Book shows, Balanced Meals, and Birthday Parties

In high school, I got my first job - working the video counter at Price Cutter, a small budget grocery store in Bartlesville. 

I started at $5.55 an hour - which, for me, was a lot of money at the time. 

I worked a few nights a week, and a weekend every once in a while. Before long, my paychecks became quite regular - $190 here, $200 there. It was amazing. 

However, I was always astounded to see how fast my money disappeared. 

Eventually, mom challenged me to start documenting how much money I was spending (and where I was spending it at), saying that the results would probably be quite surprising - as multiple "small" amounts quickly add up to pretty staggering numbers. 

And she was right. 

What I thought were small transactions, sure enough ended up taking the bulk of my paychecks - seven dollars at Blockbuster here, six fifty at the gas station there... 

My giant bank deposits (again, to sixteen year old me, whose only expenses were gas money and taking my girlfriend out on dates) quickly became near-overdraft fees in front of my eyes. 

It was depressing. 

Counting calories these last few weeks reminds me of that period of my life. 

...and I hate it.  

Seriously. 

I'm using Myfitnesspal every day to get a brief idea of how many calories I should eat in order to lose a moderate amount of weight over a minimal amount of time - and then numbers are quite disheartening. 

I start with what looks like this big, workable number (1700), but as I'm meal prepping and plotting out my daily intake, I end up nickel and diming myself into chubby tears. 

Rice in your lunch? Cha-ching. Chicken for dinner? Cha-ching. 

Those were cash register sounds, just FYI. 

Basically, I've established that I have a very toxic relationship with carbs. They sweet talk me into giving in, and then don't call the next day. 

However, I have really enjoyed my Sunday evening meal-preps. It's become somewhat of a meditation on the last evening of the week. I go to the kitchen, turn on my Blues Traveler pandora station, and cook, and grill, and weigh, and box - until I'm left with four tupperware containers of what I'm to eat at noon for the next week. 

Also, I'm using a lot of fresh veggies, and it's been pretty cool cooking with this much color. 

This last week, after I bounced back from the stomach flu, Jaxon and Jade had a literacy fair at their school. 

Basically, it was like a science fair - only, instead of science questions presented on big three-fold boards, it was facts about a book they had each read. They both made their boards, putting a fair amount of work into them, and we milled around the school, looking at them along with their classmates' boards. 

Jaxon chose one of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, and Jade chose a book about a time-traveling dog who went back in time to help two slave children. 

Basically a non-fiction. 

We were super proud of each kid though. 

Jade's presentation even had a popsicle stick boat for her little toy dog to sit in as a visual aid. I think it really sent the exhibit over the top, as the boat was so life-like that just looking at it, one couldn't help but imagine the sound of the raging rapids Ranger the dog and the two children careened down as they paddled their way to safety. 

10/10, a masterpiece. 

Ok, I made the boat for her. Check that thing out. Glued it myself, and everything.   

Other than that, we ended the week with a quiet weekend - where I spent a good chunk of Sunday finally sitting down to read The Five People You Meet In Heaven - a book I've been telling my mom I'd read for the past few years. 

I don't know why, but for some reason I've really fell out of the habit of reading. 

I love writing stories. I love drawing children's books. It's just, somewhere along the process (I think shortly after grad school), I fell out of love with sitting down to work on a book. 

I typically end up loving the ones I sit down to read. I just have a hard time getting myself to actually crack one open. 

Truthfully though, the book was as great as every recommendation I have heard. It you haven't read it, it's definitely worth the few hours it will take to finish it. It's the second Mitch Albom book I've read, and again, the second I've really enjoyed. He has a way with words that few authors do. He can tell a very thorough story in a very small amount of pages while still being highly descriptive. 

One of those authors who gives you an opportunity to evaluate how you're living with each story he writes. 

This week started out relatively quiet. We're all still reeling from daylight saving's time, and I'm doubly tired because I donated blood. 

Tonight, we went to the joined birthday party for a pair of twin brothers that we're really close to at a local Chinese restaurant.

Where, in addition to Chinese food - there was a Stranger Things cake AND a Skyrim cake. 

These guys have great taste. Literally. 

I've been trying to walk 5 days a week, the kids' grandma (Nene) is in town to visit, Jaxon got a haircut he hated at Walmart, and Jade hurt her foot while roller skating. 

All in all, another pretty business as usual week. 

Nothing flashy, but still time together.