I am FINALLY posting about my days off. They were a long time coming, and at the same time, I wasn't as prepared for them as I would like to be. The problem with having busy weekends and no days off is that when you finally do have a day (or two) off, there are WAAAAY too many things that you would like to do, and no possible way to do them all. Unless you're not tired. If I had no need for sleep, I would have pulled all nighters and crafted to my heart's content. But rest was a pretty important to-do on my days off wish list. It's what I should have done first. But here is how the weekend went:
Remember when I said in my last post that I would be running the school by myself on the Friday before my long weekend? I was alone because the owners were in Hawaii and Michelle had to go on an all day field trip. Well, Friday wasn't too bad. No puking children were sent to the office, no teacher called up and said they were sick and needed to go home, and only one tour came in. The sickness is tricky, but a tour coming in when you can't leave the office is really a shame. There are a lot of good things that I can say about our school while standing at the front counter. But it is so much better to take a family around the school and SHOW them what I mean... the joyful children, the loving teachers, the fun activities. But there are certain times of day, and occasionally entire days, when there's just no way to show someone around. The tour was a grandmother doing some research for her daughter who is moving to town soon. She was super sweet and I think that we will see her again. So all in all, Friday wasn't bad.
But the owners being out of town all week. Man. I was so worn out. They were out of town a lot this summer, but something about last week really took it out of me. I was exhausted. So my long weekend started off with me being a zombie.
I wish that we had had no plans last weekend. I wish that I had had the ability to really have those four days to use any way that I wanted to. But on Saturday, I had a baby shower to go to. Again. It was my 6th shower in a season of baby showers that is fuller than any I have experienced before. Now I'm not going to lie. Typically, I don't love showers, bridal or baby. When it is someone close to me, who I love dearly, like a family member or one of my best friends, a shower can be a really fun time of celebration. But when it is someone who is a friend, but not a close friend, and I know, at most, half of the people at the shower, they can be uncomfortable places for me. I am fat. And I am 30 with no children. Two things in my life that I am struggling deeply with. And two things that always seem to be on display at a crowded, awkward baby or bridal shower.
So I wasn't really looking forward to last weeks baby shower. I didn't know how many people I would know and we had very little money, so buying a gift would be a sacrifice. But this shower had a few things going for it. One, it was at a restaurant. The public setting felt like an equalizer. None of us would be any more of less comfortable than anyone else. We would all be using silverware that didn't belong to us and we would all have to ask "excuse me, where is the restroom". So that was a plus. Also, it was come and go, which meant I didn't need to feel bad about being late or leaving early. And finally, I really love the girl who the shower was being thrown for. We are not especially close. We have never hung out, just the two of us, and only once have she and her husband gone to lunch with me and my husband. But we both know that we could be close. We have known it since we first met. From the outside, we couldn't be more different. She is tall and thin and exotic. And I am not. But we are both Lord loving altos and we share similar loves for life. Kindred spirits if you will.
So that is how my weekend started. I went to a baby shower. Well, first I drove to Dallas to find Buy Buy baby and then was so overwhelmed in the store that I bought the first thing on her registry that I could find. I spent $23 and an hour stuck in traffic on 635, but it was worth it. The shower was small, and I am glad that I went.
The baby shower was very close to a movie theater that I like, and there was a perfectly timed showing of one of the movies that I wanted to see, so after the shower I went and saw 50/50. I am so glad that I did! I enjoyed it very much. I cried a LOT, but not because it was crazy sad, I think I just needed to get some tears out. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one of those actors who I like more and more each time I see him. And Seth Rogen is hilarious. I know he tends to play vulgar characters, but he is somehow endearing in spite of that. He just seems like a nice guy.
This movie theater is on the side of town where the good Target and Ross are, so after the movie I did some fast shopping. Brett's mom, who is known for having fits of generosity, had given me a gift card to use on my days off. I am making her a thank you card tonight. It was very kind of her and definitely made my days off less stressful. I still put some clothes on the credit card though. There was just no getting around it. I needed new clothes. Some of my clothes just weren't fitting any more and some of them I have had so long, they are faded and just look old. I hate walking into work in clothes that embarrass me. I didn't find anything at Ross, but at Target I got a pair of jeans that are the PERFECT length, finally! And a shirt that I love, and a thing to wear over tank tops or short sleeve shirts. Three much needed items.
Then I had to do the last of our grocery shopping, then I headed home. Brett was a little grumped that I had left him at home all day. He didn't say it, but I still knew it. I know he doesn't like to sit at home while I am out doing things. It's one of the ways that we are different. I thoroughly enjoy occasional time to myself. He rarely desires time to himself. But when I made the plans that I did for that day, he had plans of his own. But he cancelled those plans. I felt bad, but was honestly too tired to feel too bad. So that was the day.
Sunday was busy. We had church in the morning, which Brett didn't go to because he had some last minute work to do for the final session of his Bible study that afternoon, and he had some last minute prep to do for the dish that he made for the potluck lunch we had after church at the pastor's house. I picked him up after church and we went to the lunch. I was there for an hour, but I had to leave right before lunch was served. I left early to finally go to one of my niece's soccer games. I'm so glad that I did. She is adorable and I enjoy watching soccer. It's the only sport that I ever played, so it's the sport that I understand the most.
