Saturday Confessions II

1. I have never been so ready for a month to end. April was full of so many hard things and I spent a lot of it in a funk. The good news is that May begins tomorrow! I love turning the calendar to a brand new page. 

2. I had absolutely NO idea that Kate Middleton's sister was named Pippa when I titled my last post. I had NO idea the number of hits my blog would receive because of it either. Wow.

3. I watched a ton of royal wedding coverage and loved every single minute of it. I slept until 5am so I missed the actual wedding ceremony but saw the procession to Buckingham palace and everything after that. We don't have a DVR but I was able to find enough coverage yesterday afternoon to satisfy my curiosity. The girls loved it too!

4. I felt guilty enjoying the pageantry of the royal wedding knowing that many friends in the South were facing a much more stark reality. The tornados and the flooding have taken so much from so many...and it simply breaks my heart.

5. I went to Will's track meet on Thursday afternoon and realized after I'd parked my van that I was at the WRONG school. UGH. I'd looked up directions to Challenger Middle school earlier that morning and saw that it was on Lexington and thought I knew how to get there because we've had events at that school before. When I pulled in the parking lot I noticed the sign said Mountain Ridge Middle school. John was already there (and wondering why he couldn't find Will or any of teammates at the track meet going on there.)  Duh! I felt so stupid. My girls and their friends who were with us were laughing so hard at my goof-up! In my defense, BOTH schools are on Lexington and are less than 2 miles apart! I bet I'll never confuse Challenger and Mountain Ridge middle schools again.

6. I am tired of wearing sweaters. And jackets. And winter coats. I nearly froze at that track meet and I've worn a sweater almost every day this week. Tomorrow is MAY for crying out loud. We have had plenty of nice days though so I really should not complain.

7. I was way more excited than I should have been about a television show  giddy last night when I realized that this season of Friday Night Lights is available on Comcast On Demand. We've missed the first three episodes (because we don't have a DVR!) but now we can catch up! You do know that is our favorite show on television, right?

8. I mentioned in confession #1 that I've been in a funk. I feel like I'm slowly emerging from it, but I also feel like I'm emerging with my eyes wide open. Some of the hard things from April that I alluded to have caused me to examine my priorities and all the different things that I put my time and energy into. I'll be honest, I didn't like everything I saw. I'm making some positive changes but I'm a little fearful too because it means stepping away from what is familiar and comfortable. Change is good, but change is  oh-so hard.

Pippi-style and the royal wedding

When my children were smaller I was very good about writing down the funny things they'd say. I've slacked off on that over the years but these two things are things I want to remember and since my blog is the closest thing to scrapbooking that I do these days, this is the perfect place to "write" it.

I took the girls to Colorado Springs to see a local production of Pippi Longstocking last night. It was VERY cute! When Abbey woke up this morning she told me (in a highly exasperated voice) that she TRIED to sleep Pippi-style last night--feet on your pillow, head at the foot of the bed--but that sleeping that way was IMPOSSIBLE. Cracked me up. 


About a month ago, when all the William and Kate wedding hype began I asked the girls if they wanted to see the royal wedding. I told them all about watching the wedding of Charles and Diana when I was a young girl and how exciting an event such as this would be. I went on and on and on until they mustered up some enthusiasm and agreed to watch it with me. I told them we might have to get up really early to see it on television. Abbey looked me square in the eye and said, "What? You mean we have to watch it on the stinkin' TV? I thought you meant we were GOING TO THE ROYAL WEDDING." That girl is a keeper!

Easter wrap-up

I'm going to document our family's Easter weekend events in this post. I had not one but two debates with my family yesterday about how we celebrated Easter last year and the blog was able to prove me right both times. Sweet justice!

Good Friday: 

The kids had school but John had the day off! That means we had a date! We went to lunch, did our "Easter Bunny" shopping, and shopped for men's black dress socks. Doesn't get more exciting than that.

