Blissfully Unaware of the Chaos the Surrounds Me

Random Sunday . . .

I worked at church.

On our way to church? Halle fell down and got got some major road rash. I feel guilty because I had just told her to hurry up. Hello, jerk-Mom!

After we went to Pasquini's last night, I got to spend some time my friend Renee and about 20 of her best friends. OMG. Talk about exactly what that amazing girl needed!

John and I got to sneak out and see "What to Expect When You Are Expecting", while Dylan and a friend saw "Battleship".

I felt a little lame that we went to the movies instead of watching the solar eclipse. But I have been dying to just go to the movies with my husband for so long!

There was some yummy eye-candy in that movie. Who knew? Plus, it was actually really cute. And I may have even cried just a tiny bit!

I colored with Halle for so long this weekend that I feel as if I have carpal-tunnel syndrome. Ouch.

See . . . I told you it was random!

It's Friday, Friday . . .

I am clinging to the idea that the weekend will bring health and happiness to our abode!

Poor Dylan. That should really be the title of this blog post. That boy has been sicker than a dog for . . . let's count them . . . 12 days! TWELVE DAYS! We met with the ENT on Monday, who said that false negative occurs often with a rapid strep test. Since I had started him on a Z-pack that morning, the doctor said to continue with it. On Wednesday, we switched antibiotics. Yesterday? We took him in for a Mono spot test. All that being said? I think . . . crossing my fingers and holding my breath . . . that he was feeling a wee bit better last night. He ate two whole meals yesterday. And that's more than he's eaten for a week! He looks a little better, although he still has weird facial swelling and odd rashes. I am so hopeful that this was just a horrific case of strep and that the second antibiotic is actually covering it. So hopeful. And prayerful. We'll know soon enough, I guess.

Halle-boo hasn't been sick, but man . . . she's been something! Yesterday, she lost her ever-loving mind at the conclusion of an otherwise lovely playdate. It wasn't pretty. Nor fun. She is also still freaking out about sleeping in her room. Which last night? Resulted in me sleeping most of the night with her. On her twin bed. Awesome.

John is fighting either some monster allergies or is getting sick. Plus, let's be frank, he's a man. (Sorry, honey.) But the good news is, the semester from hell is over! Whooohoooo! He is officially 2/3 of the way done with his Masters/FNP program which means that at this time next year? We will be having a serious party.

Other than my bout with food poisening the other night? (No more Chipotle for me, FYI.) I am doing dandy! My final budget was unanimously approved by my budget committee, so it's onto the public hearing, early in June. The other, periferal crap going on is still going on, but I am either getting used to it or just getting better at not taking it too personally. As they say, the truth will set you free!

We're having our family over tomorrow night for a Mother's Day dinner. I still haven't put together a menu. My Mom is bringing a fruit salad and my Gram is bringing a pasta salad. I ordered some lemon cupcakes from Denine and will make some cookie bars. Definitely a big yummy green salad. Maybe Ranch Potatoes in the crockpot? As for the entree? I'm thinking that we'll BBQ chicken and steak, but that would require John to clean up the BBQ. Hmmm. One more thing for his list, I guess! 

** Doctor just called and the results are in . . . negative for Mono!  Whoohooooo! (Who would have thought I'd be so excited for a horrible case of strep?)

With that . . . must clean house. Must do laundry. Must water plants. Must run errands. May take shower. Should wash car. 

Re-cap(ish) . . .

Lots going on around here. Some good. Some bad. Some down-right sucky. But I can't talk about the down-right sucky on here. Seriously. So we're moving on . . . 

John just got back from his drill weekend. He drove down from Sacramento on Thursday night. He flew on Friday morning. He drove back to Sacramento on Friday afternoon. His uncle passed away a couple of hours after he got there. (So glad he was able to be there.) RIP, Uncle Gary. Then John turned around and drove back to the base late that night. I think he got in at 1:30 in the morning. And now he's home. Finally. It's been one hell of a week for him. He has his last exam of the semester (as a student) on Tuesday and then I think (I hope), that it will get easier for him. At least for now. Hopefully.

Dylan is still sick. If you're counting? It's now been a week. It's not strep throat. It's probably still viral. But I have a Z-pack that I am so ready to start him on. His sinuses are beyond inflamed. His fevers have finally subsided, but he still feels like crap. He looks like someone beat him up every day when he gets up. Poor guy. But all that being said, he needs to get better. ASAP. He needs to get back to school. Crossing my fingers for possibly Tuesday?

