Sound bytes

This weekend is the first fake Christmas. Man, it's way too early for this. I don't know what I do or don't have for anyone. I have Friday off, at least, and can try to pull myself together then.

The breakfast options served at my work have improved a million-fold since we got a new kitchen. I need to stop doing this, but justify it by having a smaller lunch instead. Because seriously - egg in a hole? Yes!

This week has felt like the longest week where I keep beating my head against the wall. People can't be that dumb, right?

Last night was the first Jr Knights practice for Beerman and C-man. C-man was thrilled to be back at it with this group. I'm glad he enjoys it.

Beerman is slowly improving since the great tumble. He proudly showed me he could lift his arm over his head today. Progress.

At least the Brewers are picking up some new players. Trump may be our president in Spring, but at least there's something hopeful...

Guess what time it is...

• C-man has been in club wrestling for 2 weeks. But this week starts his Jr Knights wrestling, too. That means he's just moved into 4 a week wrestling practices until Easter. Ahhh, can you smell it?
• Beerman fell two stories off a ladder yesterday while putting up a Christmas wreath. The ladder slipped out from under him. I'm cautiously optimistic that while he really jacked up his back, the knock to his head wasn't incredibly severe. But we're watching things...
• Coming back to work after 5 days isn't my favorite thing to do. When do I win that lottery?
• Thanksgiving was lovely this year. A smaller crowd than normal, but it all worked out. And after gorging on blackberry and cherry pie, we came home with the annual box of canned good from Grandma. It's hard to beat that with a stick.
• We winterized the bees. In other words, they got moisture quilts put on top, and a fence around them to block the wind. I have chosen, on the advice of my instructor, to not wrap them because it retains too much moisture. We'll see how that works out again. It's hard to believe this is my third season and winter.
• C-man has started meditating with me daily now. Hopefully it helps with some of the anxiety he's been feeling. You couldn't pay me to be a middle schooler again.
• I could really use a nap. Is it nap time yet?

Holiday week

• The Christmas cards are ordered. Ugh, I hate hitting print on these things. Invariably, I find a million things I want to change after I do, but whatever. It's done now. Maybe someday I'll have a family who does a nice photo for the card.
• Who am I kidding. We are not the nice family photo card people.
• The school has lice. Shudder. I already itch.
• I was without my computer for a day and a half at work. Do you know what you can do without a computer at work? Jack shit.
• C-man has forgotten to turn in his ski club information for over a week and a half. It's past the deadline. I told him to beg for forgiveness and turn it in today. I'm curious to see if his sad face did its magic.
• Thanksgiving is this week. So I've got to get my cranberries.
• But more importantly, I need to make my bee hive quilts so I can winterize the bees. I can't believe it's already time for that. I hope they make it.
• And now, have a lovely week.

2.9013

Researchers on happiness say that you should have 2.9013 happy interactions to unhappy or neutral ones. It's the critical positivity ratio. And I am in such a deficit this week, I can hardly stand it. I'm glad the weekend is almost here, because I can really use it. And because my body can't take much more of the donuts and frozen custard I've been feeding it.

My heart is sad

Oh, New Zealand. Such a beautiful place. Please heal quickly.

Today, we walked

We jingled. We walked. We laughed. We ate lunch. And it was sunny and fantastic and amazing. I'm ever thankful for those who were with me through it again this year.

Future

I have to find hope in our future. In the kid who said this morning, "We just have to be kind." Because Lord knows, we're screwing it up pretty fricking bad.

No words

When you look at who voted for whom, it's clear - white fear won. And that a country that was built on sticking it to the man is now afraid of that. We cannot sugarcoat this. White people were afraid. And they voted. Awful.

Today, I voted

Today, I voted.

I voted for the economy
I voted for control over my own body
I voted for inclusion
I voted for education
I voted for the climate
I voted for diplomacy
I voted for all the little girls
I voted for all the old ladies
I voted for love
And most importantly, I voted for the world I want my son to live and grow in.

I choked up a little when I made that little circle dark black. She isn't all things I want her to be. But that's okay. Because it's close enough. And that's what democracy is about.

'merica.

At least I got extra sleep

It's been happening

I know, it's been a while since I've stopped by. Things have been crazy and routine all at the same time. Halloween has come and gone. You know, the one where we went to a party at a friend's house and C-man had to have a gorilla costume but then was embarrassed to wear it so only wore the head. Then there was the end of season football banquet with the horribly awful food and too long of speeches. There was a full reorg at work that's made things sucky, but it's at least my 5th one, so I know it will be what it is. And there have been dog baths and dog parks. There have been laundry loads done and poke drives made. There's been obsessive checking of fivethirtyeight, which is making me sick with worry. But I even finally got to Coleman to start the winterizing of the bees. It crazily, was too warm to finish, but hey - I have 4 hives again! (Did they come back? Was it a new hive?)

