Our Week - The One with a Lunch Date, Jacob’s First Golf Match, a Work Dinner, an Afternoon Downtown, and Severe Weather

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Recapping last week…

Monday, March 10

Monday was, well, a Monday.  Jacob came in our room about an hour before it was time to get up saying he was dizzy.  I told him to try to lay back down and he came back in 15 minutes later saying he was still dizzy.  I was never able to go back to sleep, so between that and the time change making it feel like 5 AM when I got out of bed, I was on the struggle bus.

By the time Jacob got up, he felt totally fine, and he hasn’t been dizzy since then, so we think that maybe he had a dream where he was doing something that made him dizzy and then it translated to dizziness in real life, too?  Who knows.  It was strange.

Anyway, I got the kids off to school, and then I had a checkup with my primary doctor for my vertigo.  It was cold and rainy Monday morning, and when I was almost to the doctor’s office, all four lanes of the highway stopped.  A couple of lanes were crawling at a snail’s pace, and mine was one of them, so what should have been a 12-ish minute drive turned into a 40-minute drive.

Thankfully, I made it right in time for my appointment as I was planning to be early, but I still had to wait because several of the doctors and nurses were late because of the traffic jam as well.

My appointment went well… my doctor is going to continue monitoring me every six months, and she is keeping me on the Clonazepam for the vertigo as it seems to help.  Hopefully the next time I’ll see her my braces will be off, and I won’t be dealing with all of the issues anymore.  Time will tell.  She also thought that the upper cervical chiropractic care that I’ve been considering sounded like a good idea.

Thankfully, my dizziness hasn’t been constant for the last few weeks.  There have been many days where I have felt totally normal.  But there have also been times where it has flared up badly, too, and I had a couple of actual vertigo spells (very quick and, thankfully, while I was at home) back when Maui was sick and right after she died.  I’m sure it was because of the grief.  Overall, though, things have definitely improved.  It has been a long, slow road with many setbacks, but I’m thankful that most days I don’t have to deal with the dizziness as much anymore.

After my appointment, I headed home, and I finished my blog post for Tuesday.  That took the rest of my morning… well, that and three loads of laundry.

Brian and I had lunch together, and then I spent the rest of the day chasing paperwork for Jacob’s sports physical.  We had been notified over the weekend that his paperwork had expired in August 2024 and that he was not eligible to play golf until he had a new physical + all paperwork was signed. 

He had actually had a sports physical in September 2024 and I had turned all of the paperwork into the school so he could play golf in the fall, but for some reason, they couldn’t locate it.  I went back through all of my files (paper and electronic), and naturally, the one time I didn’t save a copy, we needed it. 

I contacted the pediatrician’s office, and they confirmed that, yes, he’d had a sports physical in September 2024 as I’d remembered but that we would have to come to the office and fill out some forms to get a copy.

Brian kindly drove over there after lunch to do that since I had to finish up a couple of things at home, but the doctor’s office told us that it wouldn’t be ready until Tuesday or Wednesday, which meant he was at risk of missing his first practice and match.

I picked up the kids at three and then we headed home.  The next couple of hours were spent dealing with a few issues that had popped up that needed addressing, and what turned out to be our one free evening where we could actually eat dinner on time ended up being a big pain with a very late start to dinner.  We ended up doing eggs, grits, bacon, and toast, and then the kids got showered and in the bed late.

I did manage to squeeze in a Bible study and a strength training workout, though… little wins.

By the time we got the kids in bed, I was exhausted, so we just watched a few minutes of an episode of Shark Tank and then we went to bed early.

 

Tuesday, March 11

Tuesday, I dropped the kids at school and then I headed home to crank out an entire blog post for Wednesday that I’d barely started. 

I had lunch with my friend, Shelly, downtown at one of the yummy Mexican restaurants, and then she and I walked to a local candy shop so she could grab something for her daughter. 

Thankfully, the weather was sunny and warm, so Tuesday was a bit better.  Opening the sunroof and letting in the warm sunshine was so good for my soul!!

After lunch, I had a few minutes to kill, so I dropped some library books off and then I got gas before grabbing Olivia from school.  Jacob had Velocity after school and then Brian picked him up to play a round of golf since he couldn’t go to golf practice because his paperwork wasn’t done.

