not necessarily in this order

Sometimes you just gotta jump back into things, right? Here’re 5 things from this past week: 1. Maysie finished up a “party tricks” training class. I say “finished up” and not “graduated” (even though she did graduate) because she is way too far into her 2nd year of puppy-hood wildness to really pick up many of the tricks. She’s stubborn like the rest of us, haha!  2. Lil Momma turned 13 last week and then started 8th grade this week. I don’t even know how to process it. She’s as tall as me? She sleeps in on the weekends?? 2 days of school followed by a 4 day weekend seem like the best way to ease into this last year of middle school.  3. I’ve been on a vision journey where, after 6 months of dealing with it, I finally went to the eye doctor to figure out why my vision is super blurry at night on the days I work from home  (I haven’t been able to read books! Or recipes! It’s been so not fun.) As someone who wears progressive (tri-focal) glasses because I am both far- and ...

Some numbers from this past week… 3 : micro-decluttering sessions I did in the house (a shelf in our closet, the side counter in the kitchen, the bathroom vanity) 1.5 : days of school yet. LM is so ready to be done and advocating for not going to the .5 tomorrow because “what even is the point?”   303 : place on the hold list I am for  Yesteryear   3 : new places Maysie went on walks at over the weekend. Now that she’s one with 1:1 training, we are exploring our town and some trails and she’s (mostly) behaving. The girl just loves saying hi to people.  1 : loaf of sourdough baked during our one weekend in June without a recital!! The freedom!! 2 : weeks until school starts back up for me. I have a better schedule in mind for this asynchronous class, so I’m hoping to keep Full Send Summer going rather than living in functional freeze like I did with my first class earlier this year.  Sometimes the easiest way to get out of writer’s block is just to write, ri...

One : It’s been a minute… well, a month. Everything’s been a lot and my mental bandwidth was in survival mode. On the other side, I have this wonderful realization that it’s important to be a person amongst all the tasks and am excited to come back here and to comment sections and be just that.   Two : Lil Momma has one more month of 7 th  grade. We can do this. She turns 13 in 2 months. It’s just wild.   Three : We just survived 3 straight weekends of dance competitions, 2 of which were at a high school with very little parking. She did so well across the comps in her team dances and solo, as well as being a good teammate and supportive presence, but I have to say I am incredibly glad to have 2 weekends off before recital June begins. A big personal win was being able to do these 3 comp weekends on my own and handle her and food and the hotels and all her props remembering that last year I attempted to do the 1 st  comp 2 weeks after my foot/ankle surgery and ended ...

 Hello friends! It's been a minute, right? The Mr. and I have been talking about how it was wild enough that we got a puppy last fall when we already felt like we were running on fumes between Lil Momma's extracurricular schedule, working on my aunt's estate, work being oof, injuries... only for me to throw this MLIS class into the mix. It's taken literally almost the entire first quarter of the year for me to feel like I have a modicum of control over my tasks and house and life, but I'm back with a catch up and hopefully back here and in your comment sections on a regular basis, too.  Yes, Maysie, I’m sitting here   For now, some catching up on what I've been catching up on: School I think I had left off saying I felt so much better once I dropped that second class that I was supposed to start mid-March. I also feel so much better because I have a better perspective on what I am trying to get out of this experience. I think I was putting in inordinate amount o...

This month, I tell ya! <<gestures to the state of the world>> Work getting worse before it gets better. My first paper in my MLIS program. February school vacation with the week after having no school because of a blizzard. So much overwhelm.So much functional freeze. AND the   February FIG challenge   that has been such a bright light. Here are my final FIGs of the challenge, which include some stories about being back in school, parenting, puppies, and smiles. 14   How well Lil Momma did when school was canceled for the entire week after February vacation (sigh, thanks Blizzard of 2026 and the 30+ inches of snow in my backyard). School vacations are hard for only children and then to have another week off while the Mr. and I had to work was rough - but, she totally rallied! One day, we made a deal if she got 10k steps on the treadmill she could have ice cream for dessert, 12k and she could have fast food for dinner, and 15k to choose what we watched on tv fo...

  Friends, work and parenting and taking a class and being a human in this world is a lot.   I’m a little behind on a lot and a lot behind on a little. I’m haunted by tasks. I may have taken on too much, but the only way out is through.  I am loving the class I’m taking and I’m not loving the fact that I have not yet been able to get a week ahead in assignments. I know this is not exactly the format of the  February FIG challenge , but it’s where my heart is at and I think that is FIG-gy enough.  One  I’m taking  Introduction to the Information Professions  and this week’s chapter was all about the history of libraries and I really loved it.  Two  Work has been so oof but my work best friend and I have been randomly sending what we call “memes of hope and solidarity” throughout the day and they really help me keeping going through these long days.  Three  Maysie is just the best. She’s 50 lbs of love and joy (and jumping) (trai...