Lately

Full disclosure: after two nights of not sleeping all that great and a pretty busy week, I was thoroughly and utterly and 100 percent exhausted yesterday. I went grocery shopping Saturday afternoon and felt I hardly had the strength to walk the aisles at more than a snail’s pace. I was dragging big-time.

Thankfully, I went to bed last night at 10 pm and slept until 9 am this morning. 

Eleven hours, my friends.

I didn’t even hear Teacher Man get up in the morning and go downstairs. 

It’s amazing how much a good sleep does for your psyche and energy level. I felt like myself again! I was out and about weeding the gardens and went for a long walk (4 miles!) and did several loads of laundry, baked a strawberry-blueberry crisp, and scheduled a LuLaRoe sale for tonight on Facebook.

On a totally unrelated note, my son Joe has been a vampire in his room for most of the weekend, playing computer games. (Well, he did help mow the lawn today and we watched a movie as a family last night …) Normally I would discourage the vampire act all weekend but since he’s heading to “Sweat Camp” this week for marching band, I cut him some slack. He has worked incredibly hard all school year – both academically and musically – so he deserved a weekend of total chill time doing exactly what he loves when he just wants to “be”. 

(“Sweat Camp”, incidentally, sounds pretty intense … marching band practice (regardless of the weather) from 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday, culminating with the band’s first parade on Saturday in Buffalo. I can’t wait!)

And so … some photos of what we have been up to lately: 

This is Joe being honored by his piano teacher for the “Achievement Award” for her music studio. The award is based not only on practice and music skill but also perseverance and community service.

Here’s his recital song if you are interested in listening to it. It still gives me the chills – it’s so pretty and he plays it with so much feeling. (Proud mama here at his piano skills!) And also … I look at him sitting at the piano and wonder how my baby boy has grown up so much. It makes me both so sad and happy at the same time. 

We were so glad my parents – Grandma Marilyn and Grandpa Michael – were able to attend the recital!

Last Friday I visited a turkey farm to do some videotaping and take photos … so of course I had to take a turkey barn selfie!

Here I am with some of my coworkers and the farmer whose farm we visited. 🙂

And on to a little garden update … our catalpa tree is beginning to bloom … so cool! 

This giant bumblebee was hanging out, enjoying the nectar from one of my peony bushes today.

I just love hostas … look at the shape of this one and how it provides some shade to the plants nearby.

Meet our little house wren who has apparently decided to make our deck area his own personal hang-out space. 🙂

And of course I needed to bake this weekend! 😉 In this case, a little strawberry-blueberry crisp recipe … which I adapted from Ina Garten’s Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp. (Because true story – I have NEVER cooked with rhubarb and don’t grow it.) It was quite tasty … but it did turn out a little runny so I will need to adjust the cornstarch and perhaps a few other things next time. But man, top this baby with some vanilla ice cream and it’s heaven in a dish!

Have a great start to your week, my friends!

xoxo – Lara