Then I put together the kayak rack that's been sitting in the kitchen since last summer and attached it to the roof rack of the CRV before loading both kayaks on the racks in preparation for our kayaking activity at Scouts that evening.
The CRV was really struggling on the way to and from the lake. I've been noticing this when we all load in to go to karate (I have to turn the AC off when we go up hills or it just bogs down). It's feeling its age. We're a couple thousand miles from 200k and we've had it for 15.5 years (we bought it when I was pregnant with Sunshine). We've known for awhile that we need to get a new car, but I was hoping to put it off for awhile longer. However, the thought of driving it out to Ohio and back, and the knowledge that I cannot break down going or coming because the scheduling is too tight, was making me super nervous. So, after the kids were in bed Jeremy and I looked at some cars online, went to USAA, applied for and were approved for an auto loan (with a really great interest rate, I might add). Now we have to find and test drive the car we want. As is our way, we have a specific vehicle in mind, and there's not a lot of them out there.
I was super tired all day and didn't feel great. Maybe I ate too much sugar Sunday night?
Tuesday I was still tired, but I felt better than I did on Monday. We went to music lessons and I took the boys on a short hike while Sunshine did her lesson.
I tried to do some clothes shopping on the way home, but the boys weren't doing as they were told (running off, touching everything, etc), so we didn't stay too long. Sunshine will just have to order her clothes online. Thank goodness for the internet.
We had a meeting with the head karate instructor before class and we committed to achieving our black belts. It'll take about 3 years, and all things considered, the price is pretty good. Though when it comes time to buy our sparring gear and practice weapons, those will be a fairly significant investment for five people and will be our Christmas presents this year (which should be about the time we need them, I think).
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| Ocean was here |
We had planned on selling the house and moving two years from now, so committing to reaching our black belts will keep us here an extra year. While I am mentally ready to leave now, financially it will be better to wait an extra year. More time to save up for land and a construction loan, more time to fully establish my business as a full-time income earner, more time to finish the work on the house that needs to be done before we sell it. And it gives us more wiggle room in the adoption process. It will also hopefully allow more time for the real estate market to calm down and the lumber industry to stabilize. I'm really hoping a lot of people will realize they don't like living in the boonies after all after escaping the cities during the pandemic and sell out and move back to the city, just in time for us to get a good deal on land out in said boonies.
So with those limits, there weren't a lot of options available. The lowest priced one was in Richmond, so that's where we went to test drive it. It drove great, so we went ahead and bought it then and there, which surprised the salesman. He was expecting us to talk about it and come back later, but we already knew that as long as it drove well we'd get it.
We're keeping the CRV for now, and will use it for hauling trash to the dump, hauling kayaks to the lake, and for Sunshine to drive around town. We've had it long enough (and it's not worth much at this point) that we don't mind if she has some mishaps in it when she's learning to drive. She can get her permit in November. 😳
When we move, we'll sell or donate the Camry and CRV (depending on their condition and value), but for now keeping the CRV as a beater car will allow us to keep the Ascent looking nicer, longer. Loading and unloading kayaks on the Ascent would quickly scratch the finish.
After that, I sewed buckets before heading to our youth activity, where the YM and YW built rockets that will be launched at a future date.
Friday I sewed buckets before we went to karate.
Saturday was a lazy morning before we went to a board breaking seminar at the martial arts studio. Everyone who attended (right down to the littlest kiddos) broke two boards: once with a hand, once with a sidekick (using a foot). We practiced on rebreakable boards before breaking pine boards. It was lots of fun and great for seeing that we can do it, long before we need to (it's part of the blackbelt test).
Somehow I forgot to take my frankincense before bed Saturday night. I popped awake around 3am and couldn't get back to sleep. Less than 3 hours of sleep is not a good thing for me. I ended up spending a good portion of the day in bed, just feeling bleh and tired. I can't even remember the last time I forgot to take my frankincense, and while it's been a very unpleasant reminder that my routine is effective, sometimes it's good to be reminded that I'm taking all these supplements for a reason, and each one has its purpose.
It was also yet another reminder that narcolepsy does have an effect on my life and there are things I can and can't do. Another reminder: our ward is planning a youth temple trip to the Philadelphia temple in August (first one in more than a year and a half- maybe two years? maybe longer?). I can go to help, but I can't drive a carful of teenagers because it's further than two and a half hours away and it's really not safe for me to drive further than that.
Jeremy went to church by himself (none of the kids were ready since Mommy didn't get them ready) and had to answer questions about where I was (not sick, just had a bad night, etc). Some in our ward know about my narcolepsy, but there's only a couple who know what that truly means to my functionality. I'm good at faking it and looking like I'm healthy, so just saying that I didn't sleep well or had a bad night doesn't necessarily seem like a reason to stay home. In the past I think I'd have just powered through it and gone anyway. But for whatever reason, that didn't happen on Sunday, and it wasn't a bad thing. Acceptance of limitations doesn't come easy to me. The realization that our future hobby farm will always be small because of those limitations is frustrating though.
Adding insult to injury: my period started. At least I was able to lay on the heating pad in bed while resting. It was a tired week, which I didn't think was related to my period because I thought it started too early, but maybe it was just my pre-period tired. I need to start tracking that a little closer.
My Leatherwork 101 course ended at the end of May, but I haven't had a chance to write about the experience yet. Overall, it went well. Making the videos was more intense and time consuming than I'd anticipated, so I spent the entire 8 weeks trying to keep a step ahead of my lesson schedule. But while it was a lot of work this time around, in future sessions things will be much calmer and more hands off, since most of the hard work is now done. I will need to do some editing and re-recording before the fall session because I'll be making a couple changes, but it will be nothing like this spring session.
Weekly Mileage
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