Canada 2026

I had a really great time on my vacation to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and P.E.I. The people were great and the views were amazing. I'm not really in the mood to put down anything in depth so this will suffice for now. 

Back home and it's hot! We are almost to the "BER" months and I'm hanging in there. I am so looking forward to shorter days and cool temps. 

Anne of Green Gables musical

As the sign says, the house LMM was born in.

Confederation Bridge, PEI

Field of flowers

Somewhere on the Bay of Fundy

Caves on the Bay of Fundy

Ferry in the fog

Lunenburg

Peggy's Cove

 

Food

I’m heading into my 3rd week of low fat and low sugar eating since I started on July 7. So far the food I’ve eaten from my freezer stash hasn’t triggered any pain. It hasn’t been as hard as I thought it would be, although I know I’m still barely starting.  The weekends and especially the off Sunday where I’m home by myself is what I need to be careful with. It’s not that I’ve eaten terribly healthy, but I haven’t had any junk food, and I’ve consciously been eating more fruit and vegetables. And every day, I’ve had a little bit of chocolate. 

Right now my biggest issue is that I feel like I’m going to get bored with my food really fast. Looking at some of my Pinterest recipes, even just the ones that sound good and I haven’t tried, they have a lot of cheese in them. 😭  So trying to figure out ways around that because soon I’m not going to know what to eat. And I think I’m going to have to learn to substitute butter and creams in some of my recipes. 

I made a veggie and pasta dish tonight (that I have made a few times) and used gluten free pasta made from red lentils and left off the cheese completely. It is fine, but would be better with the cheese. And since I’m not eating butter, I haven’t had any toast or anything like that either. On the plus side, I did realize today that I don’t eat butter on my favorite rolls. So when it’s cold enough to bake, I can freeze a batch and still get some enjoyment out of them. Hopefully, anyway. I’m still not exactly sure what triggered the pain. 

Do I feel better? In some ways yes. I think my digestive system is having to get used to eating a little less “white”. But I haven’t had the overly full feeling that I get when I binge eat junk food, that makes it hard to lay down to sleep. I’m motivated to keep going if only to keep the painful stomach aches away. Hopefully, it will eventually feel more normal. 

One More Down

I took my sister and the twins shopping today. The twins birthday is next week and they wanted to pick their own presents. We decided to hit up a mall and an indie bookstore, so we chose to go down to Sandy. Rosie got clothes and Ollie got a dress up and they both got a couple cheap things from Ulta. 

Then we went over to The Printed Garden, which is an indie/used bookstore on my list. Turns out they have a record store in the basement and they were having a big sale and the records had taken over the store and there were a lot of people in there. It was actually pretty fun to browse through everything. I got a couple books and my sister got a few records. So that’s one more checked off the list and July is complete. 

And I think I finally figured out what gallbladder pain feels like. A few months ago, I had a bad stomach ache (I thought) and figured I had eaten something bad. And then I felt a little weird last Sunday and then on Monday by the time I left work, I had the stomach ache back again. But it’s not really in my stomach (although that doesn’t feel good) and it’s a weird pain almost across my ribs. Anyway, I know I have gallstones from a scan that I got last year and the pain lines up pretty well with what I’ve been reading. 

Since I don’t want pain, or surgery right now, I started doing some digging on what I should try to avoid so I’m making some changes to my diet. It’s only been a few days and I know it’s going to be an uphill battle to figure out what to eat for the long term. High fat and high sugar are out so there goes a lot of the stuff I like to binge on. I’m hoping I can get through the leftovers I have frozen and none of those things trigger me. I’d hate to throw out that food. And then I’ve decided to try and eat by the 80/20 rule so that I’m eating better most of the time, and if I figure out what triggers the pain, I will avoid those foods. I’m thinking last Monday, it might have been cheese. Cheese and butter are out right now. And if I’m not eating butter, I won’t make bread or rolls either. (Although its hot and I’m not baking anything!)

Hopefully, I can do this. I’m not trying to be perfect at eating better, but I really don’t want a lot of gallbladder pain and if this is what I have to do to avoid it, then so be it. 

4th of July

Happy July 4th!

I don’t consider myself unpatriotic, but I also don’t think romanticizing the past and future are helpful. But I can celebrate our unique constitution, the values and ideals of freedom, while also knowing that not all are free or found refuge here. Other people have said it better than I can, but we can celebrate and grieve.

