Spontaneity
Sweets and I have been looking at our calendar a lot recently. And we continue to be shocked that July, August and September have more weekend plans than not. We found ourselves talking about October —OCTOBER!!— the other day for a weekend getaway, because we have so little time before then.
Anyway, this past weekend? Was one of the seemingly few fully free weekends we have until this fall. Sweets had a happy hour party thing to go to on Friday night. He skipped in. In preference of spending a little time at home with SoMi and me. We almost cleared out our DVR of shows like Friday Night Lights, Top Chef DC, The Next Food Network Star and Wipeout (Sweets howls when watching that show, which entertains me to no end).
Saturday, Sweets and I set the alarm early, so he could go on a long bike ride while I took SoMi for a long walk. We then spent a few hours not really watching after, but being on site/on call for a family member who recently had major surgery. We also watched the first half of the US-Ghana soccer game. We came home to watch the rest of the soccer match (and the unfortunate outcome for the US team). I might have napped for a couple hours. We watched the Cubs-Sox baseball game. I started to make another dress. Did laundry. Ate pizza. And passed out later than planned.
Sunday was another early morning. We met friends at a local watering hole to watch the England-Germany soccer match. Had our friends not arrived at 8:15 (45 minutes before game time), we wouldn’t have been able to sit down to watch the game. The place was packed. As the skies became more cloudy outside, the satellite went out inside. Thank goodness for smart phones. Someone yelled out that Germany had scored and a few other patrons (in a heavily English bar) yelled happily. Within 10 minutes or so, the satellite readjusted and we were all happily watching the game. Sometime later in the game, second half, with Germany already up 4-1, there was a flat out power outage. Not only did all the TVs go blank, but the already warm bar (no A/C) got downright sweaty once the ceiling fans stopped whirring. When it was clear this outage would not be reversed anytime soon, we paid our bill and went on our way.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about my summer goals. I published this post before announcing my pregnancy, but if you go back to that post, you’ll see I allude to changes we want to make around the house related to the new addition. Things like organizing the second bedroom (into a nursery!) and adding more shelves to our laundry room (so we can store diapers!). After the soccer game, Sweets and I made our way to the Container Store to inquire about some shelving for the laundry room. Working with one of their consultants, we put together a plan we think will work nicely for us. It’s not cheap, but given we don’t have a mortgage payment in July (thanks to refinancing), we’ll use some of that money towards our shelving project.
The rest of the day was spent at home. Watching the Argentina-Mexico soccer match. Doing more laundry. Doing some research into daycare options (around here, some of the more popular options have wait lists of up to 2 years!). Working on the dress. You know, stuff to keep us out of the heat, humidity and threat of rain.
Our weekend wasn’t particularly exciting. But, we were productive. We did spend time with each other. And we certainly enjoyed some of the freedoms we will miss for the rest of this summer when our lives are already planned for us.
Was your weekend planned for you or were you able to be spontaneous? Any highlights you care to share?
June 28th, 2010 at 6:53 am
My weekend was full. Bday dinner, Graduation party/Soccer viewing party and Engagement party. But, it was fun. Shelving and organizing systems are super expensive! But they are an investment and will be there for for years. Glad that you are feeling better and able to enjoy a little down time with Sweets!!
June 28th, 2010 at 8:22 am
TWO YEARS for a daycare waiting list? Wow. So you basically have to put yourself on the list before you even think about having a kid. Amazing.
We didn’t really plan anything which was nice.
June 28th, 2010 at 8:26 am
Highlight of my weekend…having my husband’s parents move out of our house after SEVEN YEARS living with us! One day of the weekend I helped them move/cleaned and organised their new house and the other day of the weekend I worked on mine.
June 28th, 2010 at 8:42 am
My weekend was good. Didn’t end up being as ‘restful’ as I would have liked, but I will be at my parents cabin this next weekend so I will make up for it up there!
I also caught up on Top Chef DC. What do you think of this season? So far, I am not as impressed as I have been in seasons past. I think Angelo is talented but he is such a pompus @ss, I can’t stand him. My fave is Kenny so far.
I hope you’ll post pics of this dress that you are working on! I made some decent progress on one of the baby blankets. I was originally hoping to make 3… now I am thinking 2 as they are kind of a time consuming project!
June 28th, 2010 at 8:43 am
It was a lazy weekend, the only spontaneous thing we did was head to the spice house because Hubs got pickling cucumbers and needed pickling spices.
But I was able to knock a few things out of my to do list but, still have a bunch to do.
I can;t wait to see photos of your new shelving!
June 28th, 2010 at 9:10 am
For once my weekend wasn’t planned! I had no one around me and OMG it was complete and utter BLISS! I’ve missed hanging out on my own and doing (or not doing) random things on a whim. While I absolutely adore Matt and my family, I can’t tell you awesome it was getting this break from them.
Hope your relative is doing well!
June 28th, 2010 at 9:24 am
Mine was, for the most part, delightfully unplanned. I had to do some finance work (blech) but other than that it involved pools, the library, a trip to get ice cream, playing video games, a baby shower, and just general merriment. It was kind of lovely.
Like you, the rest of my summer is largely hectic so I’m kind of glad I got in another R&R weekend.
June 28th, 2010 at 9:29 am
Aside from the usual volleyball I participated in another flash mob. This one took place at universal studios city walk and we did a number from the broadway musical, in the heights. The creator and star of the play was in one of the balconies so we surprised him. it was awesome! in return we got a free ticket to the show. I also went to a bacon party. I smelled like bacon when I left. :)
June 28th, 2010 at 9:40 am
My weekend was so full! We took an impromptu road trip to Kalamazoo, MI to meet up with some friends who had rented a boat for the day on Saturday. I tried waterskiing for the first time, dranks lots of delicious beer, and was passed out by 10pm. Great weekend!
