Tuesday - second half of July

[Twins' Mom]

Can you believe that July is half gone already? The days seem to slip away from me and I find I'm looking at the same issues I started the month with, and I haven't gotten anywhere.

I'm going to make a difference today and cross some items off for good....

[Twins' Mom]

Today I'm actually out of the house most the day, but I'm going to use those in-between-times to try to cross some items off my li&ts. I'm getting a pedicure this morning (have been needing it for a couple of weeks) so need to get moving on a.m. routine. Also having lunch with former coworker, going to see my dmom (checking her meds,) and doing some summarizing at the temple for a 5:30 meeting. A long day.

The temple deal with the wall is just wearing me down. I'm feeling like I don't have bandwidth for other issues because it's OMM so much, even tho no decisions are being made yet.

Moving on to a.m. routine to le ave here approx 9:15.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

I don't really feel that I've had much of summer so I'm annoyed it is half gone (and the busy half with regards to work is starting up so no chance to travel much even if I do feel better.)

Just took advil overnight and was fine. Got up and showered without anything but as the day wore on I realized I needed something for the 'ripping' feeling I have in my abdomen (all over, not just one spot) so I took 400 mg of advil. Basically just enough to relieve a sense of ill-ease.

Piano tuner is due here any moment so I needed to be up and dressed early today. At 11 I'll do the exit interview for the minister here as well (the church doesn't have a/c) and then we'll go out for lunch. It will be 24 hours since my last, mild, narcotic so I'll be able to drive myself and do errands after.

[DeeClutter]

I don't really feel that I've had much of summer so I'm annoyed it is half gone

Think I 'resemble' that statement, Kathryn. Seems like it's just zooming by and I'm stuck in the same place.

Dh has company coming this afternoon & I feel like I'm in "CHAOS". DDIL#1's b'day is today and DS-R wants to have a special dinner & celebration for her today. He's taking them all, including dd, to the lacrosse game Saturday afternoon. But when they come back he's giving her a surprise party with quite a few people coming in. DD has been making a 'barn quilt' for their shed for her so wants to get that finished today. Know she'll love it!

I need to get moving and clean!! Just finished putting up our meds for 2 weeks. Only was able to do 1 week for dh as I'm waiting on an order from Med Co.

[OKay]

I'm going to make a difference today

Twins - Thank you for the good reminder that time slips by so fast.

I'm excited to watch DMom returning to her former self. Today she is taking 3 Great Grandsons (age 3, 4, 6) to VBS. We are situating the GGChildren so it will put as least strain on DMom as possible, but she will still be able to "be in charge" of them. I'll deliver LO to her home about 15 minutes before VBS starts. The church is only about a mile away from her home so it is minimum driving with distraction of noisy little ones. DMom is excited about delivering them "all by herself" and picking them up. I'll be waiting at DMom's home to get LO after VBS is out. It would be easier to just take them to VBS directly, but it means sooooo much to DMom and gives her a way to build memories with the GreatGrandKids.

It is still raining!! YEAH!! We have received 2.25" in the last 48 hours. It has come down very slowly and instantly soaked up into the ground. We need a gully-washer type of rainfail to make a dent in the drought and fill the dry ponds/lakes however any moisture is very welcomed!

My focus for this week is the kitchen. Yesterday I emptied 2 drawers and organized them. Baby steps.

[Twins' Mom]

Even without illness, I feel the same way.

Seems like it's just zooming by and I'm stuck in the same place.

I think I am "stuck" with the temple issues taking center stage, and that is keeping me from doing other important things at home because I feel "guilty" over what isn't getting done there.

Dogs walked, albeit short walk.

[Nancy]

Good morning girls!
s2s done
feed chickens done
make coffee done
a lot of my morning to dos are done already what a great feeling that is!


H's alarm is going off at 5:30 today I'm up first today.

I watered last night and it's still damp last night just like my hair it was wet before going to bed. One of the advantages of long hair it cools you off too with 63*-101* for today's temp. range I can use that help.
gkids will be here except dgdson he has summer school; & he has a water park visit planned this afternoon.

It's trash day so will be adding to that in a bit. Time for my journaling. I do not have the baby until Fri. her grandpa wanted to spend some time with her; the mom is moving in with her aunt who lives close by here. Got five eggs yesterday one green one one full sized the other three were pullet eggs.

[Lilac]

Good morning!

Yesterday dd1 left for the state school nurse conference. Dgd17 left for cheer camp. Both of them will be back Thursday night. With both of them gone, I am all dd2 has for backup help in an emergency.

