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I haven’t done a currently post in a few months, so I thought today might be a good day for one! Get ready for a bunch of random thoughts, y’all!
I’m currently…
Making: Plans for the Mother Son dance that I’m co-chairing at the school later this week, making plans for our Disney World trip, making plans for Easter, and I’m already starting to look forward to summer break and making sure that I’m staying on track to get all necessary tasks done before then. I am in absolute disbelief that we are halfway through March.
Cooking: A random assortment of all the usual meals that I keep in rotation – beef and parmesan pasta, turkey and cheese biscuit sliders, taco Joes, parmesan chicken and veggies, stir fry with rice and veggies, and breakfast to name a few. We have breakfast for dinner once a week because the kids love it so much.
Drinking: I’m always drinking a ton of water, and recently I’ve been trying to get my water intake back to where it should be. I typically try to drink at least two full 30 oz. Stanley tumblers per day (or more during the summer), but during the winter months I have trouble finishing that second one because I’m just not that thirsty when it’s freezing cold outside. I’m trying to aim for two full tumblers again totaling 60 oz. per day, and in addition to that, I almost always have two cups of my favorite Harney & Sons Cinnamon Black Tea. I recently switched to the decaf version, and I feel so much better after going completely caffeine free! And if you follow me here or on Instagram, I’m sure you already know about my obsession with Manhattans… I tried one for the first time around this time last year, and it was love at first sip. I mean, it’s the perfect drink – it goes with every cuisine, it’s delicious as a pre-dinner drink, and it’s even better as a nightcap. It makes me sleep well and it makes me wake up feeling more refreshed (I have no idea why, but for some reason I always wake up so much easier if I have one the night before), and I swear the whiskey also helps keep the germs away. Haha. Brian and I have perfected the Manhattan at home (which is so hard to do with some cocktails), and after nearly 44 years on this earth I have officially found my signature drink – 2 oz. good rye whiskey (we use a couple of different brands), 1 oz. sweet vermouth, 3 dashes (or sometimes more if I’m feeling spicy) of angostura bitters, not one, but two maraschino cherries (must be Luxardo brand… no other brand will do), and a dollop of the cherry juice (this is the secret ingredient). Combine everything (except cherries) over ice, mix in a cocktail shaker, strain into a chilled glass, and garnish with cherries. Bonus points if the glass is cute like these. ;o)
Eating: Lots of healthy food! I recently tweaked my diet to eliminate a few things and to add some things, and it has helped tremendously with my inflammation and bloating. For the past few months, I’ve had tons of bloating in my belly by the end of the day, and my inflammation has also been back in full force despite the fact that I still take my turmeric religiously. I realized that the culprit was likely the Greek yogurt I was consuming and maybe even the cottage cheese I had started adding to my eggs for more protein about a year ago. Sure enough, I cut out the Greek yogurts, and my bloating and inflammation decreased significantly. I went ahead and eliminated the cottage cheese shortly after that, and my stomach is back to being flat again for the most part (I think the rest is from hormones). CLEARLY, I have some sort of sensitivity to lactose, which is unfortunate. Instead, I’m eating my eggs sans cottage cheese now (I eat eggs every single day), but I do still allow for a sprinkle of cheddar cheese on top… I’m just not going to give up cheese altogether! I also added avocado to my diet every day as well as whole, natural almonds for some additional protein since I stopped eating the cottage cheese. I also started eating at least one kiwi per day for digestion benefits. In addition to all that, I’m still having my green smoothies every single day (1 banana, handful of blueberries, handful of spinach, and Vital Proteins collagen powder + ice) and I cook dinner at least four nights per week. On the weekends, I still splurge and eat out on Friday and Saturday nights, and we typically eat our parents’ home cooking on Sundays. I’m also still loving the Kind protein breakfast bars for snacks! So, I would say that I am eating healthy 80% of the time and then splurging 20%? Ish.
Reading: I just started The Heir Apparent by Rebecca Armitage because my Aunt Joy let me borrow her copy. So far, it’s pretty good, but it’s not riveting. I’m not very far along, though, so I’m hoping it’ll pick up a bit soon. I started The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins months ago, but I never finished it because I’ve had a long string of library books that became available to read, so I need to get back to that one. And, of course, I’m still reading my daily devotional – Called by Name: 365 Daily Devotions for Catholic Women by Kelly M. Wahlquist as well as my Bible and my Bible study The Bible in a Year Companion by Father Mike Schmitz. I’m about 2/3 of the way through book two and then I just have one left, and I’ll officially have read the Bible cover to cover two full times + two Bible studies.
