Well, this past week has been a doozy. From lower back pain to parenting woes, my daily goal was simply to keep my shit together.
Don’t get me wrong, there were some fun highlights over the last 7 days, but there was also quite a bit of pain and tears mixed in.
I’ve been trying to snap more photos to remind me what I want to blog about, but I’m out of practice. I used to photo-document everything. Now, I’m lucky if I remember to take photos even at important events.
On one hand, I think that’s great. I’m more present and in the moment. Conversely, I sometimes kick myself for not remembering to take pictures, which is something new for me. That was never an issue when the kids were little.
Dinner Adventures
The first photo I took after I posted last week was of the dinner I made last Wednesday.
That’s Pasta alla Norcina, and I have the recipe on the blog.
This is currently one of my favorite dishes. It’s just so fun to make, and (most of) the family loves it (there’s always one *cough* —The 13-Year-Old).
I took the picture because I’ve been working on a new dinner prep system for my family and wanted to remember to share it.
My new approach to feeding the four of us is to have each family member pick a meal to take the lead on. We discuss this on the weekend, and then I know what we must buy at the grocery store for the week. So, for example, this week we decided on:
- Sunday: Scallops and Risotto (Dad)
- Monday: Rigatoni with Meatballs and Sausage (Mom)
- Tuesday: Shrimp Tacos (19-Year-Old)
- Wednesday: Pork Fried Rice (13-Year-Old)
The rest of the week is GYOW (go your own way), leftovers, sandwiches, breakfast, etc. Basically, whatever we decide.
This way, each person leads one night of cooking, and I don’t have to make as many decisions. (Because decision fatigue is real, and I’m exhausted.)
So far, this system has been working great! Tonight, I’m helping The 13-Year-Old make fried rice, and I’m looking forward to it. It gives us a chance to hang out together, and he learns so much as I make him cut all the veggies and man the skillet while I walk him through what to do.
Teaching my kids how to cook has always been one of my priorities. Yesterday, I made shrimp tacos with his brother. I’d share a photo, but… I forgot. 😕
I did remember to snap a pic of my homemade Italian Bread I made on Monday because I was so proud of myself!
I followed Mama Dina’s recipe, and I could not be happier! Highly recommended!
I’m gonna end this section with a picture of our Seafood Sunday dish, which was The Husband’s pick this week.
He made the risotto while I seared the scallops. This is another family favorite for everyone except the picky 13-year-old, whose reaction is always the same, “Oh, man, are we having the wet rice again?”
Gym Progress
The next picture I took was to remember to talk about my gym progress.
The past two weeks, there has been less barbell and way more PT.
I really did a number on my lower back two weeks ago. It started to get better, and then I pushed it, as I often do, and took two steps back.
That said, I have been feeling SO MUCH better the last two days and have been working with one of my trainers on some recovery programming.
I hope to return to my Olympic Lifting training by next week. I don’t think I’ll be competing in the Nationals this year (like last year), but I have my sights set up at least one meet in 2025. I’m just not sure which one yet.
Dinner Party Awesomeness!
One of the highlights of this week was Saturday night’s dinner party. Here’s a gallery of all the fantastic food…
I cannot express how grateful I am to have such amazing friends to do these dinner parties with us. Besides the good food and fun company, they bring a well-needed sanity check as all their kids are grown. I appreciate their guidance, support, and advice more than they will ever know and they are amazing hosts to boot!
We try to get together monthly and alternate hosting duties. This month was their turn. Next month, I’m planning a Valentine’s dinner menu (my favorite holiday to craft a menu—I’ve done it before), and we already have a date picked in March to go out and explore a local restaurant.
Family Time
Sunday, we finally got together to play one of the new games we got for Christmas, Love Letter.
This game is SO fun! At first, we were a little hesitant. It makes no sense when you read the instructions, but then everyone gets into it. The rounds are relatively quick, and we all enjoyed it—especially the teens.
The kids have been a source of stress lately. They are both a challenge in their own ways, and those ways are literally polar opposites. One needs constant motivation. The other is a stressed-out high achiever. It’s exhausting.
2025 Goal Check-In
I have not made much progress this week, but doing this reminded me to take that Spanish class. I’m hoping to register tomorrow!
- Blog Weekly.
- so far… ✔️
- Paint More. Don’t overthink it.
- so far…✔️ No painting this week 🙁
- Make a new handmade pasta monthly.
- Jan ✔️
- Hike at least twice a month.
- Jan ✔️
- Perform one unassisted dip.
- Training! Down to the blue band.
- Perform five strict pull-ups.
- Training!
- Handstand walk.
- Training!
- Take at least three yoga classes a month.
- Jan 2/3
- Make homemade sourdough bread.
- no progress
- Take the kids to Iceland (planning is in the works!).
- no progress
- Fix the holes in my house (long story, lots of plumbing issues this year).
- no progress
- Continue my Spanish Streak on Duolingo (I’m on day 1,231!!).
- so far…✔️ day 1252!
- Take a Spanish class in person.
- Literally found the course I want and I’m hoping to register tomorrow! Blogging for the win!!
- Plan something special for The Husband’s 50th birthday!
- no progress
- Snatch 125lbs.
- no progress
- Compete in at least one weightlifting meet.
- no progress
- Walk a minimum of a half-mile daily with Marsh and, preferably, with the Husband, but I can’t base my goal on him.
- Only missed one day this year so far!
- Track my movie-watching on Letterboxd.
- so far…✔️ – Click here to see!
- Keep my citrus trees alive! (I have a lemon and a lime tree I named Laverne and Shirley. Laverne is not doing too well after a disastrous root rot issue this fall, but we are doing our best.)
- so far…✔️ (They are doing great!) – Buds on Shirley are starting to open. I’ll have to take a pic for next week.
- Host an extended family dinner monthly.
- Jan ✔️
- Clean out and organize my closet and drawers.
- no progress.
- Thrift more and purchase no brand-new clothes.
- so far…✔️
- Take daily supplements more consistently.
- so far…✔️ key word “more”, I’ve missed a few days
- Reduce alcohol consumption to once or twice a month max.
- so far…✔️ drank 1/18
- Cook one new recipe/dish a month.
- Jan ✔️
2 replies on “Keeping My Shit Together (w03)”
❤️
I threw my back out on Christmas day and it sucks! I definitely understand that temptation to push yourself too far, particularly since I’ve been told it’s important to remain somewhat active so your muscles don’t weaken with too much rest. Hope you’re feeling better!