A Massive Download

I can't believe how little I has made it from my mind onto this blog.  I keep trying.  8.5 days of school left.  8.5 days until va-caaaaaaaa-tion!  Ready?  Uh, no, not in the sense that I am prepared.  But ready?  Uh, yes.

So I'm going to do a massive download of life, list style.  'Tis the season for lists!

1.  Alex's birthday was so much fun this year.  We bought him a certificate to go indoor skydiving.  He loved it so much.  He really wants to sky dive for real, and I've told him he must be old enough to do it without parental consent and he must be able to pay for it himself, and he mustn't tell me until it's over. 

that's the face of pure joy!

right after finishing their flights

17? I can barely absorb that.

2.  A few days after this fun event, we experienced another fun event.  Well, fun in a different sort of way.  Flying high in a different sort of way.

Bye-bye wisdom teeth. hello altered-awareness.  "I'm not tired at all!  I'm 6' 2.25 inches.  My cheeks aren't numb anymore.  Why are you laughing at me?  When can we go home?  Are my cheeks puffy?"  This kid talked and talked and talked as soon as he woke up.

 He asked me to take him straight to school, because "other than the gauze in my mouth and I can't talk right, I'm totally fine."  Mmm-hmm.  They encouraged me to get the pain meds on board right away so he would "sleep and relax".  Uh, not so much.  He did not sleep a wink.  Allll day. 



3.  Sisters.  They make me smile.

4.  Brenna's last band concert.  Ever.  I will miss her flute-y toots. 

5.  When 3 out of 5 Carlson's are sick with plugged noses and ears, why not go breathe in some salty air to cleanse the sinuses?

6.  I'm learning so much about anxiety issues.  Reading about it, studying it.  I realized something silly about it this week.  I have been craving....craving!....feeling my heart beat hard and sweating hard.  I've missed it so much.  I've been walking, and I know that is something and that it helps the anxiety.  But I wanted so badly to feel that feeling of working hard.  I found an intriguing workout circuit on Pinterest (yes, Pinterest), and knew that it would work all the spots on me that desperately need to be worked.  And so now I've done it 2 days in a row.  And it makes my pulse pound and I sweat.  And then when I was done with the little workout?  My heart stopped pounding and went back to its nice regular, gentle rhythm.  And the silly thing I realized?  I have been fearful of feeling that feeling again, since going through my issues in December.  That horrible pulse-pounding felt so out of control, and I hated it.  And somewhere inside of me I decided to avoid that feeling, even though I didn't realize it.  But the craving won, and I got to do yet another "ha-ha!!" at anxiety.  Because that pulse-pounding on my terms?  Felt great!  And now my muscles hurt in such a good way.  Love it.

7.  And speaking of Pinterest, I also have been swooning over lots of crafty ideas I've found.  I made this over the weekend, and it's a big hit:

Fun to have in an area we all walk by several times a day.  The "I love you because..." is under the glass, and using a dry-erase marker, we can write little notes on top of the glass.  I'm excited to see what pops up on here!

8.  And my poor blender is pathetic on its good day, when it's well-rested.  But after a few days of making countless smoothies and milkshakes and even an attempt at blending pizza, it has reached a new level of pathetic-ness.

So how sweet is this???  My son went to the store today and brought me home this:

My own Magic Bullet, with a thank you card thanking me for taking care of him!  My heart is full indeed.  And I will now be a smoothie-making maniac, making him the perfect drink "in just 10 seconds!".  Completely unexpected gifts are sure sweet.

And now I'm done.  For now.