Our Week - The One with Voting, Jacob’s First Place Art Award, and the Abe Parker + Judah and the Lion Concert

Last week was long and busy, but we had the best weekend, y’all!  Here’s the recap!

Monday, October 21

Monday morning, I dropped the kids at school and then I had an open Home and School meeting to attend.  Thankfully, they flew through it as one of the teachers had to leave for a field trip, because Brian was waiting to meet me to vote. 

Early voting opened in Georgia on October 15, so Brian and I wanted to go ahead and get ours done rather than wait until election day.  I’m always so worried that something will come up to prevent me from voting on election day (illness, sick kids, terrible weather, etc.), so I prefer to vote early, and I have been doing that ever since our state started offering it years ago. 

Brian and I arrived at the precinct around 8:45 and there was literally no wait.  We walked right up, presented our IDs, got our voter cards, and cast our ballots.  We were in and out in less than 15 minutes! 

Since we were in separate cars, Brian headed home, but I had to run to pick up my contacts from the eye doctor.  They’d been in for a while, but I never had the chance to pick them up.

The rest of the day was spent working and doing lots of laundry, but I kept having computer issues and just couldn’t get it together.  Plus, my blog post for Tuesday was incredibly detailed and long, so I didn’t even have time to finish it before picking up the kids from school.

On the way home, Jacob told us about his day.  He’d gotten to shadow a high school junior as a little preview to see what high school is like, and he said that he had a really great day.  He will be staying at his current school for high school next year (my alma mater), so he was able to get a little taste of what next year will look like for him.

When we got home, I finished my blog post for Tuesday, and then I got dinner on the table at 4:45 PM.  I’d put ranch chicken pasta in the slow cooker earlier that morning, and then I steamed some broccoli and made some garlic cheese bread to accompany it. 

We had to eat SUPER early Monday because Jacob had a makeup piano lesson (from missing while we were in Chicago) followed by a Velocity event for all of the boys.  The piano lesson was at 5:30, so he and I headed there, and his friend, WJ, happened to be finishing up his drumming lessons at the same place, so he stayed for Jacob’s lesson and then I drove both of them over to the Velocity event.

I made it home with just enough time to run, and I got home right as it was getting too dark to be outside. 

When my run was over, I did my Bible study while Olivia got showered and ready for bed, and then I got showered and ready for bed and hung out with her for a bit while Brian went to pick up Jacob.

Jacob really enjoyed the Velocity event – they played with Nerf guns, ran around outside, read scripture and prayed together, ate lots of snacks, and played video games.  I’m so grateful every single day that his friend asked him to join with him this year because this is truly a great organization that offers a safe space for all of the kids to be themselves without judgement, make new friends from all over the city, learn about God, and help others be the best people they can be. 

While Jacob showered, Olivia performed the dance that she’d made up to All I Want for Christmas is You (yes, she was listening to Christmas music before Halloween LOL) and then I watched her draw for a bit in her room.

We got both of them in the bed after that (late), and then Brian and I watched some of The Golden Bachelorette and went to bed early. 

Tuesday, October 22

Tuesday morning, Brian had to be at work at 5 AM, so he was long gone by the time I woke up.  I got myself ready, and then the kids had to fend for themselves for breakfast since Brian usually makes breakfast for them every morning.

We made it to school, and then I had to run some errands.  First up, I had to put gas in the car (I swear, I’m filling up every 3-4 days now!), and then I headed to my ENT doctor’s office for a vertigo follow-up. 

They tested my hearing as well as the pressure in my ears to make sure that nothing had changed (it hadn’t) and then he sat and talked with me for a long time about how things are going currently.

When I told him I was still experiencing dizziness and boat-rocking almost daily + I had an actual bout of vertigo a couple of weeks ago (which was brief, thankfully) he was just baffled.  He said that in his 20 years of doing his job, he’s seen less than a handful of people with issues similar to mine, and he said mine is, by far, the worst case he’s ever seen. 

