Saturday, August 31, 2024

Saturday, August 31, 2024

Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2005. Mattie was three years old and very excited that day, as we took him to Legoland in San Diego. It had to be Mattie's favorite theme park! Mattie was a big train fan, especially Thomas the Tank engine. The beauty of Legoland was they have huge Lego structures of all kinds. Truly it is a park that has something for everyone! 

Quote of the day: One of the hardest things to do in life is letting go of what you thought was real. ~ Kathleen Aquino

I took this video of Mattie in the Fall of 2007. I enrolled Mattie in an after school club, called Construction Club. I knew this would be right up his alley, as it involved building things out of every day objects and the club was run by his kindergarten teacher. On the first day of the Club, Mattie returned home with a spaceship that he designed! This five minute video highlights Mattie's explanation of this ship! This was what our days looked like, and whatever Mattie brought home, I tried to take an interest in it and to get him to dialogue about it! I was fascinated by the way Mattie's mind worked and given what you see here, you might understand why I nicked name him "my little engineer."

I have no idea what awoke me at 1am this morning, but like the night before, I was wide awake. I seemed to have developed a post nasal drip, and felt like I was drowning in fluid. So I propped myself up, took several deep breaths and was able to fall asleep eventually without needing the TV. I am sure part of these sleepless nights is attributed to stress. 

I am very stressed out about September bills. I could have put my head in the sand and not think about it, but I knew this wouldn't help my anxiety level. I also know if I don't attack issues head on, no one else in my house is going to do it. I have to be the responsible adult on all fronts. Once I got my parents settled after breakfast, I headed to the computer and decided to create a September budget flow spreadsheet. Typically I do such a sheet each month, but on paper. Today, I decided there was too much to account for, that I needed an Excel spreadsheet. In fact, the process was so helpful, that I most likely will do this monthly, so that I have a way to track things very concisely month to month, and honestly with each month that I can juggle all of this on my own, it illustrates to me that YES I can do this. These spreadsheets will also help me capture historical data so that next September, I can see how I managed all the expenses. As my lifetime friend Karen said to me tonight.... I maybe more of a numbers person than I give myself credit for! NOT SURE about that, I just know that invention is the mother of necessity!

This afternoon, I went outside onto the porch with my cat, Indie. I sat outside for at least thirty minutes. While there I had several hummingbird sightings. Hummingbirds tend to become very active in September, before they make their flight to warmer climates. This morning, I changed their sugar water, to anticipate their frenzy. Cleaning out the feeders is a production, but one that is worth it, as I love seeing these remarkable birds. 

Aren't these white flowers on my chive beautiful?!

I love this portion of our garden. The crape myrtle was here when we bought the house, but Peter planted all the roses, because he knew how much I love them. I have been nurturing them all summer. 

My cardinal sighting! 

My Sunny Hibiscus. I bought this plant in the spring, and I must admit that I bought these hibiscus because of its name. To me it is a tribute to my beautiful Sunny! 

In any case, when I bought these plants, they were TINY! Now look at them!

This evening, I made sausage and peppers for dinner. Yes I form the sausage into meatballs. It was delicious and I am trying all sorts of things to inspire my dad to eat.