I’m back! Did you miss me? I have a rare weekend where we do not have much on the calendar, so I have been doing all of the things I do not have a chance to normally accomplish – like thoroughly cleaning the house, writing, cooking, etc. It has been so wonderful to take my time and properly do these things. It gives me a sense of peace and satisfaction too. It is weekends like these that make me realize I would be much happier not working. Alas, college is staring us in the face, so work I must.
Daylight Savings Time sucks.
I just had to get that out of the way. I know others love it, and that is perfectly fine. I tend to detest this time of year and will not feel better until next fall when it goes away. I don’t have enough time in the day as it is that to lose another hour just really, really irks me.
Last weekend was crazy but in a good way. The dance competition was ever bit as exhausting as I expected it to be. Insanely early mornings (6ish on Saturday, 7ish on Sunday) followed by late nights (12ish on Friday, 1ish on Saturday) along with hours of dance made for a tiring week. By the time we got home on Sunday night, Holly was barely awake, and I literally had to help remind her what she needed to do. There were tears of exhaustion, but in a good way. I know she had fun. The team performed as a whole very, very well. As with any competition, there were some issues with inconsistent scoring that frustrated the girls and the parents, but I could not be more proud of them. They brought their A game to all 20 dances and performed them as well as they ever have.
While Holly and I all about dance, Jim surprised Connor with a trip to Houston to visit his family. There was an ulterior motive behind this trip as the real surprise was the car we bought Connor. It is always handy having a manager of an auto repair shop in the family, as he was able to find us exactly what we wanted for an ultra-low price. Plus, he knew the owner of this car and his shop had done all the maintenance work on it over its lifetime, so we know the entire history of the car – no hiding of accidents. A 2003 Toyota Camry with 100+ miles on it with one owner in immaculate condition and a manual transmission all for $4k = total bargain and perfect for a new driver. Plus, Connor had the entire drive back to Wisconsin to work on learning how to drive a stick and get in a lot of hours towards his time requirement. It was a win-win, and I know he is excited and even more anxious to get his license.
A few weeks ago, Jim discovered that life never stops throwing things at you, as he was approached by a former employee about a potential position at a company that is less than two miles from our house. Even though he is happy in his current role and with the company at large, he figured he had nothing to lose and went through the entire interview process. What he was offered by this company was honestly too good to ignore, so on Tuesday, he officially turned in his resignation and will be starting this new job the first week in April. This could be huge for us, as they are talking about making him a VP and one of four people in charge of the company as soon as possible. The sentence, “You may be able to quit your job” was thrown out there, and there is almost no travel. I personally could not be happier – especially if that quitting my job thing comes true – and I love the idea that he will no longer travel for months on end. I know he is nervous but the chances for him to make a huge difference are large, and that means a lot to him. Exciting changes all around!
I tried to keep up with posting over the past two weeks and believe I did fairly well. I of course kept up with the What Are You Reading? posts during week one and week two. I even posted Fabulous Friday posts during week one and week two. I only managed one What’s For Dinner? post, but that’s okay because one week was really boring. As for reviews, I shared my thoughts on The Taker, The Madwoman Upstairs, The Last Days of Magic, and The Passenger. Finally, I posted an update on my WHOLE journey in Making the Grade: #oneword Update for February.
As for today, Holly does have three hours of dance. While she is gone, I need to hit the grocery store; I actually have a menu planned for this week but need the ingredients to follow through with it. Then, our washing machine finally decided to cannibalize itself after sounding like death for the past few months. The kids never got the chance to do their laundry this week, so we need to get a new one pronto. I have plans to write a few reviews and get caught up on email and commenting since I did the household stuff yesterday. It is a rainy Sunday, so it makes it a perfect day to do such things.
I hope everyone is having a relaxing Sunday. Have a great week, and I will see you here next week!
I always have a tough time adjusting to DLS as well but I appreciate the longer evenings. It’s so nice to be able to go on walks with the girls before dinner…even though in a month or so I’ll have to convince them that YES you do need to go to bed even though Mr Sun is still awake.
