April Birthdays and More!

I am thinking…  that I was so content to have stayed home from church today, which is not good.  However, there are not any days in recent memory I can think of where I was able to spend the entire day lounging around, truly relaxing.  Unless I was sick, which doesn’t count in my book. (This after Fr. Passo told me in confession there were lots of great feast days coming up that demonstrated Christ's love for me to take advantage of, one of which was today (Divine Mercy Sunday). Sheesh, Jennifer!!)

Wade and I both woke up with headaches.  Allergy season is in full swing here and we’re both suffering the consequences.  He’s way worse than me right now though and decided he was not well enough for church.  I am not feeling great, but honestly I could have drug myself to church if I had really wanted to, but the idea of having absolutely nothing to do today was too tempting and I took the easy out Wade was giving me.  Now that he’s 55 (hard to believe!), he’s technically a senior citizen according to a lot of organizations and he is saying we have a special dispensation from stuff now lol.  And since I’m his caretaker… so do I. Not sure that’s 100% valid, but I was willing to pretend it is for today.  

And I have to say, I am absolutely adoring sitting here writing my blog post with the windows open, listening to birds and windchimes.  Very refreshing for the soul, although nothing is better than receiving Jesus in the Eucharist.  But I am really soaking up an opportunity to just BE today and for sure I will be taking a nap at some point after I finish this post.

[P.S. to this... Riley spontaneously texted she was coming over with the leftover pie she made Wade for his birthday, so it was not really a day of doing nothing for me - yes, even my own family coming over, for me, isn't 'relaxation'. They were here for an hour or two maybe? Not sure. But it was just as I was getting ready for a nap after I did a little reading... I'm not sure how she seems to know when I'm going to take a nap on a Sunday when she decides to stop by, but she does seem to know. lol It was good to see them and Athena of course. I can't believe how cute that little girl is! However, even though I tried taking a nap after they left, it didn't quite work. I think my window had passed me by. So the day wasn't exactly as expected, but at least it was for a good reason. Y'all know I don't handle changes in plans very well. Not sure I'll ever get to a place where I can seeing as I'm already 53.]

I got Riley to take her yearbooks home

with her and brought out her "art" binder.

I don't think she remembered I put this together

but she and Sebastian had a lot of laughs going

through all the pictures she made when she was

growing up! 

I am feeling… Fairly miserable due to allergies.  I leave my sinus support capsules at work for the weekend, so I could probably be feeling better than this but the nasal spray and allergy eye drops are making things bearable for now.

Stuff I Done Did… I spent time outside working on tidying and reorganizing the courtyard.  We’re talking about moving the table and chairs over to the pool deck and then getting some sort of bench/sectional/glider type seating for the courtyard and I really want to add a water feature.  But I’m getting ahead of myself here, we’re not done with the yard yet.  Wade is working on getting the tree stumps out and removing roots, dirt, and leveling the ground to prepare for final placement of the raised beds and the rock.  We have plenty to do before I can consider all those patio expenses lol.  Not to mention, we need to take care of the flooring in the living room.  Being a homeowner is expensive!

I also spent time wrapping presents yesterday for the April birthday celebration at Riley’s last night.  Wade's puzzle table was a bitch to wrap. I finally cleaned the bedsheets which was long overdue, and started clearing the bed in the guest room off as we’re pretty sure Wade’s dad is coming down for his graduation ceremony in May.  We’re getting a new bookcase from IKEA tomorrow because the one I had all my crafting books and various binders in is for Athena’s books now, so they are currently all sitting on said bed.  Lol. 

I finally got out my summer clothes which was depressing because I’m a little too big for most of them now, although I still need to try them all on to know for sure.  

Lastly, I made a yummy salad for the dinner last night, which I actually got like four compliments on, so that was cool!  

I am reading… Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le Cunff.  I’m actually thinking of incorporating one of her exercises, the Plus Minus Next, into my weekly list of things I do.  It’s basically taking about five minutes to write down what went well, what went not-so-well, and what you want to do moving forward during the next week (or whatever time period you choose to have this exercise cover).  

I am watching… my granddaughter grow up so fast!  She is getting a tooth, crawling and pulling herself up to standing on her mom and dad now… OMG, the time is already going too fast!

I am hoping… to finish my library books in time… one of them is super long and I’m not sure I can manage it… I’ve got three more after the one I’m currently reading.  

