My Little Life

Coronavirus. Minnesota. May 6.

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Thu, 07 May 2020 01:39:00 +0000

The grass in green, the trees are budding, the sun is shining and life keep chugging along. Our Governor extended the “stay home” order until May 18th, but I feel that the natives are getting restless. There are so many people out at stores and I’ve even see traffic change over the last couple of weeks, it’s as if people are saying “okay, enough now” with their actions.

Lots of people wearing masks in stores, but the toilet paper is back in stock! Yay! Unfortunately now, ziplock bags have taken a hit and it always seems I’m late to the game and in need of whatever the rest of the world decided to stock up on, so I had to settle for my “not favorite” brand of ziplock bags. (First world problems, I KNOW.)

After reaching a low of $1.34/gallon, it seems as if gas prices are rebounding, up as high as $1.79/gallon (seems weird to think that that is “high”!) in some places!

Our farmers, especially pig farmers, are in a bind. Many processing plants have had COVID outbreaks and had to shut down, leaving some farmers with no option but to euthanize their herd (do you call a group of pigs a herd?). Butcher shops are completely booked for the foreseeable future, and some farms have set up make-shift DIY butchering stations on their farmers if people want to come do it themselves. (This is where I tap out. Nope, not gonna do it.) Meat is tough to find in stores as well and Sam’s Club and Costco are limiting shoppers to one package of chicken/pork per shopper.

OH!! And the big news now are these mutant hornets that have been found in the US. And the memes about them are hilarious!!

Oh my gosh, I laughed so hard at those!

In random news, I decided to host a Pamper Chef party and was ASTOUNDED at how many people purchased! It was a great “quarantine” activity and now I have a bunch of new Pampered Chef stuff coming my way! Yahoo!!

We are still participating in masses online...and every time we live stream a mass from our own parish, I get misty eyed. I have such a longing to be back there! The good news is that churches now have some limited availability for adoration/prayer time...I am hoping to stop in tomorrow and just spend a little time with our Lord!

The kids will be done with school work next Friday, and then summer vacation will officially kick off!! Although...I kinda feel like summer vacation stared in mid-March! 🤣

Ellie’s Senior end of year activities kicked off tonight with a live streamed Honor’s Society...next week is Scholarship night then the seniors will be honored with a special day where the do a “drive thru” end of year round up! Yearbooks! Grad Bash prizes! Caps and Gowns! Scholarships! It’s a one stop shop and we just drive up and get Ellie’s stuff! Bittersweet for sure.

Today two fighter jets did fly overs at a number of hospitals/health care facilities in Minnesota...it was such a weirdly emotional moment for me, seeing those two jets and hearing the roar of their engines and knowing it was in support of healthcare workers. I feel a little “weird” about being lumped in with the healthcare heroes...I am so far removed from the front lines, that I always want to make it clear that THEY are the real heroes. The ones who truly deserve the accolades.

To be continued...

Coronavirus. Minnesota. April 19.

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Sun, 19 Apr 2020 18:11:00 +0000

Well, here we are. Going on our 4th week of “stay at home”, still without our internet upgrade, which means you can often hear one of several people in our hone yelling out “WIFI PLEASE!!!”, which translates loosely to “for the love of all that is good and holy SHUT YOUR WIFI OFF!!”. I still find myself heading to the store more than ever and feel like we are single handedly keeping dairy farmers in business with our milk consumption.

Yesterday we learned of the first confirmed case of coronavirus in our county, “confirmed” being the key word as I’m sure there have been many unconfirmed cases up to this point.

Last Thursday came the order at work that masking for ALL employees is now mandatory, unless you are in an office by yourself, which, praise be to God, I am because wearing a mask makes me feel short of breath and these days that feeling is a doomsday sentence. Minnesota has not yet hit “peak”, which I’ve heard is projected to now not be until around July 4th because we Minnesotans are not only nice, but we are also fantastic rule followers and have done a great job of squashing the curve. Also, for quite awhile now, MN has been at 50% or more of recovered cases...so that is good!

We are hearing of other states cancelling school for the reminder of the year (I’m looking at you, Texas and Florida) and my guess is Minnesota is not far behind. Paul and I were talking about Ellie’s senior year and how much fun these last weeks of her senior year should be, but here she is, stuck at home with us! (Lucky for her, we’re cool parents...or so we think. 😜) The good thing is she and her fellow classmates don’t know what they’re missing...they’ve never had a senior year to miss out on, so to them, this is a bummer but nothing soul crushing.

Spring weather is back, after a short reprieve in which winter returned, and we have been getting a TON of outside work done. To be honest, I think I’m driving most of these projects cuz mama tends to eat when she’s bored and golly if I’m not well on my way to the Quarantine 15...and just in time for swimsuit season. 😒 Outside work keeps me busy, provides me with some good exercise and keeps my hands occupied so I can’t stuff my mouth full of Nerds jellybeans (OMG MY FAVE) and fruit snacks.

Tomorrow, our governor is opening up golf courses (with some creative changes that I didn’t really pay attention to cuz I don’t golf but I’m gonna start just for something to do) and marine businesses...I’m also starting to think maybe we need to buy a boat cuz it’s beginning to look like the only things we’ll be able to do in the near future is golf and boat (and I think boating is more my thing).

I’ve recently tasked Ellie with preparing one meal a week and she came up with a new favorite...knock-off KFC Famous Bowls! We all enjoyed it!

Oh! And big news...when I went to Walmart yesterday, I found the TP aisle to be at least 2/3’s stocked!! Things are looking up, people!

All in all, I’m really enjoying this time...we are privileged to be a family that benefits from this slowed pace of life. I love the family time and having my kids around, I love not having to worry about who needs to be where, what activity or banquet or obligation is coming up, and just generally slowing down in life and enjoying my family.

To be continued...

Coronavirus. Minnesota. April 13.

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Mon, 13 Apr 2020 22:49:00 +0000

We’ve now been on “quarantine” for 2 weeks and 3 days with a new extension until May 4th.

I have a high school senior who is taking this like a champ while she watches event after event get cancelled or postponed. In the big picture, senior events don’t measure up to protecting people’s lives but in the life of a senior, these missed milestones are momentous and sad.

All the kids have adapted well to “distance learning” with the biggest gripe being our snail-paced internet service. For posterity’s sake, I’ll document it here (I’m sure someday we’ll be shocked we even survived with this speed of internet): our internet through CenturyLink provides speeds of “up to 1.5Mbps”, a recent speed test during typical usage showed our speed to be at 0.6ish Mbps. Kinda tough to support 4 kids learning at home on those speeds, but we’re making do! We’ve also recently learned (and upgraded) that we are eligible now for speeds up to 10 Mbps, however our install is indefinitely delayed because “the tech found that the facilities aren’t in place” and there was no timeline when these “facilities” will be in place. Ugh.

