Squirrels of the Grand Canyon. Picture credit: my 6 year old.

I was introduced to and then gifted 2 copies of Flip7 by 3 completely unconnected people. Fun and easy enough for all ages (including kids under 6 and almost 90-year-olds).

A picture of the Grand Canyon from the South Rim, near Mather Point.

Meteor Crater.

Me, standing in front of some petrified trees.

Sunset Crater Volcano in the background with forest and lava rock in the foreground.

Spring break summary: a canyon, a crater, big trees of stone, and a volcano

Confessions:
I left the brand new bottle of homemade vanilla from a friend in my vacation rental. Accidentally.
My cat is lost and I’m not sure it was completely an accident.
Life might be less complicated if we don’t find the cat, even with the many tears shed by me and my kids for this cat.

It’s the gifts that get me overthinking… how long do I need to save the countdown to Christmas notebook of conference talks?

Respond with ❤️ if it’s something that I genuinely appreciate. Otherwise breeze on past it without comment or reaction. On the group chats where it comes up, there’s enough of us with different response tendencies that I don’t think anyone is keeping score.

This is my love language.

Trauma

It was a great trip! I loved it!

It was my first time there—I loved it!

Selfie of me with wind blown hair on the beach.

Another selfie of me with wind blown hair on the beach.

Haystack Rock.

Selfie of me shopping for leather purses.

Mom’s weekend off in pictures.

Is it even really a weekend off if I come home and get to clean the dishes that were used while I was away?

Someone emptied the dishwasher and started refilling it when I was gone. But there’s too much crusty food left on the dirty dishes. They won’t get clean.

So I’ve just left them. And the dishes are piling up in the sink too.

I’ll probably crack soon.

But I’ve got another day or two before then.

Last weekend was “Mom’s weekend off”—as in, I left town for 2 days an left everything in someone else’s capable hands.

Before I left, I left the dishwasher running and the sink empty.

I’ve been avoiding doing dishes since I got back.

Every so often I lie under my desk and hide. I’m thankful for the large squishmallow that apparently lives there now.
I work at home. No one else is here.

Selfie of me sitting on the couch withcats, Gem and Scout.

The cats keep me company as I watch tv on the couch.

ICE using handicap hang tags?

I was 18 the last time I went to Disneyland—almost 30 years ago. Today I went with my family. 10/10

Wordle 1,638 1/6*

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

“Confessions of a Shopaholic” was a fun read, but “Can You Keep a Secret” was my favorite. Sad news. 💔

Went to the eye doctor yesterday; it’s been almost 2 years since I last went.
I was wearing leggings and an oversized sweatshirt. The woman at the front desk remarked, “Have lost a lot of weight?” And then, “About 40 lbs?”
I’m mystified at her accuracy. Yes, since I last saw her about 40 lbs.

Wegovy update. I’m down about 25 lbs since last year. I’m not super consistent about taking it because I don’t love how it tends to make me feel.
I have bloodwork scheduled to see if there have been improvements there and not just weight loss.

Apparently my cat has learned to open the door, let herself in my room (and maybe her brother too), and close the door again.

She did it twice. At least. (I kept shutting them out.)

Or maybe I’m imagining things.

Or there’s a secret cat entrance to my room.

I might need to set up a camera.

I swapped the toasters, putting the preferred toaster back.

Today Hubs told me at first he was a little grumpy about the trashed toaster being rescued. But he acknowledged that the rescued toaster was objectively better than the others.

It was crowding his space. “No one uses it,” he said with confidence.

I pulled it from the trash and set it in my office.

Within day, the 12 & 13 year olds were loud about the loss of their favorite toaster.

Hubs argued, “You never used it!” They insisted they did.

Stories that don’t matter.

We recently blended families which means we are still figuring out things like: do we really need this many toasters?

I added 1 toaster to donation pile, leaving 2 on the counter.

Last week I noticed 1 of the remaining 2 in the trash. I asked Hubs about it.

My kitchen ceiling, with a large circle where water damage has caused the paint to bubble before I cut the paint and layer of sheet rock away.

Friday night I discovered a toilet was leaking and causing damage to kitchen ceiling.
Has it been leaking for months or days? How extensive is the damage?How much will it cost to fix?
And why is the puppy being aggressive? Will the trainer consultation help?
Just some thoughts keeping me up.

6/29/2025 And now I’m watching this strange show on Netflix with [12yo] and [6yo], K-pop demon hunters. [12yo] has apparently watched it a couple other times.

6/29/2025- a day I didn’t realize was significant. My first exposure to KPop Demon Hunters.

I want to scream this. Instead I’ll post here and walk away.
A young adult going to college and having political beliefs that are left or right of their parents does not mean that college radicalized them. Even if going to college caused a change in ideology, it doesn’t mean they were radicalized.

I binged season 1 during free Apple+ week, and started season 2. I keep thinking about it. I guess I need to pay for Apple+ for a bit.