What are you looking forward to this weekend? Naps, anyone?
August 23, 2019
This is my weekly list of things that were good this week, even if they weren’t all unadulteratedly good things. Please do share your good things in the comments!
1. With all the new subscription services coming along, the convenience of streaming isn’t the bargain it used to be. We plan to lean much more heavily on the library for movies and shows rather than falling for the pricey new subscription services. We’ll still always be behind the times and we’ll have to plan head sometimes to borrow DVDs but we’re used to that. Three cheers for the library!
2. Maggie‘s helping me learn new skills! I’m grateful for good friends who teach and share me the gift of knowledge.
3. We hosted Uncle Professor this week briefly and everyone enjoyed his company as usual. The dogs and JB monopolized him, he’s a favorite. The visit was short, as is usual, and Seamus was in denial. He kept looking for Uncle for days after.
4. I’m grateful for fans that work wonderfully: the range hood, our bathroom fans, our little fans when the heat heats up.
5. Thank goodness for little manual coffee drip setups. When the fancy electronic appliance craps out, we don’t have to rush and buy a new one because we can still brew single servings manually.
6. My massage therapist is wonderful and worth double her weight in gold. I always feel better (albeit temporarily) after an appointment with her. I needed to change my appointment date and time this week and she was able to accommodate with a last minute opening. Whew. She helped with all my aches, pains, and weird feelings that keep me up at night.
August 16, 2019
This is my weekly list of things that were good this week, even if they weren’t all unadulteratedly good things. Please do share your good things in the comments!
1. Last week, we had the pleasure of a short visit from faraway friends and it was so lovely. PiC hadn’t met them before but he’s always game, and so is JB, so everyone was happy.
2. Seamus isn’t happy with me these days. He’s got an eye condition that requires eye ointment 2-4 times a day and he hates it. He actively resists me when it’s time for medication which is highly unusual behavior for him. To make up for it, I spent time sitting on the ground with his head in my lap for a while, petting him, and JB joined me for petting time.
3. We had a delightful weekend visit with our friend and her baby. All the infant cuteness! Baby and I made a mess together with finger foods.
4. JB received a brand new jigsaw puzzle with 100 pieces and we worked it together. I realize that without a kid around, I might have a lot more time but I’d also forget to do fun things like puzzles and coloring.
5. Two weekends in a row now, I’ve had to lie down both afternoons. I feel a lot less guilty about it when JB and PiC also have a lie down it turns out.
6. I really needed something to get my brain out of the rage-depression-funk so I’ve been trying to make things to redirect my brain. I’ve been noodling these around for over a year trying to come up with good ones and finally felt like maybe it was ok to share here. What do you think?
A little something for…
Those of us with medical mysteries (white text on dark and black text on light),
The voracious readers among us,
Our cat-lovers,
Another one for cat-lovers,
Our dog-lovers, and
Pibble fans.
:: What are some of your good things?
August 9, 2019
This is my weekly list of things that were good this week, even if they weren’t all unadulteratedly good things. Please do share your good things in the comments!
1. Friday: I’m so grateful for a pretty quiet day where I could just concentrate on my own things to do and whittle that seemingly neverending list down to something less horrifying. And then two rest days to come, though I may have to work at least one of them to make sure I can make my massage appointment next week without extra stress.
2. Saturday: Our library is so fantastic. They have a free books truck every month at our farmers market and JB got to pick free books. Also their stone fruit game is unmatchable – grocery store nectarines cannot hold a candle to farmers market nectarines and peaches. I’ll pay the premium for five excellent fruits a week rather than save $1/lb on subpar fruits. It’s $4.50 vs $3. Not gonna break the bank.
3. Sunday: Is it a fibro flare? Is it because I cheated and had a gluteny, carby, surgery treat? Is it because I overextended myself? Is it because the weather got colder? Who knows but I could not stay awake and upright this afternoon, like yesterday afternoon. It’s obnoxious. But PiC had borrowed a movie from the library so we had that to distract JB with and ze was like a hot water bottle on my side so I could rest. Yay?
4. Monday: The depression is a bit intense today. I forgot that it usually takes the form of rage and self-resentment but here it is. So, focusing on the good stuff again!
I was about to go through all the rigamarole of canceling our internet with Comcast and starting a new package with AT&T or a new service with them with PiC but I had to check first to see what date our promotional period ends. I had zero intention of negotiating because they’ve historically never accommodated my request for a promotion for existing customers. They offered me an overpriced bundle to stay, which was expected, but then they offered me the same service for the same promotional price for another 24 months. I’m shocked! Also I’m thrilled I don’t have to deal with this again for another two years.
This blueberry lemonade flavored sparkling water tastes weird so I’m going to try the blood orange flavor next!
:: It’s been such a packed week I couldn’t fill the rest of this up but good things did happen. Do share yours?
August 2, 2019
This is my weekly list of things that were good this week, even if they weren’t all unadulteratedly good things. Please do share your good things in the comments!
1. Friday: There’s nothing like a Friday afternoon – two whole days of freedom (or social obligations and chores but whatever, it’s not work) ahead. I’m glad I already did the week’s laundry. Thanks, Wednesday me!
2. Saturday: Everyone slept in, today, a little bit and I was glad for every minute. My body is doing weird stuff (assume constant pain and fatigue as the big picture) and I’m deeply exhausted so PiC and JB ditched me at home after swim lesson to go off and meet his friends for a playdate. I cleaned a couple small items, walked the dogs and gratefully went to bed. Thank goodness for a partner who sets up playdates and goes on them without me so I can rest when needed, and then texts me to remind me to rest lest I be overcome by my need to do things anyway.