We are going through close to 2 gallons of milk a day, which makes me look like a real heel when I go to the store and buy 8 gallons at one time while the gentleman behind me grabs one single 1/2 gallon. I feel like I should wear a sign that proclaims, “I promise I’m not stockpiling! This will barely get us through the week!”. We walked past the toilet paper aisle today and it was about 1/4 stocked and I said “WOW!!! Toilet paper is restocked!!” and Ayla reminded me that it’s barely restocked compared to (to quote my hilarious friend Kate), “The Before Times”. We are going through snacks and food like crazy...4 kids home 24/7 with two of them being ravenous, teenage boys proves to be a challenge with keeping food in the house! (So. Many. Trips. To Walmart. So much for “stay at home”.)

Holy Week came and went, we participated in live-streamed masses and missed our beautiful church and congregation. Easter Mass wrecked me. As I watched our priests and seminarians celebrate mass, I was suddenly overcome with such sadness, such longing to be in church, that the tears just started to flow. I could see the incense wafting up toward Heaven and I couldn’t smell it. My heart broke to have yet another week go by and be unable to receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. I had a hard time stopping the tears, and afterward told my sweet husband, “It’s just so sad. That’s all I could think about was ‘This is just so sad that we can’t be there.’” I know that “this too shall pass”, and it can’t pass soon enough.

We’ve been enjoying outdoor games (the “Four Wheeler Game”, which is a type of hide-and-seek in which the seeker is on a 4 wheeler and the hiders scurry about our property, trying not to get caught...so much fun and good, active, family time!) and getting a lot of outdoor work down. Paul cut down 5 trees on Saturday and we all pitched in and got them cleaned up in no time!

Paul and I are both blessed to be essential workers, feeling for those whose livelihood had been impacted by all of this.

Other than the last couple of days, our weather has been glorious and spring-like. Today, even Mother Nature has lost her mind...it is snowing and the sun is shining AT THE SAME TIME.

Praying for a swift end, or a speedy process to contain, this virus and allow people to get back to life. Worried for those whose mental health is taking a toll from the isolation and those whose financials are in jeopardy. Thinking of all those who have fought or are fighting the virus personally and praying they recover quickly.

Stay healthy and pray for a rapid process to treat and overcome coronavirus and allow us all to return to live as usual!

To be continued...

Coronavirus. Minnesota. April 3rd.

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 22:24:00 +0000

Long ago, I started this blog as a place to document life with 5 kids. To keep track of memories and events and funny kid antics and...just, life. I discovered that my brain processed life through words and I found so much joy in documenting the happenings of our life.

I’ve been off social media for lent, but when the coronavirus started to disrupt daily life, I began snapping pictures to make a “Pandemic” memory book someday. Just today it crossed my mind to start to journal this historic time on this dusty old blog of mine. So here we go...a bit of a late start, but better late than never, right?

Ellie and I traveled to Jamaica in January for a girls trip and there were murmurings about a virus in China...but China is a half a world away so these murmurings were nothing more than a blip on my radar. Shortly after returning from Jamaica, the news started to ramp up a little, and I’ll be totally honest, I didn’t pay any attention to any of it. We traveled as a family to Florida in February and, once again, news was starting to really pick up about this “coronavirus”. At this point I was (I hang my head now) vehemently certain that this was some media ploy to get us all worked up. (I’ve long loathed that we, as humans, seem to be the puppets and the media the puppeteer with all the power to control our thoughts and emotions and actions.)

By early March, I was still scoffing at this whole thing, but starting to wonder if I needed to be more concerned. Then they cancelled school on March 16th and the former school nurse in me was aghast because I was always told “keep healthy kids at school and sick kids at home...if you let healthy kids out of school they just congregate together and spread sickness” but it turns out I don’t make the decision whether to keep school in session or not. 😉 My Ellie is a senior and walked out of that school uncertain of whether or not she just had her last official day of school. “Distance learning” commenced for Abe and Ayla, my middle schoolers, while my high schoolers basically had a two week break while the public school prepared the district for their distance learning plan.

All the while, I’m over here caught up with trying to figure out where I stand on the whole situation...and you wanna know what finally made me buy in that this was a real concern?

When they cancelled mass. I’m Catholic...and let me tell you, they NEVER cancel mass. Massive snowstorms will blow through and mass is not cancelled. If you deem it is unsafe for you to get to mass, then that is your own decision, but in all my life I NEVER remember mass being cancelled. And here we find ourselves with masses cancelled THROUGH Easter, the holiest of seasons in the liturgical year. No Holy Week masses, no Easter vigil, no glorious Easter Sunday mass. My heart was (and still is) crushed.

But...THAT’S when I decided that this was serious and that I did, indeed, need to be concerned.

Around this same time, my work started talking about social distancing, how we could continue to provide patient care and minimize exposures, and who could work from home. And then, on March 27, our governor announced a “shelter in place” order to last for two weeks (until April 10th).

This week is when the impact of coronavirus was truly felt at my job...ZERO face-to-face contact with patients unless absolutely necessary, relocated to a vacated office of someone who had been relocated to working from home, and waiting with this feeling of impending doom of when the surge is going to hit.

Through the increasing seriousness of this pandemic my eyes have been opened more and more to the blessings in my life, to trying to find a blessing in everyday...from the near 60° March day with a whole houseful of able bodied kids to help make a huge dent in getting spring lawn work done to recognizing the privilege of technology that allows us to participate in mass as a family in our basement via a livestream mass on YouTube.

God is still good...there is still SO MUCH good in this world and while we don’t know the certainty of how this will play out in our personal lives, I am profoundly touched by unity and support that I’m witnessing. Our hospital is decorated with hearts and paint proclaiming “we are in this together!” People are making face masks and posting signs and just when it was beginning to feel like our country was being ripped in two, we see a coming together for a common cause.

Yes, my friends, this too shall pass...and we will be stronger because of it!

To be continued...

Missing him.

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 15:38:00 +0000

Sitting in a quiet house, up early (because: Daylight Saving Time) and my thoughts are filled with my little brother. Most days I am doing well; I can talk about Jack with ease, laugh and smile at the memories I have of him, and talk with my kids about the lessons Jack’s life has taught us...but this morning? This morning the tears are quick to come. It started with a text from one of our Deacons at church letting me know today’s mass intention was for Jack and that he is praying for him. Then I realized it was 4 months ago today that we learned Jack had passed away...and when I think back to that day, when I allow myself to go back to that moment in time, in my parents driveway, finding out that my brother was gone forever, the grief washes over me like a fresh wave.

