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, even though what I really wanted was pizza. I also wanted pizza for lunch, but had to settle for tuna because I only had 40 minutes to order it, pick it up, and eat it before my 3pm meeting, and what is the point if I eat it so fast that I can’t taste it? So pizza stays on the menu for Eventually. I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait.
Category: July 2025
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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 that Robin hates cheerleading now. Crikey.
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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, but part is also that I am so inundated that I can’t actually think clearly about anything. I feel like this challenge was given to me as an opportunity to prove myself, and I’m failing, so add inadequate to the list of emotions I’m feeling. I’m tired. But I made this bag last night and now I have ideas for other projects, and the idea of making things is helping to keep me sane. And running. I am enjoying running. And cooking. And knitting and photography and writing and paddleboarding. Thank goodness I have time for these things too.
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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, couldn’t find the paddle ANYWHERE. (Still haven’t found it.) And then it started thundering. And pouring. So paddleboarding didn’t happen today. I did sew a new shopping bag, which was a lot harder than it probably should have been, but also fun. And now another weekend is over. Sigh.
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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 drawing on now, but I’m proud to know them, and grateful that they actually like hanging out with me. I’m one lucky woman. In about a million ways.
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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 dance class, watched the Yankees clobber the Cubs… All good in the hood, as my friend Barry would say.
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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 by a four-car crash closing down one lane on the road. She missed more than half the class. I came home with a headache, nausea, and general exhaustion. But Robin made dinner for us and it was delicious (chicken tikka masala), and then the Yankees came back to win a game in which they were no-hit for seven innings and down by five runs. So I suppose things somewhat even out in the end.
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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.
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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.
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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 people who sit there the whole time trying to light it on fire. But… these are our jobs and we choose to keep coming back, so we must like it enough to put up with flaming shit for half the day. At least at the end of it, I get to spend time with my family, hearing about camp and dance class and watching them come in from the backyard completely soaked from playing with the garden hose. If shoveling flaming shit means I get to do more of that, then I guess I’m in. I’ll just stock up on ibuprofen.
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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.
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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.
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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 leaving Nashville, but both were closed for the holiday. So be it, here we are, just south of Atlanta, where Christina just beat Billy’s and my butts at Five Crowns and we made our trip official by watching a Harry Potter movie on the hotel TV. I’m looking forward to getting back to the dogs tomorrow, food shopping, and about 200 loads of laundry. But it was a good trip. Good to get away.
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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 day in Nashville, you do it all or bust. We may have done both.
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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 gave us tips for visiting Nashville, and it was generally great. Much better than going to Maker’s Mark or another big distillery. After getting to Nashville, we were exhausted, and ended up spending most of the day sleeping, but not until after much-needed showers.
Year in Photos 