Wanting: To purchase a couple of the items on my birthday wish list that I posted about last Friday, but of course, I’ll wait until after my birthday.
Looking: Forward to summer break. Am I ready for it to be here already? No, not quite. I’m not one to wish away time at all. It’s flying by fast enough as it is. But the thought of sleeping in every day, staying up late every night, lounging in the warm sun, spending extra time with my babies, and having fewer responsibilities and a much slower pace sounds really good right about now. Not to mention I’m reeeeally looking forward to our beach trip and some of the other fun stuff we have planned this summer. But first, Disney World for spring break, Easter, Olivia’s recital, and a million other end-of-the-school-year things! Which also reminds me that I’m suuuuper looking forward to our Disney trip, too! Thank goodness for spring break because I think all of us have spring fever right now!
Playing: A ton of 90s R&B music. I miss the days of cruising around late at night with the sunroof open and the windows down and listening to 90s R&B. It was vibes, y’all. If you know, you know, and if you don’t, I’m sorry. ;o)
Wasting: Well, I’m not usually one to waste, but I have been “wasting” time recently if that’s how you want to look at it. And by wasting time I just mean that I have been using my time occasionally to take a quick nap if I feel tired. I’ve never been a napper, but in recent weeks, I have started listening to my body. If my body is struggling to sit at my desk and keep my eyes open, I will not hesitate to curl up on the bed with my electric blanket and set an alarm for 30-45 minutes to get a quick power nap. I don’t do it often – it’s only happened a handful of times the last couple of months – but I never regret it when I do. Once upon a time, I thought a nap was a waste of time – I used to run myself ragged some days trying to maximize my time and get things done and I would have never in a million years even considered taking a nap – but now, clearly, I’ve changed my tune. I guess these naps are just part of my journey to creating my own happiness this year (Opalite) because a quick nap when I’m bone tired makes me happy!
Buying: Easter basket stuffers for the kids along with some egg stuffers for our annual Easter egg hunt. All the kids on Brian’s side of the family may be grown, but they still love an Easter egg hunt! We also had to buy a couple of odds and ends for our upcoming Disney World trip!!
Creating: Okay, so this category used to be titled “sewing,” but I’ve been saying for years that I was going to eliminate it since I literally never sew anything. Instead, I thought it would be fun to change it to “creating” since I do love to write and make art and craft. At this time, I’m not really creating anything other than content for the blog, but I do have it on my to do list to make a couple more bracelets with my new beads that I got for Christmas. I hope to start those soon, so I thought it was worth mentioning! ;o)
Wishing: That we would stop switching to Daylight Saving Time every year. Yes, yes, I know most of you probably disagree, but I am one of those weirdos who does not love it. While it is nice to have extra daylight in the evening – I mean, I don’t think anyone would complain about that – I would still rather have the extra daylight in the morning because ever since we switched back, the kids and I have been driving to school in the pitch-black dark again. I already have driving anxiety when traffic is heavy, so driving in heavy traffic in the dark? No thanks. Also, when I wake up now it feels like it’s still the middle of the night, so I have been dragging this past week because of it. And also? It’s terrible for our circadian rhythm. Not to mention the last few nights I’ve been getting a burst of energy right before bed and I haven’t been able to fall asleep as quickly as I usually do. It’s just a big fat NO for me every way I look at it. I saw this post on Instagram last week, and it sums up all the things I’ve always thought about it.
Loving: Receiving a letter in the mail from our favorite friar who left our church a few years ago. He and I talk fairly often on social media and occasionally via text, but it was extra special to get some happy mail from him last week. It made my whole day! I had just finished the book The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, so it was incredibly timely, too. He and my friend, Trish (hiiii, Trish! I know you’re reading!), have inspired me to want to do the same. I definitely won’t be writing as many people as Trish does, but I do want to start dropping sweet notes in the mail here and there.
Hoping: That everything goes well for our Disney World trip. That everyone stays well. That we have a safe and smooth drive there and back. That we have nice weather. And that we have SO MUCH FUN.
