January wins

The first win, I guess, is that I'm working at my kitchen table this afternoon ("working"), and this is the 2nd time this month I have done so.

The second win is that January is finally OVER, and I say that with love, but man, did this month pile on the Busy. It felt like it would never end, with the weekends going thusly:

• New Year's weekend, which we spent in Pcola and was lovely
• New bed delivery (Th), and middle school semi-formal for Kate (Fr), and basketball (Sa)
• Painters in the house (Th and Fr), and then JTF (Sa-Su, skipped basketball); thankful for MLK Day off (roofers)
• Aladdin, Jr. weekend and Mom and Dad's visit to see the play (loved having you!), plus basketball
• This current weekend will be basketball - hopefully the last game on Saturday but only if Kate's team loses (it's bad to want them to lose, right?)

Weekdays were rehearsals for all of that, of course. So, yeah. Stick a fork in me, I'm done. (Thank goodness the marching band is off in January!) All of those things were still wins, though. 

The NEW BED! We gave in to the Sleep Number pressure and I think we both like it! I won't say "love," because we're not hopping out of bed in the mornings with zero pain, but it seems to be significantly less pain. I love how, when I first lie down to go to bed at night, the bed pauses and then slightly adjusts to me. It's like a gentle hug: "Welcome to bedtime!" I wonder, will my Sleep Number need to go UP in the years to come, as the bed starts to wear (up is more firm, down is softer)? Probably. Still, it's a significant improvement over a bed whose springs were legitimately poking us in the back/sides while we slept. 

The Paint! Of all the rooms in our house, the entryway was going to be hardest to paint, because it's open to the 2nd story. So we hired it out. I went with Ellie Gray in the entry and Silverplate in the hall (both Sherwin Williams) and they look good together; actually there's barely any difference between them, but that's okay.  

Hello, Fresh. ?  I think this is a win. I'm certainly glad we've tried it. It isn't blowing me away, but it's good food and proper portions and it helps me not serve the same-old same-olds all the time. And helps me have an answer when Kate asks "What's for dinner tonight?"

One more tiny win: At work, I was given the [hokiest, dorkiest] "Kinda a Big Deal" Award for the month. It's supposed to come with a gift card which I haven't received yet, but still, it's nice to be recognized and the person who nominated me (I found out later) was not who I would have expected. I want to do my best at work, but I am having a hard time settling on what that looks like. I also got an adjustable desk so I can stand up twice a day for an hour or so! I love it -- something I've wanted for a long time, work-wise. I think I also got out of having to travel to an event in April, woo!

I'm reading "Where'd You Go, Bernadette." It's funny, but I really dislike every character -- they're terrible people, all of them! Still, a quick read that has felt light in an otherwise stressy month, is a WIN.

Happy Friday!

Look at Me

"I'm the king of New York...!"

I'm on a Newsies kick at the moment. Last February, I was reminded about how I love musicals, and this past weekend, I was given another boost to my system.

Sorry, no video, this is just a screen grab - but it wasn't that interesting, anyway.

Kate's drama teacher has always taken the kids to the Junior Theater Festival, and this year I was asked to chaperone. I DREADED it. I knew it would be a long 2 days, at a conference center, trying to corral 39 pre-teens who were full of adrenaline and Broadway Jr. enthusiasm, and it WAS long.

However.

It reminded me of when I was that age (and a bit older), when all I ever listened to was musical theater soundtracks over and over, and although I knew I wouldn't ever make it to Broad WAY (as one of the speakers this weekend kept saying), I loved being part of the chorus in the small-town shows I did. I loved being backstage. I loved Friday night rehearsals. I made my first best friends in those shows, and we had inside jokes and we weren't afraid to express ourselves, and that was HUGE for me, who was pretty shy as a very young girl. We were loud and full of laughter and didn't care what anyone thought. AND we knew how to sing and dance, and deliver a line (well, the ones who had lines did). ;)

The weekend was exhausting, as I predicted, but my girl was happy. Her troupe didn't win any awards, and gosh, were there some excellent performances from other groups. Ours, very amateur (but so sweet). Still, Kate said several times how much fun she was having. I don't know if she's been bitten by the Theater Bug (harrrr, a cliche I very much dislike), but I'm so happy she's trying it out, and I was so happy to be there to experience the fun alongside her. (And pay for her merch, of course.)

Anyway, I got on here to say that I'm now working hard to fill in the gaps in my knowledge -- this week it has been Newsies (LOVE) and Wicked (meh) in my Apple music library. On deck: Book of Mormon, Waitress, Rent, Matilda, Dear Evan Hansen, Children of Eden, and probably Tuck Everlasting (because I can see our school doing that one if it ever appears as a Junior edition).

