Adventures in La La Land

Oops. I forgot to blog last week. Better get caught up . . . 1. So I did indeed quit Keto. It wasn't worth the trouble. I immediately gained my 5 pounds back, and they all went straight to my stomach. If you see me in person, let me assure you that I'm not pregnant - I just love carbs and my body does not. I think I'm going to try low calorie for the month between my birthday and our trip. We'll see if that works any better than Keto, or if I'm just destined to stay at this weight. Justin has continued to do Keto-lite and has lost a ton of weight. It's a good thing I love him . . . 2. It's been a busy couple of weeks. Lena started gymnastics again. She was so excited about it until a few hours before the first class, when the panic attacks started. But she was able to push through, and said that her nerves fled as soon as she set foot on the gym floor. We talked a lot about how she knows logically that there's nothing to be afraid of, so she has to do it...

 1. Didja miss me last week? We were at our 13th annual VK Family camping adventure. Even after all these years, I still leave every year wondering why people think camping is fun. Lol. Is it because we don't have a camper? Or a fancy dune buggy? Is it not disconnected enough since our phone data still works? All weekend, I just kept thinking, "We could do this at home a lot more comfortably and with a lot less work on my part." Justin was on his phone the whole time (mostly reading), Lucy read by herself all weekend, Lena did a lot of yard gymnastics and reading. I read and scrolled on my phone and wandered around aimlessly feeling bored and restless. I tried to hang out with the family some. I played a couple card games, and sat by the bonfire with them, and chatted with some cousins at the pool. But it's an effort for me. I've been part of this family for 22 years, and they are all lovely people, but I only see them 2-3 times a year, so I'm not super close ...

 1. We had another momentous week around here. First was back to school: I only have 4 library classes this year, but 3 of them are very big. It's a pretty tight squeeze! But it went well. The whole week went well. Lena was very nervous and starting to melt down in my office on Monday morning, but I said, "No. Do not have a panic attack. Get out there and do it scared." She agreed with me, and said, "I know I'll be fine as long as I don't freak myself out." And she was. The first two days were hard, but she did it anyway, and by Wednesday she wasn't nervous at all. Thank you, Jesus! Levi has been loving 4th grade. His 3rd grade teacher warned them that 4th grade was going to be a lot harder and the teacher was really strict, so I think he's been pleasantly surprised that it isn't that bad. Haha. Lucy doesn't have much to say. Science is already really hard. Math is too easy and she's worried she should've done the advanced class. ...