The Simple Things in Life

Weekends spent with myself (and myself only) are as rare as a 90 degree day in January…in Minnesota.

This weekend spontaneously turned into one of those rare treats. It was a bit ironic that the week that both little man and I were sick was concluded by a weekend spent healthy and solo. Time spent away from each other is chicken soup for both of our souls.

What does a single late-twenty-something do with “free time”?

Hell if I know!

I started by meeting some friends for a pontoon ride on a local lake. Pure bliss. The sun beating down on the water, good company, and cold beverages were medicine for my soul. Sure, I had EVERY INTENTION of being productive at home….but to be able to get up and go, without making sure others have used the bathroom, have Blanket, or are in need of a nap, I digress.

I couldn’t resist traipsing around town, checking out a clothing store that is hell to bring a toddler to. Finding some AMAZING deals. Spontaneously spending my free Saturday night with a great friend from High School whom I don’t get to see often enough. Laughing. Having a few (more) adult beverages. Dancing to live music. Sleeping, uninterrupted.

My weekend was filled with a million simple things most single child-free people take for granted. It was blissful. It was calm. It was perfect….However, my heart prevailed and I was damn happy when life returned to me and little man. We might not live life to the beat of a single person’s drum, but I honestly do love the beat we live by.

It's been a while.

I have been extremely out of touch with this little corner of the internet...and I have zero excuses...well...except for the fact that life has been getting in my way.

Work life.
Family.
Friends.
Traveling (nothing huge, just a camping trip here and a trip to the cabin there....OH! I can tell you about CAMPING...exciting, right? Yeah yeah yeah...just bare with me!)

So...I got a little bug up my rear and decided I was going to take little man camping. Sure, I'm a girl who loves to wear a dress, but I am never afraid to get dirty. I had all of the supplies I'd ever need:

Tent
Air Mattresses
Car adapted pump for said air mattresses
flash light
swiss army knife
cooler
wicked awesome campfire starting skills
sleeping bags
bug spray
sunscreen

You get the point.

Because this was such a spontaneous idea, I planned on going to a State Park, but wasn't able to make a reservation...I was winging it.

OF COURSE that weekend, well, the particular friday we were set to leave, HUGE tornado producing storms were destined for my state park of choice. I was pretty bummed out until a little light bulb went off in my head that, duh, there are over 100 state parks...I could just head the opposite direction of huge said storm. Go me.

So, instead of heading north, I headed south. A very small voice inside of me shouted "southern MN has been TORNADO ALLEY THIS YEAR...SERIOUSLY" but doggone it, I was taking my little man camping if it was the last thing I did.

As we headed out of town, it was raining so hard you could barely see 10 feet in front of your vehicle. Little man thought it was awesome....all I could think was that I hoped it would stop raining by the time we got to the park (unbeknown to me, the highway we had been driving on flooded a mere 15 minutes after we had left town, I digress).

Friday night we really lucked out (weather wise). As it turned out, two huge cells were north and south of us...but we managed to set up shop in an area that avoided the danger.

Saturday morning came. Breakfast was had. We hiked to a small waterfall. Little man played on their small playground for a bit. We settled down for an early afternoon nap....and was woken up by the park ranger telling us we were under a tornado watch until 10pm that night.

Awesome.

In a nutshell, a call from my father at 7pm to warn me of a nasty storm headed in my direction was enough for me to pack up the site within 40 minutes and head home. We were only an hour out of the cities...I didn't want to press my luck two nights in a row. Life is too short to be taken out by a giant oak tree because I HAD TO GO CAMPING.

All in all, camping was a success. There are things I would do the same the next go-around...and things I would improve on. With the state parks sticker on my front window, I'm confident there will be at least one more trip in our near future.

Life is good.

There was a thick, rancid smell as I opened my front door. It was the first time the door had been cracked since early Friday morning, and the fuzzy strawberries and stinky bowl of pasta were strong reminders that I didn't have time to clean up before rushing up north to enjoy the long weekend.

Growing up, we'd spend a lot of time 3.5 north of the cities. It was (and still is) my uncle's cabin. It's the place where I learned how to drive a boat, bait a hook, remove a fish from my line, play tag in the woods, and enjoy everything nature had to offer.

