GAAAAAHHH!
It’s here! SHU’s book arrived yesterday! I’ve never known anyone personally who’s written a book, so that was exciting enough. But then… in Chapter 6, “Planning Your Day With Intention (Because Every Day Counts)”, she mentions ME! Little old me! Sarah asked me months ago if this was okay, and of course I said yes, but I just kind of assumed it would be edited out somewhere in the process. When I turned to that chapter and saw my name, I almost dropped the book. I cannot wait to read this entire book, and it’s not just because she mentions me, or because I know Sarah. I really feel like I connect with Sarah’s philosophy behind planning. The point of planning isn’t just to show up on time to our dental appointments and remember to get the car serviced… it’s so that we can live our lives as fully as possible, and make the most of our finite and precious days. While I’ve gotten better about planning, I definitely feel like I need some help. I’m good about the weekly planning (and yes, I show up on time to my dental appointments) but I have trouble with big picture planning. Every January I choose a word for the year, and by February I’ve forgotten all about it. I have Kendra Achachi’s seasonal planning notebooks (oh yes, coincidentally gifted to me by Sarah!) and I start them at the beginning of each season, but then never go back to look at them. I feel like I’m cobbling life together as I go, and things are going pretty well. But with some better planning, I could be living a bigger life, and I’m ready for that. I have a planning day coming up… BUT FIRST. I’ve shared the drama with my cat Charlotte. She was sick, she had a stroke, I spent a week caring for a VERY special needs cat, then we had to say goodbye. Now that I’m coming out of that funk, I’ve realized that oh yes, Christmas is still coming. IN ONE WEEK. AAAAUUUUUGH!!!!!!!!! You guys- I don’t think I’ve ever been this far behind. I’m still ordering gifts. Nothing has been wrapped. I haven’t done any baking. The house is a wreck (and we host guests for Christmas Eve). Of course I still have work- I have to fit in a long run- and on Sunday I’m spending the entire day driving my daughter and friends to Orlando for an anime convention. At first I was bemoaning the “loss” of that day. But… wait a minute. I COULD spend my time in Orlando (I’ll have many hours to kill while they’re at the convention) running all over the place looking for last-minute gifts and stocking stuffers. OR, I could get as much done as possible before then, and take that day on Sunday as a planning day. I’ll find a Barnes and Noble, and sit with my new planner, Sarah’s book, and a cup (or two) of tea and just relax. Christmas will still come and everyone will have gifts to open. The house may not be spotless (but hopefully our guests will be distracted by how cute Foxy is- they haven’t met him yet). All will be well! Do you consider yourself a good planner? Are you ready for Christmas???
Comfort and Joy
First of all, thanks for all the kind comments on yesterday’s post.. I made the error of sitting in Starbucks to do my blogging- I should have read those comments in the privacy of my own home. Hopefully my reading glasses hid my teary, swollen eyes. Anyway! Life goes on. I’m still one of the co-hosts of Tuesday Topics, with Jenn from Runs With Pugs. This week’s topic is “Show Us Your Year in Photos.” As usual… I’m veering from the topic (is anyone surprised?) I’m going to talk about some things that are bringing me comfort right now. First of all… these two rascals. You guys. I cannot even imagine how hard it would be to lose a pet if they were your only one. When I think of coming home to an empty house and seeing the food bowl and pet toys… I know many of you have gone through this, but it seems almost unbearable. Luckily I still have cats to feed and litter boxes to scoop. Last night my husband and I were sitting on the couch, talking about how sad we were. Then Muffin came and sat on my lap, and Foxy jumped up into his! How did they know we needed cuddles??? Next up. Who can resist presents? I got a package in the mail from Engie, who was my secret Santa this year!!! How hilarious are those dish towels (and… how true, especially this year). And the “Foxy” ornament… I love it so much. BUT LET’S TALK ABOUT THESE PEANUTS. “Congregational” peanuts: the ingredients read “premium Virginia peanuts, Kosher salt, peanut oil, one hour hand labor.” I think they sprinkled some kind of magic on them, because they are SO FRICKIN DELICIOUS. If I had to guess, I would say it’s because they’re fried in peanut oil- usually when you buy “roasted” nuts in the store, they’re fried in some cheap oil and they always taste slightly rancid to me. These are crisp, fresh, and salty. They almost make me want to move to Wisconsin (although Engie says they’re only available on a very limited basis, which makes it even more special that she snagged a bag for me). One last thing. On Sunday I had planned a 20 mile run, but I didn’t feel like doing it. I just didn’t have the mental energy to plan a route, fill water bottles, and get all the fuel together. But I also didn’t exactly NOT want to do it, either. I knew I would feel worse if I let myself lie around all day. My husband suggested that I just try it and see what happens. I set off with a water bottle and some tailwind, and ended up running 14 peaceful miles. Link Up With Tuesday Topics Welcome back to Tuesday Topics, as Jenny, from Runners Fly joins Jenn at Runs With Pugs to co-host this link-up! Please join us every week for a new topic! Write on our weekly prompt or choose your own topic! Make sure to add your post to the link up, link back to your hosts, and comment on the other shared posts! Join us next week —> What are your goals for 2026? You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter Top photo by Mark Casey on Unsplash
