monday madness: today is valentine's

because today is valentine's day, i enjoyed the following totally worth it indulgences:
butter miso sauce (recipe will soon follow, i need to try some variations first)
a cupcake (that i've now been told is better than austin's hey cupcake!)
prosecco (a dry, very tart prosecco that paired nicely with rich butter sauce)

there is a madness to the whole concept of monday that, as someone who over-stresses about everything under the sun, i have trouble stomaching. get lunch packed, get to work on time, get work done, finish up the house cleaning that didn't get done over the weekend... you get the idea.

this monday i feel different, maybe particularly mad? maybe because, for the first time in a good long while, i have a hardcore workout plan ahead of me. i packed my yoga back, laid out running clothes, and prepared tomorrow's lunch all before cooking dinner tonight. tomorrow is really where the madness starts (today i gave myself a free slacker card because it's valentine's day, and because we went to a concert that ran late last night):
5:30am run, 4.73 miles
7:30pm bikram yoga, 90 minutes in 105 degree humid studio

and guess what my wonderful husband got us for valentine's day? dance lessons! soon in our future we will be immersing ourselves in "swing 1" at a north austin studio. i can't wait to learn how to dance with my man! the class photos on the website showed groups of average-looking folks just like bret and i, having a grand old time. i can't wait! that's madness that i'll go to a tea party for.

in addition to the normal madness that is my life, i will have a house full of brother and family (he has a wife and four children) this weekend! so far we have a pancake breakfast planned for saturday morning, pasta dinner at dad's saturday night, and festivities surrounding the austin half marathon. my brother and i have been emailing back and forth to plan his saturday morning long run that i hope will be finished before the kiddos wake up. they like to sleep late. either way, i will be liking coffee.

i am a very lucky, and consequently proud, aunt. my husband and i have the great fortune of many nephews and nieces, all very much loved. my brother is brilliant so, naturally, he spawned brilliant children. there's sherry, the lone little lady, who can story tell with the best of them and who is apparently excelling in every subject in school. darrell is a jock-a-holic who monitors his calorie intake and has an almost genetically coded understanding of football. i am hoping that he will be a pro nfl player and take care of his parents and aunts and uncles in his old age. maybe his future cousins, too. richard is the artist of the group who loves to cook, act, and more recently draw comic strips. my brother's wife brought jackson to the mix who has a remarkable memory and way with words. all four of them can melt an aunt's heart with the blink of an eye, or send her yelling with a shake of the head. hopefully, some day, i will have a progeny of my own.

and there you have it - monday madness, butter, dancing, and lovely family.