Currently / 12.22.17

It’s my last day of work for 2017! Woohoo! I’m very much looking forward to the holiday break. We’re all off for the next two weeks, since Emma doesn’t even go back to school until the second week of January.

We’re sending the girls to daycare (Emma can “drop in” there) for a couple days next week so that we have a couple days on our own as well. We can get a few things done around the house and also something fun! Seeing the new Star Wars movie is definitely on the “fun” list, and I’ve managed to avoid spoilers so far…

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My dad drove down for a visit last week, and headed back home on Tuesday. This was the first time he’d been here in a year…and maybe the first time he’s come by himself? Not sure. It’s usually either both of them or just my mom.

Anyway, it was really fun to have him here for a few days! Charlotte took an hour or so to warm up to him (since she didn’t remember him from a year ago) but after that both girls had a blast. It was also really cute to hear Charlotte trying to say “Grandfather,” which usually came out as a barely identifiable three-syllable mush.

We played in the park, went out to eat, and checked out the Dickinson Christmas Lights on Sunday night. They had fewer lights this year than I remembered from the last time we went, but considering the severe flooding that Dickinson experienced during Hurricane Harvey, I’m impressed that the lights event even happened this year!

(The last time we went was 2013, when we ran into a coworker and he snapped one of my all-time favorite family photos. Well, favorite from the years when we only had Emma, at least.)

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Speaking of Hurricane Harvey, Wired published a really great article about Eric Berger, a local weather blogger. And while “weather blogger” is a pretty accurate description of what he does on the side (his day job is as an aerospace reporter for Ars Technica), it doesn’t really convey how awesome he is, and how big of an impact his blog and “hype-free forecasting” had during Harvey. He’s a local hero at this point, and I hope that never changes.

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A serious question for anyone who knows more about weight training than I do: is it normal to be sore after every workout? I go to Orange Theory once a week, so that’s the extent of my weight training. I use whatever weight the coach recommends for each exercise, and sometimes a bit less.

I am almost ALWAYS sore for a day or two afterwards. It’s usually minor, but sometimes more significant. Some exercises definitely make me more sore than others, and I tend to know what those are and try to take it a bit easier when possible. (Interestingly, lunges usually result in a LOT of upper thigh/booty soreness even if all I’m lunging with is body weight!)

Is it because once a week is relatively infrequent, and would it improve if I did it more often? Should I reduce the weight even more? (I use 8-10 lb dumbbells for most upper body exercises, so I’m already pretty low.) Or is soreness just a good thing, and a sign that I’m working those muscles?

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The Gypsy Wife quilt I’ve been working on is assembled in 10 different sections. I’ve finished 1-5 and 8-10 but left 6 and 7 till the end. Section 6 is by far the most complicated single section in the whole quilt and I started working on it on Wednesday night. An hour later, it looked like the quilt exploded onto my sewing table! But I was able to finish it last night and start in on Section 7. I should be sharing a finished quilt top very soon!

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p.s. I’m doing a 31 day blog writing challenge!