Entering 2025

New Year, New Me! Man, I really don't like that saying. But, that is all I keep coming back to. And yes, I do realize we are already two weeks into the new year, 2025!

In my defense, though, ushering in the new year was filled with complexities. For one, I was plagued with the stomach flu the weekend leading up to New Year's Eve. That was then followed by a head cold and upper respiratory infection that is still hanging around some. Because I was not at full strength, I could not bring myself to do anything but stay home on New Year's Eve. It turns out that neither Alex or Layla had plans to go anywhere either. So, late in the afternoon, I hung up some decorations, prepped some snacks and pulled out the Monopoly game. When the kids were younger, Monopoly and Mary Poppins is how we spent many New Year's Eves. Not only was it nostalgic, but super fun! Keeping with tradition, Alex bankrupted all of us and remains the champion! We gave a little toast and set off some noise makers at midnight. Then, we all FaceTime with Grace and Eva, who were having a "double date" night at Grace's house just a few blocks away.

New Year's Day was full of relaxing and family time. I resumed work the next day, but the rest of the family was still in vacation mode. By the weekend, we were preparing for the Snowapocolypse!

Although we are no stranger to snow and ice in the Midwest, this particular storm was predicted to make history. From accumulations up to 15 inches over and above up to an inch of ice, it was best to be prepared to stay home. 

Saturday afternoon, I ran some final errands...tanning, bank, liquor store, you know, the essentials. Fortunately, I had already done a complete restock of the kitchen right before the holiday. So, we were all set to stay in, as long as the power stayed on. Alex was getting on the road back to Michigan on Saturday evening, in an attempt to avoid the storm coming across the southeast. Layla and I went to 4pm Mass so that we wouldn't have any reason to leave the house come Sunday.

Sadly, as soon as we walked into Church, Layla mentioned her stomach hurt and started coughing. Before she could get inside the bathroom, she threw up on the floor. That was definitely not on my Bingo card for the weekend!

Needless to say, we didn't stay for Mass. Instead, I got Layla home where she suffered from the stomach flu for the next 24 hours.

Since Alex's break had come to an end, we were having a "final" family dinner. Chicken Marsala is a fan favorite, so I had committed to making an exorbitant amount. Poor Layla was down bad on the couch, but I packed a storage container for her to enjoy once she was feeling better.

Dinner was a success, Alex was on the road, the car was in the garage, Layla was vomiting, Grace and Jordan had made it safely back home, and Eva and I settled in for the great snow event.

Well, it did snow. And snow. And snow. And snow some more. From late Sunday night through mid-day Monday, it SNOWED!

In total, we got about 6.5 inches of snow at our house. Layla didn't resume school until Wednesday and even then it was a late start. Eva was called off of work for three days and because the roads were a mess, couldn't even leave the house. I was worried that she might have a nervous breakdown because she hasn't sat still since she got home in early December. However, it seemed the fact that no one could do anything finally gave her the opportunity to rest that she had not had. 

Even though I worked, it was really nice to have this extra at home time with the girls. On Sunday as Layla was starting to feel better from the stomach flu, I made French toast, scrambled eggs and coffee. Layla was cozied up on the living room pull out bed and Eva made herself comfortable in my bed. So, I couldn't help but serve them breakfast in bed! Sometimes you just have to make a moment special.

Once Layla was back in school, they only made it two days before the next snow event canceled everything again on Friday. Fortunately, by Friday evening the snow system had made it's way through the area. On Saturday, I spent the entire day cleaning and organizing, especially tackling the storage area in the basement. My regular Winter Project was well under way.

Sunday, I ran a few errands, went to Church, had my Aldi order delivered and reorganized the kitchen, fridge, pantry and all! The Eagles played in the Wild Card game that afternoon, so I made a homecooked meal of pressure cooked ribs, potato salad and a Mediterranean chopped salad to have at half time. The food was delicious and reminded my that I am actually a good cook. I've just gotten tired of doing it. And the Eagles won the game, so it was a great night all around. 

