Well I started working on my next show. It’s nice to be working out of the house again, but man this whole job thing is a lot. I managed to do three different morning drop offs last week and the 12 year old was only late to musical theatre camp 4 out of 5 times. We’ll do better. The mornings are deceptively languid from 6:55am – 7:30pm and then it’s rush rush rush panic and yell and where are your shoes and get in the car for the next hour. I think I need to re-think the morning structure. Or just accept the freneticism. Or have better systems. Who knows
Some fun things last week:
I did get my haircut. The new stylist worked out pretty well:
The cut isn’t as complicated as the guy I used to go to – it’s a bob rather than a pixie – but I still do like it; it’s a nice change from the pixie, which is what I usually get. I like how short and sharp the bob is, and I like the fringe-y bangs. AND it takes two minutes to shower now that it’s much shorter, which I always LOVE about having short hair. But also – all that grey! I have no interest in colouring my hair – I don’t think I could keep up with it – so I’m trying to go grey gracefully. But it is still a bit of a shock every time I see how much grey hair I have.
-I also had my long overdue well-woman appointment, and got bloodwork done. I don’t have a primary care physician, so my gyn does my bloodwork. She also ordered a thyroid ultrasound because I’ve been having a unending light periods for months now and then she also ordered me a poop in the box kit for colon cancer screening, which I can do instead of a colonoscopy. What a novel thing! Anyhow, I am rubbish about health screenings since I feel pretty healthy most of the time, so it felt like true adulting to go to one doctor’s appointment and have her assign me so many things – kind of like homework. Next up, I need to schedule my eye exam.
-We went skating on Saturday. The lady who does our bi-weekly cleaning is away this month, so on Saturday, we buckled down and had a morning of cleaning. I even cleaned the air registers. But anyhow, as a fun post cleaning activity, we went to the ice rink. At first I thought we could go to the pool. But do you know what is cooler than a swimming pool at 12:30pm in 80+ degree weather? An ice rink.
One of the things I love about going to the ice rink is that one can see so many different levels of ability all at once during free skate. You see the first timers clinging to the sideboards, their skates tied too loosely, ankles akimbo. AND you see the skaters who, while not Olympic caliber, can skate backwards and forwards and jump and spin and also do that hockey stop, you know the kind where you turn your skates sideways and send up a spray of ice. I feel like there aren’t a lot of places you can go to watch people hone their craft the way you can at the ice rink. Part of the fun for me is to watch people try a move again and again and again. There is something so inspiring about seeing all the different levels of skaters, knowing that everyone who I see doing a camel spin at one point was a beginner skater, inching around the ice, clinging to the sideboards.
After the ice rink we made a stop at a playground, at the kids’ request. The playground was nice and shady, but also a little buggy, so we only stayed 30 mins. Then we headed to Dairy Queen. When I go to DQ I always have the same thing – a Heath Bar Blizzard. Is there anything more delicious as a Heath Bar Blizzard on a hot day?
-Another swim meet! I had a different job this time – usually I time, but this time I got to be a runner, running the timing sheets to the people who enter the times into the system. The 12 year old swam her first 100 meter Individual Medley in a meet. That was fun to watch. It was the last meet of the season, except for Divisionals. Strange to think swim team season is wrapping up for the summer already!
-In other swimming news, I think the two little kids have started to figure out how to swim. So I seem to have misplaced their swim vests. (I say I, but … why do I say “I”? They should be responsible for their own damn swim vests!) So we’ve been going to the pool without swim vests. Which means, that we need to stay in the 3 ft area, or we go to 4 feet with both kids hanging on to me and that’s kind of tedious after a while. Anyhow, maybe this is the case of just taking off the training wheels, but both kids kind of figured out how to swim for two or three meters on their own – the 7 year old by doing his version of streamline, and the 4 year old by doggy paddling. This is kind of exciting to me – the 12 year old was swimming independently by the time she was six, so I was starting to get a little concerned that the 7 year old wasn’t going to figure it out and I would have to be with him in the pool forever. So yay!
-The Hallowe’en costumes are out at Costco!!!! What the what?