Yesterday morning was a first. Dd2 and I intended to take the 4 kids to the zoo. We were either going to take donuts or McDonalds and have breakfast at the zoo. The "first" was that it was 56 and on a July morning we had to wait for it to warm up to go to the zoo. So we decided to just have a picnic. It was so slow to warm up that we decided to just eat lunch at home and go at 1. The zoo has these bicycle contraptions that you can rent. They have a basket on the front for up to 3 little ones with seat belts. The seats hold 3 people, so they have 3,6 and 9 seaters. They rent for $28 an hour. Anytime we go they are always in use and they have at least 6. We talked to the guy in the concession building who handles the rentals. He said the best time to be assured of one, is to be there when they open at 10 am. We did our usual walk thru the zoo. As we were leaving, we noticed that all the bicycle contraptions were there. So we decided since the weather was so nice, by then it was 82, that we would go ahead and rent one, rather than attempting to go back later in the week. It was a lot of fun, but dgs7 couldn't reach the pedals so it was just dd2, dgs9 and I providing the pedal power. We went around the zoo once and were started on a 2nd time when we noticed the 2 little girls were both getting sleepy. Plus although there was a canvas cover over us, the girls on the front were not covered. They are both fair skinned and always have sunblock on when they are outside. With the extra exercise I needed a snack, so I was going to treat them to ice cream. By the time we got to the old fashion ice cream parlor, the girls were asleep, so we just went to the D airy Q ueen drive-thru. It was a fun afternoon. By the time I got home my knees were hurting but when I woke up this am, they are painfree.

Dd1 will be going back to school soon and no more morning walks. I am thinking of getting a bike. They have retro looking bikes at W almart. They have a basket and a bottle holder. I could ride safely in our area during school hours for exercise. I hate to walk by myself. We also need to break down and buy a treadmill. Dh needs to exercise and maybe he would if we had one.

Speaking of going back to school, dd2 is returning to teaching. She applied for a part time teaching position but they asked her to take a full time one. Since she has already taught there for 4 years, she will not have to go thru the probationary period and will be considered tenured. In the end, she decided to stay with the part time teaching position. She starts August 6 and has 2 weeks of in-service since she will be "new" again. Her business has been terribly slow all summer. She still has not taken home a single penny. She had considered closing it, then last week she was super busy all week. She has hired the young wife of one of her dhs farmhands. So this young gal can run it. She has a lot of creative ideas and is enthusiastic. Dd2 intends to use all her teaching salary to pay off her business loan. Once it is paid off, she will decide if she wants to continue teaching, close the shop or whatever.

Dd2 and her family are going on vacation and are leaving the last Friday in July. She had intended to close the shop for a week but once she hired this new gal, the shop can stay open. Dd2 and her dh are taking the 5 kids to California to D isneyland. The kids do not know, because dd2 doesn't want them driving her crazy about it until time to go. Also, in case they have to cancel at the last minute, the kids won't be disappointed. She plans to have everyone packed so when the boys come back from their dads that Friday, they can leave that night after the family swim party that is planned for the cheerleaders and their families. Even dgd17 doesn't know. Dd2 plans to tell her to pack for a vacation. When they hit the road they will know where they are going. Oh yeah, they are driving. She told me that dh and I should caravan out there with them. At first he was all for it. The next morning, he didn't want any part of it.

Dh woke up grumpy yesterday morning and came home that way. By bedtime he was out of his funk.

Been at this over an hour, so I need to do breakfast and meds.

[helia]

You must have sent your warm weather to us, Lilac! We're forecast to be about 10 degrees above average the entire week. Thank you - but I think we're sending it back on Saturday. At least, we're sending it somewhere as we're supposed to be back to more average temps for us this Saturday.

I went for a jog first thing today; dh went yesterday so we're off. I started jogging at 8 a.m., which is too late with the heat and humidity. Boy, did I sweat buckets. My t shirt is soaking wet in a couple spots. I'll need to make sure I drink a lot of water today.

I checked emails and fed the dogs. I made a vet appt. for Maia on Thursday for her next round of shots. We take her over to friends' house on Friday for our next trip.

Dh and ds are both off to their respective jobs.

I'm drinking my tea. I just drink tea and have a banana in the mornings; I'm not a big bfast person. I jog before I eat -- can't jog on a full stomach. bleh.

PODA:
- finish a.m. routine
- organize self for the week
- email to moms group steering committee
- baby shower invitations filled out, addressed, and put in the mail
- groc. list and groc store run
- maybe a Tar-jay run

Question: Dh wants to buy a duffel bag to pack sleeping bags and mats and maybe tents for our trip to Glacier. We only own suitcases at the moment. Any suggestions as to where I might find a duffel bag? Maybe Target? --Would their duffel bags be good quality? Maybe Kohls?

[Emptynester]

Helia - try sports stores. I once had some hockey bags (they are long enough for the sticks) that held up very well and had lots of room.

We had a wonderful sleep and I'm now watching the birds outside my window. I'm not sure what it is - little gray bird but smaller than a sparrow - sitting on the MH mirrors and then darting after some bug that only it can see.

The campground is quiet. All the fishermen have taken their boats to the lake and the kids aren't up yet.

I think I will head to the shower house. There are no water nor sewer hookups here so we have to be very saving of our water and holding tanks for the next two weeks.