The Saturday 7

What a crazy week!

1. A polar vortex, the likes of which we haven't seen since 2019 swept in and wreaked havoc on everything in its path for 4 days. Temps were in single digits with windchills well below zero. As if that wasn't enough, it snowed almost continually for those 4 days. And we all wondered, "why do we live here??" 

2. We actually had a scheduled day off of school on Monday for teacher records day. We slept in, watched the inauguration and crossed our fingers for a snow day on Tuesday. Wish granted! Snow day #1. 

Justin had the day off as well since temps were dangerously low and there wasn't any available inside work. I started a puzzle, listened to an audiobook, played games with the kids, and helped Justin transport his truck to and from the Ford dealership to fix a recall issue. The roads weren't the worst I've ever been on, but they were no picnic. That night, Lena and Levi had their first basketball practices of the season. It's convenient that they're on the same night, but they're at different locations. So Justin dropped Levi and me off at his practice, then took Lena to hers. Levi is "the naughty kid" on his team and it kills me. If you ever have the displeasure of experiencing it yourself please know that I'm trying my best with him. He gets disciplined. He has boundaries. He just doesn't care. 

I'm actually really dreading basketball season. Levi's games are Saturday mornings at 8 or 9! The gym is farther away than school, so some days we're going to have to leave before we even leave for school during the week! That's unconscionable! And then Lena's games are Saturday afternoons at 12:30 or 1:30. 🤦🤦🤦 We're seriously going to drive 20 minutes to Levi's game, 20 minutes home, then 25 minutes to Lena's game (it's at a different location) and 25 minutes home. I'm such a bad sports mom. 

3. We got word Tuesday night that school was closed again on Wednesday! That day, I decided to deep clean the living room. I cleaned out cupboards and reorganized games and purged a bunch of toys. It honestly kills me to get rid of stuff. I have a serious hoarding problem. Feeling a little stir crazy, the girls and I went to a thrift store to shop for Spirit Week next week. I may have bought 20 books for the library while I was there. Oops! (It came out of the monthly spending money I allotted myself in the budget!) I also finished the book I had started the day before. It was a very random selection from the online library. I was craving something mysterious and suspenseful, and was intrigued by the premise of this one. I've never heard of the author and didn't read any reviews ahead of time, but I enjoyed it! (Not Christian, some swearing and references to sex, but nothing explicit.)


4. Thursday was Lena's birthday and she wanted a snow day soooo badly. We were supposed to get 1-3 inches of snow overnight, but I didn't think it'd be enough to warrant a snow day. I was wrong! We got the text at 5:30 a.m., and by the time I rolled out of bed, it looked like this in our backyard:


That wasn't all fresh snow, but I heard we got around 8 inches between Wednesday evening and Thursday afternoon. So Lena got her birthday wish . . . and breakfast in bed per usual. 



Justin actually had to go to work on Thursday, and Lena waited very impatiently near the window for him to get home so she could open her presents. Haha.



This year she wanted gymnastics themed clothing, books (Baxter Family Children series by Karen Kingsbury, Cat Kid by Dav Pilkey), an electric throw like mine, hair tinsel, Posca markers, and those silly trendy hand sanitizers. I refused to pay $9 per ounce though, so I found a knock-off version at Five Below. Haha. 

Because I'm a sucker with a weakness for fast food, we got Subway for lunch and Culver's for dinner. Still sticking to our budget, though!! (I budget a lot for restaurant food. #worthit) 

5. By Thursday afternoon, after 4 days of no school, I was starting to feel like I was becoming one with the couch. Pretty sure I looked like this:

Stella is obsessed with the foil wrappers on my Dove candies. I eat them for her sake. 

Temps were finally in the teens without much wind, so I decided to do something very uncharacteristic and go shovel the driveway. Thankfully, it was pretty light, fluffy snow. But it was more of a workout than I'm used to (which doesn't mean much). I did about half of it before my vision started to tunnel and I started to feel very lightheaded. Lol. 
If only I could actually blame it on a heart condition. 

6. Friday was Justin's birthday . . . and it was a big one.

The kids actually went to school for the first time all week, and he had taken the day off weeks ago. So we went to Anna's house for brunch, then he went ice fishing while I worked in the church library until I had to pick the kids up. The real celebration was that evening. . . . At the end of soccer season last October, his team parents all chipped in and got him a gift card for Bowdie's Chophouse - a high end steakhouse in East Grand Rapids. The amount on the gift card was pretty significant, and when we looked up their menu online we realized why! Haha. We decided to save it for his 40th birthday so we could really celebrate in style. Last night we cashed it in  . . . and realized we are such country bumpkins. Lol. I've never been to such an expensive restaurant with such weird food. I didn't even know what to wear! I actually ended up borrowing a dress and shoes from Lucy since she's way more stylish than I am. 




As I told my sisters, I'm pretty sure I looked like a wannabe teenager headed to a Taylor Swift concert, but that's the best I can do. And a lady in the hall outside the bathroom of the restaurant complimented my boots! I wanted to say, "Thanks, they're my 14 year old daughter's!" but I just stuck with "Thanks!" 😂

The restaurant was very dark and swanky and I felt like a major impostor. Lol. 

We ended up ordering one alcoholic drink (because I hate the taste of alcohol), two Caesar salads, one big 'ol steak, lobster mac n' cheese, and something called Brussels and Belly, which I think was Brussels sprouts with pork belly. 

I did take one sip, and did not like it. Shocker. (Also, I was cold the whole time and never took off my coat!)

The salad was amazing. I love freshly shaved parmesan.

Neither of us actually likes seafood that much, but we figured this was a once in a lifetime chance to try lobster since we weren't actually paying for it. Verdict: no bueno. Haha. We just don't have very refined palates I guess. The mac n' cheese was good at least!😂

The Brussels and Belly was actually my favorite part of the meal. I brought the leftovers home and had them for lunch today!

The steak was good, too, but I'm not a huge steak aficionado, so I kind of think all steaks taste the same. 😬 When the waiter found out it was Justin's birthday, he brought out this brownie/peanut butter/ice cream confection complete with a lit candle! But no singing, thank goodness. Hahaha.

It was a really fun experience, and I'm glad we got to try some new things, but I'm ok with my country bumpkin lifestyle. East GR is not for me. Lol. 

7. Today I woke up with a headache that has persisted all day, despite drinking water, thank you very much!! But I did manage to finish my nonfiction book for the week. There are 37 weeks left until my birthday, and I need to read 31 more nonfiction books to reach my goal of 40 before 40, so I really need to get through one a week. Anyway, this week's was None Like Him: 10 Ways God is Different From Us (and why that's a good thing) by Jen Wilkin. It was mostly review for me, but I can always use the reminders. I learned this week that Psalm 139 contains most of the major attributes of God. 

O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar . . . Omniscient (all knowing)
You hem me in, behind and before . . . Eternal 
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it  . . . Incomprehensible
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? . . . Omnipresent (everywhere at once)
You formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb . . . Self-existent (he creates life, he was not created)
In your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them . . . Sovereign 

8. Bonus point for pics and memes!

She nibbled on one piece then walked away!

I got the Wordle in two tries twice this week!




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