June recap and July Aspirations: Mid July seems about right for me to reflect on June and think about what I want to get out of the last 11 days of the month (note, that number was 15 when I started this post, but I’m writing slowly these days, I guess…)
June 2024 Highlights:
-Number 1 highlight definitely is our Family Trip to Maine. I want to write a trip recap, but who knows if it will happen.
-Finishing out the school year for the 12 year old and the 7 year old. Yay!
-Mid day weekday movie date with my friend L to see Babes. We laughed so so so hard, felt all the feels, and going to a movie on a Thursday afternoon just felt decadent.
-Swim team season starting and lots of time at the pool. It’s a bit of an endeavor to get there, but I genuinely enjoy being in the pool.
June 2024 Lowlights:
-The 4 year old not meeting assessment requirement to go to kindergarten early, and then having to start the appeals process.
-Post show malaise. I finished a show Labor Day weekend, and then fell into kind of a slump of not being productive.
-Discovering that our favorite restaurant in the area to get Taiwanese breakfast no longer serves Taiwanese breakfast. And by “our favorite” I mean “the only”. We used to go to this restaurant and be the first ones in the door on a Sunday or Saturday morning. So super bummed about this one. Well, I guess that’s another reason to get excited about our trip to Taiwan later this year
-The start of a heat wave. Can we call it a wave, if it is still hot, three weeks later?
July Aspirations:
– Get through swim team season.
– Start working on a new show. Stay ahead of the paperwork and don’t leave it for the last minute.
-Exercise: 10 mins of yoga/ day. Run. (I’m doing horribly at this. I don’t think I’ve run at all so far in July. But it’s just been so very very very hot.)
-find time to journal daily.
– Have a not miserable commute: good audiobooks/podcasts to listen to, make sure I have ice cold water and snacks at all times.
-Check dates for supertitle gig and poke the organization for a contract
-Plan some details of the Malaysia leg of our trip to Asia.
– The 7 year old wants to make a dress for the 4 year old – help him to this. Though this may be more of a August thing for when my work schedule slows down.
– Make plans to see my friend L who lives near where I’ll be working, and my friend K whom I used to see once or twice a month, but I haven’t seen since April.
-Schedule: Well woman (done), hair cut (done), dentist (scheduled), eye doctor, window treatment company.
– Think about a trip with the 12 year old.
– Declutter: desk, sewing/craft corner, kids’ papers, pantry. (or maybe just pick one.)
– Make more movement towards getting rid of my car. In May (or was it June?) I sent one email to collect information about donating the car to the high school auto repair training program. Then I kind of stalled. (heh heh. But the car hasn’t stalled. Its still runs okay, which is kind of my hang up.) I guess the next step is to fill out the paperwork.
-Eat peaches and summer vegetables. There is something called the Peach Truck that comes through our area and you can get a 12 lb box of peaches for $45. (Or two boxes for $64). My friend and I were going to go in together on a box, but she is going to be on vacation the next time the Peach Truck comes through. Maybe I can eat all 12 lbs myself? I might buy a box and bring it to work.
– Go to bed before midnight 1:00am. (I am not doing well at this one at all so far. It’s mostly prompted by wanting to wake up earlier and not be tired since I have a long commute to my current gig. But the desire to revenge bedtime procrastinate is strong. I’m a little inspired by Lindsay’s Weekly Dare project – maybe I can just go to bed by 11:30pm for one week? )
-Finish my current library books so that I can join Engie in reading I Capture the Castle for Cool Bloggers’ Book Club.
Random Dilemna – What to do with soggy Cheerios? One of my major irritants is that the kids don’t always finish their breakfast in the morning. Sometimes I will just finish it for them, but when the unfinished portion is a bowl of soggy neglected Cheerios… well my desire to not waste food might not extend that far every time. But what do I do with the Cheerios that are too wet to put in the trash and too solid to dump down the drain? I guess we have a garbage disposal so dumping down the sink isn’t the worst idea, but I don’t love dumping things down the sink unless it’s totally necessary. I could drain the milk out… but that seems like a lot of work. There are no good solutions here. (Well, there is, actually – the kids should just eat their Cheerios.) So the bowl of half eaten food just sits on the counter for the whole day until the Cheerios disintegrate into the milk.
