Category: currently

Her first solo swinging experience produced mixed emotions of terror and exhilaration.

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Time // 3:51 p.m.
Place // at work, about to leave for the day.
Eating // nothing.
Drinking // nothing.
Watching // infusions.
Reading // In Zanesville by Jo Ann Beard.
Wanting // some ferns for my living room.
Thinking // about how I can read 30 pages a day simply in the time between parking my car and getting to my unit at work.
Creating // a simple sweet cross stitch project.
Hoping // to have some down time this weekend.
Needing // to get connected at a church we both love.
Anticipating //the arrival of orders of washi tape and essential oils I recently placed.

***

Last week when we were all sick I was really thrown out of my working-mom groove. The whole week I didn’t exercise or cook, and I spent all weekend trying to get things back into order. This week we are all healthy again, but one thing after another has prevented me from really hitting my routine. I’ve only run once and cooked once, and it’s so hard to get the momentum going again.

I’ve also been terrible at taking pictures, which makes keeping a weekly scrapbook kind of difficult. I still really want to keep up though, so I don’t care if I have a couple bad weeks. And once I get caught up again (I hope very soon) I’ll share my progress.

This weekend I have plans to continue working on refinishing a table with my dad, but other than that – nothing! I am really hoping to have some down time at home because I want to get some things cleaned, go for a run or two, and work on my own projects. In between lots of Mermaid cuddles, of course. :)

Time // 4:35 p.m.
Place // at home in the recliner.
Eating // trail mix.
Drinking // water.
Watching // nothing.
Reading // Divergent by Veronica Roth.
Wanting // to pay off our cars and free up some cash flow.
Thinking // about Meredith’s upcoming first birthday party.
Creating // a mini book of birth encouragement for a friend.
Hoping // we all get over our colds soon.
Needing // to get caught up on Project Life.
Anticipating // getting started on refinishing some furniture with my dad.

***

I love Saturdays. And Saturdays with coffee are amazing. I’ve been going going going since 6:30 a.m. – done all the laundry, attacked my toilet with a pumice stone (whoa), did dishes, swept the floors, went for a run, showered & shaved, painted my toenails, saw a movie (Blue Like Jazz) with a friend, ordered some pictures, paid bills, picked up our pool tags, read some blogs, and now we’re getting ready to go to dinner with David’s family. The best part is that I don’t have to go to work tomorrow, so with all the chores done I can really relax or get some extra work done!

Lately I’m so torn with wanting to buy stuff for our house to make it pretty and wanting to save every extra penny to pay off debt. But I realized that there is a way to make a house look pretty on a tight budget, and I’ll just have to put a little extra work into it. My dad is going to teach me to refinish furniture which will open up a whole new world of options for me. I have my eye on some cheap but cute accessories from IKEA. And deep cleaning makes a huge difference too.

I’m ready to get started. :)

The weather has been so nice lately that we’ve taken to sitting out on the front lawn to relax. Meredith loves to play with (and eat) the leaves and grass and I love watching her. We’ve also already met several more neighbors this way!

Time // 9:16 a.m.
Place // at home in my office/craft room.
Eating // nada.
Drinking // water.
Watching // Meredith turn the baby gym upside down.
Reading // The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage by Dr. Laura Schlessinger.
Wanting // a new printer and an updated copy of Photoshop Elements.
Thinking // about what a bummer it is that Meredith’s pediatrician is closing her practice.
Creating // some Easter cards.
Hoping // to purchase a starter kit of essential oils and begin using them for health purposes.
Needing // to change up our cloth diaper wash routine.
Anticipating // two days off next week, and being able to drink coffee & eat chocolate again soon!

***

This has been a very successful and productive week. After I wrote about my “goals” last week I did research and made plans and followed through. I joined Emeals, which I already love and know will make cooking do-able for me, and I cooked dinner twice this week and am planning on cooking tonight. (For the other nights we had leftovers or ate with family/friends.) I was also able to take the jogging stroller out for a run a few times, and I’ve completed week 1 of C25k and one day of week 2. It feels great to be exercising again. At work I was in charge for two days (which I hate doing, but we have to rotate the responsibility) and didn’t encounter any real problems. AND we ventured out to a small group for our new church!

Other things to note are that Meredith started somewhat waving goodbye to me in the morning – so cute! – and she also had some forward locomotion that we can finally call crawling! Right now it’s only one or two “steps” but she’s getting better at it every day.