Halle is bit of a mess too. She's having some serious allergy symptoms. And some serious clinginess. She's decided that she's scared to be in her room alone. It's good times, peeps. Really, really good times! As we speak, her mattress is laying on our bedroom floor. This is not a good omen.

And yes, please remember that I'm not even talking about the down-right sucky ugliness. What a relief, huh?

But, and here's the big but (aside from my posterior); allergies and viruses and crazy schedules aside? And yes, even the unmentionable down-right sucky ugliness aside? We're all ok. Dylan has a nasty bug, not cancer. Halle has allergies, not cancer. John's schedule is nuts, but he doesn't have cancer. I'm possibly going nuts, but I don't have cancer. Do you sense a theme here?

On Wednesday, I will be meeting with a friend, her husband and their families. To help plan her husband's memorial service. He is dying from, you guessed it, fucking cancer. (Pardon my french, but if anything is ever deserving of the f-word, it's cancer.) They have two young boys. He was diagnosed a year ago. Up until this last week, they fought the disease with ever possible combination of chemo and regimes possible. They've been told that he doesn't have long.

When I dropped dinner off at their house last week, I came home and sat in my driveway and cried for ten minutes. Sobbed, actually. I've watched their oldest son get quieter over the last year. I've watched their youngest son lose some of his over-the-top exuberance. I've watched their mom, my friend, spiral through the entire range of emotions as she fights for her family. So, I am bringing what I can. Which is so very little. But, when push comes to shove? I'm a planner. A wedding-party-memorial service planner. I am very versatile, indeed! But there is nothing that means more to me than planning a memorial service with/for a friend or family member. I feel as if I'm using my God-given talents in a way that is meaningful. And useful. Even when it is so very hard.

Other than all that delightfulness? Today I cleaned the house, washed sheets, did various other loads of laundry, mowed both lawns, picked up Barbies, grocery shopped, administered medications, read the paper, bought a dress online from Anthropologie and worked on some schedule stuff for this upcoming week. Yesterday I talked to my sister in Sweden, showered (!!), downloaded two seasons of Horseland for Halle, looked on VRBO for a Kauai house to rent over Christmas (ha!), laid on the hammock, trimmed some shrubs, infused some vodka, went out to Sol for Cinco de Mayo (and to hear a friend's band play) made s'mores and had an impromptu dance party (complete with limbo! with the kiddos upon my return. We also did some "Ding Dong" doorbell ditching. A box of Hostess Ding Dongs, with a nice note, left on a doorstep before we (Dylan) hit the doorbell and ran. Hilarious fun.

(And Halle played "Wendy" of Peter Pan fame, which was really just being tied up to the pergola with a jump rope. Who knows about that one!)

What I didn't do this weekend? Was make the D.C./New York photobook like I had planned. Oops. Must. Prioritize. Soon. I also didn't do my Friday Phone Dump. Again. Nor did I wash my car. Didn't make it to church. I also didn't find a place for us to stay in San Francisco next month. Or more specifically, someplace to stay for less than $350 a night. But it's all about balance, baby. 

Dance parties amidst the cancer. Desire for tropical escape amidst the b.s. Cuddles with my girl, even as she climbs into our bed from her bed, two feet away. A quick kiss for my hubby before he starts prepping for his exam. A good talk with Dylan about random things between his coughing and grasping his throat. Moments of clarity among the confusion.

Balance and wholeness. 

Befuddled . . .

I'm stuck. 1,000 was a big number. And we've got lots going on in our lives at the moment. Thus, I'm stuck. Trying to step out in a big way, but settling instead for a random assortment.

As usual.

Yesterday I hosted  a Matilda Jane trunk show. It was a beautiful sunny day. Their product line is amazing. I kind of wish that I could live out some combination of Matilda Jane/Pottery Barn/Garnet Hill photo-shoot. As my real life. Sadly, because it was such a beautiful day? A lot of my expected guests didn't make it to the show. Which was no biggie for me. (Hey, I ate that leftover salad for dinner. And lunch today!) But I felt bad for my "trunk -keeper", Keri, who drove down from Redding and spent most of her afternoon here. She said it was fine, and I ordered a few things to try and make up for her slower afternoon!

( I bought the green/teal stuff for our upcoming photoshoot with Blue Lily. I bought the purple dress for Halle because she loved it. Surprise!)

