A Freezing Weekend

Weekend, freakend, weakend, freezend, pleasend. Those where my thoughts on this past weekend.

Thursday proved to be ridiculously busy with back to back scheduling that went something like this:

7:45- Wake up
8:15- Drive Ev to School
8:50- Breakfast and make dinner (we had crockpot fajitas)
9:00- Grocery lists
9:30- Tidy house
9:45- Groom
10:00- Shop (Winco, Walmart, Dollar Store and Cash and Carry)
1:00- Put food away
2:15- Jane to Choir
4:00- Prep for CAP
4:45- CAP
9:30- Home (we ended up staying an hour late to run through ceremony processes for next week)

I kept perfectly with my schedule, fitting in a three minute shower and getting a 45 minute break in the afternoon... It was a crazy day, but kinda fun.

Friday: we cooked all day for the weekend. I got signed up to cook for Field Emergency Services Training (FEST) at CAP. The "kitchen" was a stove (partially working), oven (only got to 160-170 degrees) and a microwave (which we didn't use). There was no running water, no flushing toilets and the building was a balmy 45 degrees. Colder inside than outside.

I was super thankful for my brand new Cambro, which Mom and Dad got me for a gift over a year ago and I just now got to use it. It basically keeps food whatever temperature is it when you put it in. I made breakfasts from home and transported them in the Cambro. It kept it hot until service which was key since the building was practically the temperature of a fridge.

Anyway, Saturday was freezing cold, but all the food cooking went well. Sunday I switched out siblings. Jane came with me to help and Ian and Ev stayed behind to work on homework with the agreement to help me get all the dishes washed when I got home.

Hours later (and a good long nap) and I'm still trying to get my hands and feet to warm up all the way. It was so cold that for part of the day I was wearing two hoodies, with hand warmers (which I kept calling hot pockets, which is funny cause I've never had one before) in the pockets of the inner one.

I won't be doing that kind of thing anytime soon...

Sunday

Most Sundays are leisurely in our household. Yesterday was far from quiet. It could be categorized as chaotic. It started at 6:45. I had to admit I turned off my alarm and laid in bed for a moment wondering why in the world I had to get up this early.

By 8:00am, I was ready for the day, backpack multiple changes of clothes in hand. Said goodbye to Dad, who is out of state for the next few days and headed for Granite Falls and the Mountain Loop Highway. Starting in January, I'll be cooking for weekend activities there, so I needed to scope out the "kitchen"- it is barely qualified to be a proper kitchen... -_- Kinda disgusting and old. It should be an adventure.

From there, around 10:45am, I headed to Canyon Hills Community Church, barely making it to the 11:30am service with Gracie and Nick. I changed my shoes and shirt in the car at random stoplights as well as fixing my hair. I rather enjoyed the service and wish it was a closer church. We talked for about forty minutes after the service while waiting for the traffic to die down.

Gracie invited us to hang out at her house until dancing started, an offer Nick and I quickly accepted. Once dancing started, I learned the bare, bare basics of the dance that was taught before we ditched and went to find alpacas (which turned out to be llamas) and ended up wandering through the woods. many ferns and branches were thrown at each other...

Volleyball was right after the dance, and we headed that way to catch a game before dark. It was sad cause it was the last game I'll get to play this year since I'm leaving next Saturday. Nick, Gracie and I, after much thought (and little brains) ended up in the Target parking lot, towering candy corn and talking.

It is days like yesterday that make me happy and appreciate the little things in life.

The Art of Procrastination

Procrastination. Something everyone does despite how much they try. Some of the more experienced procrastinators use getting a cup of tea, using the bathroom or having conversations with family as ways of getting around the said work. Others use the procrastinated subject as incentive to get everything else completed - it is amazing how much fun dishes, grocery shopping or finances can be in comparison to that dreaded task. Others just blatantly do whatever else, leaving the task until the VERY last second.

The last week I have been building my resume in order to get a job. It was a very challenging experience overall, mostly because I have very little as far as actual paying jobs because I've done SO MUCH volunteer work. Anyway, it's the end of the "work" week and it is finally complete. Next step? Start applying to jobs in the local area.

Anyway, in procrastinating this week I:

-Did the week's worth of grocery shopping, which was also the first one of the new year, so it involved a LOT of restocking... Blah.... And I always "forget" to bring someone, so it takes me a while.

-Drove Ev to school 2 different days.

-Did random errands for Mother, including mailing a bunch of packages

-Cooked more meals and baked stuff too...

-That being said, the thing I did most to procrastinate was paint/write.

One of my favorite verses - and one that I need to practice more.

The moon was super bright the last two nights that it shone in my bedroom window. Which was my inspiration for this one. 

My bedroom temperature averages around 41 degrees. I sleep with 7-8 blankets including two down blankets, so I stay nice and toasty while I'm sleeping, but any additional time I spend out there is always freezing. But that is where my desk is and where I get privacy, so I brave the cold to paint. Hot chocolate always helps! 

So this is my art of procrastination...

This One Thing

This One Thing

Yet hope returns when

I remember

this one thing:

The Lord's unfailing

love and mercy

still continue, 

fresh as the morning,

as sure as the sunrise.

The Lord is all I have,

and so in him

I put my hope.

~Lamentations 3:21-24