Random Faves

It's Friday!!

Time to find 5 blessings from our week, write about them and link up at our hostess' website, Living to Tell the Story.  Won't you join in and share what God blessed you with this past week??

I had a busy week....something was going on every.single.evening. But, we did manage to eat dinner together every evening except for Monday when Claire and I have to eat early before her ballet classes.  So that in and of itself starts my first fave:

image taken from bbq.com

• DAVE'S COOKING HELP!  Our Tuesday schedule is a bit insane. Claire stays after school for a 30 minute Russian Club meeting every week.  I get out of the elementary school where I teach at 3 so on my way home, I swing by the junior high to pick her up at 3:05. We dash home where she changes for Lyrical Ballet and does homework til we have to leave at 4:40pm.  Meanwhile, I prep dinner items for Dave to cook while we are on the road coming home a little after 6 pm. He had  grilled salmon and pasta cooking when we walked in this past week....I had made a salad and set the table while Claire did her homework so we were sitting enjoying dinner by 6:45 pm. I cleaned the kitchen while Claire showered and enjoyed NCIS together at 8 pm....one of our fave shows to watch as a family.  I think this new arrangement of Dave doing the cooking on Tuesday nights is really gonna work! :)

• READING TIME!  There were several times last weekend where my husband had the television on watching Netflix movies (it was a rainy weekend!), and I wasn't interested.  After doing a lot of housework Saturday morning, by mid-afternoon I was tired so I went to our bedroom and enjoyed some quiet time in the reading corner. (please ignore the stuffed bag next to chair....it's filled with unwrapped Xmas gifts!). This corner is "mine" as Dave prefers to read in the family or living rooms or ON the bed.....I can read anywhere but when the TV is blasting I can still hear it in the living room so I often make my way upstairs. It was a chilly, damp day so I curled up in the chair with the pillow behind my lower back and tossed a fleece blanket over my legs......ah.....it was a wonderful hour of peace and quiet with a good book!!

• MUCH LESS BACK PAIN!  This past week, starting Monday morning, I've only had a little bit of the lower back pain from the bulging disc, throughout the day...mainly in the late afternoon! WHOO HOO! This is major good news because I've had constant low back pain since the 2nd week of August.  The sciatica symptoms are gone...thanks to 2 stretches the chiropractor taught me. It's amazing. Once in awhile, depending on how I get out of bed or the car, I'll feel a little pinch in my upper right leg but it goes away as soon as I do the stretch and doesn't come back all day! AND.....the disc gel must be moving back to the spine like the chiropractor wanted because the pain is fleeting...again depending on how I move or lift.  THIS is a fave!  I can now move on to Phase 2 of the rehab process.  Yesterday at my chiro appointment, I learned new lumbar exercises targeting the back muscles that have to re-learn to work correctly.  I'm relieved to know that since the pain is no longer constant, and I haven't yet reached the 12 week mark, I am not considered to be in "chronic pain". Another fave and exactly what I was asking God for.....

• SPARKLING RINGS!  Two weeks ago, when I had my MRI for the back, I discovered that it was DIFFICULT to get my wedding and engagement rings off! It seems that my fingers are bigger...I knew that my shoe size had gone up a whole size after giving birth to my youngest daughter 13 years ago but I didn't realize my fingers had gotten bigger as well. The technician said that's normal.....I finally got the rings off and decided the next morning to get them re-sized. It took 10 days and it felt so odd to not have my rings on my finger!!! I've only taken them off once (my last month of pregnancy with my oldest due to swelling).  Once I picked them up, they felt great on my finger and were so sparkly!! They included a free cleaning....a real fave!

• TEXT MESSAGE!  My oldest texted me Wednesday afternoon  from Gordon College saying she wanted me to know her first Calculus 2 exam.  She said she earned an 81/80....that's better than 100%!!  She was so happy, as was I!  We are so proud of her...she works hard and it seems that switching from a French minor to a Math minor was a very wise choice on her part......good grades in college, working hard and keeping in touch to share her news is a definite fave with me!

That's it for me.....I'll try to post a book review over the long weekend....here in the United States, we are celebrating Columbus Day on Monday which means no school or work for the 3 of us....we are off to the beach house! ....and.....

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO MY CANADIAN BLOGGER FRIENDS!!

I hope everyone enjoys a relaxing weekend.