Just Life

Ug. Navigating life without your parents is sometimes challenging. It’s not that we can’t do it, but it’s an added complexity and the grief is still there as well. It’s got me a little weepy today. Just another low spot in the roller coaster. I’ll get through it. 

I’m also struggling after being gone all weekend. It was fun, but I didn’t have that time to re-group from the week. I’ll get through that as well. Just need to get some time in to focus and plan some things out. That always helps me. 

Then to top it off, it’s June 24 and I have read 2 books this month. Two! That’s so unusual for me. It’s just been a busy month, I guess. There’s so much that I need to start doing, or stop doing. I just need a few minutes to think and plan and organize. That will also make me feel better. Then I should pull the weeds in my flower bed and when that’s done I should start a new book. :) 

On the bright side, one month of hot summer is almost over. Only 2 more to go and I still have fun things planned. There are definitely little joys to be found along the hard times.

San Jose

So awhile ago, my 20 year old nephew decided he wanted to go to a v-tuber con in San Jose. I didn't realize what it was and thought it was some kind of regular con like Fan-X so I told him I'd go with him. I take the girls places all the time. 

It turned into a bit of drama because he thought we weren't getting there soon enough because we were flying in Friday morning and the con started an hour earlier than we got there. (The doors opened, but most things had not opened until after we got there and had our badges). I was not going to take more than 1 day off work for this thing. Anyway, it was a bit of drama and with his high anxiety, he was freaking out a bit. It turned out fine and he actually got to meet his person twice and was there early enough for the goodie bag. By the time we needed to leave on Sunday, I think he was conned out and didn't mind leaving a few hours before it actually ended. 

I only went to the con on the first day and it's not my thing. It great that other people love it, but after about 4 hours I was tired (we had gotten up early for the flight) and wanted real food. So I left to eat lunch and then check into the hotel. 

Saturday I dropped him off at the convention center and I drove to the coast. I had looked at things to do in San Jose but then decided that I was so close to the ocean, I should go see it. I drove to Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz. I got there at low tide (not on purpose) so was able to explore some of the tide pools and just sit there in the sun and listen to the waves. It was really wonderful. I'm not a big fan of the sand, but I do love the waves. I was able to take a short walk along a butterfly sanctuary as well. 

And on Sunday, I dropped Spencer off in the morning and then went over to the mall to park the car. From there I walked to the Winchester Mystery House for a tour. It was fun to see the old house, but this is one historic house that I can truthfully say I would not want to live in. With all the windows and doors that go nowhere and weird passages, it was very strange. 

Then I hung out at the mall for a few hours until it was time to pick up Spencer and head to the airport. So quick trip and I'm tired today and I'm glad it's over. It was fun seeing Spencer's reaction to his first time flying. He had a pretty rough first day and between me and his mom we had to talk him off a ledge, but I helped him figure some things out and he had a blast the next 2 days. He talked non-stop on the way home and I was so tired and so tired of people, I was probably a bit grumpy with him. But I'm glad he had fun and discovered that he can do a lot of things on his own. He's already planning his next con. I will not be going with him. LOL

Camp

Camp is over! I’m sitting in my house and it’s quiet. I don’t even have the tv on. I have showered and have my Dr. Pepper. For the record, I did have a good time. The girls were really fun. It’s a different group because of some boundary changes and I only knew half of them from last camp. 

It’s still not something I want to do again. The bad thing is that it was a pretty successful camp and my bishop was one of the priesthood leaders. Ha ha so he has no reason to change it. 

We were at camp Helaman Hollow near Schofield, UT. It was a beautiful site and there were missionaries that serve there: Elder and Sister Woodruff. So they trained us on using the zip line and let us borrow their kayaks to play in the reservoir and were just really amazing people. I did the zip line once. I’m not sure it’s something I love. My knees were shaking at the end. The hike was beautiful and I loved sitting at the campfire for testimony meeting. 

We had one little problem when we found out that one of the girls had lice. She had been treated for it on Sunday, but still had nits and her parents sent her anyway. She had to be isolated to sleep the last night and was given a mayonnaise treatment. The other girls in her tent were checked and it doesn’t seem to have spread, but the YW leader had to let all the parents know. That was really our only bit of drama. 

So, it’s over for the year and I’m grateful for that, but also very grateful that it went as well as it did. Now I want to sleep for days and enjoy the quiet and my last day off. Tomorrow I will deal with airing out my sleeping bag and getting my car washed. 

Fun Fun Fun

Summer has arrived. I had to turn my A/C on in my house because my bedroom was too hot to sleep. We are actually having a cool down for a few days this week but I think it’s time to get out the other oscillating fan. My ceiling fan is just not cutting it. The heat always takes some getting used to and I don’t like being out in it. I’m trying to get myself out of bed a few mornings a week to exercise but it’s hard. I just don’t sleep well. 

