Thirty Minutes

What a difference thirty minutes makes in a busy moms day!

For about the past couple months, I've been, well, I don't think it's an exaggeration to say; completely exhausted. When I get home from work, all I want to do is rest, but as you know, I have a 1 year old where I'm the only tending parent in the evenings. We recently started walking three times out of the week, and the other two nights are bath nights. This hasn't really been helping with the exhaustion issue, but I'm also too over weight to not be doing something about it.

Of course, I've tried speaking to my "loving husband", who works long hours at ye-ole farm. (Using a management technique I just learned from a training seminar. It works! I'll have to post about that sometime soon and share my knowledge.) We wound up cutting a deal where he'll be be home at least 2 nights a week during the off season, but work toward three since three would be ideal for me to allow me to go work out. Well, that hasn't exactly been happening consistently, and actually, I probably should have a reminder discussion with him, but at least that's something.

But anyway. The only person that can make you happy is yourself. So I decided to try leaving work a thirty minutes early to either nap, or do whatever I want to do with myself before picking up the little one. I've done this three times now, and so far it seems to be helpful. All three days I've opted to nap. Then I get up, go get the kiddo, and we have done activities where I haven't been fantasizing about doing nothing. I think MG is happier too, because she loves to be outside. On days that I'm too tired, I make her stay inside because she's easier to corral.

Yesterday we weeded my garden, (which has been more of a swamp after the six inches of rain we just got.) played on the slide, and ran around in the area behind the house and picked clover flowers and dandelions. Oh, and chased birds.

Today I'm totally exhausted, but that might be because I stayed up late editing July 4 photos. Those should go up on my family blog soon.

And YOU Thought Wheaton Was Backwoods!

Today, I was begining my 40 minute drive home when my "low feul" light came on. Ding ding ding! and I was about 10 miles away from the next exit, of which I would then have to turn around and go back to my office where there is a gas station near. Or-I could just charge on, and hope that one of the towns I pass on my way home have a gas station. (Even though they don't look like much from the highway. There's got to be more to what I see right?)

Driving into town A, I seriously thought I was driving into a Stephen King novel where I'm going to get kidnapped and murdered if I get out of my car. The houses were all very pretty. All 20 of them. The streets were all gravel, and the one I turned down to take me to "main street" took me to a road that was wide open to a field with one building there. Two guys without shirts on were working on a new piece of construction right next to the building that had the "Gas" sign. And next to a lonely old pump was another sign that said, "pay inside". That sign was pointing to a side door on the old building that would have taken me out of the view of the only two people I saw in the town. I kept driving.

I'm seriously on E now and I come into town B. Sign says, "Historic Fort Ambercrombie 1 Mile". So I figure, historic site, there has to be a gas station near there! So I drive up their "main street" and find a body shop with two pumps. Old fashioned style. It's at this point that I realize this place isn't going to take credit cards, and I carry no cash with me. I also have no checks. Luckily, for some fateful reason, I had a five dollar bill in my wallet. So I filled up with my 1.3 gallons of gas, and headed on my way home. Luckily I have three credit card taking gas stations right next to my house, and bonus score! Gas prices are down to $3.69!