Tuesday, July 30 2019

Dear Journal,

Yesterday was a productive day. The morning was filled with planning meetings, and in the afternoon the interns and I finally fixed access in their project. It felt good to delete all the half measures and work around we were relying on, and it really cleaned things up. After work, I took Rod to Hy-Vee. Marissa warned me that he was still a little grumpy from driving so much the day before. We decided to give him some slack today. We had a mini tantrum in the bakery section when I said he couldn't eat a bread butt. He was already eating a banana, and I think he forgot that I make him pick between the two.

When we got home, Rodney joined Marissa outside to work on pouring planter rocks, and I got to work on dinner. I made chicken saltimbocca, which I miraculously finished on time. At some point, while you're pounding the chicken breasts flat, seasoning each side, and gently tamping down a layer prosciutto through cling wrap, you start to wonder if you're even going to have food on the table before 10pm. But it's one of those meals that you just have to stick with, and while it takes a while to assemble, the thin chicken cuts only take about five minutes to cook through. All the food was on the table by 7:05, which is only 5 minutes late by my standards.

It was nice to sit down as a family at our own dinner table. We chatted about home projects, work, and what Spider-Man episodes Rod is currently really into. After dinner, we put Rod to bed. We read Are You My Mother?, which is a nice, mellow weeknight favorite.

For the rest of the night, Marissa hung out in the kitchen to work on some wedding shower stuff, and I caught up on chores around the house. Tuesday is garbage day, so I try to empty out all the garbages in the house. If you do the same thing, don't forget about the little garbages - like in the bathroom, the car, or the bedroom. Those little garbages can add up.

As a study snack, I cut up some french bread I bought from the grocery store today. I wiped a little pad of butter on each slice and heated up the plate in the microwave. That's how my mom used to serve it up, and I think it's the best.

I finished the night with some computer time. I worked on a time lapse for Marissa, and in between all the exporting and uploading, I worked on some code. I'm really starting to surprise myself with how long I'm sticking to this side project. I've even started using the tool on my own computer to manage some configs.

I never got around to opening up the basement computer. There wasn't a lot of kitchen table space available, so I decided to just put it off a night.

We wrapped up work around midnight. We thought about squeezing in an episode of New Girl, but we did the more prudent thing and just went to bed. We have a long week ahead of us, and it's best to rest up while you can, you know?

Today will probably feel a lot like yesterday - work, lunch, work, groceries, dinner, chores, rest. I'm also hoping to finally open up the computer and start making a list of the parts I need to rebuild it on the wall. At some point today, I also need to pick a recipe to make for concert on the square, although I may have already settled on pasta aglio.

Let's have a Tuesday! We have a long week ahead of us, but just focus on what you want to do today. And go easy on yourself, it's only Tuesday. If you're tempted to stay up a little later to cross something off the to-do list, just save it for tomorrow. Sleep is more important. Hope you have a wonderful day today.