sunday log four.

Thought you got rid of me, did you?

Hi, hello there, how are you? 

I am sitting downstairs in my living room. I need to clean up from dinner. I need to drink some water. I want to drink some coffee. I am texting with a friend. I am tired. I am looking forward to having a productive week. I need to do the dishes. I need to set the coffee pot for the morning. I need to plan some fun activities for this week. I need to pack. I need to... I need to... I need to...

There seems to be a lot volleying around in my mind this evening. 

There are Christmas decorations up in my house already. I am usually a strictly after Thanksgiving kind of decorator, but since we were not home for a lot of the Christmas season last year, we decided it was ok to break it out early this year.

I came here thinking that I had a lot to write about, and maybe I do, but it is all coming out in a weird, jumbled mess. So I think I will spare everyone and bid you all adieu. 

Good night. 

sunday log three.

Well, I am coming to you at 10:36 pm, but... better late than never, right?

Three Sundays in a row. I may well be on my way to forming a habit. 

I'm going to level with you right here - my leisure reading of late has been nearly nonexistent. I used to be a person who read, at the very least, a chapter of an actual, real life book nearly every single day. And now? I scroll various social media before passing out with my phone in my hand each night. How the mighty have fallen. 

Earlier today, however, I opened up and read an article in Smithsonian Magazine. Call it small, but it made me feel better about myself. 

Now, I just have to address the issue of how I have managed to be in the process of reading the same book since last. year.  I don't even really know what to say about that, other than... ugh. 

I know this is a short post, but really, I just need the accountability. So next time you see me, if I have a phone in my hand, do me a favor and hand me a book instead. 

sunday log two | Pilates and commas.

Two Sundays in a row? This has to be some kind of record, right? All joking aside, I am very happy to have found my way here today. It's 6:30 in the morning, I am sipping coffee, and the morning light still has that blue tinge to it. It's the Fourth of July - we are going to grill hot dogs, slice a watermelon, play outside in the baby pool, and later on, we will make and enjoy angel food cake with strawberries and cool whip.

I hate to say it, but the last few days, I've been in a bad mood. I've been short-tempered, I've been withdrawn, I've just been... whiny. I know, everyone has these kinds of days, but I woke up this morning feeling tired of it. It is a goal of mine for July to be a very productive month, one in which my house is well maintained, I cook more nights a week than not, and I take care of my body by drinking lots of water, eating delicious and healthy food, and working out consistently. So far, my water consumption needs a reboot, I'm doing moderately well with food, and I've actually done really well with regard to workouts. I've been doing Pilates with The Balanced Life since 2017, but I held off on becoming a member, with access to the workout calendars and the whole collection of workout videos (and all of the other resources Robin supplies), until August of 2020. Since becoming a member in August of last year, I had yet to reach the milestone of "completing the calendar," that is, doing every workout scheduled for the month. In June, I did it, and I am really loving the way I feel. My body has changed so much in just that short month of real, true consistency. I am stronger, and my body just... feels better. More flexible. More... stable. I am really happy to have found Robin all of those years ago, searching on YouTube for "quick, effective Pilates workouts."

This post wasn't supposed to be about workouts. But then again, I'm not entirely sure what it was supposed to be about. I just kind of opened my laptop and started typing. And aside from possibly picking a topic other than Pilates, I probably could have used fewer commas. But, I am here. And that is an improvement.

Happy Fourth of July, from my better-mood-on-the-horizon, Pilates-and-comma-loving house, to yours. 

sunday log one.

Good morning, and happy Sunday! If you have read my blog for any length of time, you will likely be familiar with The Sunday Currently. Last I checked, I had completed 125 volumes of this particular series (!), and for a long time, it was a great joy in my life. However, things run their course, and, as they say, "all good things come to an end." This was true of The Sunday Currently. I even thought I was ending TSC when I wrote the 100th edition of it, but I eventually came back to revive it for another 25 volumes, because I loved the practice so very much. 

In the last couple of years, as I've sporadically revisited this space, you may have noticed me talking a lot about missing posting consistently, how I really wish I could start posting consistently again, and "remember the glory days of blogging in [insert any give year here]." Another theme I noticed when re-reading some old posts yesterday, was that I kept coming back to the idea that I would "always be a person who has a blog." I am fairly certain that is true. And, well, here I am today, in 2021. This blog has been written on since 2011. I had never really stopped to think about the fact that this blog has been going on for 10 years - but when I do think about it, I am filled with a very particular kind of pride, and definitely sentimentalism. 

With this milestone in mind, today I am bringing you (and myself, haha) the prospect of a vehicle through which to begin posting with regularity again - a Sunday post that goes up every week, sharing tidbits and miniutia of everyday life. Thoughts and feelings and things I love. This will not exactly be the rebirth of The Sunday Currently, but rather, The Sunday Currently's.... second cousin? I don't know. They will be related, but they will not be identical. One week it might just be a scenario where I open the blogging window and let words pour out (kind of like today). Another week it may be a categorized list of thoughts and snippets of everyday life, like the TSC posts of yore. Another week yet, it might be a collection of photographs, and perhaps some ramblings about those photographs. It all remains to be seen. 

I am unsure if the excitement is adequate in its translation from my fingertips through the screen to you, but suffice it to say, I am thrilled and immensely looking forward to having a consistent place to call my writing home for the foreseeable future. I hope you share my excitement a little bit, dear readers. After all, we've now been in a relationship for 10 years. And that is something. 

See siddathornton's first post here. 

See the beginning of siddathornton's very first series here.

[Editor's Note - it is not lost on me that this blog needs a facelift. It will be forthcoming.]

in the spirit of brevity.

My kids are watching Masha and the Bear and enjoying a fruit plate while soup simmers on our stovetop, so it felt like the right time for another (what feels like) yearly update here. Here is where I'm going to talk about missing the blogging glory days of 2011-2014...  I really do miss it. There were so many people that I was able to connect with, build a sense of community with, and share ideas with. And of course, the writing itself was always cathartic, renewing. In the last few years, my writing practice has waxed and waned, existing mostly in the ink and paper universe. But, there is something in writing here, in sharing the kind of words that only seem to come when I am typing into this little box on the internet. Every time I write here, I feel a kind of resolve, a kind of contract with myself... "I will write on my blog more. I will share. I will just open the browser and type something as often as I can." A quick check of the dates will expose my lack of dedication to this idea. But who knows... maybe this time will be different?

A lot has been going on since I last wrote here. I opened a business, which is so fun. I have forever searched for a creative outlet like this, and it feels so good to be here. Soon, I will have a website, and eventually, an Etsy store. I also have plans to soon return to work as an occupational therapist. During the early stages of the pandemic, the hospital I was doing PRN for had a drop in census to prepare for the surge (as many hospitals did), and I was no longer needed in the capacity I used to be. Additionally, Justin needed more flexibility in his schedule in case he had to work more hours to cover an increased patient load. Now that the bulk of that is - blessedly, thankfully - behind us, I am really excited to return to work. I am still in the very early beginning stages of that process, but I am happy that it is in motion. 

Other than that, we have just been growing and changing as a family, in all of the expected ways. Activities, learning, outings, and travel have slowly started happening more frequently as the world opens up a bit, and we have more such things on the horizon. 

I also started reading the Outlander series, and though I am reading at a snail's pace, I am loving it so very much. A trip to Scotland is hopefully in my very distant future. I am currently about 2/3 of the way through the second novel, Dragonfly in Amber. I watched the show with Justin last year, and was deeply moved. It's so great to get to experience it all over again through the written word. 

As usual, there is a lot more I could say, but in the spirit of brevity, I will end this here. I sincerely hope to return sooner than months from now, but I suppose only time will tell..