It’s so easy to be consumed by sadness. I don’t get sad too often. I am mostly content and happy. My kids will say I yell too much. I do. Patience is not my strong suit. But these last few weeks really brought me down. My father’s death, the eye injury, etc.  I tried to be all quiet with it all. Sleeping, living on gluten free toast which is like prison food. And yes, I yelled a lot. Short fuse.

Now, after after a few weeks of moping around I am better. I think it’s good to just give in sometimes and to realize that you don’t have to keep it all together. It felt good to just let it all go. I want to thank all of you for the kinds words, the numerous “check-ins” and the fun stuff you all sent me to cheer me up. Seriously, thank you.

Right Now:

Coffee, breakfast, church. Over the last twelve months, church has played a bigger role in my life than it ever has. Mostly, because we finally found a church that we can live with. It’s called Real Life Church and that is what it is. Practical messages for daily living. Come as you are. No fancy schmancy dressing up and they even have a coffee house which even The Girl takes pleasure in. They make a mean hot chocolate. So that is how we will spend the morning. Oh, and trying to get used to the time change. I am not a fan of Spring Forward.

This Week:

• The Girl auditioned for Brigitta (The Sound of Music) and a lead nun. We find out on Tuesday if she got a callback.
• Track is in full swing, but The Girl missed some practices because of the show and we had some practices cancelled because of rain. Not sure she is going to be ready by the first meet on 3/21.
• The Teen continues with his rehearsals for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
• The Teen is starting his SAT prep course soon and the college packets are starting to arrive at the house. He is a senior next year. Wow.
• I have a parent teacher conference on Tuesday and I am working the book fair on Thursday but forgot my kid will be at track. Bad planning on my part.

Reading:

I am about 70 pages into Pet Sematary. I fell behind for the read along because of the eye injury (so stupid) but I am trying to catch-up. I think most have finished already. I am also reading The Book of Strange New Things. I started this one ages ago and got totally sidetracked so now I am reading it FOR REAL. I’d like to fit one more book in. A page-turner like The Girl on the Train. Any suggestions?

Watching:

One thing I did a lot of while moping around was watch Breaking Bad. I started that first season and did not think I was going to like it and now I am more than halfway through season three. What an awesome show.

Still watching The Walking Dead and it’s getting really good. You can’t trust anyone on that show. It’s a fun one to watch and now The Hub and Teen are hooked.

Gearing up for the return of Bates Motel (Season 3) which premiers this Monday.

Making:

A new Mexican market opened up on our side of town so me thinks some tacos might be in the works.

Grateful for:

All of you.

Happy Thought For the Week:

Hoping for a good outcome when the callback list is announced on Tuesday. Thinking happy thoughts, doing a happy dance. Also, the Teen is narrowing in on what he wants to focus on when he does go to college and it looks like Arts Management. That makes me happy.

This past week was good. The weather was warm, I didn’t have to rush around and I even managed to cook some meals at home. Valentine’s Day was a little uneventful, but mostly by choice. I don’t deal well with crowds and often just opt to stay in, which is exactly what we did.

Except for the 4 a.m. registration for The Sound of Music on Valentine’s Day which wiped me out, only because I managed to turn my ankle. It’s not sprained or bruised but I managed to turn it just enough to keep rolling it every time I take a step. People were running! I was not. All I did was step out of the car wrong. The Hub says this could only happen to me. He’s probably right.

These cake pops that my friend made helped make-up for the early morning wake-up:

My book club met to select the books for the year and it’s an interesting list. I will post it soon. I agonized over my choices but they both made it in, The Boys in the Boat and Norwegian by Night.

And…I got to meet one of my fave people (Karen) for lunch. She and her husband stopped by to have lunch with me on Friday and she made me these awesome pillows.

There is a story behind these pillows. She posted the fabric on Instagram and I was drooling over it. Japanese prints always make me think of Murakami. And then when I met her for lunch, she had these pillows for me! I was near tears and so surprised. I am going to take the two pillows, reclaim the loft and finally have my reading loft. The Teen may protest.

Right Now:

We are going to church this morning. I am looking forward to it since I missed last week’s service. I have coffee in hand now but will probably pick-up a green smoothie on the way home from church.

This Week:

Track starts. It was delayed by a week but will start for real this Tuesday. The Girl needs it.

I have a hair appointment. The one that was rescheduled since the one I had two weeks ago ended up being a no-go since the salon was closed. My hair is a disaster because of it. I am debating if I should go shorter.

Reading:

Just finished Her by Harriet Lane. The book was pretty wonderful until the very end when it all went to crap. Seriously, the last three pages. What the heck?

I need to choose my next book and once again, I haven’t a clue what to choose. Dead Wake is looking pretty good.

Watching:

We watched The Sound of Music last night, in prep for the next show. We also watched Definitely, Maybe. I had seen it before but I thought The Girl might enjoy it and she did. I started watching Breaking Bad at lunch. I am almost done with season one and it has grown on me. Tonight, The Walking Dead.

Making:

I am not making anything today but we are going to pick up Chinese take-out. I have been craving it for weeks but no one else has so this is sort of my Valentine treat. Chicken in black bean sauce and House Special garlic and rice noodles. I can’t wait.

Grateful for:

I am grateful for so many things, the roof over my head, my health (even though I have issues now and then, my issues could be so much worse) and I am grateful for friends. This past week, the actions of some of my friends really brought tears to my eyes.

Happy Thought For the Week:

One last week before rehearsals start for The Sound of Music. I will be starting a new book, my hair situation will be taken care of and every night this week I am going to tackle the clutter that has built-up over the past few weeks. When the weather is like this I just want to clean. Sad, but true.

What are you doing today?