I had polled everyone on Instagram about Daylight Saving Time on Monday, and I was shocked to see the final results when the poll ended Tuesday afternoon.  The majority of people actually want to stay on Standard Time like I do!  Most people who I know personally want to move to Daylight Saving Time and stay there, but I just can’t get on board with that because I wouldn’t be able to deal with the sunrises AFTER 9 AM in the winter, so I would prefer to stay on Standard Time as we live near the west of our time zone and therefore we already get later sunsets than everyone else in our time zone.

Olivia and I headed home, I helped her study, I did my Bible study, and then it was time for me to drop her off at dance.  When I got home from dropping her, I was alone in the house which is very weird in the evening.  I’m home alone during the day when they’re at school, but never in the evening because one or both of them are always with me.

I went for a nice long walk, and then I headed home to make beef and parmesan pasta with zucchini for dinner.  Brian and Jacob picked Olivia up from dance on the way home from golf, and then we all sat down and ate together.

After dinner, it was showers for all and then I put some laundry away before we got the kids in the bed.  Brian and I watched, like, 10 minutes of TV because the kids had gone to bed late yet again, and I wanted to go to bed early because the time change was kicking my butt.

 

Wednesday, March 12

Wednesday morning, I dropped the kids at school and then I worked on my blog post for Friday most of the day.  I was working on a wish list, but there were several items that needed lots of research (rugs), so it took forever for me to find exactly what I was looking for.  I also wasn’t feeling very motivated because I had tons of neck and shoulder tension all day plus I was exhausted, so I felt like I was moving at a snail’s pace.

Before picking up the kids from school, I picked up Jacob’s paperwork from the pediatrician and got it sent to our sports medicine team at the school… just in time because Jacob had his first match just two hours later. 

I had a couple of minutes to kill before getting in the car line, so I stopped by TJ Maxx to look for a couple of frames.  I have been wanting to frame a few more pictures of Maui, and TJ Maxx had two gorgeous frames.  These were only $5!!

After picking up the kids, we drove to the golf course.  This year, Jacob is playing on the A team rather than the B team, so he is playing on a much larger, more challenging course.  The place where he had to play on Wednesday is massive.  They have two 18-hole courses, and they are mostly par fives and par fours.  Jacob has been used to playing on par threes, so it was a big adjustment for him.

While we waited for Brian to get there, I grabbed a plastic bag and cleaned all of the trash out of my car.  It was awwwwful… OLIVIA.  Hahahaha.  Then, when Brian arrived, Olivia and I headed home so she could get ready for dance and get her dinner ready.

I did my Bible study and then I dropped her off at dance.  Again, I was alone in the house in the evening, so I used the time to get some things done.  I rearranged a couple of things on my bulletin board in my office and I whittled away at the stack of papers on my desk that needed attention.  I also got some pictures framed. 

After that, I went for a two-mile run.  Again, it was GORGEOUS on Wednesday, and it was such a blessing for my cold bones. 

When I got home, I made sausage, peppers, and onions tacos for dinner, and when Brian and Jacob got home, we all ate together.  Brian had to scarf his down quickly because he had to pick up Olivia from dance at 8:15. 

Jacob had done well at his match – Brian said he hit some amazing shots, and it was one of the best games he’s ever played, although, his score didn’t reflect that since he maxed out.  (They have a max limit for each hole… otherwise it could take all night – haha.)  But again, he was playing on a massive course that he wasn’t used to, so we were really proud of him.

While Brian was gone, Jacob and I cleaned up the kitchen and then we both got showered.  After that, he hung out with me in my office for a bit and we chatted.  I also got his framed picture of Maui up in his room.  He wanted a plain white frame, so I’d found one of those at TJ Maxx earlier in the day as well.

When Brian and Olivia got home, Olivia got showered, and then we got the kids in bed late yet again, leaving just a few minutes for B and I to watch TV (a UGA basketball game) before calling it a night.

 

Thursday, March 13

Thursday, I had nowhere to be while the kids were at school, so I settled in to work all day.  I finished my blog post for Friday, wrote most of my post for Tuesday, and I started my post for Monday.  I also started catching up on blog reading and catching up on some emails.  Everything was overflowing!

