DIMPLES DIARY – Week Ending 4-22-23

Whenever I start these weekly diary posts, I feel like I’m writing a saga, and then I have to scale it back to be more of a bullet-point update. But still, they get wordy, especially when I miss a week like last. So since I’m covering two weeks of info, I’m really gonna try hard to keep this from becoming an epic post, and I think I succeeded.

But first, let me remind you where we left off, and then I’ll get to the good stuff in the shortest form possible.

In the last Dimples Diary, I was sick… and assumed it was a sinus infection. Each night I’d go to bed thinking tomorrow would be better but alas, no. A trip to the doctor last week resulted in my NP saying, “Well, it’s official, you’re really sick.” Yep, sinus infection – raw throat, full head, fluid in ears… a real doozy!

As a general rule, and because I have ulcerative colitis, I only take antibiotics as a last resort, but I felt bad enough to relent and take them. Slowly but surely, I’m climbing out of the hole, but now I’m dealing with a yeast infection and, I think, an inflamed hemorrhoid issue.

It could also be from too much stress and activity in that region since I also started pelvic floor therapy a couple of weeks ago. Ugh!

Maybe I need a vacation with a suitcase full of nothing to do… and of course Monistat, and Preparation-H. 😉

Now that we’re caught up let’s get to the rest. And let me tell you, most of this post consists of ‘WHAT I DID” and “GRANDKIDS CHRONICLES.”

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WHAT I WORE

Friday was Grandparents Day with the first grader, and I chose the same outfit I had worn to a funeral visitation the previous Sunday. These J.Jill pants are getting LOTS of mileage and have been well worth the money. Everything I wear is older, but you could easily put together a similar look with loose pants and a blazer.

WHERE WE WENT

Our second oldest grandson, who now lives three hours away, plays in a baseball league that only has games on Monday and Wednesday evenings, which pretty much excludes us from seeing him play. However, a rained-out double-header was rescheduled for last Friday, so we planned to see him play.

Then as “luck” would have it, our local school system closed for the day because of an email bomb threat encompassing many school systems across Indiana, so our three local grandsons could go with us. It was a whirlwind trip because the younger two had to return by one o’clock the next afternoon for their baseball practice.

We had quite the adventure! The games ran long, and then Uncle Matt (my son) had a flat tire on the way home, so Aunt Courtney (my daughter-in-law) led six rambunctious boys (some of which had had energy drinks earlier) in several rounds of Simon-Says in the parking lot, while Poppy helped change the tire.

They were all still getting ready for bed around 11 p.m.

Baby Henry slept through the entire thing!

WHERE WE SLEPT

These cousins love each other so much; each has what they call a “cousin buddy,” so the local boys had a sleepover with the Winchesterton-ites, while Poppy and I slept at the hotel and brought McDonald’s breakfast to the clan the next morning.

These boys are something else!

My oldest grandson has been begging me for a couple of months to get each of them a morph suit; if you haven’t guessed yet, he’s the pack’s leader. I’d get texts from him every few days asking, “When do the morph suits get here?” (I hadn’t even ordered them yet.) ;-D

He coordinated the whole thing and picked colors for each “cousin-buddy pairing.” Ultimately, available sizes in individual colors dictated many of the choices, but he and his cousin-buddy, Ben, were unique in black while everyone else wore blue.

They were hilarious riding bikes, and scooters, and rollerblading on the sidewalk in these suits. Courtney said, “We were trying to wait a few more months before the new neighbors saw our “crazy,” but I guess it’s out there now.” 😉

Did I mention they live on the corner at a busy intersection?

WHAT WE PLAYED

On the two-and-a-half-hour ride down, we played “Would You Rather” (Google Would You Rather Questions for kids). We learned that for these boys, any skill or superpower to help them win at hide-and-seek was high on their priority list. And that Poppy would NEVER choose to live in or go to space as an option.

The explanations for why they would or wouldn’t choose what they did were priceless.

Don’t you think we listen more as grandparents than we did as parents?

WHAT IMPRESSED US

I told you this was basically the week of grandkids’ chronicles, right? Well, our third-grader grandson had a presentation of his guitar club. They all did a great job, and kudos to the music teacher for all he does with the kids and to our small-town elementary school for offering these programs for our children.

WHAT I BOUGHT

CLEANING CLOTHS

I love microfiber cleaning cloths, but recently, my Amish cleaning lady turned me on to these streak-free, reusable cleaning cloths. She says they are especially good for windows.

