I’m sitting here staring at a blank screen, as if it personally offended me. I know I should write about the past weekend. And I will. Eventually. But right now my brain feels like it’s buffering.
Tommy had the late game last night, which means I didn’t get much sleep. I did go back to bed after Tommy and Kel left for work, though. I crawled back under the covers like a very determined house cat and managed to sleep a few more hours, which felt both glorious and slightly irresponsible, like I was skipping school, but I’m the adult.
Even with the extra sleep, I still feel that fuzzy, half-awake feeling. The kind where your thoughts don’t line up properly and everything takes just a little longer. My coffee helped. Emotionally, mostly. At this point, coffee is less about caffeine and more about comfort. It’s the ritual.
I need to set up the new week in my planner… and yet here I am, professionally procrastinating. Not just a little procrastinating either. Olympic-level. Gold medal. If procrastination burned calories, I’d be unstoppable.
I’m also avoiding studying. So really, I’m just procrastinating in all directions at once. It’s almost impressive.
I can hear Alex in his room across the hall. I think he’s talking to his friend on the computer, but at this volume it sounds like he’s hosting a live podcast. His room is across the hall, I have my noise-cancelling headphones on, and somehow I can still hear him. That feels like a talent. Since it’s Presidents’ Day, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have class, so apparently it’s National Be As Loud As Possible Day.
Karissa, on the other hand, has so much homework that I genuinely hope she’s pacing herself and taking breaks. I know how overwhelming that can feel. I hope she’s being kind to herself in the middle of it.
On a happier note, for Valentine’s Day, I got a necklace with my birthstone from Tommy and Kel, and it’s beautiful. I really love it. I have jewelry and love it, but I don’t wear it that often. I need to change that. I think it’s because I’m usually at home, and if I’m at home, I don’t always put jewelry on. I do use my perfume every day. I just like it. I also have Alexis’s old hockey photo framed now. It turned out so nice. I love that particular picture, with the whole team posing in these funny poses. Now to figure out where to hang the picture. We had a spot where we were thinking of putting the picture, but it doesn’t fit in that spot. The picture is a long, landscape size.
I’ve been reading and watching videos about people doing their “techo kaigi”, the Japanese planner meeting where they sit down and thoughtfully decide what notebooks, layouts, and systems they’ll use for the coming year. It’s fascinating to see how everyone organizes their lives. One notebook for planning, one for sketching, one for travel, one for journaling, one for language study… It’s like a beautifully coordinated paper ecosystem.
And yet.
I can’t help but wonder: how do they keep up with all of that without getting exhausted?
I have one planner and one journal. That’s it. My physical journal is more of a scrapbook-style book, I tuck in pictures and little bits of ephemera, and I don’t use it every day. My online journal is where I write almost daily (except weekends, because I’m usually not sitting at my computer then). And my planner? It plans. It does its one job, and we are both happy with that arrangement.
Any more notebooks and I think my brain would stage a quiet rebellion.
I say this, of course, while actively considering restarting my commonplace book… since I somehow misplaced the last one. But that wouldn’t be an everyday notebook. Maybe that’s the secret. Maybe people with multiple notebooks just don’t use all of them daily. Maybe each one serves a specific rhythm instead of demanding constant attention.
I actually like my system. It works for me. And I have to take my ADHD into account; my setup can’t be complicated or overly aesthetic or layered with five tracking systems and color-coded tabs. It has to be simple. Obtainable. Something I’ll actually stick with.
Now I should really get back to studying. Then I’ll set up my week in my planner.
Oh! And for Valentine’s Day, I also got sticker paper for my mini printer! I’m unreasonably excited about printing more tiny photos for my journal.
Tommy and I are talking through dinner plans. I suppose my studying can wait a bit. We’re having groceries delivered for tonight and tomorrow. Chris didn’t leave us the truck keys, which is a little frustrating; it would’ve been much cheaper if we could’ve just run to the store ourselves. Tommy said he’d rather go shopping than pay for that delivery fee. I do agree with him.
Alright. Time to get back to studying.
Okay, a small break.
I already had lunch, two eggs, and two chocolate chip waffles. No syrup. The waffles already have chocolate chips in them, and I feel like that’s enough. They don’t need syrup. Let the waffles stand on their own.
Last weekend was a good one. On Saturday, Tommy and Chris went bowling. Alex was at work, and Kel was at her dad’s house, so the house felt unusually quiet. I stayed home, read for a while, and played Final Fantasy XIV. Later, Tommy and I stopped at the store to grab dinner supplies and then picked up Alex from work.
Sunday was more social. We went to a friend’s house for a board game day. One of the games was The Castles of Mad King Ludwig the one where you build an elaborate, slightly chaotic castle. It made me curious (again) about Ludwig II of Bavaria. I read about his story when I was living in Germany. His story really is fascinating. Sometimes I wonder how many people in history who were labeled “mad” were simply unconventional thinkers and dreamers who didn’t fit neatly into their time.
The second game, Atlantis Rising, involved peninsulas slowly flooding while we scrambled to gather resources and build some kind of cosmic escape device. It was a hard game, but we actually won, which felt like a small miracle. Dinner was orange chicken, followed by strawberry shortcake for dessert. After that, we played Zombie Dice, which was quick and chaotic.
Tommy, Kel, and I had to leave after that so we could make it to Tommy’s hockey game. It was a late one, but they played really well and won.
Now we’re back to real life. Our grocery delivery just arrived, and the kids are putting everything away. I’m about to make myself some matcha tea and start the mashed potatoes; they need a good boil before I can mash them. Tonight we’re having BBQ chicken bites, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Tomorrow: carnitas tacos.