We also got to see our beloved Lauren and Bobby yesterday evening. It was an hour of talking, laughing and lots of doggie antics. Yeah! Crazy-love! I even got to sneak out to see Lauren this morning. I miss her. A lot. A really, awfully lot. Apparently, Halle really misses Prince Bobby. (Who is wearing a Matilda Jane headband. Because he can.)

My handsome boy got his braces off. He is even cuter than before. Which is saying something.

 I started and finished Bloom over this last week. As a follower of her blog, it certainly seemed familiar. But it was more of a comfortable familiar versus a boring kind of familiar. I knew enough about her story and had read enough of her blog to feel at ease with the book. It felt good. It felt like growth. It made me set the book down several times to go connect with my kiddos. It made me feel like I was in the right place at the right time. My patio. My quilt. My kids playing in the background. My feet on my table. My home. It was a feel-good, grow-well, LOL and simultaneously dry-your-tears-kinda-book. That's a book review from a Mama heart, yes?

I planted even more stuff in my yard. I'm committed. We are not moving for at least two years. (According to me.) Also, according to me, I'm going to successfully grow a hydrangea this year. So help me! (My Mom bought me another one. We named her Henrietta. We prayed over her. Multiple times. Halle asked God to "not let her Mama kill Henrietta, like she's killed her brothers and sisters before." Yikes. Even my four-year-old knows that I'm a hydrangea killer!) I also trimmed (hacked) my gardenia bush. After hacking it? My mother informed me that it was totally the wrong time of year to do it. Yep. Oh well! I also planted a couple of more containers. That really seems to be my thing. I'm good at it! Maybe my entire yard should consist of containers?

My Mom and I went out and did some looking around for birthday ideas. Everything I told her that I would love was stuff for our yard. Today? I did a 180! I told her I wanted some girlie cowgirl boots. Random, yes? But way better than yet another market umbrella! Speaking of my birthday? I am having a potluck to celebrate. Seriously! I am christening this summer as the Year of the Potluck. I felt strongly that we had let the social pressure and some ridiculous expectations get to us. My standards for entertaining got so high (expensive) that we just stopped having people over. So I am bringing back a new reality. Perfection is out. Potluck is in. Get on board, peeps! Bring a covered dish and come on over!

Speaking of the yard, my birthday and family? I asked my Dad to design and build me a custom/reclaimed/recycled/made-of-pallet outdoor sofa-ish creation. I want it to be u-shaped AND be moveable so as to be able to turn it into a . . . Big. Family. Bed. (It's not as creepy as it sounds. I swear.) I want this summer to not only be the Summer of the Poluck? But also, the Summer of the Backyard Campout. I'm inspired by all sorts of Google images and of course, the almighty Pinterest, but have yet to find an example of what I actually want. Thus, my father, the engineer to the rescue!

I worked at church on Sunday. It made me miss our small-group (RLG, to my Bidwell peeps). We simply cannot do it, right now, because of our crazy schedules. But I really miss that miss-mash group of people coming together in our living room every week. 

The kids and I took our first spring bike ride on Saturday. I'm actually very surprised that my legs didn't fall off. Halle is still riding in the bike seat behind me. Let's just say that will come to an end very soon. Holy cats! Who knew that an extra 35 pounds in the rear could be so hard to pull along!

This week is looming large. As is next week. I look at Cozi and see lots of holes.  Lots of notes that say, "childcare needed". Not sure what to do about those holes just yet! But I'm committed to taking it one day at a time. Kids. Husband. School (x 3). Work (x 2). Stress (x 1,000). Laundry (x never-ending). Faith (x hopeitsenoughtogetusthroughthenextsixweeks). Or something like that!

Bring on the potluck. Bring on the birthday wish-list. Bring on a walk or two or twelve with good friends in the park. Bring on the weekend. Please (please, please!) let's ignore the fact that it's only Monday.

Moving On . . .

On Sunday, we drove to Rocklin and back. Today, I drove to Burney and back. On Thursday, I will drive to Ukiah and back.

On Sunday, when I was driving in Rocklin? There was a freaky hailstorm. Freaky, as in, people were stopping on the freeway. (Nice.) Today, when I was driving to Burney? There was a ten-mile stretch that temperatures hovered right at 30-31 and the snow flurries weren't quite sticking. Visibility was about 15 feet. I'm curious as to what odd weather pattern I will experience on Thursday!

This was today's trip:

(I didn't take any driving photos on Sunday, so you'll have to trust me on that one!)