So, you know, life. It's been happening.

Thursday Thirteen

1. It's open enrollment time at work. You know, the time to find out how screwed you are on health insurance. Anyone who thinks this system is the right one needs a slap to the face.
2. Saturday is the last football game of the season. I'm glad.
3. It's supposed to rain at game time. Oh goody.
4. It's the last night of football practice. You know, the last night of me having a couple hours of quiet in the house to pick up and watch the TV I want to watch.
5. No World Series to watch tonight. If the Cubs win, I'll vomit. Literally. All those sanctimonious Cubs fans are going to make me physically ill. Because honestly, a large market SHOULD be able to buy themselves a team. So let Cleveland have the glory.
6. PLEASE, let Cleveland have this glory.
7. We have a new cafeteria at work that serves mini donuts. Freshly fried mini donuts. I've been restrained so far, but man, they're tempting.
8. Beasley turned 6 this month. We only know he was born in October, not the date. I guess we should celebrate with a liver cake or something.
9. I need to get up to see my bees. I was hoping this weekend, although we have a party on Sunday. So Packers and party it is.
10. A lot of people at work are sick. I wish they'd stay home. It's like a ticking time bomb over my head.
11. I've almost binged through House of Lies. I like it and hate it all at the same time.
12. Adults don't wear costumes to the party we're going to on Sunday. I have a Little Red Riding Hood costume. I'm still not sure if I'll wear it. It seems wrong, being trick or treat and all.
13. I think I need those donuts today...

It's raining, it's pouring, the tin man isn't moving

It's so cold and rainy, they're not holding football practice. Honestly, this blows. I can barely move.

Randoms

It's the last week of football, and I'm really ready for it to end. It feels like it has gotten so serious this year. I'm not sure why, but it doesn't seem nearly as fun as previous years. I'm hoping wrestling doesn't take the same turn. I understand as you age, it becomes more important. But it'd be sad if it was also less fun, too.

We have to buy a new lawnmower. I've been researching the best ones. This is so exciting. I really love mowing the lawn.

I've been checking fivethirtyeight's stats obsessively because I just can't believe this is all going to turn out for us in both the presidency and Senate.

Only 3 days of work left. Man, I've really got to figure this work happiness thing out.

5 more days

• Football on Saturday was an absolute disaster. It was like these kids had never played before. Ugh.
• C-man and I went to see Goosebumps at First Stage yesterday. Meh. Granted, we're pretty harsh critics since we've seen so many. Also, musicals aren't our jam. But still, it was a middle of the road show.
• He was most angry at some kids behind us making fun of a man with obvious special needs. I was most angry at their parents who didn't shut it down. So disappointing.
• I tried to mow our lawn this weekend, but the mower is on its last legs. Time to get a new one.
• It's the last week of football, which is hard to believe. But then I was quickly reminded that wrestling starts in November this year. Good Lord....
• Which also means Santa can't bring wrestling shoes this year. Darn. That was a solid gift.
• Only 5 days until the weekend. Whoot!

Can it just be over now

The election is almost here. We all know the ins and outs of it. And it's particularly annoying to me, because I could have voted ages ago, and it would be the same result. (Honestly, climate change alone is enough of a reason to run screaming from the Republicans) But I've found a different sort of annoyance about this election beyond all the obvious stuff - and it's with non-Americans.

I love to travel. I love governmental systems and processes. And I love just that overall awareness of being a citizen of the world. I often follow random political happenings around the world, because I just find it totally fascinating.

But never have I felt the need to start imposing my external views and posting about it on Facebook. Or Twitter.

Yet never have I felt the need to intimate that said country is dumb for choosing the way they did, or should have done something different. And yet, my Facebook and Twitter feeds are filled with this kind of talk. Canadians in particular are constantly popping off about what we should and shouldn't do. (I mean honestly, they had Harper for years, and I didn't post article after article about it.) I see other nationalities posting "funny" memes, that aren't really funny at all when taken into context. (You don't see me obsessively bagging on the antiquated monarchy system bunches of countries have, do you? No, because it's their choice.) And yes, I saw the whole JK Rowling nuclear code tweet and all the people cheering for her. But I still stand with the fact that she's totally wrong.

