Cinnamon sugar lava pancakes

​video on how to 

New travel plans

 train ride up to Raleigh Durham

Researched: would cost us $950 train ride which includes two days of food

If we don’t go see Patrick in R/D … or after we have and we liked the train ride, maybe we can do Savannah as well. 

catching up

 How have I not updated in days? Ooops

We had a reading vacation weekend at our house with Matt& Heidi and Deb & JT and Barbara (for one day). Very relaxing, low key. Spending time with friends 24/7 can be tough, but it worked with these people. I got lots of reading done 0-- some of Crying in the H Mart, and a lot of Count of Monte Cristo. Also, we played 3 board games, and getting Hans Teutonica off my shelf of shame, and a puzzle/mystery game. Showed our friends Lake Morton and Inklings and Peach House and Bonnet Springs.

In anticipation of their visit, I got a lot of small home projects done. So lots of wins. 

I have had great sleep, and plan to go to bed early tonight again! [narrator: that didn’t happen. Late night coffee ice cream and too much screen time did not help]

New resolution: reading in backyard in morning before work. Spend time with birds. Get reading done. Less scrolling phone in bed.

This was a great way to avoid news and spend less time doom scrolling.

29th wedding anniversary

​29 years ago, while on our honeymoon, I married Sean Brodrick on a beautiful beach in Jamaica. It was a non-traditional wedding, but it worked for us. 

Through ups and downs and two kids and occasionally different approaches to life, we’ve made a good team most of the time. Enough of the time to weather any rough patches.

Donald Vaughan introduced us. He said to me: “you two have the same energy.” I was like “whatever man, I can use a free dinner!” But it turns out he was right. 

On our first date, we learned we both like and decorated our houses with gargoyles — a somewhat rare oddity — him because of horror movies, me for a love of architecture. That night, Sean introduced me to hard cider, and also he got lost and we did a detour through the Ft Lauderdale airport. I still refer to it as our favorite airport; we flew out of there for our honeymoon/wedding 2 1/2 years later.

The internet tells me that the 29th anniversary is the Furniture Anniversary. Whatever. We are celebrating tonight with a talk about e-bikes at a bookstore, then rum drinks at a bowling alley tiki bar. We like to do it our own way. 

I love you, Sean. Let’s keep this going. 

Steps to lessen phone addiction

​Today’s steps to lessen phone addiction:

• -AC maintenance check
  
• -Phone call with insurance company 
  
• -House projects with a deadline motivating me
  
• -Leaving phone in charger during the day 
  
• -Trying out a new board game
  

If we had 9 children

• ​Eleanor
  
• Peter
  
• John 
  
• William 
  
• Margaret
  
• Clementine 
  
• Twins: Andrew & Amelia 
  
• Michael 
  

LOOKED UP: how to fix seat belt

​when seat belt doesn’t retract: how to fix