At three, I grabbed the kids from school and then we headed to music lessons.  Jacob worked some more on the Minecraft song that he’s been practicing, and he sounded great.  It is such a beautiful song. 

Olivia was able to play I Love You, I’m Sorry by Gracie Abrams from start to finish, including the major chord change for the bridge and her teacher was SO proud of her.  Since she has that one down, they moved on to another song.  We introduced her teacher, Mr. Steve, to the Gracie Abrams album and he ended up really liking it.  He wants her to learn Us. as that’s his second favorite on the album (and mine, too!) but it’s a little too tough.  You have to pick the strings on a ukelele and it’s fast, so he said she’ll have to wait a bit longer for that one.  He started looking at Blowing Smoke and I suggested I Knew It, I Know You since it’s slower, and they ultimately decided to go with that one.

Steve listened to it, told Olivia the chords, told her the strum pattern, and immediately, she was able to strum it correctly.  Steve, yelled, “THAT’S MY GIRL!” and he was so proud of her.  I’m so grateful for all of the teachers we’ve had at our music school who have nurtured our kids’ love for music and encouraged them constantly, even on the days where things just don’t click. 

After lessons, we headed home so the kids could start homework.  I sat down and did my gratitude journal, my prayer journal, and my devotional, but unfortunately, I ran out of time to do my Bible study as I had to get ready for a dinner with my old coworkers.

We all met at our usual Mexican place where we have met for the last 20 years, and it was so great to catch up with each of them.  I have lunch with a couple of them every now and then, but it had been a year since I’d seen several of them.  It’s hard to believe that I’ve known most of them for half of my life now.  I was just 22 years old when I started my corporate job there, so these people have seen me through an engagement, a wedding (most of them attended!), a doggie adoption (sweet Maui), a miscarriage, two births, and so many other huge life events.  I’m so grateful that all of us still keep in touch even though our meetups are usually only yearly at this point.  (And we are missing a few in this picture… one person left early before the picture was taken, one person came late after the picture was taken, and a couple of others weren’t able to come.)

I got home around 8:30, and hung out with the kids for a bit, and then we got them in the bed, watched a little bit of a Shark Tank episode, and hit the hay.

 

Friday, March 14

Friday morning, I was so grateful because I had nowhere to be until it was time to pick up the kids from school.  I had a list about a mile long, so I got started.  First up, I caught up on blog reading while I enjoyed my tea in my new mug.  Olivia painted this sweet little design and her teacher uploaded it to a website that produces merch for your kids’ artwork, so of course I had to get a mug!!

Then, I did my entire blog post for Monday from start to finish, and I also worked on this post that you’re reading now.  Brian and I had lunch together, I went through both email inboxes, and then I printed some more paperwork that I have to have filled out for Jacob for school, did a couple of other random things that needed to be done, and then it was time to pick up the kids.

Right before I left to get the kids, our Ring Doorbell camera pinged to let us know somebody was at the front door.  I assumed it was the mail, but when I looked at the shot that popped up on my watch, it looked like someone was holding flowers.  I headed downstairs to see what was going on, and just as I was leaving my office, my friend Jeannine texted me to let me know that she had ding dong ditched me.  Lol.

She had left the absolute sweetest gift on the porch for me, and it made me cry.  The back story – last year, I read a book called Theo of Golden by Allen Levi and it was one of the best books I’ve ever read, so I told Jeannine she HAD to read it.  The author was friends with my dad when I was little, so I grew up calling him Uncle Allen, and I have a few very foggy (because I was so little) but very fond memories of him.  I absolutely love him.  

Jeannine works for our library system and she helps arrange guest speakers and various events for the library.  Well, she had arranged for Allen to speak at our local library on Tuesday, so I had marked my calendar because I didn’t want to miss it.  He is an excellent storyteller and I was dying to hear his commentary about the book plus I wanted him to sign my copy.  I scheduled my work dinner for Thursday (which was a whole thing in itself… it’s impossible to get us all together and we’d been trying for nearly a year), and then, Allen’s speaking engagement got moved to Thursday so I couldn’t go.

