Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Our Week - The One with Getting Home from Nashville and My Birthday

Hey, y’all!  Happy Wednesday!  Today I’m popping in with a quick recap of our weekend.  We were out of town all last week, so I’ll be recapping those posts separately, but in the meantime, here’s how we spent our weekend…

Friday, April 4

Friday, we arrived home from our trip around 3:30 which was much earlier than anticipated, so I was grateful to have some extra time to get caught up on everything.  I am not one to leave a suitcase packed after a trip, and I literally hit the ground running every single time we come home from a trip.  Brian, the kids, and I had the car unloaded and everything unpacked and put away within an hour or so, and I started laundry while we were at it. 

I knocked out four loads – the kids’ sleeping bags, our sheets, some clothes, and a big load of towels – over the next couple of hours, and then I headed to my office to start catching up on life stuff.  On the agenda – I caught up my planner, my gratitude journal, my prayer journal, and my devotional.  I had brought all of that along with me, but we were on the go constantly for this trip, so I never had time to look at it.

While I hadn’t gotten remotely caught up on everything that needed to be done, I felt super accomplished, and I spent the rest of the evening relaxing.  Brian picked up Olive Garden for dinner and we mixed up some Moscow Mules, and then we just hung out for the rest of the evening.  Jacob played some piano, Olivia played some guitar, and I favorited the best pictures from our trip in my camera roll and uploaded them to Facebook. 

We got the kids in the bed around 9:30 – a bit earlier since we’d had a bunch of late nights – and then Brian and I watched the episode of The White Lotus from the previous week that we’d missed while we were out of town.

 

Saturday, April 5

Saturday was my birthday!!  Brian offered to pick up donuts and coffee or whatever else I wanted, but since we’d eaten a ton of donuts and other junk on our trip, I just wanted to make our usual homemade waffles for breakfast instead.

After breakfast, the kids got their laundry going and then Brian and Jacob went to the salon so Jacob could get a haircut.  While they were out, they were kind enough to grab a couple of things for me that I needed so I didn’t have to leave the house.  And while they were gone, Olivia cleaned the kids’ bathroom and worked on some crafting. 

While she did that, I transferred all of our vacation pictures from my phone to my computer and I started organizing those.  It’s always a big job after a trip because I take wayyyy too many pictures.  While the pictures were transferring, I also got my quiet time done, including a Bible study, because I hadn’t done a Bible study in nearly a week.  

I also got my new Nashville stickers added to my bulletin board over my desk.  I just love this space so much... it's filled with memories, keepsakes, favorite things, photos, inspiration, song lyrics, and artwork the kids have made for me throughout the years.


When the boys got home, I helped B put the groceries away that they’d grabbed, and then Brian went out to mow while I headed out for a run.  That post vacation run is always a super struggle after eating and drinking a bunch of junk all week.  Haha.

When I got home, the kids and I ate lunch while Brian finished mowing, and then I settled in to put together my new cabinet that’s going to hold my record player and albums.  I had ordered it before we left, and it delivered while we were gone, so I couldn’t wait to get it done.

It was super easy to put together, but my back was killing me about 3/4 of the way through, so I stopped for the day as I had other stuff I needed to do anyway.


I headed to my office after that to sort pictures some more, and I also enjoyed a cup of hot tea while I responded to a bunch of birthday texts, Facebook messages, Instagram messages, and emails.  Thank you all for your kind messages!!

By the time that was done, it was time to get ready for 5:30 Mass.  After Mass, we swung by Publix to pick up beer and then through the Panera drive through, and then we drove to my Aunt Maureen and Uncle Chris’s house to (finally!) celebrate Mama Cass’s 96th birthday!  Her birthday was back in March, and we’d had a party planned for her, but we had to cancel it at the last minute because of severe weather.

I had a backlog of birthday messages since I’d been busy for a few hours, so I responded to all of those and chatted with a couple of friends while we ran our errands before the party.

The rest of the evening was spent eating and drinking (bring your own food and drink) at my aunt and uncle’s house with my extended family and celebrating Mama Cass.  Since it was my birthday, too, Mama Cass and I got to celebrate together, and I can’t think of anyone else with whom I’d rather share my day.  She is such an incredible lady!!




This is 96 and 43, y’all!

We got home laaaate, and I still had gifts to open from Brian and the kids.  Brian had already given me an Apple Watch early so I could have it for our trip, but he also surprised me with a UGA sweatshirt that I’d been wanting that had been out of stock forever.  One miraculously came back in stock, and he was able to snag it, so I was excited.

Olivia had also made me a few bracelets and a card, and it was just the sweetest thing.  The "To my favorite girl" and “Maui in heaven” parts of her card got me a little choked up, and I loved her bracelet about Maui, too.  We all miss her so much and talk about her often.  She is always in our hearts.




The kids didn’t get into bed until close to 11, and Brian and I still wanted to watch episode three of Adolescence, so we stayed up extra late doing that.  That show – YEESH, y’all.  Episode three was so hard to watch.  The kid is Jacob’s age on the show, so it hit way too close to home… I just can’t even imagine going through something like that with him.  My gosh.  I will never regret waiting so long to get him a phone, keeping his phone on lockdown, and not letting either of our kids have social media for a very long time.  At this point, I’m thinking 17… maybe 18.  I want them to get on it (only if they want to) while they still live at home so I can be there to help them learn to navigate it before they go off to college, but they will most definitely not be on social media before that.

