Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Currently: July 2013

Listening
To Cups.
Cups, Cups, and more Cups.
Only Cups.
Cups in the morning, Cups at night.
Fast Cups, slow Cups, Cups just right.
Cups in the car, Cups at the bar.
Cups just like the movie stars.

This is starting to resemble Will's version of The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss, so...I'll stop now.

Eating
Too much. Now that July has come to an end it's time to get back on the work-out-and-eat-better-so-my-pants-will-fit-again wagon.

Drinking
Ditto.

Just rockin' my everyday attire.
And making all three kids do squats
with me by the side of the road.
Wearing
More of the same. Gym clothes until late afternoon, when I change into my swimsuit for a quick run through the sprinkler with the kids or finally shower and put on a t-shirt and jeans (or worse, my pajamas).

And I must confess a fashion faux pas... Last week my mom and I made plans to work out and then shower at the gym before spending the day running errands, going out to lunch, and taking in a movie with the kids. After I finished getting dressed - in an orange tank top, a teal, patterned maxi skirt, and a camel-colored belt - I discovered that I'd forgotten to pack shoes that matched my outfit in my gym bag. Oh, the horror. My options were the bright yellow tennis shoes in which I'd just exercised, or my mom's brown and pink CROCS that she'd just worn in the shower. It physically pained me to do so, but I went with the Crocs. And even though I only wore them out of the gym and through Target, where I bought a pair of clearance flip flops to change into, I felt pretty bad about myself.

But they were pretty comfortable...

No. I didn't just write that.

Feeling
Exhausted. I need a vacation from my vacation. And overwhelmed. I'm so behind on the writing I wanted to accomplish this summer, and I don't anticipate finding the time to catch up in August. My focus in September and October will not only be on catching up, but also on getting ahead of the game and finding a writing rhythm that allows me to make progress on my plan for 2014.

Weather
I complained both on Facebook and here on the blog (my apologies), so you may already know that the temperatures I experienced in Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin rose above my preferred temperature range, even for July. The last two days of our summer vacation, however, were glorious - a perfect cornucopia of sun, clouds, rain, and thunderstorms (I love it when the weather changes) - and for the first time quite a while, I had nothing weather-related to complain about. Just in time for us to head back to Texas.

Wanting
More sleep. At home, I go to bed around 10pm, fall asleep between 11pm and 11:30pm, and wake up at 6:45am. On vacation, despite my efforts to go to both bed and sleep earlier, I found myself awake later and later every night. Add to that the fact that the kids like to join me in bed when the sun starts coming up, and the (horrendous) fact that the sun starts coming up before 5am in Wisconsin, and the fact that once a child is in bed with me I can no longer sleep, and the result is a grumpy, overtired, and bruised (ever been kicked in the ribs by a sleep-flailing six-year-old?) Erin.

Needing
I still need a pair of ear plugs.

Remember last month's equation?

Will + Hallie + vacation = ear-splitting noise from sun-up to sun-down

Here's this month's equation:

Hallie + Lily + any and all situations > Will + Hallie + vacation

The noise generated by Will and Hallie sounds like kittens and rainbows compared to the noise generated by Hallie and Lily. We're talking brain-jarring, insanity-inducing squeals and screams that make you wish you were literally anywhere else on earth than in the same room as the two of them. It's possible my ear drums may never recover...

Thinking
About how to best help a friend in trouble. One of the reasons I write - as opposed to, I don't know, giving spontaneous speeches - is because it allows me to thoroughly think through what I want to say and how I want to say it before the words reach the real world. My first drafts should never see the light of the internet, just like the first pieces of advice that come out of mouth, unless I've had a few minutes to compile them, should never be followed. I hope and pray that the "right" words find me when the time comes.

Enjoying
A wonderfully full and satisfying vacation, but also the process of arriving and settling in back at home. I love visiting spending time with immediate family, extended family, and friends, but there's something so peaceful about coming home to the life we've created for ourselves, deep in the heart of Texas. 

Even if coming home means five loads of laundry, a tidy but less-than-clean house, an empty refrigerator and pantry, and a mile-long to-do list.

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