I know that these tough days are par for the course, that for the rest of my life I will be caught up in a wave of grief now and then, but I also know that I need to choose joy. I need to choose happiness, mostly for myself and my family but also because I know Jack would not want me to wallow in sadness.

Oh, how I wish you all could have known Jack. He was the very definition of “People Person”...he never met a stranger and he left an impression on everyone he met. He was larger than life. So much fun, but also ingratiatingly annoying sometimes (like all little brothers are)...his opinions were spoken loudly, his competitive spirit was often over the top, and he could tease incessantly...but his heart was huge, his laugh was booming, and his love for his family was fierce.

Jack battled addiction hard, but in the end, the addiction won. An accidental drug overdose took my little brother’s life. He hated that he was an addict, that he let his nieces and nephews and family down when he used. We haven’t shied away from speaking about how Jack died and I can’t speak for everyone, but I know for myself it’s because I don’t want his death to be in vain. If my honesty about Jack’s addiction can save even just one person, one family, from having to experience what Jack went through and what those of us left behind will have to deal with for the rest of our lives, then I will know that my little brother died for a cause.

Addiction doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care about wealth or upbringing or family ties or race or gender...it can hit anyone. It can reach out and randomly grab one person from your family without warning or reason, and try as you might, you can’t always get that grasp to release. Addiction can set up a foothold after just one use or it can slowly sneak its way into your loved one’s life; a little experiment here, a little there, and before they know it, they have sold their soul to the devil that is addiction.

Talk to your kids about drugs and alcohol. Tell them about Jack...that he was a good kid that came from a good family and because of some poor choices, he is no longer with us. Watch who your kids hang out with and do NOT be afraid to tell them they are not allowed to hang out with kids that you know are making bad choices. After watching Jack’s struggles, I firmly believe that a good friend group is one of the most important things your child can have for their success in life and that if Jack had not chosen to hang out with the party crowd (please know I am NOT blaming them...Jack’s choices were his own and no one else’s) we could have had a different outcome. We could still have Jack with us.

I miss my little brother something fierce...and yet, I find ways to smile through these tough days. Remembering how Jack HATED the song “Baby It’s Cold Outside” (oh the INJUSTICE of it all!), how he LOVED sports and sport statistics, and how he loved his nieces and nephews with every ounce of his being.

Rest In Peace, my little brother.

My Beloved Gram

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 16:48:00 +0000

Oh, my friends. Where do I start?

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of heartbreak and abundant love.

On September 26th, after fighting Myasthenia Gravis for so many years, my grandma left this earth...and took a piece of my heart with her. I miss her so much, but feel guilty for wishing she were still here as she had suffered and declined so much in the last few months, but oh, my heart. I have realized that I miss my healthy Gram. The Gram I used to cook with and laugh with and shop with and talk with. Her disease took the best of her and I am grateful she is no longer suffering, but nonetheless, my heart aches.

The blessings in the midst of the heartache were beautiful, however. I was able to tell her goodbye and that I loved her so much, while she was still lucid. I never, ever want to forget her heartfelt reply, "Oh, I love you TOO much."

My sweet Gram, I love you too much, too.

She taught me so much and I swear to you, every childhood memory I have includes my grandma and grandpa. We lived with them for a short period of time and we spent so much time with them, that they are woven through all of my childhood experiences and memories. The bond we had carried into adulthood...Gram was my "person" for so many years.

My Gram was the "textbook" grandma. She baked with me and taught me to cook and loved me unconditionally and put me first and was always there for me. I regret not spending more time with her these last few years, as life became increasingly all consuming with a household of busy kids. I pray she knows how very much I loved her.

Let me also tell you how incredibly, unbelievably grateful I am that we spent time cooking together for this blog. My "In the Kitchen with Gram" posts are even sweeter to me now. To know that she and I spent that time together, doing what she loved most (cooking) and teaching me all the tricks and tips she had is so comforting to me. I cherish that time we had together even more now.

Friends, call your grandma and your grandpa and tell them how much they mean to you, how much you love them, and how grateful you are for them. Our time with them is so fleeting.

Life: An Update

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Thu, 07 Jun 2018 23:27:00 +0000

Oh, my friends. So much has happened since that last snowy post in April!! First of all, SPRING CAME!!! Yahoo!! Dare I even say, SUMMER CAME!! (And, possibly went, too, but that is still left to be determined!)

We Minnesotan's like to joke "I hope summer falls on a weekend this year". Thankfully, it appears to have done just that...with temps in the 90ºs on Memorial Day weekend. Now, we're a cool low 70ºs...blech. Gimme the heat, man! (I promise my husband isn't a grumpy guy...he just doesn't like to smile for the camera!)

Anyway, life is plugging along, as it usually does with the days flying by and me wondering where on earth the time is going. We have just about 2 weeks of summer vacation under our belts and I'm perplexed at how I now have one kid grown and raised and graduated from college, one high school junior, a freshman, a 7th grader and a 5th grader. If anyone can tell me where the last 10 years went, that'd be great. 😳

My sweet big girl attended her first prom and gracious did she look gorgeous! She had such a blast getting all glammed up for prom and it was so fun to just see the joy in her heart with having such a fun day.

As I mentioned above (also, please see photo above...he is more "camera averse" than my husband), my biggest kid is (mostly) officially "all grown up". He graduated from college in December and is still on the hunt for his "thing". That's the tough thing about business degrees...it's not always easy to narrow down the vast array of jobs that are out there to something that fits well!

Then there's this kid:

Who seemed to suddenly grow into a man-child overnight. He is tall and broad and has a smile that will win over the coldest of hearts...or, his mama's annoyed heart when he pushes her buttons just one too many times! Goofball really knows how to push those buttons, too! And that hair...he works hard to have those flippy wings under his hat!

Our two youngest are just pluggin' along too...my little guy tried Track and Field this year (rather than baseball) and absolutely loved it! Never a complaint about going to practice and enjoyed every second of the (short...see previous post 😜) season. And, my Baby Girl is still my sidekick. Content to come with me to everything...chiropractor appointments, grocery shopping, whatever it may be, she's happy to just tag along. This girl LOVES her ballet too!

The hubs and I are just holding on for dear life as time flies by with lightening speed. We can't believe that our babies are so big and we scratch our heads in wonder at: 1. how did we get so old and 2. how did our KIDS get so old???? I think it's safe to say we both feel like we should still be in the throes of sleepless nights and diapers and potty training and Target temper tantrums.

Young mom's look at me strangely when I say I miss those days. Sweet Young Mamas, listen to me when I say I would trade temper tantrums for teenage woes ANY SINGLE DAY. Everything is just SO MUCH HEAVIER when they are teenagers. Hurt feelings and driving and grades and managing busy schedules and jobs and boy/girl friends and OH MY LORD GIMME A BABY WITH AN EAR INFECTION OVER THIS PLEASE!

