I’d every intention of publishing this post last Sunday, but Sunday got the best of me. The day was full, of things both planned and unplanned: an extended breakfast-turned-brunch date with a friend, that crept into the latest part of the morning…..followed by an impromptu visit to the softball field to cheer on our good friend “Mad-dog” Mati as she pitched like a fiend at her softball game, striking out player after player to help her team win the game and thereby retain their number one position….and lastly, dinner out at a restaurant wherein I ate such a ridiculous amount of food that the only energy I had left was expended by moaning about the brick that was in my stomach. (I took the “unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks” menu item very seriously Sunday night.) I could barely keep my eyes open through the True Blood season premiere, it was that bad.
I was sure I would get it done on Monday, but then Monday (as well as Tuesday and Wednesday and today) have looked like this, or a variation thereof:
6:30 am – go to gym
8:00 am – drive home and quickly eat and shower
8:40 am – drive Carsten to orchestra camp
9:20 am – drive Anna to piano lessons
9:40 am – pick Carsten up from orchestra camp
10:00 am – pick up Anna from piano lessons
10:45 am – drive Anna to soccer camp
1:00 pm – pick Anna up from soccer camp
5:00 pm – drive both kids to swim practice
5:15 pm – drive home, cook dinner, clean up after dinner
8:00 pm – crash on sofa, moving only to retire to bed
There were also two trips to Target, and the grocery store, one trip to Kohl’s, the post office and the doctor’s office in there. I have always thought that if I ever won the lottery, one thing I would indulge in would be to hire someone to do the grocery shopping for me (I loathe the grocery store). I’m actually thinking that a full-time driver would be a better use of my money at this time. At this rate, I may also have to hire a ghost- blogger, too…..
So I started this post about a week ago, on June 6th. And now, I have piddled my way along to June 14th, which makes it seem like I’ve infinitely diminished my chances at making some of these things happen. But here goes, anyway:
- Eat outside, at least once a week. The weather in June can be all over the board, but there are often some really great days for being outdoors before the heat and humidity of July take over. Ok, so this is really more of a ‘goal’ than a ‘to do.’ Noted!
- Plan a day trip into Chicago to ride Sea Dog. Carsten is DYING…..DIE-ING….to do this. Sidebar: speaking of Chicago, last week, we did this
- Lunch at Dick’s Last Resort, where wearing paper hats with crude expressions and throwing napkins is part of the restaurant’s tradition.
and this 
and this
in the city. Summer in Chicago just rocks. Anyway….moving on!
- Visit the local Mexican supermercado. We passed a Mexican grocer the other day, and the kids were curious about it. We didn’t have time to stop, but I promised them we’d go back. I love to go to the supermercado, too; so much cool stuff there!
- Work out, work out, work out. My gym membership will be going on hold July 1st, because with all we’ve got going on that month, I know I won’t make it in for at least three weeks, probably four. Need to make the most of these next few weeks before taking a break. This week’s tally so far: 4 for 4 days!
- Make something….anything….from my new cookbook, Plenty, by Yotam Ottolenghi. Carmelized Garlic Tart…..I’m looking at you.
- Register kids for next school year. Just a few short years ago, school registration was still being done the old school way: go into the school, stand in long lines, and move from station to station as you filled out form after form. Now, it’s all done online, which is infinitely more convenient, however, I must admit it lacks that certain ‘festive’ feeling I used to get, skipping into the building, dragging my despondent children with me. Heh.
- Develop a To Read list for summer. I have recently read three books, and none of them was very much worth the effort: Fifty Shades of Grey (E.L. James), The Corrections (Jonathan Franzen), and The Hunger Games, Book 1 (loved the movie; was lukewarm on the book – an unusual stance for me). I’m feeling very discouraged, and frankly, rather lost at bed time. I usually have a running list of things To Read, but for some reason I do not at the moment. Suggestions? I’ll share one with you in exchange: Blood, Bones and Butter (Gabrielle Hamilton). In spite of a few holes in this memoir, it was full of some damn good writing. The hyperlink will take you to Amazon, if you want more details. In the meantime….help!
- Redo my workout playlist – the sooner, the better. I’m getting a little bored with the current tunes. What do you listen to when you work out? I’m always looking for suggestions – unless they fall under the category of “country.” Sorry, but no can do.
- Clean out the inside of the
taxivan. Dear God. *shudder* - Try not to piss off Ivy anymore with my atrocious blogging/work ethic……oy. You’ve the patience of a saint, girl!
(It just occurred to me that I should have numbered these instead of bullet-pointing them, but let’s just get this done already, shall we??)