I have no plans for the rest of the day. The governor declared a ban on fireworks, with cities being able to make their own plans, and my city banned them city wide. They don’t even do a 4th of July fireworks show because they do July 24th in a big way. But the last few nights have been blissfully free of fireworks noises. I do expect to hear a little bit tonight from neighboring cities, and I’m sure somebody will be letting them off illegally. But seriously, we are still on fire and nobody needs more of that. 

I got up early this morning and was at the farmer’s market a little after 8. They have some fun stuff going on for the 4th and I wanted to do something to be part of it. Weird, how as I’m getting older, I’m craving more community. Funny thing, I ran into 2 people from my water aerobics class, which I started going to for the people. I’m seriously considering seeing if I can volunteer at the booth next year. I wouldn’t want to do it every week, but I could do it a couple times. 

Anyway, I got myself a bunch of berries (blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry) and had to walk those back to my car so I didn’t smash them. The flat didn’t fit into the bag I took. And then I also got some fresh peas and potatoes, and an onion. I had seen a fun fizzy pop on Instagram that the lemonade stand was doing and there wasn’t a line so I got one. It was basically Sprite with strawberry and blueberry flavoring but the way they stacked it made it red, white, and blue. 😉 Then I bought myself a cilantro chicken empanada to go with it. It was a delicious breakfast. As I was headed to the shade to sit and eat, I saw the flyover from the jets from the Air Force base. Honestly, I think those are pretty cool. 

And one of the local indie bookstores I haven’t been to was supposed to open early so I was heading in that direction and not watching my feet and I totally tripped over a big construction sign and went down. I was fine and got right back up again (I can do that thanks to the muscles I’m working at water aerobics) but it was in front of a lot of people and quite embarrassing. A lady came over to make sure I was ok, which was really nice. So I crossed the street and walked down the block to find that the bookstore didn’t open as early as they had posted. But then I didn’t want to walk back where I fell, so I took the long way back to my car. I got 2 miles in, so there is that. I am fine, except I did bang up my knee and it’s sore. I put a bag of frozen peas on it for a bit. 

So I’ve washed my berries and shelled my peas for later. Before I left for the market, I put some chicken in the slow cooker with a homemade bbq sauce. I’ll be having a nice dinner later. I don’t really want to do anything else. I’m doing laundry, but my knee hurts so I’m not doing any more cleaning (I did half yesterday) right now. I guess I’ll finish my book and take a nap? I’ve got a puzzle on the table I can work on as well. I did my people-ing so I guess I’m good for the day. 

Things to Think About

We had a great speaker in sacrament meeting yesterday. I don’t know her well, mostly just know who she is. I really could do a much better job of welcoming people and saying “hi”, even with the introvert me urging caution. 

Anyway, she referenced a book I had thought about reading, and then didn’t (because I decided to ignore my questions and basically hide my head in the sand, even though they don’t really go away) but now have purchased and started reading. 

Her talk was about her daughter being lgbtq+ and her struggles to remain in a church that judges instead of loves, and also how to foster a sense of belonging and listening instead of judging. It was just so good and really taught me some stuff. I can do better for sure. 

Mostly I know that I’m not alone in my questions and that I’m ok right now as I struggle through some things. Just this morning before church I was thinking (again) how I probably wouldn’t be going if I wasn’t playing the piano in Primary and had something to do there. I just show up because I’m not ready to quit. I realized today that just showing up is ok right now if that’s all I can do. Eventually, I probably need to work through a few things, but for now I’m ok with the space I am in. 

I really can and need to do better at loving instead of judging. And while I get stuck in a rut thinking it has to be in my ward, it doesn’t have to be. That’s only one space that I am in. There are others. I could even love in multiple spaces at the same time. 

I spent the rest of the day with lots to think about and this is one Sunday, I’m glad I was there.

Summer Storm

The part of summer that I hate came early this year. It’s been hot and dry (less than 10% humidity in the air) and windy and everything is on fire. Normally, this doesn’t hit us truly until later in the summer. Some of the fires are big and have forced evacuations. I’m just praying people stay safe and that they can get them out eventually. Most of the fires are further south, but even Salt Lake had one on the mountain above the hospital. And now people are upset because the governor finally did something and called for a statewide ban on fireworks. Personal fireworks. Municipalities can still have their shows and whatnot. I say yay. I’m a grinch when it comes to fireworks, and I know it. 