Today I’m heading to my craft club and don’t have any other plans this weekend, so I hope to get some things done around the house! Have a great weekend, friends.

We’ve had the most gorgeous sunsets here recently. Captured this one from my parents’ house on Friday.

Time // 9:10 a.m.
Place // at home in my office/craft room.
Eating // nothing at the moment.
Drinking // precious, precious coffee.
Watching // just finished season 2 of Parks & Recreation last night.
Reading // Bee Season by Myla Goldberg.
Wanting // new carpet, always.
Thinking // about all we have to do today.
Creating // last week’s Project Life.
Hoping // to incorporate my crafting on the blog.
Needing // to not be addicted to caffeine anymore.
Anticipating // the newcomer’s luncheon at the church we’ve been going to. And chocolate ice cream.

***

So I mentioned that I gave up coffee and chocolate for Lent, right? Well I’m five days in and I haven’t caved yet, but you guys it’s SO HARD. I am completely addicted to caffeine. I only have 1-2 cups of coffee a day but it hugely affects me immediately, and if I don’t have it I get pounding headaches. I couldn’t go cold turkey so I’ve been taking Excedrin daily. I mean, I have to wake up at 5 a.m. every day, drive an hour to work, and administer chemo. I started drinking coffee when I became a nurse and it’s what has helped me through to this day. I gave it up somehow when I was pregnant but now I don’t have the same kind of motivation. Oh, and chocolate is super hard to resist too, considering it’s basically the only type of sweet that I like. This is how I found myself drinking a Coke on Friday afternoon, which is rare for me.

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I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how I spend my time, and over the past week I’ve come to settle into a routine that I think will work for me. When I’m not at work I devote myself completely to Meredith until she falls asleep. Sometimes she enjoys playing independently and I’m able to do a little crafting. Then if there’s time before bed David and I have been watching a little TV together. On Saturdays I do the week’s chores, play with Meredith a ton, and still usually have time for hobbies. David does errands, and then Sunday is more of a family day. I do most of my reading for pleasure during the week here and there. One thing I still haven’t figured out is how to incorporate cooking into our daily lives. I feel like this will always be a struggle for me.

***

Project Life has really been great for me so far. It satisfies my urge to document life as well as work with my hands and doesn’t take too much time. It has renewed my interest in other crafts as well. I’ve also been doing some cross stitch, card making, and soon I hope to start embroidering as well. Eventually I may decide to learn how to knit, crochet, and sew, but one thing at a time. I want to start sharing these projects with you too, so look for that soon.

***

Time to get ready for church. Sundays are feast days during Lent (hence why I’ve had my morning coffee) and I’ve never loved them so much!

Meredith and her Gigi (David’s grandmother) watch the boys play last week.

Time // 6:11 p.m.
Place // at home in my office/craft/storage room.
Eating // …two pieces of Russell Stover chocolate. You caught me.
Drinking // water.
Watching // Meredith play with toys on the ground.
Reading // A Turn of the Screw by Henry James.
Wanting // a new computer. (For any rich benefactors out there: a MacBook Pro, please.)
Thinking // about what is making Meredith fuss right now.
Creating // a really cheesy, flowery cross stitch of our wedding date.
Hoping // my yearly skills check-off at work tomorrow isn’t too hard.
Needing // a new children’s or young adult fantasy series to listen to.
Anticipating // a shopping trip this weekend for beauty products, craft supplies, shoes, and baby clothes.

***

Remember my Currently series? For awhile I did it every month, and then it was every few months, and now…well, obviously I haven’t done it in awhile. My life is so scheduled right now with being a full-time working mom that none of my hobbies can afford to be. I fit them in when I can, and that includes blogging, reading, and crafting (my three main “me” activities right now). I definitely do make time for them, but I just have to be flexible.

My point is that with blogging right now, I can’t stick to any kind of schedule. The only thing I try to write about in a timely manner is Meredith’s monthly updates, and that’s really just for my future benefit. But I’m really into finding new and effective ways to document life, and I did like my Currently series because it provided a snapshot of my life at that point. I’m even using some of the same questions to include in Project Life, and I’m getting my husband to answer them too. But for the blog, I’m revamping it a little. Instead of posting monthly, I’m going to do it whenever I feel like it. Maybe that’s every week (doubtful) or maybe every few months (more likely). The format is slightly different as you see (I got the new one from this blog), but still the same idea.