So, in reviewing my week beginning with Wednesday (my "Monday"), my very-first-ever prescription glasses were waiting for me at the post office. Now, I know this is the most stupid thing a person can say, but it's SO true: I was AMAZED by how well I could see once I had them on! Geez, I'm glad I didn't wait any longer before getting my eyes checked! I'm experiencing MUCH less eye strain!
I think I got home around normal time that night. Oh, right: I wasn't TOO late but that was the Christmas present-wrapping night that made me super late getting to bed. Riiiiiiight.
Thursday (day 2 of my week) was the evening I got to have a belated Christmas with The Peanut and her parents. The forecast that morning said we could expect 2-4" of snow that evening, so I debated about which vehicle to drive. If I saved gas by driving the Yaris, the snow would surely fall in greater amounts, and I'd have to both leave The Peanut's early AND have a tough drive home. If I drove the truck with the plow on it, I'd waste gas 'cause we wouldn't see so much as a snowflake.
I decided not to tempt Mother Nature, and, boy, am I glad I did! We got a good dumping (6-8"), and I had a s-l-o-w, vision-blinded drive home (which I encapsulated in my last post).
Here are some images from present-opening at The Peanut's that night:
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I splurged a little by getting The Peanut a pair of handmade, hand-beaded insulated moccasins from a local artist up on the Rez, but, in my defense, I DID get them in a bigger size (or three!), so she can wear them for a while. ;)
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Here's The Peanut's mama, "trying on" Baby Brother's knit onesie. He's due to arrive the middle of April. (A sweet aside: after I'd set out all the presents, The Peanut set to work reading the tags. As she was going through them, she off-handedly remarked, "I'll bet one of these is for the baby!" Smart little cookie, ain't she? Or, she just really knows her Bopee, wink, wink!)
I particularly love the above-left image, both girls snuggled together, reading the bigger girl's card. (She got a red, retro kitchen stepstool / chair as a combination birthday / Christmas gift.)
This above shot shows what time it was when I finally got home Thursday night: 1:50 AM! I was getting gas in town at 11:20 - you can do the math. Now I still had to do chores and try to unclench my nerves and body from the drive! (The purple stuff is the vestiges of my morning smoothie.)
On Friday, and despite having arisen with the alarm's 9:something bell after only 5+ hours of sleep, I pulled into town 10 minutes late for my noon lunch date. Plowing out and the unplowed main road (see below) was my excuse (but still something The New Me should have taken into consideration. Point made and taken by The Old Me.)
Friday night was . . . what? I remember leaving my folks' around 7:30. I know I would have picked the dogs up around 5:00, but why did I have to return and what kept me in town those 2 1/2 hours? OH! I know. My Girl and I had to discuss the latest issues in her life over coffee. THAT was it. :) Annnnnd, I stopped back at Mom & Dad's . . . why? Oh, well. No matter.
On Saturday, I nannied Baby Girl all day. And, boy, was it a cold one! I think it was -27 degrees on the north end of the county . . . not so different from the -35 The Ex was experiencing up in Alaska! Oh, right, and I got stuck in the ditch while plowing out that morning. I had to call Baby Girl's mama from the post office to warn her that I was about 15 minutes late. Here's a picture of my adorable charge, wearing Bopee's headlamp. Purdy darn cute, wouldn't you say?
Her newest "line" was introduced to me, too: after I told her she couldn't do / have something, she looked down the hall towards the front door and asked hopefully, "Mama get home?" Ha! When I told her dad about it that night, he said that she's been doing the same thing with them when one or the other doesn't let her get her way. ;) She's learnin', that one!
And, speaking of learning, I learned another lesson Saturday night. Instead of going straight home, I had to drive all the way on into town because all the plowing was bringing the truck's gas level too low. If I knew I didn't have to plow, I could have made it home and then back in again on Sunday with no problem. But, knowing how the plowing sucks up the gas, I knew I would be too dangerously close to running down to empty if I chanced it. So, new thing for The New Me to remember: if the truck has less than 1/2 a tank of gas when I'm ready to leave town, stop to fill it up!!! As it was, I wasted about 90 minutes AND all that gas that I COULD have saved had I just filled up Friday night! Teaching an old dog new tricks certainly is slow! ;)
I was late to bed that night again because the spot in the winter driveway where I'd gotten stuck that morning was really - strangely and oddly - screwed up. After I tried to plow through it, I wasn't sure I'd be able to drive the Yaris over it Sunday morning. So, I tunred back and made TWO whole passes in the dark, dark night (plowing a total of 17 miles), hoping to make it presentable for even low-clearance clown cars.
I was back in the office yesterday to finish my work week, and, boy, was I ready for it. After Wednesday night, I know I didn't get NEAR my 8 hours of sleep any of those work week nights, and I was still making myself get up with the alarm, even though I did grant myself a slightly later wake-up two of those mornings.
Last night heralded the inaugural night of Family Reading. Even though we have to "make time for it", we all really want to make it a monthly thing. My Girl joined us for dinner and the reading. We each took turns reading a 20-30 minute selection (or selections) from whatever we chose that we feel like everyone would enjoy. It was a lovely, lovely night, but I hope to be much more AWAKE for the next one in February. If I hadn't kept myself busy by crocheting, I KNOW I would have nodded off.