I did this again this year. Just a reminder of Jesus' sacrifice for ME, for you, for all of us. I got the idea from Wendy a couple of years ago.

We also went to our church's Good Friday service, and after the kids went to bed, the Easter Bunny visited. Our Easter bunny comes on Friday night instead of Saturday. Here's why.

Good Saturday:

I don't know if it's really called Good Saturday or not, but it seems like a good descriptor for a Saturday.

The kids woke up to a (shared) basket of candy and Coldstone gift cards. Last year our Easter bunny outdid himself and brought movie tickets but I think this year he knew that John and Meredith didn't want to sit through Hop or Diary of a Wimpy Kid II. We're indulgent parents, we just prefer not to spend upwards of $50 for a movie we'd rather see on dvd in two months, so thank you for notching it back down this year, Mr. Bunny!

My rule on Saturday is that kids can eat candy all day long (or until it's gone) and so that's what they did. It was mostly gone by 11am. Sarah went to an Easter egg hunt that she and her middle-school friends organized for themselves and there were tears when she got home and realized her brother and sister ate all the Starburst jelly beans. Those things are tasty! 

I ended the day talking to one of my dearest friends. She called to tell me that another dear friend's father had passed away earlier that day. My heart aches for my friend and her family...loss is never a slight thing...but that was a timely reminder of what Easter Sunday is all about...death is not the end of the story...

Easter Sunday:

Church, of course, was first up.

 My friend, Paula, took this picture of us after the service. I sent my mom some pics of the kids and she asked why John and I weren't in them. It's because this is the only one we got so thank you, Paula!

I looked at some Easter pictures that friends posted on Facebook last night and wanted to cry at all the lush, green foliage in the backgrounds. There's a reason all of our Easter photos were taken inside. We woke up to snow yesterday and it was 32 degrees when we left for church. It's typical, but it's disheartening when it happens year after year after year. The picture below makes me laugh because the girls were NOT happy when I told them they needed to grab their coats before church. 

We came home from church and had lunch: ham, potato casserole, roasted asparagus, roasted brussel sprouts, and rolls (Sister Schuberts!) with cherry pie and Blue Bell for dessert. (I include this information for my own future personal reference should my family insist that we ate at Chilis for Easter dinner!)

We finally got around to dyeing eggs on Easter afternoon but I didn't take one single picture. They were pretty though!

We ended the evening the way we end most Sunday evenings, watching AFV and The Amazing Race.

Easter is the one holiday that makes me more homesick than all the others. I think it's a collective longing for spring and flowers and sunshine and family and old traditions. Easter in Colorado makes me SAD. I try to make it special and fun for us, but I never fully feel like my heart is in things like it is on Thanksgiving or Christmas. I'm still feeling tired from riding the emotional roller coaster of the last couple of weeks with my breast lump/biopsy saga too. It's fair to say that I wasn't the happiest chick to be around yesterday. Still, the meaning of the day wasn't lost on me and I feel like overall it was celebratory.

The kids are out of school today. I'm not complaining about a day off but I much prefer it when our day off is Friday. When our school week starts on Tuesday, I feel like I'm off kilter for remainder of the week. This one is already super busy, so I'm going to have to be ultra-organized and on top of things! Happy Monday, peeps. Strangely, the word "peeps" seems especially fitting today.

Accepting Condolences

Pink is my new favorite color

[Pink is primarily a color for girls. That's a nice way of attempting to persuade my male readers to stop reading at this point. There's a lot of female-related information that you might not want to know in the paragraphs below. For the rest of you, I apologize for the length of this post.]

Remember when I casually mentioned last month that I had my first mammogram?

Well, it came back abnormal. I kinda figured it might because I'd found a lump in my breast at the end of January. It took a few weeks to get an appointment with my doctor but she didn't seem overly concerned about the lump. She ordered a mammogram and it was about three weeks later before I went in for that.