I'm kidding.

Kinda.

Teenagers are awesome and wonderful and one minute you're worried sick about them and the next they knock your socks off with their resilience and accomplishments and your tears of worry turn into tears of joy and relief and pride.

We will survive this, Middle-aged Mamas, we will survive.

Now, I'm off to enjoy this glorious Minnesota night with my (growing) babies!

Beauty

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 01:22:00 +0000

As we sit here in Minnesota, digging out from an epic spring snowstorm, it's easy to get down and out about the weather. It can feel like spring is never going to come and we have just entered into eternal winter, like Narnia.

Only, we know better. We've done this before and sure, last year at this time we had green grass and flip flops, but we KNOW it is going to turn.

And if we just take a moment to appreciate the beauty...it really is amazing. Yes, I'd much rather have birds chirping and flowers blooming but gracious...have you ever stopped to soak in the warmth of the sun after getting walloped by a spring snow?

It is glorious.

There is something kind of amazing in feeling the warmth of the sun from above while the earth around you is blanketed in cold.

I'm getting anxious for those flip flops...but for now, I'll just be content with the beauty around me.

Well...Long Time, No See!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 23:13:00 +0000

*Blows dust off blog*

Well...hello there!

How are ya'll out there in the world wide web? Does anyone even read blogs anymore? Or are vlogs are the rage nowadays? Lemme tell you something: vlogger I am not. I would rather chew my right arm off than edit 24 hours worth of video footage down to 15 minutes. CHEW IT RIGHT OFF, my friends.

And, also: I can't watch vlogs at work (noisy) but I can read a blog here and there! So, if blogging is a dying art, I am gonna go down fighting! I won't cave THAT easy.

Anyway, it's been awhile since you and I have spent any time together, hasn't it?! My last post was a recap of my trip to Oklahoma with my bestie to see Ree Drummond's Mercantile. And...I'm sorta embarrassed to do that math, but I'll save YOU the mental math on this one...that road trip was last June. As in, 7 months ago!

7. Crazy. Months.

Remember when I said that I was going to blog EVERY SINGLE DAY last year? I started strong(ish) (okay, not that strong) and then fizzzzzzzzzzzzle, I dropped my resolution like a hot potato. Doh.

I had wonderful intentions, but gosh dang it, they're hard to keep and you know what? I've learned something about myself. When I am stressed my creative juices flow. Yup, they flow, for sure...RIGHT OUT THE WINDOW.

I know I've said it a million times, but just when you think you're a busy parent, SOMETHING ELSE makes you even busier and good golly me + busy = no bueno. I loathe being "busy". Something that the rest of society seems to thrive on (but that's another story for another day) and something that makes me want to curl up in the fetal position and suck my thumb.

I. Hate. Busy.

Anyway...my adorable cousin, Anna, came to visit me at work last week and we made an agreement...a spit-shake, pinky-swear, blood sister agreement (minus the spit-shake and blood sister thing because: ew and bloodborne pathogens). I told her I would start blogging again and she told me she would START a blog.

I am making ZERO lofty promises about frequency of aforementioned blogging, but blog I will!

So, Anna...here it is! Time to fulfill your end of the spit-shake, now!

My Oklahoma Adventure!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Thu, 20 Jul 2017 19:44:00 +0000

At the end of June, my bestie and I took off on the adventure of a lifetime. We frequently referred to it as our "Thelma and Louise" roadtrip, but realized that probably wasn't even close to the truth!

No Brad Pitt, no driving off cliffs, waaaaaayyyyyy more tame than good ol' Thelma and Louise, but still A TON of fun!

Way back in February, when I turned 40, T suggested we take a roadtrip to The Pioneer Woman's new Mercantile store. Knowing that a visit to the Merc ranked about as high on our husbands' list of things to do as, oh, say, having their toenails pulled out one-by-one, (now, if it were a Drummond Ranch working visit, then yes, both of our hard working, farm boy husbands would be eager to roadtrip to Oklahoma!! Crazy working fools that they are!) we figured we should make the trip with just the two of us. Days and days of uninterrupted girl time...YES PLEASE!

We set off on a Monday evening, stopped for a relaxed bite to eat in the Twin Cities, and headed to Des Moines, IA to rest up for the long leg of our trip on Tuesday.

The best thing about this trip is that the ONLY thing we had planned was that we were staying two nights at the Historic Whiting in Pawhuska, OK. NOTHING else was planned! (That makes my Type B personality soar and T's Type A personality get a little nervous.) NOTHING!

And oh my gosh, you guys...what an amazing time we had! Hours and hours of uninterrupted girl time...time to talk like we haven't been able to do since our days at college! No husbands (even though we love them dearly) and no kids (we love them dearly too) to compete with for our time! I think we need to make this an annual trip.

Some highlights...

And, we're off!!

Pit stop in "No Man's Land", MO. I had to use the bathroom SO BADLY that just about anything would do. We passed up a "Limited Facilities" rest stop for this. (I think next time I would opt for the limited facilities!!)

T had the brilliant idea of looking up Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives restaurants on the way down...we timed it so we were just south of Kansas City at lunch time and choose this:

The most amazing hole-in-the-wall BBQ joint!! I loved the rustic ambiance!

And my burnt ends??? Flippin' amazing. (And those beans!!! Gah. I need to go back.)

After Kansas City it was a long, two lane road that led us to our destination...Pawhuska! (Please take note of the party lights strung across the street...I would like these for my own sleepy little town, please and thank you.)

Straight down the road and to the left a smidge is the Merc! (Hidden from view.) As a small town girl, I absolutely love that Ree has breathed life into what (according to some locals) was a "ghost town" just 6 months ago. Lot's of little shops popping up here and there...fun to see!

This was our cute hotel room...very...quaint. I'm glad I wasn't expecting 5 star Marriott-style accomodations!

And then...the Merc!

This building, you guys. It was so gorgeous. And 90% of the merchandise was "every person" pricing. Very few astronomically priced items...my checking account loved it!

Our first meal at the Merc...road weary and thirsty, we were ready for a good meal!

(And that wall!!!)

Ohmygosh...this sandwich was about 4 inches thick (I swear to you there was a pound of turkey on it!!) and so delectable!

Also, please take note of the drink in the background...

This, my friends...THIS, is a blackberry lemonade. Gracious, I could've consumed a gallon of this! But wait...it gets even better...

Ree even does the ice right!!! Sonic style ice cubes! Bestill my heart. I think I'm moving in.

The next morning we had the most amazing breakfast!! If you ever visit the Merc, go hungry because HOLY SMOKES are the portions generous!!

But...the coffee. Good golly, the coffee. I want to go back soley for the coffee. Never, in all my travels, have I been to a coffee shop that makes designs in the froth. Oh, I've seen them before, but have never actually experienced it!