Marveling: At what a difference it has made to deep clean all the windows in our house. I’m embarrassed (well, not really) to admit that I have never cleaned the windows in our house since we’ve lived here (16 years), and after finally starting the process, it made me realize just how foggy they had gotten! None of them really appeared to be dirty, which is why I never thought to wash them, but after washing them, I can definitely tell that there was a layer of fog on them that was preventing us from seeing as clearly outside. I bought this window cleaner and it is truly the GOAT of window cleaners. It leaves no streaks when used with a microfiber cloth and it is so satisfying to wipe everything clean with it. I also love that it foams because the foam keeps the cleaner from dripping down the windows (and it also allows me to spray cute lil’ pictures on the windows while I clean for an added little bit of whimsy) and I’m loving how sparkly and clear the windows are now. I guess that means I won’t be waiting 16 more years before cleaning them again. ;o)
Needing: To finish deep cleaning the rest of the house (windows, blinds, baseboards, and some other random tasks) and also to finish cleaning out and decluttering the house. I started off strong with the decluttering, completing the front sitting room, the living room, the dining room, the primary bedroom, Jacob’s and Olivia’s bedrooms, the playroom, and my office, but then I stopped. I still need to do the kitchen, all the bathrooms, the laundry room, and a few other random places, and I’d like to have it all done by the time the kids get out of school. Wish me luck because they only have eleven weeks left of school and we’ll be out of town for one of them! Ten weeks is not really a lot of time considering all the other things that we must squeeze in at that time.
Smelling: Peppermiiiint!!!! Gah, I just love how refreshing it is! I used to diffuse peppermint way back when I first got my diffuser and oils, but I hadn’t diffused it in years until recently. I went to an appointment at my upper cervical chiropractor’s office at the beginning of this month and they were diffusing it, and that made me go straight home and put it in my diffuser, too. It’s just such a happy scent! It is a crowd pleaser, too.
Wearing: Well, as I’m typing this part (Wednesday, 3/11), I’m wearing a tank, one of my favorite tennis skirts, and tennis shoes. However, as you’re reading this (Monday, 3/16), I’m probably wearing leggings, a giant sweatshirt, and my UGG boot dupes because false spring has ended and we were plunged back in the cold today. Boo. Lame. No thank you. I’m done with winter.
Praying: With gratitude for all our many blessings. For my cousin battling cancer, for all the miracles. For our friend’s child who is still healing from her brain tumor surgery, that she heals completely and that the tumor doesn’t come back. For the administration in our country, that they will learn how to lead with compassion for others. That my upper cervical chiropractic care will rid me of this dizziness once and for all (I've had six completely normal days in a row as I type this!!!!), and that the rest of my tapering from my vertigo medicine won’t cause any issues. And for soooo many other things as well as all the prayer requests that will remain unspoken.
Noticing: All of God’s beauty during this season of (almost) spring! Trees are blossoming, flowers blooming, and the grass is turning a beautiful shade of green. Birds are chirping, squirrels are scampering through the back yard, and bees are absolutely everywhere just buzz buzz buzzing all around. The sunshine is a little warmer, the sunsets are a little later, and the breeze no longer sends a chill up my spine. It is lovely. (Well, it was until this past weekend when it turned cold again. Hahahaha.)
Knowing: How little time we have left at home with all four of us under the same roof. Jacob only has three years left of high school, and then… off to college? College here at home? (We have a good one right here in town.) Only time will tell. But either way, the sand of time continues to run nonstop and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. Having a kid in high school really makes you think about these things.
Thinking: How grateful I am for my group of girlfriends. We have all known each other for 30+ years and all these years later I love them even more than I did when we were young. We have all gone in different directions over the years. Some of us are married. Some of us are not. Some of us are divorced. Some of us are not. Some of us have kids. Some of us do not. Some of us have lived on the opposite side of the world. Some of us have stayed right here at home the whole time. But somehow, 30 years later, here we are, all together, texting daily, getting together in person at least monthly, checking on each other when we know someone is struggling, giving life advice, encouraging one another and lifting each other up, giving book recommendations, sending funny memes and Reels to each other, and always lending a listening ear when someone needs it. I remember learning the Bible verse Sirach 6:14 in school – “Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter; whoever finds one has found a treasure.” – and it is one of the few that I remember all these years later. I just love that all of us who learned that Bible verse together are still friends all these decades later.
Opening: I haven’t started yet, but I’m about to be opening oodles and oodles of plastic eggs for our Easter egg hunt. It’s time to get those babies stuffed and ready! I have to have everything for Easter done and ready to go because we will be out of town the week leading up to it, so I only have a couple weeks left to prepare!
Giggling: At memes and Reels always and forever. I don’t scroll social media a whole lot, but my algorithm sure knows me well for the little time I do spend on there.
Happy Monday, y’all!