Even after all the extra time spent on the driveway Saturday night, I ended up driving the plow truck again yesterday, after all. More snow was expected last night. And, yup, it was another sight-reducing, slow drive home. And, I was exhausted. And had an icky feeling about the drive. So much so that I called the Ex and asked if he would be my "call in" once I got home . . . calling the cavalry if I didn't check in by the designated time. Since Alaska is 3 hours earlier than here, it worked out. As it was, I think he was in bed when I called, safe & sound and having had nary a single problem, at . . . what was it . . . 1:30? No, it must have been earlier than that. But it was still plenty late.
Today, I slept until noon:thirty. I figure I got about 10 hours of sleep, but I woke up with a pounding headache, feeling DRUGGED. I had to d-r-a-g myself out of bed. Accumulation from the week, I'm sure. Swamp River Ridge definitely got another dumping of snow: between 10 and 12" this time. I SHOULD have gone out and plowed today, but I'm just gonna have to tackle the entire mess tomorrow. The road's starting to get so narrow that I miiiiight have shot myself in the foot. While the temps are cold and the snow isn't wet, it still felt pretty heavy when I was outside doing chores today. Time will tell . . . tomorrow!
And, with that, I'll sign off. I'm feeling pretty tired, but I feel guilty thinking about going to bed so early. Guess THAT'S something I need to work on, too! 'Cause, I know, I know: if I go to bed early, I can also get UP early! :)
Hey-you're still on track and you're keeping your priorities straight-my motto has always been "People before projects" and look at how blessed you are to have so many wonderful friends and family and what a blessing you are to them. That's way more important than keeping a schedule continually. Also, I adore winter, but I can tell up in your neck of the woods it creates a tremendous amount of extra work and time for you and yet you just take it all in stride! Glad you took the day just to rest and recharge and hope today is wonderful for you!
ReplyDeleteminor blips aside, it sounds like you are doing fine on your new schedule - you will get used to it eventually! I used to be the typical sleep in teenager but 8 weeks of boot camp cured me, I highly recommend it LOL! Now I can't imagine the last 20 years without those extra morning hours I've gained! Sounds like fun with the girls, we do reading aloud here too, I'm sure the kids will complain eventually, but for now they really like it. All this plowing sure eats up a major portion of your day, just think that you started your new schedule right during the part of the year where you have all this maintenance - when spring comes, you will actually have those blocks of time given back to you instead of the road!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll say it again, nice glasses! You made a great choice, sexy & smart lookin' lady - of course bonus is that you can SEE :)
Everyone needs some down time. Especially right now when the days are short, it's just hard to keep on track.
ReplyDeleteLove your glasses! They look awesome on you!
And the headlamp, priceless!
First of all, those glasses look spectacular on you! A very "glam" bopie! I think you're doing a great job with the new you - and I'm glad there is still a lot of the old you that we all know and love! Having a reading aloud day is a wonderful idea. I read aloud to my dogs....
ReplyDeleteWell, I gotta say, YOU ALL sure do HELP me on my way to The New Me's changes! Truly, your support REALLY keeps me goin'!
ReplyDeleteBecky, "people before projects". That's a good one that I'm gonna have to file for later use. Absolutely! And, winter IS my most favorite time of year (it's not hot and there aren't any bugs and the dogs' feet stay clean!), so I'll take all of it I can get! :)
Erin, we all (Papa Pea included) participated in the evening's read. I think that's a GREAT thing to do with the boys . . . and something to try to keep up on as they age! It provides them with good practice both in learning how to read AND speaking in front of people!! And, you know: I NEVER thought of the fact that I'm starting this schedule right at one of the worst times of the year! GOOD POINT! You made me flash forward to spring when I'll be "given back" all this time that's now spent plowing! Thanks!
And, thanks, too, to all of you for the props re my new glasses! But, truth be told, I owe it all to the blonde technician at my optometrist's office. Honestly, my eyes were so dilated & out of focus when I was choosing the frames that I COULDN'T SEE A THING! She's the one who did all the work!
Susan, thanks for reminding me that The Old Me is still a GOOD me! That's why I don't look at these changes as "self-improvements" (but, instead, simply "changes") because that would indicate that I thought The Old Me was, somehow, "less than" . .. and I don't think ANYONE should think that! Matter of fact, I heard a great tweak to the "practice makes perfect" idiom yesterday: Practice makes PROGRESS! Yessss! THAT is what we all need to focus on!
And, Susan, don't forget that you can make a reading night with ANY group of people! I know you have a fabulous gang of dear friends: invite them over for handwork & reading! While the other was reading, we were all . . . putting preservative on work boots (Dad), crocheting a rug (Mom), quietly listening (My Girl, who says she can't multitask), and crocheting a baby hat (yours truly). It gives everyone a chance to BOTH read and just "be"!
I love the reading night idea! So much better than a bad movie! and the glasses are great...and the schedule...it will get easier with time and as the days get a bit longer. My PA friend once told me that you body craves more sleep and needs it in the winter, sort of a hybernation thing. Enjoy it! Bears do!
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