My posts have had more than enough angst to go around lately, so I’m coming at you with exclusively happy things today.
- It is sunny outside.
- It is sunny and pleasantly cool. That combo is sheer perfection.
- I am drinking coffee this very moment.
- I have all the ingredients on hand to re-make the salmon bowls we had last week. Yes, please!
- I finally got to the grocery store. There is food in the fridge again.
- I have decided to pursue in-person fitness classes. I need the accountability and I need more reasons to get out of the house. One of the classes I’m hoping to do starts at 6 am. Is that even a real time of day? It will require getting up at about…5:40 am which SOUNDS LIKE A MADE UP TIME. After spending approximately zero dollars on fitness over the last decade, I think the sheer act of investing in classes is an important step toward acknowledging I am “worthy” of that investment.
- After jumping through all sorts of hoops, booking multiple flights (but only using one), and racing through the Copenhagen airport…John managed to make his connection in London. He’s going to be home TODAY.
- I’m caught up on laundry.
- It’s the last day of school and I have officially put away lunchboxes UNTIL SEPTEMBER. Also, I got word yesterday that our school is going to have a free/pay-what-you-can lunch program next year.
Kat asked about the details of our reverse colouring book. Yes, the colours are there. Yes, you do just fill in the lines. You can be as creative or as simple as you like. One could literally just trace the outline of all the colours and squiggles. I can see it being a bit anxiety-producing in certain contexts, so not a one-size-fits-all…but it was a nice distraction for me a few times this week and it’s extremely portable since you only need a black pen! Here is the exact book we have; there are several “official” options and we’ve gifted these multiple times to tweens. I will say some pictures are far easier to doodle on than others, so it’s a bit hit-and-miss.
Happy weekending. I’ll be back Monday with a brand new guest post!
Maria
Hope your weekend will be better than your week has been! Glad to hear that John made his flight and will be home!
Elisabeth
Thanks <3
And thanks again for the postcard. It really did make my day SO MUCH BRIGHTER.
Jenny
I feel like we’re halfway through summer, and you’re just finishing school! It’s funny how different our schedules are.
I’m so glad John is coming home!!! And I hope A is feeling better.
I like that reverse coloring book- I wonder if it would be good for someone extremely artistically challenged like me. i might get one for our family.
Sunny and pleasantly cool is my FAVORITE weather!
Elisabeth
I know! I can’t imagine being halfway through summer break at this point. Then again, we don’t go back to school until September so we have a lonnngg time to go. It feels like the Eastern US is close to the same schedule (i.e. just getting out now).
Zero skill required on the reverse colouring book. I do like to doodle, though, so I think this plays in nicely with that.
Jan Coates
Happy Canada Day weekend! Hope yours will involve some strawberries and whipped cream!
Elisabeth
Thanks! Once the dust settles I MUST get out to the U-pick. I didn’t go a single time last year and they’re open. All this rain likely wasn’t great; until now, it has been hot and dry (perfect for strawberries). Maybe some morning next week I’ll get my act together. There is nothing like still-warm strawberries picked fresh from Stirlings.
Coree
Oh lovely! Last day of school here as well and we had the day off – we got the uniform hub sorted and moved to the public library for the centre, had a nice walk with coffee and pastries, and then met friends at the park for a picnic after school. Looking forward to a nice weekend – T and I are embarking on a long bike ride – with a conveniently placed cafe 5 miles in my husband can meet us there and they can head home, while I continue on. We’re going to read loads of Percy Jackson and get packed for Portugal.
Elisabeth
Sounds like a perfect day, Coree. And hooray for Portugal. Let me know if you come across any hidden gems this trip 🙂
Kat
Thanks for answering my question about the coloring books 🙏 I might want to get one of these to practice being imperfect, aka therapy homework.
Elisabeth
Report back how you fare; ironically, we just gifted a reverse colouring book as part of a birthday gift today!
Lindsay
You’ve so been in my thoughts, Elisabeth! (And the family, too!) I’m so glad John made his connection and I’m so intrigued by the in-person fitness; it’s on my list of fall possibilities for myself (because I need to get out more, too!) but I keep trying not to think about it, haha! Here’s to happy things and better weeks!