We did finally get some rain today. And that has been lovely. I woke up early and turned my fan off and a little bit later it started to rain. I just laid in bed and listened to it for a while. I’ve had my windows open and just been loving the cooler temps plus then general stormy atmosphere. I even just heard some thunder. While it’s coming and going I have decided to read in my library. Might as well enjoy it. Plenty of time for errands and chores later. 

Farmer’s Market

Made it to my first farmer’s market of the year. I met up with my sister and the twins so I knew this one would be the big one that I walked down into all of the vendors and not just the produce section. I got all sunscreened up and met up with them this morning. 

It was a little smoky in the air from a fire, but I got used to it. I got a breakfast burrito and a blackberry mint juice at one of the vendors I like. Forget their name, but they’ve been doing it for a few years now and have good pastries too. I ended up with a bag of cherries, but that’s the only produce I got. I was tempted by the peas, but didn’t make it back to those tables. We got there late, but even between 8:30-9:00 am there were a lot of people.  

I also bought the kids some Nutella covered strawberries and let them get their face painted. LOL the price has gone up, but I said once a year I can do it. That’s not something we really got to do as kids and I always thought I missed out. Of course, now I don’t want it done to me. 

There was also a bookmobile called Withering Hearts that I got a really cute perpetual calendar that counts the books I’ve read this year. It’s now sitting on one of my bookshelves. LOL It’s got the wrong number on it though. I’ll have to fix that. 

And before I left 25th street, I stopped in at The Romantics Archive, which is a new-ish indie bookstore. The did have more than just romance. There was a science fiction and mystery section as well. I bought a book and a little notepad set there. So that’s 2 more indies I’ve supported today and 3 total this month. That’s probably good for June. 

On the way back to the car, I noticed that the Episcopalian Church of the Good Shepherd was open for tours. It’s a beautiful historical building that I’ve always wondered about. So I turned back and walked on in. The guy there let me ring the bell and then told me all about the stained glass and pews. It is a lovely old chapel. He said they also open during the Art Stroll and that seeing the sunset hit the stained glass is a must see. I think I’m going to have to go to the Art Stroll this summer. :)

So I’ve run all my errands and had my fun. I’ve a bunch of laundry to do and want a shower. 

Lazy Weekend

This was one of those weekends where I didn’t really have plans. Those are always nice. I went for a long walk on Saturday morning and then planned my menu and grocery list. And since I didn’t spend as much money as normal on groceries, I headed over to Trader Joe’s as well. I didn’t do laundry or clean much of anything. I did a puzzle and I read and cooked. Sunday was the same thing. Hard to believe we are halfway done with June. 

Summer Plans

I finally figured out what I’m doing for my summer vacation! I didn’t have any set plans, and nothing was sounding good. I had already marked off the time on my work calendar and figured that I would just head down to the Shakespeare Festival and spend some time at home. I had also already ruled out a trip with WTT because it was just really expensive. I mean a tour is always more money, but this one was just more than I wanted to spend on a trip (that didn’t leave the U.S!). 

Then on Wednesday, I logged into my email and WTT had sent an email about trips that were almost full and closing soon. And wouldn’t you know it, but Nova Scotia and P.E.I. were on it for the exact same days I already have scheduled off. Prince Edward Island has been on my bucket list since I made it. L. M. Montgomery’s books were a huge part of my childhood and I’ve always wanted to go there. I’ve halfway planned a trip there before, but didn’t truly want to go by myself. 

So I jumped on the internet to see what kind of flights were available and as soon as I found something I could handle, I signed up for the trip, and then purchased my flights before I even knew I was in for sure. This trip is about $2000 cheaper and even though I told myself I’d never share a room again, I’m doing the room share. It’s one week and I have those great noise canceling headphones now. 

This trip does a little bit in Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, plus one day at PEI. If I were planning it myself, I’d do an extra day to take in the Anne of Green Gables musical theater show, but I’m ok not doing that, especially since I don’t have to plan any of the transportation, which includes a ferry. I’m just super excited to be walking around and see the coast up there, as well as some AOGG stuff. 

So I’ve got my vacation sorted aaaannnnddddd…. I also planned for a 3 day weekend in August to head to Cedar City. I can hit up a few of the shows in a long weekend and that will be great for this year. Next year, I’ll see if any of the girls want to do another bigger trip. 