And then she also uses flour sack towels as cleaning cloths. Why didn’t I ever think of this? They are lightweight and don’t have a lot of lint.

She suggests washing them in only vinegar, and of course, she hangs them to dry.

PELVIC FLOOR THERAPEUTIC DEVICE

I mentioned in this Dimples Diaries my need for pelvic floor therapy. I have started therapy as prescribed by my doctor at a Pelvic Health Center. Impossibly painful intercourse was the reason for seeking help in the first place, and it turns out that the muscles in our pelvic floor can become knotted and tight like muscles anywhere else in our bodies. I can go into that more another time, but one of the treatments prescribed for this is essential “massage” – just as you would for other muscle knots.

However, since this is an intimate and hard-to-reach area, specialized tools are necessary, and this therapeutic vaginal wand is part of the at-home treatment plan.

CUTE BLOUSE

Between being at my all-time heaviest weight, being sick, and at the moment, having an “undercarriage” that feels plain awful, a positive mindset has been a struggle. But this pretty blouse in white (XXL) from Amazon was a sweet little pick-me-up. While I usually prefer a cotton blouse, this polyester one doesn’t feel overly stiff or “fake,” and the flutter sleeves help detract from fluffy arms. It’s will look so cute with light-colored denim in warmer weather.

PLUS SIZE OUTERWEAR MUST-HAVE

I ordered this plus-size rain anorak at the suggestion of another plus-size influencer, and it does not disappoint. The Dark Taupe color has a pink undertone, a perfect tan for cool-toned complexions. I ordered the XXL, and it has plenty of room everywhere.

WHAT WE ATE

The weather turned cold again last week, and a bowl of my sister’s creamy potato soup sounded amaze-balls.

I texted her, and she took a picture of her recipe. She said, “Sorry, it’s so crusty.” I responded, “Those are the recipes you know are good.”.

I decided to share this Loaded Potato Soup recipe with you just as she gave it to me; so you’ll know it’s a good one too.

ENCOURAGEMENT

Friends, like my Littles on the way home from our adventure weekend, I’m exhausted. The thing is, I don’t think I’m unique – we all have busy lives and schedules.

As women, we’re spinning many plates and trying to make it look easy when the only thing easy about it is how easy it is to feel depleted from it all.

The cure for our exhaustion is intimacy with Jesus. But if you’re like me, you never think you have time when the going gets chaotic.

However, He draws us to Himself, and if we’re open to seeing Him in the room with us in these hard, exhausting seasons, we will find REST! Matthew 11: 28, 29

I recently saw this on a Facebook post and wanted to share it with you:

Have you ever noticed how in the scriptures men are always going up into the mountains to commune with the Lord? 

Yet in the scriptures we hardly ever 
hear of women going to the mountains. 
But we know why — right? 

Because the women were too busy 
keeping life going; 
they couldn’t abandon babies, 
meals, homes, fires, gardens, 
and a thousand responsibilities to make the climb
into the mountains!

I was talking to a friend the other day, 
saying that as modern woman
I feel like I’m never “free” enough 
from my responsibilities, 
never in a quiet enough space
I want with God. 

Her response floored me, 
“That is why God comes to women. 
Men have to climb the mountain to meet God,
but God comes to women where ever they are.”

I have been pondering on her words for weeks
and have searched my scriptures 
to see that what she said is true. 
God does in deed come to women
where they are, 
when they are doing their ordinary, 
everyday work. 

He meets them at the wells 
where they draw water for their families, 
in their homes, in their kitchens, 
in their gardens. 

He comes to them 
as they sit beside sickbeds, 
as they give birth, care for the elderly, 
and perform necessary mourning and burial rites.

Even at the empty tomb, 
Mary was the first to witness Christ’s resurrection, 
She was there because she was doing the womanly chore
of properly preparing Christ’s body for burial. 

In these seemingly mundane 
and ordinary tasks,
these women of the scriptures found themselves
face to face with divinity.

So if — like me — you ever start to bemoan the fact that you don’t have as much time to spend in the mountains with God as you would like. Remember, God comes to women. He knows where we are and the burdens we carry. He sees us, and if we open our eyes and our hearts we will see Him, even in the most ordinary places and in the most ordinary things.

He lives. And he’s using a time such as this to speak to women around the world. 

Original 🖌: Heather F.

HAVE AN AMAZING WEEK!