Tag: self-expression

Happy New Year!

It’s just nearly 9:30pm, and I am beyond wiped, wishing I could have been in bed already an hour ago. Today has been good overall, but I am exhausted. We started with watching the first sunrise of the year, as is custom in my family – because, you know, we’re part Japanese now. Then we drove to a nearby city to have brunch with my stepdad’s sister and her husband – wonderful time(!), but tiring drive. I’m so glad I have a man who can handle long, tiring drives and stay fully awake. I struggle to stay awake even as a driver on those, so I tend to stay away from them as a whole.

Anyway, we then meandered back to the city where we’re staying, took a way-too-long nap – well, he did, anyway, and I hung out next to him – and then finally went to dinner. I was super hungry and, so, ate too much. It was delicious food, but also food that doesn’t exactly leave me feeling very healthy or whole, thought definitely quite at home.

Hopefully, tomorrow starts getting some things checked off our list for the house. Fingers crossed that it goes well!

Post-a-day 2023

(Huh… I guess it is 2023 now. 😛 )

The Next Day

Thank you, God. You have clearly given us your help, and we are incredibly grateful. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Amen.

When we’re not still in the middle of it all, I might come back and share what all this was. For now, however, I am grateful for the various resolutions we have reached, and I am hoping for continued increase in grace, joy, and ease for the both of us on this trip. God, please, continue to guide and to help us to be our best selves and to find love, grace, and joy in one another throughout this trip, and always. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022

Errands

I was struggling to get out of the house and get my errands done earlier today. Just as I was getting near the point of I must leave Now, my cousin reached out to me and my mom. She let us know that she was in town for the week and would like to see us, if possible. After a few further messages and a quick phone call, I hopped in the car and went and picked up my cousin.

She only had until about five o’clock, and it was already almost 3pm. But I picked her up – and she left her baby with her husband and in-laws! – and she went and ran my errands with me.

It sounds silly, perhaps, but I think we both had a really great time just being together again, and with no other real distractions, no one else for us to have to think about or check in upon. One of my errands happened to be to my mom’s office to pick up some pie, so my cousin got to see my mom for a little bit, even.

I dropped her off at their dinner reservation near 5:30pm, after a lovely time together, and with an intention of going to pick her up in the morning to come hang out with me at the house while I get things done here, both for the slumber party and for my trip. If the timing works well, she and I also will go to this wonderful shop that makes fabulous natural body products – oils, scrubs, lotions, soaps, etc. Then we can have some lovely tea/tisanes at the house together and just be all hyggelig together.

Thank you for this lovely day, God. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022

Travel

We are going to Mexico to visit his family. He is going for three weeks, and I am going for a week and a half. However, both our packing ended up looking like we’re moving there for a month (or two). Oh, the comedy in packing when driving somewhere versus flying… he leaves by 2:30am at the latest (within the next hour). I fly down on Friday. My carry-on had better be just a few little things, because my clothes, excepting the outfit for the plane, are all packed and in the car already. Lord, guide me, please.

Dear God, please, keep him safe in his travels today especially. Keep us both safe throughout all of our travels. Thank you for this life. Help us to bless the world through the gifts that you have given to us. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022

Happy Christmas

I had my man open tonight all his presents that I’d put under the tree. I don’t give Christmas presents, but I determined to have some fun for him this year, to let him be like a little kid and to shower him with gifts. Almost everything was either gained second-hand or from free gift cards, so the total cost was around $50, yet there were loads of presents for him to unwrap. He had said he liked opening packages, so I made sure he got to do just that tonight.

I also surprised him with my ticket to come visit with him in Mexico. (Granted, that one was several hundred dollars, but I’m also visiting my step-sister in Monterrey with the tickets, so it will be two trips for the usual price of the one, plus $40… not at all a bad deal, especially since I get to spend New Year’s with him, visit the town he loves, and see my step-sister and her family.)

He got me nervous by asking if I’d ‘approved this with anybody’. But, afterward, he said it was totally fine. His mom would be surprised, as he’d just told her two days ago that I wasn’t coming. But that everything would be okay. I’m still in a little bit of that space of unease, probably because it gave me the feeling of being in trouble, but I’m just going to let it be and see what happens. Hopefully, the concern will clear up on its own just by my allowing it to express itself.

I really hope he enjoyed everything I did for him tonight. And I’m really excited to set up the Play Station 3 that my mom gave us from her house (used to be my brother’s, but he didn’t need or really want it). We likely won’t get to play together until mid-January, after he’s back, but that’s okay. I’m excited about it, nonetheless.

Dear God, please, help us to rest well tonight. Keep us both safe in our travels. Help us to pursue and to fulfill your will by being our best selves. Thank you for everything. And please, heal my uncle – help him to join you fully. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022

Exhausted, but good

I am absolutely exhausted.

And that’s totally okay.