This past weekend, I was able to share my Uncle's cabin with little man. It was his first time fishing. His first canoe ride. Countless hours were spent hitting a plastic ball off of a tee, chasing around butterflies with a net, and soaking up heat from our campfire. Words truly cannot express how thankful I am that I was able to afford him those experiences. I look forward to our next cabin excursion...the three and a half hour drive each way is worth every minute.

Breaking Monotony

I feel as if my life is in a bit of a groundhogs day slump. Monday through Friday, I wake up, get myself dressed, get little man up and on track to get dressed, apply makeup and attempt to make my hair presentable, continue to beg little man to get dressed, threaten little man that I'm going to leave without him if he doesn't get dressed, plead for little man to get dressed, race out the door to work, spend time at work conquering one task after another (yes, I'm a rockstar), race to pick little man up from daycare, quickly brainstorm a dinner idea, follow through with said dinner idea (have I bored you to sleep yet?!?!), bicker with little man about bed time, then proceed to melt into the couch in a pathetic attempt at unwinding and clearing my brain.

Does that "schedule" sound as gross to you as it does to me?

The catch-22 is I love my life, the company I work for, where I live, and my son. Love, love, love. I'm fortunate that I love all of these things...but I still feel like I'm stuck in a boring monotonous rut. I need to break free, switch things up a little...preferably with things that are low-no cost.

My geeked out garden has been a great distraction...Gardening is solitary. I'm a social bug, and recharge by communicating with other people.

Any suggestions?

I'm tempted to try and take a random half day, grab a cup of coffee out in the sun, mentally debug my head, and possibly tackle some much needed and long overdue laundry. Maybe that will free up some of my funkiness (?)

Dear Today,

I quit.


Miz.

Garden Update!

I'm completely geeked out about my vegetable garden this year!! As of this past weekend, I've officially planted everything that my little heart has desired. Here's what's in the dirt:

• four sugar snap peas (one sprouted)
• four green beans
• one beef steak tomato
• one roma tomato
• one sweet 100 tomato
• three rows of lettuce (all sprouted and coming up beautifully)
• one row of carrots, sprouted
• one green pepper
• one red pepper
• one mild jalapeno
• four rows of onions, two walla walla, two spanish sweet
• two eggplants
• one rosemary*

The water source we have is what we can carry over to the garden, as they're having technical difficulty with the spout on the building next to the garden...but I'm ok with the extra effort.

So far, the garden has been an amazing teaching tool for little man. The other day, I asked him what we used to water the garden. He logically responded with water. Then, I asked him if we used soda to water the garden, and he rolled his eyes and said of course not. I posed the question, "Why don't we use soda to water our garden?" to which he had no answer, so I explained how water makes things grow, plants or people...so if he wanted to grow big and strong he'd have to drink a lot of water. The idea has stuck with him, and I couldn't be happier.

*we also have 6" pots of basil and cilantro growing in our kitchen..this summer is going to be fresh and delicious!!!

Times, they are a changin'

I think back to the days of my early twenties. Life felt forever, permanent. My friends, my activities, what I did and didn't do. I felt like I was in a groove...some of my groove was great, and some was not so great...but it was a groove, and it was mine.

I firmly believe change is a foreign word to a young 20-something. It's a word that you only associate with clothing or your cell phone.

When I was 20, I felt like I was resistant to change. I felt as though my friends, career, school, and life in general wouldn't change because I didn't want it to.

Little did I know.

Change has been a main theme in my life for as long as I can remember, even when I didn't want to admit it.

• I've changed apartments
• I've changed friends
• Friends have changed me
• I've changed jobs
• Jobs have changed me
• I've changed. Period.

Reflecting on how much my life has changed has opened my eyes to how much life for others around me has changed. New jobs, houses, marital status', friends, family additions...you name it.

The same things people laughed at five years ago could be the same things you scoff at today. It doesn't make those things right or wrong...it's just a change in perspective. You can call it "growing up", but I chose to call it just a change....

Some personal changes I've gone through?

• Moving, although I've been living in the same spot for over four years now.
• Having a child - one of the biggest "tip my world upside down" changes I've ever experienced...and also one of the best things that could've ever happened to me.
• Changing jobs - stressful but extremely worth it in the end.
• Altering my social life to fit all of the above.

For me, some change has been exciting. Some change has been scary. Some change has been down right tough. To this day, and even at this very moment, I have to remind myself that change isn't bad. It's inevitable....and some change can be absolutely great.