7 Quick Takes about Nothing, Really

1. It occurred to me over lunch yesterday, I've eaten Mexican for nearly every meal in the last seven days. No joke. This happens to me every time Andi travels for an extended period of time. I make all my favorite meals, the ones I couldn't get away with serving days in a row if he were home. It just so happens those meals include crock pot chicken tortilla soup (which freezes well and makes awesome leftovers), this new crock pot enchilada soup recipe I tried, loved and ate for several meals afterwards, enchiladas which both Tory and I dig so I had to make them, a Chipotle burrito bowl I ate last Friday and a Qdoba taco salad I had on Sunday. One of those days, I just ate leftover queso dip as a meal. The inside of my body must look awesome right about now.

2. I feel most at peace when I'm a blog post ahead. There's a little fun fact about me. It's like a weight is lifted off my chest when I've got a pending post ready to be published. I hate how I feel when days slip by and I haven't written anything about our life, new things Tory's been up to or the latest topic rolling around in my brain. When there's one post waiting to be published, I feel free and new blog post ideas seem to roll out of my head and onto the keyboard. Today I'm one blog post ahead. Yes!

3. Andi and I leave for Mexico in a few weeks and normally I'd be worried about how I'll look in a bathing suit. But, this time? Not one bit. It's mostly because I'm down 10 pounds since leaving my job in November. I no longer have 35 food courts and coffee shops at my disposal, so I think that might have something to do with it. The other morning I made a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, then spent the next 30 minutes running around the kitchen like a crazy lady, making breakfast for Tory, starting laundry and unloading the dishwasher. I walked through the kitchen later and noticed my bowl of untouched, cold oatmeal sitting on the counter. That's probably the other reason I've lost weight. (Mom, if you're reading this: yes, I do eat). Anyway, not nervous at all for flaunting myself in a bikini on the beaches of Mexico. I haven't been this thin since Andi and I started dating in 2006 and I have to admit, it feels good to be back in my old body again.

4. Speaking of work, the other day I remembered the university where I was employed started their second semester of classes. It used to be the second busiest time of the year for me and now that date just passed me on the calendar like any other. I felt a huge whoosh of relief wash over me. I've been fairly indifferent about leaving my job until this realization, and now I'm just so thankful to be home with Tory everyday and doing something I love. Being a SAHM is work, but it's mostly physically exhausting for me. Mentally, my brain has never been more relaxed and unstressed. (On the days when Tory isn't teething or screaming at me 24/7, of course). Anyway, I feel blessed.

5. Andi's been staying in St. Paul since Saturday, prepping for his big work event happening this weekend. It's a little weird having him in town, but barely talking to him for eight days. I know he's super busy, so usually we don't chat much while he's working. Anyway, on Tuesday during my few hours of "mommy" time, I met Andi in St. Paul to say hey. We had a mid-day cocktail and I forced myself to talk about topics other than Tory. If I only had an hour of his time, I wanted it to be about us - not our little girl, not bills, not what needs fixing around the house - just us. Time to reconnect. It felt very scandalous meeting at his hotel room on a Tuesday afternoon. We might need to do that more often. Ha.

6. One thing I love about being a SAHM is the indifference between weekdays and weekends. The weekends when Andi worked used to be the loneliest times because everyone else already had plans with their families. Now, Tuesdays could just as easily be Saturdays. I kind of like it, actually. Sometimes being a SAHM feels like being on a really long vacation. A vacation without the relaxation or beach part, of course.

7. Does your UPS guy ring the doorbell? Mine does and it really has me fired up. This has been going on for some time now, so we posted a cute little plaque by our doorbell requesting people not ring the bell because the baby is sleeping. This doesn't stop the delivery drivers though, who feel the need to toss packages on our stoop, ring the doorbell and briskly walk away. They don't even wait for me to answer the door! We've even tried personally asking the drivers not to ring the doorbell, but it continues to happen anyway. Yesterday, I about lost it. Tory was 40 minutes into a nap she desperately needed. While she was sleeping, I busted through all my usual chores of cleaning up and laundry and was in the middle of prepping dinner when the doorbell rang. The dog went ballistic and Tory started crying. I was seething mad. I hadn't even got to the part of nap time where I get to sit down! If it hadn't been two degrees outside, I would've seriously run after the UPS truck to give that driver a piece of my mind. STOP RINGING THE DOORBELL! JUST DROP THE DANG PACKAGE AND LEAVE! I finally crawled up on the countertop and disabled our doorbell for good. I haven't figured out how I'll silence the dog yet, but a muzzle might be in order. What was in the package that was so darn important, you ask? A pair of work gloves for Andi. GRRRR. And, this is the story of why you'll have to call ahead when visiting my house because I won't be answering our non-functioning doorbell.

The End.