 

Sunday, April 6

Sunday morning, I slept until almost nine because we’d stayed up so late, and then I couldn’t fall asleep after that.  I ended up staying up until sometime after 2 AM, so I was on the struggle bus when I got up Sunday.

We did cinnamon rolls for breakfast and then I spent the next couple of hours in my office doing more catching up – listening to my sermon, doing yoga, getting my planner ready for the week ahead, working on a blog post for Monday, and sorting through pictures some more since I hadn’t finished on Saturday. 

We went to my mother-in-law and step-father-in-law’s house for lunch to celebrate my birthday, and they made all of my favorites – cheesy chicken, mac n cheese, lawnmower potatoes, broccoli, carrots, garlic cheese biscuits, and dirt cake for dessert.  We were stuffed by the time we were done eating.

I opened my gifts after that, and then the adults hung around the table chatting forever and catching up because it had been a couple of weeks since we’d seen them.  We ended up leaving a little later than usual, and then we had to swing by the gas station to fill up my SUV since we were on empty after our trip.  We got home just in time for a massive storm (and tornado) to blow through.

The local meteorologists had been talking for a few days about how we’d likely have severe weather on Sunday, but they said that they tornado risk was low, so we weren’t worried about it.  Well, when that storm blew through it was crazyyyy.  The wind was insane, it hailed for a few minutes at the beginning, and a lake formed in our back yard within about five minutes because the rain was so hard.  Our back yard is on a slope, so rain usually just runs off, so you KNOW it’s bad when the water pools that quickly.  I didn't get a picture of the pooling water, but I did get a picture of some of the hail when it started to come down.

A couple of minutes later, my girls text chat started blowing up with everyone saying that the tornado sirens were going off and for everyone to take cover and be safe, but the sirens didn’t sound at our house.  My mom texted right after that and said that my sister-in-law (who lives in Huntsville) was monitoring our weather for us as she and my brother always do (because they are weather nerds) and she had called my mom to make sure we were all okay.  She said that she’d spotted rotation on the radar right over us, but that it wasn’t quite a formed tornado.  While they were on the phone, she told them that a tornado had officially formed, but thankfully, it had JUST missed us and was just right down the road and east of us, which meant it was going away from us.

I got on Facebook and, sure enough, everyone was posting photos and videos of the storms and the damage, and it was awful – there were trees down on houses everywhere, numerous power outages, and lots of damages to structures and fences.  Sadly, a father and son were playing golf on the course where Jacob plays his matches for school when the storm blew in, and while they were trying to make their way back to the clubhouse, a tree fell on their golf cart and killed both of them.  It is just so, so sad. 

It continued to storm all afternoon and evening, and while our power flickered a couple of times, thankfully, it never went out.  I was grateful that we were home, safe, and dry.  

On Monday, the National Weather Service came out to survey the damage and they did confirm that it was an EF-1 tornado that had hit.  One neighborhood in particular had heavy damage, and we have many people from our school family who live there, so please keep everyone affected in your prayers.

I finished my blog post for Monday and then I worked on sorting and organizing pictures some more while I watched The Wedding Planner – my Sunday afternoon tradition. 

Thankfully, there was a bit of a break in the weather, so we were able to make it to my parents’ house for dinner uneventfully.  There was debris all over the road and one of the roads to get to their house was flooded a bit (which was weird because it’s a road that never floods), but we were able to make it there just fine.

Momma made all of my favorites for dinner – meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, black eyed peas, biscuits, and a Funfetti cake – yes, the OG box mix that came out in the 90’s.  That has been my cake of choice since I was seven years old!  Ha!



We were suuuuper stuffed after eating two big meals on Sunday, but it was worth it, and it was so nice to be able to celebrate with most of my family.  I have one more celebration with my FIL next weekend, and my birthday will officially come to a close.

When we got home, we got the kids in bed, and then Brian and I watched the season finale of The White Lotus.  Oh man, it was so good, y’all!!  Whew!

Happy Wednesday, y’all!

Monday, April 7, 2025

Our 2025 Nashville Trip by the Numbers

We spent spring break in Music City AKA Nashville, and we had the best time!  While Brian and I have been before (you can see those posts here, here, and here), the kids had never been, so we were really excited to introduce them to it!  I’ll be recapping our entire trip per usual, but until then, here’s my “by the numbers” post!  Y’all know the drill!


2 – Cities in which we stayed (Nashville first, and then Pigeon Forge).

1 – New state that the kids checked off their bucket lists… they’d never been to Tennessee! 

8 – States that the kids have now visited.

45 – The lowest temperature while we were there.

86 – The highest temperature while we were there.  It was freezing our entire time in Nashville but then it was hot in Pigeon Forge!  Crazy spring weather swings!

3,051 – Steps walked on Sunday, Day 1.  We were in the car for most of the day, so we hardly got any steps in!

1.44 – Miles walked on Sunday, Day 1.

9,699 – Steps walked on Monday, Day 2. 

4.35 – Miles walked on Monday, Day 2.

11,472 – Steps walked on Tuesday, Day 3. 

5.24 – Miles walked on Tuesday, Day 3.

8,448 – Steps walked on Wednesday, Day 4.  This was another driving day, but we did manage to squeeze in a walk on the pedestrian bridge in Nashville before heading to Pigeon Forge.

3.75 – Miles walked on Wednesday, Day 4.

16,191 – Steps walked on Thursday, Day 5.  This was the day we were in Dollywood so, of course, we did a ton of walking!

7.30 – Miles walked on Thursday, Day 5.

4,666 – Steps walked on Friday, Day 6.  This was our drive home day, so we were in the car for a long time.

2.17 – Miles walked on Friday, Day 6.

11 – Adult beverages consumed.

15.5 – Donuts consumed (I couldn’t finish my second one the second time we had them.  Haha.).

6 – Ice creams consumed.

3 – Coffees consumed.  (I drank more coffee on this trip than I have in the last six months combined.  Haha.  It was so COLD.)

3 – Times we visited Taylor Swift’s “Speak Now” dress in the Country Music Hall of Fame.  Olivia kept wanting to go back for more and I wasn’t going to say no to that!  It was STUNNING in person.

1 – Tornado watch we were under the first night in Nashville.

3 – Tornado warnings that were just west of the first night in Nashville.  We had to watch the weather closely that first night, but thankfully, all of the warnings fizzled out before they reached us.  We were so grateful our Airbnb had a basement, though!  Just in case.

1 – Honkytonk visited (Luke’s 32 Bridge… Luke Bryan).

4 – Stores we visited at Opryland Mills Mall.

7 – Giant slices of pizza consumed for dinner the second night.

1 – Time Olivia said, “This pizza dough feels like old people skin,” right as an elderly gentleman sat down next to us.  CRINGE.  She didn’t see him, and I don’t think he heard her, but it sparked a good conversation about thinking before we say things out loud, especially when we are in public.  Lol.

4 – Bonuts (biscuit/donuts) consumed at Biscuit Love.

14 – Murals that we took pictures with/of in Nashville.  Their wall art is the BEST!

9 – Boutiques visited in The Gulch and 12 South neighborhoods (and I’m not sure this is 100% accurate as I may have lost track).

1 – Painted rock found in the Ryman Auditorium that we brought home and will leave somewhere here in our city.

7 – Acts seen at The Grand Ole Opry (Rhonda Vincent, Tucker Wetmore, Taya, Collin Raye, Taylor Hicks, Hailey Whitters, and The Cleverlys).

1 – Time one of my old clubbing songs was played during The Grand Ole Opry.  Yep, The Cleverlys covered Flo Rida’s “Low,” bluegrass style.  It was so good and so hilarious.

18.95 – The amount we had to pay to park just to get donuts the last morning that we were there.  Parking is insanely expensive in some parts of Nashville!

1 – Stop at Buc-ee’s that we made on the way to Pigeon Forge… a first for every single one of us.  Also, I was not impressed.  It was basically just one big Walmart / Cracker Barrel with really nice bathrooms.  (The bathrooms were impressive but that was about it.)  Sorry, Buc-ee’s fans!

728 – Thunderstorm and tornado warnings in the Midwest (including Nashville) the evening after we left… we got out just in time!  Whew.

284 – Of those warnings were tornado warnings.  So, so awful and scary.  We were grateful to have left the area just in time.  Thankfully, Pigeon Forge is far enough east that we didn’t even get any rain.  It was cloudy and SUPER windy the whole time, though.  Sending lots of love to those who were affected by the storms, though.  The damage is just unfathomable.

12 – Rides we went on at Dollywood (Big Bear Mountain, FireChaser Express, Wild Eagle – Brian only, Black Bear Trail, Frogs and Fireflies – Jacob and Olivia only, Village Carousel, The Waltzing Swinger – Brian and Olivia only, The Waltzing Swinger – Lindsay and Olivia only, Mystery Mine – Brian only, Lumberjack Lifts – Jacob and Olivia only, Rockin’ Roadway, Lightning Rod – Brian only, Whistle Punk Chaser).

2 – Shows we watched at Dollywood (Kingdom Heirs and From the Heart – The Life and Music of Dolly Parton).

2 – Exhibits seen at Dollywood (Behind the Seams and Songteller – Dolly’s Journey).

73 – Max speed reached on a roller coaster at Dollywood.  This was on Lightning Rod, but only Brian rode it.  I was happy to miss that one.  Haha.

48 – Max speed reached on a roller coaster we all rode at Dollywood.  This was on Big Bear Mountain.

12 – People we saw wearing University of Georgia stuff at Dollywood.  GO DAWGS!

2 – Times somebody yelled “Go Dawgs!” at us because of Brian’s shirt.

20 – Minutes was the longest time we had to wait for anything there and it was for a baby-ish ride (Black Bear Trail) because they didn’t have the Time Saver line for that one.  Haha.

2 – Times somebody lost something at Dollywood (Jacob both times when his sunglasses slid out of his pocket).

2 – Times his sunglasses were recovered.

1 – Time I had to approach an elderly gentleman to ask him if he had Jacob’s sunglasses… and he did.  <face palm>  (Story to follow in my recaps.  Lol.)

1 – Lost child that we came across in Dollywood.  We found her parents for her, though, thank goodness.

9 – Country Fair games played in Dollywood.

3 – Prizes won at the Country Fair in Dollywood.

1 – Prize we gave away to a little girl who was crying.

1 – Loaf of Dollywood’s famous cinnamon bread consumed, and OMG, was it the best thing everrrr.

20 – Bald Eagles seen.  Seriously so cool!

9.5 – Hours spent at Dollywood.