I am listening to… Bach, of course, but other than that just a podcast or YouTube video here and there.

Quote of the week… “Nature had not intended mankind to work from eight in the morning until midnight without the refreshment of blessed oblivion which, even if it only lasts 20 minutes, is sufficient to renew all the vital forces.”  - Winston Churchill

Recommendation of the Week… Adding to your home’s curb appeal is definitely worth the investment of time and money.  I love coming home and seeing my front yard with the new hibiscus plants, path lights, and the current Easter decorations outside,  It’s exciting to finally be working on getting the backyard in shape, too.  FINALLY!!!

This week’s happiness demerit…  goes to allergies, and sleeping wrong on my side - my neck and back have been hurting for the last several days. Ouch!

This week’s happiness gold star… goes to progress on the home front and family get togethers.

One of my favorite things… Riley showed me some sketches Chat GPT made for her when she asked it to style her entry table and the area around her TV.  I decided to ask it to style our courtyard and now I really want to redo the entire thing lol.  Oh, Lord!  Technology is a blessing and curse!

I asked for a cozy, rustic/Mexican style patio

and Chat GPT delivered!

A few plans for the week… put together the new bookcase so we can get that bed cleared off!  I’ve also got a few errands to run (Walmart, library).  

This week in pictures… 

Jake set up a great family shot here... 

but DUDE why am I so fat???

Riley is turning into quite the baker!

Look, she's not crying and he's holding her!

Also, this dress was Riley's for her

first Easter 24 years ago!

Wearing two birthday hats on her head!

Riley won the Kayla is Awesome 2025

quiz prize... her own 'crown' sunglasses!

Riley was actual behind me for most

of the game but overtook me at the end.

Concentrating on getting that present out...

Ooooh!  It's a pool debris vaccum!

Better pic of the vacuum

Kayla's bike lights

Lil miss trying the glasses out

Reading my note 😍

It's official, she's in her law school era!

Present 1 from Riley & Sebastian

Present 2!

Wade's puzzle table.  Apparently there was

a theme for him this year, because I also got

him a puzzle to go with it and Jake got his 

customary puzzle as well.

The rest of his presents were books and money.

Loving the Easter decor.

Wreath is from Walmart and the bunny

ear topiaries are from Amazon.

Slightly disappointed that the ear pieces

don't have anything to anchor into, but they're

holding for now.

I will never get tired of seeing these!

Pink and yellow!!

And the hedgehog cactus in the front

looks like it's finally getting a flower!

I can't wait to see what color it is!

Wade got the planter taken apart in the corner

on Friday... and found a few roach nests, yuck!

The raised beds are going to move to that area

once we get all the dirt out of there.

Surrexit sicut dixit, alleluia!

I am thinking…  that something must have changed with my health because I did seem to lose three pounds temporarily.  (Yeah, it’s back to 198 again somehow. 😭)  I really am at the end of my rope with the obesity thang I’ve got going on.  I haven’t felt like myself in at least three years and I’ve literally never been this fat before, even when I was pregnant with Jake and I gained 55 pounds.  I’m curious to see if the EBV levels have dropped appreciably, and I want to check on that before July because if I change my insurance to the high deductible type I’m not sure the $25 labs would still apply.  The main reason I’m thinking about switching is because I am committed to naturopathic doctors now and that is never covered by any insurance, so I’m going to be paying full price for all my doctor visits and the only real benefit to staying on this current plan is that the labs are so inexpensive (no matter what kind of doctor prescribes them - yet the doctor visit itself is not covered.  #makeitmakesense). I’m in a holding pattern with health stuff right now because thanks to my hand and beginning treatment with an ND this year, I ran out of FSA funds months ago. *sigh*. I feel like I’ve made a little progress but obviously I don’t feel or look well yet, so the quest continues.  

I am feeling… like I’m going to scratch my eyeballs out.  Allergy season is in full swing, apparently.  I can’t remember my eyes itching this badly before though.  It’s driving me batty.  I am going to try and remember to bring my histamine oil blend with me to work and use it during the day, and take a little of the local raw honey we have daily, which is supposed to really help with allergies.  In the meantime, I’m losing my ever loving mind because of this itching.

Stuff I Done Did… I don’t feel like I did much this week, but usually I don’t.  I either have ridiculously high expectations of myself, or not enough time.  I think it’s probably a combination of both, TBH.