He told me that he is going to continue to monitor me every six months, and he highly suggested looking into a couple of things – botox injections for my jaw (and possibly my neck) as I hold all of my stress in my neck/jaw/face area.  He said that he knows many people who have greatly benefited from it, and he gave me the contact information for someone locally who he highly recommends. 

He also told me about a neurologist at Emory in Atlanta who specializes in cases like mine.  He said that when it comes to vertigo/dizziness most neurologists check for brain tumors, and if there isn’t one, they pretty much release you and say there’s nothing they can do, which is exactly what mine did to me.  But this guy in Atlanta treats people who have these issues and can’t figure out the cause. 

While we’re 99% sure mine is caused by neck/jaw/face tension (some of which is ultimately caused by my anxiety + the combo of my braces/jaw shift), he still said it would be good to get another opinion from this guy in Atlanta because he runs a totally different set of tests than all of the ones I’ve already done.

For now, I’m going to wait until my braces come off (February hopefully!) and see if it starts to resolve a bit on its own.  If it doesn’t, I will definitely be pursuing these other avenues.  I’m so grateful to have a doctor who truly cares and continues to come up with new ideas for me to pursue since I’m still suffering 15 months later.  I’m grateful for the progress that has been made, BUT I’M JUST SO TIRED OF DEALING WITH IT.

After my appointment, I went to Staples to do some Amazon returns, and then I went to Hobby Lobby to pick up a birthday gift for Jacob’s friend.  I had some extra time before my appointment with my therapist, so I swung by Starbucks to grab a pumpkin spice latte since they won’t be around much longer.

After my appointment with my therapist, I finally headed home, and by then, it was time to eat lunch, *try* to finish my blog post for Wednesday (which I hadn’t even started – yeesh), do some laundry, and then pick up the kids from school.  I swear, I was just flying by the seat of my pants all day Monday and Tuesday.  It is an awful feeling.

I did not, in fact, get my blog post finished before I had to pick up the kids, so I had that looming over my head the whole time I was gone.  While I was in the car line, I got some work done, and then Olivia and I went to Chick-Fil-A to grab milkshakes while we waited for Jacob to get out of his Velocity meeting.  We usually go home in between, but it’s honestly a little ridiculous to do that since we don’t live close to the school.  By the time we get home, we usually only have about 20 minutes before we have to leave again, and since Olivia came out to the car line late Tuesday (they had some issues with the pickup app that we use), we didn’t have time to go all the way home.

I hadn’t planned on getting a milkshake as I discovered a couple of years ago that ice cream doesn’t agree with me, but they had the banana pudding one and I am a SUCKER for banana pudding anything.  It was SO delicious, and I enjoyed my one-on-one time with my girl, but I did later regret eating that milkshake and I don’t think I’ll be eating ice cream going forward.  It makes me feel SO bloated and uncomfortable. 

After we picked up Jacob, the three of us headed home, and then I helped Olivia with some studying and did part of my quiet time until it was time to take her to dance.  When I got home, I finished my blog post for the next day (again, I hate blogging at the last minute) and then I headed downstairs to clean the kitchen and get ready for Wednesday. 

Brian was able to pick up Olivia from dance despite having a rigorous schedule Wednesday for the project he’s on at work, and then we had breakfast for dinner when he got home.  He had to work some more after dinner, so I cleaned up the kitchen, helped Olivia study for her social studies test a TON, and then I pulled double duty – getting in a workout while doing my Bible study.  I don’t like multi-tasking for important things like that, but at that point, it was the only way either would get done.  I just did weights and some other random stuff, so I was able to prop my Bible up on our TV stand and read simultaneously.  Olivia also serenaded us with her guitar.

The kids showered while I did that, and then we got them in the bed.  Brian and I watched some more of The Golden Bachelorette and then we called it a night.