As for other, unrelated tidbits of my life . . . Dylan and I are completely addicted to "Draw Something"! It is hilariously fun. (My user name is amybeadle if you want to send me a game!) We are currently on a 32 35 game winning streak. I am assuming that since we process in similiar ways, it much easier to figure out what the other person is drawing. He is currently in bed. Supposedly going to sleep. Yet my phone is pinging every few minutes with a drawing. Which of course, I respond to . . . 

I am leading Halle's preschool chapel tomorrow with my good friend, Linda. We figured out the music that we were doing on Monday. Ask me if I have finished the skit or the story? Go ahead . . . ask me! (The answer is no, lest you wondered!) Chapel starts at 9:10 am. Guess I'm getting up early to finish it. Good thing they are only four. I'm pretty sure that we can pull it off!

John took Dylan to see Acts of Valor yesterday. His first "R" movie. They both said it was very moving. Then, he took both kiddos to see the Lorax today. Halle said it was good. Dylan didn't have much to say. And John said it seemed highly political to him. Which I completely remember from watching a play rendition of The Lorax as an elementary school child. I felt the tension of the environmental movement before it was officially a movement!

Last night I stayed up working until midnight. I shouldn't work on budget detail that late into the night. I found myself squinting at my spreadsheet today . . . certain that squinting would make my late-night work make sense! (It didn't. In case you wondered.)

With that? I give up. To bed I go. Gratefully. Deeply pondering the idea of rejoicing. And how to best communicate that to a boatload of preschoolers!

Random and Scattered . . .

so all-over-the-board!

First and foremost, The Fresh Beat Band was amazing. Amaze-balls! And it totally deserves a post of it's own. Tomorrow.

 

Getting to spend time with Lauren and Prince Bobby? Beyond fabulous. Their home is adorable. Their puppies are adorable. And it felt so very good to enjoy their company.

Coming home from our our trip? I got the call that my Gram had a likely GI bleed. So I went straight from Fresh Beat Band!!!/Lauren and Prince Bobby!!!!! to oh-shit-I'm not-ready-for-this-please-Jesus-give-us-more-time and then, thankfully, to relief that yes, this time, we found respite and yes, a little more time.

GG is currently recovering at our local hospital and should, bearing any bad news, be headed home tomorrow. A couple of units transfused, an ulcer clipped and an awfully lot of talk about bloody stool . . . and she should be back where she started. With a little more of me being a lot farther up in her business about medications, doctor's visits, etc. 

John's birthday was lots of fun. We started with breakfast out, then a family-chiropractic appointment, a visit with GG at the hospital and then (blessedly!!) home for the rest of the day. John  got a little nap in and then we met up with some great friends for a fabulous dinner at 5th Street. Our sweet friends even chipped in and bought our dinners. How cool is that? The only sad thing? I didn't take a single photo until the guys were changing a tire (A &E's) just prior to us heading home. And the guys were acting like high school idiots and made all of my photos look like low-dollar porn. So no posting of those lovelies!

John received a Roku (from Dylan), some Amazon credit (from Halle) and from me? He got five gift choices. All he had were hints on five sealed envelopes. It took him 16 hours to finally choose! Ultimately, he choose Option #2. Hello, weekend Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay! (Hello, Shannon! I need a favor!)

Today, we continued our lazy-catching up-cleaning up mojo. Man, I love a holiday weekend! I cleaned 2/3 of Halle's room. I organized Dylan's drawers. I did laundry. I visited GG a couple of times. I went to Target. I snuggled my kiddos. And my hubby. It was good. Really, really good!

Tomorrow, we will go to church. Monday? No plans. NO PLANS! That is some kind of good stuff, peeps. NO PLANS! Happy Presidents' Weekend!

Looooooonnnnnngggggg Week . . .

How is it that today is Thursday? I swore that it was Thursday a couple of days ago. It's one of those weeks that's caught in a time warp. Time is creeping and speeding at the same time. And my to-do list (at work and home) seems to be duplicating and replicating in an impossible manner. Next week is coming on like a Mack truck. Whether I'm ready or not.

I did finally attack the laundry. I'm not sure how I got so far behind, but those smelly PE and basketball clothes weren't helping. I won this round. Although it's a never-ending game, so it's a constant run on the scoreboard.

Speaking of basketball and scoreboards . . . Dylan's last league game was Tuesday, his last practice was last night and his last tournament is this weekend. And although I want to breathe a sigh of relief? I'm also sad. The schedule sucked. The late-night practices and crappy communication sucked. The punitive coaching also was not my favorite. (I won't say it sucked because that's too close to saying that the coach sucked and I wouldn't want that to be a statement with my name under it.) Even though the coaching style wasn't the best fit? Dylan still managed to grow. I loved watching him play this season. He was on fire! I hope that he is able to take the good out of the season and build on it. 

