Lately and Advice Please

We've been super busy. How many times have y'all heard that? But it's true. Andrew started spring soccer. School's flying along. We had an open house at the school where Andrew will be attending Kindergarten (Kindergarten?!? Say it ain't so!). Our house was shown again . . . still no buyers, but we have some time. Our new house should be started soon. It's just normal, everyday stuff, but still, we're busy.

Although, I'm not a fan of always being on the go, it's a good thing because it makes the time pass, and well, everyday is one day closer to getting an adoption referral. Although, time passing quickly does mean Andrew is growing up quickly and that's . . . well that's blegh. Bulgaria hasn't seen a whole lot of movement lately. We're praying that things pick up a.s.a.p. Until then, we wait. I do think it's worth noting that it's been just over two years since we first filled out our application with our agency. It was exactly two years on February 14th. I remember starting the process with a massive amount of intimidation. If you've ever been through an international adoption, you know what I mean. The paperwork and document gathering is a bit scary. But we've been blessed with a wonderful agency and caseworker who've supported us, guided us, prayed for us, answered numerous questions, and just been there every step of the way. For that, we are so thankful.

Totally switching gears, and yes this has a point . . .
I've been a bit (okay a lot) sporadic with my work outs. I'm still doing them, but not as consistently as I should and want to. I'm looking forward to spring, more daylight, and warmer temps so I can get outside in the evenings. Which brings up the topic of morning workouts. I would like to workout some in the mornings. I have done it in the past, but I have this issue with low blood sugar. Even if I eat a well balanced breakfast, I have ridiculously low blood sugar until I've had breakfast, a snack, and lunch. It usually hovers around 55 until after lunch. Then it's in the 60s and 70s the rest of the day as long as I eat every three hours or so. And I do eat almost every three hours, because my body does not like being hungry, and no, I'm not being dramatic. Hunger = sick and moody in my world. I've never done my fasting blood sugar. Fasting is hard for me, because if I don't eat almost immediately, I'm sick, but as evidenced by finger pricks at morning doctor's appts. my post breakfast blood sugar is around 50-55.

Good grief! I have a point or more like a question. Does anyone else have this issue? And how do I deal with it? And yes, I know my best bet would be to get with my doc and figure this out with him. But in the meantime, I would like to run a 5K. I know I can run a 5K in relatively decent time, but I would also like to do it without passing clean out and having 911 called. Because that's what happens with morning workouts (which is why I work out at night), I get dizzy, I see stars, I lay on the floor having cold chills, and trying with everything in me not to throw up. It's quite pleasant. Then I drag myself to the kitchen to find something balanced enough to keep me from dying. Bananas and peanut butter usually work wonderfully. After that, I'm okay for the most part. Any advice on what I can eat that will keep my blood sugar stable and from plummeting to the depths? The last time this happened (last Saturday) I had eaten an egg sandwich with cheese on a whole wheat English muffin. Maybe I should've had a piece of fruit too? I don't know.

Okay, so yeah, too much information I'm sure. Now that I've bored y'all to death with my blood sugar woes, I think I'll go get ready for Andrew's first soccer game. Have a great Saturday all. It's going to be a beautiful day here in Central Texas!

Valentine's Day and A Field Trip

Valentine's Day . . . I used to like it. Then I started teaching. I'm now convinced that it's a holiday created to torture teachers.

We typically don't make a big deal about Valentine's Day at our house. Cards are the typical "modus operandi" for Patrick and myself. Andrew got a card, a new coloring book, some markers (momentary lapse of judgment on my part), and stickers. Pictures? I have none. Thursday night the three of us went to Outback for dinner. I'm not a huge "date" night person. We get away for a few hours here and there, but typically where we go, Andrew goes.

Yesterday, Andrew had a field trip to Sesame Street Live and Chuck E. Cheese. You should know that I deprive my child of places like Chuck E. Cheese. Those places are crawling with germs. My OCD self just can't take it, but he loved it.

I took my camera. I had high aspirations of getting tons of pictures of Andrew and all his little friends because he really has the cutest friends. I got six pictures and they're all pre-show. I'm officially a photography failure.  ;)

The bus . . . I wasn't going to let Andrew ride the bus. They're death traps in my opinion. But everyone was riding the bus. So I sucked it up, prayed a lot, and let him ride. He. Loved. It.