Anyhow, the highlights are as follows: I finished shopping for Athena’s basket (I didn’t even spend the projected $200 lol), I babied my hibiscus this week and I’m happy to report they are blooming and beautiful, I repotted the Christmas cactus and finally took the snake plant I was propagating in water and transferred it into a pot with another snake plant, finished two books, and we went to Good Friday services, confession on Saturday and church and lunch today.  Also, yesterday before confession Riley and Sebastian came over for a while, Sebastian helped Wade a LOT with the backyard cleanup and moving the raised beds over to the newly tree-free side of the yard.  He even took as many bags of dirt as he could fit into their vehicle with him as he’s going to the dump tomorrow anyways.  Riley and I talked about house stuff and tried to take pictures of Athena in her bunny ears, which kinda worked out lol.  She didn’t want to keep her ears on and quite frankly I did not prep very well… the sheet in the background didn’t look professional, lets just leave it there, shall we?  Our original plan was to be home all day yesterday, but we arrived at church just when confession was starting on Friday and the line was already out the door, so… yeah we did NOT make it in time ha ha.  I actually suggested going to confession here in town at 9 am but Wade, much to my surprise, opted to drive into town rather than go to our old church which I find funny because I am definitely usually the one who holds a grudge longer than him ha ha.  Anywho, that meant we had to drive into town and back for confession.  So, that also meant I stopped at Turnstyle to search for an Easter dress.  Surprisingly, I tried on at least 10 of them.  I didn’t expect to find much in my current size.  And honestly, most of them were not keepers for one reason or another.  Whether it be length or how much emphasis was placed on my fatty spots lol.  Anyhow, I came home with two contenders and I’m not sure which one was the best to be honest, but (shocked) I wore the yellow one!  Yes, the woman who literally HATES yellow is now purposely planting hibiscus with yellow flowers and buying yellow dresses?  I don’t even know who I am anymore, honestly!

How gorgeous are these hibiscus

flowers, even if they're yellow?!

Our prickly pear isn't blooming nearly as

much this year as it typically does, sadly.

The gift that keeps on giving.

Two snake plants, one pot lol

Some bunny sure is cute!

Lunch at Harlow's

I guess I could look worse?

Not sure how though.

Athena was wearing one of the outfits

I got her in her Easter basket!

Obviously the option I went with.

This was the other one.  I like the colors better,

but the high neck isn't really me.

I am reading… Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le Cunff.

I am watching… the sun start to go down (it’s 6:15 here, but it won’t be dark til after 7).

I am hoping… for a spiritual revival now that I’ve been to confession.

I am listening to… mourning doves.  The sound of the desert.

Quote of the week… 

Recommendation of the Week… Okay, I have mostly positive things to say about the tree company.  They removed the trees and didn’t damage anyone’s house.  However, they basically destroyed one of our cactus in the front yard and I think another one near it (there are still a bunch of palo verde needles in it, so it’s hard to tell how bad it is) and didn’t even mention it when they came for the recap and payment.  Could they have missed that?  Sure.  But I didn’t lol.  However, the trees are gone, they came when they said the would and were done in one day.  Overall, good job.

This week’s happiness demerit…  we skipped Holy Thursday mass this year.  I think we were both too tired to go to Mass after work, honestly.  I haven’t missed this mass in literally years, so even though it’s not a holy day of obligation, I feel guilty.  Honestly, between that and missing Ash Wednesday, this Lent has kinda sucked.

This week’s happiness gold star… Christ is risen!  

One of my favorite things… our treeless yard.

A few plans for the week… Figure out what we are doing with the yard now that the trees are gone and the raised beds moved. This opens up a lot of new possibilities but I need time to think.  Also, I need to change over to Easter decor, which I will probably start on tonight.

This week in pictures… 

Athena's basket... Summer sleep sacks, developmentally

appropriately cup, a bunny outfit, tutu and headband set,

swim hat/rashguard and bottom, Jesus doll that says the Our Father,

Sacred Heart teether and Easter book :-)

She's really good at getting her foot in her mouth now!

This weather is unprecedented.

But I'm LOVING it.

Before, front yard

Before, back yard

After, front yard

After, back yard.

Found these in the planter near the trees that were

removed in the yard... no idea where they came from.

I don't think they're ours?  I'm guessing they were hanging

on the tree that hung over into the neighboring yard and

they're theirs, but am not sure.

