An Epic Austen Introduction!

Okay, peeps.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that...I start a bunch of posts that way, and it's also the first sentence to Pride & Prejudice--a story I adore so very much. Most of all, in fact, among all the Austen-penned novels!

Moreover, I love, love the 2005 movie version with Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFayden. (Who doesn't???). That and Bridgerton are pretty much my go-to when I need something girly to watch that will give me all the feels.

So imagine my utter JOY and DELIGHT when the hubby and I logged online to purchase movie tickets for the fam (for some random showing I can't even remember, now), and realized our nearby dine-in theater was doing a special, 21st-anniversary showing of Pride & Prejudice! Amazing!

It was on a school night, the night before standardized state testing for Chica (and Little Man, but not Chicklet that particular day), and I labored over two conflicting thoughts:

1) Is this the best idea ever?? Like a brain break before a big test???

OR

2) Am I the worst influence and a terrible parent???

In the end, after careful calculations of showing time, our arrival back home, and the length of the girlies' typical shower-to-bed routine I decided to...go for it.

And holy moly, was it the best decision, ever!

What a freaking happy-happy-joy-joy burst to see this beloved visual as part of my ticket confirmation!

It was a busy evening prior to the showing, but the most fantastic motivator to get homework and responsibilities DONE so we could scurry off and have our Girls' Night Out. The girlies were motivated, to put it mildly.

Plus, it gave the hubby and Little Man an opportunity to watch a boy movie back home, so all parties were pumped (except, perhaps, Coda pup, who had to suffer through the obnoxious boy showing at home with the volume way up, when I'm sure she would have much rather been with the ladies!).

The girlies were so dang happy on the way there, that I instantly felt super-boosted about our decision to go for it. And then I felt super-duper boosted when we arrived and received hysterical merch related to the movie. I mean...the potato! IYKYK.

The lotion bottle even read:

For when Mr. Darcy helps you into your carriage and then does the iconic hand flex.

Bahaha. I mean...again: IYKYK.

There was a bit of trivia prior the showing, we ordered lots of dessert and popcorn, and we all felt super giddy and happy to be there.

The biggest surprise of all was my Chicklet--who's typically a bit romance-adverse, but was hands-down, one hundred percent the daughter o' mine who was hollering and gesturing at the screen, so totally into it, that it made my heart freaking soar.

Austen is so near and dear to me.

Period piece romances in novel and screen form are some of my all-time faves.

And to experience this one so joyfully, together, in a theater, no less, on a random weeknight prior to testing was just...fan-freaking-tastic.

Driving home, with all of us so high on life, I felt absolutely buoyant.

So happy that I'd gone for the life memory above a boring night of early-to-bed, testing prep, and I think my kiddos' brains were all the happier for it!

It was definitely a full circle moment for me, as well. Thinking back to the nights in recent years when my poor Chicklet went to bed crying for days, so twisted up and angsty over the idea of STAAR testing that she literally worked herself into a terrible state of anxiety.

https://delappenings.blogspot.com/2023/05/a-staar-celebration.html

We muddled through a handful of really awful years, when we had to work quite hard to schedule happy events to take her mind off the worry, and now...just look at her. Handling the testing like a champ, and enjoying the most wonderful mental health break in the whole, wide world, instead.

I'm so grateful for such a happy viewing that was discovered by accident.

And I'm so freaking ecstatic that my girlies have chosen to watch the movie again at home not once, but twice, in the days since.

Chica even asked for a beautiful, gold-edged copy of the novel as her prize for completing her Violin Solo & Ensemble competition this past weekend, and my Mama heart was so very full. 

Okay...I think I'm caught up on the major happening of late, people! The joys of a double-post day.

We're in the midst of some very rainy weather for at least another 24 hours, and I'm going to dig in, as much as possible.

When I return to posting, I'll share a bit about my son and his first foray into...flag football!

Happy Monday, peeps!

Over and out.

Hysteroscopy Happenings!

Okay, peeps.

We've had a week of technological difficulties...and upgrades, I guess?

At least, that's my positive positioning, and I'm trying to stick to it!