3. Sunday: A Good Day. We got some sleep, got a little child free time to talk, went on a bit of a walk, played, rested, ate, pulled some weeds, then I rested some more while JB and PiC went to run errands. I missed the library but I desperately needed that nap to feel partially human again.
With a promise of a movie from the library, JB zipped through dinner and zir bath with hardly a single complaint, whine, or balk. Ze was sent off to the bathroom to start the bath routine and ze got it all started without being told, through gritted teeth, every single thing to do three times over. A small miracle, the miracle of bribery. Never doubt that ze would have lost the movie privilege if ze hadn’t.
4. Monday: Rough re-entry into the work week and a big reminder I’m not really feeling all the warm fuzzies for my job despite all the benefits from it. But I remind myself I have an extraordinary amount of freedom here that I would be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. And if occasionally I feel useless, I don’t have to put up a mask to hide that from judging corporate eyes the way I once had to.
5. Tuesday: Someone thanked me for taking care of a personal thing for them while I was off. It’s a small thing but it was impinging on my rare private time so it’s nice to have those things be appreciated.
6. Wednesday: I thank Sunday me for making tonight’s dinner.
7. Thursday: I’ve needed to go to the DMV for months to correct a typo on my paperwork. I go to AAA instead so it’s less agonizing but even that’s been a chore that I couldn’t find time for. It took a grueling 45 minutes on my feet, and triggered a pain cascade but I got it done today!
July 26, 2019
This is my weekly list of things that were good this week, even if they weren’t all unadulteratedly good things. Please do share your good things in the comments!
1. Friday: JB received a gift of a new Star Wars coloring book and it’s a beauty. This is going to be great to either keep zir busy or for our Sunday arts and craft time.
2. Saturday: I walked so much yesterday my feet were about to revolt but I made some good decisions about bedtime and medications (I assume) and was able to walk again today. Woo! This year has been all about people watching and collecting stickers, pictures, and temporary tattoos.
3. Sunday: We found a tick on Sera (gross!). The good news is I spotted it early, it hadn’t gotten any blood, we were able to get it off safely and JB got to squish zir first tick. Milestones!
4. Monday: We’ve had a lot of fun in the past week but I miss my bed and I miss my home so I will be glad to be done with this trip.
I’m also fully embracing my “f*ck it, I don’t care” mentality towards the people in my life I can’t ditch and bother me.
5. Tuesday: My head is fit to burst today, and half a dozen joints are swollen like marshmallows. I made a call to force them to do fine motor control chores and after three hours of misery, the swelling went down!
6. Wednesday: I felt categorically terrible (sleep deprivation) today but I powered through to: clear 150 emails, do two loads of laundry, take care of the dogs, challenge an incorrect bill, reschedule a vet appointment, pay a correct bill, make a new to do list, and eat lunch. Getting things done is the distraction I need from the feeling horrible bit of the day. Also I needed clean clothes and to pay the bills.
7. Thursday: It’s been a SLOG but I’m thrilled that I’ve gotten a ton of my backlog cleared away and I’m even getting back into the dinner making groove. Weeks like this, it’s hard not to daydream of a day when we can travel and not come back to work. I’ve also started tweeting my little bitty decluttering efforts to keep myself motivated and moving: #TinyDeclutter
:: How was your week? What were your good things?
July 19, 2019
This is my weekly list of things that were good this week, even if they weren’t all unadulteratedly good things. Please do share your good things in the comments!
1. Friday: I’m surveying my office. I’m making good progress! I can see the floor! I still need to get rid of, organize, or find homes for five large bins’ worth of stuff all while fending off the acquisition of any more stuff except for my coveted digital piano (someday). Can I do this?? Maybe! There’s also a ripple effect here – to achieve the elimination of those five boxes, I’ve got to organize more than just my office because some of this stuff should just be rehomed out of this particular area, not necessarily our lives. That will be good. It’s inspired me to cherry pick small areas to spot clean in anticipation of the big cleaning binges and it all helps set the groundwork for a really satisfying clear out.
2. Saturday: I’ve only been talking about wanting a robot vacuum for three or four years, so of course we finally just got around to talking about why I want it, why he doesn’t and where we stand on the matter as a family. After discussing my whys, PiC is on board! Now I just need my budget to get on board 😆 I’m going to be stalking the sales for a good pet-fur-geared robot vacuum. Let me know if you have one and love your model?
3. Sunday: JB had a rare cousins day, with PiC, and I got to work for as long as I could AND lay down for some rest. Everyone was happy except for that bit where everyone was still awake at 10 pm.
4. Monday: my early riser woke up at 6, gave me zir blanket to snuggle, then fell back asleep for another couple hours. Much needed rest for all. Why can’t ze do this on weekends??
5. Tuesday: Auntie broke out an age appropriate set of softball equipment and JB was FULLY into it. It was also lots of gentle fun for us adults though there was more running after the ball than I had planned for, except when I threw the ball overhand and my wrist abhorred that.
6. Wednesday: Homemade mango salsa (not by me) on my eggs this morning. YUM. I also got pointers on how to make my own. I will need to try it.
7. Thursday: What. A. DAY! We did “and beyond” walking (JB parlance meaning: way too much), saw many-many cool things and finished up with the most amazing zucchini lasagna I have ever eaten in my life. I had three helpings. There’d be regret but it was That Good.
:: How was your week?