The mammography tech was great. She explained things in detail and asked if I had any questions. I didn't, but I did mention the lump I could feel. She mashed around on it and like my doctor, she didn't seem too concerned either, but she did tell me that about 10% of women get called back for a second set of images. Sometimes it's because the radiologist sees something suspicious and doesn't have anything to compare it to (a baseline mammogram) and sometimes it's because they just need more information. I left that day with the feeling that I'd probably be one of the 10% that was called back. And I was.

I still wasn't super concerned. No one had really given me a reason to be fearful or in a hurry to follow-up so I scheduled that second mammogram for several weeks later at a time of the month when I'd be the least sore AND at a time of the month that my hormones would be similar to the stage they were in during the first mammo. It made sense to me at the time.

Now is a good time to mention that for as long as I can remember, I've had lumpy breasts. Sixteen years ago, a doctor in Dallas diagnosed me with fibrocystic changes. My breasts get lumpy and sore towards the end of my cycle and all of that completely disappears when my cycle starts over. The lump I'd found seemed cystic in nature to me. It would get bigger, then shrink depending on where I was in my cycle. I was optimistic.

The day of my follow-up mammogram, they called to tell me that their mammography machine was down. I ended up being rescheduled three times that week. It was a tad nerve-wracking, but mainly just annoying. I think I started to feel a tiny bit fearful when they told me that I was "high priority" as far as scheduling went because of my previous mammogram.

I ended up having an ultrasound instead of a mammogram when I finally went back in. I guess I wasn't totally surprised when the technician found SEVEN lumps--five in one breast and two in the other. Of those seven, four were definitely cysts and three were solid masses. Cysts are good; solid masses aren't so good. The radiologist came in to take a look and wanted to biopsy the largest of those three solid masses--which was the one I'd discovered at the end of January. You know why I could feel it? Because it was 2 cm in diameter. That's close to an inch and that's rather large for a breast lump.

Before I left that day, I set up the biopsy appointment and drove home. I was concerned, but not really worried. John left for Oregon within minutes of me arriving home from that appointment and I was a single parent for five days so I think I pushed any anxiousness I was feeling far, far away for the sake of my kids. I mentioned it to a handful of friends but talking about it stirred up unpleasantness for me, so I was pretty tight-lipped.

The night before the procedure (it was last Thursday) I used the world wide web to look up ultrasound-guided vacuum-assisted core biopsy. Big mistake. There are some things that should never be googled. That and 14-guage hollow core needle are two of them. It's pretty safe to say that I was freaked out. I just kept thinking of my friend, Joanne, who had endured multiple brain surgeries and telling myself that this was much more routine and much less invasive and asking God for courage!

I'll refrain from detailing the actual biopsy procedure. I made sure I had relaxing music on my iPod, put my earbuds in, closed my eyes to avoid what was playing out on the ultrasound screen, and tried (unsuccessfully) to relax. I couldn't feel anything, but the noise of the needle was freaky so obviously I didn't turn my iPod up loud enough. There was one minor complication which necessitated a second incision but thankfully they gave me more lidocaine. The worst part might have been finding out that I had to have a mammogram immediately after the biopsy to find out if the tiny marker they inserted was in the right place. They put the marker in (via the needle)(ick) in case they need to go back in later to remove the mass and/or to monitor growth. That's not alarming or anything, right?

I think the giant cloud of fear descended on me the second I walked out of that clinic. My mind went crazy with all the possible scenarios of how my life could change depending on those results. It wasn't pretty and the wait was torturous.

I tried to focus on the positive things I knew like the fact that my doctor and the mammography technician both seemed unconcerned at those initial visits and that there is no history of breast cancer on my mom's side of my family. But, I also kept running into women with bald heads--at Walmart, at the mall, and even at church--I saw four women in three days! That was tough. It also seemed a bit uncanny that I reconnected with a friend on Facebook who (unaware of what I was going through) told me that she is just emerging victoriously over her own battle with breast cancer. I wasn't sure what to think of all these crazy coincidental things (there were several more) but I was certainly paying attention. I thought of all the women I know who have survived breast cancer--including John's mom and two other friends--and I was moved by their courage and bravery.