8 – Souvenirs I bought for myself on the whole trip, which is unheard of… I usually just buy a tacky souvenir frame for our wall, but this time, I bought a frame, a sweatshirt, a t-shirt, a koozie, 2 stickers, a mug, and a Christmas ornament for my favorite things tree.  I went a little overboard, but I guess that just makes up for the dozens of trips we’ve been on where I didn’t buy anything.   Haha.

2 – Minutes that we beat the GPS on the way home (IYKYK)… and we even stopped once for a bathroom break and a snack!  We had some good luck with traffic on the way home!

570 – Pictures taken on the trip (after I deleted all of the bad ones).

132 – Videos taken on the trip (after I deleted all of the bad ones).

100 – Stories uploaded to Instagram… you can see our whole trip in the “Nashville ‘25” highlight in my bio!

I’ll be recapping the trip soon, and as always, I have SO MUCH to tell you, so stay tuned, y’all!

Happy Monday!


Friday, April 4, 2025

Happy Birthday to Me… 43 Things for Age 43

Tomorrow is my birthday, y’all!  We are currently on our way home from a spring break trip to Music City (Nashville), and tomorrow I get to share my day with Mama Cass because we are finally celebrating her 96th birthday.  Such an honor!  It should be a fun weekend! 

Every year on my birthday I share random facts about myself, and this will be the tenth year I’ve done it!  I’ve shared a total of 342 facts prior to today’s post (assuming my math is correct… math is not my strong suit – LOL), so each year it is a challenge to come up with new stuff.  Hopefully I won’t duplicate anything today, but at this point, all bets are off!     

Here we go!


1/ As I mentioned above, math is not my strong suit.  Not sure if I’ve ever mentioned this in any of these posts, but I am terrible at math. 

2/ Put math and science together and – forget about it.  It boggles my brain.  Physics?  Not for me, dawg.

3/ I was a solid A/B student my whole life… heavy on the A’s.  But I did get two D’s in my life.  Wanna know what those subjects were?  Physics and Statistics.  Surprise, surprise…

4/ Remember how last year I mentioned that people always confide in me and tell me things that they’re not supposed to / don’t want to be divulging but they just have to get it off of their chest?  Well, I’m still on a roll!  Within the last month alone I’ve learned two new secrets from two different people.  For the record, I am a trustworthy person, and I guess people can sense that so they feel comfortable knowing that it’ll stay locked in my proverbial vault.  They are correct because I am a steel trap.  (But y’all, just please don’t ever tell me anything illegal… I do not want that burden.)

5/ I am still pondering getting that tattoo that I said I’d never get.  Maybe this will be the year?

6/ I don’t eat pizza crust.  Why would you waste your time eating that when you could be eating all the sauce and cheese and pepperoni and good stuff?  As a matter of fact, I don’t need crust at all… just give me a bowl of topppings all warm and melted together!  (There is a really good chance I have mentioned this before, but oh well.)

7/ I drink 30 oz. of water in the 30 minutes that it takes me to get the kids to school and then get back home every morning… and then it takes me the entire rest of the day to drink the other 30-40 oz.

8/ I used to be a Pinterest queen and would scroll constantly looking for inspiration.  Ever since they became publicly traded, I have hated Pinterest, and I have stopped using it altogether except to post my own pins from my blog. 

9/ That said, I literally check my Pinterest notifications, like, once a year.  So, if you comment on one of my pins and don’t get a response until 10 months later, don’t mind me.  Lol.

10/ I have an astigmatism in my left eye.

11/ If I see a tag on a piece of clothing that says, “hand wash only” or “dry clean only,” you better believe I’m gonna throw it in the washing machine anyway. 

12/ Same goes for glasses and dishes… if it says, “hand wash only,” it’s going in the dishwasher.  #AintNobodyGotTimeToHandwashAnything

13/ I will not step on sidewalk grates in the city.  I will jump over them or walk all the way around them.  I probably look ridiculous when walking the streets in New York City.

14/ I often tell Brian, “If I die…” and then proceed to end the sentence with something that I want to make sure he doesn’t drop the ball on if I leave this world.  “If I die, please don’t forget to wash the kids’ sheets.”  “If I die, please don’t get takeout every night for dinner.”  “If I die, please don’t forget to give Maui fresh water every day.”  He still loves me, though.

15/ I don’t delegate well.  I would rather stress myself out and load myself up with work so I know it gets done properly than take some of the stress off of myself and give it to someone else who may not do it right AKA the way I want it done.

16/ I will not work on a laptop.  I have to have a large monitor, a full-sized keyboard, and a mouse… as a true elder millennial does.  How the heck do kids use those annoying touchpads on laptops?!  I would go insane.

17/ I keep my mouse on a super high speed so I don’t have to move my hand much. 

18/ In keeping with the millennial theme, I also believe that there are “big screen items” and “little screen items” meaning that plane tickets and hotel reservations have to be purchased on my actual computer, but it’s okay to purchase something from Amazon or Target on my phone.  Thanks, Jen, for reminding me of this one the other day in our girlfriends group chat.  <3

19/ I refuse to fill out forms for doctor’s offices on my phone.  That is also a “big screen item,” because, again, I need a full-sized keyboard.  IT’S JUST FASTER, Y’ALL.

20/ I am currently on a 7-year Timehop streak.  I have checked my Timehop 2,790 days in a row as I type this.