Today was one of those days at work that I questioned my sanity at every hour. Sometimes more often. I worked until almost 6:00 and for the last two hours? I shouldn't have been working. I should have been running. Or walking. Or hiking. Or demolishing things. Or drinking. Anything other than working. The good news? I didn't know that Monday is a holiday for me at work. Now, that doesn't lessen the pile on my desk, nor does it change the fact that I'll still be working on Monday. But . . . and this is a big but . . . I don't have to answer the phone if I don't want to! Do you have any idea how much work I can get done if the phone isn't ringing? Soooooo much!

And why do I feel so much pressure to catch up at work? Well, Halle was home for two days with the creeping crud. Fever. Cough. Wacky voice. A little cranky. Thankfully, I had the flexibility to work at home for those two days. But today? Today? Today I sent her back to school. She was fever-free (amen) and I was bordering on crazy. I needed to be alone. Alone. Poor John was home grading papers this morning and made the mistake of chewing his pita chips in my near vicinity. I almost snapped. But, thankfully, after the chip-crunching incident, I was then able to work uninterrupted for a few hours. Ahhhh . . . a few hours! Alone!

As an aside, we're watching Last Man Standing right now . . . Tim Allen's character just said "I couldn't give a duck fart about that stupid tree." Tree-loving aside, I kinda like that statement. I couldn't give a duck fart about so many things right now!

Now, it's soon-to-be-bedtime for my kiddos which equals soon-to-be-wine-time for this Mama. And helping John get ready to go tomorrow at the butt-crack of dawn. Earlier, actually. Military duty calls and frankly? They never call at midday. Nope. It's a 4:00 am departure for my hubby.  Good times, yes? 

I, on the other hand, am trying to convince my youngest to sleep in. Which, combined with the fact that the other carpool Mamas drive on Fridays? Means that I might be able to sleep until 7:15. Awesome  . . . 

How sad is that? Sad, isn't it? 7:15? Yikes .  . . my standards are low. Now, I'm off to be a supportive military wifey!

 

Friday (No Photo) Dump . . .

No photos, but oh-so-much-random . . .

I have a serious trashy TV addiction. Tori and Dean . . . Kim and Kourtney . . . Switched at Birth . . . New Girl . . . I've watched all of those at some point today/tonight.

Our Shannon came and hung with us off and on for the last two days. And I loved it!

I took pictures at Dylan's dance tonight. Dang is my boy so cute! But the middle school dance thing? Still is a little painful to watch. I feel too much pain for the awkwardness of it all! I actualy wasn't going to take pictures tonight, but Dylan really wanted me to do it. And when your 13-year-old wants you to be at his dance? You go. Period.

My house was bisgusting (as Halle would say) today. John vacuumed and cleaned the dog vomit off the carpet for me today. I loaded and unloaded the dishwasher twice today. I swept a crazy pile of dust/dirt and glitter off the kitchen floor. I picked up a ridiculous amount of dog poop in the backyard today. Ew. (That is officially Dylan's chore. It's been a while since he's done that, I'm thinking. If the size of that bag was any indication.) 

My husband is beyond stressed. I wish I could take away that stress for him. The next 18 months of him finishing the Master's program are going to be hard. For all of us.

Tomorrow, we are going to get a new (to us) refrigerator. And John has arranged a date night for us. Complete with a babysitter. Good times! Bring on the weekend!

How's that for a random stream of consciousness? 

Randomness and Goodness . . .

As hard as I tried to focus on a singular subject matter . . . it seemingly was out of my reach. Sad but true. So here I am . . . all over the place. Shocking, isn't it?

1. I have learned a lot about myself during this time off from work. I always thought I'd be so amazing if I didn't work. Survey says? Nope. Not true. Apparently, I would watch a ridiculous amount of trashy TV (Kim and Kourtney Take New York) and any movie on HBO (Love and Other Drugs) and do little to nothing worthwhile until about 2:00 pm. At that point, I would run around in a panic trying to get something accomplished (cleaning up breakfast dishes and at least starting a load of laundry possibly?) so that no one would realize what a lazy slob I was for the entirety of the day. Seriously. I have been having  deep love affair with my couch. And proving the fact that I work well under pressure. And realizing that I work little to not-at-all without pressure.

