Birthdays, Powerball and Bell Biv Devo - Journal Entry: Jan 11, 2016

I Suck at Commemorating Birthdays
Today is my boyfriend's birthday. I posted "Happy Birthday" on his Facebook wall and said, "Happy Birthday" in person. Beyond that, I was pretty neglectful. I worked on work stuff for a handful of hours, I got Powerball tix with my friend and my sister, I shuttled kids to and fro. I did not celebrate a birthday with one of the most important people in my life. We have plans to do some stuff this coming weekend which I keep telling myself has been the plan and is enough, but I still feel pretty crappy about not being very celebratory on the actual day. Just throwing it out there. I'm no good at this holiday and birthday business.

Standing in Line for Powerball Was Fun
I think this is one of those "eye of the beholder" sorts of experiences. Standing in a long line for a long time, in not super awesome weather to spend money on some slips of paper is not what I'd call my cup of tea. Don't go pointing out the "1 in 297 million" odds now, either. That would be like being the person at the magic show spoiling all the magician's tricks. Of course, I don't expect to win and I've never bought a Powerball ticket before in my life, but like b'zillions of others, I was lured by the mystique. I had to experience "the craze" for myself. Joined by my sister Kimberlee and my longtime friend Sunshine, sometimes it's all about who you're with. It was completely memorable and I loved it. Even when I couldn't feel my frozen toes.

Bell Biv Devoe: LIVE IN CONCERT (Who Knew?)
Whilst in line for Powerball tix, we saw a sign that Bell Biv Devoe will be performing on Jan 16 at Primm Valley Resorts. AMAZING. I had no idea.

Realizations of the Day: Jan 10, 2016

Fun Rules the World
Zia had her first-ever sleepover at our house last night. It was fun. We made Mickey Mouse waffles for breakfast and the girls played with Play-Doh, and a rocket science kit, and they made “science potions” in the kitchen with food coloring and various edible mixtures. Watching Zia (age 6) and Gigi (age 7) hang out together is an amazing thing. Their laughter and wide-eyed excitement over everything is inspiring and delightful. Watching them play, what they choose to play with, the things they make, how their minds work, their curiosity and how much they know (and think they know.) Hearing their laughter and singing and stories - no matter how fun I work to keep in my life, observing these two was magical and I feel really lucky that I got to be a part of it.

Asking for Help
I finally asked for help working through this personal project. I wasn’t sure how to do that but a situation presented itself, I recognized it immediately and I jumped on it. I definitely plan to share more, but I need to buckle down and focus for a bit. For now, I think I’m on the right path to pushing through some personal boundaries I’ve been stuck on for a while. 

Listening to My Body
I’ve been out of my regular groove with waking and going to bed times. For a good while now, I’ve been an early riser, and an early-to-bed(er). A few weeks back I was in a slump and even though I woke at my normal early time, I just stayed in bed for way longer than normal. Now I feel all out of whack, but today for the first time in about three weeks, I feel that electricity inside again. I’ll see what that means and how it plays out. I’m not one to force too much of a schedule on myself (for better or worse), while I do have a good amount of routine, I really thrive on flexibility and rolling with how things feel as much as possible. What’s good is I can feel that excited burn in my guts again. I missed it! 

If a Cat Gets Stuck in Pants...
It's pretty impossible to have a bad day if you witness a cat stuck in the leg of pants. I do not encourage creating this situation, this all happened by chance, but it does make for a good deal of both concern and laughter. We were able to help him out after several minutes. He is fine and seems in no way to be carrying trauma that would discourage him from exploring pants or other potentially hazardous containment vessels. 

It was a really good day. I’m excited to see what tomorrow brings!

<3