Bestill my heart.

That day, we were able to tour the Lodge! And, like the tourists we were, we stopped for this shot!

The horses were so majestic out on the prairie...so peaceful.

And, the place we all know so well...the Lodge. Every bit as rustic and gorgeous as I imagined.

The kitchen!

Shhhhh, don't tell Ree, but T snuck in a rest. Our beds at the "Bed and Bath" (yes, Bath, not Breakfast) were...well...less than comfortable. We debated just hiding out in the Lodge just so we could get a good night's sleep! ;)

Please tell me I'm not alone in this...mixer bowls. Ree has multiple mixer bowls for her kitchen aid and suddenly I have a new Bucket List item. To get more than one bowl for my mixer because: Christmas Baking.

Best of all were the people we met. Whether we were standing in line and chatting with others who made the trip to the Merc or visiting with Ree's daughter and assistant...such wonderful people.

Paige and Haley were delightful and kind and accomodating and so patient. A smile for everyone who walked in and wanted a picture. I loved this!

And then there is Ree...such a warm, kind lady she is.

And last, but not least...the creme de la creme. The piece de resistance. The pinnacle of our trip...this:

This, my friends, is a Spicy Cowgirl Coffee. Ree had suggested it the day we arrive, but I didn't listen. To think that I went a WHOLE DAY OF MY LIFE without this in it breaks my ever loving heart. Even now, as I type this a month later, it pains me to know I could have had more than one if only I'd have listened.

Which just means: I NEED TO GO BACK.

Spicy Cowgirl, here I come!!

What Happened?

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Thu, 25 May 2017 13:49:00 +0000

I've suddenly found myself at an interesting "phase" of life. I'm now that mom who looks at her friends with young babies and I feel everything. EVERYTHING.

All.

The.

Things.

Like, when did I suddenly become the "old" mom of the group?

And, where did my babies go?

And, how on earth do I have a 21 year old?! TWENTY-ONE YEARS OLD, PEOPLE! How can that be when I feel like I'm only 26?!

Surely someone is playing tricks on me.

But then, something happens and I smacked upside the head with the reality that yes, indeed, I am that "old" mom. For example, my middle child broke his hand a couple of weeks ago. Broke a bone in his hand clear through...no teeny little fracture or anything, but a bonafide break.

Once upon a time I would've been sick with worry. Probably teary eyed and weepy over the whole thing. I would've made him a bed on the couch and he would've gotten gifts to wish him well and I probably would've written a blog post about whilst he was getting his cast. But this time? Now that I'm an old seasoned mom?

Well, this time I waited it out through the whole gosh dang weekend. He broke it on a Friday evening at a birthday party but was insistent in his plea of "Don't pick me up mom, okay? DON'T PICK ME UP!" Poor kid didn't want to miss a moment of the party and I figured it couldn't have been that bad if he was unwilling to leave a birthday party. (Okay, fine, I may have said, "Well I'm not going to take you to the ER right now anyway!"...but still.)

When I saw his hand the next day, I knew it needed to be looked at, but I'll be a son of a gun if I was gonna take him to the ER, my nurse brain was telling me "well, they'd want the swelling to go down anyway", but just to make sure I wasn't doing him any harm, I asked a doctor friend of mine her take on us waiting until Monday to be seen and I got her approval.

So, Monday rolls around and long story short, sure as heck, the dang thing is broken. And we all (the nurse and PA) got a good chuckle about "nurse mom's" and their poor kids. No rookie tears here, just veteran laughs at the whole ordeal.

For the record, the PA said I made the right call about avoiding the ER...she said they would've splinted him and told us to follow up with Ortho on Monday. I just saved us that step! Yahoo!

In any event, I realized, as I was signing my son's cast (which, he is very proud of, as you can see in the above picture), what a stark contrast my response was to what it would've been several years ago.

Yup, I'm that old mom.

Guess it's time to embrace it.

Grief, Take 2

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Thu, 30 Mar 2017 22:24:00 +0000

You know, after my brother-in-law, Verd, died, I kind of thought we were "done". That we had paid our dues...I mean, one tragedy per family is too much, right?

This familiar path is (forgive me for being a two year old for a second), so freaking unfair. SO UNFAIR.

My husband has had two brothers die. WAY before their time. Those brothers had wives and children (13 between them) and parents and brothers and sisters and in-laws and nieces and nephews and ENTIRE communities that loved them.

I just read some of my old posts from when Verd died and yes. ALL THE YES. It still rings true. From walking through the sludge of grief to the things I've learned. It is all still so true.

You guys, these two men that we've "lost" (more on that word in a second) were two of the greatest. As I step back and take a look at my husband's family from afar I am amazed at what great people my in-laws made. And gosh dang if it doesn't take my breath away that I've been blessed enough to marry one.

Okay, back to the things I've learned and that dumb word "loss". I hate it. HATE IT. I know that death is so uncomfortable and I guess I'd rather have people say "I'm sorry for your loss" than not say anything at all but can we all make a pact to stop saying it? We didn't lose Jared...we know right where he is. But what did happen was that he died. And he left behind a whole bunch of people that miss him terribly.

Here are somethings you could say to replace "your loss":

"I am so sorry to hear about your brother-in-law, Jared." (Use their name and relationship.)

"Jared was such a wonderful man, I was lucky to know him." (Share how you know him.)

"I remember when Jared and I *insert memory here*." (I can not say enough about how healing memories are...the funny stories and antics of a loved one are so good to hear from others.)

Don't tell us he's in a better spot or that God has a plan...even if those words are the truth, they aren't easy to hear when you're raw with grief and trying to comfort young children. It kinda makes God out to be the bad guy.

And one last thing...lunch meat. Oh my word, all the lunch meat. Should you want to bless a grieving family with food (and thank you, thank you, thank you for doing so) skip the lunch meat aisle. So. Much. Lunch meat. ;)

Again, thank you all for your kind words and for thinking of us...most of all, thank you for your prayers.

The Unimaginable

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 02:17:00 +0000

Last week, life fell apart on us.

Again.

My husband's absolutely amazing brother, Jared, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly, leaving behind a beautiful young wife and 6 kids. Jared was a life force all his own...his silly antics, giant heart, and happy-go-lucky spirit was contagious and you couldn't help but love the guy.

Why is it that the good guys are taken from us too soon?

This last week has been a roller coaster of emotions; from endless tears to laughter and back again. Just when I'm feeling strong, I get a hug or an offer of condolences or a sweet email and the tears start to flow all over again.

Walking the path of grief is miserable...it is heart breaking and exhausting and gut wrenching...and it is unimaginable to have to walk this walk again. Just 6 years ago we were reeling from the sudden death of my husband's oldest brother. This feels far to familiar to have to deal with again.

