And After All That Whining…
Today (Wednesday) is a much better day. I realized that Tuesday was actually my most stressful day of the week- just too many moving parts- and once I got through that, everything else is (relatively) easy. As you might recall from my complaining rant, today’s activity involved driving a carpool of kids to an all-day rehearsal. The real stress was getting everyone ready, in the car, and moving EARLY. The school is an hour away, but I knew at that time of day it would take longer, and I was right- thanks to an accident on the turnpike. But we arrived in time, against all odds… and then I went to Starbucks. AHHH! I was sitting there with my tea and my laptop, when I got a text from SHU, alerting me to the newest Modern Mrs. Darcy post, 12 Christmas mysteries for your holiday season. A couple minutes later, I got a text from Lisa saying the same thing. They know me well! As it happens, there’s a Barnes and Noble in the area (I’m hanging out until the rehearsal ends at 4) so I hightailed it over there, ready to buy some Christmas books! Guess what- they didn’t have any of the ones on this list! WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE??? If I were the manager, I would have a display table with these twelve books on it, right inside the entrance. I mean- the displays were things like “Banned Books,” “Stories That Stay With You” and “Personal Growth.” I don’t want that crap! I just want some Christmas murder mysteries! Luckily, two of my library holds are ready, and I’ll pick them up tomorrow. The Benjamin Stevenson is also available at my library, so I’ll get that as well. I guess I just saved some money! In the middle of my “stressful” day yesterday, I listened to the most recent Sally McRae podcast episode, and I don’t remember the context but at one point she said “Live every day to the fullest, even if it’s a challenging day.” ABSOLUTELY YES. Remember my mantra, “Every day counts?” The older I get, the more I understand that the number of days in my life is finite. Do I only want to “live” a day if it involves lots of fun and relaxation? Can I afford to throw away the other days? NO. I mean- it’s easier said than done. I frequently find myself thinking “I can’t wait till I get home tonight” or “I can’t wait till my day off.” It’s so hard to ground myself in the present and live each day to the fullest, but I’m trying. It’s sure easier when the day involves Starbucks and browsing at Barnes and Noble. Would you work on Saturday if it meant you had Wednesdays off?- I go back and forth on this- I complain about working on Saturday, but I do love my Wednesdays!
The Holiday Paradox
It’s that time of year where things are getting busy, and I feel the stress. WHY. Why do I let myself get so stressed out, when I truly love the holiday season??? When I sat down to do my planning for the week and realized how busy it is, I told myself, through gritted teeth, “remember you love this!” There’s something extra (besides work and school) for every day of the week, which somehow makes things crazy. I realize there are people who deal with this all the time- their kids have after school activities every day ( how does Sarah do it???) but it’s hard for me. Here’s how my week looks: Monday Okay, this is the most normal day. School for Angie, work for me, and then a flute lesson after school- but the flute teacher comes to our house. This just involves a flurry of tidying up when I get home from work, and then a short time of socializing after the lesson (flute teacher is an old friend of mine). Tuesday School. Work. Angie has an after school rehearsal and I have a private massage client at night. Blerg. Wednesday Oh god. Today my daughter has an all-day jazz band rehearsal at a school about an hour away from us. Since this is my day off from work, I’ll be driving a carpool of kids there and back. We will have to leave hella early in the morning because of rush hour traffic (it will definitely take longer than an hour). I’m planning to just stay up there, because I don’t want to spend four hours in the car going back and forth twice. By the time we get home it will be past dinner time (I wonder what we’re going to eat?) Thursday School. Work. THEN, at night it’s the concert for this jazz band. Once again it’s an hour away (WHY) and we probably won’t get home till 11 pm. Friday School (getting up at 5 am will be fun). Work. At night- football playoff game! Again it will be a late night. Saturday Work. Then- after work I’m taking Charlotte to the vet. I’m really worried they’re going to tell me there’s something seriously wrong with her. Of all the things this week, I’m looking forward to this the least. Sunday Long run! And then- collapsing on the couch in a heap to recover from the week. Oh wait- I can’t do that! I have to start getting ready for Thanksgiving. I’m trying to remember the quote “Some people would take your problems and call them blessings.” What am I really complaining about- making extra money on Tuesday with a private client? The fact that my daughter made an all-county honor band? Am I mad that our football team is in the playoffs? Do I wish my son weren’t coming home soon for Thanksgiving? I just wish that EVERYTHING didn’t have to happen at the same time- but that’s November. And December. Remember- you love this!!! Is your month getting really busy? Do you regularly have after school/evening activities? Are you used to that, or does it stress you out? Top photo by Buddha Elemental 3D on Unsplash