So this summer is shaping up to be a nice one so far. I’m sure June will be over before I know it. I also have a work trip to NC in there and we want to do something as a family, maybe head up to Bear Lake for a day or something like that. 

I’ve been walking again and I’m still going to water aerobics. I still love it, although last night I did not want to go. I was so tired but I went anyway and I had a great time. Plus, the instructor was a substitute and we did a different workout, which was nice. It helps me use my muscles in a different way. I am starting to notice that I’m getting stronger in my legs. Getting up off the floor is getting easier. Reminds me of what I already know: little changes done over a period of time will add up if I keep with it. 

So yeah, summer is here and it will be over before I know it. Still not looking forward to the heat (although I have not turned my A/C on yet, but it’s coming) but I can handle it. And after summer comes my favorite months of the year. 

Rainy Saturday

Last night when I went to bed, I heard a few raindrops and then they stopped and I really hoped that wasn’t all the storm we were getting. Luckily, it wasn’t. It started raining again sometime early this morning and didn’t stop until about noon. 

I wanted to get out of the house and my sister said she was heading to Valley Nursery for a cucumber or something so I said “pick me up!” We actually went for a drive up the canyon and over through Mountain Green and back down to Uintah first.  The mountains are stunning. Truly so beautiful. And we were driving in the low clouds and I just loved it. 

Then of course, being surrounded by plants and trees and flowers is always a good time. I had 2 plants that were either dead or dying and wanted to replace. I ended up with 3 houseplants. Ha! Two of them are succulents and they will probably die on me. But I do love having plants in my home. They make me happy. Just walking around the nursery is nice. We stopped in the rose greenhouse and just wandered. Roses are lovely, I just don’t want to grow them. 

The rain has stopped and the sun came out and now it’s cloudy again. I’m in for the rest of the day. I am doing a little cleaning, a little reading, a little laundry. I made black beans and rice for dinner and my house smells fantastic right now. I don’t even like when it smells like food but very excited to try this new recipe. 

I’m calling this week a win. I worked from home the entire week since there was an electrical project going on at the office. I did try and get out a bit every day so I didn’t get too stir crazy. I walked 3 miles and also went to water aerobics on Tuesday and Thursday. There were a few instances of rage at my job, but I handled it. There was also a problem that I solved and that felt good. So yeah, this week is a win. 

Long Weekend

Thursday was a bit of a rough day. I had some peri-menopause emotions going strong and everything was making me upset. After work, I picked up 2 mums from Smiths and my first stop was the Wellsville cemetery. The canyon is stunning right now and the drive was so beautiful. Plus, once you get to Wellsville, the mountains on that side are also simply gorgeous. The cemetery was empty on Thursday early evening so that was also nice. Then I drove back home and before I went home I stopped at the Ogden cemetery. Not many people there either. I put some flowers on the grave of my great, great grandfather: Roy Ernest Hull. His headstone is almost entirely covered by a huge bush and I’m not sure if anything can be done about it. I mean, I didn’t even know he was buried there until a few years ago. It’s just an extra thing I like to do now.

On Friday I used a day of vacation so I didn’t have to work. I got up and went for a 3 mile walk. Then I got ready for the day. I picked up Ollie and we got lunch and then picked up Rosie from her last day of school and we went to the park so they could play and eat lunch. Then I ran some errands and did the grocery shopping. I met up with my sister and the twins again at the pool. It’s open again after a 2 week closure so I’m going to be going back to water aerobics this week and that makes me happy. 

Saturday I got up and went to the church to help with the weekly cleaning. I got to vacuum a lot of classrooms and hallway. Then the fun started ha ha. I had in mind to do some deep cleaning and rearrange my bedroom and office, mostly to give the carpet a break and get the groves in other places for a while. Man, that was a project. I got it done though. I can move everything by myself as long as the dresser drawers are taken out and the desk and cedar chest are mostly empty before I do it. The one thing I really had a problem with was my mattress. That sucker is heavy and doesn’t have good handles. I was very sweaty when I finished. It feels good to have that done though. I also put together a slow cooker meal in the morning and then made a loaf of peasant bread as well as doing laundry. I spent the evening reading and watching tv. I was tired. LOL

Today was church and then family dinner. We ate at Anna’s and went to the Brigham cemetery after. It was a very nice evening. The temperature was perfect for a walk around the cemetery. If summer stayed like this, I would like it a lot better. We tried to tell the kids a few things that we know about the really old graves we leave flowers at. It’s a little hard sometimes since we didn’t know some of them ourselves. But I guess that’s what family history is for. 

