Because it’s Friday AGAIN. And because traditions are important. In which I cover the good stuff and the hard stuff in my week, trying for the non-preachy, non-annoying side of self-reflection.

And you get to join in if you feel like it.

Oh boy! Friday!

Fridayfridayfridayfriday Fried-Egg Day Friday.

Maybe not an egg.

But that’s how it sounds in my head.

Anyway.

We made it.

The hard stuff

Waking up on Toozday.

And not wanting to get out of bed.

Not so good at the giving myself permission to have a crappy day thing yet.

Yet again, too much stuff going on.

It’s all kind of overwhelming.

Plus Marissa was on (extremely well-deserved) vacation, so the rest of the pirate crew and I were kind of running around like headless chickens.

Ah, yes.

Mix-ups, mistakes, things not going quite right.

Stupid little things.

Mostly.

And a couple big ones.

But it’s more that once stuff starts getting all tangled, it’s really hard not to stay in the tangle.

Discovering just how crappy my mattress really is.

Seriously.

Do not try the fabulous and shockingly expensive mattress because it will ruin your life by bringing your attention to the sad fact that your current bed is a horribly uncomfortable sack of boards.

Then you have to devote your life to explaining to your partner and your duck why you want to spend their retirement fund on this insane life-changing mattress instead of being sensible and maybe promising to take them to Paris or something.

See?

Moral of the story: don’t try stuff. You know, ever.

Okay. Good stuff?

The good stuff

I did a clean.

Spent all of Sunday afternoon cleaning and organizing the basement.

The sadly neglected Hoppy House basement.

It was messy and dirty and kind of a pain in the ass … and my shoulders were all sore the next day. But it was a great way to blow off steam.

Which I totally needed.

And now the room that was horrible and depressing is clean and neat and maybe even kind of charming. Kind of.

Almost no appointments this week.

Seriously.

That never happens. There was an entire day with nothing in iCal.

Just gorgeous, clear white space instead of enough colored lines to give someone an epileptic fit.

Wheeee! Freedom!

Marissa’s back! Marissa’s back!

The entire pirate crew is extremely happy and relieved, and we are all going to take a nap now.

Hurrah for our First Mate!

Some excellent Shivanautical epiphanies this week.

Lots of dancing it up.

Lots of writing down insights.

And recognizing all sorts of Useful Things. And then giggling.

Plus now I know what my two R&D projects of the year are. Verra nice!

My surprise day off.

When Selma and my gentleman friend rescued Toozday by making me take the day off.

Rain pants! Wanderings! Plus I ate a knish!

I ate a knish!

Which is really just the easiest way to make me happy.

Especially as I have not had a knish since working in a sometimes-Hungarian restaurant. It’s been a while.

ECSTATIC JOY! Oh yes.

Good things at the Kitchen Table.

Okay. I’d been the teensiest bit nervous about how the new Kitcheners would get on, and how the veterans would adjust too.

And am pleased to see that the new member mice are as awesome as they sounded in their applications, and that people are asking for what they need in the form they need it in.

Good stuff all around. *sigh of relief*

And … playing live at the meme beach house!

Yes, that’s a Stuism too.

My brother and I have this thing where we come up with ridiculous band names and then say in this really pretentious, knowing tone, “Oh, well, you know, it’s just one guy.”

So this week, I am proud to present:

Knish Getaway Package

And yeah, they used to be called Emergency Lunch Situation. Remember their first album? It was called Sloppy Foes.

But really? It’s just one guy.*

* Thanks to Laura who is @lbelgray on the Twitters.

And … STUISMS of the week.

Stu is my paranoid McCarthy-ist voice-to-text software who delights in torturing me misunderstanding me. I can’t stand him.

• healer you no instead of “you already know”
• she might be Michelle go along for the record instead of “so you might as well go along for the ride”
• PSYCHIC hay instead of “PSYCH-K”
• it’s not the clams that are pad instead of “it’s not that plans are bad”
• light is a fig of wisteria instead of “life is a thing of mystery”
• but we need to up the herbal instead of “but we need a parable”

That’s it for me …

And yes yes yes, of course you can join in my Friday ritual right here in the comments bit if you feel like it.

Yeah? Anything hard and/or good happen in your week?

And, as always, have a glorrrrrrrrrrrrious weekend. And a happy week to come.