Well, time to reflect on this rollercoaster of a week. Honestly, it was kind of a really crappy and disappointing week. But there were definitely some high points so this post won’t be a total bummer. 🙂
I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to talk about it yet in last weekend’s post since it wasn’t officially announced, but the reason we were in Chicago last Sunday was to celebrate my sister-in-law Melissa becoming engaged to Andrew! He proposed on Saturday and then threw her a huge surprise party to celebrate. It was adults only, so we weren’t able to go, but we met the rest of the family down there on Sunday for a really nice brunch and then some hanging out time at their apartment. We’re all so happy to have Andrew officially becoming part of the family!
There was no school on Monday because it was the end of the quarter. Originally I wanted to take the boys and Annie to the Verona dog park, but we had just spent six hours driving in the car on Sunday, and another long drive was about the last thing I felt like doing. I still wanted to take advantage of the day rather than just sitting at home, so with the bribe of frappuccinos, we managed to get to Woodman’s, Target, Costco, and Marshall’s all before lunchtime! The boys were actually really good too! It was exhausting, but no fights or whining the entire morning. Miraculous.
At noon on Monday the tickets for Rachel Hollis’ one and only personal growth conference were supposed to go on sale. I’ve become a huge Rachel Hollis fan since reading her book and listening to her podcast and I really enjoyed seeing the documentary they made from their conference last year. When I heard her 2019 conference was scheduled to take place in Minneapolis I was SO excited that it was within driving distance and totally planned on going. Unfortunately, the Hollis Co. ended up putting those tickets on sale at 11:40, while I was still making lunches. By noon when I got on my computer, it was sold out. 3400 tickets instantly gone. They were of course psyched, but it was hugely disappointing for all the people that didn’t get tickets, especially because they went on sale earlier than we were told. To try and make up for it, they immediately said they would have another conference in July, place TBD. I feel like the chances of this second conference also being within driving distance are pretty slim, so I’m not sure I’ll be able to go to that one either. It’s a huge bummer.
Tuesday was a big work day. In a moment of insanity, I decided to open up the option of custom orders. I’m anxious to get going on Christmas dolls, but I often have a lot of people asking me for custom orders in December which is when I absolutely am not interested in doing them. I figured I’d give people one last chance – and have the solid proof that I offered it! Anyway, not many people took me up on it, but two of the people that did made it SOOOOOOO complicated. I basically spent the entire day Tuesday and Wednesday emailing back and forth with these ladies, digging out pile after pile of fabric, photographing everything to get approval and then having them change their mind an hour later. It was super stressful. Every once in awhile making custom orders is an awesome challenge, but for the most part….I just really don’t like it.
Meanwhile, I spent all of Tuesday agonizing over whether or not I should continue with Noom. My 14 day free trial was ending on Wednesday and on Thursday I was going to get $150 for six months of the program taken out of my account. I had this information in my original sign up email from them – November EIGHTH. Desperately trying to make a decision when the pros and cons seemed to keep canceling each other out, I started reading reviews online. Almost every single review was 1 star. Mostly because of how unfairly Noom automatically deducts money from your account once they have access and they refuse to refund you and they make it impossible to get in contact with a real person. One review told how to check your settings to see when your next billing cycle was going to go through. I decided to do that and guess what? They were going to take that $150 off out on November SEVENTH. A day earlier than they said they would, before the trial was officially over. And that seriously pissed me off, so I cancelled immediately. I had a few other reasons, but the main one being that if they’re that shady about their financial practices, then they don’t deserve my money.
Anyway, I was relieved to have finally made a decision after going back and forth on it a million times in the last two weeks. But then it left me with nothing to keep accountable and stay motivated. At the recommendation of some other people online I ended up getting the free app Lose It on Thursday. Unfortunately, after a 6 lb weight loss in the first 12 days, I’ve just gone back up since then. I’m feeling pretty discouraged with all of it. And hungry. And desperately wanting carbs all the time.
On Wednesday I got distracted doing online Christmas shopping. I’m definitely making progress toward my goal of getting 75% done this month! There are a few people I don’t have anything for yet, or any ideas, but most people on my list are getting close to done! Once I spent the morning working on that, I just worked on dolls the rest of the day.