The job opportunity for Jim sounds amazing!! If you quit your job would you look for something else? And driving from Houston to Wisconsin! Wow!!! That’s some major bonding time. The furthest north we’ve driven is Sioux Falls, SD–though looking at the map it looks like that might be further north than you are? But add 5 hours from Houston to Dallas and OMG! 🙂
If this role with Jim pans out and I can quit, there is no way I would look for anything else. I would just enjoy the time I have left with the kids and relax. There is so much I want to do that I just cannot do these days. I highly doubt I would be bored. Plus, I’ve made friends with several of the dance moms who do stay home as well, so I can see doing things with them too.
We have driven from Houston to Wisconsin several times. We used to do it from Cincinnati at least once a year. It isn’t horrible but it isn’t easy. We like to drive because flying is not only expensive but even more miserable than staying in the car for hours on end.
Daylight Savings Time DOES suck. Now when I leave for work in the morning it is dark as hell and I no longer trust cars not to hit me when I am pedestrian-ing it across streets (even with the signal light on my side).
Congratulations to Jim! And Connor for learning stick! And Holly for being such a great dancer! And you for keeping it all together! Props all around!
Aw, thanks Jenny!
What a busy but productive week. What a great opportunity for Jim! And Connor got a car! That dance weekend sounded like my zombie track weekend. There was one point during leaders cs kids where I just got down on the floor and collapsed. I seriously could not get up. The teens took pity on me and throughout the entire thing, no one shot me. I think they were scared of me or something. Me???
The Girl got her shoes back. The coach found them.
This weekend The Teen has a two day drama comnpetition. At first he felt they weren’t prepared so he told us not to go but now they have their crap together so now he wants us to go but the girl has a track meet so one will go to the competition and one will go to the meet. The competition is a two hour drive one way. Not sure I could handle that with the level of exhaustion going through me so I may opt for the meet. Depends. The Girl is not talking to me right now. Sigh.
LOL! I’m glad you survived and the kids didn’t shoot you.
I’m glad the Girl found her shoes! I know how frustrating it is. Holly lost yet another pair of dance shoes. Thankfully, these are only $15 a pair, but I am tired of ordering them every few months.
If I saw your Twitter feed correctly, it looks like the Teen and his school did a great job at the drama competition. Were you able to see them perform at all?
Congratulations to Jim! That sounds wonderful, definitely like a great opportunity not to pass up! I’m happy for you that he won’t have to travel and the potential for you to not have to work is possible. How exciting!!
So awesome about Connor’s new car!! I bet he was thrilled. And it sounds like a great deal – that car will be perfect for him!
I really hate daylight savings. I am so damn tired right now. I ran out of time to do everything I wanted yesterday, but I’m hoping this week is a smooth one.
Happy Monday – have a great week!!
Thanks, Brandie! This really could be an amazing opportunity for Jim, but there are some risks that make him nervous. He still chose to take the position because with great risks come great rewards. I am all about those rewards. 🙂
He is excited about his car. He is constantly asking to drive it, although he is struggling with that stick. And paying attention the road. He hasn’t quite mastered the knack of doing it all at the same time.
I don’t know about you but last week just about killed me. I was literally falling asleep at my desk. I am hoping this upcoming week is much better.
I’m definitely the opposite of you – I hate moving back to “standard” time for these four months in the winter, making things even darker than they would be on DST. Probably part of it is the sleep issue – my body never really adjusts until spring takes me to the right clock again – and part is that I have terrible night vision and can’t really drive at night, making it difficult to do anything after about 5pm once the time change comes.
It is definitely interesting how bodies adjust differently to time changes. I have the same issues with night vision, but I still prefer standard time. Go figure!
You’re very busy, so a laid back day is deserved once in a while.
Thanks, Debbie!
Wow, you guys have had a lot going on, but that is the life of parents of teens who both work. Congrats to your husband on his new job. Congrats to your son on his new car. Congrats to your daughter on her diligence to her dance craft. And congrats to you, Michelle, for maybe being able to quit work or at least slow down a bit. Hope this week goes smoothly.
P.S. I like Daylight Savings – my husband leaves for work in the dark and when we switch to light later in the evenings, we can get a walk in or he can stop after work and hit golf balls or whatever. But I know that not everyone feels the same. 🙂
Thanks, Kay! I can see the benefits of DST, but I really struggle with the mornings. I was falling asleep all week long while at work.
I hope the new job goes well and it does mean you can quit yours. Enjoy your Sunday!
Thanks! He doesn’t start until April and probably would not get the promotion I would need to be able to quit until next year at the earliest. Still, it is a possibility that did not previously exist.