Work went well today, for the most part, and then we took my brother to the aerial gym for his birthday surprise. I think he had a really good time, though it might have been a bit of a surprise for him that he may have been doing a bit less exercise than he’d thought. I think the difficulty surprised him, for sure, as well as some of his limits. His lack of grace, however, was no surprise to any of us. 😂

Thank you, God for this day and all of its immense blessings. Especially the gas construction company coming by and potentially scheduling doing their work this week(!!!!!!). Please, help us to resolve all that needs resolution. Also, thank you for my friend Chelsea. Please, continue to bless her. In your name, we pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022

Sleep, ASAP

Despite the immense frustrations my man was feeling this afternoon, and my resulting increased stress for him, everything went really well tonight for our family dinner. Sure, we still have no gas, so no hot water or easy heat or effective dish washer, etc. My mom had to do some in-the-moment utensil-washing when we ran it of forks and spoons at one point, and she helped wash most of the plates after dinner. I was just grateful that I didn’t have to do it for once.

I was a touch annoyed at how my brother clearly hasn’t gotten a handle on his dog’s full training, evidenced by the craziness of the dog’s first seeing all of us and our little-in-comparison to his 150 pounds dog. Also, I just had to trust that my man will mop the floors tomorrow, and wipe down the sofa and the rug and the coffee table to clean up all the slobber that the big dog got everywhere. I love dogs, yet it was a lot. Kind of gross, actually, which was a bummer, as I’d really been looking forward to rubbing all over the puppy (yes, he’s technically still a puppy). Once he chilled out and started getting sleepy, though, it was much easier to pet him without getting totally slobbered all over. I also thought our dog might have an actual heart attack based on her initial reactions to the dog that weighs six times her weight, and is yet a puppy – annoying for her old, 14-year-old self – shoving into her personal space with such excitement. However, as he chilled out, our dog calmed down. And a bunch of treats helped them both be easier company. Our dog even got brave enough to walk through the living room past the other dog multiple times before the end there. It was cute, and I’m glad she eased down from her clearly stressful place.

Anyway, I have to sleep immediately. I have to leave for work in five hours and ten minutes. 😦

Thank you, God, for everything. It was a really good night. Please, help my man realize that it really was great for us all. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022

So much to do, but too cold to do it

We both have lots to do before Monday afternoon, when everyone is coming over for family dinner. But it is just so cold now. He is outside, building the fence – brave soul. Fortunately, he actually likes the really cold weather. As a matter of fact, I really like the cold weather. Just not when it follows me indoors. And so, it is also really cold indoors here, since we still have no gas. We received the other two space heaters today, which I’d ordered on Amazon the day before yesterday. They help, but have to be on different breakers, since they pull such high ampules. So, it takes time to warm the big open space of the living room and entry and dining room and kitchen that we have. Great for openness, terrible for heating and cooling quickly.

I also just showered, and that was miserable, because the water is terribly cold now. I still have the few kettles of hot water to pour on myself throughout and to finish, but the cold in between is really cold, and that just tired me out.

Not to mention that I’m already exhausted from only five-ish hours of sleep last night and six-ish hours of sleep the night before. flying this morning was great, and was only terrifying a few times for a short time. I’m filled with pride for my man and what he has accomplished so far with flying. Next stop: a boatload of ratings (and, thereby, hours upon hours of practicing by flying) so that he might be able to fly commercially, professionally(!). Woohoo!

Anyway, I’ve been sitting on the floor in front of the heater a while now, and really need either to get to work or to get to bed. Just have to go get my socks and sweatshirt from the other room, put them on, and hop to it all.

Goodnight!

P.S. Want to see our to-do lists????

Before Monday afternoon: – [ ] tidy desk – [ ] tidy clothes in spare room – [ ] sort out dish towels – [ ] put away RenFest costumes etc. – [ ] clear out apartment stuff in dining room – [ ] finish washing and putting away dishes – [ ] handle drinks in garage and in garage fridge – [ ] tidy inside fridge – [ ] clean down countertops and kitchen surfaces – [ ] change bulb in dining chandelier – [ ] tidy shoe rack – put away some in bedroom – [ ] tidy pillows – [ ] see what consolidation I can do in the garage Setup stuff: – [ ] put out coasters – [ ] red/green Christmas bathroom linens – [ ] Christmas decorations set up – [ ] display german cookies etc.

Before Monday afternoon: – [ ] Put stove away – [ ] pick up all dirty clothes in house and garage – put in laundry – [ ] gather spare parts and tools left around house and garage – put away – [ ] Gather packages/boxes/bags and empty and put away – [ ] return emptied Christmas bins to upper shelf in garage – [ ] tidy back porch table – [ ] tidy back porch and prep for use by many – [ ] ***Can we use the fire pit Monday night?*** If so, what’s needed for that? – [ ] finish fence – [ ] Christmas lights up on house

Post-a-day 2022