Thank God Almighty, the Trees Are (Almost) Gone at Last!

I am thinking… that last month it was a year since I fell and broke my finger and smashed the rest of my body up pretty good to boot.  All I can say is it's been a really long year with several others incredibly unpleasant events including my health challenges, Sebastian being shot, and let's not forget being unceremoniously thrown out of my office. I feel emotionally and physically spent and feel like I'm in a deep, deep hole I'm struggling to climb out of. Lord have mercy.

I am feeling… Well, this is basically a repeat of last week.  Had a night this week where Milo was hacking up most of it because he ate a piece of leftover hamburger too fast.  If I keep having nights like this every week, I’m not gonna make it guys… 😴😫

Stuff I Done Did… Once again, this weekend didn’t exactly go according to the plan in my head, I had too many things on my list, and it went way too quickly.  

Wade was working Saturday, and I was excited to get up early and get started on the yard work I had in mind.  However, a wrench was thrown into the plans.  It occurred because Wade FINALLY got his raise this week, and a bunch of backpay as well, which was great because now we have the money to take those dang trees out.  So on Friday I got to work finding recommendations for tree removal.  Where things went south was Wade made plans Friday afternoon for one of the guys to come give the quote first thing in the morning on Saturday when he wasn’t here.  First of all, I hate being home alone when strange men I don’t know come to the house.  If possible, I always try to make Wade take off work for these things.  Second, he didn’t even ask if I was ok with the time or the fact that he was coming when he wasn’t going to be here.  He was supposed to come at 8 am which was when I was planning on starting the yard work so I could be done before it got hot out.  Well, he didn’t show up and he didn’t respond to Wade’s calls and texts until around 11 when he called and said he was on his way from Bell and 51st Ave way up in Phoenix.  Something about his phone screen being smashed, yada yada. At that point, I had given up on the guy, done the yard work and we had a second local company come out and give us an estimate shortly after he called to say he was coming.  So I told Wade to cancel him. I had a brow appointment at 2:15 and needed a nap after meeting with the tree dude that actually showed up when he said he would, doing yard work, and getting sick to my stomach from too much coffee/caffeine.  Anyhow, we both wanted to give the business to someone local anyways and this first guy was not local (don’t ask me why he’s a member of the Maricopa Facebook group).  The guy quoted $2700 for all three trees but Wade got him down to $2100 which is about $700 per tree.  They are all big trees in tight spots and he has to poison the ones in the yard because those suckers like to come back and are hard to get rid of.  He said the Spanish speaking guys he works with call them devil trees, ha ha. He’s coming tomorrow to remove them, and we couldn’t be more excited.  Anyhow, the day started off not so great but did get better.  After unsuccessfully trying to nap and before my brow appointment, I stopped at Goodwill for a very rushed visit and spent $7 in cash from my wallet on two gnomes for Christmas decorations, The Song of Bernadette on dvd, and a Wordle game.  After my brows, I stopped at Marshalls hoping to find a nice Easter wreath for the front door.  I didn’t find that, but they did have some of my favorite Mexican talavera planters and I got some dog shampoo, a new toy for Teddy (his pickle from Christmas has a hole in it, so it’s just a matter of time before it’s completely destroyed), and a couple of really cute things for Athena’s Easter basket, which is shaping up nicely.  I won’t be surprised if I wind up spending $200 on this before everything is said and done because I’ve already spent close to $150 and it doesn’t feel done yet somehow lol.  This kid is going to have me wrapped around her finger and buying her all kinds of stuff when she can actually talk and ask for things lol.  The trip only took 20 minutes which is a record for me inside Marshalls, I think.  When I got home, Wade was out front with Riley, Sebastian, and Athena, who had come over for dirt to fill in a planter they are going to cover with rock and then put some fun fake plants in, like I did with the planters outside our front door.  They can have all the dirt they want, because we’re taking apart those two planters in the yard that Jerry and Ed put in when they did the landscaping.  One of them is messing up the drainage in the yard and the other is being taken out because we’re moving the raised beds to that side of the yard, because that’s where the most sunlight is available.  We’ll be able to reuse at least some of the flagstone pieces for path pavers around the yard.  So they’re actually helping us by carting some of it away.  :-) We got to visit for a few minutes and I got to snuggle baby girl.  After dinner we watched the Andrew Schultz comedy special Life which was funny, but also he’s very crass… cussing and sexual jokes… which I didn’t know before watching this.  He has a podcast I often see clips of and didn’t think I was gonna hear all THAT.  Lol. 