Remember when I started my resolutions posts and I talked about how the start of a new year terrifies me? That ever since Verd died, I've had a fear of a New Year because you never know what that year will bring? This is what I was talking about. Life can change so quickly...it can go from being so wonderfully imperfect to absolutely soul crushing, heart breaking awfulness so quickly that you are left in a dark hole of confusion.

Like I said in that New Year's resolution post, I want to say that I will continue to choose joy over fear but let's be honest and real and raw for a second.

I. AM. TERRIFIED.

You guys, fear and sorrow have a hold so tight on my heart right now that it seems unthinkable to be able to choose joy.

Love hard and hold your loved ones close, my friends. And please pray for strength and peace for Jared's wife, kids, and all of us left with a giant Jared sized hole in our hearts and in our lives. He was one of the good guys.

This isn't fair.

Back to Colorado

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Fri, 03 Mar 2017 05:04:00 +0000

Back to Colorado...figuratively, not literally, as in "back to our trip", not "that's it, I'm packin' up and going back to Colorado!".

You know what?

I could move. Right now, I could up and move my family out to Colorado. Of course, that'd be irresponsible but OH MY HEART. I have fallen in love.

I realize I'm basing this "love" not on real life...we slept in (sorta), we had the most amazing chocolate chip cookies everyday, we walked everywhere, went out for supper every night, there was no laundry or meals to cook or homework to do or dishes to wash or jobs to report to, and...get ready for this, we ate outside SO MANY TIMES! Odd, because the CO temps were similar to MN temps and you would NEVER find us eating outside.

It was flippin' amazing. And those cookies. Ooooooh, how I want one right now. These were not "3 o'clock Base of the Mountain Cookies...these were The Pines (our hotel) cookies and they were the most amazing things I've ever had. Ever.

The first full day of our trip we went skiing. I was a nervous wreck and my husband was (mostly) patient with me. If I post a video, will you laugh at me?

Oh, who am I kidding...if I can make someone laugh, that means I've done my job for the day! Laugh away!

Here I am...only this is Day 2 of skiing. If you play this in sloooowwwww motion, you'll get an idea of how Day 1 went.

My dear sweet husband told me, "You know, you can go faster than 2 inches per hour! Even if you double your speed, you won't get hurt if you fall!"

But, I was too scared...and then he said, "I think maybe you confused downhill skiing with cross country skiing."

Smarty pants boobhat that he is.

Anyway, I discovered a few things about myself that first trek down the mountain. Here they are:

1. A blue run skier I will never be...let alone a black diamond.
2. Greens are meant for me. In fact, my favorite "runs" were the connecting paths between runs. Yes, you read that right, I went all the way to Colorado to ski and I preferred to ski the paths.
3. I don't like people when I'm skiing. People whizzing past me FREAKED ME THE HECK OUT! I was so worried about crashing into someone that I decided 2 inches/hour was my max speed.
4. As long as I can ski my greens (i.e. mountain paths) I am a happy camper but as soon as I feel pressure to do something riskier (i.e. a "real" green run), I started to sweat my mittens right off. (Quite literally, actually. We had to put my mittens on the boot dryers at the hotel...and they weren't wet from snow!)
5. For the first time in my life, I didn't care what people thought about me! I was just bound and determined to make it to the base of the mountain alive, in one piece, and without taking someone out along the way. (PS, I succeeded!).
6. I LOVE the mountains.

If I'm going to be totally honest, I'm still having a bit of some post vacation blues. I want to go back. I want to bring the kids with us. I want to move there. (Yes, I have been searching properties. Unfortunately, we don't have a spare 30 million dollars laying around.)

I may have mentioned this before, but I felt so healthy and alive there! So active and vibrant and full of life! It was amazing and probably 90% because: no responsibility, but still.

I can honestly say that this was my favorite vacation to date. This vacation impacted me like no other vacation has...we MUST go back and if you like the outdoors AT ALL, go to Colorado. We were told by several locals that we have to come back in the summer...that there is WAY more to do in the summer.

I think we need to take them up on that.

See you soon!
M.

Our Colorado Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Tue, 21 Feb 2017 03:13:00 +0000

One week ago today, I had skied myself down a mountain (several times) and survived.

Oh, you guys...Colorado has captured my heart. I loved our vacation like you wouldn't believe and while I am not (nor will I ever be) a world class skier (let's be honest, greens are where you'll find me...and I won't be whizzing down them, either!), the mountains and the skiing and the fresh air and the walking everywhere? I grabbed a hold of me and doesn't seem to be making any moves to let go!

Check out this view from our hotel room!!

I just told someone today, "If I had had my kids with me, I'm not sure I would've come back." I felt so healthy and vibrant and alive...ugh, I wanna go back!

Funny story, the first evening we were in Beaver Creek, we walked down to the village and I got my first real look at the ski runs...I thought, "Huh. They don't look so bad." and we went about our business and had supper and went ice skating and tucked ourselves into bed that night, eagerly anticipating a day of skiing the next morning.

Well, when we skied off the hotel path and I was faced with the very same ski runs as I had been the night before (but this time, with skis on my feet instead of boots) I saw them in a whole new light and HOLY CRAP were they steep! I may have had a minor heart attack right there at the base of the mountain. (Thankfully, my husband was there to give me mouth-to-mouth.) ;)

But, like the big, brave girl that I am, I took a deep breath and loaded the ski lift with my handsome husband...shortly into the ride to the top of the lift (it was a LOOOOOONG lift!) the wind was blowing in my eyes, and they started to water a bit and suddenly, I was ALL OVER THE MAP with my emotions! I was scared and nervous and awestruck by the beauty around me and the fresh mountain air in my eyes and how happy I was to be on this vacation with my husband and before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face...and I was laughing uncontrollably! You should have heard my husband..."Are you okay?" "Are you laughing or crying?" "Oh my gosh, what is happening?!" and it made me laugh/cry all the more!

I still don't really know if I was laughing because I was crying or if I was crying because I was laughing, all I know is that thinking back on it makes me giggle all over again.

I'm sure you'll be hearing a lot more about our vacation...but let me just tell you, if you are considering a trip to the mountains, DO IT. I am so happy and so thankful that we were able to experience the mountains!

I can't wait to go back.

See you soon,
M.

What????

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 02:02:00 +0000

So, I came across this picture yesterday:

That picture...the one you see just above these words? Yes, that one...it was taken 7 months ago. SEVEN MONTHS!!

And now, my middle boy looks like this:

He's turned into a little man overnight. Just like that, he lost his baby face.

Help me, friends!! What is happening?? Where did my babies go??

Hold me. I can't handle this time warp we seem to be in...where you go to bed one night with itty bitty babies and you wake up the next morning and they are practically adults.