2. I have always used Photoshop to make my blog collages. Frankly? It was time-consuming and kind of a pain in my butt. But no longer . . . thanks to the amazing Meg of Whatever . . . I am now a huge fan of Piknic. Such an easy and quick way to make collages! Thanks, Meg for taking the time to tell me your secret!

3. Today felt like a Friday. It's amazing what a huge difference there is when we don't have basketball practice (or a game). Dylan was home. He had a friend over. I made dinner. We all ate together. We pulled cards from our Table Topics and had hilarious (and telling) conversations as a result. After Madeline went home, we put on pajamas, had dessert and watched last night's Modern Family. It was one of the best episodes ever. Seriously fabulous! And so fun to be able to relax and laugh with my family. It's so fun now that Dylan has the ability and maturity to be able to appreciate shows like this with John and I.

4.  My BFF's faux fur jacket arrived today. What/why, you ask? We decided that furs/faux furs were a requirement for Girls' Weekend. And KJ and I found a hideously ugly BRIGHT BLUE faux fur at Ann Taylor Loft. We nicknamed her/it "Cookie". Long story short? "Cookie" sold out due to overwhelming popularity - which is odd to say the least - but I found a slightly less-fugly version of "Cookie" at Macy's online clearance last week. Let's be clear, "Cookie II" is still pretty dang ugly. But KJ will look amaze-balls in her navy blue furry glory!

5. My husband is beyond exhausted. He isn't even making sense. I just accused him of having mini-strokes. Let's hope that isn't actually the case.

6. My Mama is in Maui right now. My in-laws are in Maui right now. They all manged to accidentally run into each other at a burger joint yesterday. Weirdly small world, isn't it?

7. I got my hairs did yesterday. Holly is amazing. She does some seriously good work. I am loving my hair! (Vain, I know :))

8. I am trying to find a venue for our 20th high school reunion. And I'm feeling the pressure. It's not like a wedding, people. We have no idea how many people are going to attend. We are trying to keep costs down and provide a decent event. And the whole while, I feel like we are trying to re-create the wheel. I see a business opportunity looming. Maybe. Possibly. (Said from my cozy spot on the couch.)

9. Speaking of RSVPing, I am not feeling super-motivated to attend our charter school auction. I know that we will. (I think.) But after 8 years of it being a big deal for us? I'm kinda tired. Especially when I consider that I have nine more auctions to attend, assuming that Halle goes K-8 at our school. 17 years in a row of a singular event? Yikes . . . I'm feeling weary! Even if I do love our school!

10. Our cat seems to think that he needs to push through the closed door and follow me into the bathroom. really? Who do you think you are? My child? Privacy, kitty . . . it's what I crave!

11. On top of being somewhat useless and addicted to TV on this sojourn from work? I may possibly be slightly intrigued by infomercial products. As in Wen  . . . which should be delivered tomorrow and Press Dough . . . which is just as janky and POS as you would assume . . . and the Trendy Top, (the top that's not!!!!) which is basically a band of knit material designed to hide your muffin top. I'm tempted, but have yet to order it. I do have some ability to restrain myself. (A small, small amount of restraint. Very small!)

12. I was super-tempted to try and score ticket to this weekend's 49'ers game. But as much as John loves his 49'ers? I didn't think he's adore me spending such a ridiculous amount of cash on a single game. I think. Anyway, it's too late now. Love you, babe!

13. There are a ton of movies coming out that seem awesome from the previews. And I can't wait to see them all. But I can't remember the name of a single one of them. Seriously. Who's stroking out now?

14. It's raining. For the first time in a couple of months. And it's really raining! Bring it! It's the perfect excise for me to continue in my mega-hermit mode. (Robyn, just imagine if I wasn't medicated? Crazy thought, huh?)

Distracted . . .

Sometimes I need to just check out . . . 

and browse Pinterest:

or try and find the perfect wrap dress:

Or browse this week's new real estate listings:

And study scripture relating to fear. And praying. (See, I'm not totally checked out!)

And possibly enter (again) to win the HGTV Dream Home. You know, just in case. (Hey, my heritage ruled in Utah, so this cast-off Mormon girl would gladly move to Utah.) For that particular home, anyway!

And maybe watch 3-7(?) episodes of House Hunters and House Hunters International. Just keeping it real, people!

And now, in the ultimate act of escape . . . I am just going to bed. At this point (11:20 pm), I have done all of the above. Plus, wisely, I've taken my meds so that I can sleep all night. Por favor. Which leads us to sleep. SLEEP!