Tomorrow I want to take another walk and then do a few more small projects around the house. One of the projects may require a quick trip to Hobby Lobby. ;) I’d also like to clean out my car and go through the car wash. Other than that, I have no big plans for the day but it sounds perfect to me. 

Another Sunday in May

We’ve got a storm moving in. Right now it’s a bit windy outside. Wind not being my favorite thing, I have my noise canceling headphones on with some instrumental music playing. Not sure if we’ll get any rain out of it, but that would be nice. The temperature dropped so I am having a cup of cocoa as I get ready to read in my library. It’s a nice, relaxing Sunday afternoon. 

I really need to be not lazy this week when I’m not at work. I’ve got to get some stuff done around my house and I have a few small projects. Like very small and I need to just do them. LOL That’s the goal for this week. I’m only at work 4 days and then having a 4 day weekend, since Memorial Day is coming. It’s the end of spring and transitioning into summer. I do love the change of seasons. 

Yesterday, I took my niece to her soccer game since her parents were out of town. My sister and the twins met us there. Then we went to eat at Iceberg diner and to this month’s indie bookstore: The Hollow, located in Syracuse. It’s a cute little store that just opened up about a month ago. I bought 2 books for myself and 1 for my niece. I didn’t think she was much of a reader, but she said she’s recently read some books she likes. Her birthday is coming up and she said she’d love a trip to Barnes & Noble. LOL She doesn’t need to ask twice. I’ll take her for sure. 

Still trying to decide what my summer vacation is going to be. I’m absolutely fine heading to Cedar City but trying to decide if somewhere else is on the horizon. I decided against any trips with a tour and think I’ll just stay closer to home and spend less money. Prices being what they are, it doesn’t hurt to get my savings account stacked a little more in case of hard times or things breaking. 

But for now, I’m going to go read and take some time out of this world for a different one in a book. 

Mother’s Day

Hard to believe this is my 3rd Mother’s Day without my mom. Time has flown and yet it hasn’t. It’s going to be a beautiful day and we are having family dinner later and then we’ve got flowers to take to the cemetery. I made grandma’s rolls today. They are rising now and after church I will cook them and take them to dinner. 

I spent last week in Charlotte, NC for work and then took Friday off for a 3 day weekend. It’s been really nice. Very warm. I’m not quite ready for the heat, but I guess I don’t have any say in that. I’ve had my ceiling fan on at night, although it’s still cool in the morning. It won’t be long before I have another fan running all night just to keep me cool enough to sleep. It’s ok. I can have a good summer and then be happy about the fall. 

My flowers are doing well outside and I have a few projects for the inside and of course, there are always books to read. The pool is closed for maintenance or something for 2 weeks so no water aerobics. I need to see about the summer schedule. I’d like to keep going because it feels good, but I need to start walking outside as well. Take advantage of all the light in the evenings. 

Life is not without problems, but there are also a lot of good things. I’m so grateful for all that I have, especially for the parents who worked hard for our family. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. 

Flowers

Amy and I did get to the new greenhouse this afternoon. It’s called Plant and Grow and is a smaller mom and pop type of place. They still had plenty of greenhouses to look through. The plan was to not do any extra pots this year in an effort to save some water and I had written down what I wanted : 2-4 coleus and enough colorful flowers to fill the rest of my little space, allowing for 1 impulse item. 

How did I do? Well…. I did ok. I got Shasta daisies as my impulse buy and they went into a pot. I bought 2 new perennial shade plants that I put towards the back and then probably 1 six pack too many. There are A LOT of flowers in there. Of course, they don’t all survive or thrive. As for the coleus…I ended up with 6 of them. So 3 went in the flower bed where I was planning to put them and 3 in a pot. I just love them so much. They are probably my favorite plant, so bright and colorful. 

Seeing the flowers in my little garden makes me so happy. I love flowers! 

May!

I can't believe how fast the year is going. Month five already? 

I am ready to plant flowers. We had some good rain Sunday and Monday and my flower garden soil was so nice and wet. I got in there this week with a shovel and dug out the vine/plant that keeps growing. Hopefully, I got a lot more of the roots. Now it wants flowers. So probably a trip to a greenhouse this weekend. My sister knows of a new one we've never been to. I also want to do a little spring cleaning and clean my windows. The goal is to get up tomorrow and not be so lazy in the morning. 