Wednesday, October 23

Wednesday, I had nowhere to be while the kids were at school, so it was a get ish done day.  I had a million nit-picky things on my to-do list, so I grabbed a Target Halloween cookie and some cinnamon tea, and I got all the things done.  It felt great to get slightly ahead blogging (and just like that, I’m already behind again), and it also felt good to catch up on a lot of the housekeeping things that I’ve just been sweeping under the rug due to lack of time lately.

After school, I grabbed the kids, and we headed straight home.  The kids tackled homework and studying while I did my Bible study, and I also started putting away some of the laundry (with my little sidekick, Maui), and I got the kitchen cleaned up.  I cannot believe that I'm almost done reading the entire Bible!

Jacob and I dropped Olivia off at dance a little early because he had an awards banquet for the art award that he received.  He is taking art for the first semester at school, and his teacher highly encouraged him to enter a piece into this city-wide contest that is held every year for a horse race that’s held in the state of Georgia every year. 

His piece ended up winning first place for middle schoolers in the city in the “three-dimensional” category!!  For his piece, he hand-made two origami horses and placed them on a hand-built, hand-painted racetrack.  The horses are so intricate it’s mind-blowing… the pictures don’t do them justice!  He said it took about an hour to fold each one. 

Jacob and I met Brian and all of the grandparents down at our local theater for the banquet, and it was so exciting to see his work on display along with all of the other pieces.  They had a little ceremony and handed out all of the prizes – Jacob won a cash prize since he got first place! – and then they had some refreshments afterward. 

The highlight of my night, aside from watching Jacob win his award, of course, was seeing my old art teacher from high school.  She is no longer at our school, but she’s an art teacher at another school, so she was there for the event.  I hadn’t seen her since I graduated, so it was wonderful to hug her neck!

She was always so great at tapping into every student’s creativity, and I enjoyed her class thoroughly.  While I was in her class, she gave us the assignment to sketch and/or paint one of the houses in our Historic District here in town, and mine was actually selected to be in a local calendar for our city that year.  I still have the original painting, and yes, I pulled it out so I could post a picture of it.  She and I discussed how it felt like we had made it full circle, so of course, that called for a picture! 

We are just so proud of Jacob and all of his accomplishments.  He has thrived in middle school!

After the banquet was over, we let the winner choose dinner, and he wanted Chipotle, so Brian picked it up and brought it home while Jacob and I headed straight home.

After dinner, I got in a mixed cardio workout, Jacob got showered and ready for bed, and Brian worked out and then headed out to pick up Olivia from dance.

After Jacob and I were both ready for bed, I spent some time with him listening to him play the piano, and then we shuffled Ed Sheeran and worked on our fall puzzle.

When Brian and Olivia got home, she got in the shower, and then we got them both in the bed.

 

Thursday, October 24

Thursday, I had nowhere to be again while the kids were in school, and I literally worked on the blog all day.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get ahead much because I worked on one post all day.  My travel posts are a labor of love, and it took me the entire day to put together my Chicago day two post, and I still didn’t finish!

After school, we headed to music lessons, and both kids did great.  Jacob worked in his lesson book some more + worked on some music from Minecraft and Olivia worked on Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas some more.

When we were just about to leave, I noticed one of my old friends was sitting in the car next to us, so I tapped on his window to say hi.  I chatted with him for a bit and it was nice to catch up.  He was my boss (who was also my friend) when we worked for T-Mobile (though it was still Voicestream back then!) waaaayyyy back, and he was the best boss ever!  We are friends on Facebook, and have kept in touch that way, but it was nice to be able to chat with him in person for a few minutes.

When we got home, I did my Bible study while the kids did homework, and then I quizzed Olivia for her Word Work test while I got dinner ready.  We had leftovers of Ranch Chicken Pasta from Monday, and I steamed some fresh broccoli and warmed some garlic cheese bread, so it was a repeat from earlier in the week.