I am reading… I’m still working on my current books, hoping to be done with the Roosevelt one before this week is over because I have three others to read from the library… got a little carried away there. #whatelseisnew

I am watching… Besides the comedy special, nuthin’. Dark Winds won't be out on Neflix for a while, and we ain't getting another subscription to see it sooner elsewhere.

I am hoping… to purchase rock for the yard after those trees are removed tomorrow!  So excited to be able to cross things off my 25 for 2025 list!!

I am listening to… wind chimes 🎶

Quote of the week… 

It's that time!

Recommendation of the Week… I want to say The Copa Boys, but we need to wait and see how well they do tomorrow with the tree removal.  Their reviews are all glowing though and they were very quick to respond, come out, and schedule the work.  Also, reasonably priced and ON TIME.  That’s a big deal with contractors.

This week’s happiness demerit… is that my Saturday started off on the wrong foot and I didn’t manage to check off all my list items.  

More importantly, I feel like this Lent was not spiritually profitable this year. Because Ash Wednesday was a mere two days after Sebastian got out of the hospital, we decided not to go because we were TIRED. I wound up getting sick with the stomach bug that night anyhow, so good choice. And it's NOT a holy day of obligation. But still, not going to church on that day feels so WRONG and it didn't really feel like Lent this year, nor was my heart in anything I did. I feel so emotionally dead inside, and I would say lukewarm/slothful even. Going to Mass used to bring me so much joy and be the highlight of my week and the last year or so, it's been more like a reminder of how my children do not practice their faith anymore (I failed as a mom), and we have no friends there (or anywhere, really) and because we live so far away we can't be involved or really get to know anyone anyways. Don't get me wrong, I still BELIEVE and love the Church. But I feel like I'm going through the motions lately and like God is so far away from me. Also, going out after Mass when I would rather be home taking a nap because I desperately need one, isn't helping. We haven't been to confession since right before Christmas, either, which is a record since we starting going to the TLM, I think. My potty mouth has returned, and I honestly don't even care about curbing my cussing tongue these days. Honestly, all areas of my life feel like they are crumbling. Even with Riley... after the hospital stay, I've felt like she's been more distant with me and I wonder if she's angry with me about something. I think she would tell me, but I'm not sure. I was seeing Athena and Riley at least twice a week and now maybe once if we're lucky. Everything just feels off and wrong. And I think I'm truly depressed. So, yeah... I'm not doing so great.

This week’s happiness gold star… THE TREES ARE BEING REMOVED TOMORROW!!!

One of my favorite things… The trees are being removed tomorrow.  

A few plans for the week… Enjoy our new treeless yard.  Ha ha.  Seriously, though.  Also, it’s Holy Week already and I don’t have an Easter dress yet.  Yikes.

This week in pictures… 

Gotta say, this plant is already blooming

prolifically and has been a big happiness booster

during a time when I desperately need it.

The other one hasn't bloomed yet so I'm a

little worried, but I'm definitely babying them

right now, so I will NOT let it die.  lol

This cactus was looking sick and I had to 

cut the part growing off the main arm

because it shriveled up and was turning black.

I bought cactus food and watered it and I THINK

it's recovering, but probably won't flower this year.

This one also got some TLC because it was

yellowing.  This is supposed to get flowers similar

to the one our neighbor has, below...

How pretty is this??

Speaking of neighbors, I LOVE what 

ours a block over did with their front porch area!

Speaking of loving stuff, look at what

Riley and Sebastian have been up to...

How cute is this little hall outside their bedroom?

And the planters she put outside their house?

So cute!!

Teddy got right on that new toy yesterday lol

Wade near the 'no wading' sign at Kiwanis park

HA HA HA

Short but hot walk today

The Sanchez fam visited the Easter bunny today.

Athena is not so sure.

Here's what I'm looking forward to 

NEVER seeing again once the trees are gone...

look at the pool!

Bye, Felicia!

Bye, monster Palo Verde!

First prickly pear of the season!!

I couldn't pick just one, she's too beautiful!

#sorrynotsorry

We got TWO flowers on the vinca this year!

#goodomen

Riley sent me these pics contrasting 

now and new baby Athena and I'm

NOT alright...

My biggest health obsession - light!

The perfect illustration!