We had one last day of Christmas break last week, and then it was back to the real world after 17.5 glorious days off. I’m recapping it all today, so keep reading to see how we spent our week…
Monday, January 5
Monday was the last day of Christmas break, so the kids were home, and Brian was working from home, so we had a full house. B had to be up at 7:30 to get signed on at work and I ended up sleeping until 9:00, which was later than I’d wanted to get up. I cannot wait to fully get off this vertigo medicine (it makes me so sleepy and makes it extra hard to wake up in the morning) because I’m hoping my body will go back to waking up closer to 8 or 8:15 rather than 8:45 or 9 on the weekends. And yes, I know I can always set an alarm, but I don’t want to. Hahahaha.
After breakfast, I finished my blog post for Tuesday and then we all had lunch together. It was dreary and a little chilly Monday, so we all got outside. The kids rode their scooters for a long time, and I got out for a walk.
We all cleaned up the kitchen and prepped for Tuesday after that and then I got some laundry put away and watered the indoor plants while the kids got showered. We watched one episode of Percy Jackson and the Olympians with the kids, and then it was off to bed for them since they had to be up early on Tuesday.
Brian and I watched one episode of Pluribus and then it was off to bed for us, too, since we had to be up early as well. It was soooo nice to have that bonus day off so we could ease back into school and work with a short week! And I always love having my babies home, so I never complain about that!
Tuesday, January 6
I struggled to fall asleep on Monday night since we were so far off our schedule, so 6 AM came way too fast. I got showered and ready for the day and then dropped the kids at school, and then I headed home for a few minutes to work before I met with my therapist at 9:15 AM.
After my appointment with her, I headed back home to work on my blog post a bit more, and then I had an early lunch since I had to be at the orthodontist at 12:15 to have my retainers made. I had no idea what to expect with regard to that, but it was SO quick and easy. They just scanned the inside of my mouth with that fancy wand they have as it takes a 3D picture of the inside of your whole mouth, and then I was on my way. I was in and out in less than five minutes.
Since my appointment was so quick, I actually had time to go back home and work on my blog post some more, and then I headed to the school to pick up Olivia while Jacob stayed behind for e-sports.
Olivia and I headed home, and she told me all about her day – while she hadn’t been excited to go back, she was super happy to be back with all her friends again, and she’d had a great day!
Olivia had some reading to do, so while she did that, I finished my book and I loved it. I read Those Empty Eyes by Charlie Donlea and while it was my first read by this author, it certainly won’t be my last!
Olivia started a new elective this semester – Introduction to TV Production – and she wasn’t excited about it at all. She was in art for the first semester and she just wasn’t ready to be done with it since it’s one of her favorite things. However, after one day of Intro to TV Production, she came home chattering all about it, and she is SO excited about the semester ahead.
She had her first assignment last week – to make a video. It could be about anything at all and there were no requirements… the teacher basically just wanted to see where their skill level was. Olivia decided to make a tutorial on how to make a fishtail bracelet with her Rainbow Loom, and y’all, I am so impressed with how her video turned out. She did the step-by-step instructions, she added a title to the beginning (although, I did have to help her figure out how to do that since neither of us had ever used iMovie) and then she added music and did a voiceover with the verbal instructions. It was seriously so good for her first one ever! And it’s a good thing she got an iPad for Christmas because otherwise she would have been having to use my phone a LOT this semester for all her projects.
Olivia had dance class Tuesday evening, so I drove her there next, and when I got home, I walked a couple of miles. Brian picked up Jacob from e-sports on the way home, and they swung by my father-in-law’s house to check out some golf clubs he was getting rid of.
We had sausage, peppers, and onions tacos with chips and fruit, and when Brian got home with Olivia, we all sat down to eat.
After dinner, the kids finished getting ready for bed, I helped Olivia with the title on her video, and then they got into bed.
Brian and I watched an episode of Pluribus, and then we headed to bed, too. I was exhausted after getting back to all the things after vacation.