Did I mention that the wait was torturous? I prayed. I cried. I asked friends to pray. I cried some more. I tried to let go of the fear (I had one semi-successful day out of the SIX that I had to wait) but it was just always lurking. I kept myself busy almost all weekend just to avoid the "what ifs" that surfaced in the quiet moments. I also have to mention here that I have THE BEST friends in the world.

There's so much more I want to say but this is already so long, so I'll just get to part you're probably all waiting to read--the biopsy results.

I got good news. My lump is a fibroadenoma, which is a fairly common, solid, rubbery BENIGN mass. The other two masses (which weren't biopsied) may or may not be the same thing but they are soooooo tiny that at this point, they're okay to be monitored via mammogram in six months. I'm more than okay with that.  And believe me, there were MANY prayers of thanks offered up yesterday as well as tears of joy. The relief I felt yesterday was E-N-O-R-M-O-U-S.

I'm very well aware that today would be a very different day if I'd gotten different news. Sadly, not everyone facing this kind of scare walks away hearing the beautiful word benign. I think that going through all of this testing/waiting/testing/waiting has softened my heart towards women going through similar health issues. Those bald women I kept running into all weekend? I don't know exactly what they're facing or what their story is but my heart was drawn to them and I know God heard the prayers I whispered on their behalf. This whole ordeal has made me wish to be a gentler, kinder woman because there are people in pain ALL around us...almost ALL the time...who maybe just need a smile, a nod, or a stranger to look them in the eye and let them know that they've been "seen".

One more thing. I've never liked the color pink, but I was shopping earlier this week and purposefully bought a pink top. Most of you probably know that pink is the color for breast cancer awareness. My new PINK top is going to be a reminder of these past couple of months and a symbol/statement of gratitude. I'm determined to love the color pink for all the women out there who have battled and/or are currently battling breast cancer, and I bet every one of you reading this can name at least one.

HAZMAT day!

We had the day off from school today because there was a tanker on the railroad tracks close to our house that was leaking hydrochloric acid. YIKES! The neighborhood next to ours was evacuated early this morning, and when I say early, I'm talking get called out of bed, gather everything you might need for 48 hours including your pets, and be out of the house in twenty minutes. We were on standby (all of us had packed a bag except John) to evacuate for most of the morning and early afternoon until the crew from Texas (Texas???) arrived and began cleaning things up. Fun times I tell ya.

John was scheduled to go in to the office for a while this morning. He worked from home instead, and I was very glad because this morning they were telling residents of our 'hood that if we left we wouldn't be allowed to return for 48 hours. 

Needless to say it's been an exciting day!

Lots of friends WERE evacuated and displaced from their homes today but as I'm writing this, the evacuation order has been lifted and they're settling back into the beds they were so groggily ejected from this morning. I'm so happy for them. They've had a LONG, EXHAUSTING day!

We had literally dozens of voice messages, texts, call, and offers of lodging from sweet friends. That was such a blessing, but the bigger blessing was that we got to stay in our home! It was sorta like a snow day without the snow. Sorta. But not really. It was a weird day that I couldn't let end without documenting on "the blog".

John worked all day but the kids and I ended up having a pretty lazy day which we really needed. I also got some REALLY GOOD NEWS that I'd been praying and hoping for. I will share all of that tomorrow! It deserves it's own blog post.

So peace out, peeps!

----------------------------------------------

PS: I still haven't called the dentist about my tooth. I hate the dentist.

PSS: I have a hair appointment tomorrow. I was willing to risk not being allowed to re-enter the neighborhood in order to keep that appointment. Thank goodness I don't have to make that call now.

