Once again, I am cancelling a cruise (rather than making final payment).  It breaks my heart -- truly, the situation as a whole brings me down pretty hard.  The timing of the neighbors just returning from their cruise probably doesn't help my sadness on the whole thing.

Avery had her first dance recital last weekend.  She danced!  She wasn't over the top (we've all seen the viral videos of kids that get way into it), but she did her thing.  Speaking of which, wanna hear more about how poorly I juggle life lately?  I had it in my head that it was at a different high school auditorium.  We went to the wrong one -- which was also having a dance recital.  After a short period thinking "gosh, I don't recognize any of these people or costumes" we were enlightened and dashed out the door and 6 miles down the road with about 10 minutes to spare.  *smacks self*

The garden, which continues to be in individual containers, seems to be going well enough.  Even the tomato plant that fought it's way back from the brink of death a few times seems to be growing nicely.  The sweet 100s and the roma have started to develop fruit, but nothing turning just yet.  The carrots and turnips (both from seed) have gotten large enough that the second type/shape of leaf has started to form on each.  The potatoes look like they'll offer us a couple of meals.  There was a small pepper started but it has disappeared (glares around at the rabbits).  Basil (the third) and the mint are booming - so much so that I pulled and dried a small harvest of basil last night when I pulled some for an eggplant dish I was making.

Nothing else really to speak of other than work, which has me feeling exasperated all too often as of late.

Another sad example of how far I have devolved from being on top of things:  At 11am this morning my reminder went off on my phone that I was to be at a bridal shower at noon.  Oh crap.  Why didn't past me help future me out by setting a reminder the day before and for something earlier than an hour out?  Mind you, the event was nearly an hour away.  I dashed around getting myself and Avery dressed, slapped paper on the present (thank goodness I bought that a while ago) and we hit the road.  We managed to arrive a mere 10 minutes late, but dang.

This meant I didn't get the things done I wanted to today.  Not all of them anyhow.  I did get some done, which is why I am now completely exhausted.  There is some limoncello started and an ice batch of strawberry lemonade cooling in the fridge.  I also have some strawberry applesauce cooling on the counter at the moment.  To make myself feel a bit better I also got the vacuum out upstairs and down.  Here I sit for a minute with the massager on my lower back lamenting the end of my weekend and trying to get a bit of reading done for work.

Tomorrow is Avery's dress rehearsal for her first (and perhaps last) dance recital.  We haven't practiced.  It's my fault.  Fingers crossed for the event.

Somehow I have already been back to work for two weeks.  I have not, in that time, gotten basics achieved like I should - like cleaning and organizing.  I have had a few minor wins though.

I finally got a few more pictures up on the dining room wall - I mean, it's only been a year since everything was painted, what do you want from me?  I snagged a few sturdy shelves to help facilitate some organizing in the basement and put them together.  I also got prints of Avery's school photos and slid them into cards which got mailed out to my aunts and uncles.

I also got some gardening related things achieved, including getting some quick to grow seeds planted.  I already see sprouts from the lettuce and radishes starting.  Still waiting to see the carrots, which would be super fun if we got those to grow.  Today we snagged some pepper plants and yet another basil plant.  I say yet another because... I had two basil plants started from clippings that were doing well that both suddenly died off at the same time.  I assumed the cat was messing with it.  I bought another plant and hid it away in my bathroom while I was on vacation to avoid the cat issue.  It didn't come back out of the bathroom but it too has decided to die.  It never did start getting any bigger.  This time -- new soil for sure and in a pot outside instead.  The tomato plant that Zero tried to destroy early on was growing nicely but then something dug in the soil breaking off some roots and it looks like it is on life support right now.  If it continues to grow this plant is a miracle.

Today we also went and picked strawberries at a local farm and hit the local pool for the first time this season.  Yeah, I should be cleaning etc, but I sure prefer doing the fun stuff with the kid.  May as well while we still can right?