Yes, our election is important. Possibly one of the most important of the whole world based on history and position. But still, those who don't have a vote in the matter should sit down and be quiet about it. Because it isn't their country. It isn't their decision. And they shouldn't be imposing their values on us like they always accuse when it's reversed.

I guess I equate it to the whole 'I can bag on my sister, but will punch you in the mouth when you decide you can do it'. And after two years of this nonsense, I'm feeling a little angry with all the sanctimony.

Whew. I feel better now.

Thursday Thirteen Things to Do Today

1. Meditate. After I got all committed to doing it, I totally forgot to follow through this morning. I've had a killer headache for two days, and it's really distracted me.
2. Get people to sign up for my Cotton Headed Ninny Muggins team. I'm the Adult Champion this year, and my team is pretty appallingly small. I don't even have enough people to get our names on the back. Boo.
3. Hold an interview. Stick a fork in me. I hate doing interviews.
4. Get Beasley to the vet. He's overdue for his annual visit, and been coughing a lot. I'm worried.
5. Go to teachers' conferences. This is going to be an interesting one. After a rough first few weeks, I think C-man's settled in. He got 100% on his last math and science tests. So that's something.
6. Walk 4 kilometers. I have another 10k Pokemon egg (those are the potentially good ones), and I'm all exzcited to see what hatches from it.
7. Get a coffee. And a water. This headache is not going anywhere anytime soon. Man, I never got headaches like this before. I'm finding it really irritating.
8. Get a birthday present for a friend. He's having a surprise party thrown for him on Saturday. I always struggle with these things because I don't want to show up empty handed.
9. Call CarMax to make sure they've titled our truck correctly. We financed through US Bank, and CarMax inconveniently forgot to submit the right paperwork. Just one more thing...
10. Figure out what we're having for dinner tonight, because it'll have to be ready in front of the Packers game as soon as the boys get home from practice.
11. Remember to take my label maker home. We have to label our water pipes 'municipal' and 'well' to pass inspection. So dumb. At least I like using my label maker.
12. Get a new profile picture for my Facebook page. It's been the same one for a while, and I want a new one. I guess that means I should take photos of something other than football teams right now.
13. Take more Advil. Honestly, this headache is killing me.

Focus

October is over halfway gone. There's one (possibly two) weekends of KnightCats football left. The geese are all flying southward in their lopsided Vs. It's the time of year I like the least - the days are short, the weather cool and makes me achy, everyone starts to get sick, and the hectic nature of beer festivals and school make everything a little bit crazier. As is the tendency this time of year, I find it harder to be happy. Harder to find the joy in the little things. Harder to be patient and easy going. The sleep is more difficult, and the eating gets crappier.

I'm trying really, really hard to change that, though. I'm really focused on not getting angry so quickly, at slowing down and listening to what's going on around me, and taking more walks when I'm able. Part of that has included meditating more often, something I've really found to be helpful. I'm determined to not fall into a pit of despair this winter, which means I've got to start not sliding into that dark hole now.

I think as soon as C-man goes to college, we need to move somewhere warm and sunny. Belize, here we come...

And now I rest

Yesterday was an eventful one. Of course, there was football. It was an excellent day of football for this 7th grade team. After a tough first quarter, the KnightCats dominated against an undefeated team. It was so good, that C-man got to carry the ball three separate times - his favorite thing. Nana made the long trip to watch him, which, of course, made it even better.

After the game, we raced home to finish setting up for the annual Fall Fest. We ate brisket and chicken marsala and drank lots of good stuff, laughed often, and watched Spaceballs. It is an annual tradition that is so much work. But it always is such a great reminder that we are surrounded by so many good people. And since we've done this for 7 years now, we've gotten so much better at the logistics. Once the tent dries from the rain that came overnight, we'll even be all put away.

But now, I rest. And edit photos. And watch the Packers.

Seven Things for Tuesday actually on Wednesday because I forgot to hit publish yesterday

1. Fall fest is this weekend. That's when we invite a bunch of people to the house (47 are coming this year), feed them under a tent, and show a movie.
2. This year's movie is Spaceballs. I'm so glad these kids are old enough to show the good movies.
3. We have hardly done anything for this party. Sigh. Time to kick it into gear.
4. Friday, I'm going to be taking the all football program team photo. I'm really nervous about this.
5. Beerman's phone finally broke. The thing was so old, I'm surprised it didn't have a rotary dial on it. But anyhow, it's really weird to not be able to text him.
6. I went to the chiropractor for the first time in ages. I felt like I needed a smoke and a nap after. Man, I love the chiropractor.
7. This is what Beerman has been saying for years about arthritis, but it is a pretty great article that actually names the bacteria. Oldish article, but new to me.