Wednesday, January 7
Wednesday morning, I dropped the kids at school and then I headed home to work. I started and finished my blog post for Friday, and by the time I was done, I was literally falling asleep at my desk because I hadn’t slept very well Tuesday night either. After struggling to stay awake for about 30 minutes, I realized it was stupid to try to power through, so I allowed myself to take a quick nap, which I NEVER do other than after I have an adjustment at the upper cervical chiropractor.
I curled up on our bed with my electric blanket, set an alarm for 30 minutes, and I was out like a light immediately. I felt so refreshed when I woke up (45 minutes later after a couple of alarm snoozes), and my brain felt like it was working better than it was before my nap, so it was worth it.
I worked on the blog a bit more after lunch and then it was car line time. On the way home, Jacob’s old piano teacher passed us on the highway on his motorcycle and he waved. We ended up being next to each other at the red light on the exit, so the kids rolled down their windows and talked to him until the light turned green. They were thrilled to see him, though. We do see him sometimes on the way home as he takes the same route to work at the same time, but we hadn’t seen him in ages.
When we got home, Olivia worked on what little homework she had, and then she Facetimed with her friend Charleigh while Jacob designed some stuff on Scratch. I took a quick walk, and then Olivia and I rolled down the windows and opened the sunroof and we sang our hearts out all the way to dance. It was gorgeous outside on Wednesday – sunny and 74 degrees – so it was the perfect day to get some fresh air.
After dinner, I intended to clean out the pantry, but I was so exhausted that I ended up sitting on the couch with the boys watching Wheel of Fortune. I also caught up on the news from the day, and boy was it grim. I’m sure all of you saw it, but an ICE agent shot a woman – an American citizen – in the face and killed her while she was in her vehicle in her neighborhood in Minnesota and then he called her a terrible name after he did it. Then, our own government proceeded to try to gaslight the whole country by telling a different story than what we all saw and heard with our own eyes and ears. What a sad, scary country we are living in right now.
Brian left to pick up Olivia from dance shortly after that, and then Jacob got in the shower. I got up to get organized for the next day, and then I made a to-do list for Thursday since there were quite a few things I wanted to tackle.
When Jacob got out of the shower, I joined him at the piano and I watched him play for a long time. He has found a new composer who he loves, and I love him, too! Jacob browsed some of his music and started playing a couple of the songs, and it was just the best watching him figure them out. He can play by ear very well now, so it’s always interesting to observe.
After Brian and Olivia got home, she showered, both kids got in bed, and Brian and I watched another episode of Pluribus before bed.
Thursday, January 8
Thursday was a day to knock out lots of things. After I got the kids to school, I headed home and tackled the following:
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Catching up on both email inboxes
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Paying bills
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Responding to blog comments
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Catching up on blog reading
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Getting gas in the car
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Picking up a prescription from CVS
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Dropping some Amazon returns at UPS
When I pulled up to get gas, the ground was wet by the only open
pump. It had been dreary and drizzly for
days at that point, so I didn’t think anything of it. A few minutes into pumping gas, the gas smell
was so strong that I started wondering what was going on, and it was when I got
back in my car and my foot slipped off the brake that I realized it was all
gasoline on the ground and I had been standing in it the whole time.
I immediately put the car back in park, got out and stomped my shoes off, and then dried them with a tissue. Then I took a handwipe that I had in my console and scrubbed the bottoms of them as best I could. Unfortunately, that did absolutely nothing and I had to roll the windows down for the rest of the duration in the car because it smelled so strongly of gas in there.
When I got home, I spent a whole hour pulling the mat out of the car and scrubbing it down and scrubbing the bottoms of my shoes over and over. As I type this, it’s been four days since it happened and both the mat and the shoes STILL smell like gas, even though I scrubbed both down with Dawn dishwashing liquid, baking soda, Clorox hand wipes (the shoes, not the mat), and various other things. I’m worried both could be ruined forever, so if anyone has any miraculous solutions for getting gasoline smell out of cloth or off rubber, please let me know. It’s so weird that the scent is clinging to the rubber soles of my shoes so badly. I thought that was going to be an easy cleanup!