Monday-Schmonday

I got some loose ends wrapped up today that were pestering me. I got to cross some things off of my running to-do list. I love crossing things off of lists. I think that may be the reason that I make lists in the first place.

We had a pretty good weekend. We found Easter outfits for the kids quickly, easily, and without drama which might go down in the Lifeat7000Feet record book as a first! I even enjoyed the mall, which might also be a first.

I laughed at those of you who commented on my Confessions post about sandwiches being perfectly acceptable as a dinner option. I totally agree. It's just that I really really like to cook, so when my family gets sandwiches it's because I'm super tired and or have lost my cooking mojo. Last Friday, I think it was both.

We had dinner with some friends last night and the weather was so nice that we were actually able to sit outside. Makes me so ready for summer!!! They grilled burgers (which also makes me excited for summer!) and at one point I chomped down on something really hard. My tooth (molar) has been hurting ever since. I'm not sure what I did but all I know is that there is pain when I bite on down on that side. I need to call the dentist in the morning but I'm wondering when in the world I can squeeze an appointment into my week! Until then, I guess I'm on a diet because when it hurts to eat, well, you just don't want to eat. :(

This is really random but I keep wondering if any of you experience this too. Almost every single morning (and sometimes throughout the night) I wake up with crazy pain in the cartilage in my ear. It hurts worse when I lift my head up to roll over and switch sides and it usually always takes 10-15 minutes to completely go away. It's worse in my right ear, but it affects both. The pain is not inside my ear, it's not the lobe, and it's not from being folded over--it's the cartilage. I can't figure out what causes it; all I know is that it HURTS! Does anyone else experience that? Anyone?

Saturday Confessions

I'm linking up to Melissa's Saturday Confessions this morning. I love Melissa. I know if I still lived in Arkansas, we'd be good friends.

Here's me being confessional:

1. I fed my family sandwiches for dinner last night. I usually save sandwiches for lunchboxes but the truth is I didn't have anything more than sandwiches in me last night. I did try to make them a little more fancy--I called them paninis and made them on the George Foreman grill.

2. After that gourmet meal, I helped John clean up the kitchen then put on my pjs and got in bed. At 7pm. I watched a movie on my laptop before I fell asleep, but I totally ignored my family who were all together in the den watching Disney. I loathe Disney. 

3. This week, I had a major conflict with a volunteer project that I'm in charge of and an appointment that I really had to keep. I didn't realize the conflict until two days before. I did something I typically don't like to do and delegated the whole thing to three very capable moms. Sometimes I delegate, but when I do I don't think I ever fully release things. I turned a corner this week and did both. It was a HUGE help and those moms handled it beautifully.

4. My house is a disaster. I'm not even kidding. This week has thrown a few curveballs my way and between dodging those and the general BUSYness of this time of year the house has fallen apart. Of course (and you all probably would agree) it doesn't take much for things to fall apart quickly. Housekeeping is a daily affair.

5. I am feeling very restless and unsatisfied with some things in my life right now. So is John. We had a really great lunch conversation about all of this earlier in the week. I don't know that we walked away with a lot of answers but just acknowledging our feelings and realizing that we're both in the same place felt huge.

6. I love my husband! I've had to depend on him for some big things this week and he has been nothing short of amazing.

7. I am pea green with envy over all my friends who are in Little Rock this weekend to see Beth Moore. PEA GREEN WITH ENVY. I think half of my Arkansas friends were there last night based on their Facebook statuses.

8. Speaking of Facebook--I am totally annoyed with it lately. For lots of reasons. That could probably be an entire post for another day.

9. Happy Saturday! My family is heading out later to do some Easter outfit shopping. That will probably involve a trip to the mall and if you know me, you know I despise that place. I feel my attitude sliding south even now. Oh brother. I'm going to try to be positive for the sake of my family! Wish me luck.