Charlotte
Sadly, on Saturday we had to say goodbye to our beautiful girl. Her condition deteriorated very quickly, and it was time. We knew it was the right decision, but I still cried an ocean of tears. I’m not going to go on and on about it though- anyone who’s lost a pet knows how heartbreaking it is. Cats are so weird and funny, and Charlotte was weirder and funnier than most. One of her favorite times was a monthly event we came to refer to as “The Very Exciting Moment.” It was the day we opened a new bag of cat food and poured it into a plastic container. Charlotte was filled with joy at the sight of the food pouring out of the bag, and could barely wait until it was done before eating right out of the container (this was the only time we let her do that). The funny thing was, Muffin seemed to realize how important this ritual was to Charlotte, and she would wait patiently until Charlotte was done eating before coming over to take her turn. When Foxy joined us, he also seemed to recognize that there was a hierarchy to this. The first time he experienced it, he waited while Charlotte ate, then waited while Muffin ate, and finally it was his turn. He went over, looked at the food and turned away in disappointment. I could almost see him thinking, “Wait! This is the same thing we get in our bowls EVERY DAY. What are they so excited about???” A couple weeks ago, I opened a new bag of cat food. Charlotte was already not feeling well, but she was well enough to participate! Here’s Charlotte’s last Very Exciting Moment: Goodbye, Charlotte- we will miss you.
Life Stuff
In Kae’s recent post, she talked about having an incredibly busy week. Her husband pointed out “it’s all just regular life stuff.” And it IS! But why does all the life stuff have to happen at the same time? Couldn’t we spread things out a little more??? This week has been crazy for me. Work, school, concerts, a blogger meetup, Christmas prep… yes, it’s all life stuff, and mostly things I WANT to do. It’s just a lot, all at once. On Wednesday I had an “elfing” day- my usual day off from work, and I spent it doing Christmas prep. I printed out some photos to go in Christmas cards (I only put a photo in cards for relatives who haven’t seen the kids all year), bought wrapping paper, went shopping with my son (he bought some Christmas presents). got a new strand of lights for the tree to replace a broken one (hmm, I wonder how that happened, FOXY???), got some packages ready to mail, and then at night we had my daughter’s winter concert. These are all things I love, but it took ALL DAY. Thank goodness Wednesday is $5 sushi day at Sprouts, because I definitely wasn’t cooking. Then, there’s Charlotte. This situation is definitely adding to the stress. Yesterday morning I put her food down (she lives in our bedroom now) and then left to do all the usual morning things to get ready for school/work. Well- my husband left the bedroom door open, Foxy got in, and ate Charlotte’s food WHICH HAD HER THYROID MEDS IN IT. I was freaking out. One dose of thyroid meds won’t hurt him… will it? WILL IT??? For the first time I thought… maybe this is too much for us. Sadly, Charlotte is not improving. We stopped giving her the steroids because she hasn’t been eating for the last couple days and we thought maybe it was due to the steroids? (This is how, by the way, Foxy ate her food- she just let it sit there). The fact that she isn’t eating also means she hasn’t had her meds, because they go in her food. She’s drinking water though and using the litter box. I’m still not ready for the end yet. She still purrs when I pet her, and I’ve started taking her for little walks outside at night (obviously with me carrying her). She seems to enjoy it! I haven’t entirely given up. This morning she ate a couple bites. She’s not in any pain- if she were, it would be a different story. My son is home, so he can check on her while I’m at work. So… we’re hanging in there. As my daughter said, “Charlotte is a fighter.” In less depressing news (let’s end on a high note, for God’s sake) tomorrow is our State Championship football game. The band will travel to the game, as they did last year. Unfortunately I’ll have to miss it because of work, but I’ll follow along as best I can. Everyone is excited about it! GO BULLS! Do you feel like you have a lot of life stuff right now? Top photo by Maria Oswalt on Unsplash