Grateful For:
-Shade in the parking lot. It has been sooooooooooooo hot lately. I’m trying to lean into the enveloping feeling of a hot car, but sometimes it is too much. Luckily there are a number of trees in the parking lot at work, so if I’m strategic, I can park in a spot that will be shady when I get off work. I’ve also started putting a towel over the steering wheel during the day so it isn’t as hot when I get in the car.
-Finishing the hiring process for the stage management staff for the upcoming opera season. We’ve staffed the stage management teams for the 2024-2025 season! I never expected when I started the process last December that it would take all the way until July to finish the staffing – we had some people drop out to take other contracts so that kind of prolonged everything. I’m excited for all the returning and new people I’ll get to work with next season. I’m really grateful for my supervisor for leading the process, though. It was my first time working on staffing and she really held my hand and talked through every decision with me. Hiring is hard! Now fingers crossed that no one else withdraws from a contract. Although, sometimes its’ crazy to me to think that in February of 2024, I’m offering work for May of 2025.
-Work from home prep week. Last week, the first week on my contract, was mostly a paperwork week, so I was able to work from home for a lot of it. That was nice because a) I didn’t have to drive around the beltway every day, and b) I could be home and prep things for the afternoon swim practice and c) I could also get done all the life admin things mentioned at the top of this post. I’m thankful for the technology that allows me to work from home. At the same time, I also love being in the rehearsal room. So there are things to be grateful for either way.
– Democracy. It’s a bonkers time in American politics right now, like unbelievably incomprehensible. Or maybe the issue is that it is completely comprehensible if I look at things with empathy. But… I think all things considered, I’m grateful that people still believe in Democracy, despite the spectacle it currently is in America.
Looking Forward To:
-Duckpin bowling! The Husband suggested we go duckpin bowling this weekend as it is an activity that would be cool (as in temperature), family friendly, and screen-free. I’ve never been before, so I’m excited to try out something new.
-Visit from my mother! My mom is coming at the end of August and she’s bringing my aunt with her. It will be right as school starts, so things will be busy for sure, but it will be nice to see her. I haven’t seen her since Spring Break.
-Hearing about the 4 year old’s kindergarten appeal. I had a phone conversation with the person in charge of the 4 year old’s early entrance into kindergarten appeal. She was lovely and I was able to share all the bright and clever things that the 4 year old can do and also explain why I thought her reading scores were low. The appeals lady said she was surprised the reading skills score was so low because the 4 year old scored so high in all the other areas. I’m trying not to get my hopes up, but fingers crossed.
-The 12 year old’s musical theatre camp showcase. They are doing various scenes from musicals and she is playing Fiona in the Shrek excerpt. Can’t wait to see it.
What We Ate:
Monday: Grilled Eggplant Salad – Recipe from the Washington Post. Dinner at the pool. I thought this was really tasty – It had a Southeast Asian flavor profile with mint and coconut and cashews. I added grilled tofu for protein. It was not a hit with the kids, and I will admit that the coconut dressing, which was delicious, looked like a certain bodily fluid. Vegan.
Tuesday: Pasta and meatballs. Dinner at the pool. The 4 year old’s request. I made turkey ricotta meatballs on Sunday, froze them, then popped them into the InstantPot on Tuesday morning with a jar of tomato sauce.
Wednesday: We met up with our friend for dinner. I had a very tasty burger and a salad. And then we had amazing desserts: creme brulee and sticky toffee bread pudding. I will almost always order crème brûlée if I see it on a menu.
Thursday: Chicken Salad Sandwich wraps – dinner at the pool. Chicken salad from the deli counter – really tasty.
Friday: Dumplings (from frozen – these were the Ling Ling brand- eaten at the pool), then pizza and Glee after swim practice.
Saturday: Dumplings (from frozen – these were the ones purchased at our favorite dumpling house), and green beans, eaten while watching King Fun Panda 4. Cute movie.
Sunday: fend for yourself nights – leftovers, noodles and dumplings and we started watching The Acolyte. How did we manage to eat dumplings three nights in a row? Well, 1)the kids LOVE dumplings so will always eat them. 2) they’re frozen and convenient so we almost always have them around, 3) they only take ten minutes to cook up.