Scattered Sundays and Meal Plan
Me: what is that horrible smell in Jack’s room?
Troy: huh?
Me: it smells like 40 people farting after Oktoberfest.
Troy: oh, that is called boy room smell. It’s only going to get worse.
Sigh. I come from the land of girls. While I don’t want someone in my house who smells like a Bath & Body Works, beer garden farts isn’t really my jam either. It freaking reeks people.
A few weeks ago I mentioned that I went to see a dear friend on hospice. She was unresponsive the entire time and basically seemed asleep. Truth be told, I didn’t want to go. I was having a hard time separating it from my mom’s passing and I just wasn’t up for it. We had found out about my friend’s cancer two days before we found out about my mom’s. Their experiences are very intertwined to me. I pulled up my big girl panties and went. I stayed for over an hour, holding her hand, and telling stories with her husband. Before I left, I gave her a kiss on her forehead and told her I loved her.
I found a few days after that trip that she passed away the day after I visited.
To say that my heart is feeling battered and bruised after this year is an understatement. Grief is a funny thing and watching two incredibly strong people whom I dearly love essentially wither away has been profound in my life. I wish I had something impactful and life-changing to say about going through these experiences. But I don’t. I just know that my belief in surrounding yourself with people whom you love has been strengthened exponentially. Find your tribe. Your ride or die group and stick to them. Treat them well. Make them treat you well. Love someone deeply and more than yourself. Give back to others, and tell people you love and appreciate them every chance you get.
I was in Denver last weekend and it was a lovely trip. Jack was bitter beyond belief that he couldn’t come with me, as he has an amazing time whenever we go. But I needed some time away from reality and it was both necessary and appreciated. Troy was a rockstar with the boys in my absence.
My flight out there was perfect. The woman sitting next to me basically listened to podcasts the whole time and didn’t bother me. I’m sure somewhere she telling someone about the awesome chick sitting next to her who didn’t bother her. We were ideal traveling companions. Oh, and my bestie John Lithgow and I rode the escalator from the Denver airport to the awesome public train that takes you to the city and surrounding suburbs.
Saturday brought a nice morning walk, lunch (where I saw the Governor of Colorado who is a fabulous Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me! guest), and lots of reading. I finished this book in less than 24 hours and thought it was wonderful. It is free through the Kindle Owners Lending Library. I started this book and while it is absolutely fascinating (such a history nerd), it is dryer than a bucket of sand. I’m having a hard time getting through it, but I know I want to because the topic and historic elements are so interesting. I’ve already learned so much more about the founding of our country than I ever heard about in history class.
Saturday night I made dinner, which honestly wasn’t too great. I turned to Pinterest to find something that would mesh with the various food restrictions I was working with. The recipe looked delicious but was missing some key elements. We ended up dumping sriracha on it and it was ok. But in the end, it inspired my One Pan Teriyaki Chicken Dinner, so not all was lost! My version is everything I wanted the other recipe to be, but wasn’t.
Sunday I started my morning out running two miles in the neighborhood around Snooze (try their cinnamon roll pancakes!). And my heart didn’t explode from the elevation. But my right ankle really started to hurt that day. More on this later. After my run and extended walk, we had breakfast at Anne’s house (leftover eggs, bacon, fruit, and a freshly baked ginormous cinnamon roll from Denver Biscuit Company). Some more reading on the couch happened, and then we left for lunch (more inspiration for an upcoming meal post!) and a hike at Three Sisters near Evergreen, Colorado.
After our hike, we headed home. Anne needed to do some work prep for an event that week, so I decided to take another walk in the neighborhood. I stopped by Trader Joes for a few items Anne was running low on (sriracha!), and it felt nice to keep up the physical movement. When I started the walk, I think I was around 20k steps per my FitBit. When I was about 10 blocks away from her house on my return trip, my legs were like “nope, we’re done”. It was a much slower walk at the very end. I ended that day at 28.5k steps; my highest ever.
Dinner was at an awesome small plate taco place. I had the Stella Pork Carnitas, The Situation, and two, count them two, Bacon and Jalapeno griddled tacos. Delicious!! After dinner, we walked around the Stanley Marketplace (I wish this setup was replicated across the country) and did some window shopping.
Back home on Monday to some sweet and happy boys. Bennett gave me the stares for the first 10 minutes of my return. Jack gave me a big hug.
I had been doing great about eating just one sweet a day up until my trip. It was super manageable and each sweet I ate tasted like a treat. I had a few extra goodies while traveling and didn’t quite break out of the pattern when I got back. Let’s just say I don’t have a Nutella problem…but Nutella sure has a Sarah problem. So, as of 11:59 pm tonight, I am back on the once a day bandwagon.
One of the weird things about being on vacation by myself is that I slept like utter crap. The bed was comfy, the room was perfect, and there was no baby monitor to disrupt my sleep. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized I didn’t have my Sleep Aid that I have been using for months. Now listen, I like essential oils and have used them for years. However, I don’t think they will change the world or solve every problem in your life. Many of the companies are shady af and seem to only benefit the people at the top of the pyramid schemes that is the world of multi-level-marketing. But this Sleep Aid stuff seems to help me and I’m a notoriously shitty sleeper. It isn’t a slam dunk every night, but overall I would say my sleep has improved since my friend Angela sent me some as a gift. I don’t sell this stuff, but I do like it and recommend it. If you choose to buy it through my link on Amazon then I would earn a whopping $.18. So, big stakes for me to convince you to buy it. Lol.