That night, I went to bed completely prepared for the new week with meals prepped and planned, lunches made, snacks stock and laundry complete. It finally felt like a fresh start.

And that is how I made 13 day into the new year before it felt NEW!

My goals for this year are for Fitness. Financial fitness, Spiritual fitness, Health Fitness, Career Fitness and Relationship Fitness. I'm happy to report I am on track on this Day One of 2025...or at least day one for me.

Weekend Wrap Up

Every weekend, I think that I'm going to get so much done. Then most weekends are so all consuming busy that I feel like I don't get anything done. And in the few moments that I have to accomplish my never ending to do list, I'm too exhausted or unmotivated to do anything!

However, this weekend was a little different. Maybe because it is what feels like the first official weekend of summer for me. Although Memorial Day weekend is typically what we consider the kick off to summer, I spent that weekend along with the few week days following on Eva's Senior Trip to Hilton Head Island. 

The following weekend, I was still trying to figure out what day it actually was! That weekend was jammed packed with catching up on household chores like cleaning and laundry and grocery shopping. It also included our annual Parish Festival plus my nephew, Ethan's, graduation party. By Sunday evening, I was again exhausted and felt completely unready for the next week.

This weekend, though, was slow paced while still chipping away at many tasks on my to do lists and several social events as well.

I would like to say my weekend got off to a good start due to my decisions on Thursday evening. It has been a very long time since I've had time in my house all by myself. Thursdays used to be my "me" night, but as the kids have gotten older, they spend more time home or coming and going through the house than they did when they were younger and still spent time at their dads. However, this Thursday I had a blissful few hours that I took complete advantage of!

When the house was empty, I took a nice long, hot shower and soaked in silence. For dinner, I heated up a Roasted Tomato and Chicken Risotto (one of my Factor meals that I'm really enjoying) and poured a glass of wine.

In my bedroom, I set up my bed tray and a side table for my food. Selected "Emily in Paris" from my Netflix queue, sprawled out across my bed and organized my life. Well...part of my life at least. I cleaned up the dozens of work emails I had, created my to do list, blocked out time on my calendar  to complete my work tasks the next day and week and even was able to answer a few emails. In just a little over an hour, days worth of stress and overwhelm dissipated when I was able to make sense of all the things I needed to work on.

I went to sleep earlier that night than most and sleep soundly.

Friday morning, I was able to start with a clear head and a renewed sense of how to be most productive in the day. By early afternoon, my to do list was almost complete and I just had one more meeting prior to getting in a little pool time.

In the afternoon, I packed up my laptop and work supplies and grabbed my pool bag. I love summer Fridays in which we are "offline" by the afternoon. Although I still need to be available and responsive for urgent items, it's awesome to spend these afternoons lounging in the pool.

When arriving at my parent's pool, I realized my nieces and friends were also lounging at the pool. A little annoyed, I focused on answering a few more emails and then found a shady place to read for awhile. Eventually, they packed up on went on with their day leaving me with a few joyous hours of floating in the pool all by myself.

In the early evening, I placed an order for Dominos Pizza to be delivered and packed up my stuff to head home. It was just Eva, Layla and I at home that night. I had decided on a pizza and movie night on the big screen and projector in the basement. Eva didn't participate because a). she's 18 and does what she wants and b). she had the ACT early the next morning. Layla, however, begrudgingly obliged because she did not have an option. We watched the Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, a classic summer move that I had not seen in many years. Layla said it was too long and too boring. I really can't trust her assessment, though, since I'm pretty sure she was on her phone the entire time just with it hidden under a blanket so I wouldn't know.

Following the movie, we all retreated to our respective bedrooms for the night.

Saturday morning, I was up early to make Eva an avocado toast with poached egg prior to her leaving for the ACT. During that time, I indulged in several cups of steaming, strong black coffee.  I drink coffee every day, but for some reason the coffee that morning was exceptional. After Eva left and I did a little catch up on personal emails, I took one of the most glorious naps of my life. As much as I love to nap, I don't really get much more than 20 minutes and/or I can't sleep at all anyway. That Saturday mid morning was completely different. I felt like a new person when I woke up!