The game was in Southlake, so I rode with my parents. After the game, they were kind enough to stop at a Joann's. This was GREAT! I had a craft that I wanted to make and there is not a fabric store in the city that I live, so I was planning to drive to Lewisville on Monday, but going on Sunday saved me a lot of time and it was great to have my mom there to help me pick out fabric. I made a wall hanging. I bought 7 embroidery rings and some fabric that I like and glued the fabric to the rings and hung it on the wall over our couch. Like everything I make, it is full of flaws. The fabric isn't smooth in several spots. But I still love all of the colors. And I'm happy to finally have something on that wall. And I only spent about $25 dollars making it. And honestly, flaws and all, it looks like me. Our living room is full of electronics and boy furniture. Not a piece of it is something that I would pick if I were building my dream living room. But now there is something in there that looks like I chose it. Because I did!
After the trip to the craft store, I went to the final session of the Bible study that Brett has been teaching at church. It was a busy day, and once again, Brett was grumped because we were busy and apart, and this time he let me know it. But ended the day on a good note, I think.
That night, I think I stayed up a little, but again, just because I could. Not to do anything special.
I started the day Monday absolutely exhausted. This is the bummer about my long weekend. I wish that I had had less to do on Saturday and Sunday because, even though I did several things from my "days off wish list" on Monday, I was so tired, I didn't enjoy them like I could have. This would have been a much better weekend for my long weekend because we have absolutely nothing that we absolutely have to do. I had a church activity on the calendar today, but I skipped it and at the moment, I don't feel bad about it. But when I chose my days off, I had to look at the work calendar and find days where there weren't a ton of other people off. So last week was my best choice.
Monday, I got up about 8:00. Or was it 8:30? A totally decent time to wake up. I took a shower and did a few things on my computer and then headed to work. Not to work, but because I needed to drop off something that I took home on Friday. Then I went to Cato.
As a plus size girl, there aren't a ton of places where I can buy clothes. Lane Bryant is awesome, but it is pricey. The Avenue is a less expensive version of Lane Bryant, but the clothes are also less my taste. Target, Kohl's and Ross are all hit or miss. But there is one more store in town that I sometimes check. I first discovered Cato in college, and I have tons of happy memories of shopping there with my girlfriends. I used to consider it another "hit or miss" store, but I think it may have crossed over for me. I don't go there very often, but right now, it is drowning in cuteness. So many cute clothes!!! I didn't find everything that I would have liked to, but my wardrobe is a lot better off now than it was a week ago. I found black work pants, gray work pants, a brown skirt, a pair of funky silver flats, and a fake leather jacket. I really like it all. I wish I had found one more top, but I have nothing to complain about.
I hated putting both shopping trips on the credit card. That poor card. But what's done is done. And it shouldn't happen again for a long while.
After Cato, I rushed across town to meet Brett for lunch. It was nice to see him in the middle of the day =-) We both enjoyed it. After I sat with him while he ate lunch, I headed to Dallas to eat lunch outside at my favorite Mexican restaurant. The weather wasn't quite as cool as I would have liked for my days off, but it was still nice enough to eat outside, which was high up on my days off wish list. Brett hates eating outside. But I find that when I am alone, eating outside can be incredibly relaxing. So I had the Plato Chapala at Pappasitos and then headed up the highway to another theater to see Footloose. I LOVED this movie. Not because it is amazing cinema, but because it was so much fun. Practically the twin of the original movie, just slightly updated. I grew up watching the original because my dad loves it. I still had a bit of "need to cry" in me, so I let that happen in the movie, and then headed home.
Monday night, I did some crafting. I made a collage for Jennifer's birthday present, and worked on the wall hanging. And then Brett and I went to the midnight launch at Best Buy for Batman, Arkham City. Brett goes to midnight launches, probably once a season. Whenever a game is worth it. But I haven't been in a long time. They are always on Monday nights because new games come out on Tuesdays. But at this job, I just can't stay up that late on a Monday night. I would be fighting for energy the rest of the week, and this is not a job you can do with low energy. But since I was off on Tuesday, I went with him.
That was definitely interesting. It's too much to tell in this already too long blog, but maybe someday I will give you a peek into that world.
We were home by 12:30. Brett had a few hours off on Tuesday morning so we stayed up another hour or so to check out the game. Then we crashed. I was finally tired enough for some serious sleep.
Tuesday morning I didn't get out of bed until 9:30. I had plans to meet Jennifer for lunch at Olive Garden at 11:30, so I took my time getting ready and then enjoyed a wonderful lunch with her and her sweet baby girl, Emily. Emily is gorgeous =-) Just the thought of her makes me smile, every time.
I had asked Jennifer to bring me some books to read and she came through like a champ! She brought me 7! One of them is The Help, which I have been wanting to read since I saw the first trailer for the movie a year and a half ago. I haven't bought new books in a long time. Longer than I realized now that I sit and think about it. As soon as we left Olive Garden, I ran one last errand and then did the thing on my wish list that is one of my all time favorite things to do. I went and got a venti iced pumpkin chai at Starbucks and sat in their comfy leather chair reading a good book. I have barely been able to put the book down all week. I am loving every page.
When I got home, I put in one of my favorite movies, The Holiday, and finished my wall hanging. When Brett got home I watched him play Batman. We went to bed around 10:30. And that was it.
Tuesday was a MUCH better day than Monday. It's the best day I've had in a while. I have been really fighting some heavy emotions lately, and I knew as soon as I opened my eyes on Tuesday morning, that some of those feelings were subsiding. I felt some relief.
The three day work week was another great gift. And then this lazy day we are having today... it's so peaceful. Brett is snoring across the hall, and I am going to go slip into bed and read another chapter or two.
Tonight we are grilling fajitas =-) How's that for a happy ending?
No comments:
Post a Comment