Another day in the books. This was not a normal Monday for me. Usually, I close at work on Mondays, which means a little sleeping in. But another manager is on vacation so it was up and at ’em bright and early.

I’ve been wearing contacts since I was 14. I’ll save you the math- it’s been a really long time. The disposables I wear are supposed to be thrown away and replaced after two weeks, but that never happens. When they are bothering me and my vision is foggy, I’ll break out a new pair. Not proud of it, but this project is all about truth, right? Every now and again, I consider Lasik surgery, but wearing contacts doesn’t bother me enough to spend the money. And frankly, even though I know it’s ridiculous, I can’t get past the thought of someone using lasers on my eyes.

Ideally, I’d go grocery shopping every Sunday and prepare breakfast and lunches for the week. I go through stretches where I hardly ever eat out. This is not that week. I didn’t go shopping this weekend and there’s not much around the house. It’s crazy, really. I love to cook and prefer taking my lunch. It’s the shopping I hate. Eating out is always a little bit of a struggle for me. If I don’t have a good breakfast I’m starving by lunchtime and then rarely  make a good choice. The question is- if I know this about myself, why can’t I just bite the bullet and make sure to shop? What does it say about how I feel about taking care of myself? I don’t know the answer, but I haven’t given up finding out yet.

Because an asiago bagel makes me happy.

We’ve had a lot of rainy days around here lately. Not too surprising, since it’s spring in Indiana. But it certainly makes me long for sunshine and warmer weather. I have aspirations of moving to a warmer climate. Florida, maybe, or somewhere along the east coast. I love the beach and big water, but I do wonder if I’d miss the seasons. Do you really appreciate that first cool day in fall without a brutal summer? Or do flip flops feel as freeing if you haven’t been bundled up in boots for months?

Don’t eat a healthy breakfast, eat an unhealthy lunch. See above.

If you don’t know about my love for the Scrap Gals, you just haven’t been paying attention 🙂 I discovered their podcast last fall and quickly went right to stalker status. I was fortunate enough to get to meet them last month (read about that here). I’ve listened to all the podcasts and am going back through and listening to some of them over. This is my getaway at lunch. I can be terribly antisocial. I used to get invited to lunch frequently, but I’ve said no so many times people know not to even ask. It’s not that I don’t love my coworkers. I just really need that hour in the middle of the day to relax and recoup. This girl is an introvert at heart.

Here I am, at my desk, working away. Or at least this is what I look like when I do. I actually had to take this picture several times using the timer and adjusting my iPhone over and over. The phone is resting against a window that looks out on the shop and I’m sure the technician who works on the other side thinks I’m out of mind. Ha! If he only knew 🙂 Mondays for me mean payroll and catching up on any other thing that might need tied up over the weekend.

Another thing out of the ordinary is that I spent the night at my sister’s house with my niece and nephew. Her husband is a pilot and was just hired on at Delta (Yay, Scott!) They had a welcome dinner in Atlanta, so I stayed with the kids so Kari could join him. My daughter got them off the bus and I headed over after work. I always enjoy hanging out with my niece and nephew. They are smart and funny and so well-behaved. I’m constantly entertained by their stories and perspective.

I love this picture of my nephew! I love that smile on his face and that his tiny feet are peeking out of the blanket. He’s playing a game on a tablet and it never ceases to amaze me how technically savvy they both are.

While the kids have iPads and laptops to use, they are well balanced by good ole books. Both Kari and I have a deep love of reading and she has instilled that love in her children. It’s so much fun for me to read them a bedtime story just like I did with Kyrstie so many years ago.

My daughter is grown and gone from the house. It’s been a long time since I tucked a little kid of my own in. Here they are brushing their teeth before bed. They’d changed into their pjs and left their clothes in piles on the floor. Annoying to mom, maybe, but endearing to me.

In some ways, my nephew is growing so fast. Every time I see him, he looks more and more like a little man. I remember when he got his first haircut and how it instantly transformed from a toddler into a boy. I like that this photo captures that big boy haircut, but still shows the childlike side of him with those pajamas.

One of the things that always amazes me about these guys is how easy it is to put them to bed. They know when it’s time and don’t put up a fight. That’s not to say they don’t employ the occasional stall tactic- “I have to go to the bathroom. I need my ice water.”- but there’s no crying and arguing. Before I’d arrived, my daughter had taken them to McDonald’s for dinner and then to Walmart where she gave them each $12 to pick out a toy. According to Kyrstie, my niece really wanted another doll, until she laid eyes on this Furby.

I was fascinated by this stuffed animal/planetarium thing he had. We sat on the bed for several minutes, just staring up at the ceiling.

After I put the kids to bed, I wrote my blog post and was off to bed. I was pretty proud of myself for remembering to take as many photos as I did, but I want to continue to be sure to get meaningful pictures. How was your Monday? What are the challenges you’ve run into and how are you working to overcome them?