So, let’s talk more about my running. You’re like “yes please. Tell me more. Zzzzzz”. If you remember, my goal at the start of October was to run 31 miles by the end of the month. It worked out to one mile a day (I’m good at math). Due to weekends and some days where the wind was so crazy and I didn’t feel safe having Bennett out in the stroller, I ended up doubling up many days and running two miles. Things were going well, but I never really liked it. I didn’t hate it as much as I thought, but I didn’t enjoy it. During that run in Denver, my right ankle and Achilles tendon were starting to get sore. On Tuesday during my run, it started hurting like a mofo. I mustered through and did some ankle stretches that night. The next day, during my second mile, my ankle was freaking done. DONE.
I am no one to give up. Ever. I have gotten through some of the hardest moments of my life because I am stubborn and just refuse to quit. I resolved to do better stretches and just keep going. Then, I was kneeling to give Bennett a bath that evening, and I leaned back on my heels for a moment and straight up screamed. Like a freaking girl, because it hurt that badly.
And just like that, my “Fucks Left to Give Meter” shot straight to zero and I decided I was done with this running challenge. Could I have kept going? Sure. Should I have kept going? Hell no. I set out to do the running challenge to prove that I could. I hadn’t run a mile in years. And by the time I quit, I had run 19 miles (plus loads more at Jack’s soccer practices with the kids). That isn’t giving up, it’s being smart. Permanently effing up my ankle to prove that I could do an asinine challenge would just be beetle-headed. And so I quit! And my walks the next two days were freaking awesome. No pressure, no pain. Just sunshine and fresh air.
Facebook has been a real douche this week. The business app on my phone was acting erratically so I deleted it and then reinstalled it. No dice; it won’t let me log back on. It looks like this is a common problem from what I have read. I can get on the platform on my computer, but it’s clunky.They also seemed to have changed their formula for which readers get to see what. As a result, my traffic from Facebook has plummeted this week. So my dear Facebook community, I have not forsaken you. I’m just being locked out of the party. I always update Instagram with my newest posts as well, so peep me over there.
Did I just say peep me? Don’t worry about saying anything. I already hate myself for that. It won’t happen again.
Did you get a chance to read all my posts this week? If not, let’s catch up! Well I mean, “let’s” implies an us situation. I am already caught up. I know what I posted.
Instant Pot Beef Stew (includes slow cooker instructions for those without an Instant Pot). By the way, the Instant Pot is currently 20% off right now.
fun fact: the stew was stone cold out of the fridge in this photo. Bennett was getting handsy and I didn’t want him to grab a fistful of hot stew. It’s our secret, right?
Pssst: Cooooooold soup here too! And I needed something to break up the total redness of it all. I mixed sour cream with a little water and drizzled it on top. And then after my photos, I scrapped the sour cream off (barf), heated up the soup and straight up destroyed it. Yum.
Air Fryer Fried Tofu With Orange Sauce (this sauce is everything!)
One Pan Teriyaki Chicken Dinner
A busy and delicious week for me!
Meal Plan time!
Monday:: A new one pan dinner I’m working on. I’ll share if it isn’t a colossal disaster. And if it is? I’ll take pictures. 🙂
Tuesday:: Halloween! My sis is “cooking” dinner. She’s bringing Subway. 🙂
Wednesday:: Homemade Ramen. Jack requested it. Who knew?
Thursday:: Breakfast skillets! New thing I am working on. Looking forward to sharing. Unless of course it is a total cluster.
Friday:: Popcorn, leftovers, and movie night.
Saturday:: Tomato soup, rolls, and salad.
Sunday:: Family dinner
What are you having this week?
Appreciating people every chance you get is awesome advice!
As for the boy smell, it is indeed nasty. When my sons aren’t home (or “weren’t” home – one has moved out – sad face — he’s 23, moved out for school 4 years ago, and I’m still adjusting) I would air out their rooms and put lemon essential oil in a diffuser. When they commented on the lemon I Mom-lied that it was Lemon Pledge.
I love lemon essential oils for just that reason!
Living that “it sucks to lose people” phase myself. So sorry for you.
Then I was so happy to see Captain America come to my rescue, and had just said, “I wish All Captain Americas wore THAT costume,” when Bennett started laughing at me!
White Trash started off to be a promising book, but deteriorated as if the author was, himself, bored with the subject. He didn’t even explain the term “Honky” – I was so looking forward to that! ; )
A better book, although on a different subject, is THE DEATH OF EXPERTISE by Thomas Nichols. It was a free online resource at my local library, although I am not a neighbor, so you’ll have to see what you can do.
I’m sorry about your own experiences, and I hope life evens out and becomes peaceful for you.
Ah crap, so White Trash never gets better? The dry part is the good part? Oy. I’ll look for the Death of Expertise at our library!
As usual your post made me go thru so many emotions. I seriously love how you share your ups and downs. You are just you and we love reading about someone else stuggling thru each week like the rest of us!
How do you use the sleep aid? In a diffuser? On a cotton ball?
Have you thought of charcoal for Jacks room? When my brother lived with us I swore something had died in his room. I got charcoal from a big box store and hid it in stuff all thru the room, under bed and his closet.
So sorry about losing your friend. Life sucks so hard sometimes. With winter and the holidays coming you will have many more crappy days missing both of them. To me it shows how wonderful a person they were to be so truly missed.
Take care of yourself (ankle included). Don’t beat yourself up over crap. I alone own the rights to that game, lol.
Hugs from PA
May we all find a few weeks in our lives where there are no struggles.
I use the sleep aid on a cotton ball. I don’t have a diffuser and Troy doesn’t love the smell of the Sleep Aid so having it all over the room wouldn’t be the best for everyone.
I haven’t thought about charcoal. Never would have occurred to me! What an interesting concept and something I’d totally be willing to try.