June 28th, 2010 at 9:53 am
Our weekend mostly involved soccer, but we also (finally!) went to see Shrek, and hung out with friends several times. It was great. But now I’m tired and the week is only starting!
June 28th, 2010 at 10:14 am
My weekends have been minimally planned but for me that’s progress. Did some yoga, went on a short day trip with Mr. Darcy, endured techno music from the Pride fest, ran errands, bought a new couch, and didn’t do any chores (oopsie!). I’m purposely trying to not plan stuff so there is room in my life for spontaneity.
June 28th, 2010 at 10:49 am
My husband and I have that same scheduling issue — we get so excited for summer in Chicago, and then when it comes it feels as if we are always totally booked up!I love love LOVE a free weekend, and this past weekend we also didn’t have too much going on. My friday night was a dream--Trader Joes, cooked dinner, watched Friday Night Lights (so glad to hear you share my love for that show!) and went to see a movie. Just glorious.
June 28th, 2010 at 10:52 am
We didn’t have much planned for this weekend, other than getting some errands done and watching soccer, of course.
We had to get up at the ungodly hour of 6:30 a.m. on Sunday morning to watch Germany kick England’s butt :) You can imagine the excitement in my house! :) (J is also rooting for Germany!)
We pretty much stayed in for the rest of the day (because it was freakin’ 103 degrees outside and watched ARG:MEX later that afternoon.
I love free weekends like that…. it has its advantages (sometimes) to not have any family close by (but most of the time, I wish they were closer).
June 28th, 2010 at 11:01 am
Glad to hear that you got a chance to rest up before it’s go-time!
I went to a Zumba class (my first) on Saturday morning with a gal from church. Came home and PLOPPED for 5 hours straight. Finally got off my ass around 4 and got a few things done around the house. I think the nap was partially because of my body SO not being ready for Zumba it up, and partially because I realized that I had not given myself permission to rest for the last 2 months. It’s good that both of us see the need to take it easy every now and then and do next-to-nothing.
June 28th, 2010 at 11:31 am
I did a whole lot of nothing this weekend, besides taking advantage of a free HBO/Cinimax preview :-) It was wonderful, but now I’ve got a TON of stuff to do this week!
June 28th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
At the last minute, we went up to the pool at our time share in Park City to go swimming. It was nice. I also learned that I missed some spots on my chest when applying SFP 15.
June 28th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
We ran the 1/2 marathon on Saturday morning, slept for most of the day (after watching the US-Ghana game), then had a birthday party in the evening. We didn’t last too long, though, because we were still sore and exhausted. Yesterday was worthless. Just lots of lounging and ibuprofen popping :-)
Glad your weekend was fun and productive!
June 28th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
I cherish my free weekends. Just this morning as I was driving to work, I was lamenting (seriously) my trip to Texas this weekend because I wouldn’t be able to just laze around.
June 28th, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Ooh I can’t wait to see the home organization changes. I love that stuff. I just recently bought some new receptacles for what will hopefully be a fall move-in (I’m not supposed to talk about it yet because it’s not official). I swear I could organize people’s cupboards and closets for a living.
Someone I know was supposed to be on Wipeout -- I’ll have to find out what day his episode airs. That show is pretty darn funny!
June 28th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
Ted and I don’t really have true weekends together. He works at least one weekend day per week. Saturday, Ted worked, and then we went over to take care of my dad for the evening while my step-mom was out of town. Sunday, we were busy with grocery shopping, moving furniture, ordering tile, and doing yard work. Our days together this summer are just jam-packed trying to get the house ready for these babies. It’s a little overwhelming, but we still manage to have a good time.
June 28th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
My weekend was very, very low key- for the first time in a long time, too! It was a great change, but we’re actually looking to put some more spontaneity back into our lives. More running out for a drink at the local patio, more biking places, and more hanging out together on the weekend instead of me always working on projects! lol
June 28th, 2010 at 3:58 pm
I know I am way too far to go for everyday daycare but never forget how much I love babies and small children and keep me in mind for any kind of backup you might need or emergencies or anything like that. Or I bet you could even talk me into watching your little grasshopper for a weekend if you and sweets wanted to get away after the baby is a bit older. I know that’s a long way away right now but just wanted to throw that out there.
June 28th, 2010 at 10:01 pm
I try to keep my weekends a LITTLE unplanned so that I can still fit some spontaneity in too. I’m terrible for over-planning and over-committing myself!
June 28th, 2010 at 10:04 pm
i had a nice relaxing weekend as well! volunteered at the clinic early saturday morning, then stopped by the farmer’s market on the way home. watched the US game at a bar with some friends. had a nice night in with the bf. made brunch the next morning (thanks, farmer’s market!) for my college roommate & her husband, then went to the pool with the lovely @mariechatters to try and get some relief from this crazy heat wave.
…and then, alas, such a crazy monday that i hardly recall that nice relaxed feeling anymore..
June 29th, 2010 at 10:07 am
I induldged in an extra long weekend and it was great. I was able to turn my brain off for a bit and just relax.
My weekends are quickly filling up as well and it sort of astounds me. So many plans, full weekends, and things to do. I hope that you can keep some time unscheduled!
June 29th, 2010 at 11:01 am
hi missy!
glad to hear you had a fairly carefree weekend. im so there in that boat with you about feeling like EVERY weekend is booked this summer. and i know we’ve chatted about this before- it can be good and bad!
one weekend i can’t wait for?! july 31!