Last night as I was driving home from water aerobics, it started to rain on my car. It was one of those weird, spotty rains that comes down in one particular place and only lasts a few minutes. Because of the clouds and the sun and the rain, I saw the most beautiful rainbow. It was so vibrant and pretty. I do love this time of year. 

Indie Book Day

Saturday was Indie Bookstore Day. I went with my sister and the twins. Even if I had gone by myself, I knew I wouldn't get that many stores in, so I did not print the map for the book crawl. And that's ok and we totally had fun. I got a couple books for the twins and a couple books for myself. I had a list of books that I wanted to purchase, hoping that would make me not impulse buy a bunch of books, but I didn't need to worry. It was too crowded and I was distracted with the kids so I didn't do a lot of browsing on my own.

Our first stop was The King's English in SLC. I only get there about once a year or less and it's just so much fun. Lots of people there and the space is small so we spent most of the time in the kids section. I did find a book on my list and got a few things for my sister-in-law's birthday. 

Then we went to Weller Bookworks in the old Trolley Square Mall. Even if there's not many retail shops in there any longer, it's still a fun, old building. I did not find anything I wanted to buy in there, but my sister got a few books. I did find a store with stationary and fancy soaps so I finished my sister-in-law's gift shopping. 

We took a break and ate lunch at Liberty Park. It was such a nice day to be outside. 

After lunch and playing around outside, we started for home and made our last stops. The first was the Bountiful D.I. because the kids love going there and getting cheap toys. Then our final bookstore was The Book Garden. It's actually one of my favorites. Again it was busy and I didn't get to browse a lot, but I did get one more book and a candle. I want to go back there soon with a bunch of books I've purged from my library and see if they will buy them. You get store credit and I do like to shop there. 

And then we came home. It was after 5 when I got home so a very full day, and we didn't even get to the indies in our own city. It's ok and they are on my list and I will get to them eventually. 

And today I stayed home to work. I didn't sleep well, but also its raining and I'm loving sitting where I can see and hear the rain. Even if it got warm really fast a couple weeks ago, we've had a few cold days as well. Spring is really glorious. Maybe this coming weekend, I can finally plant flowers!

Today

So I spent this evening doing something out of my comfort zone. It’s no surprise the work makes me a bit grumpy at this stage of my life. I’m not trying to be mean on purpose, but sometimes I can come across that way, evidently. Well, someone at another division thought I was very helpful and has been very nice over Teams. She came to my state for a training and asked if I was able to meet up for dinner. 

Meeting people I don’t know for dinner is absolutely not something I want to do. But I gave myself a talking to and said yes. We don’t live close enough to have to become good friends or anything like that, but it is really nice to know someone in person and to be friendly with them when you have to work with them. A guy from an Arizona division was also at the meetings and needed someone to eat with so it turned out to be the 3 of us. I drove up to Logan and we went to a hibachi grill. 

The food was good, and we shared our table with a family with 2 young kids and it was a nice time. I didn’t feel like the conversation was too awkward and I ended up having a good time. Much better than I had hoped. So a lesson to me to try a little harder to be friendly and that it is ok to sometimes get out and do things I don’t want to do. 

The drive to Logan was stunning. It rained today and snowed in the canyon. The green and white contrast and the moody, cloudy sky was just amazing. I’m glad I went. 

Nice Weekend

It’s been a really nice weekend, after a kind of stressful week. I worked from home all last week since I had a bunch of training meetings at a bunch of different times. On Wednesday night I went to Barnes & Noble and bought some books I didn’t need. It was just nice to get out. For the first time since I started going to water aerobics, I decided not to go on Thursday only because I was tired. Turns out that was a good decision, since they called and said it was canceled. And by Friday afternoon, I walked to the gas station and bought a Dr. Pepper because I was stressed. I’m not going down that road again, so I told myself to enjoy it. But it was a really long week. 

As for the weekend, Friday night I went swimming with my sister and the twins. Then we walked down 25th street to get boba’s and stopped in a local chocolate store that I knew was there, but had never been in. I tried an orange caramel and then bought a couple of them dipped in chocolate. The dark chocolate dipped was my favorite. And now I think I need to get some orange flavoring since I love making raspberry caramels. Orange would be fun to try too. 

