Me at 49

 I guess 49 is okay. 

I'd much rather be 50. 

It sounds so much better...it has GRAVITAS.

eh.

I'll just tell people I'm 50 because what I want for my 49th birthday is to say that I'm 50. 

I'm rounding. 

I also want avocado toast. 

And a warm slice of oatmeal cake. 

my people

And a supper snuggly cream blanket.

and, you know, to pretend I'm already 50

To 2025 Maren

 I know how hard this is for you. 

Let me help you out...this is one reasonably attractive way to arrange the shelves for Christmas. 

Add a few battery operated fairy lights and we're good to go. 

Turtles are better that budgets

 I have been sitting in the corner of the couch for almost 8 weeks now. In fact, I am two days away from freedom. 

In that time I have caught up on nearly a year's worth of blogging (2021 to 2022 will be noticeably less rich in detail) (I'm sorry) (I can't help it. Sometimes life is hard and it feels soooo unbloggable).

I have had the budget book sitting within arms reach for over a month. 

But I decided to crochet this little turtle instead. 

Winnie helped. 

I can't get over his little shell back pack! I'm pretty pleased with my efforts. 

Winnie will try to take most of the credit, but she's lying. 

 

To a tee

I can't count how many times I have said these words. It's substantial.

 

Weed therapy

 I saw the surgeon 3 days ago and he told me that I no longer have restrictions on the direction my hip joint goes.

My first thought: "I can reach into the garden and pull out weeds!"

And, oh mama, does it ever need my attention.

So I will scootch along on my plastic kitchen stool, dragging my crutches and weed bucket and tools and phone and anything else I need to drag if it means I can be out there. And I'm gonna gather all those gooseberries and make something yummy out of them!

To the Garden!

 If left unsupervised for enough time, I will find a way.

Karmic Situation

3 weeks. 

Torn labrum repair was supposed to be 3 itty bitty weeks of recovery.

I woke up from anesthesia and the doctor broke the news: not just a torn labrum, but a wonky femoral head leading to shredded cartilage. He sutured the labrum. trimmed the cartilage, shaved down the mutant ball joint and drilled little holes in the socket where the cartilage was missing. The idea is that those little holes need to bleed and form scar tissue to replace the cartilage in that spot. WHICH means recovery stretched to 8 weeks.

Crutches for EIGHT WEEKS.

No driving

No gym

No work

6 hours a day in a CPM machine

Sleeping in torture boots

Physical therapy twice a week

Solitary snacking habits completely exposed

This is my life for the next two months. 

I've taken over a healthy chunk of the couch. All my snacks and meds and charging chords and tissues and paperwork and blankets and boxes of whoppers wedged between the cushions.

We have a running theory that someone in our family must have put out some pretty bad karma recently. Megan's got a trick shoulder, head cold and and a raging bacterial infection that has kicked her in the metaphorical butt. Laney is, at this very moment, at urgent care with a possible case of strep throat. Everly has a wart on the bottom of her foot that just won't quit. Mark is just emerging from Covid. 

AJ, Mat and Ethan should look over their shoulders...it's just a matter of time before the next round of plagues hits this house. 

Girls camp 2024

We went to Lake of the Ozarks with the girls from our original Olathe 3rd ward. They have been split into two wards now, so it was nice to be together again.

A few highlights:

Starting out fresh and clean!

Taking a tour of Ozark Caverns

I spent all my time filling this table with food

It was HOT....so so hot. I borrowed this AC unit from Bobby, my favorite chiropractor. It saved our lives. It was the best thing I brought. 

This truck was a close second...I used it to haul everyone and everything up and down from the water. When AJ and I got to a a point where we couldn't handle the heat or the drama or the human interaction or the mosquitos one more second, we would escape to the truck and let the AC bring us back to life. 

Everything in that kitchen was BIG. Big bowls, big ovens, big appetites. Cooking for 35 people is a full time job! 

We made floating lanterns

The final morning devotional

The last photo, a little worse for wear, but lots of love and memories made!

Yin and Yang

 Me and my wedding nails missed this garden.

Indian Birthday

I'm 48!

I really love how even that number is. 

I was busy all day working on the girls camp fundraiser...the valentine dinner. 20 lbs of pork barbacoa, triple batch of cilantro lime rice, black beans and tomatillo dressing. 5 chocolate cakes, raspberry sauce as well as all the shopping had me not feeling so celebratory. 

But Mark packed us all up and delivered us to Korma Sutra, one of my favorite places to eat. A couple years ago, taking our kids to eat at an Indian restaurant would've inspired tears and a deafening silent treatment. But we've been making a butter chicken in the pressure cooker and I recently learned how to make garlic naan! They have learned to love Indian spices!

And this place is just special. 

They shower you with fun little treats and extra dishes. 

Mango Lassi, Golub Jamun, Pakora, Papadam, Kulfi and Chai. 

We ordered Butter Chicken, Chicken Goa Curry and Biriyani.

We prepared the kids for how to use the limes to wash their hands when the waitress came around. Not knowing what to do could send any one of our high-anxiety kids running for the door. 

The funny owner brought it home with his birthday shuffle!

We all left with full bellies and smiles on our faces. The waitress handed me a warm chai to go as we walked out the door. Happy Birthday to me.

We went home and Mark surprised me with a slice of carrot cake from J Alexanders. I got to see all my kids at once and everyone sang to me as I accidentally blew the candles out 3 times just from laughing. 

I hadn't planned on celebrating today. But I feel celebrated and loved and so very grateful for my family and making fun memories.

Here's to 48!

Why....hello.

 My minivan days are over. 

Girls Camp...a retrospective.

 I don't think I have the energy to describe camp in any kind of detail. Anna had her own experiences. I was a leader and both enjoyed my time there, as well as felt 4 days of brutal heat and overscheduling. It's the girls camp way!

Here are the few photos I took and it will probably give a pretty accurate picture of how it went -->

Any woman anywhere that has attended girls camp as a leader knows deep deep in her bones the simultaneous love/hate relationship we have with this experience. I want everything for my girls. I want them to sing and do crafts and stay up late talking and go to classes and have the faith walk and all of it. And, by dang, if that means I go too, then so be it!