not necessarily in this order

  One : Poor Maysie got spayed and had her dew claws removed last week. The weekend was sad and hard when she wasn’t feeling well, but we are glad the hardest part is over and she’s on the mend. She’s doing ok physically but her energy came back after 36 hours and it’s all we can do to keep her quiet. She has the cone through next Tuesday, so here’s hoping we can keep her healing and avoid too intense of cone bruises on our bodies, haha! Two : Thanksgiving is a whole thing because Maysie is tall enough to get her head on the table and counters (cone and all), but I think we have a plan to manage. I’m trying to make it easy on myself and baking off homemade Italian rolls on Wednesday instead of trying to time their rise and bake with a turkey on Thursday. We are also baking Lil Momma’s request of Salted Caramel Chocolate Cookies and the Mr’s “pumpkin pie from the can” on Wednesday, too, to simplify what has to happen on the day itself.  Three : I have a MRI on my back and hip...

  I have so much blog catching up to do. Lil Momma turned 11 and starts middle school on Wednesday. The Mr. and I celebrated our 19 year anniversary. Summer kind of spiraled and so did I with the stressful work situation ( which should be resolving in the next few weeks ), getting ready for school and after school activities, and looking at all the things I wanted to get done this summer that just didn’t happen.  I keep trying to write about those things, but I get brain freeze. It’s all just so heavy and so much   Instead, I’m just going to allow myself to move on and talk about what I’m doing in September. I was talking to one of the women on my team who has just bought her first house and I reminded her to take care of herself alongside of everything on her list. I think I was super cliché and told her to treat herself like a plant and remember that she needs sunshine and water and someone to say nice things to her every now and then . And that’s exactly what I need to...

  My brain is shot lately, it seems. I read blogs and think of comments but don’t type them and whoosh - they’re gone. I have blog posts to write ( back to school prep, Lil Momma’s birthday next week, how to work when work feels awful ), but I can’t get my head around them.  I’ve been super inspired by the lists on Engie’s 20th blogiversary guest posts, and Birchie , and Tobia , and whoever else I’ve read and just can’t put a name to, so I grabbed the first 10 prompts from here to just help get some words out of my head.  What’s your favorite sandwich and where did you eat it? I used to work as a Home Depot cashier during grad school in the lumber department by an open door - it was so cold in the winter! I’d drive to the mall on my lunch to go to the Brigham’s in the food court and get a grilled cheese on sourdough and fries (extra crispy) and that grilled cheese was EVERYTHING! Made on a griddle, so crunchy and melty and salty and cheesy. Just perfect.  What’s y...