Gracious. I need to go put them all in footy jammies and stick a pacifier in their mouths.

Excuse me now, while I try to swaddle my babies and sing them lullabies.

See you soon!
M.

Totally Winning

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 23:50:00 +0000

Give me a moment, will you? To commend myself for absolutely WINNING at life today?!

First, I wore heels to work. HEELS! And dress pants too! Anytime I don't wear leggings and flats to work makes me feel like a bonafide adult. So, there's that.

THEN, I came home and worked out. Yes, you heard that right, I. Worked. Out! I've been doing a good job of trying to get myself somewhat in shape for skiing (we leave on Sunday!)!

I whipped up a delicious supper that is baking away and so I'm sitting here, reveling in the gloriousness that is BEING A FREAKING ROCK STAR! I love this feeling...part of me wonders...is it the Vitamin D that my bestie encouraged me to start taking? Is that little pill full of sunshine kicking in and making me feel like so much less of a slug? Or, is it that I had something to motivate me (Colorado...turning 40) and so, I'm grabbin' the world by the nuts and getting stuff done?

Who knows...all I know is today rocked. Oh...OH and guess what?? Guess what I got for my 40th??

This pretty little thing (that, in the words of my aunt, looks like a suitcase on my wrist!!)...I promise it's not really that big in real life.

Kinda like these goggles. They look way smaller in real life. What is up with that?!

In other news...please reassure me that I'm not going to get swallowed up by an avalanche while I'm skiing. I hear they're getting up to 20" of snow right now and gracious. An avalanche is my worst nightmare, so yes. Reassurance. Now please.

See you soon!
M.

It Wasn't Half Bad

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Fri, 03 Feb 2017 03:58:00 +0000

Well...I did it. I survived my 40th birthday and judging from those who've already weathered this big birthday, I think it's safe to say that 40 is going to be awesome!

I had a great day...started off with donuts with my Birthday Thief for Catholic Schools Week, then I was wished a Happy 28th Birthday during morning school announcements. The best part of my day, though, is when one of my most favorite people in the whole wide world brought me and another one of my favorite people coffee. And there, in my grimy nurse's office, the three of us had an impromptu coffee gathering and laughed and chatted and I was assured, once again, that 40 isn't half bad.

We came home and I wrapped a whole bunch of Japanese candy kits for the other birthday girl in the family. Let me digress for a sec...have you seen these candy kits? They're adorably disgusting. Tonight she made "ice cream" and I kid you not the goo that was concocted was actually cold. COLD...can you imagine the chemicals in those things? Thankfully they taste like crap and no one actually eats them.

Anyway, my beloved Gram made me my absolute favorite, Vegetable Beef Soup...with the help of my amazing Grandpa. We had a quaint little birthday gathering and I came home and guess what I did?

I worked out. Like, legit, DVD in the Xbox and Kettlebell in hand WORKED OUT. My legs shook and burned and gracious I hated it. But then...then I was done and I felt dang good for doing it!

Ask me how I feel tomorrow. ;)

Day 1 of 40 is under my belt...I got this. I TOTALLY got this.

G'night!

See you tomorrow,
M.

The Big FOUR-OH.

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Thu, 02 Feb 2017 03:35:00 +0000

Well...this is it guys. My last night in my 30's. Laying another decade to rest and starting a brand new one with a bigger number. Gah.

Ugh...I'm struggling with this big birthday of mine like I never thought I would. I think part of it is (I'm so sorry, mom!) that when my mom was 40, she was a grandma...and the thought of that makes me want to throw up.

SHE WAS SO YOUNG!!!! (Look! I said she was young when she was 40...so why do I feel old?!)

I was thinking back to a conversation I had with a boy friend when I was much, much, much younger (I was probably 16ish)...we were discussing my parents and he said, "Well, you know...she's no spring chicken anymore." You guys...YOU GUYS...this was well BEFORE I made my mom a grandma at 40. Which means, she was the ripe old age of 37...maybe 38 at the time.

Waaaaaaaaa!!! "No spring chicken." Lord help me. She was just a baby.

My aunt told me that "40 is the old age of youth and 50 is the youth of old age." So...I guess that makes me the old geezer of all you youngin's?! For some reason, that doesn't make me feel better.

It's just a number, right? I mean, you're only as old as you act or feel or...something?

Maybe I need to get a tattoo. Or pierce my nose (rest assured I will NOT pierce my belly button...I'm afraid it would get lost in the folds of middle agedness). Maybe that'll make me feel young and carefree again...or, maybe the fresh mountain air of Colorado will reset my attitude and I'll come home relaxed, refreshed and ready to kick 40's ass.

Yes...let's go with that.

40, take note. You're about to get your ass kicked!!

See you tomorrow,
M.

Don't Judge

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 04:32:00 +0000

Here I am, blogging 6 days...SIX DAYS!!!...after my last post. What kind of a resolutionist am I???

Not a very good one. (Don't judge.)

Forgive me though, I was up to my eyeballs in planning and let me tell you, my friends, we pulled of a great event! It was such a fun evening...of course, I am a bit biased, but dangit, it was a good time!

We don't have any firm numbers in, but I'm thinking we will at least hit what we did last year. I'm hoping we'll come out ahead of last year, but I'm not gonna be greedy! "As good as" is good enough for me!

Let me tell you something about me...I give this event my all. Near the end, nearly every waking minute I have is spent thinking things through. "Did we remember to do this?" or "Did someone remember to ask that?" or "Did we print this or copy that or scan this or fax that..." and OH MY GOSH I start to keep notes when I wake up at night because if I don't I wake up in a panic, having completely forgotten what critical issue it was that was keeping me up at 2:30 in the morning.

And then...just like that, it's all over. The decorations are packed away. The donations are all in their proud new owners hands. The dust has settled and all that's left is a committee waiting to hear how their event did and me...sitting here in a post-Christmas blues-like state.

WHY DO I FEEL BLUE, PEOPLE?????? Gracious, I am gaining back HOURS of my time and I'm over here all melancholy and subdued. WHATEVER THE HECK IS WRONG WITH ME???

Of course...40 IS incessantly knocking on my door like a gosh dang Kirby salesman, so maybe that's part of it? Let's talk about that for a second.

Just for a second though, because "Turning 40" deserves its own post...but you know, I've never had an issue with birthdays and getting older but suddenly I'm feeling legit old. It's a good thing that I have a vacation coming soon to take my mind off my oldness.

Gah. Anyway...tomorrow brings with it a 5:30am wake up call, so this old geezer needs to call it a night.

See you tomorrow! (Or, at least sooner than in 6 days!)
M.

Home Stretch

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 02:50:00 +0000

Well...tonight was the last official meeting before our big event on Friday. We hammered out some details, firmed up our timeline, and drank a little wine.