Thirteen

1. I sometimes wish my blog was private. I'm a word processor, meaning I process things through words/writing. I have some stuff I'm processing and yet this forum doesn't feel quite private enough these days. I'm afraid my husband is tiring of my verbal processing though he'd probably never admit that.

2. I took the kids to see Soul Surfer on Saturday. It was EXCELLENT! 

3. I love Sour Patch Kids. I ate a whole stinkin' box all by myself at the movie. 

4. I am feeling MUCH better! Super thankful for that!

5. John was in Oregon the last several days. He sent me this pic (Multnomah Falls) on Saturday and asked me to start searching vrbo.com for some places on the coast this summer. He didn't have to ask me twice.

6. He got home really late Monday night and I woke up on Tuesday feeling more rested than I had in days. I don't sleep well when he's away, but I do get caught up on all the shows I like on Bravo that he won't watch with me. :)

7. We only have 27 more days of school. Abbey technically only has 25, but Will and Sarah have 27. That's less than six weeks until summer! Woohoo!

8. Abbey has decided she likes white American cheese since trying it on her sandwich at Subway the other day. However, she insists on it being white American and she insists on having me cut it into triangles like they do at Subway because that's "the only way it tastes right". She packs a turkey sandwich on french bread in her lunchbox every single day, but Monday she requested turkey with triangle cheese on Italian bread. I just sliced french bread differently and told her it was italian. She totally bought it.
*By the way, I'm so thrilled she's eating cheese on her sandwich that I don't even mind cutting it in triangle shapes!

9. Our television remote is broken. The volume control works but the channel control doesn't. It is super annoying to have to get up to change the channel manually. Good thing we have slaves, er, I mean children.

10. We filed an extension for our income taxes. That seems to be our MO. Modus Operandi.

11. John and I are like most couples and have days/weeks that we're either in sync with each other or entirely disconnected. We've been in a really good place lately and I am so grateful for that. I much prefer the ups to the downs. Who wouldn't? 

12. I've been working on this post since SUNDAY when it was the tenth. Now it's the thirteenth. I'm having a hard time blogging lately. I have much I want to say, but again, this isn't the the place to say it. [See #1 above].

13. I'm working on a shopping list for my big trip at the end of the week. I asked Will if there was anything he needed and without missing a beat he said, "Yeah, shaving cream". That threw me for a bit of a loop. How is he old enough to be needing shaving cream?!?

Good garlicky morning

I woke up much earlier than I'd planned this morning. The hour hand was still on the four. Yuck. The insane wind + the inability to swallow without pain are to blame. Despite copious amounts of Emergen-C and extra veggies and fruit and rest, I seem to have succumbed to the cold that my family has been sharing. Life goes on whether the mom is sick or not though. Blech.

I also woke up with really, really bad garlic breath. Last night, I made pita pizzas for dinner. The kids had plain ole cheese and pepperoni but I had more of a gourmet pita pizza in mind for the grown-ups. Warning: clicking that link might make you suddenly crave pita pizza. John wasn't home for dinner last night but the kids insisted on pizza so instead of taking time for one of those amazing-looking recipes, I made mine with whatever I could scrounge up from the fridge. I threw some spinach and tomatoes (I'm really addicted to these yellow tomatoes) in the skillet. At the last minute I decided I needed some garlic and squeezed a clove through my garlic press. Evidently I didn't saute the garlic long enough because it was basically still raw when I bit into my pizza (which by the way, was delicious). Raw garlic is really good for you though so I'm hoping it gave my immune system a boost since it didn't do anything pleasant for my breath. Wow.

All of my kids are out of school for conferences today so we have a long weekend ahead of us. We only have six weeks of school left and that remaining time is feeling remarkably full so it thrills me when we have a day like today. Everyone is going different directions this morning but I think we might go see a movie later IF we can all agree on which one. I've been lobbying for Soul Surfer because the thought of another terrible kid movie is just painful (Gnomeo & Juliet was awful!) but on second thought, I could probably catch up on missed sleep if Hop isn't engaging. And let's be honest--a bunny that poops jellybeans? I could probably sneak in a great, albeit expensive, nap.