Elisabeth
Thank you, Lindsay.
I am dreading the thought of a pre-6:00 wakeup, but I suppose I might feel very accomplished doing something so early. That or exhausted…
Michelle G.
The reverse colouring book looks so fun! (I’m giving you a U because you’ve had a rough week!)
Elisabeth
Thank you for the “u”! I love it and this comment made me smile extra big <3
Amanda
A lunch program! My satisficing heart sings with joy for this development!
Elisabeth
Mine too!!!
Lisa’s Yarns
Thanks for the visual of what reverse coloring looks like! I had trouble picturing it!
Before I moved in with Phil, I took a 6am yoga sculpt class at a studio a couple of blocks from my condo. It felt so good to start the day with a hard class. But now I can’t imagine doing a 6am class… but maybe in a couple of years I could!
It’s cooler here this weekend which is kind of nice. We actually have not had much hot weather. It makes it easier to be out for long stretches with the boys when it’s not terribly hot and humid. It was 97F in DC this week and I felt like I was melting!!
Elisabeth
It’s much cooler here. We had a real heat wave for about a week and it was awful. I WILT in the heat. Sunny and slightly cool is my absolute favourite.
I can’t imagine myself doing a 6 am class; part of the reason I blogged about it was to hold myself accountable to at least trying that time.
Kate
In-person fitness classes are SO good and were a staple of my adult life pre-kids. I haven’t figured out yet how to make it work logistically in my season of life right now (the local gyms that offer childcare are at least 20 minutes away, and Victoria still wakes up at least once a night so a 6 AM class would definitely not happen). BUT I’m really looking forward to working them into my routine again when possible. Good for you!! Is it a specific type of class?
I’m sorry things have been rough recently. I am waaaaay behind on blog reading/commenting, just emerging from a bit of a slump myself (better now!) and hope that everybody stays well. It’s also wild to me that your kids are just now done with school. Mine were done on May 31 so I feel like summer is already half over!! (Technically it’s only 1/3 over because they don’t go back until September 3, but still!)
Elisabeth
The 6 am class is a HIIT format; they also offer a yoga class in the evenings on Wednesday. In the fall, they have a much more robust schedule; since we live in a fairly small town, the offerings are minimal over the summer.
Wow – your kids are off for a LONG time. Must be the Catholic school system, because I think most public schools in the states are 2 months for summer break (like ours?) I also feel like the East Coast of the US basically mirrors us, getting out the end of June and starting back in early September?
Diane
I love the idea of the reverse colouring book! I did a watercolour painting once that was finished with an ink outline, and it makes a whole different picture.
I’m super interested in how your fitness classes work out for you. Yay you for committing.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend! Food in fridge, laundry clean, and Husband back – sounds like a great place to start!
Elisabeth
Yes, those three things make life feel a lot less scattered and chaotic. Just KNOWING there is another adult in the house…makes a big difference.
Melissa
5:40 wake up? What is happening? Joining a class is a good idea. You can’t really flake out. That’s why I pay for one session of personal training a week, so I’m sure to get at least one session of weights in the week. I find it so much easier to turn up at a set time, do what I’m told to do and then go home, rather than working out for myself what I’m going to do and deciding when I’m going to do it etc. etc. Obviously I can sort all that out myself, but I don’t always do it.
Yay for John being back. Do you ever just throw up your hands and say I’m out of here when he arrives home? Or is that just me?
Nicole MacPherson
That’s what a reverse colouring book is? That’s very cool and looks like it could be really fun.
I think your 6:00 fitness class sounds great! You’ll have your workout done first thing and that – in my mind – is the best! Looking forward to hearing all about it!
J
Your 6am fitness class gave me two thoughts:
1. Is this Elisabeth, who hates mornings? What?
2. I thought of San, who says that she works out first thing, before she has a chance to realize what she’s doing.
Maybe you will LOVE it. Personally I love getting up early and having my me time in the mornings, but that didn’t really happen for me until my daughter was old enough to drive herself to school. I’ll be interested to know how it goes, and if you get hooked on it! It may require an earlier bed time (or finding time for a nap when the kids are back in school, if that can happen in your work schedule…)