Happy Sunday!
We experienced a rare weekend at home with little to no dance, and I loved every moment of it. The sun was shining yesterday; we can see the year in all but the areas that contained the largest snow drifts/piles. We did not have to set any alarms. Even today, there was no need to get up early even though Holly does compete in a dance competition this afternoon. I am trying to remember the last time there was no need to wake up to an alarm (without looking at my calendar) and am failing. It is such a delicious feeling being able to wake up at your own pace and not because you have somewhere to be.
This work week started a bit rough and ended with two major disappointments, but the middle of the week was smooth sailing. Sunday night into Monday morning, I experienced a bout of insomnia that caused my fibro to flare and left me pretty much bed-ridden all day on Monday. I was able to do some work from home and so was able to avoid getting even farther behind than I was, but it meant getting ahead on anything was not in the cards. Thankfully, Jim and Holly had eye appointments that afternoon, so Jim was home early enough to help out with dance class duties that night.
By Tuesday, I was feeling much better and able to go back to work. Jim headed off to Orlando for a business trip, and the week settled into a familiar routine. Work remained relatively calm, and I was able to make some headway with my lengthy to-do list. I did not end the week where I wanted to be, but I am a lot closer than I was a week ago.
Of course, the big excitement around here was the beginning of March Madness and the Round of 64 games on Thursday and Friday. I do love this time of year because there is always at least one or two teams that seemingly come from nowhere to surprise a higher-ranked team. Unlike in years past, I was paying attention to college basketball all season long and knew that even if a team was ranked 16, statistically speaking they were still good enough to give any team in the tournament a hard time. While there were no jaw-dropping upsets those first few days, there were enough to make me happy. The highlight of the Round of 64 was the opportunity to see Connor on TV while Iowa State battled Ohio State. He was wearing yellow sunglasses so, between that and his sousaphone, it was easy to spot him whenever we could see the pep band. While the poor performance of the team and the result of the game was a huge disappointment, it was still thrilling to see your child on national television – even if he was only in the background. That made up for both the Iowa State and Wisconsin losses.
With nothing on the calendar, yesterday Jim started getting ready for the growing season, putting away the snow blower and getting out the lawn mower. The cars got a much-needed bath to remove the last of the salt, and we opened the windows to let the house breath a bit. Spring is not my favorite season thanks to seasonal allergies, but I will admit to enjoying the sun and the fresh air.
There will be no chores today as we leave shortly for another dance competition. This one involves only a handful of the team as it is an optional one, so we only lose an afternoon and evening rather than an entire weekend. Holly starts spring break on Monday, so she will get a week to catch up on sleep, while Jim and I get a break from the homework procrastination battle. In all, things are definitely looking up!
I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend, and I wish you all a speedy and stress-free work week. I’ll see you next week!
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Here are past posts from the last few weeks in case you missed them the first time:

Glad to hear you enjoyed a weekend at home and a fairly calm work week. I don’t watch any basketball, but I think it’s really cool that you saw Connor on tv!! Hope you have a good week, Michelle!
Thanks, Brandie! Have a good one!
I’ve heard lots of exciting stuff about the basketball season, so even though I don’t follow it, I’m glad that it’s been an enjoyable season for others! I hope for very much good basketball ahead!
You are too cute!
A rare weekend at home is always good. Glad that your work week was relatively calm too. I don’t watch March Madness anymore, but I used to…I saw that post on Instagram with Connor. Very, very cool. But boo on Iowa State and Wisconsin losses, especially Wisconsin because as a Penn State fan, I still root for the Big 10…No mowing yet here, but I did look at a new mower yesterday. Today, just chilling, listening to music, reading blog posts, a little reading, and NASCAR with the neighbors.
The Big Ten is having a fantastic tournament so far, which only confirms what everyone was saying about it being one of the toughest divisions in the country. I think that makes Wisconsin’s loss so difficult. Of course, I would have been more than happy to see Ohio State lose. I don’t care if they are in the Big Ten. I detest that school no matter who they play.
No mowing yet for us either. The ground is still so saturated that I feel like we need a good month of no rain before anything can grow. Your day sounds fabulous. I am finishing catching up on answering blog comments and need to get in gear as her dance competition is running an hour ahead of schedule, which throws the whole day out of whack!