I need to tell you all something...if ever you find yourself planning a gigantic event, gather amazing, strong, fun women to have by your side. We have fun...and (forgive my language) we get shit done. What more could you ask for?!

I'm nervous and excited and I think I need something new to wear because what good is a big event if it doesn't include the opportunity to wear something new and cute?! ;) Shhhhhh...don't tell my husband.

Everything is coming together...live auction, silent auction, volunteers...it's exciting to see everyone pull together to make this event happen. It makes me happy that we have so many generous people willing to donate their time, talents, and lot's of amazing items. I can't wait to tell you how it all goes down!

Okie dokie...I've got kids that need to start their bedtime routine...with their mama following closely behind!

See you tomorrow?
M.

Finances and Grown-up Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 03:47:00 +0000

I'm sure I've mentioned it here a time or two, but I'll say it again: I was wired to be a stay-at-home mom. It is truly my dream job.

So, when we had a financial advisor dude come over tonight to talk about grown-up stuff like retirement and he asked us "At what age would you like to retire?", I was all, "Well...I turn 40 in a couple of weeks. So...40?"

I'm not quite sure that was exactly the answer he was looking for.

In any event, I guess it's good that we're planning so that someday we CAN actually retire, right? And then he asked us stuff like "what do we want to do when we're retired" and you know what? I couldn't really come up with anything more concrete than, "Not work?".

We are headed to Colorado in a few weeks to go skiing...what better way to celebrate "The Old Age of Youth" than to send yourself careening down a mountain on a couple of plastic sticks strapped to your feet? The good news is, Mr. Financial Planner Dude talked about how great skiing in Colorado is, so I'm looking forward to seeing how much I can actually trust the guy. Great skiing advice certainly equates to great financial advice, right? ;)

That's what I thought.

I am, however, slightly concerned about how much time the Mr. and I will actually spend together though...he keeps talking about "the back bowls" and I'm all "what's wrong with the bunny hills?" I think our ideas of skiing differ just a bit...I'm all for a nicely groomed loooooooooooong, meandering ski run and he's looking for fresh powder to knees. Should be interesting!

But what I'm really looking forward to is some good quality time with this handsome fella of mine. And some fresh mountain air isn't gonna hurt, either!

Good night my friends...tomorrow is a long a day!

See you tomor...see you soon! (I've learned my lesson that isn't gonna be an everyday thing but more of a "more often than not" thing!)
M.

High Maintenance? Perhaps...

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Thu, 19 Jan 2017 03:27:00 +0000

I've been searching for a pair of navy blue flats...I've had my eye on Lucky Emmies, because: Tieks, gah. I can't bring myself to spend that much $$ on a pair of dang flats! Boots? Maybe...but flats? Heck to the no.

So, I decided to just go ahead and order the Emmies online last week, only, if I spent a little more money I got free shipping so WHY NOT TWO EMMIES?! Yes, I'm glad you agree.

Let me tell you an interesting (some might say, "high maintenance") fact about myself. I love...I ADORE...ordering shoes online and you wanna know why? Because 99.9% of the time they arrive in pristine and pure form and have never, ever touched the foot of another human being. It's like some soul satisfying thing for me to slip my foot into a shoe that no one else's stinky foot has ever touched. (I know, I know...my poor husband has to put up with me. Poor guy.)

Back to my Emmies...so, my navy ones arrive and just like always, I sighed a sigh of utter contentment when I opened the box and pulled out the perfect packaging and slipped that shoe on like Post-ball Cinderella. Complete and utter delight.

Then today...my second pair of shoes was waiting on my door step when I got home. A welcome treat after a trying week. I opened them up and my senses were on high alert when I saw no special packaging (no shoe formers or tissue paper or any of that stuff). Hmmmmm...a bit sketchy. Then, I took out a shoe and saw the bottom was slightly scuffed but then...BUT THEN???

Oh, the horrors.

Scuffed leather. As in: SOMEONE NOT ONLY TRIED THEM ON BUT WORE THEM OUT OF THE HOUSE!! And, you could even see toe indents in the inside of the shoe. Ew.

I couldn't even bring myself to try them on.

We'll just call them my "free shipping shoes"...thankfully there is a brick and mortar store nearby where I can return them.

(But for real...where is the quality control here, people?!)

See you tomorrow,
M.

Well then...

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 04:06:00 +0000

Well now, look at me, rocking my "blog everyday" resolution. Why do I set such lofty goals?! Ugh. Also: this is why I never choose "working out" as my resolution...because 37 seconds into it I'd be all, "nah...too much work, please pass the chips."

In my defense, life is INSANE right now...insane with a dose of PMS to top it off. So yes, you SHOULD feel sorry for my husband right now. And my kids. And my co-workers. And pretty much anyone that looks at me or crosses my path or BREATHES THE SAME DAMN AIR AS ME.

Because it sucks to be them.

During our event meeting tonight I realized that the big day is next Friday. Ahem. Did you hear that? NEXT Friday! I just lost a week of my life and suddenly OH MY GOSH everything has suddenly become super urgent. Urgent as in, it should've been done last week.

Interesting tidbit: we suddenly have more empty bottles of wine in our recycling than usual.

Don't get me wrong, though...I enjoy organizing this event and I'm extremely passionate about it, but man alive. These last weeks of planning are taxing. My mind doesn't shut off and the last minute details are suffocating. But it is worth it...it truly is...and the bonus is that I get to spend a lot of time with some pretty incredible and equally passionate women.

The next 10 days are going to speed by and before I know it the night will be here and over...it's like a wedding. Or Christmas. So much planning and preparation and it's over before you knew what hit ya.

But you know what just hit me? Overwhelming fatigue...to bed I go.

See you tomorrow (I think...),
M.

It's Friday the 13th!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Mama M.) — Fri, 13 Jan 2017 23:36:00 +0000

Today was like a weird time warp...I got to work, turned around and suddenly it was lunchtime?! Then, I swear to you, it took 17 hours, SEVENTEEN HOURS, to go from lunchtime until the end of the day.

What the heck.

In the future, I'd prefer my days go much like this morning did...lightening fast!

Anyway...happy Friday the 13th! I'm feeling bad for my L&D friends right now. Friday the 13th AND a full moon??? Ugh. I can't imagine what tonight will be like...but I guess I'll find out because I work there tomorrow morning! Yahoo! I think?

I have this weird love/hate with my hospital shifts...as they are approaching, I sort of dread them, but then I get there it's totally different...I enjoy it and the time flies!

I was asked if I was going to Five Question Friday again...and you know what? I think I will! Maybe not every Friday, but that was fun, wasn't it?!

Off I go to a hockey game!

See you tomorrow (but really, probably Sunday)!
M.