The rest of Saturday afternoon was spent running a few errands and going to two different graduation parties. Layla was again thrilled that I drug her along to all of these activities as well. Wrapping up the last grad party, I realized we were only a few minutes away from a Catholic Church with a Saturday evening Mass at 5pm. Thinking since we were already out and dressed up, we might as well fulfill our Sunday Mass obligation on Saturday night. Then, we'd have the full day on Sunday to do whatever we (I) wanted. And my big plan was to spend the entire day relaxing at the river.

The Sunday morning weather had much different plans, though. I awoke to the sound of rain which continued until the late afternoon. Quickly, I determined that a river trip just wasn't in the cards for the day. So, instead, I poked around the house all day completing odds and ends like putting away clothes, cleaning kitchen cabinets, dusting and sweeping floors, making a mental to do list of household repairs and updating our family calendar for the rest of the month. By the afternoon, I decided I needed to prep as many meals and snacks as I could. Mainly because I had some fruits and veggies that weren't going to make it through the week if I didn't do something with them. I made omelet bites, sliced veggies, prepped smoothie bags, made a banana pudding, pre cooked sheet pan fajitas for later in the week and made a Creamy Tomato and Italian Sausage linguine and garlic bread for dinner that night.

By Sunday evening, I am relaxed and happy. I am again sprawled out over my bed with a Netflix show and organizing my work for the next day.

It has been a long time since I've found this level of contentment. And I'm so glad I'm here right now in this moment.

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour

 "I had the best day with you today"! - Taylor Swift

That quote pretty much sums up the entire girls weekend and the experience of Taylor Swift.

I never considered myself a "Swiftie".  But, I am now.  She is an admirable woman and the positive energy she exudes, is contagious.  From the beautiful strong women that filled the football stadium, to the words she writes, the music she makes, the emotion and true humanly love she emits all the way down to the secret chants and friendship bracelets, Taylor Swift is the experience of a lifetime!

I'm so filled with emotions. My heart is overfilling with love and joy because I got to live this experience with my favorite girls in the world.  Grace, Eva and Layla, thank you for best day!

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour - THE EXPERIENCE

Kansas City, MO

July 8, 2023

The Big Event! (OMG)

This Christmas, I surprised the Eva and Layla (and Grace, but she knew because she helped), with a girls trip for an event of a lifetime.  The stress we endured to obtain admission into this event and the anxiousness of keeping it a surprise and figuring out how to do the surprise on Christmas morning, only added to the value of this experience.  And it truly is an experience.

Because we take turns opening gifts on Christmas morning, I didn't want to make this surprise and actual gift.  I needed it to be something all of them could open at the same time.  But, I also didn't want to make it a stand alone gift just given by me.

As I was finishing up Santa's workshop on Christmas Eve, it dawned on me what to do.  Since we open stockings more casually and at the same time, I decided to add this surprise to the stockings.  Even better, we don't open stockings until after all the presents and after breakfast.  So, this made the surprise element even better.  By the time we got to the stockings, if they had any hope of getting this gift, they were no longer anticipating it.

It turned out the stocking moment was an EPIC moment.

Fast forward to this weekend, we are going to the Taylor Swift ERA's Tour!!!

The girls have been amazing in preparing for this girls trip!  They have swiped my credit card (and sometimes their's) to buy all of the fun, girly, Swiftie stuff they can find!  Eva has designed the entire room and the selection of food and drink.  My role is to buy the stuff and prep the food.  Everything else is a surprise!

Because they use my Amazon, I know of some of their "surprises", but also did my best not to look.  We have each taken an ERA and my final pieces just got here this week.  At the last minute this weekend, I also decided that I needed to put "Car Bags" together for us. Since we were traveling about four hours to Kansas City, I wanted everyone to have some snacks and drinks, plus some essentials like phone chargers.  