It feels a little weird that I can blog about garlic and sleep and movies without effort in the midst of a possible government shutdown. I'm not sure I completely understand all that's happening (where's my smart friend, Lisa, when I need her?) but considering that I rarely watch the news and I overheard rumors of the shutdown yesterday in the carpool line I'm okay with my quick catch up work. What is this world coming to?

Alright...gotta get moving now that I've been up for a couple of hours. At least the sun decided to finally join me! So happy it's FRIDAY!

Wednesday Hodge Podge

I'm joining the Wednesday Hodge Podge meme tonight--perfect blog fodder when nothing else you have to say is bloggable. I think I just made up a new word. Bloggable. I like it.

1. National Read a Road Map Day falls on April 5th. Would people say you have a good sense of direction? Do you rely on a GPS when you drive somewhere new? When was the last time you used a map?

Yes, people would say I have an excellent sense of direction. I have a GPS but I dislike it very much. I used it last month to find an obscure place in Denver, but honestly, I studied the map before I went and didn't even need the stupid GPS. My friend, Angie, was with me and probably thought I was a huge nerd because I didn't even know how to turn it off. I finally just muted the woman with the bossy voice. I think I prefer a map!

2. What's your favorite cookbook? Well, I've had The Pioneer Woman Cooks for less than a month, so I'm still pretty enamored with it, but honestly, I think the Southern Living Annual Recipes cookbooks (I have lots) are my favorites. 

3. What painting would you like to "walk into" and experience? Why? Hmmmm...that's hard. Really hard at this time of the day when my brain has essentially turned itself off. Maybe I'd ask Mona Lisa what she was thinking? Or ask Jackson Pollock to tell me EXACTLY what I'm supposed to see in his paintings. I don't know. What about you?

4. What annoys you more- misspellings or mispronunciations? Misspelled words REALLY annoy me, but so does incorrect pronunciation (or usage for that matter). My children will tell you I'm a stickler for both.

5. What is something your mother or father considered important? Faith and family.

6. Do you like or dislike schedules? I prefer structure, but I also need unstructured time. I  typically like to my weekdays to have a schedule but my weekends to be schedule-free. Life doesn't work out quite like that though...

7. Let's have some fun with National Poetry Month (that would be April)...write your own ending to this poem-

"Roses are Red

Violets are blue..."

Send someone a smile, and they'll smile back at you!

8. Insert your own random thought in this space. 
Confrontation never plays out as well in person as it does in my head. Sadly, I've experienced this plus some residual awkwardness this week. Blech.


Want to read more? Or link up with your own Wednesday Hodge Podge post? Then click here.

Mixed Monday

I have mixed feelings about today (Monday).

It's a happy day here at my house because my husband is turning in a completed manuscript that he's been working on for a long time.

We were planning to celebrate by going out to dinner...BUT...he and Sarah are both sick. I'm keeping Sarah home from school today but John has to go in to the office (after three months of working from home) to wrap up lots of manuscript related stuff. That plus his cold-like symptoms make me doubt he'll feel much like celebrating five o'clock. I'm praying that Abbey and I stay well. We're the only ones who haven't succumbed to the stuff the rest of my family has been passing around. I don't have time to be sick.

I'm thankful for a new week. Last week was R-O-U-G-H in multiple ways. Today sorta feels like a clean slate. Especially since we have a fresh blanket of clean, white snow on the ground. I'm not even going to complain about snow in April (or the fact that my thermometer this morning read 16 degrees) since we're down on our snow totals by about 50% these days.

There's some other weighty stuff going on today too...stuff that I need to hold close and tight for now...but stuff that makes me feel like a yo-yo methodically moving up and down. I'm hoping it ends on a high note, but I know Who is with me regardless of where I land.

Peace out, peeps. Happy mixed Monday.