Andrew and Saylor . . . Saylor's mom and I taught together and are good friends. Saylor and Andrew have been in school together since they were little, and that's not going to change anytime soon. They'll be like brother and sister by the time they're in high school. I figure, they can watch out for each other most of the time and fight when they're not doing that.

Andrew and Landan . . . It took them forever to get in position for this picture. It was ridiculous how hard it was to get a picture of them together.

Waiting for the show. Munching on popcorn.

I should've taken some pictures of Andrew's dance moves, but no still photo can capture the magnificence that is Andrew's dancing. 

And that's the extent of my photography. Maybe tomorrow I'll tell you about our furniture shopping fiasco. It'll take a while. Until then, enjoy your weekend. 

New(ish) Furniture

Quite a while back my mom asked me if I wanted her cedar chest/bench to use for Allison one day. Of course, I jumped on that right away. Then my grandmother offered me my great grandmother's pine table. We already have a beautiful dining room set that my parents passed to us when we moved in our house, but our kitchen table was just a cheapo from a table store. So when my grandmother said I could have my great grandmother's table, I was thrilled.

Both the table and the chest needed refinishing, and the chest also needed new upholstery. The table had a lot of damage to the top, and it's been a long wait. But this week Patrick picked them up, and I'm beyond pleased with how they turned out.

The table is really long. In all it's glory, it can seat 8-10 people, but it's not particularly bulky. The ends both fold down, and it has two removable leaves so it can be made smaller.  I originally thought I would put it in our formal dining area because of the length, but it is the perfect kitchen table. It has clean, simple lines and smallish, manageable chairs. In our new house it will fit perfectly in our kitchen eating area (minus the two leaves). For now it's in our current kitchen with one end folded down.

Not ideal, but not all that noticeable either.

Very impressed with how it turned out.

The chest turned out great too. I picked out the upholstery back in the fall, and loved (still love) it. When Patrick picked up the chest he called my mom and said, "Yeah, it turned out great, but it does need to be re-upholstered. That '70s cloth has got to go." Excuse me?!? The man lacks taste. That's all I can say.

The chest is in our entryway for now, and I think we'll have it in our living area in our new house. At least until Allison comes home. It's too pretty not to use.

I love both pieces of furniture, and I love that there is family history that comes with them. Now to get our current house sold and our new house built! The good news is we're finally moving forward on the house, and I managed to avoid pitching a massive fit about the delay. I may have whined a little bit, but we'll let that go. I'm a work in progress.

Stream of Consciousness

Or "A Train Wreck of a Post"

Take your pick. "Stream of Consciousness" sounds so much more intellectual, however.

I take a hiatus from blogging. Said hiatus ends. And yet I just can't get back into the swing of things.

This week has been . . . well it's been. I have a cold which isn't that big of a deal. It's a cold. Only, is there anything more irritating than feeling awful but knowing you're not sick enough to lay in bed for the duration?

Yes, I'm being dramatic . . . it's a cold. I'll live.

Then there's the fact that I can deal with change, but I don't deal well with sudden change. I'm a planner and a preparer (is that even a word?). And that's not changing anytime in the near future. When a sudden wrench gets thrown in my plans, I spend a lot of time resisting the urge to hyperventilate. The trouble is not with the change, but with not being able to prepare for the change. Give me some notice people! So, some things changed abruptly. Nothing all that important or life altering (and most people would ask why I'm letting it bother me). But it messed up my plans. I need to let it go. Can you say control issues?

I know that was the most ambiguous paragraph ever, and y'all are like, "What in the blue blazes is she talking about?!?" I apologize, but I cannot be any clearer.

Actually, I could be clearer, but it would take way too long and it's way too tedious to explain.

What does help me deal with change is the fact that I got my "new" kitchen table today. It was my great-grandmother's and my grandmother had it refinished for me. It's so pretty, and it sure beats the junky kitchen table we've had for the past six years. My mom also had her cedar chest/bench refinished and reupholstered for me, and I came home to find both sitting in my house. Such a nice change. One that I've been anticipating for months. One for which I had time to prepare.

