Thursday, May 31, 2018

Spring Bucket List in Review

I'm not going to sugarcoat this: I kinda sucked at accomplishing my list this Spring. I have no decent excuse, I just sucked. How bad? Well, let's take a look...

1. Join, and regularly participate in a yoga group. Well, I went once, does that count? No? All righty then: SUCKED.

2. Pull my shit together at Day Job. Ok, so this one I actually nailed. I managed to get organized, wrote a kick-ass grant proposal, was awarded the grant, and managed to juggle Board members, community partners, staff, paperwork, and data entry. This makes me 1 for 2, in case you are keeping score.

3. Spring cleaning at home. I'm going to give myself partial credit for this one, because I did manage to clean and organize several cabinets, a particularly gnarly mess of a closet, and my scrapbooking room. I did not host a yard sale, but, discussed it with Hugh and plan to accomplish that before the end of summer (hand to heart).

4. Get dirty! Can you say Zen Garden? I did get it planted, and, I got my flower boxes sorted. I have yet to weed my flowerbeds, but, baby steps, y'all. This one is a win (that's 2.5 for 4!).

5. Pantry purge! This is another one that I am going to claim partial credit for. I did manage to clean out the pantry in the mudroom, donating lots of crap that Hugh and I no longer eat (Pop Tarts, Oreos, Mac 'n Cheese, Ramen bowls, etc.) to Queen B, since she is now housing both the Cub and Mikey, who, as we all know, will eat her out of house and home more effectively than a hoard of locusts.

6. Clean off the porch and start hosting Porch Nights. Ah, nailed this one! Spent the better part of a day pressure-washing the grime off the porch and furniture, nearly crippling myself with the effort, but, totally worth it! Hosted a Cinco de Mayo themed Porch Night and am in the process of planning a Ladies Night Out themed gathering for early in June.

7. Friend Time. Another partial credit effort! I hosted the Booster Moms at the above-mentioned Porch Night, plus I got to spend quite a bit of time with them when executing the Senior Sports Banquet back in April. I also have had several opportunities to spend time with Jana, whom I had missed, dearly over the winter. Could I have done better? Of course, but, this is one goal that I don't mind including on my next list.

So, let's do the math here, one plus point five, carry the ten...(have I mentioned that math was never my strong point?)..and we have... 4.5 out of 7.

So, that's like, what, half? Halfish? A little over halfish? (again, math? NOT my strong point).

I guess I didn't suck quite as badly as I thought. There's still plenty of room for improvement, but, there's always the Summer Bucket List, which, tune in tomorrow!

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

What's Up Wednesday





I'm participating in this link-up again this month! Thanks to MelSheaffer, and Shay for providing the writing prompts.

What I'm Eating

Allll the cherries I can get my hands on! The local cherries aren't ready yet, so I am relying on what I can find in the supermarket, which means I am paying a hefty price per pound, but, it wouldn't be summer without cherries, so I'm willing to pay the price.


What I'm Reminiscing About

The local schools were dismissed for summer break last week and this was the first year since 2012 that I didn't host an end-of-year slip'n'slide party on our lawn. We started the tradition when Queen B was a Sophomore, continuing it right up until after the Man-Cub's graduation last year, and I don't know who had more fun, me, or the kids, who arrived dragging lawn chairs, water guns, towels, and sunscreen.

Probably me.












Although it always took at least two weeks for Hugh's lawn to recover from the trauma, we never even thought about abandoning the tradition while the kids were in school.

 My yard was a much quieter place this year.

What I'm Loving

Fridays off! The extra 24 hours really makes for a nice weekend.

Having the Man-Cub back home, even if "home" is 45 minutes away and I only see him on the weekends.

Baseball!




What We've Been Up To

I said I was going to be totally zen about the garden this year, and, so far I'm sticking to that. Other than daily watering and the plucking of an occasional weed, I haven't put forth much effort. In return, the garden has sprouted tiny sunflowers and a few beet sprouts. I'm not yet seeing anything that would lead me to believe that I will have the awesome cutting garden that I had envisioned, but, I'll definitely have tomatoes and peppers, so, salsa, anyone?

What I'm Dreading

It's contract season at Day Job. This entails me running all over creation trying to get signatures from my board members. This is never a smooth process, and, every year, I have some lone holdout right up until the deadline. Not looking forward to the challenge.

What I'm Working On

My summer tan. I know it's not PC to sunbathe anymore (hello 1980's, how you doin'?), but, there is nothing like a summer glow.

What I'm Excited About

Once Hugh finally finishes the pergola that he is building for the back yard, I get to pick out a rug, chair cushions, and other decor to make it homey. I'm picturing something slightly bohemian.


What I'm Watching/Reading

A friend at work recently recommended a Netflix original documentary called The Keepers. It's the true story of the mystery surrounding the murder of a Catholic nun and the lengths that her former students have gone to in an effort to solve the case, despite apparent interference by both local law enforcement and the Catholic church. It was riveting, and I binge-watched the entire series in about two days.


I've also been binge-watching Stranger Things on Netflix. I'm halfway through the second season and I can't believe it's taken me this long to discover this show.


Since I've been watching such dark shows, I've balanced my mental state by reading light, fluffy summer beach reads, including works by Carolyn Brown and Alice Hoffman.




What I'm Listening To

I haven't been listening to anything new, in fact, the only music I'm playing recently is on my iPod, when I'm on the treadmill. That playlist features heavily with Imagine Dragons, The Greatest Showman soundtrack, and Jennifer Lopez. It's an eclectic list.

What I'm Wearing

Braids! The temperatures are already soaring into the 80's and a braid is a nice change over my usual ponytail or messy bun.


What I'm Doing This Weekend

My sister, Barbie and my nephew will be in Neighboring City for a baseball tournament. Mom is coming over to spend the weekend so that we can go and watch my nephew play. Hugh is scheduled to umpire at the tournament, so, hopefully he will get to work at least one of the games, and, the Man-Cub and Queen B are also planning to attend. It's going to be a right old family affair! I can't wait!

What I'm looking Forward To Next Month

Getting the boat on the water, assuming the brain trust of mechanics that have had it in their shop since last summer can finally figure out what is triggering a sensor alarm to go off every time we get past 30 RPMs. Fingers crossed!


And, that's about it for this edition.

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Memorial Day Weekend, Part Four: Monday

This may have been my favorite day of the entire weekend, and, I say that even though the other three days included good friends, good food, baseball, and good wine. So, what was so great about Monday?

Sleep!

I slept in past six! Then, later in the day, I napped on the couch for three hours! Perhaps it was not the most productive way to spend the holiday, but, apparently my body may beg to differ.

When I wasn't sleeping, I was binge-watching Stranger Things on Netflix or puttering around the house. Hugh worked on the pergola in the backyard for the majority of the day, but he did take some time out to cook the Man-Cub a right proper holiday breakfast/brunch (the Cub also slept in, apparently his body also needed some extra rest).




As an aside, is there nothing this man can't do with a grill and a spatula? I think not.

It was a very relaxing day and a great way to end the loooong holiday weekend.  I now feel 100% more energized for my return to day Job, where I will put in a grueling three-day workweek before enjoying another weekend.

I could totally live with that schedule on the regular, if that were an option.

Just sayin'.

Monday, May 28, 2018

Memorial Day Weekend, Part Three: Sunday

Baseball, hotdogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet...that's what America is all about, right? So, on Memorial Day weekend, where would we be but at the ball park? Nowhere!

The Cub, Mikey, and Kenzie were asked to play on an adult rec league this summer, so we are going to get to watch them in action together again!








While they got their asses handed to them at this particular game, they were still a lot of fun to watch and I am looking forward to a long summer of games in the sunshine.

And, while we didn't have hotdogs, we did have sunflower seeds and fresh cherries, which are also an American favorite, so, I have no complaints.



After the game, we went home so that Hugh could work on his outdoor project for a while before hitting the movie theater for the late showing of Deadpool 2, which, was pretty good. Maybe not as good as the first movie, but, good enough to stay up late for.

Memorial Day Weekend, Part Two: Saturday

Saturday was an awesomely relaxing day. Having accomplished so many things on Friday, I was free to simply enjoy the day, which I did.

I busted out the decorations that will grace the mantel for the remainder of the summer...



...before throwing together Chris's favorite pasta salad and heading to Jana's for Darren's birthday celebration, where we spent the afternoon and evening dining on hamburgers, drinking wine, and reminiscing about all the summer days that we spent in their yard with the kids. Darren, Kaley, and the Cub specifically remembered swinging through the trees, making s'mores over the firepit, catching tadpoles in the ditch, stargazing at meteors as they streaked across the summer night sky, and picking berries from Granny's raspberry thicket.








These are awesome memories for them to have, and, it made Jana and I tear up a little. But, just a little. I can think of far worse ways to spend the day.




It's Been a Looooong Weekend

I'm not complaining! I've needed a weekend like this for quite some time and I've taken advantage of all the relaxation that I could possibly squeeze out of every moment. That's not to say that it has been all relaxation and down time, however.

In fact, it's been so busy, trying to capture it all in one post would hardly do it justice, so, I'm going to break it up into manageable chunks-one day at a time. Like God intended. This particular edition will be about Friday, which, was actually the least relaxing day of the weekend, although it paved the way for the remainder to be less errand-driven, so, I can live with that.

So, Friday:

I got up early to get my work done at the hardware store, freeing the rest of the day for those above-mentioned errands. Errands that included standing in line to renew my car registration at the County Courthouse...


...picking up cheese for the weekend...cheese shopping is no simple task, my friends; not with a selection like you'll find at the fancy supermarket in Neighboring City...


...grabbing fuel for the vehicle...


...and for the body...


...picking up a venus flytrap for Queen B, who, for some unknown reason, had wanted one for a while...



...planting new pepper plants, cleaning, organizing household crap, and changing the seasonal chalkboard from spring to summer...


...playing fetch with the dog...


...and slaving over take-n-bake pizza so that Hugh and the Man-Cub (who arrived for the weekend earlier in the day) would not starve.


Like I said, it was an errand-heavy day. But! It did make the rest of the weekend flow much more smoothly, and, I can't lie; I also indulged in a ninety minute deep tissue massage that finally opened up my hips enough to diminish the sciatic pain that I have been experiencing pretty much constantly recently.


Up next: Saturday!

I know, you're on the edge of your seat.