This weekend I'll be backstage chaperoning again during Kate's 2 performances of Aladdin, Jr., singing along and clapping wildly for the next generation of musical theater kids.

Post something, already!

I have started posts at least twice, then abandoned them. I had an inkling to do the whole big 2019 Review post, but I guess I decided against, since I never did it. I did do a final review in my planner, in which I said these things:

• I enjoyed having a paper calendar/planner again
• I loved Golden Coil, but over-estimated how many pages I would need, esp. re: goal-setting.
• Goal-setting still makes me feel more shame/guilt than control/productivity
• I'm proud I was gentle with myself about the goals, but don't feel like I want to continue with them, at least not on paper so much
• Gratitude journaling remained constant, all year long
• I chose a Rifle Paper Company planner for 2020 and think it will serve the purpose just fine, for about half the cost

Best things about 2019:

• 10 years at my company (!!), which means more days OFF going forward
• Some workout success, both in January (30 days of yoga w/Adrienne) and July - Nov (150 minutes/week, 17 consecutive weeks)
• Marching Band Mom-hood! Discovered which volunteering I like and don't, made new friends, took a trip
• Quitting gymnastics (Kate) and choir (me)
• Experience gifts for the kids (a gaming "homestand" for Alex and Shawn Mendes concert for Kate)
• Gardening more thoughtfully
• Jilly's (my sis) happiness, engagement, and the family meeting her fiance last week in P'cola (New Year's Day and weekend)

In general I think I was more calm in 2019, refusing to let being busy stress me out so much. Relative to that, I didn't even want to consider the "worst things" of 2019. Didn't bother. No need to think negative thoughts. 

So, here we are in 2020! Twenty-twenty! Can you believe it?? We have a lot going on already. 

• Doctors, ahoy. Starting last month, I visited the eye doctor, my primary care doc, and this morning, the dentist. Kate went to a dermatologist and has a follow-up in 2 weeks. The kids both have dentist appointments as well, in January, and I get to have 2 cavities filled. Ugh. But thankful for insurance.
• We bought a Sleep Number bed and it will be delivered in 3 days. Shawn and I and our aching backs are very excited about this development.
• The painting crew is coming later this month to fix the hole in the kitchen ceiling and also paint the entry/walls of the stairs/upstairs hallway. Eeeee! Been wanting to paint those scuffed up walls since we moved in almost 5 years ago! Choosing a grey soon. Any suggestions are welcome.
• We also hope this will spur us to paint other rooms in the house, not to mention redecorating the guest room, but I'm not expecting it to happen right away.
• Kate's middle school semi formal dance this Friday, for which we are still looking for a dress and shoes, eek. Going at lunch today with fingers crossed.
• Kate's first drama club performance on the 24th-25th! So far she isn't in love with the preparation process, which includes rehearsal nearly every day for the next 3 weeks, but I hope the performance weekend will be fun for her. 

Posting our weekly menu is still so fun, somehow. It taught me last year that I am prone to taking the easy way out (hot dogs and fries, tra-la!) but also that the kids' palettes are slowly growing and more able to try new things. I have another Hello Fresh box arriving tomorrow, with Parm Crusted Chicken and Lemon-Tomato Spaghetti one night, and Cajun Blackened Tilapia with Red Beans and Lemon Rice the other. Yummy! Just noticed the 2 lemon sides, oops. However, those are probably not getting made until the weekend because my darling husband made the menu and did the grocery shopping this week while I was out of town, thank you, Shawn! and it's all of his family faves:

• Sunday: Spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic toast
• Monday: Cheesy baked chicken breasts, steamed broccoli, salad
• Tuesday: Chili
• Wednesday: Hot Dogs and Fries!
• Thursday: Pork chops (breaded) (okay, Shake n Bake), rice and field peas

Finally, I will tell you my plan for detoxing from the holidays, or should I call it All-Cookies All-The-Time. It is thus:

• WATER, lots
• 150 minutes/week (also good for carpal tunnel management)
• no second helpings
• no candy
• no sugar
• no dairy
• no extra bread (meaning, if pasta is on the menu I can eat some pasta, but no roll. And choosing salads for lunches instead of sandwiches, etc.)

Those last 4 are just for a week or two, hopefully to remove the feeling of bloatedness that has become permanent lately. Ugh. I was thwarted this morning: my coffee from home tasted terrible, so I went to the Dunkin drive-thru and ordered plain black coffee with vanilla flavoring (I know there's sugar in it). They handed me a full-cream, real sugar hazelnut latte. Oh well, I'm taking it as a loving gesture from God. :)