And that is just a little bit of what's going through my head. If it makes any sense to you . . . well then you should probably seek professional help.

Good night all!

Catching Up

Is there something on t.v. tonight? Some kind of big sporting event?

Just kidding. I'm so funny. Not that I'll be watching the game, but I do know the Superbowl is on. I watch for the commercials.

This is going to be a catch all, catch up post since I know you've missed hearing about every ridiculous detail of my life. Try to contain yourselves.

1. The adoption . . . is still chugging along. Not much is happening right now, but I know we're getting closer. This month will mark two years since we started the process, and March will be the 18 month mark for being registered with Bulgaria. I'm hoping we're more than halfway there, but we're just not sure at this point.

2. The house . . . should have been started two weeks ago, but we still have nothing. Let's not talk about it. I'm trying to be patient and failing miserably. Hopefully, they'll be starting in the next week or two. For the love of all that's good, let's hope so.

3. Our current house . . . is on the market and has been shown twice. The only complaint? The kids bedrooms are too small. Not much I can do about that. And for the record, they're not that small. Picky buyers. Hopefully, things will pick up as we move into spring.

4. I've become obsessed . . . with Downtown Abbey, and when I say "obsessed" I mean "OBSESSED!!!!". I tried to watch it about a year ago and didn't like it. Then forced myself to watch it again and loved it. Please no comments on the normalcy of that (or lack thereof). I also found out that when I purchased the third season on Amazon Prime I got the entire season which includes the episodes that haven't aired on television yet. Yep, I've watched ahead. Guilty as charged. No spoilers here so don't worry.

And that's about it. Not much of a catch up post. Maybe that means I'm not that exciting . . . Oh well, I'm off to watch some Superbowl commercials.

Back in Business

I'm back. My little break from blogging has come to an end, and while I'm glad to be back to writing, I have to say I enjoyed the time away from it. 

You see, I remember a world where facebook, twitter, blogs, and high speed (much less wireless) internet did not exist. I remember when we got dial up in high school. I remember it was impossibly slow, and because we didn't know any better, we waited patiently. I remember life without the constant presence of the internet and computers. Yeah, I'm that old, and while I certainly don't see myself giving up my facebook or twitter addiction anytime soon, I also realized that the good 'ole internet has become too much of my life. 

No this is not a graceful exit from blogging. I'm still here and plan on staying for the foreseeable future. This is, however, a re-evaluation of my priorities. I started blogging to share a part of myself, to share about the adoption (which, by the way, is still sailing along smoothly . . . un-eventfully but smoothly none-the-less,) and to write for the sake of writing, but somehow I got lost in comparison and statistics and wondering if someone was reading. I started writing for others instead of writing what I felt when I felt it or rather not writing when I didn't feel it (awkward sentence . . . hope it makes sense). And then it started to become an obligation and not really something I enjoyed. As if I had to do it to please someone. I do that  . . . turn things I enjoy into obligations. It's a bad habit I'm determined to break. So my entries may be fewer and further between, but I'll remember that my two words for this year are relax and grace, and I'll only blog when I feel it not when I feel like I must.

This quote by C.S. Lewis was recently brought to my attention:

"You can’t get second things by putting them first; you can get second things only by putting first things first.” 

It made me stop, and it made me really think. It brought to my attention how often in my life I put second things before first things. My job, the adoption, my child, my marriage, my desires, writing, dreaming, my needs . . . they're all second things. Not a single one is a first thing. There is only one first thing, and that is God. Jesus. The Holy Spirit. I started this year without a real goal, but as we enter the second month of the year, I would have to say that my goal is to put first things first. To seek Him not for what He can do for me . . . not for the needs that need to be met or the problems that need to be solved, but just because He is God. 

I'm not really sure why I tacked that onto the end. It seems kind of random and disconnected from everything else I said, but in truth, I think it's in keeping with my need to back off some. There are times when we must do things out of obligation. It's an unfortunate part of life. But there are also times when we need to step back and make sure that our obligations aren't taking the place of first things. For it's only when we put first things first that we will truly have the heart and energy for the second things in our lives.