By the time I was done doing that, I didn’t have a whole lot of time left before I had to leave for the car line, so I ate a quick lunch, finished catching up on blog reading, and I started cleaning out my closet, but I didn’t get very far since it was time to pick up the kids from school.
We saw Mr. Joseph on the way home again, and the kids were excited to wave at him and make crazy faces at him (LOL), and then we headed to music lessons. I sat in with Olivia this week, and she worked some more on her acoustic version of The Fate of Ophelia by Taylor Swift. Jacob worked on some new songs by that composer he loves and then we headed home. On a completely different note... tell me she's a dancer without telling me she's a dancer... (she sits like this with her feet completely turned out like she's in first position. Haha.)
Olivia Facetimed with Charleigh and Maren for a bit while Jacob showered, and then the four of us sat down to start another episode of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
After the kids went to bed, Brian and I watched some more football and I read for a bit, and then I went to bed at my usual time while Brian watched the end of the game since it was close. Since Georgia wasn’t playing, I wasn’t going to lose sleep over it. Haha.
Friday, January 9
Friday morning, I dropped the kids at school, went home to have a cup of tea, and then Brian and I headed to my upper cervical chiropractor appointment. It had been a full month since I’d last been, and the good news was that my atlas was still in place and he didn’t have to adjust it at all. He said my neck looked good and my leg check was good, too. When he checked each vertebra individually, he could tell that my lower back was having some trouble (I had thrown my back out at the end of the December, so I had expected that he’d see some issues there), and he did a few adjustments to my SI joints as well as my lower spine.
When I tell you I felt like a new person walking out of there, I am serious! My gait felt more natural, my knees stopped hurting, and my lower back stopped hurting completely after that adjustment, too. He has been such a blessing and it’s such a relief that he doesn’t do those standard back cracks that regular chiropractors do. Since he uses that little tool, his adjustments are gentle and precise, and I always feel like I’m in good hands.
He did say that my upper back muscles are still tight, but they haven’t been bothering me at all, so we are just going to leave them alone for now. We were in and out in 15 minutes and then we hit the road to head back home.
We did make a quick stop by Hobby Lobby in that city because I was hoping that they still had some of their clearance Christmas stuff, but unfortunately, it was already completely packed away.
When we got home, I was able to work. Usually after my UCC adjustments, I feel exhausted and dizzy for the rest of the day (which is normal), but since he didn’t have to adjust my atlas, I felt great for the rest of the day.
I started and finished my blog post for the following Monday, I prepped my blog post for Tuesday, I read blogs, and I worked some more on cleaning out my closet.
When the kids and I got home, I read for a bit, and I did my quiet time. The kids got everything put away from the school week, they tidied their things around the house, and then they settled in for some lazy time. Jacob played video games with one of his friends on FaceTime and Olivia FaceTimed with several of her friends.
Brian stepped out to pick up pizza for dinner, and I worked some more on cleaning out my closet. I was ruthless this time and I let go of a lot of tops that I’ve been holding onto for years. I think I got rid of 47 tops total, a bunch of which were just basic tank tops and t-shirts, but it’s nice to have the extra space in my closet and a bunch of free hangers. I tend to hoard clothes because I’ve been the same size for 25 years, and I have a hard time getting rid of something that still fits even if I don’t wear it anymore. I have tops in my closet that are 20+ years old… as a matter of fact, I still have a sweater and a skirt that I’ve had since I was 19. Lol. And no, I didn’t get rid of either of those in this purge because I still wear them, although not very often.
When Brian got home, we all ate dinner and then the kids got showered. While they showered, I read for a bit and then we finished the episode of Percy Jackson and the Olympians that we had started the night before.
