Tag: being silly

Happy Easter

This has been a bit of an odd Easter, as several of us are dealing with some very difficult stuff right now. However, it was still a really enjoyable time together today. My mom did a great job making food and feeding us (with my husband’s and my contributions to various parts), and without causing me all the hassle she typically does. I asked her specifically just to handle it and not to ask me to do things or for where stuff is more than absolutely necessary, and she actually did. I still did my part, as did my husband, and we got to spend time together with my brother, and also with my mom and stepdad. Oh, and with the chickens. We made my brother hold a couple of them to compare weights, and he even tossed Blackie back over their fence after she flew over to lay a rogue egg when we had walked inside a few minutes.

After all the food, we had a wonderfully competitive Easter egg hunt, my husband, my brother, and I. My mom put my grandma on FaceTime, since my grandma had decided not to come this morning. We were totally nuts, as usual. And I think it was just the kind of thing we all needed right now. We got to be positively competitive and physically active, while using our brains for quick evaluation and strategizing, as well as just getting to be outdoors and doing something that felt productive and as giving a sense of accomplishment.

In the end, we all got close to the same number of eggs, though it hadn’t started out anywhere near equal. my husband had two more than I had, and I had seven more than my brother, giving us each about a third of the 97 eggs. When it came the the contents of the eggs, however, I apparently crushed, having gotten the bulk of the eggs with bills in them. (Granted, my brother had several, too, but those were the ones with one dollar bills in them…) It wasn’t much – that wasn’t the point. We would have been equally competitive just for candy… actually, likely even for empty eggs, now that I consider it further. Nonetheless, it was still fun. We had a much-needed blast, and we got to have it together, which made it all the better.

We got everything cleaned up before everyone left, and the dishwasher filled and running. I did a final wipe-down of all the countertops, and it made all the difference when we got home tonight from my husband’s dad’s house. Coming home to a clean kitchen (and home) make a world of a difference. Especially after hosting a party or event.

We also had a good time visiting with my husband’s family, though it was a very different environment over there. Much more adult-like and civil, to be sure. No adult Easter egg hunts, so there was no yelling or shoving each other or ridiculous threats thrown. But it was just hanging out and chatting, and it was nice.

We got there as everyone was finishing up dessert, which was actually perfect, wince we had just finished our own desserts just before heading over. And, since we got there so far into the evening, we got to have a very intentional time with everyone before they and we all headed out after we’d been there about an hour or so. So, it was a perfect short but sweet visit with everyone after a long day (after a very long several days). It was good.

And it was a really good day period.

Thank you, God, for this day and for the ease of it. Amen.

Post-a-day 2024

Bellyache

Well, it seemed a bit easier to eat today than yesterday, and definitely easier than the previous week. I missed lunch, due to the schedule at school and the fact that the one location didn’t have anything I could eat (and not be massively ill), and so couldn’t get to the other location in time before class even to get salad and quinoa. But, since that made me very hungry by the end of the school day, I went ahead and went to one of the Chinese places to get a dish I had kind of been wanting for several days already.

So, I arrived at home with a bunch of food for us both. I kept gluten out of it, and the only grains was a box of steamed rice that we barely even touched. (Genuinely had a single bite with the rest of the food, then a few bites after we got home later from shopping.) I overate, but we went for a digestion walk, so that helped.

However, as we headed out to pick up a few things from the grocery store and to look at a shelving unit at IKEA, we discovered that the food had hit us a bit. Walking through IKEA, my husband kept saying things like, “Don’t follow me,” as he casually walked away from me… to pass gas. And no, it was not even silent gas most of the time. It was a good thing the store was almost empty, because people would have been 1) shocked and 2) on the floor. They were bad. At one point, I was running away from one, and I hid my face so the approaching woman wouldn’t see that I was holding my nose. However, a few seconds later, she was covering her own nose with her jacket as she rushed down the main aisle. ::face palm

But, before all the gas started – yes, I had gas, too, but it was silent and meager compared to what was going on chez my husband – we had gotten some cake and coffee at the cafe, since the thing downstairs was closed and we couldn’t get any soft serve. It was a nice little date that cost us only the price of the cakes, since we’re IKEA Family members.

Oh! And we got our pillow and mat for the back door for a total of a dollar, seven, because I had a $10 discount birthday reward. So, yay to that, too! Double yay!

Anyway, I’m lying in bed now, clearly with gas still in my belly. Hopefully, it can release at least a bit more before I go to sleep, or it will be a tough night for sleep. I’m glad it was easier for me to eat and to stomach food today, but this gas… yikes. Haha

Yes, I’m sure you were delighted to hear all about that part of our evening. šŸ˜› But imagine how surprised someone would have been if I’d allowed my husband to leave one of his noxious gas deposits in one of the drawers that have the “Look inside!” sticker on them… that would have been a terrible experience for the poor soul who opened it to look inside, to be sure. (Totally hilarious, of course, but also very uncool and not appropriate or loving to our fellow humans.)