After dinner, Brian worked with Olivia on studying for her Order of Operations math quiz while I went for a run.  When did they stop using PEMDAS for that and when on earth did they add brackets to the mix?! 

Anyhoooo, I struggled on my run – I just felt exhausted the whole time, so it was hard to put forth much effort, but I got it done.  When I got home, I felt soooo tired, so I showered and got in PJs and then I worked on our fall puzzle some more with Olivia while Jacob showered and got ready for bed. 

Olivia showed me the progress she’s made on her All I Want for Christmas Is You dance before bed, and it’s so good.  Seven years of dance has turned her into quite the choreographer and it’s amazing to me how she can remember all of it.

After the kids went to bed, B and I watched some more of The Golden Bachelorette before calling it a night.

 

Friday, October 25

Friday morning, I dropped the kids off, and then I headed home to work on blog stuff and life stuff all day.  I had emails that were piling up and a few bills to pay, so I knocked those out, and I also got Jacob registered for HIGH SCHOOL.  Whaaaat?!  Cue the tears, y’all.  That boy was just 3.5 years old when I started blogging, and now we’re sending him off to high school next year.  HOW.

After school, I grabbed the kids, headed home, they packed up their stuff, and then all four of us headed to my MIL and step-FIL’s house to drop the kiddos for the night.  Brian and I were going to a concert in Atlanta, so – grandparents for the win!  The kids immediately started playing badminton that Nana and Poppie had set up!

The drive to Atlanta was about 30 minutes longer than it should have been due to traffic, of course, and we arrived at The Battery a little after 6, which was a bit later than I’d hoped to get there.  Brian and I wanted to eat dinner at Superica before we headed to the concert, so I had been stalking their wait time online the whole way up.  The whole time we were on the way, the website said that there was no wait at all, and then when we arrived, they told us the wait was going to be about 25-30 minutes.  Sigh.

Since the concert started at 8 – and we were there to see the opening artist so we HAD to be on time – that was really going to be pushing it, but we decided to wait because Superica always has really quick service. 

Well, we ended up being seated at the 20-ish minute mark, so we thought we were golden, but then the chips and salsa took forever to come out, the queso and margs took even longer, and our food took foreverrrr, so I was pretty much stressing the entire time.  Our server was on top of things, and he kept apologizing for the kitchen taking so long, and he ended up removing the queso from our bill since the service was so slow, which was SO kind of him, and completely unexpected. 

We ended up getting out of there at 7:30 on the dot, which was the absolute latest that I wanted to leave because I had to make sure that we had time to walk to the venue (it’s only, like, a two-minute walk), but we also had to go through security, go to the bathroom, and grab beers before the show.

Little did we know that there were TWO openers, so I stressed for nothing.  As Brian would say, most of the things I stress about are for nothing, and although, I have noted that, that’s still not going to stop me from continuing to worry, unfortunately, as it’s who I am.  Haha.

The opening band turned out to be Ashes and Arrows, a band that we had just seen in this most recent season of America’s Got Talent, and they were really great live!  They only sang about five songs over the span of 20-ish minutes or so, but we really enjoyed them.

Next up was the main event for me – ABE PARKER!  I have been dying to see him live for the last six months or so.  I stumbled upon his music on Instagram earlier this year, and that was when I was still in the thick of all of the vertigo and lingering symptoms (I mean, technically, I am still dealing with those things).  The first song I ever heard by him was It Is What It Is, and the lyrics were so incredible that I immediately did a deep dive into all of his music.  I ended up loving every single song that I heard, especially the song Good News by him featuring Hulvey because it made me feel much less alone.  He ended up releasing two new songs after I found him, and each one felt like it was speaking directly to me. 

Needless to say, it didn’t take long for me to become a HUGE fan of his, and it just happened that he started touring with Judah & the Lion shortly after I found him, so Brian and I snatched up some tickets for the Atlanta show. 

