my journey, destination unknown
We’ve been home for over a week now. I should have been fully caught up and back in the swing of things days ago. But I’m still struggling. Last week, I took naps. Many, looong naps. I just couldn’t move. It was like I had the flu again, but without the fever. The combination of…
This hashtag drives me batty sometimes. What’s the point? Are we trying to remember to be grateful and reminding ourselves that whatever the problem is, we can get past it and things will be okay even if it is annoying? Are we being smug? “My life is so awesome that my worst problem at the…
Back in the summer when Chloe was born (2002), my five year old Passat was suffering from issues that had us at the repair shop weekly. The troubles were somewhere in the electrical system, and no amount of diagnosing helped. The AC would only work at traffic lights. The battery would be dead for no…
I am now 43 years old — middle-aged, in the general scheme of things. I’ve been registered to vote for 25 of those years. I should have been eligible for jury duty for 25 years. Except that I was a full-time student. Then a nursing mom. Then a primary caregiver/homeschooling parent. Thus I’ve managed to…
I have posted my final photo-a-day for 2013! This past year, I posted my daily photos to Picasa and to facebook…. In my 2008 daily album on picasa, I posted 202 photos. In my 2009 daily album on picasa, I posted 227 photos. In my 2010 daily album on picasa, I posted 346 photos. In…
One of my fears in all the years I’ve traveled with my kids is getting stuck in a situation where I have no control and fear for our safety. Unless absolutely necessary, I don’t ride in taxis. I plan ahead. I have backup plans. On many a long roadtrip on desolate stretches, I’ve feared for…
A couple weekends ago, I did something that I’ve never done before. I packed up Evie with me and Phelix, and we went off on our own little adventure. For years, my adventures almost always included the girls. I’ve gone on a couple of trips without them, but not off on my own. I’ve always…
Ever since school started back after the summer, my “to-do” list has been absolutely out of control. I don’t have any idea how it managed to get as long as it did. Did the summer heat drain me of energy? Was I too busy? Today, at long last, that to-do list is done. It has…
We came home from “break” on Thursday. While the girls were on break, I did my best to keep up at work while we were away at the beach. I kept up overall, but still managed to feel like I fell behind. Deadlines were not communicated properly, and I now see that I’ve missed one….
While we were on the beach the other day, Chloe and I watched some kids playing in the surf and the tidepools on skimboards. Chloe, of course, wanted to give it a try too. The store in town had rows and rows of boards. I agreed; skimboarding looked right up her alley. After choosing the…
It’s a strange phenomenon. I know that I am happier when I take the time to go out, whether to go to the library on my own, to go out to lunch with friends or to volunteer in town. I’m fairly good at setting up the opportunities to get out, but as they approach, I…
Rob and the girls are off in Florida this weekend. I made list after list of things that I was planning to get done : work, cleaning, organizing, reading blogging. Phelix got me up at 7am, so I was sure I’d have a good start. After taking him for a nice walk and having a…
For years now, I’ve always felt behind on my to do list. Occasionally I manage to wrestle it down to size for a few days or weeks, but it always seems to get the better of me again, even when I give up various projects. The constant struggle is exhausting, overwhelming much of the time….
IKEA. I fell in love back when I was a graduate student. Living on my own as a grad student in Houston, I was thrilled when IKEA opened. I could have fairly nice furniture at low cost. I could “decorate” with things I liked. Quickly, I knew all the shortcuts. Visiting IKEA was always a…
I have drafts of a dozen different posts, none of which I feel are ready to post. Instead of cleaning up those drafts, I’m going to write this one. And like my thoughts, this will probably be a post that is all over the place. Moving is at a steady-state. All but a couple of…
At 1pm, I had finished work, crossed a couple things off of my to do list, taken the dog out for a “business” walk and put him in his crate. I “flew” (while respecting speed limits, of course) down to Oakhurst. Chloe’s class was S…L..O…W in coming in from recess. We swung by the B&G…
I very prudently saved up my limited vacation days in order to be able to take a week off at Thanksgiving and another at Christmas. At the end of the Thanksgiving week, I felt I had in some ways “wasted” my time off. I promised not to do the same with my Christmas break, but…
Year after year. I dread Christmas. I am the world’s WORST gift giver. This inadequacy of mine stresses me to the point where I want to curl up in a ball and not come out until next year. Today I realized that this really, really should not surprise me. I hate shopping of any kind…
Only a week behind, I’ve finally managed to finish a month of posts. It seems like anything I try to do, I end up a bit behind, but, eventually I manage to complete it. I’d say that completing a 30 day project in 36 days isn’t really all that bad — especially when it is…
Where did the time go? I often look up after what I feel has been a few minutes to find that an hour has gone by. Where does the time go? What am I doing with it? Am I spending that much time looking at my “social networking”? What am I reading? How much time…