Tonight, I planned my outfits, packed my bags and assembled my gift bags for everyone.

Tomorrow, we are leaving at 9am.  We are stopping by Waterway (Eva's work) to get gas and then hitting up a Starbucks.  We have the ERA's tour setlist ready to play on repeat and we are...

...Ready for It   

The Summer Storm

Over the holiday weekend, we had quite the thunderstorm roll through our area.  Although the weather was beautiful most of the weekend, on Saturday evening, the storm moved through.

I had just finished up my Saturday chores at the house and decided to reward myself with some pool time.  It was an extremely hot day!  As I was driving over to my parents, I could see there were some storm clouds moving in.  Thinking to myself, if figured I could probably get an hour of floating in the pool before the rain came in.  I got to my parents, laid in the pool alternating reading my book and watching the sky.  After about 30 minutes or so, the wind started to pick up and I decided pool time was over.  I cleaned up the deck and sat at the table under the pergola finishing up a chapter and drink, while also being prepared to pack and run.  As soon as the first raindrop hit, I grabbed my bag and made a mad dash for the patio door.  No, I wasn't afraid I was going to melt with a little rainfall.  But the sky was dark, the wind was wild and the rain was coming down fast!

I made it inside just in time and watched the storm from all the windows in the house.  It was crazy how more intense it was in the front yard than in the backyard...or at least it seemed that way.  It was also lovely to hear the rain pound on the roof of the back patio room and see the lightening streak across the sky.  In the front, I could see the force of the wind as trees were bending and branches snapping.

At one point, the wind became loud.  Not quite like the roar of a train, but kind of like hearing that muted some, like it was in the distance.  That is when I knew I should move to the basement.  I turned on the TV to a local channel to get the storm updates.  Once the eye of the storm had moved out of the area, I went to assess any damage.  And then the lights went out, and quickly back on.  Whew!  

Throughout the front and back yard, there were downed limbs and branches, but no damage to the house.  Out on the pool deck, chairs were blown amuck and one ended up in the pool.  Plants were turned over and the pergola cover had a pretty big tear.  All in all, the mess was minimal, unless that chair in the pool tore the liner.  The rain had slowed to a slow drizzle so I went through the yard and started to clean up.  I wasn't looking forward to getting into the pool, but I didn't see any alternative to getting the chair out.  As I'm lifting the metal chair over my head and out of the pool, in the distance lightening strikes.  At that moment, all I could think is that that would be one dumb way to die and quickly got of the pool and back inside.

Once I had dried off, I was cold in the air conditioning.  I went down stairs to find a jacket or sweatshirt to borrow and head what sounded like water running.  When I investigated, I found rain just gushing in through the flu.  My dad had several buckets and a few towels there already, so I knew this must be a reoccurring problem.  I found some spare towels in the garage and began mopping up and creating a barrier to keep the water from getting through the whole basement.  After about an hour of this work, I felt like it was under control.  And then I found another puddle in the backroom and mopped up some more.  Finally, I put all of the towels in the wash and began the wash cycle.

I turned back on the TV and decided I deserved a margarita while I watched a show and waited to finish the laundry.  As soon as I got up to make a margarita, the power went out.  And it stayed out.

I called my parents as they were on their way to church and filled them in on the events of the day.  I then packed up my stuff and was going to head home in hopes I had power and that there wasn't any damage.

As I was walking to my car, Laura comes flying into the driveway like a crazy person.  Apparently, her power is also out and she needs to get ready for work.  I inform her of the unfortunate and she speeds off to figure out something else.  Right before, Bev, comes flying up out front.  She's there to check on the house because she too is out of power.  I also inform her of the situation and that the house is back in order thanks to all of my efforts.

When I got home, I'm pleasantly surprised that I do have power and it barely even looked like a storm went through.  After the adventures of the day, I was so happy to have a relaxed and cozy night at home.

Let Freedom Ring!