After the kids were in bed, Brian and I started season two of Platonic, and then we went to bed. If you’re looking for something HILARIOUS, Platonic makes both of us laugh out loud every single time. It’s a little tacky and the language is definitely rated R, but dang, that show is funny.
Saturday, January 10
Saturday morning, I made waffles for breakfast, and then I tackled a bunch of random, tiny tasks in my office. Brian and Jacob went to get haircuts, and Olivia Facetimed with a bunch of friends in a big group chat.
We had a storm coming that had the potential for tornadoes since it was in the 70s last week, so I went out on the back porch to check on my car mat and my shoes that had gotten covered in gasoline a few days before that. Both of them still smelled soooo strongly of gasoline, so I took a few minutes to scrub both with more Dawn dish washing liquid and baking soda, and then I left them out to dry… again.
I got inside just as the storm hit, and it ended up being mild… just a bunch of rain and some strong winds, but nothing bad at all.
I spent the next hour finishing up cleaning out my closet, getting everything bagged up, and getting it dusted, and then we all had lunch together.
The kids showered and did their laundry after that, and then Jacob had some studying to do. I spent some time changing out the remaining hangers in my closet that don’t have the grooves on the top. I have a lot of tank tops and shirts that fall off the hangers if they don’t have the grooves, and Brian hates the hangers with the grooves, so I did some swapping to rid my closet of the plain hangers once and for all. Was it a task that was super important? No, not at all. But was it a task that I was happy to check off my list? Yes. And now I won’t have to deal with shirts falling off hangers in my closet all the time, so it was nice to alleviate that pain point. Definitely a first world problem, though in the scheme of things. ;o)
After that was done, I finally took the time to sit in my office and think about how to display my Taylor Swift autographed CD. We purchased one for Olivia for Christmas, but I think I failed to mention that I bought one for myself as well. As a matter of fact, TS put out four different variations, and I ended up getting all four signed variations. Yes, that is excessive, and I had originally intended to sell two of them, but ultimately, I decided to keep one for Olivia to have for herself, one for my office, and I’ll display the other two together downstairs on my record player stand.
I’d already purchased the frame for one of my autographed copies and had the glass changed out to UV protective glass, but I hadn’t taken the time to figure out which autographed photo to frame, so I finally took the time to think it over and get it in the frame. After that, I had to find a place in my office to display it, and that ultimately led to me restyling all my acrylic shelves to make room. If you give a mouse a cookie… ;o)
I am very particular about decorating and styling and all that, so it took a full hour of me tinkering around with all the stuff to get the shelves just right, and I’m happy with the outcome. I love being able to display books and art and photos right there.
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After Mass, Momma, Daddy, Alex (my littlest brother), Mama Cass, Aunt Joy, and Uncle Greg + our family of four all went out to dinner… the usual crew. We decided to go to the pub down the street from church instead of Mexican, and we ended up having to wait for a table, but thankfully, we didn’t have to wait long.
When we got home, we finished watching Oceans 11 – the kids loved it (although Olivia wasn’t as impressed as Jacob was) – and then Brian and I watched a couple more episodes of Platonic before going to bed.
Sunday, January 11
Sunday morning, we slept in, had cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and then I went to my office to get my usual Sunday things done – planning the week ahead, watching my Sunday morning sermon, and transferring photos from the week from my phone to my computer.
Once all that was done, I got all the laundry sorted because it was overflowing, and then I went ahead and started a load to get a jump start on it. Once the clothes were in the wash, I bundled up and headed out to take a walk. That storm on Saturday blew in a cold front and although it was sunny, it was cold and windy.
We had Sunday dinner at my parents’ house, minus my uncle and his girlfriend since she has been sick, and Momma made our good luck meal for the new year. We usually have it on January 1, but we all took that day off to be lazy and we got takeout instead.
Happy Tuesday, y’all!
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