Holiday Gift Planning
Hi there! It’s time for Tuesday Topics, which I host with Jenn from Runs With Pugs. This week’s topic is “Holiday Gift Guide for Runners.”. I don’t have a lot of running-related items on my wish list, so I decided to talk about my Christmas gift ideas so far. My son is easy- he usually has some specific things in mind, which we’ll talk about over Thanksgiving. The only thing that stumps me is how to fill his stocking- it’s HARD for a 22 year old who doesn’t like candy! If you have any suggestions, send them my way. My husband also isn’t too hard to shop for- he usually has some clothing items on his wish list, and the last couple Christmas’s I’ve gotten him books, which he loves to read right away (he isn’t a big reader for the rest of the year, but it has turned into his Christmas Day activity). A couple years ago we read Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend for Engie’s book club. The book wan’t a big hit with the book club, but my husband LOVED it, and he went on to read the rest of the quartet. Last year I got him a couple other books by Ferrante, which he also liked. What should I get him this year? MY DAUGHTER. She’s the tricky one. She often won’t give me enough ideas for what she wants, but will be VERY displeased if I pick out things she doesn’t like. For this reason, I’ve been keeping a list all year, and I think (???) I have some pretty good ideas. Last year around this time. I overheard a conversation between Angie and her friends, and one of them was texting back and forth with a boy she liked. He was asking her what she wanted for Christmas, and the girls were saying “tell him to listen to the Mariah Carey song!” (giggle) “No, I can’t say that” (giggle giggle) She finally texted the cryptic “You know that one Christmas song…?” Amidst all the giggling, Angie said, in her usual deadpan, monotone voice, “What if he gets you a hippopotamus?” Hee hee! Then one of her complaints on Christmas Day was that she didn’t get any plushies. Guess what went right on my list for this year??? There are actually lots of choices! Other than that, I’m thinking of getting her a sticker printer. SHU has talked about hers, and it sounds like something Angie would have fun with. And I also already got her this Archer and Olive fox notebook The crazy thing is, her birthday is December 30th (arrrrg!) so I need even more ideas. A birthday idea is a pebble ice maker- for reasons which are too stupid to get into, she has a real problem with ice, and would love this option. So what’s on my own wishlist??? I need a new Garmin. Last year, my Garmin died a couple miles before the end of my 50 mile race. Now, there were some mitigating circumstances that made that race very slow- 5 miles of very deep sand, lots of hills on pavement (which felt terrible in my trail shoes) and a very hot day, which caused me to rest for 30 minutes at one of the aid stations. This year I’m planning to run 60 miles on my birthday, and am hoping it might actually be quicker than that 50 miler- but you never know. I don’t want my Garmin to die again! And- books. I want a stack of books for Christmas, and I want to lie on the couch and read on Christmas Day. I haven’t decided which books I want yet, but I’ll ask my husband to order them from AbeBooks this year instead of Amazon (way cheaper!) 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! You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter Next week’s topic: Free Topic What’s on your holiday wishlist? Do you have ideas for your family yet? Top photo by Patrick Pahlke on Unsplash
5 Things I Did on Sunday
I made pancakes! I used this recipe for vegan buckwheat pumpkin pancakes. The recipe called for 1/4 cup of maple syrup, and I just left it out. I would imagine they taste quite a bit better with it, but I enjoyed my pancakes anyway! I didn’t take a photo, but here’s a photo from the website: I sat in Starbucks and planned out the week. Sometimes you just need to get out of the house… know what I mean? I like to bring my own peppermint mocha creamer (vegan and sugar free) and add it to an English Breakfast tea. It’s my version of a fancy holiday drink! Yes, I know that’s a little weird. I did a lower body strength workout AND yoga. Woohoo! Every week I say I’m going to do yoga every day, and it doesn’t happen. Maybe this will finally be the week. I watched lots of football. SO many good games, including a Dolphins win in overtime. To be clear, I didn’t sit and watch four entire football games- but when I was home, I had a game on in the background- which felt very Sunday-ish. I made enchiladas! I used this recipe for sweet potato black bean enchiladas from Nora Cooks. I added crumbled tofu to the filling, along with extra spices, salt, and some cayenne. They were so good- but the thing that put this recipe over the top is the avocado crema. Avocados, yogurt, lime juice, cilantro, and salt… SO delicious! Get ready for a terrible photo. Nora put her crema in a piping bag and piped it beautifully onto the enchiladas, but I just glopped it on. Oh, and I was the only one eating these- my husband was working and my daughter had a flute section “Friendsgiving” tonight. That’s okay- guess what we’re having tomorrow? (Yay! No cooking on Monday!) How was your Sunday? Did you get some time to relax? Top photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash