Life Update

Wow. Hello. I did not intend to take such a long break. But, well, life! I don't feel like going into intimate details, but I'll just say that I've had some health issues in the past couple weeks. They sound relatively mild, but I have been surprised how much they've impacted me.

(OK. Totally random photo I found the other day. Love it.)

Basically, I started out getting a bad impaction of wax in my ear. I got it flushed by the doctor. But that led to a middle ear infection. I have quite a history of ear infections, so this sort of always happens. And then that led to an outer ear infection -- the worst I've ever had. And even after antibiotics and ear drops, I'm still not entirely better. It's been a lot of pain, difficulty sleeping, and -- if I'm being honest -- madness. Not being able to hear out of an ear for over a week (going on two weeks) . . . and the feeling of fullness and pressure and PAIN. It's just something I'm ready to leave behind. But as I was getting better . . . I feel like I'm back-sliding a bit. I may need to go back to the doctor yet again.

Anyway. I'm sitting here watching snowflakes fall outside my living room window.

Ada and Stephen have a 2-hour delay from school this morning.

And I'm beyond ready for winter to be over.

We had a few days of warmth last month when I thought "this is it -- we're headed toward spring!" My mood changed. I was able to walk outside and feel the sun on my cheeks. If you live in a cold and cloudy climate, you know that this feeling is everything. Then -- poof. We have descended into the depths yet again with no respite in sight.

There's nothing new there, though. It happens every year. I swear "spring" never truly arrives until May. Heck, I think I remember seeing snowflakes a week before my college graduation. My bother just moved to North Carolina, and I think he's probably the smartest person in our family. While I do like where we live, it's a huge struggle half the year to feel human. It starts all hygge and cozy with the promise of crackling fires and hot cocoa. But then the days just drag until we inevitably get SUMMER. There's really no in-between. Thank goodness for the time change, however. The daylight does help.

The last big change is that track season started. It's a big adjustment for our family. But I feel more prepared than I have in past years. We're in a better groove. I have ideas of how we'll spend those long Saturdays. Something I always struggle with during coaching seasons is spending too much money. So, I'm hoping to keep myself accountable by sharing some ways I'm being frugal. I've been attempting to buy nothing new this year. I don't think I could buy NOTHING. It's very difficult with kids to buy absolutely nothing. But I'm excited to share my progress.

Oh! We have three Aldi stores in my area. The one farthest away has been renovated for quite some time, but I never find myself up in that direction. But they just renovated my usual spot. And it's glorious! I was thinking about trying to snap some photos to give you guys a tour. Any interest in that? I love it! I think they are carrying more products now, too. I wasn't feeling well the last time I went there, so I wasn't paying close attention . . . but some people have said that when the Aldi gets a facelift, the prices go up. Any thoughts there?

Today I just wanted to say HELLO. I should be back at semi-regular blogging. I may try to do those mini blogs again to share brief snippets of what's going on in my life these days. Actually quite a bit to share about. I just hope I can continue to heal and build back my energy.

Happy Tuesday!