Since he was the opener, he was only able to sing nine songs, but he ended up singing most of my very favorite ones, and it was just so good!  All of his lyrics are so powerful, and he said a few things during his performance of It Is What It Is about how everybody is going through something and that he wanted us all to know that there’s always hope, there’s always a way through, and that we’re not alone.  Cue the tears.

And fun fact, he and I have DMed back and forth a little bit over the last few months, and when he asked his fans to let him know which songs to add to the setlist, I submitted a list to him, and all of my songs made it on there except for one!  <3

He had posted a picture with a fan in his stories at the start of the tour, so I DMed and told him that I wanted to meet him in Atlanta, and he told me that he would be sure to make that happen.  Right before the show, I DMed him and asked him how to meet him afterward, and he DMed me back and told me to meet him at the merch stand after the show, so we did just that.

He was already out there by the time we got downstairs, so we were third in line to meet him, and y’all, he was just THE NICEST guy.  He recognized me from all of our Instagram DMing (LOL) and then we chatted for a couple of minutes.  I told him about how I’d found his music while I was going through a really hard time, and then I told him about my vertigo, and he was so sympathetic and wonderful. 

He told me that his sister is also going through vertigo/dizziness just like I am and that she has gotten some relief, and is doing much better since it started, but that it’s been an ongoing battle for her, so he knows my pain from watching what she’s gone through.  He told me that hearing stories like mine mean so much to him and he was just SO genuine and wonderful – seriously such a great guy. 

Before we wrapped up our conversation, we compared friendship bracelets.  He had an arm full that he said fans had given to him, and he pointed to my WWJD bracelet that I wear all the time and said he loved it.  He is a Christ follower, and he sings about God in some of his songs, and that’s another reason I love him.  During his show, he told us that his name is Abraham, and he married a girl named Sarah.  A match made in heaven!  Haha.

We wrapped up our convo and took a picture together after that so some of the other fans could meet him, and then I went and bought some of his merch – an It Is What It Is t-shirt.  And just like that, my whole weekend was made.  SO funny that he’s been around for years, and I just found him through that song, and that’s the only shirt he had that had an actual song title on it.  It was meant to be!

After we were done at the merch stand, we went back to our seats, and then Judah & the Lion – the headliner – came on stage shortly after that.  Brian has had their first album for many years, and we’ve played it a good bit, so I was familiar with a couple of the songs they played.  (The kids LOVE their song Suit & Jacket… it’s one of their favorite songs!)  But other than that first album, I knew nothing about them. 

It turns out that they just put out a new album this year (hence, the tour) and the entire album is about going through all of the stages of grief.  Y’all.  I have never been to a concert to listen to someone sing a bunch of songs I didn’t know and LOVE EVERY SINGLE SECOND OF IT SO MUCH.  Every single one of their songs is a vibe, whether it be about denial, anger, bargaining, depression, or acceptance, and the entire concert was electric.  Their fans are superfans, too, because every single person in there was belting out every single word of every single song like it was their personal anthem, and the whole thing was just incredible from start to finish. 

Their lead singer spoke a bunch throughout the concert, some about his personal experience with grief (in just the last couple of years his wife left him and he had two family members die by suicide) and he kept giving shout outs to his momma who was in the audience and he kept getting choked up, so, of course, I had tears rolling down my face several different times throughout the night.  Needless to say, I am now a HUGE fan, and you bet we went home and downloaded their new album the next day.  It’s called The Process and it’s phenomenal.  If you are grieving the loss of something right now – the death of a loved one, the loss of a close friendship, the loss of your good health – anything – I highly encourage you to pick up this album. 

Music = healing. 

Abe Parker is from Atlanta so that made the evening even more special.  When the concert was over, I had to go snap a picture with this sign because – YES.  If you know me, you know that besides God and my loved ones, music is my most favorite thing… especially when it’s live. 

