Good morning all. A new week begins and all I can say is: I am trying my hardest to be positive.

Anyway, weekend: if you read my Friday post, I was not in a great mood. But it all kind of worked out. I did my 20 miles on the bike then Ash got home and he did his. We did not eat out, though we wanted to. I went to the store for sandwich stuff then he and I watched movies until kids got home, etc. We ended up going for Mexican with our daughter and then, I am pretty sure I went to bed early.

Saturday, I woke up kind of early and did my next 20 miler, since I knew we’d be too busy Sunday. Finished with enough time to shower and leave for Isaac’s 9:30 game. They lost but played a lot better. Their opponent was the remnants of Elliot’s old team so, these kids are 2-3 years older than us! Oh well; it was good practice anyway. Came home and I made my Mexican chicken, which I had not in a while. Ash biked, we ate, then I did some stuff around the house and took a short nap before heading out. We’d acquired tickets to a fundraising thing down in Panacea at the Gulf specimen lab and decided to check it out. Free is my kinda price.

We first went to Amicus for a beer then headed down. Somehow, my husband had never been here, which is amusing since I went with all three kids for various field trips and one Spring Break during Covid I took them just to get out of the house.

We had a nice time; met up with some folks we know and drank this weird green mixed drink. I normally avoid vodka drinks but it was tasty. They had a silent auction but I didn’t win anything. All in all, it was cool. We did enjoy perusing their touch tanks and seeing all the various creatures, including horseshoe crabs.

We were not out too late, thankfully, since we had to be up fairly early Sunday. I set my alarm for 6 and somehow the volume got turned down so when I looked at my phone first thing and saw 6:34, I was in shock. We bolted out of bed and got ready. We had plans to meet up with a friend and club member to drive to Gainesville to help their club with competition prep.

It all worked out though; we actually got there early. By 10, we and maybe 15 other people were unpacking the 400 bottles entered, organizing them into six packs by style, then labeling, then reorganizing them for the cellarmaster. It’s a whole thing that has to be precise or else the weekends of judging are not smoothly run.

It went pretty well though and I understand that part of the process more. We are aiming to run our own competition next year (with far fewer homebrew entries though) so it was helpful. They gave us beer and pizza when we were done and we chatted a bit with the folks we know from their club. We’ve made so many connections now; it’s nice. After that we hit up our favorite Gainesville eatery, then our fave brewery, then headed home. I think we got in a little before 5.

I was a bit stressed when we got back; laundry, money, house issues, always present. But then we watched Sing Sing and I realized that things could always be worse. It’s a good movie though, if you haven’t seen it, about prisoners who discovered acting out plays while there and how restorative art can be.

Today, I have to take my son to school, come back and submit final grades for one school I teach for, then take Elliot to a doctor appointment. Then I am a bit free. I will probably walk. I find my walks have been really helpful for relieving stress.