Post-a-day 2024

Today’s attitude

“Howā€™s married life?” she asks.

Bizarre stresses, but good.
Job stuff isn’t sorted yet, but improving for both of us.
But, fortunately, we don’t have a horrible green splotch in our hallways or this terrible white section of paint in the hall bathroom anymore, and it feels Really good having them both gone.

“Haha. Itā€™s amazing how little things like that make such a big difference”

…….

And, boy, is she right…

A friend of mine offered to help with whatever when she came to town for my wedding. I didn’t have any wedding stuff that needed help, but a last-minute panic of my man’s had us wanting to paint these two spots that have been the same for actual years. But, since his family was coming over, he suddenly cared about them… them being these two areas of painting that needed to be covered and that drove me nuts every single day… My friend has spent much of her career working in technical theatre, building and designing and painting sets. She also taught shop classes and such. I knew she could handle it and wouldn’t at all be upset at the idea. I asked, and, sure enough, she not only agreed immediately, but agreed with excitement. Just up her alley, she’d said.

So, they got fixed.

And it’s been amazing not staring at the green strip next to the updated A/C panel in the hallway or that horrible white section where the piping had been redone in the bathroom, and it was only ever painted with white, instead of the grey of the bathroom walls.

Post-a-day 2024

And Saturdays…

… And Saturdays are for sex!

I mean, yeah…

I imagine, every day is a good day for sex, given the relationship is founded for such an act. But, after resting Friday night, Saturday is a great day to be super active and to exert much effort doing things one loves, right? Right. In married life, things can get away from folks, schedules can get busy, things can be pushed aside. So, keep it simple and easy to remember. Fridays are for rest and Saturdays are for sex. Saturday’s just about always a good day for married couples to have sex, so let’s go ahead and let them rely upon it, keep it in the books, put it on the weekly schedule. šŸ˜›

I know. I’m ridiculous. Thank you for noticing. šŸ˜›

God, help us to be well and to be in your image. Help us to lead the lives you long for us to lead. Help us to confess our sins often, that we be made whole more and more frequently in life, drawing ever closer to you and to the people you call us to be, our best selves. Thank you for this life and this opportunity. Help us always to honor you. Help me, also, always to honor and respect and also to serve my husband, helping him to be his best self, who you can him to be. And thank you, especially, for him in my life. Thank you, thank you, thank you. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2024

This man, my husband

We aren’t even on a honeymoon, and I have a high. I think, because we are having to do our everyday life already, I get so focused in on those tasks and whatnot, that my conscious mind forgets temporarily that we are married. And so, when it suddenly has something to remind it that, in fact, we are married now, I get all the more excited and delighted remembering it. I get surprised and delighted all throughout my day and night. And I love it.

Naturally, of course, my man, my husband, thinks I’m nuts for it. When I become newly present to the facet that we are married and that I am extremely grateful for this fact, I’ll often end up staring at him with ebbing tears in my eyes, and saying soppily, “We’re married,” or, “You’re my husband,” or something of the like. He chuckles and rolls his eyes most of the time, concurring that, yes, we are or yes, he is, and often telling me I’m ridiculous. Which, to be fair, I totally am. I have even jumped up and down or clapped or half-panted/grunted like an excited dog plenty of times already. I’m just super excited and grateful to be married to this man, and I show it. (!!!!!!!!!!)

And he actually knows me and still Chose me. That’s what’s just so cool about it all… opposite of my dear that people will know me and reject me, he knows me and chooses me, again and again, and chooses to do this for the rest of our lives.

And that’s awesome.

That is the love of God.

Thank you, God, for being with and within us. Please, keep us safe and together, and help us always to do your will. Show us clearly our next step always, please. And thank you for your love. In your name, we pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2024

Thermometer

Iā€™ve been working on tracking my cycle exactly, so as to know what specifically it does. Iā€™ve had a good understanding of the phases for most of my life. However, Iā€™ve never paid super close attention to them, as itā€™s never really been relevant for me. Itā€™ll be relevant starting Tuesday, though, so Iā€™ve been working on tracking it all the past month again. (I say ā€œagainā€ because I had practiced it for a couple months or so last year to see how it all looked, and determined I didnā€™t want to hassle with it until a month before the wedding, when it would be especially relevant.)

However, it has sucked. I just donā€™t have a consistent schedule right now, so I wake up at all different times, depending on the day, and I also go to bed at all different times, depending on the day. The Christmas and New-Year break was an absolute mess of inconsistency. And this tracking stuff needs consistency.