21/ I can’t stand to be hugged when I’m sweaty.  If I have just come inside from a run in the 95-degree heat, please don’t hug me.  All I can think about is getting sweat all over you and your clothes.

22/ That said, I can go for a run in the 95-degree heat and sweat a ton, and yet my clothes still smell freshly laundered… even my socks. 

23/ I have been organizing since I was tiny, and I have always liked a tidy room.  Things not being in their places makes me mentally and physically ill.  Yes, physically.  But this only happens in my own house.  If I come to your house and your house is cluttered, it doesn’t bother me in the least.

24/ I used to look through JC Penney catalogs at the staged kids’ rooms when I was little, and I always longed to make my room look like them… simplified with hardly anything in them. 

25/ All that said, I love stuff.  I love pretty things.  I love books.  I love plants.  I have a lot of hobbies.  I love to collect things.  I love things that make me nostalgic.  I love keepsakes.  I love photographs.  I am not a minimalist.  But I am organized with all of my stuff (everything has a place and everything in its place).  I am an organized hoarder.

26/ I still have most of my girlfriends from high school in my phone with their maiden names even though most of them have been married for over a decade.

27/ I tear up every time I see a wreck on the road, and I always say a prayer every time we pass one.

28/ I tear up every single time I hear the opening chords for Love Story by Taylor Swift because it will forever remind me of when Olivia sang it for her voice recital.  I am still so proud of her for doing that.

29/ I have been sleeping with the ceiling fan on high every single night of my life since I was, probably, 10 years old.

30/ I listened to music while falling asleep all through my childhood, teenage, and early adult years, but now I have to have silence.  The Casper the Friendly Ghost soundtrack was my favorite when I was younger… if you’ve never heard it then you’re missing out… the music is beautiful.

31/ I have never had a crepe.

32/ I never read a synopsis about a book before I actually read it.  If someone I know recommends it, I’ll just read it without having a single clue what it’s about.

33/ I taught myself some American Sign Language when I was in middle school.  I can still rattle the alphabet off like it’s nothing.

34/ The end of the chip bag is the best part.  The crumbs have the most flavor.

35/ I’m known to “shut it down” every single time we go to a party or event.  A party?  We’re staying ‘til the end.  A dinner out with my girlfriends?  I’m always one of the last to leave.  That annual ball we attend every year?  One time we asked the band to stay later so we could dance longer.  When I’m in, I’m all in.

36/ When I run, I keep my left hand relaxed, but I clench my right hand as hard as I can.  Why?  I have no idea.  I’ve been making it a point to be mindful of this and unclench the right hand when I realize it, but then five minutes later I realize it’s clenched again.

37/ I can’t stand when people don’t follow the rules.  It makes me anxious.

38/ I worked full-time all through college.  For the first two years I worked at the movie theater, so I would take my classes in the morning and then work at the theater from noon until midnight depending on my shift.  Best time of my life!  So much fun.

39/ Then, for the last three years of college, I worked at a bank and then eventually got my corporate marketing job, so I worked from 7:30 AM – 4:30 PM and then went to school at night.  Those were some exhausting years.

40/ My latest college class (it was a marketing class, so an important one for my major) didn’t get out until 10:15 PM.  Whew.  I’m tired even typing that.

41/ I don’t have a spontaneous bone in my body, but there are certain people / personality types that bring it out in me.  Spontaneous Lindsay is my favorite version of myself.

42/ Travel also brings out the spontaneity in me.  I am the very best version of myself when I am traveling.  I don’t care about an itinerary.  I don’t care where we eat or what we do or what we see.  I am just happy to be there and be away from the daily grind.

43/ And finally, ever heard of “Eldest Daughter Syndrome?”  It’s picked up so much traction on the internet in recent years, and it has made me feel seen.  It definitely explains a lot about me and who I am as an adult…

And that’s it, y’all… I made it to 43! 

I hope y’all enjoy your weekend! 

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Our Week - The One with Lots of Productivity, Packing, and Poker Night

Hey, y’all, I’m recapping last week today!

Monday, March 24

Monday was suuuuper productive and somehow relaxing at the same time… it felt like I had infinite time.  I don’t know how that works, but I sure do love days like that!  I actually didn’t sleep well Sunday into Monday, so I was worried Monday would be a struggle, but it was quite the opposite. 

I was awakened 30 minutes before my alarm to pouring rain, so I wasn’t convinced that it was going to be the best day.  I got the kids off to school and then I made stops at the school office, Walmart, Publix, and the gas station (all in the rain) before making my way home.  We were supposed to have an all-school Home & School Association meeting, but since I had sat in on the Advisory Board meeting earlier in the month, I decided to skip this one since I had so much else to do.

At home, I flipped the laundry I’d put in before I left, and I got another load started before settling in to finish my blog post for the next day and work some more on my Maui blog post tribute.  And I looked at this picture that my Momma had sent to me on Sunday that she’d found in her camera roll.  Look at that sweet baby girl.

Brian and I had lunch together, and then after lunch, I got all of the laundry out of the dryer and lay out on the bed before finally tackling the floors.  I have spot cleaned here and there, of course, but I hadn’t done a good deep clean of the floors since – and I’m ashamed to admit this (well not really – haha) – since the end of December.  January was crazy and then February was even crazier with Maui going downhill, and I chose to spend every second of free time with her rather than keep up with the household chores and I have zero regrets.