Since there ended up being three bands that played and since Judah & the Lion treated us to quite the long setlist, we didn’t get out of there until nearly midnight, which meant that we didn’t get home until sometime between 1:30 and 2 AM, so we spent a few minutes with Maui when we got home and then we headed straight to bed.

Saturday, October 26

Saturday morning, Brian and I both slept in until after 9, we had breakfast, and then I snuggled up with Maui and my hot tea to watch a few minutes of ESPN College GameDay.  Jacob had to be at a party at noon, so Brian picked both kids up from his mom’s and brought them home.  They’d had a great time with Nana and Poppie playing badminton, putting together a Halloween puzzle, watching movies, and baking and decorating cupcakes!

Once they got home, I got up and got moving – I got some laundry done, I got in a workout, I tidied the whole house because it was a disaster, I put away some laundry from earlier in the week, and I got caught up on a bunch of other stuff.

Brian left to take Jacob to his party, and Olivia cleaned her room from top to bottom.  My little girlfriend HATES tidying – HATES it – but Saturday, she turned on some fun music (Christmas music is what she chose, y’all!  LOL), and we set a timer for each little area in her room, giving her a specific amount of time to try to hit depending on how messy the area was, and y’all, I swear she got that entire room cleaned to perfection in just one hour.  My mind was blown.  I told her she should be so proud of herself for putting forth the effort and doing such a great job and focusing and getting it done rather than stopping and complaining every two minutes.  Haha.  Because typically tidying does not go well for her and we both end up getting frustrated.

When Brian got home from dropping Jacob, the three of us sat down for lunch, and then Olivia got showered and had free time for the rest of the afternoon while I did some blog work and a Bible study. 

We all got ready mid-afternoon and headed to my friend, Khristina’s, new book store to help her with some things because she’s getting ready to open her doors verrrry soon!  EEEEK!  We are SO THRILLED for her. 

Brian helped unpack all of the new books and get them inspected and checked in to their system for inventory, Olivia helped my friend, Jeannine, style the shelves for the kids’ section (she is a librarian, so she is a boss at that!), and I sat down with Khristina and her sister/my friend Jessica, for a social media meeting.  Social media is one of my stronger suits from running this blog for ten years, so I was happy to help them bounce around some ideas for the rest of October and November.

Brian, Olivia, and I left a little after 5 PM so we could make it to 5:30 Mass, and then Brian left right before Mass was over to go pick up Jacob from his party.  Olivia and I rode with my Momma and Daddy to a local pizza place that just reopened (it used to be our favorite for my whole life, but they closed a few years ago and recently reopened) and then Brian and Jacob met us there.  While the restaurant is nothing like the old one, it was still pretty good.  I’m not a fan of the ambiance anymore, though.  The old place was a VIBE because it looked like a typical old-school Italian restaurant – red walls and booths, red and white checkered tablecloths, dim lighting, and candles on the tables – and it’s nothing like that anymore, so it just doesn’t have that same vibe. 

After dinner, Brian and the kids wanted DQ, so we grabbed Blizzards to go, and then we got the kids straight in the bed when we got home because they’d stayed up so late at Nana and Poppie’s.  Brian and I mixed up some Moscow Mules after they went to bed, and then I promptly fell asleep on the couch while we watched college football.

 

Sunday, October 27

Sunday morning, we slept in, had cinnamon rolls, and then I got my planner ready for November + the week ahead, I did yoga, I watched my Sunday morning sermon, and I got my Bible study done.

We all got ready and headed to my MIL and step-FIL’s for lunch, and after we ate, we got to enjoy Halloween desserts prepared by the kids with Nana while they stayed with them Friday night. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent working, prepping for Monday, making a meal plan and grocery list, etc. and then we headed to my parents’ house for dinner.  Momma made a new orange chicken recipe that was really yummy, and then Brian and I ended the night with some Golden Bachelorette and SNL.

Happy Tuesday, y’all!