not necessarily in this order

  Lil Momma and the Mr. are visiting family down south this week and I’ve been on my own with Bella, our dog. To be clear, they didn’t ditch me!! I’m just not walking fast or far enough for it not to be a drag or a liability on that type of vacation.   To be honest, LM and I were both a little shook - we’ve never been apart this long!! It’s one of those times I’m glad she has a way to text me and we got to talk each night about her adventures (which included dip dyeing the bottom 6 inches of her hair purple - an early birthday present!). In honor of my week here at the house by myself, here are 5 random Friday thoughts about being alone: One : I realized that I’m very rarely alone in a situation where I can just be. I’m alone in my car on my ride to work or driving back from dropping LM off somewhere, but this week was different because I could just exist in this space and be.  Two : Back when the Mr. traveled for work and LM was a baby on steroids who never slept, I alwa...

  42 days post-surgery. Crutches and shower stools and scars and swelling. A house I never lived in but somehow own went on the market, got oh so many offers, and hopefully closes on Thursday. A too-soon return to work (leading to a chest cold and exhaustion) and an immediate organizational change and so much stress and feelings. 3 dance competitions that involved a knee scooter, a wheelchair, hotels. tears of joy and sadness from Lil Momma, and way too much takeout. A cold and a pinched sciatic nerve. I thought I'd write more during this time, but I've been stuck. Stuck in a chair, stuck in my head, stuck in this moment. This is a big week: follow-up at the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow where I hopefully get cleared for the next part of this and then  start PT and close on my aunt's house on the same day later in the week.  I'm taking both of those happening on the same day as a sign from the Universe that it's time to start moving on and into what is next.  Wow, tha...

Instead of deep diving how I cried at my yearly physical only for the doctor to tell me I’m not sleeping enough ever since the double hit of Lil Momma’s scared freak outs and getting up earlier for middle school (sigh), I’ll just note that I’m focusing on sleep hygiene and personal routines / rhythms in October and recap last month. This mummy Hello Kitty is my stand in, haha! As for my September 16 … I’m super proud of myself! It was a hard and exhausting month but I was able to take some great steps to taking care of myself (and my to-do lists): 6 habits  Wk1 ✔️; Wk2 ✅; Wk3☑️; Wk4 🏁 Shower every morning  ✔️✔️✔️_✔️_ ✔️✔️ ✅✅✅✅_✅✅ _☑️☑️_ _ ☑️☑️ _ 🏁🏁_🏁🏁_ Drink water every morning  ✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️ ✅✅✅✅✅✅✅ ☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️ 🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁 Have a vegetable every day _ ✔️_✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️ _✅_✅✅_✅ ☑️☑️_☑️☑️☑️☑️ 🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁 Take a walk every day  ✔️✔️✔️_ _ ✔️✔️✔️ ✅✅✅_ _✅✅ _☑️☑️_ _ ☑️☑️ _ 🏁🏁_🏁🏁🏁 Read a book every day ✔️✔️✔️✔️_ ✔️✔️✔️ _✅✅✅✅✅✅ ☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️ 🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁...