Goodbye January!

Well hell, January was a rotten month of blogging!  I feel like it was better that I didn't blog in January because I have been a tiny bit gloomy.  Nothing too terrible, just most days felt a bit like drudgery.  Is that a word?  Anyway, January lasted so long and was rainy and gross and seriously, just get out of here already. 

All the "improve your life" strategies I jotted down on January 1st and hung on the refrigerator are in the garbage.  On a positive note, I have managed to get to NFL Training Camp about seven or eight times this month and not get the flu, so let's count that as a win. Also for the record, menopause is not for wimps. I have been tracking my periods for years and I swear there is absolutely no rhyme or reason to the human reproductive organs in your early fifties.  What in the world?  I have a one day period every thirty eight days or a fourteen day period every fifteen days. Ready to wrap this mess up! That could have also had something to do with January not letting me live my best life!

There were certainly some lovely days in January.  Let's see if I can remember a few:

1.  I took the day off of work and drove to Dallas to go apartment hunting with Harry.  We found a great place and he will be moving in the first weekend of March.  It is a studio apartment - which basically means it is a glorified closet.  But there is a washer and dryer and it is in a great location.  I think he is going to have a great summer with the Rangers.

2.  Me and Chip went to see comedian Brian Regan and laughed so hard that my head was killing me.  I had to make myself stop laughing so my head wouldn't blow off! That is a good time! 

3.  We had a sweet four year old birthday party with our Love Box family last weekend.  Along with their six children, they have two little boys they are fostering...two years old and 10 days old.  They are precious.  We had a Beauty and the Beast party and there were balloons and games that went haywire and turned into soccer and basketball, but everyone had fun and that is all that matters. Brings me such joy. 

4.  Had a super casual, last minute game night of fun with friends.  We played Telestrations and Yahtzee.  I had never played Telestrations, but it was great!  Kind of a telephone, pictionary combination game. 

So, there are a few highlights from January, so let's see what else is going on:  

Lana has mostly recovered from her lumpectomy and her hair is starting to come back. Slow but sure and the verdict is out on color and texture, but YAY!  She is venturing out a little more and feeling a bit better.  She does have radiation still to complete and will go to the doctor next Tuesday to have some measurements done and figure out what her radiation plan will look like. Hopefully that comes with minimal side effects and then we can move on to being a cancer survivor! 

Chip is driving more and more.  He is studying for the SAT and the online practice tests and questions he has found are keeping him interested!  Go Chip!  Basketball season is well under way and his team has only lost one game.  He has thoroughly enjoyed playing and I think he will be sad when it is over. 

Me and Harry successfully replaced the glass insert in the exterior door to the patio.  It was one of those double paned numbers that had the mini blinds inside the glass.  Chip and I broke the mini blinds fooling around raising and lowering them in a heated battle one night.  Dumb. The blinds broke on one side and the string got tangled up in the blinds on one side and it just hung there all cattywampus (surely, that is not a word!), snarled and looking like the entrance to a meth trailer.  Super nice.  After visiting Lowe's and Home Depot and striking out, I ended up ordering the replacement online. My handyman Harry maneuvered it out and in with very little trouble.  Looks good and works great. It was an expensive mistake and Chip and I have learned our lesson. No more playing with the blinds. 

Well, that is enough for this Saturday afternoon.  I need to heat up a cup of coffee and do a little bit of work.  Then maybe take The Worst Dog in the World for a walk and clean out a closet.  Boundless fun and excitement over here! 

Hope you have a beautiful weekend!

Happy New Year!!!

Ahhhh, the relief of a new year....feels like anything is possible.  A fresh new calendar, a blank slate, a chance to reset and imagine a life where you can achieve that beautiful balance of taking care of yourself and your people.  Jotting down ways to shape a life where you prioritize love and joy and health and happiness.  I love a new year so hard.

I woke up this morning about 6:30 and got dressed before I went downstairs.  I was talking to myself the whole time....convincing myself that getting out for a walk first thing was the right way to start the day and the year.  Get it done even before coffee!

SIDE NOTE:  I weighed myself this morning for the first time in probably a year and it was not an encouragement to me.

Cooper was beside himself when he saw me already dressed and in tennis shoes coming down the stairs.  When he realized there was going to be a walk to start his morning, he started spinning and whining and celebrating.  Oh, how I wish I could channel his unbridled enthusiasm for getting his steps in. He tried to slide under the garage door as soon as a crack of daylight showed as it was opening.  Sometimes, I worry his halter will get stuck on the door as it is lifting, but you cannot stop that boy from urgently getting his nose and body squeezed under that door and out into the world.  His excitement is real.  As we moved down the driveway, I was thanking God for another year, another day, so much grace and love and all the things that make me feel loved and cherished. So happy that I have two legs that let me walk.  I was proud of myself for getting the year started on a good note. A great note really!  Taking the first step out the door is the hardest part, but once out of the house with the garage door closing behind me I felt great.

Before we even got out of the cul de sac, Cooper had gone behind the neighbors hedge and gotten his leash tangled around a bush.  He was stuck.  Breathing hard.  Kind of panicked cause he wanted to get out and get on with our walk but he was going no where.  We have walked out of this cul de sac hundreds of time and never has he gotten himself into this predicament.  So, I found myself crawling on my hands and knees into the hedge with a very excited dog wondering why I was on the ground crawling towards him.  I was able to unhook his leash, hold on to his harness, untangle the snared leash, reattach it to his harness and crawl backwards out of the hedge.  Sticks and leaves in my hair, a little mud on my pants.

So within 30 minutes of opening my eyes in the new year, I was quickly reminded that it won't all be shiny and fabulous.  More than likely there will be challenges and obstacles thrown in to overcome.  That's okay.  That is just life.  That is what it means to be human.  That is what I love most about humans. We all have challenges. We all have to work hard at something. Finding the humor and the joy and the worry and the frustration in those things and sharing it with other humans is the best!

I hope the new year is filled with endless possibilities for you and that when you end up crawling through a hedge to untangle a mess that you will laugh to yourself and remember to share that story with me.

Bring on 2019!