I feel like I’m doing nothing but camp now until it is over. Ten days. Ten more days and I’m free for the summer. Free to do other fun things ha ha. I’m going to a con with my nephew later this month and then I have my Cedar City trip with my sisters in July. Then a work trip in August. And in between all that will be some farmer’s markets, hiking, playing in rivers. Fun summer stuff. And then these 3 months will be over and I can start thinking about fall.

Happy Memorial Day

I’ve had a 4 day weekend because I took Friday off work. It’s been really nice. It’s getting hot and summer is on the horizon. My 5 year old nephew needed surgery on his hip and is in a cast and wheelchair for 5 weeks. On Friday I took the kids Happy Meals while my sister and I had Chipotle. Then on Saturday I invited them to Wellsville with me to take flowers to Grandma Walters’ grave. We did a micro-adventure with the wheelchair. It turned out pretty well. A lot of in and out when we stopped. 

One of the stops was a nursery/greenhouse in Logan that I had never been to. I was only going to buy 1 plant. It’s a beautiful little thing that looks similar to a shamrock plant, but the leaves are purple and it has little white flowers on it. But then I saw these pre-made floral baskets and they were on sale. Ha ha ha 

Mine is a moss “purse” with grapevine handles and flowers growing out of it. I put it outside in my flower garden. I love it. 

We did our cemetery visit yesterday. My brother is out of town this weekend and some of the kids worked today. It was nice and not so crowded, which was good for the wheelchair. But then today I was at the grocery store and bought one more mum. We discovered that great-great grandpa Hull is buried in the Ogden cemetery, which is not far from my house. I just felt like I should take the mums to him. He died in 1965 so I don’t really know much about him. But this is the big day to celebrate ancestors (and yes, I know it’s actually to celebrate our service men and women) so I figured it would be the thing to do.

I think I’ll spend the rest of the day reading and doing laundry and things around the house. Then I’ll be ready and relaxed and can go back to work tomorrow. 

Let It Go

Grrrr, I’m so annoyed. Mostly with myself. Over the past 2 months I’ve had terrible pain in my teeth, jaw and side of my head. The only reason I chose to go to the dentist is because I wasn’t sick and didn’t have any sinus problems. And I don’t have allergies. They told me I probably needed a root canal and gave me a referral and then gave me a prescription for an antibiotic and said that would help with the pain in the meantime. And it did help. So yesterday when I went to the endodontist he said my tooth is fine. It’s not abscessed and I didn’t need a root canal. He also said if it was the tooth, then the antibiotic wouldn’t actually help. Which is fine. I didn’t want a root canal. But I have a hard time believing it’s only sinus when I have no other issues. And I still have a dull ache over that tooth. Ha ha I’m trying to let it go but I’m annoyed. I’ve decided this is just the next thing to ache in my ever more weird/changing peri-menopausal  body.  

To top it off, we had a major issue come up at work and I didn’t check back in after my appointment and crap really blew up. So I also didn’t know about a 6:30 am meeting and didn’t join. They have probably left me alone thinking I don’t feel well and I just didn’t want to jump into the middle of things that I don’t really know how to fix anyway. So I feel a little bit guilty. I mean my boss has been working on her vacation. And I feel a lot like I don’t care. 

Yep, I think I’m back in the being depressed and not caring about life cycle. At least in regards to work. I’m still doing stuff during my non-work life. And the family stuff I’m doing because I want to. The church stuff I’m doing because I said I would and can’t wait for it to be over. LOL yeah I’m kind of a mess. 

It’s been raining today though and I’m at home. I got to go eat school lunch with the twins and the rain has been good for my soul. My sister and I walked to the school with umbrellas and it was wonderful. So I’m going to let go of the annoyance and guilt and enjoy the rest of this perfectly wonderful rainy day.

Middle of May

Time is flying. I have a ton of things I'm trying to do or get done or places to be within the next 30 days and I feel like summer is half over before we've even gotten to it. 

Time to slow down for a minute. We had family dinner yesterday and I had the 19 year old and the 6 year old help me make the vegetable tray.

Ha ha it doesn't quite look like the picture on Pinterest but we'll take it. Plus, I had to use veggies and things that my family will actually eat. I'm happy to say that I only threw away a couple pieces of celery. The rest was quickly eaten. 

Up this week: root canal. I don't want it, but if it takes away the pain I will take it. Although there is no pain currently because of the antibiotic. But there was a lot of pain. And then it's camp, camp, camp until camp is over. Ug. I know it will be ok, but once again I'm not looking forward to it.