The return to work after a long vacation is always hard. I am just taking this day to chill before it all starts back up again. I am still working remotely so that makes it easier.

Right Now:

I am enjoying some coffee and some weekend news. It’s the only kind of news I can tolerate these days. Pet stories, entertainment news and food segments. Then, the Hub, pup and I will be off for an adventure so my daughter can complete her Baldwin Wallace audition without any distractions. The Otter Pup is known to photobomb you when on Zoom and if someone walks past the house she will bark. Not conducive to the audition process so she gets to go on an adventure with us.

Later today, youth group starts up again via Zoom and school starts back up again on Monday, remotely, so their brains will be occupied with that, I’m sure. I know it’s on my daughter’s mind.

This Week:

Work for me. School for the girl. That’s it and that’s enough. I’ve got to figure out some meal planning too. Trying to work more plant-based meals in. I have no issue with this but finding meals everyone will eat and ones that also do not have gluten can be challenging.

Reading:

The Overstory. Might take me awhile to read given that my current reading pace is that of a snail. Slow.

Watching:

We are finishing up Cobra Kai today, hopefully. Just one more episode. Not sure what we will watch after that. Bridgerton looks interesting to me but I can’t see the Hub watching it.

Also, I might have fallen into the Grey’s Anatomy hole. My daughter has been watching it recently and I can’t help but watch it with her. So much drama. I had to pull a palm tree out of my yard the other day and I had her pause it until I finished and then came back all covered in branches so I could see the ending.

Grateful for:

• My son is all settled into his new place now. He still needs a few pieces of furniture but for the most part, he’s all set up.
• This would never have come out of my mouth a year ago but I am grateful for physical activity. It’s the only thing that wears me down these days. Without it, my mind goes into spin mode.
• This community. Readers are the best people.

I hope you are enjoying this weekend and if you are going back to work like I am on Monday, we will get through the week and be celebrating Friday in no time.

Each and every day I am reminded of my age. Holy Moly. I totally forgot today was Sunday so I had no post scheduled. I was catching up on blog reading and realized I had forgotten to post when everyone was talking about their Sunday.

So, here you go. A quick update.

Right Now:

Most of my coworkers return to work (virtually) tomorrow but I added an additional week and I am so glad I did. I try to, because that first day back is just too hard for me to wrap my brain around. Of course, my first day back on 1/11 will be hard too. My daughter returns to remote learning on 1/11 so I thought it would be good to take that additional week.

My pup was having trouble recovering from a particularly long walk last night so early this morning I took her on a shorter walk and now she is napping. Happily.

I will be doing a bit more laundry and then hitting Old Navy to exchange something I got for the girl that didn’t work out. I am hoping it’s not too crazy there now that most of the return business has probably passed us by. Hopefully.

My husband returns to work tomorrow and he’s okay with it. He cannot be down for too long he just gets too antsy. Needs to be doing something all the time.

This Week:

I am trying my best not to be irritated by the people who continue to ignore the safer at home guidelines. We had a super spreader event here on New Year’s Eve. It made the news. I’m not sure how many were in attendance but no masks were worn and we have patients being treated in parking lots. They want the lockdowns to be lifted but at the same time THEY are the reason for the lockdowns. NO COMMON SENSE. So this week I am going to skip the news again for awhile.

At the end of this week, my daughter has a virtual audition with Baldwin Wallace in Ohio. Good thoughts appreciated.

Reading:

I am reading The Memory Police and The Overstory. I can’t say my reading has been quick. I’ve been reading a few pages here and there. It’s hard to read with the Hub home.

If you missed my fave books read in 2020, you can check out the post here.

Watching:

Cobra Kai, Season Three. We are on episode four. If it were up to my husband, we’d be done with it but I wanted to spread it out a little so we could look forward to something each night. I was not a super fan of The Karate Kid when it came out decades ago but hello, seeing these characters now brings back so many memories from that time. It’s really enjoyable.

Grateful for:

• The weather continues to be pretty nice which is allowing me to spend more time walking.
• All Christmas is put away. I was not happy putting it away. I actually had a pretty bad attitude about it but it’s put away and feels good.
• Our short visit to see our son up the Central Coast. He took us to a new spot but I got glares from people about our pup even though I carried her on the trail so I had to cut it short but here’s a pic of the incredible view.

I am slowly catching up on my blog reading so I can’t wait to hear how your New Year’s Eve went. Hope you are all well and that a good book is by your side.