I do my best to try to write a blog entry when I can tell I have too much to say and will end up getting spammy with all of my facebook updates. I believe I’ve failed that attempt this week. I’ve just been in too great of a mood and I’ve had way too many things going on. I think my last blog entry just added to the facebook spam. Oh well, those that know me very well should be used to me talking (and talking, and talking) a lot by now.
This week just keeps getting better. I think I last posted here on Monday night, so I’ll pick up from there and give you a quick overview of my week. I’ll highlight the high points in case you want to skim. I mostly write these so I can look back on them later, anyway.
I recovered pretty quickly from the all-nighter I pulled Monday waiting for the contractors, which is a rarity for me as that usually hits me pretty hard. Tuesday I was able to go to the Y and exercise again, I’ve actually gotten there several times over the past week or two, so hopefully it will be an established habit soon. I discovered more exercise machines I can actually use (which was unexpected, considering I can’t use anything that requires me to use any muscles in my arms, below the elbows, or any muscles in my legs besides inner and outer thigh). I had to up the weight on the inner/outer thigh machines already, and did an extra set of reps to feel like I was getting a workout! I even managed to swim without the swim paddles I need — that I can’t afford quite yet — without damaging anything.
I went grocery shopping from there, something I haven’t really been able to do much of lately, found some great deals and got my pantries and freezer pretty well restocked. I was sore from the workout and barely managed to get the cart to the checkout, but I pushed through (forgive the pun) and managed to get everything put away before I crashed.
I scheduled Wednesday as an off day because I knew I’d been overdoing it, and I knew I had to have energy for Thursday. I’m glad I did, because don’t remember much of it. I know when I got up my scale showed me down 5 lbs from the weight I was unable to get below last time I tried to lose weight (I’ve been eating differently but I wasn’t really even trying to lose weight this time). I think I spent some time highlighting my Bible — I’m slowly trying to migrate my highlights and notes from my old trusty torn apart Bible to the new one. I think I spent the rest of the day just basically vegging.
Thursday I went bowling with a family from the new church and another mother and her daughter. I was good and didn’t bowl — I love bowling but it put my arm out of commission for weeks sometimes even before this issue with the nerve intrapment, so I dare not try anymore — but I got to hang out with 5 kids, 2 teens and a couple of adults while they bowled their first game, and then Penny (the mom of most of those kids, who’d invited me) played a game of air hockey and two games of pool with me while the others were either watching us or still bowling. I had an absolute blast, and I think everyone else had a great time, too. I even got to play a couple of games of skeetball before we left. We went to McD’s afterwards to grab a bite to eat and then on to church. Mike, the 14 yo, who’s a pretty cool kid, rode in my back seat to both places (I really have to clean my car out, there wasn’t room in the front), and we talked the whole way.
Thursday evening’s service was great as well…
There were a lot more people there than last time, I think because they had some special musicians in that evening. But even with all of the other musicians there I didn’t get 3 rolls in the door before someone asked me if I was going to sing again, and that question was repeated by enough people that I lost count. At least a couple of people who hadn’t even been there Sunday came up and told me they were looking forward to hearing me sing because they’d heard someone bragging on me. I was a little uncomfortable with all of this, but my normal awkwardness didn’t even get a chance to come out, because I was still bubbling over from the great day/week I’d been having. (Later that night I found myself thinking, “wait a minute! All that hugging and hand shaking and talking to people and I didn’t even freak out!” lol)
After a few congregational songs, something told me I should try to do one of my personal favorites (Hail, Hail Lion of Judah!). After a quick check with one of the ladies to gauge whether the people would be willing to play “repeat after me” on a praise song, I went ahead and got permission to do two both songs (it was made clear I had to do an encore of the song I sang Sunday as well). With that many people there, almost all ready and willing to learn the song with me, it went incredibly well. I’ve taught/sang that song at several churches, and I usually get a few to sing along, but the entire room erupted here, and it reminded me of “home”. The Spirit was in it and I think everyone there got a blessing, I know I sure did.
My voice was tired from talking all day by the time I got to my song, so I don’t think I sang it as well as I had Sunday, but the Spirit was still strong, and I believe a number of people were blessed by it as well. The other musicians did a great job (including one little girl with an impressive set of lungs and an awesome voice) and the Spirit was with them as well. Then the pastor’s message was great, inspired, spot-on, and needed, and it touched on some of the things that Mike and I had been discussing earlier in the car. We spent quite a while in prayer, peppered through the service, and we didn’t get out of there until around 11pm. That’s my kind of service, the kind where you let God have his way and stay until He’s done :)
I went up to encourage the young singer afterwards and kind of got blocked in, so I was one of the last ones out the door, and ended up talking to people in the parking lot for a while before I left. Before the night was over I’d asked about (with some prodding from Mike), and given a tentative commitment to helping with their VBS program in July. I don’t know what I’ll be doing but I bet I’ll have fun! :)
So I got home near midnight, and didn’t remember until about 2am that I would have to be up early in the morning for the contractors that were coming to work on my door. I tried to pull an all-nighter again, so I wouldn’t have to worry about whether I’d actually wake up when they arrived, but I lost the fight around 6am, and woke up just in time to see the contractor’s truck leaving my driveway. Thankfully, he called a few minutes later to tell me he would be back shortly but his workers had gotten lost and he had to leave to go pick them up. Disaster averted, I would have been SO mad at myself if I’d missed them, after trying to get someone to do this job for nearly a year.
this is why I was trying to get this worked on months ago
The job took them most of the day, because of more water damage than they’d expected, and having to chisel an old door jam out of cement (whoever put that door in was not bright). I ended up sleeping through large portions of the work, I slept through chiseling, hammering, drilling and power saws, all feet from where I was sitting lol
In the end I *finally* have a new sliding glass door on the back of my kitchen, and a new entry door on the attached garage. He didn’t end up charging me any more than the original estimate (which I was worried about because of a misunderstanding and the extra work on the water damage). There are a few finishing touches and a couple other things I need to pick up, but he’s coming to finish up on Monday. Since this contractor actually showed up, and seems to have done a good job, I actually have someone I can call the next time.
He also gave me a really low quote on what it would take to get a dishwasher installed in one of my cabinets, so I just have to find a way to round up the money and maybe I’ll be able to do that before too awfully long. Doing my dishes by hand is incredibly hard for me to do these days, if I could manage to get a dishwasher installed my stress levels would drop significantly, plus I’d have the energy to do other housework that ends up never getting done right now.
They got done just in time for me to get ready and head to church at my regular church. We had a good service there, and Vivienne showed up. I hadn’t seen her for a long time, and was glad to catch up a bit. Afterwards, I swung by the park and caught the tail end of a baseball game between the youth and adults at the new church.
So combine this with the last post and I’ve had quite the spectacular and busy week, and I’m not sure it’s over yet.
This coming week I have a date on Wednesday to take my friend Hunter (and maybe his mom) to Skyline Chili for kids’ night. I also have to child-proof and clean my house, and I have to try to find a way to get my schedule moved back around to something approaching normal hours, because the week after next my friend’s preschooler, Kayley, will be coming to hang out with me. For now, I’m going to go see how much sleep I can get, lol.
Goodnight world.