 I am so glad I took Monday off work!  After a great weekend in which I got so much accomplished and also made time for rest, I was super excited to have some fun to celebrate the Fourth of July.

On Monday morning, I got up early(ish) and went out for a walk.  Then I made biscuits and gravy, eggs over easy and mimosas for brunch.  I have recently been loving brunch!  I think it's because I'm really not that hungry until 10am or later and then I can still eat breakfast food.  Plus, champagne!  

After brunch, I pulled out all of my patriotic decorations and got the house ready to celebrate our freedom.  I checked in a little bit on work, and as expected, it was very quiet.

In the late afternoon, I made some hot dogs and mac and cheese and packed up a cooler for the Heritage Festival.  We have been going to this Festival for almost a decade and it never really disappoints.  We know where to park, where to shuttle, where to sit and what to expect.  We get there in enough time to see the country music performers and judge them on their abilities.  This year, the opening acts were pretty decent and because they play a lot of cover songs, the crowd was up and dancing.  The main act, however, was not as impressive.  It was pretty clear early in the performance that he was inebriated.  Through his performance, he may have actually sang three songs.  The rest was just him talking (or rambling) about things no one cared about and also yelling to the crowd "YEAH!!".  I typically give a lot of leeway to small town Missouri festival performers, but this guy was just annoying!  Thank goodness it wasn't a long set block and the music for the fireworks was a ton better.

The firework display was also good, although it felt a little short.  That really could have been because I was also cleaning up and packing up so that as soon as the fireworks were over, we could head out of the park and to the parking lot.  It seemed like as soon as I was able to pay attention to the fireworks, they were over!  They were good, nonetheless.

The exit from the park was uneventful, which is a blessing.  Layla and I got home a little before midnight and called it a night.  We didn't have definitive plans for the actual fourth of July, but we knew we were going to do something.

For the fourth of July, we slept in some and enjoyed another brunch.  This brunch was pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausage.  Plus mimosas!  For the afternoon, my parents had invited us over for a late lunch / early dinner and some swimming.  My brother and one of my sisters were there with their kids, as well.  So Layla had a lot of company, whether she wanted it or not.  In the early evening, Layla and I went home to clean up for another local firework display.  

Layla had been chatting with some school friends and realized some of them might be at the Bridgeton fireworks.  This is the only thing she really wanted to do all weekend.  Although I was a little ready to wind down, especially since I did have to work the next day, I knew it was important to her, so we went.  We got there in the early evening with a cooler of drinks and snacks plus our chairs and blanket.  They had several food trucks including Kona Ice, so I treated Layla to a snow-cone.  There was a local band that played some 90's tunes and they weren't half bad!  Layla had so much fun walking around and catching up with her friends.  It was on this day that I realized just how much she has grown up this summer.  She's no longer a little girl but developing into a beautiful young woman.  Watching her just be her brought a few tears to my eyes and a few moments of reflection on just how fast time goes.

Once the fireworks were starting, Layla came back over to watch with me.  The music and the display was phenomenal!  This was one of the very best fireworks display I have ever seen.  It was pretty long and we even took a few minutes to lay down on the blanket and let it fireworks look like they were raining down on us.

After the fireworks, we took our time leaving the park and had no intention on getting out of the parking lot anytime soon.  To be honest, the Bridgeton police that were monitoring parking and directing traffic and just jerks.  So, to keep myself from getting into trouble by running my mouth when one of those pompous jerks says something arrogant and condescending, I decided we were just wait out the traffic.  We had extra snacks and drinks and were just going to chill in the car.  Eventually, a guy let us pull out in front of him and we were working our way out of the lot.  Once we got home, we cleaned up the best we could and I called it a night.  It was back to work tomorrow, and although I anticipated it being quiet still, I did have to be present.  And....our big event is coming up quickly!

