So Much to Think About

I know that I tend to overthink things.  I remember taking a Statistics class in college. I actually liked the class a lot, and thought the homework problems were pretty interesting.  But I did terribly on the tests because I would read way too much into the questions. I just wouldn't answer them with a straightforward answer because I was sure the professor was trying to be really tricky and what he REALLY meant was xyz instead of abc. 

That's kind of how I live my life on a daily basis, and it's honestly pretty exhausting.  I was working on a spreadsheet yesterday (as one does on a Saturday morning) of all our energy costs.  Then I started researching thermostats, which naturally progressed to doorbells. Before I knew it, I had about 30 tabs open on my laptop and half my Saturday was gone. Were there dishes in the sink? Yes. Was I still in my pajamas? Yes. Do I still have stacks of Christmas things lying around waiting to be packed away? Yes, I do. 

I've been trying to listen to audiobooks more, but my brain won't shut up long enough to absorb anything.  I have to keep restarting them because my stupid brain was chasing some stupid rabbit down a stupid hole.  Even when I play a video game, I do it with the sound completely off.  Between the noises of the game and my brain going 100 miles a minute, it's just too overwhelming.  Maybe I have ADD.  Maybe that's 100% obvious to everyone but me.

I bet I drove my poor mom nuts.

Twice in One Year!

Wow, only January 3 and I've written two posts!!

Yesterday morning I read about Mediterranean cooking and how it's a healthy way to eat.  I've gotten way too picky over the years and I looked at the food list and said, "Gross, ew, nope," to way too many things.  I'm not a lover of avocado and olives, but maybe I can become one with practice. 

As luck would have it, I had just saved a Mediterranean-esque recipe that looked really good and thought I'd give it a try.  I used basil from my own plant, and other than deciding to cut the lemon juice/zest in half next time, I loved it.  It's called Lemon Basil Shrimp Risotto, which is a remarkably descriptive title, and you can find it here. Travis and the kids really liked it, so I'll move it into my menu rotation.

I also started listening to "Becoming" by Michelle Obama, but fell asleep a few minutes into it.  This is why reading to your children is so effective--it really does induce sleep. It's not boring at all, her voice is just very soothing.

I only managed to get a couple more rows done on Adelaide's sweater, but it was a little bit anyway.  I'm making "Gidday" by Georgie Nicolson. I'm using a purple/green heather cotton yarn I've had forever, but I really like it.  I think it will be too big for her until the fall, but then she'll get some use out of it.  She's such a cute little bug (that's not her in the picture, though she's really cute, too).

Today I'll start taking down the Christmas tree.  So sad, but I have to go back to work on Monday so it needs to happen.

The Return of Desire

I was surprised to see that it has been over 5 years since I wrote on this blog.  But really, it has been that long since I've written much of anything at all.  Life got a bit harder than I had expected it to.  Stress, frustration, lack of time--the usual suspects, I suppose.

But let's try this again, shall we?  I've missed writing.  But I also just finished off 2018 with a real lack of a sense of accomplishment.  I managed to "make it through" another year, but that's not what I want at all.  I want to look back on a year (hopefully I'll have that chance again in 364 days) and feel like I've done something, learned things, improved my life, and most importantly, helped my kids be happier than they were a year ago.

But we are all basically self-centered beings, so I'll start with what I did today.

I slept until 12:25pm.  Not exactly starting the year out with a morning run, but there it is.  Then I made oven-baked french toast that failed pretty thoroughly (I threw out half of it). But then I noticed a short story on Goodreads that I hadn't seen before, so I read that.  It was okay, but not great.  But I'll read pretty much anything by Rhys Bowen.

And I finished a book I've been working on for months. This was a struggle to read, and I'm just glad I got through it.

I ripped out a sweater I had started for my niece Adelaide and started it all over again.  I had taken so long to work on it that I'm gambling that she's grown into a larger size, hence the restarting.


I emailed my friend Pat, way over in London. She always has a million projects/books/things going and I feel positively lazy after reading about them.  I made homemade chicken noodle soup that turned out pretty well (a little heavy on the black pepper, but that's not so awful). And Travis and I watched an episode of "Monty Don's Italian Gardens" on Netflix.  I also started a puzzle of a Scottish castle. 

Lots of relaxation, some productivity, but most importantly, feeling like I wanted to write again.