I was so crushed that I couldn’t attend, so I’d texted Jeannine after my work dinner to see how it went and she was just raving about him and saying that the turnout had been incredible. 

So, Jeannine had dropped off a signed copy of Allen’s book for me along with some flowers.  She said that she had told him who the book was for, and he asked about me and my family and how we’re all doing and he wrote the sweetest message in my book.  It just made my whole day.

If you haven’t read Theo of Golden by Allen Levi then do it!  Everything about it is beautiful – the imagery, the storytelling, the storyline, all of it.  There’s a reason why it has thousands of rave reviews on Amazon!  If you're local, please go buy it from my friend, Khristina's, bookshop.  If you don't know where that is, please feel free to reach out to me.  ;o)  But if you're not local, I'll link it here for you.

And also, if you don’t have a friend like Jeannine then you’re missing out.  She is a true gem.  Jeannine, I know you’re probably reading this and I just want to say that I’m so grateful for you.  <3

Anyway, this was the first Friday evening that we had nothing going on in a very long time and it’s the last one we’ll have with nothing going on for a very long time, so I was grateful to have the down time and wanted to spend it at home.

When we got home, I got my Bible study done while the kids played outside for a bit.  It was cloudy most of the day, but the sun peeked out for a bit Friday afternoon, so I was glad they were able to get some sunshine since we had rain, storms, and tornadoes predicted for the weekend.  As a matter of fact, our meteorologists had been talking about it for days, on and on Friday, they upgraded the risk factor to a very rare 5/5 danger for areas just west of us, so I was dreading Saturday night.

When the kids came back inside, they unpacked all of their stuff from the week, tidied a couple of areas, and then they had some screen time. 

I paid three bills (one of which Brian and I had to research because our insurance didn’t look right), I filed some papers, I whittled down the pile on my desk some more, I put away all of the toilet paper and tissues that Brian had picked up from Walmart earlier that morning, and I finally got all of the towels folded and all of the laundry put away… just in time to have to do it again on Saturday.  ;o)

We’d decided to get pizza for dinner since we’re not eating meat on Fridays right now because of Lent, but we realized that it was 3/14 AKA Pi Day, which meant that all of the pizza places were crazy.  Sure enough, the place we selected had their online ordering disabled and they weren’t answering the phone.  Brian decided to go there, and he said that the line was curled around to the front of the store.  He wasn’t sure if it would be faster to just stay there and wait in the long line or to call in an order from Olive Garden and drive over there to pick it up.  He ended up staying at the pizza place and waiting for 45 minutes – LOL – aaaand that’s the last time we’ll ever attempt to get pizza on Pi Day.  Haha.

Since he was gone so long, the kids went ahead and showered.  We knew we’d be eating dinner late and we wanted to watch a movie, so it was nice to have the kids already done with all of that when dinner was over.

We decided to watch the movie Flow on Max since it won so many awards.  I’d wanted to stay awake to see what all the hype was about, but I succumbed to sleep about 20 minutes in.  I’m always so tired by Friday night that I just can’t hang.  I’d also had a crushing headache and major face/jaw/head/neck/shoulder tension for 24 hours at that point (that no medicine would touch) so all I wanted to do was sleep so I could get some relief, if only temporarily.

I woke up when the movie was over and we got the kids in the bed, and then Brian and I watched the newest episode of Severance before heading to bed.

 

Saturday, March 15

Saturday morning, Brian and Jacob got up early so Brian could drop Jacob off downtown at our university’s campus for a math tournament.  His high school math teacher had been encouraging him to join, and he loves math, so he decided to do it.

Parents weren’t allowed in for the actual tournament as it’s some kind of thing where they race around the building and complete different problems, so Brian waited until he located the appropriate people (and one of his friends) and then he was able to leave.  He picked up donuts on the way home, and by the time he got home, I’d already unloaded the dishwasher, handwashed a couple of things, cleared out the closet under our stairs, swept and scrubbed the floor in there, and started prepping for our severe weather. 

We were at a 4/5 risk for severe weather including large, long track tornadoes Saturday night, and just west of us, they were at a 5/5 risk which is way too close for comfort.  They’d been predicting all week that it would be bad, and by Saturday they were urging everyone to please make sure to have everything prepared for the worst-case scenario. 

Brian, Olivia, and I ate donuts together, and then I headed to my office to get some ducks in a row… I worked on a blog post, did my Bible study, and filed a couple more things.  I was able to do a quick 30-minute mixed cardio workout, and then it was time to get showered and ready to pick up Jacob. 

The math tournament was downtown on our local university’s campus, so we headed that way, and downtown was crazy busy, partially because the weather was beautiful, and partially because it was St. Paddy’s Day weekend, I assume.  It was hard to find a place to park, so Brian dropped Olivia and I near the building where the competition was, and then he joined us a few minutes later.

They had a quick award ceremony for all of the teams who had placed first, second, and third.  Unfortunately, Jacob’s team didn’t place, but he said that he had the best time, and I was so glad that he tried something new.  He’s already looking forward to attending next year, assuming they have a tournament for high schoolers. 

Since we were downtown, there were loads of local restaurants to eat lunch, so we walked around downtown for a bit and debated where to go.  We ended up at one of our favorite local pubs and breweries that Brian and I have been eating at since we first started dating, and as always, it was delicious.  They had seasonal tomato soup and grilled cheese on the menu, so of course, I had to get that.  I never turn down tomato soup and grilled cheese! 

After we were done there, we walked across the street to the local frozen yogurt place per Olivia’s request, and the kids got treats.  Brian and I were too full to partake. 

Once done there, we drove to Barnes & Noble.  Now that our friend, Khristina, owns a local bookshop we don’t shop at big retailers for books, but Olivia received a gift card for her birthday because she looooves the Barnes & Noble craft department.  She ended up grabbing two different kinds of Aaron’s Putty (anybody else’s kids obsessed with it?!  It’s insanely popular at Olivia’s school right now) and a set of stuffed animals called “emotional support dumplings.”  Lol.  What in the world.  They are actually really cute, though.  Haha.

When we were done there, we headed home, and I had an hour and a half to get some things done before it was time for church.  Brian gave me an early birthday present – a new Apple Watch! – because he wanted me to have it before our spring break trip, which was so thoughtful.  And then I headed to my office to continue whittling away at the pile on my desk and work on some blog stuff.

We went to 5:30 Mass followed by Mexican with my parents and Aunt Joy and Uncle Greg.  Since they were predicting terrible, terrible storms, Mama Cass had gone to stay with my Uncle Chris and Aunt Maureen since they have a basement.  So, she didn’t attend dinner. 

We were supposed to have celebrated her 96th birthday Saturday night as her birthday is on Thursday, but we ended up postponing it due to the weather, so we are looking forward to celebrating her soon. 

My mom was really worried about the weather, so she asked if she and my dad could come stay with us since we have a safe space to go during inclement weather.  They don’t really have a great place to go in their house in the event of a tornado, so she said she’d feel safer at our house. 

After dinner, they headed home to grab their stuff, and we headed home to prepare.  Our meteorologists had been stressing for days the importance of having a safe space to go, so when we got home, I worked on stocking the closet that I’d cleaned out earlier in the day with changes of clothes for everyone, shoes for everyone, helmets, blankets, pillows, laptops, hard drives, important paperwork, irreplaceable items, etc.

While I did that, Brian secured all of the outdoor furniture, put the outdoor trashcans in our garage, lay down the basketball goal, and doublechecked our fence that he’d reinforced earlier in the day.  A giant chunk of our privacy fence fell during a storm a few weeks ago, and Brian temporarily secured it with massive zip ties, and it has made it through everything.  Haha.

I also went around the outside of the house and the inside of the house taking videos of everything in our house.  My aunt had seen someone mention the importance of taking stock of all of the items in your house ahead of potential natural disasters because it’s easier to deal with your insurance company when you have them.  I took about ten minutes worth of videos, so we’d be prepared. 

By the time all of that was done, my parents had arrived, and we spent the rest of the evening hanging with them and watching the weather.  There were so many tornado outbreaks, so much damage, and so many deaths this past weekend, so please keep everyone in your prayers.