So anyway, I got every bit of floor space sparkling clean on Monday, and that wrapped up my deep clean.  It felt great to have it all done.  I had just enough time to get dinner in the slow cooker after that, and then I had to leave to get in the car line. 

I read my book while I waited, and I also got some books listed for sale for my sister-in-law in a private Facebook group.  All of them sold immediately, so I spent some time getting details to the girls who purchased them, and then I texted Brian to go ahead and put one of them on the porch since she was swinging by to grab it ASAP.

Jacob had his first orthodontist checkup since getting his braces, but it was at 3:50 PM which meant that we had some time to kill between school and his appointment.  I asked the kids if they wanted to grab a treat somewhere and they both agreed on Culver’s.  They love that place so much!

Just as we were pulling in, I saw my parents’ SUV just a few cars in front of us, so I told Jacob to text them and ask them if they were headed there, too.  They were, in fact, headed to Culver’s for a suuuuper early dinner, or “linner” as they like to call it, so we got to hang with them for a bit.  The kids got concrete mixers, as always, and of course, we had to snap a picture with Pop and Cokie!  It’s not every day that you randomly go to the same restaurant at the exact same time as your grandparents!

After that, we headed to Jacob’s orthodontist appointment, and everything went great.  The orthodontist said that his teeth were looking great, and Jacob has had zero issues with his braces so far.  He hasn’t even had to use wax a single time.  MUST BE NICE.  Haha.

After his appointment, we headed home, and I looked over Olivia’s weekly folder of work that comes home every Monday.  She’s started out the fourth and final quarter of fifth grade with a bang, and we know she’s going to finish strong! 

I headed upstairs to my office with some hot tea after that, and I got my daily quiet time done.  I spend this time writing in my gratitude and prayer journals, reading my daily devotional, and doing my Bible study.  Some days this time feels rushed, and it was so nice that it didn’t on Monday.

The weather was still gross as it had been all day, so I didn’t send the kids out to play as we usually do on Monday.  Instead, they both tackled some homework, studying, and tidying, and then I let them do some screen time for a bit while I cooked dinner. 

Dinner was easy Monday night because the slow cooker had done most of the work for me, and we sat down to shredded chicken tacos, chips, and fruit for dinner.  Easy peasy.  This time of year, I rarely have the time to be cooking anything too involved.  While dinner was finishing up in the slow cooker, I pulled all of Maui’s opened bags of treats out of the cabinet.  I’m not ready to get rid of any of her stuff yet, but I do want to give the treats to someone so they don’t go to waste.  I texted my friend, Jeannine, and asked her if we could bring them over for their new pup and she said yes.

After dinner, we had an hour or so to spare before the kids needed to start getting showered and ready for bed, so the three of us finally got the games cabinet all cleaned out, and we were finally able to add all of the new ones they’d gotten for Christmas and Olivia’s birthday to the cabinet.  They’ve literally been sitting on the floor in our front room since December and February.  Sigh.

Cleaning out the games cabinet made the kids remember just how many fun games they have, so Olivia announced that we needed to play What Do You Meme Family.  That game is hilarious and easy and super fun for the whole family, and we highly recommend it.


After that, we sent the kids to shower, and I recalibrated my new Apple Watch.  My Apple Watch decreased my calories burned significantly after an update about a year ago, and it has been horrible ever since.  Brian read an article that said after a lot of use it can be wise to “recalibrate it” so it can relearn your movements to be more accurate, so I decided to try it.  It does NOT erase any of your workout history or any of your data, so it’s perfectly safe.  The only thing it resets is the “learned behaviors” of your movement while you’ve been wearing it.

All you have to do to recalibrate it is push a button in your Apple Watch app on your phone and then you need to take a 20-minute walk outdoors on a flat surface.  Thankfully, the weather had started to clear, so I was able to get out for my walk, and I was treated to a gorgeous sunset that was revealed as the wall of clouds moved out.  When I got back, I also did an arms workout, got some of the laundry put away, and I got ready for bed.



After we got the kids in the bed, I finally unpaired my old Apple Watch and reset it to factory settings so Brian can sell it on eBay.  And then he and I finished watching You are Cordially Invited.  It was cute enough, but it wasn’t great.

And that was my accomplished, get stuff done, and have some fun Monday!


Tuesday, March 25

Tuesday was quiiiite a bit different after the awesome Monday I’d had.  It started out similarly in that I hadn’t slept well again, but I think it was because the air has been stagnant since we’re in that limbo where it’s not cold enough to need the heat, but it’s not hot enough for the air to kick on.

Anyway, the sun was shining Tuesday, and it warmed up a bit, which was nice, but the pollen was so awful Tuesday that I felt terrible all day.  My nose has been running like a faucet for several weeks, but Tuesday it was on another level.  Then in addition to that, I was very short of breath all day to the point where it was making me dizzy, and I couldn’t concentrate on anything.  I also had a really bad day of neck, face, and jaw tension from my rubber bands, so it was just a yucky day all around.

I dropped the kids at school and spent the entire day working on my blog post for Maui with the exception of stopping for an hour in the morning to meet with my therapist. 

Despite working on the post all day, I was still nowhere near done by the time I had to pick up Olivia from school, so when she and I got home, I went right back to work while she did homework. 

Brian picked Jacob up from Velocity and then the two of them went to play golf for a little bit of practice.