Long and short: about eight days ago, we had a fast-and-furious thunderstorm, far too close for comfort!

In fact, lightning struck so close it hit a power line just beyond our property and the power instantly went out.

Some sparks and smoke from the transformer told us it wasn't going to be a quick fix, and it turns out, we were right!

The transformer was fried and two separate power company crews had to work diligently through the day and night (and ongoing rain!) to restore power--which they eventually did, woohoo! (But not before we lost some groceries to hot and humid meat temps; womp, womp, womp).

Welp. The next day, we realized the lightning also:

Fried our internet modem (so we had a technician out to replace it)...

Destroyed our fuse box that powers the pool pump (a technician is coming this week to replace it)...

Fried both landscape lightning transformers on either side of our house (yep, a technician came out to replace them)...

And...our upstairs A/C unit has been on the fritz since it came back on line (uh huh, you guessed it: a technician has come, gone...and has to come back again later this week when it's not pouring down rain)...

And, last, but probably not least, because that seems to be our luck...two days ago the dryer stopped heating (and, YES, a technician is currently here to replace something).

So, yep.

Not the best week for maintenance--especially considering we just had to fork over a chunk of change for some roof repairs--and my car was in last week for some regular (you guessed it!) maintenance.

Sometimes, adulting isn't so fun.

And this is one of those weeks.

But...let's talk about a completely different kind of maintenance that I was so ready to tackle--in the midst of all of these odds and ends repairs!

My hysteroscopy and uterine ablation!

Yep. I said uterus on this here blog because half the world's population has one, and there's no shame in my game.

If you want to take a trip down recent memory lane to learn about some of my health challenges, heeeeere you go:

https://delappenings.blogspot.com/2026/02/if-mama-aint-happy.html

For now, the only important thing to note is that I've been tackling a lot of health maintenance items for several months, now, and this was the culmination--and the tiny surgery I was most excited about!

My procedure happened midday Wednesday.

I behaved myself on Thursday (mostly).

By Friday, I behaved myself a little less.

Our weekend was fairly busy (per usual).

And, by now (Monday), I'm pretty much back to business as normal--with the exception of no rigorous exercise (so, no Pure Barre classes) until my post-op at the end of next week.

So far, the discomfort has been minimal--especially compared to the ridiculous and surprising pain of the biopsy prior to surgery!--so I'm very grateful. If anything, the anesthesia hit me hardest--and produced a red skin rash-like  sunburn for about 48 hours after the procedure.

Honestly, I'm so grateful to have this done--especially since it was originally scheduled for March and had to be delayed when I came down with an unlucky, raging case of bronchitis.

I'm hoping that spending so much time over the past few months to work through various doctor's appointments and tackle things that needed to be addressed will lead me to smoother sailing for the foreseeable future.

Even though I don't love the term mid-life (who in the world likes reminders of mortality?) there's no debating this has been my Mid-Life Tune-Up, this past quarter.

This stretch of time has been such a pointed reminder of several things:

1) Nobody knows your body better than you do.

2) Health is wealth. Truly.

3) If Mama Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy.

I think, in general, I hope to be much more aware of what I need (body, mind and spirit), moving forward. 

And, I hope to prioritize what I need to help my body/mind/spirit to function at their level best.

Most of all, I hope to be smart enough to cut out all the rest that doesn't serve me!

Our needs are ever-changing as we move through life, and I love feeling bold enough--and, yes, maybe, even cranky enough--to demand what a want and need.

So, here's to better, healthier, tuned-up days moving forward!

And, please, for the love of all that is holy, can we just have a tiny break from the home maintenance? Just for one, hot sec, please!

More catch-up posts soon, peeps!

Over and out.

Chica's Fine Arts Few Days!

Okay, peeps. 

Time for some catch-up posts!

This one is all about Chica and her Fine Arts activities of the past week!

As most of you know, my eldest has always been a happy little songbird, enjoying choir from a young age. Additionally, she picked up violin in 5th grade, and has been on an orchestra path ever since.

