Friday Chit Chat

January has been rough on us health wise. Since New Year's Eve, at least one out of the five of us has been ill. It is really hard to catch up on cleaning the house from Christmas and a trip to Illinois when you are either lying on the couch trying not to vomit or so stuffed up your head is going to explode. But, the last two days I have felt almost 100% better and so I thought I would start the year off right by blogging....17 days into the new year...whatever.

These pictures are from November, but I haven't shared them yet and I need to share them with you all.

 There is a picnic area on Ft. Sam that the girls call the Turtle Pond.  It is not a pond, nor does it have turtles, but it's one of their favorite places on post. We took a picnic lunch and enjoyed the balmy November weather.

 One of the things I'm trying to focus on this year is simplifying. We're not very high maintenance people, but it is very easy to get caught up in things and activities. I have a plan on going through our house room by room, closet by closet, and purging things we don't need or don't use. I'd like to spend more time home together just hanging out. No specific bullet point goals, just a simple Simplifying Goal.

 Ooh, I totally forgot to tell you all my book reading goal!  I'd like to read at least 60 books this year and plan on the books I've read each month here. I got the idea from my friend Sarah who did this on her own blog last year and I LOVED seeing her book reviews at the end of the month. I have added quite a few she recommended to my own "to read" list. One of the nice things about forcing my children to love books or be kicked out of the family instilling a love of reading in my children is that Elisabeth is at a reading level where she and I can share books. She flew through The Hunger Games and is currently on the third book of the Divergent series. She's going to lend them to me when she's done and can not wait to discuss them with me. How fun is that? She has her own bookshelf in her room that is brimming with books she's bought or received and she was talking to me about getting another bookshelf for her room.  Yeah, as great as that idea is, there is zero room for another bookshelf. I told her that I might be able to make room on one of my bookshelves for her  book overflow.

 I received 4 cookbooks for Christmas this year. Do you know how excited I am?? One is a slowcooker cookbook, which is awesome because I try to use the crockpot weekly and I am always looking for new recipes. I got the 2nd and 3rd cookbooks from The Pioneer Woman, which is freaking awesome because I do love her food (although Evan is worried I will lose my mind and use gobs of butter like I did when I bought her first cookbook and forgot that we are not active cowboys on a ranch who will burn off those calories before lunchtime). And, lastly, I got the 2nd edition of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking which I am completely geeking out over!!!!  I big puffy heart Julia Child--the girls and I watch her first season of her cooking show on Netflix, I've read a few books about her and how she became this iconic chef, and basically have a cooking crush on her.

 I have been finding books for Evan to listen to in the car on his commute to work. Not only is it fun to try to find books I think he will like, but sometimes I will read the same book (if I haven't read it yet) or pick books that I loved to see how he feels about them. It's kind of like having a spousal book club. I'll tell you what, though, he just makes me want to stay married to him forever every time he says, "Hey, I need a new book, I'm almost done with this one. Can you pick one out for me?" Swoon.

 We took the girls to see Frozen last weekend. Not only was it a cute movie (in that I didn't want to pull my eyeballs out), but it is the first movie that Vivian stayed awake through without trying to escape!  This is a huge milestone for her!  She is not the most patient of children and when she is done...she is DONE! But, with a whole bucket of popcorn within her reach, she was golden.

 Today I went to the Y for the first time in over a month. Thankfully, I did not forget how to use the machines, but I have embarrassingly backtracked in my workout abilities. I am thinking about actually participating in the free classes they offer (I know, novel idea, right?), but first I want to be able to be on the elliptical for 45 minutes again without wishing to cry. I hate how easy it is to fall out of good habits and so easy to pick up bad ones again. Why is it that I must convince myself to get into the car and drive to the Y, but that once I've worked out I am so, so glad I did? I kind of thought these habits would get easier as I age, but presumably not.

 The longer we live here, the more I find to appreciate about Texas. Now, don't get all concerned, I have zero desire to ever (EVER) make it my permanent home, but it is nice to be able to be outside almost all year long. Today, the high was in the upper 60s. The girls played outside the majority of the day in perfect sunshine and light jackets. It stays lighter longer and, even though it gets mother effing hot way too soon, we've lived here long enough that we've grown accustomed to the heat and the girls will gladly play outside in anything under 100 degrees.

I can't believe I just typed those positive words about Texas...