Late August

We're having a break from the heat, and oh, it is so greatly appreciated! It's cloudy -- foggy, even, up on the mountains -- and cool, and just nice. Of course, cloudy days tend to make me depressed, so after a few more days of this, I may not feel so great. But for now I'm enjoying it.

This was kind of a rough week. It started out well, though, with Back to School Night on Monday. I just love getting to see the kids' classrooms, meeting their teachers. I started out in the Culinary classroom (Rocket Boy went to Physics), but then both kids have 2nd period off, so we went to the Culinary class again, so that Rocket Boy could see it. They redid the kitchen part over the summer and it's SO nice. I'd love to cook in there. (Except, of course, that I don't love to cook.) 

Then I went to Pottery, which was interesting, while RB went to Band, and then we both went to Teen B's Senior Lit class, followed by Teen A's Life Management class. Then we split up again, Rocket Boy going to Geology and me going to Teen A's Senior Lit class, and then I went to Algebra 2 and he went to Statistics. When it was over, I was tired! All that up and down stairs and running around. That building is a maze! (The school is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, so...) The second floor in particular is nuts. But so is the first floor. And the third floor has sections that don't connect, so you have to go outside and run around the courtyard (or rather, the walkway two floors above the courtyard) to get to a different entrance. You would think I would have gotten the hang of this school by now, but I haven't. And Rocket Boy of course was a student there, but they've changed things and added on, and he couldn't figure out what was going on either. Well. He did better than I did. Anyway, it was fun.

After that, we walked over to the Teahouse and had a belated anniversary dinner. Teen A joined us, but Teen B just asked us to bring him a Rainforest Iced Tea, which we did. Rocket Boy and I both had the saag paneer, which was different from the last time I had it, Teen A had Korean pan noodles, and he also had dessert (apple strudel). I wanted dessert but was too full, so I just enjoyed watching Teen A munch.

I should have taken my shot that night, but thought I was too full and might get sick, so I waited until Tuesday morning after the kids had gone to school. Big mistake! I will never do that again. The shot made me so tired that I went back to bed and slept for four and a half hours. And even then I had trouble getting up and functioning. I slept a full 7 hours Tuesday night too. 

But I think I am just tired, it's not just the shot. I think it must still be Covid, honestly. My stomach is much more upset than normal, I'm tired all the time, and going for walks is an ordeal. I accomplished basically nothing this week, just lay in bed and read. Cooking was awful too. Tuesday I made crepes, as I'd been planning to do since before I got sick, and they were a disaster. Rocket Boy had to take over and fry them, because I kept messing them up. Wednesday we had fried pizza sandwiches, which are very easy, and Thursday we had frozen pizza, because I was too tired to stand up and cook. Friday I made squash tacos, which are kind of a pain, and I complained and swore all through the process.

Now I've had two nights off (we went to the Taj last night and got Culver's takeout today), so tomorrow is the start of a new week and I am going to try to do better. But I'm also going to try to think of easy things to make. It's going to be very pleasant all week -- high 70s, maybe 80 one day, lots of clouds and rain. So I could even make a casserole one night. Easy stuff.

We have one more week of August and then we move into September. In September I'm hoping to pull myself together and start getting more things done. For example, I'd like to go back to doing at least one political thing each week. I want to work on the files. And I want to start writing again, especially working on my novel. The one I'm working on now (or was, before summer started) takes place in November, so I'd like to get the draft done by the end of November. Then maybe start the December novel, which is also kind of bumping around in my head. But to do any of that I will have to have a little more energy. I'm hoping that the cooler weather, kids back to school, recovery from Covid... all of that will combine to kick me into gear. Maybe.

I see my doctor in September -- the 12th, I think it is -- and I'm going to ask her if maybe I can drop down a dose of the Mounjaro, from 10 to 7.5 mg. That's what people do when they're done losing weight, to facilitate maintenance. I'm not done losing weight, at least I hope I'm not, but I'm done feeling this bad. I'll see what my A1c is this time and what she thinks about all this.

Rocket Boy has lots of energy -- he has clearly put Covid behind him. He's started working on cleaning up the patio, which really needs attention. He's been washing bikes and things, in preparation for giving them away. He actually managed to get rid of our old bathroom vanity & sink (for free on craigslist). Multiple people were interested in it. Next will be the old child/youth bikes that are too small for everyone.

If I could dredge up some energy from somewhere, maybe I could go back to doing yardwork every day. I haven't done any since early summer. They keep yelling at homeowners to get rid of their junipers. I was going to work on that five days a week all summer. I think maybe I did it twice?

I should finish this up, since I can't think of anything very interesting to write about. Homework calls, and then maybe it won't be too late for a walk. And then we need to start the shower parade.

Oh, something else we did this week -- actually this afternoon -- was attend the grand opening of the new Hillside School building, up in Gunbarrel. They outgrew their old building and moved into this one. And now I heard they might move again, into yet a larger building. We toured the new building -- it seemed very nice. Each place that school moves to is nicer than the place before it. 

I got a little teary during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Before we left, Teen B asked me why we were going (Teen A didn't want to come, even though he was the former student). I said, well, when Teen A was in fourth grade, he couldn't read. Hillside saved our lives (with a little help from Aunt Nancy). Hmm, he said.