The duel Choir/Orchestra commitment has always been an overload of music--but, mostly, a happy one for our girl (unless, of course, the homework load is insane on any given week, and then it's tricky to add in those violin practice minutes, but she manages!).

But it's such a joy to see all that she has learned and accomplished on both fronts in the past 3-4 years--and this past week involved a lot for her to showcase!

First, she had the annual Evening With Strings concert that involves hundreds of students--from beginning 5th grader orchestra kiddos, all the way through High School. It's always wild to see how far they come from that very first year, plucking the strings, to mini adults with a huge proficiency range!

It's always wild to see the social confidence build. I can remember the first year or two of this specific concert, when Chica would arrive all anxious and self-conscious. But, now, she's golden!

I have pics of Chica and her closest buddy from every year they've participated in this concert, and it's so wild and wonderful to see how much they've grown!

Please note in the above pic: Chica's jeans were nearly too long for her when we purchased them nine months ago, and now, they're high waters! ha.

After this particular concert, we went for an impromptu dinner with the friend above and her sister and parents. I'm super close to the mother, and we love any excuse for a hangout--and all five of our kiddos gel so well, together. It was a really lovely, happy night--especially amidst a lot of commitments and craziness.

Then we had a Thursday reprieve before toggling over to a big Orchestra commitment--a morning competition at a gorgeous theater downtown, before an afternoon at Sea World!

There are 42 kiddos in Chica's Honors Symphony group, and it's such a beautiful thing to see them all together in both casual and formal circumstances. There were a lot of moving parts to the competition portion of the event, so I was happy to lend a helping hand as a chaperone. Plus, the group received all superior ratings for their competition, which made the day extra lively!

All these girlies have been with Chica in class for years, and it's also fantastic to see how they keep growing and growing!

It's also really fun to see how that growth equates to a bit more earned independence. I've chaperoned this competition/field trip for the past three years, and it was really fun to experience this particular round, where a handful of us adults were much less stressed about tracking the kiddos.

In fact, we kept a tail on them for a decent portion of the fun, but loosened our oversight just a bit to allow them some small stretches of park time unchaperoned--as long as we knew where they were and could track them via text. It made for a much more tolerable day! Plus, we had cloud cover, which was such a blessing!

Unfortunately, because these types of intense commitment weeks tend to cluster...Chica and I wrapped that really long day, making it home by 6 p.m., right as the hubby was shuffling Little Man and Chicklet to the annual elementary school Carnival! Another fun right of passage.

Then, after a short night, it was another early (Saturday) morning to get Chica to the High School for an all-day practice session for the Regionals Choir group she auditioned for and made it in to! Woohoo!

She was a bit anxious about the day, not knowing what all it would entail, but she ended up with a fantastic session leader/director who she adored! This woman was funny and engaging and professional; a positive experience for Chica, hands down. Whew! So positive, in fact, that Chica willingly signed up for a short Summer Camp choir session that involves this same director. All. Good. Things.

It was so wonderful to see so many accomplished vocalists perform together! The talent is expanding, for sure! Considering the months of rehearsals Chica attended before auditioning and securing a spot, it was definitely cause for celebration!

And what better way to celebrate a trio of Fine Arts performances than a special trip to Kendra Scott. :)

It's always been a tradition of mine to gift my kiddos something tiny for their school performances and events. Just something to let them know that I see their dedication and work and I'm proud of them.

This past week, however, there was very little time to shop around for something small, so instead, Chica and I just made a quick jaunt to the fun shopping center so she could build herself a pair of earrings--purple, of course (technically, opal amethyst or something like that name for the stone).

She was definitely riding high from several days of challenging performances, and it was nice to pay tribute to that with a pair of earrings that made her smile so much.

With standardized state testing well underway (in fact, Chica is literally in the midst of her Social Studies STAAR testing, as we speak), life has definitely been chaotic. We're in the homestretch of commitments and performances and ceremonies and tests to close out the school year, and it's all go, go, GO!

But...there are so many beautiful things to celebrate, and we're going to do our best to enjoy each and every opportunity!

Okay...more catch-up posts as I able!

Happy Thursday, peeps!