Then on Saturday we went to the library for their Earth Day activities. I got a packet of marigold seeds and a packet of ladybugs, which I took home and put on my outside plants. I haven’t planted flowers yet, but my few perennials are growing and I put them on those. Half of the ladybugs always die, but it’s fun anyway. For a few days, I can see ladybugs outside. It will be a few weeks still until I plant flowers. I mean, we got snow last week. I think the cold snaps are probably about gone, but I’ll wait just a little longer. I’m going to scale back even from last year, I think. I just don’t want to be using water on a lot of extra plants since we didn’t get much this winter. I could argue they are necessary for my mental health, but just filling in my flower bed gives me enough joy there. 

Saturday afternoon, I took my sister and the twins to the movie. I texted my brother too and he dropped off  my 9 year old nephew and a friend and I took them as well. We went to the Mario Galaxy movie, whatever it was actually called. I didn’t think it was great, but the kids had fun. Alex’s little friend can put away the popcorn. 😆 And after that, in the evening, my 21 year old nephew came over and made me watch The Amazing Digital Circus so that I can go to the movie with him when it comes out. Or comes out  again? Anyway, it was actually a lot better than I thought it would be. 

And today after church I made tacos for lunch/dinner and then a cinnamon loaf. I went up to my library and did a little purge project and dusted all the shelves. I have a nice pile to donate and I have some gaps in my shelves again. I’m sure they will fill up fast. This coming Saturday is indie bookstore day so my sister and I are doing a book crawl. It will be fun. I may give myself a budget though. Ha ha 

Ug, Adulting

I got up early this morning to get some stuff done. I got some of it done. Now I’m tired and I just spent almost $200 on gas and groceries. That’s so crazy. I paid tithing too so there went my paycheck. It’s fine. I have money and I’m blessed in a lot of ways by paying tithes and other offerings. I don’t mind that at all. But man, crap is expensive. I feel like I need to make another donation to the food bank or something because I shouldn't complain. At least my paycheck covers my expenses. It’s just horrible how many people struggle to get by. 

We’re getting a little rain today, which is really nice. And there’s a local indie bookstore doing a “re-opening” because they moved locations that I may stop by. I didn’t know they existed before this location so it could be fun to check it out. Or I can go sit in my library and read. Ha ha that will for sure be something I do today at some point. I did finally make it through the library books causing me anxiety and now I have a new stack to read. This year has been different from recent years in that I’m reading a bunch more library books (I even browsed the stacks for a bit the other day). Over half of my books read have come from the library. It’s early in the year, but still…

Yeah, maybe I’ll get some lunch and then go check out the bookstore. Then I can come home and get cozy, whether it keeps raining or not. I’m going to cook dinner and do some baking sometime this weekend. I’ve got buttermilk to use up. Baking does sound nice right about now.

Spring Break

Woke up this morning to thunder and lightening. And hail. It's been raining but now it's snowing. I'm sick so I guess its a good day to stay home. 

I got back last night from a trip with my sister and the twins. I will say it was a good trip in some ways, but it was also difficult. My nephew has autism with another disorder called PDA. He's such a cute little kid but he goes Jekyll/Hide all the time. He's in therapy and she's doing all she can for him, but that doesn't make it easy to deal with. So yeah, we had some hard times. But there were also good times. I don't want to stop doing stuff with them just because it's difficult at times. 

We flew into Seattle and stayed by the airport at first. We took the train into the city and explored Pike's Market the first day. Then we drove to the peninsula. One day we spent at a state park climbing over rocks and looking in tide pools. I love being on the water like that. It's one of my favorite places. I'm not a sit on the beach type of person, but I love walking and exploring along the water. 

Another day we spent some time in Olympic National Park. It was so beautiful and I want to go back one day.  Took a little walk along Crescent Lake. 

And also did the hike to Marymere Falls. 

It was about 1.5 round trip so not long and not hard. Perfect for kids. I loved just being in a green forest with pine, moss, and ferns. We also explored Port Townsend and Port Angeles. We would have liked to include a ferry ride, but just couldn't fit it in this trip. That's ok. We'll just have to go back!

I felt fine the entire trip, although did get a bit stuffy one night, but I didn't feel sick. Yesterday my nose started running a bit on the flight home but I still didn't feel bad. By the time I went to bed last night, I knew I was getting something. So now I'll just stay home til I feel like leaving. I did pick up a few groceries on the way home so I'm fine and happy to be home in my own bed.