I dropped Olivia off at dance a bit later, and then I went right back home and worked on Maui’s blog post until 6:45.  Whew.  It was a labor of love, that post (aaaallll the pictures!), but it was so worth it to have all of her memories in one place.

As soon as I finished, I wanted to move my body, so I got my shoes on and went for a super-fast walk, getting home just in time to start dinner, load the dirty dishes from breakfast and lunch in the dishwasher, and tidy the kitchen before Brian got home with both kids, as he and Jacob picked Olivia up from dance.

We had breakfast for dinner, and then the kids and I all showered and got ready for bed.  There was literally laundry all over our bedroom because I had to air dry a bunch of it since it didn’t get done before I had to pick Olivia up from school, so I tackled that, too.

After that, I did a super late Bible study, and then after we got the kids in the bed, Brian and I watched some of American Idol.

Tuesday was just one of those days where I felt like I was spinning my wheels all day and not getting anywhere, so between that and all the allergies and braces pain, it was a rough one.

 

Wednesday, March 26

Wednesday morning, I was determined to have a better day than Tuesday.  I dropped the kids at school and then I headed home to get down to business.  On the agenda – blog stuff.  First up, I responded to the backlog of blog comments that I’d gotten behind on.  Then, I caught up on my blog reading for the week.  And after that, I managed to knock out Friday’s blog post and Monday’s blog post from start to finish.  Granted, those weren’t posts that took as much time as some of them do, but it felt good to get them off my desk.

After that, I got some of the laundry put away because I was tired of sitting at my desk, and then I came back to my desk to catch up on the blog post you’re reading now.

Once all that was done, it was time to go pick up the kids from school.  I drove Jacob straight to the golf course where Brian and my MIL and step-FIL met us, and then they stayed with Jacob for his match.  I had to get Olivia home to study, get her snack, make her dinner, and then get her to dance.  And I did my Bible study while she studied.

Olivia and I also had a little bit of time to sort a few things in her room since she’s wanting to do a big room cleanout.  We didn’t get much done, but anything at this point is helpful.  Haha.

When I got home from dropping her at dance, I got the kitchen cleaned up, and then I headed out for a quick run… don’t know what happened to my pace either.  I was sitting between 10:41 and 10:50 the whole time, and then at the very end of my run it jumped up by a whole minute.  Makes no sense whatsoever.  Hopefully recalibrating my watch didn’t mess it up. 


When I got home, I started on dinner which consisted of leftover burgers Brian had grilled that we’d stuck in the freezer, some steamed broccoli (a random accompaniment), and some fruit. 

Jacob told me all about his match – he’d gotten a bogey and two double bogeys which is pretty good considering this new course he’s playing on now is huge compared to the one he’s played on in previous seasons.

After dinner, we cleaned up the kitchen and then I got showered.  Jacob got showered after I was done and I put away some of the laundry while he was getting ready for bed.  Brian left to pick up Olivia from dance, and while they were gone, Jacob and I pulled out a new puzzle to start.  This one is only 550 pieces and there are a lot of unique parts to it, so it won’t be nearly as tough as any of the ones we’ve worked on in the last few years.  We listened to 90’s R&B music while we worked, and it made my heart happy.

When Brian and Olivia got home, Olivia got showered, we got the kids in the bed, and then Brian and I watched some more of American Idol before bed.

 

Thursday, March 27

Thursday morning, I had nowhere to be, so I settled in for some blog work, and finally, some alumni relations work.  The school hired me earlier this school year to update a big database for them with all of our alumni, but I’d been locked out of the spreadsheet for months.  Someone was finally able to get me back in Wednesday night, so I have a LOT of catching up to do now.  I ended up working on that for a couple of hours, but that only put a small dent in it.

After school, the kids and I went to music lessons.  Jacob practiced a couple of songs in his book, and Olivia asked Mr. Steve to teach her how to play Happy Birthday because she wants to play it for my Mama Cass at her 96th birthday party in a couple of weeks.  She picked it up very quickly, and she even learned a cute little slide in the middle.

After music lessons, we headed home.  The kids got some studying done and then went outside for a bit, and I got my Bible study done and then headed downstairs to put a frozen pizza in the oven.  At that point, I was checked out for the week, and since Brian had a tennis match, I decided not to cook.  While the pizza was in the oven, I cleaned out a couple of our kitchen cabinets, and I got rid of a bunch of mugs and a couple of other items.  I love the way the Rae Dunn mugs look, but I rarely use them because I don’t love how chunky/large they are in my hand… especially since I drink tea.  So, I decided to get rid of a bunch of my collection to make room for other mugs since I collect so many different ones.  I’m going to sell the Rae Dunn ones in that same local Facebook group that I sold the books, so hopefully I’ll get most of my money back for them.

I grabbed a glass of wine with dinner, and the kids and I all sat down to eat as Brian headed off to his match. 

After dinner, we got the kitchen cleaned up, and then the kids had some screentime.  While they had their screentime, I worked on the alumni relations stuff for a good 30 minutes, and then I got in a strength workout while the kids got showered and ready for bed.  It appears that my watch is still crappy with the calorie burning even after the recalibration.  As a matter of fact, it may be worse.  I only burned 60 active calories in 30 minutes.  I used to burn at least double that for a strength workout.  Boooo.

After my workout, I got ready for bed, and then the kids and I worked on the puzzle for a bit while Brian ate a late dinner.  B joined us for some puzzling after he was done eating, and then we got the kids in the bed. 