Self Care is What You Make It

The fourth of July weekend was upon us.  At the last minute, I took Monday, July 3rd off work.  It seemed a little silly to have the weekend off work on a Monday and then have Tuesday off.  Most others in the company felt the same way, as there were a ton of out of offices.  I didn't really have a problem working on Monday because a). I work from home and b). no one else was really working.  But, after a little more thought, decided it would be nice to completely check out of work mode for four full days!

Layla was scheduled to go with her dad for the holiday weekend.  Eva had all the plans between work, Evan and friends.  She'd be in and out all weekend at home at nights.  Alex was back in Michigan through the holiday and Grace had decided to spend the weekend in Cape doing some final things before preparing to move home.  So, Friday after work, I had the house to myself!  At least for a little while.  I knew this would be one of the last times the house wouldn't always be full.  This seemed like the perfect (and only) opportunity for a few self-care days.  And by self-care days, I mean do all of the home things I hadn't gotten to yet.  It might sound strange, but this is self-care to me!  I needed to spend some intentional time getting organized, prepared and start writing some things down to get the running list out of my head.  Plus, I was going to sprinkle in some true self-care items like a long, hot shower with freshly cleaned towels, hair care and root touch up, walks and yummy food.

Friday night was dedicated to lounging.  I baked a French Bread Pizza and added some fresh, green peppers as a topping, poured a glass of wine and cozied up in my recliner in the basement to binge watch TV on the projector.  I just tried to let my mind unwind.  It felt amazing to go to bed relatively early and get a good night's sleep!

Saturday morning, I forced myself to stay in bed until 8am.  I had been awake off and on since 6, but my body still needed some rest.  Once up and moving, I got right to my normal Saturday morning activities (that I hadn't gotten to in weeks), such as bills and budget, meal planning, calendar updates, grocery shopping (online is the best!), and starting laundry.  When listing these out, it really doesn't seem like that much.  But, all of this easily takes me 4 hours.  And it's hard to dedicate that time block when we have a lot going on.  These are also necessary items to run an efficient household.  So, it is always soothing to me when I can dedicate the time and reset for the next several weeks.

Saturday afternoon, because I got my chores done, I rewarded myself with a trip to the pool.  I made a little lunch, backed up a towel, a book and a cooler and drove over to my parent's house.  They were in the country for the holiday weekend and I also had their house and pool to myself!  I turned on some music and floated in a raft with my book while sipping a refreshing beverage.  The weather was hot and the float helped me to unwind a little bit more.

Saturday evening, I took a long, hot shower and put on my most comfy pajamas.  I made myself some lobster ravioli and a glass of wine.  Then I turned on a movie until I started to fall asleep.

Sunday morning, I got up a little earlier so that I could get a few more things done around the house before going to Church.  The laundry I had started on Saturday had the last load in the dryer.  So, this morning, I sit and fold for about an hour.  It has also became the routine way that I start my Sundays; make coffee, fold laundry, watch Top 20 Countdown on CMT, get ready for Church.

After Mass, I took Layla back over to her dad's and drove out to pick up my groceries.  I order online but I order from a Walmart Market that is about a 30 minute drive.  I do this because I like their selection and service. And the Sunday drive is therapeutic for me, too.  

Post groceries, I cleaned out the fridge and cabinets, unloaded groceries and did a little meal prepping for the week ahead.  We have a big trip coming up next weekend, so I also starting putting food and snacks together to take along with us.  Late Sunday afternoon, I knew I needed to get some exercise in, other than the manual labor of the weekend.  I turned on a podcast and did my normal 3 mile walk within the neighborhood. Then I came home and took a nap!  Napping isn't an easy thing for me, most times I can't sleep longer than 20 minutes.  But this time, it was a peaceful 45 minutes and just what I needed.  I had put a whole chicken in the oven prior to laying down for the nap and I woke up to the delicious aroma of it roasting.  Sunday night was low key.  We had a family dinner and then relaxed for the night.  

Overall, the weekend was a huge success in the ways of preparation, organization, and feeling ready to take on the week.  And the best part was that I still have two more days to do the fun things!