Mourning

It's not my story to share. We're mourning a loss in Dan's family and heading to Utah to gather and support. It's too sad, too hard, too shocking, too unfair, too unexpected and sudden, too young, and how do people move forward?

Daily Situation

Landscaping Begins

Materials were delivered.

Footings were dug and filled with cement for an extended patio, and the existing cement patio was covered with pavers.

Moved Out

Colby's leaving for another country tomorrow, and he had to work today, so I spent the day boxing up the last things in his apartment and deep cleaning it. I happen to be available and looking for more purpose to my life, and I begged him to let me help. He came over after work to meet me and take the last things to our cars and officially check out with management. It was a good first apartment for the past two years but there are reasons why he's happy to move on.

Moving Along

Our Valentine's Day was spent walking around piles of rock and pavers with our landscaper to pick the right colors and sizes. Landscaping begins tomorrow!

Then we helped Colby move furniture and boxes out of his apartment and into a storage unit. While Dan and Colby loaded the trailer, I deep cleaned. He's trying to move out by this weekend because soon after, he's leaving for a work trip to another country. I'm packing up Carson's room this week so Colby can use it. He'll move in with us for a few months, save money, then choose another apartment or buy a house. 

I found a sweet little book for a friend who bakes sourdough bread and recently turned it into a business. She also loves sunflowers.

I spent last week researching college apartments for Carson and applying everywhere before finally finding the right situation for him with roommates he'll have lots in common with. 

We're watching the second round of Beast Games and also the newly revamped Fear Factor (based on the original one but different). Dan and I are still watching episodes of the old show The Middle and laughing hard at each one.

There's a vintage market here that opens one weekend each month. I like wandering through all the eclectic decor and antique finds every month. The place is crowded with people (strategically not in these pictures) and it's a fun atmosphere in a cool old building. I look forward to it every month.

I took gluten-free, dairy-free muffins to a brunch with friends.

My third round of medicines ended, and I'm no better. This time I didn't even get a good week or two of feeling great. The day after medicines ended, my stomach was enormous and so so so painful after every single meal even though they were small low Fodmap meals. I feel like after all this effort, I'm now starting to give up and accept chronic stomach problems. I was really fighting against that for so long, believing I could still get better. So maybe I'll just eat whatever I want now and deal with it. Wear loose, big clothes forever. I'm still blowing into my breathalyzer device and tracking my meals and symptoms. Out of curiosity, I had Dan try the device. I did it first and got 8.9 (out of 10; that's super high). Then Dan did it and only got a 1. I'm jealous (and discouraged and worn out and hurting and hungry for eating whatever I want with no pain afterwards). I'm tired of eating plain, boring, simple, repetitive meals that should be easy to digest but still hurt me.

Science Experiments

Every other Tuesday I prep for an activity for the Primary girls. This week we're doing science experiments. I made packets for the girls to write down their questions, hypotheses, observations, conclusions, etc. for each experiment. 

Before we split into three smaller groups, we'll go in the parking lot and see what happens when we drop Mentos into Diet Coke. The other leaders are doing different experiments. We'll explain the science behind each experiment with the girls.

My experiment is making slime. It can be made with glue, water, and contact solution or borax, but I'm using an easier method that only mixes glue and Elmer's Magical Liquid.

Look at these fun sciencey test tubes! I filled them with the Magical Liquid.

I measured glue and filled containers ahead of time. 

And I made a batch to see if it turns out. I haven't made slime since our kids were young. 

Approved

We're shocked because of what we expected based on others' experiences, but Dan stopped by the HOA office today and showed them our landscape plans...with measurements, pictures, and details of what rocks, pavers, and turf we're using. It worked! He got a verbal approval to go ahead and start! We'll have a finished yard soon! 

We didn't have them approve plants or trees, the fountain, or the hammock stand, so those aren't in this picture but will still happen. We changed the side yards from our original plan and added in a turf area for yard games. We also decided to make it two levels, so there will be a step down onto the turf and patio area.

I'm so excited to see it come together soon! I've stressed over this for months, trying to merge our different styles and wants, trying to maximize a small yard, trying to figure out desert landscaping which is foreign to us, trying to make it more exciting than a square of turf here and a square of pavers there, trying to decide if we want a hot tub or gazebo or pergola.

A Few Things

Arizona winters are lovely. Endless sunshine is wonderful. I never want to feel -40 degrees again.

Carson's being transferred from Wyoming back to Utah. He's acquired cowboy boots, cowboy jeans, flannel shirts, and a giant Wyoming belt buckle, yeehaw. I don't even know who he is anymore. He has around 6 months left!!

Colby's in a soccer league with some friends. He let us come watch a game. Also, his apartment lease is up and he's moving in with us at the end of the month until he figures out where to live next, whether that's another apartment or buying a house. He started bringing boxes tonight when he came over to watch the Super Bowl.

Buy these! They're so good, we keep eating through bags too fast.

Guess which bread is gluten free. :(

We made some adjustments to our yard plans, picked a landscaper, and are finishing paperwork to submit to HOA this week. We hear it takes anywhere from 2-5 months to hear back, ugh.

I still alternate between study groups on Tuesdays. On Wednesday mornings I started walking again with a friend. I have another friend whose son left for boot camp this week. She's worried and sad, and I felt like she needed flowers and chocolate and a visit. We talked for a long time.

I watched Solo Mio with another friend. It was a cute movie, and I loved seeing all the spots around Rome that I've been to.

Dan still plays pickleball every Saturday morning. He gets every other Friday off work, and this Friday he biked through the desert with a friend.

Valentine Activity

I do love a good craft, and being in charge of activities for 7-to-11-year-old girls gives me the opportunity to browse and try fun ideas. I wanted something different than making regular Valentine cards. I came across a cute idea for a folded up Valentine card. 

First I marked each side of a 12x12 paper into thirds, then drew a grid.

I cut it in a certain way and scored the lines and folded them, then cut two squares to form a heart.

It worked!

I printed heart-shaped love quotes from leaders (downloaded from Etsy), then cut them to save time at the activity. Also, I don't have 17 scissors for all the girls to cut these themselves.

I cut cute Valentine paper into 3.5-inch squares. I tried to have lots of different options for them to mix and match.

I found fun washi tape that ended up being the perfect width to use as a border. The girls might not bother with this, or they may use it in a different way.

And here's my finished product! The girls can decorate as much or as little as they want. I couldn't stop myself from adding just a little more here and there. It felt like the kind of craft where more is better. It was so fun!

Let's unfold it and open it up.