We had an at home date night and I made a tasty pizza. It was pretty uneventful, we just ate and watched some tv. Late at night, though, the one good trip related thing that happened this week – Greg’s parents booked a trip to Universal Studios in Florida for the six of us in February! It’s a Christmas gift/surprise for the boys, so don’t mention it! But it should be really fun. We’re going to be there over Shepard’s birthday because it happens to be the only break they have from school this winter/spring.
Thursday I did the #onedayhh challenge. No need to go over that again. You can read the post if you’re interested!
We woke up to snow on Friday morning. As usual, we were not prepared for it! Spent the early morning digging through winter things and realizing that nobody’s coats or boots fit anymore. We made do and sent the boys off to school. I spent the morning working on the first round of custom dolls.
At 11:00, tickets were going on sale for another trip I was planning on taking. It’s a craft retreat for women at The Whatever Craft House in Newton, Kansas. I first heard about the craft house last year when a TON of people I follow on social media had a retreat there. It’s this incredible rainbow colored house filled to the brim with gorgeous arrays of art supplies and rainbow decorations and beautiful bedrooms with colorful vintage quilts. I’ve been hearing about the house and these particular retreats done by a fellow maker and how amazing they are. When I found out about one happening in January, another Wisconsin maker contacted me and asked if I wanted to go with her and we could carpool. I jumped at the chance, we worked out the simplified plan, and just waited for the tickets to go on sale! I assumed it would also sell out immediately, so I was on my computer constantly refreshing and purchased my spot the second I had the chance.
And that’s when everything went downhill. Again. I immediately told my friend I got a ticket and she told me that’s great, and that it’s too bad she’s busy that weekend. What?! Apparently she had a conflict and just never thought twice about telling me. I of course blame myself for not actually confirming with her again this week that we were doing this, but it was still really frustrating. It’s not like we know each other well – just talk at Cranberry Fest every year and occasionally on social media in between. I’m a pretty forgettable person, so no surprise she apparently forgot we had planned to do this together. It was just really, really frustrating and disappointing.
I spent the rest of the day just overwhelmed and stressed out and trying to figure out how I could make a 10+ hour drive by myself IN JANUARY, twice in four days. I don’t even like driving for two straight hours and have never come close to 10! Plus it’s pretty much guaranteed I’d have to leave the night before and get a hotel in order to get to the retreat early enough. Same on the way back, unless I drove late into the night which is a terrible idea for me. Plus it’s January, in Wisconsin, and the weather could be horrendous. I looked into flights, but there were no direct flights from any airlines and nothing less than $400. And I’d still face the conundrum of getting from the airport to the house, which would be another expense. Once Greg realized I’d be going by myself he was instantly against the trip as well. It just didn’t seem like there was any way to make this happen, without spending a ton of extra money. The only reason I could go on the trip in the first place was because the retreat itself was such a great deal. (3 nights, all meals but two, supplies for six group craft projects, and a bag of awesome things crafters around the country donate for swag, all for $500.)
After agonizing – again, theme of the week here – all day and night, I spoke to the retreat leader and explained the situation and asked if there was any way I could cancel my spot. She asked if I’d like to wait for awhile and see if anyone else from WI ends up signing up (still spots left). I told her I’d wait through the weekend, but after thinking about it again all day, I just wrote and asked her to cancel. I can’t go. And it really sucks. So…I don’t have my money back yet, so it’s not official, but 99% sure this trip is not happening either.
Anyway. In happier news. Last night I went to the annual Peddler’s Barn Christmas sale with my mom and Cindy. We go each year and true to form, it was FREEZING last night. It was also packed. I ended up with a full bag of fun doll accessories that I haven’t yet taken out since getting home, but I’ll try to take a photo tomorrow!
And today I spent the entire day early Christmas shopping with Cindy! We went all over the place – mostly our favorites: TJMaxx, Marshall’s, Home Goods, and Trader Joe’s! With a quick lunch at a place called Zoup. It was really tiring, but we found some great stuff! It was awesome to make some headway on all my stocking stuffers.
And that’s been the week! I’m hoping next week is a lot less mentally tumultuous. I need a rest.
