Needing to Find Balance - Is It Possible?

The weekend was so fun and so busy that I did not get any blogging done, even though Saturday was the first year anniversary of my doing this blog. It was a weekend of biking and a party, instead. It was not a weekend of much cleaning or doing our chores. The weather was amazing. The races this weekend were both international events. It was almost like a carnival due to all of the cycling related vendors that had booths. One that I thought was fun was "Peddling for Properties." A pair of men who take you out on cruiser bikes (the kind with big, comfy saddles, basket on the fun handlebars, etc.) and you ride around the areas you think you might want to live in. They stop at coffee houses, little family own restaurants, etc. I think it sounds like a blast. I secretly wanted to take one of their cruisers out for a spin, but I did not have a helmet. We also tasted just about everything that Cliff Bar sells, had freshly grilled burritos, the works. And let's not forget the actual races. They were fun. The course was VERY long, but the kids were troopers. I am just so darn impressed with them. :) Ellie came in 3rd on Saturday and Ethan rode his fastest cross race ever on Sunday. But I am actually less impressed with their standings since those are rather arbitrary based on who shows up, but rather, I am impressed with their stamina and determination. )Sunday was a repeat of Saturday, but with more riders. I have included a photo here from the adult race just to give you an idea of how busy it was. My favorite non-kid part was all of the dogs. It was a dog-petting-orama, which I love. I met some really unusual dogs. Saturday we hosted my cousin and her son along with my mother over for dinner. I made some great food. Maybe I will post about that tomorrow.

As fun as all that is, I still struggle a bit. Some weekends I want to get everything picked up, food for the week made, etc. I get that done, but then I have no time for myself and feel robbed when I have done all of that and it is suddenly Sunday evening and I have not done anything for myself. This weekend I did very little cleaning and enjoyed doing my cross stitch and sitting with my husband instead. I feel more calm and rested today, but I know that my upstairs and the bathrooms are a mess. I used to believe that I could just REALLY clean one room a day to spread it out, but the mess spread faster than I could clean at that rate. Thus, I still seek some balance in my life.

It is amazing to me that it was Halloween less than a week ago and that Thanksgiving is in less than three weeks. I'd love to hear what others are making. I seem to feel the need to find new recipes for Thanksgiving every year.