Brian and I ended the night with some more of American Idol and then I started a new book since I’d finished the one I’d been reading.  I’ve never read The Fault in Our Stars, and a friend let me borrow it, so I finally started that one.  I’m only a couple of chapters in, but so far, I like it.

Friday, March 28

Friday, I had nowhere to be, so I spent the day catching up on emails, blog comments, blog reading, working on this blog post, and then working on alumni relations stuff for a couple of hours. 

I also downloaded some new music, got my quiet time/Bible study done early, and I tied up a bunch of loose ends since we were leaving for Nashville on Sunday.

After school, the kids and I headed straight home, and I worked on alumni relations stuff for another 30 minutes.  Then, I got to packing.  The weather is supposed to be awful the whole time we’re in Nashville – tons of rain – so between that and the fact that the temps are going to span from really cold to really hot, we’re all having to pack a large variety of clothes and shoes because there’s no telling what we’re actually going to need. 

I struggled to pick out what I wanted to wear, but I decided on about half of my outfits, gave up, and then moved on to Olivia’s room to help her pick everything out that she needed.  We got her (mostly) packed, and then I moved on to Jacob.  A lot of the stuff he needed was dirty, so we gave up on that, and then I went back to packing myself.

A little after six, we headed to my friend, Jeannine’s, house for poker night with our usual group… it was much needed after a very busy week!  They’d picked up pizza and had a big salad with tons of toppings, so we all grabbed a plate and a beer and then sat around all evening while the kids hung out in the den and outside. 

The adults played poker all night, and my friend Jeannine had bought a little deck of movie trivia cards that we went through randomly all evening.  And, of course, we chatted the night away and got caught up on all of the happenings in everyone’s lives.  We see each other often, but there’s so much going on right now that there’s a lot to catch up on after not seeing each other for a couple of weeks!

We got home sometime just before ten, got the kids in the bed, and then Brian and I sat down to watch the first episode of Adolescence.  Whew.  I had been hearing amazing things about it from tons of people, but y’all weren’t kidding when you said it’s hard, but necessary, to watch… especially if you have kids.  I hope I’ll be able to get through it.

 

Saturday, March 29

Saturday morning, we slept in, Olivia made homemade waffles – she used the waffle iron all by herself this time… she’s been too scared to use it prior to this – and while she did that, I unloaded the dishwasher and assisted her as needed.

After breakfast, we got word from my brother that their beloved Doberman of nine years had just passed suddenly Saturday morning.  Our whole family was crushed to hear about it as we loved Toby so much.  He was such a good boy – so gentle and loving – and he will be missed dearly.  I dreaded telling our kids since Maui’s loss is still so fresh, and they both shed a few tears over sweet Toby.


After breakfast, the kids started their laundry and watched some TV, Brian went to repair the gate that just broke on our fence outside in the last storm we had (I have a feeling our whole fence is going to fall apart now), and I almost finished a blog post that needed to be done before we left for Nashville.

The rest of the day was spent packing.  My head, neck, face, and jaw tension were off the charts, and between that and the pollen I felt awwwwful all day.  Packing was a challenge because I was so dizzy, and I was also overwhelmed and overstimulated with the kids coming in and out and asking 500,000,000 questions about the weather, what to wear, what to pack, and a ton of other things, so I finally gave up and took a break around 3:30. 

I went to my office, lay on my acupressure mat to try to relieve some of the tension and dizziness, and then I did a Bible study.  All of that turned things around, and then I felt refreshed just in time to get ready for church.

We’d originally planned to go to hockey game with friends Saturday night, but everyone was exhausted and overwhelmed from all of the busyness lately, so we decided to take a rain check.

After church, we went to dinner with our usual group – my parents, Mama Cass, Aunt Joy and Uncle Greg, and we also had my Aunt Maureen and Uncle Chris join us.  We went to the little pub down the street from church that we love so much, and thankfully, they were able to seat us within about 15 minutes, which is usually not the case when we have a large group like that.

Right after we’d just sat down, some of our old neighbors walked into the restaurant.  We hadn’t seen them in yearssss, so it was wonderful to see them.  They moved into our neighborhood when I was probably eight or nine years old, and their boys who were slightly younger than I was, were my first neighborhood friends.  We grew up playing street hockey, building forts, playing Sonic the Hedgehog, and swimming in our neighborhood pool.

Eventually, they had another baby, and I used to baby-sit him for them.  They moved out of our neighborhood a few years later, and I continued to baby-sit for them even after they moved. 

We are friends on social media, but I hadn’t seen Kim or her husband in probably 25 years, so it was great to hug their necks.  They went to sit and eat at the bar, and Kim eventually came back over to snap a picture with me so she could send it to her son who I was closest with.

After dinner, we headed home, the kids got to bed, and then Brian and I finished episode two of Adolescence.  We also apparently got halfway through episode three, but I passed straight out on the couch and Brian didn’t notice until we were halfway done.  Guess we’ll have to start that one over.  Haha.  I’m always particularly exhausted at the end of the day when my tension and anxiety are high, and Saturday was a bad one, so my body needed the sleep.


Sunday, March 30

Sunday, we got up, had cinnamon rolls, I finished a blog post, I watched my sermon, we got ready, we finished packing, and we hit the road for Nashville.  I’ll recap that day in my Nashville post, so stay tuned for that!

Happy Wednesday, y’all!