July 2025

  • July 16

    I’m starting to get some footing back at work, which is just to say I wrap the day up with a headache, but not nausea too. Billy’s work schedule is bananas right now and he had no choice but to sleep through dinner, so it was just the girls and me tonight for beef burritos,…

    July 16
  • July 15

    Today I spent an insane amount of money for dance intensives and team fees AND I enrolled Christina in ten dance classes starting this fall. On top of this, she will need to have weekly private lessons to prepare her trio for competition. She better really love dance, yo. And thank the high holy heavens…

    July 15
  • July 14

    I actually made myself sick at work today, worrying about how to get everything done without dying. The truth is that I can’t get it all done, but I’m also struggling to decide what WON’T get done, and what to do about it. Part of that is inexperience and lack of insight into leadership priorities,…

    July 14
  • July 13

    Christina asked to go paddleboarding today, so I loaded it up into the car, got changed into my bathing suit, lathered on the sunscreen, drove to the boat ramp, took it out of the trunk to inflate, and it was about then when Christina asked where the paddle was. Packed it back up, came home,…

    July 13
  • July 12

    Today was a lesson in gratitude for the saving of our marriage a year ago. I had dinner tonight with some incredibly fierce women who are teaching me what it means to be strong. And trust me, I thought I knew all there was to know about strength. It’s a different kind of strength they’re…

    July 12
  • July 11

    Today was better than the last couple of days, thank goodness. I actually managed to get some work done. Not nearly close to all of it, but at this point I’ll settle for getting ANYTHING done that doesn’t result in more work to do. Was otherwise a typical day. Ran on the treadmill, knitted during…

    July 11
  • July 10

    What a day. I am absolutely overwhelmed at work right now, literally spinning wheels in every possible direction at once. I got so caught up in trying to stay on top of things that I forgot about Robin’s tumbling class. We left 20 minutes late and then got stuck in a massive traffic snarl caused…

    July 10
  • July 9

    I don’t know if I feel nauseous because I have a bug bite on my toe that’s turning black, because I’m completely stressed out at work, or because I ate something funky, but I do know I need to go to bed and be done with all of it for the day.

    July 9
  • July 8

    Felt kinda lonely tonight while the girls and Billy all disappeared to their rooms after dinner. Used the time to do the dishes, take out the trash, and prepare a special birthday surprise while watching the Yankees game. It’s been a long time since I felt kinda down… not a fan.

    July 8
  • July 7

    Back to work today, and I made it until 12:30 before I developed a headache. I swear this job is impossible to do well, and everyone we ask to do it is grossly underpaid. It frustrates me to fail their work for stupid mistakes when they spend their entire days successfully shoveling shit for other…

    July 7
  • July 6

    Did some gardening today. I think I ended up wearing most of what I cleaned up. Also today: food shopping, finished my laundry, lost at Harry Potter again, made baked ziti for dinner, knitted a lot. Days off never seem to last long enough.

    July 6
  • July 5

    We made it back to Jacksonville with almost no traffic – very easy drive home. It feels so good to have the entire afternoon free. I’m already unpacked and ready for bed.

    July 5
  • July 4

    We made it through Atlanta without getting stuck in any traffic, which is a July 4 miracle. This, just as we were saying we’d never travel over the Fourth of July again because everything is closed on the Fourth of July. There was a yarn shop and a chocolatier we wanted to stop at before…

    July 4
  • July 3

    We literally did EVERYTHING today. We walked over the pedestrian bridge, went into a honky tonk, bought cowboy boots, visited the Country Music Hall of Fame and RCA Studio B, went into the Parthenon, had authentic barbecue, and ate the best ice cream sandwiches made from homemade cookies and ice cream. When you have one…

    July 3
  • July 2

    We had to get some Kentucky bourbon before we left and found a place that distills Mammoth Cave bourbon on the way to Nashville, so we made a stop. It was really cool – a small family-run distillery. The owner gave us a tour and tasting, introduced us to his horses and his dad. They…

    July 2