Highs and Lows

I feel a war goin’ on inside again

It’s nothing new

I know I’m stuck in my mind again 

At the end of the day

It’s just another bad case

Of the highs and lows 

I feel the pressure from the storm

It’s risin’ up

Why do I question

When I feel like I’m not enough

At the end of the day 

It’s just another bad case 

Of the highs and lows 

The highs and lows, yeah

I’m stuck in my head again

It’s the battles we don’t see

That can come to the surface

You gotta be ready 

Cause if you’re not careful

It’s bound to bleed over

And choke out your purpose

They’re trying to stop us

Cause they know what we’re capable of

They know who we reach

The power of words 

Inside of the message 

Of people affected 

They know what we preach

I came in the game

With a chip on my shoulder 

The devil had too many people ensnared

I put on my boots

And I started walking

When you’re filled with the spirit

It never compares 

That don’t mean it’s gonna be easy

I’m trying to cope 

And keep it together

When I should surrender

And lean on the Lord

He’s got a prescription 

So I can get better 

It seems that 

We think we can do it alone

We struggle to keep it at home

We wander around

And put on a smile

They asking me why 

I don’t pick up the phone 

It’s hard to talk about

I bury it

Feel like it’s something we need to defend

I’m stuck in a cycle

I know that it’s comin’

I just don’t know where and when

I’m trying to get over my emotions

Up and down

Like a roller coaster 

I’ve been praying

I’ve been focused

I’ve been patient

I’ve been molded

Check this hand

I’ll never fold it 

If I felt it

Then I wrote it 

If you said it

It’s been noted 

Just be careful

I stay loaded 

Bow out

I’m not available 

Just give me music

That’s really relatable 

Give me a pen and a pad

With a topic that’s been on your mind 

And it may be debatable 

Some days I really don’t know

What I’m aiming for 

I’m just walking in faith

I know He’s the truth

I know He’s the life

I know that there’s only one way 

And that is enough for me

I’m praying to God

Will you cover me 

Take my thoughts captive 

Help me when I get to feeling anxious

And slow me down 

When my mind’s active

I know that I bury it

Feel like it’s something we need to defend 

I’m stuck in a cycle 

I know that it’s comin’

I just don’t know where and when

~Rare of Breed

A couple weeks ago, on my way home from an appointment in Nashville, I was feeling a little blue. I tried to fight it, to push those feelings down. As if on cue, this song played. I’ve had it in my playlists for at least a couple years, but it was the most perfect lyrics for my mood!

A few days after that, I’d had an appointment with my eye doctor. I had finally lost my last pair of eyeglasses, and I really hate driving at night without them. Since at least a year ago, I’ve been swearing my eyesight has gotten noticeably better, and I wasn’t wrong! My astigmatism still prevents me from seeing well, at night, but during the daytime, I’m perfectly fine. My prescription was pretty mild before, but now it’s barely a prescription for anything more than my astigmatism. My eye doctor kept insisting it’s incredibly rare for an adult’s eyesight to improve. Somehow, mine has gotten markedly better, though!

Then, about a week ago, I began to hear about this crazy winter storm heading our way. They were calling for us to get up to 20 inches of SNOW!!! I’d never seen that much snow in my life! As it turned out, I still have yet to see anywhere near that amount of snow accumulation. Nope, instead we wound up with about 4 inches of snow, with another 3 inches of sleet and ice layered on top of it. Adam had gotten a giant generator, capable of running our heat, most of our outlets and light switches. He got it plugged into the outlet meant for it, down in our garage, just in case. I really hoped we wouldn’t have to use it, though. I’d gotten plenty of groceries, made sure my car had a full gas tank, and ran any errands needed, before we’d be homebound for several days.

We woke up, on Saturday morning, to some light snowflakes beginning to fall.

An hour later, the snow began to accumulate.

That evening, we started seeing the shift to more ice being predicted to accumulate from freezing rain. Sunday morning, we looked out our windows to find some seriously weighed down trees and power lines.

I’m not sure how we got so lucky, but we never did lose power! My dad lost power from around 5am Sunday morning, through just yesterday afternoon.

We ventured out, just yesterday, for the first time since before this storm arrived.

School’s canceled through this whole week, and Adam hasn’t been to work, either. He’s planning to go in for awhile, tomorrow. I’m going a little stir crazy, being stuck here at home, but this is the first time my new car’s seen winter weather, and I’m not convinced she’ll care much for it! Things have been melting, during the daytime, and then refreezing overnight. Our roads are still pretty messy.

I tried a new recipe, from TikTok. They used Ramen noodles, which I substituted with cooked macaroni noodles. I drained the noodles, and poured them into a casserole dish. Then, I mixed in a can of tomato soup, and 2 cans of chili (without beans). I baked it in the oven, at 350 degrees, for about half an hour. I topped it with shredded cheddar cheese, popped it back in the oven for about 5 minutes, and it was ready. My family gobbled it up! Mj says it reminds her of canned ravioli, and Adam asked me to add that to my cookbook, so I can make it for supper again.

Being trapped within the confines of my home has resulted in lots of baking, yummy meals, and a very organized and clean house, at least!