We got the kids in the bed around 10 and then Brian and I headed to bed around 11:30.  The worst was predicted to hit sometime between 12 AM and 4 AM, so we weren’t exactly sure when it would come through.  I tried to sleep, but the wind was howling constantly, and something kept rattling on the outside of our house, so just as I would start to drift off to sleep, it would rattle and startle me.  I finally gave up on trying to go to sleep around 12:30 AM, and I got on my phone.  I checked my family’s group chat and my brother in Huntsville was monitoring everything closely for us as he’s a weather geek and he has several sophisticated apps. 

Around 1:30 AM (maybe??) the front was approaching us, and it was dropping tornadoes left and right in Alabama and Georgia.  My brother was watching one in particular and he told us to get ready because we’d likely get the tornado warning alert in the next 20-30 minutes, but thankfully, he messaged us a few minutes later saying that it was starting to fall apart. 

When the front came through, the wind and rain were intense and our power blinked, but thankfully, it came right back on.  I went downstairs to disable the house alarm since it chirps after a power outage, and I chatted with my parents for a bit.  They were still wide awake with all the lights on, watching the live weather broadcast. 

The front also brought on constant thunder and lightning, so it woke Olivia, and she was in our room when I went back upstairs.  I’d already prepared her sleeping bag, a blanket, and a pillow since I knew she’d be coming in our room (she rarely stays in her own room for severe weather), and she lay right down and went right to sleep.

By 2:30 AM, the worst had cleared out, and thankfully, our county never had any tornado warnings, so I was finally able to lay back down, shut off my phone, and get some sleep. 

 

Sunday, March 16

Thankfully, we were able to sleep in the next morning, and I somehow ended up sleeping until sometime after nine which is really late for me.  I guess that’s what happens when you stay up until 2:30 AM! 

By the time I got up, my parents were already dressed and packed and ready to head home.  Olivia had already gotten up and was downstairs with them, but Jacob was still snoozing which is crazy late for him.

We said goodbye to my parents, ate leftover donuts, and then looked for damage.  Miraculously, our fence was still standing.  We’ll have to get it repaired eventually, but for now the zip ties are holding strong.  They look incredibly tacky, though.  Lol.

Since I’d slept so late, I had very limited time before I had to get ready for lunch at my MIL’s, so I skipped my yoga workout, and instead, I watched the sermon that I watch every week while I prepped my planner for the week ahead.  I also did my Bible study and quiet time because there were a lot of prayers of thanks to be said! 

We headed to my MIL and step-FIL’s for lunch early in the afternoon.  My SIL was in town because we were celebrating my mother-in-law’s birthday, so we had most of the crew with us.  Just my niece and nephew were missing.  They’re adults now so it’s harder for them to make it to all of our get togethers now.

After lunch, the kids got outside and played badminton because it was gorgeous on Sunday – sunny and warm and breezy.  The adults stayed inside and chatted for a bit, and then we did cake and presents.

We got home late in the afternoon, and I hit the ground running.  I tidied the kitchen, put away all of the stuff we’d put in the storm closet, and then put the storm closet back together.  The kids tidied and prepped for Monday, and they did their laundry since they hadn’t had time to do it Saturday. 

After that, the kids had some screen time and then Brian helped me set up my new Apple Watch.  The last time I upgraded from an old Apple Watch to a new one, I lost all of my old data, so I was terrified it was going to happen again.  Thankfully, Apple has made the process much easier, so everything worked out well.

Once that was done, I organized all of the pictures I’d transferred from my phone to my computer for the week, I filed some papers, I got the kids’ new school pictures in their baby books, I finished paperwork for Jacob that needed to be done, and I knocked out several other random tasks on my to do list.

None of us were particularly hungry for dinner, so we just did sandwiches and whatever other random items people wanted to eat.  My mom didn’t cook because she had plans, so we were on our own. 

We got such a late start to dinner that the kids needed to get showers when we were done.  I had hoped to squeeze in a family walk afterward, but it was getting dark since we’d eaten so late.

While the kids were getting ready for bed, I rearranged our shelves on the entertainment center, so I could finally get Maui’s little box of ashes in its final resting place. 

After that, we got the kids in the bed, and then Brian and I ended the evening with the new episode of White Lotus.  That show is never not wild, y’all.

Happy Tuesday, y’all!