Iā€™ve been much more consistent the past week, since school started. But it still hasnā€™t been great. I have to get at least four hours of unbroken sleep, and take my temperature at roughly the same time every day. I have trouble doing anything at the same time every day right now in life. Before I met my man, I was like clockwork on just about everything. Since he showed up, however, I adapted to his slightly chaotic schedule in an effort to spend more time with him.

And, separate from the struggle of doing all this tracking, the schedule has really been wearing me out. I love my man. But I am not well if I do not sleep well. No one is. And I somehow canā€™t sleep well beyond about six in the morning, and thatā€™s at the latest. My best nights of sleep are when I go to sleep by nine oā€™clock, and wake up naturally around five. Eight to nine hours of sleep that ends by 5:30am seems to be the ideal for my sleep effectiveness.

Anywayā€¦ so, Iā€™m working on getting myself back to that consistency. Because this has been really sucky not being able to track this stuff efficiently, only adding to the stress I already have of not sleeping enough or well in my daily life.

Dear God, help us to create healthy consistency in our sleep schedules, please. In your name, I pray. Amen.

P.S. God, can we have perfect weather on Tuesday, please, so as to do the things we really want to do for our wedding reception? In your name, I pray, please. Amen.

Post-a-day 2024

Wine Night

Tonight, we had our wine tasting dinner. The neighbors, one by one, ended up with a cold and couldnā€™t make it at all, though they still made and dropped off the planned wonderful salad. My sister-in-law was just relent not feeling up to getting out. But I managed to get my mom to come, after all, so it was still a small party of sorts with her, my brother, my man, and me. My mom and I definitely had to start spitting after a while, as, even just tasting a single small sip or two adds up like crazy when youā€™re tasting 18 different wines and Proseccos. And thatā€™s excluding the five we didnā€™t even open. Nonetheless, we ended up having a great time testing and comparing them all together. And it was quite helpful to have two other palates and opinions to contribute to the considerations.

In the end, it seems we have selected our wines. Just need to go get them all tomorrow. Supposedly, we are doing something like 70 or 76 bottles of wine. While that is a lot, we are getting most of it at Costco, which makes they group all returnable, so long as theyā€™re unopened. And that is a wonderful thing. Thank you, Costco. Well, same deal with the liquor store attached to Costco. Same policy and great pricing, too. Only the Prosecco we preferred seems to be cheaper at Total Wine than at Costco.

Whatever the case for all of it, I really hope folks enjoy the wines we picked. My man has an understanding of wines – because apparently you canā€™t not when you spend several years living in the smack middle of wine country in California, surrounded by vineyards 24/7 – and he seemed happy with the selections we made. They arenā€™t awesome wines, no. But they are decent wines. And they are wines that we can afford. And those two are what really matters for it all.

So, thank you, God, for this lovely evening together. Keep us all safe, please, and grant us nourishing sleep tonight. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2024

You arenā€™t crazy

My mom has always said that crazy people donā€™t wonder if theyā€™re crazy – they just think theyā€™re normal. Today, I was blessed with the opportunity to speak with someone who was able, with spectacular grace and ease, to state clearly that what I have experienced throughout my life does not make me crazy, but actually one of many. Iā€™ll keep it at that for now, but he made sure to check in with me to discuss further later in the day, and then followed up to confirm I had his e-mail and phone number, so that he could help get me set up with a spiritual director in town. And not just any spiritual director, but someone who is acquainted with my situation, and can support me in serving God and His people through this gift – after all, as I am coming to understanding, this gift is one specifically intended, not for oneā€™s own spiritual growth, like the gifts of the Holy Spirit are, but for the good of all. So, yeahā€¦ I guess I now will learn to be like Spiderman, and make the world a better place in some new and yet undetermined way.

God, you certainly have some crazy surprises sometimes. I said Iā€™d trust you, and so I do and shall. I definitely appreciate your sense of humor and irony. I love you. Thank you for the blessings that continue to grow around me in my life. Help us always to pursue and follow you and your will for us. Thank you for my man, my fiancĆ©. Grant us grace and ease these next two weeks especially, please. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2024

Nails

Having a father-daughter date tomorrow. Weā€™re getting our nails done together, Jen going to lunch. And, as girly as that sounds, it isnā€™t. My dad has some foot fungus or something on one of his toes, and needs to keep it tidy and clean, so he has to get a pedicure about once a month. So, not so girly after all, ne? šŸ˜›

As for me, Iā€™m hanging with my dad while also fixing up my feet and hands as best as possible in early preparation for the wedding. So, that part is girly. Much more so than usual for me. šŸ˜›

Thank you, God, for this opportunity. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023