Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• I had J re-dye my hair and it looks amazing! Now I need to find a stylist here to continue my look or possibly change it up drastically.

• Q has been so tired at bedtime lately that he hasn’t even wanted to read books. Crazy!

• The kiddos are loving playing in the snow this week. Much nicer temps and calmer wind.

• I think sweet tea is my kryptonite.

• Missing the gym this week. I tried to take Q to the daycare again and it didn’t go well. Not an option right now and I’m struggling.

• How it is my February book stack is growing instead of shrinking? #bookproblems Speaking of books…

• Rushing to finish a book before it’s due (today!). Silly people putting a hold on a book I’m currently reading.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Winter Bucket List Update #2

Christmas is over! Time to jump into the bleak season of winter here in the Midwest. This list was a bit of a struggle to create due to the weather constraints, but I think I’ve come up with some goodies.

1. Read 45 books (in progress) — I’m up to 34 books so far this year.

2. Eat at 5 new-to-me restaurants (in progress 1/5) — We got takeout sushi at a place very close to us. Pretty good!

3. Go sledding

4. Attend a hockey game

5. Attend two theater performances

6. Bake some bread ✓

7. Make winter crafts ✓ — Arthur and I grabbed some cute kits from Michael’s and went to town!

8. Create a table centerpiece ✓

9. Get our fireplace working

10. Movie Month January ✓ — We ended up watching 25 movies in January. Decent showing!

11. Weekly Game Day/Night with Arthur (in progress) — Arthur got a few card games for Christmas. We’re currently enjoying Go Fish.

12. Make Valentine’s

13. Try 3 new hot chocolate recipes/mixes

14. Visit two new-to-the-boys museums

15. Have an indoor picnic.

16. Swim at the gym 5 times

17. Host a tea party!

18. Make a snow globe

19. Make a seasonal door hanger/wreath

20. Complete a jigsaw puzzle ✓

21. Find a great coffee shop for me!

22. Spend an afternoon at a local bookstore

23. Buy some new cozy pajamas

24. Explore an area of Omaha

25. Travel to Indiana for Nick and Alex’s 16th Birthday!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #2

Reading: The Hollow of Fear by Sherry Thomas. Loving the third book in the Lady Sherlock series.

Watching: Slowing working my way through Riverdale S2.

Listening: I dove into the Last Seen Podcast this past week. Fascinating account of the Gardner Museum heist and the ongoing investigation.

Making: I tried to make gluten free wacky cake again. Last time, the results were disastrous. This time, much better although I still think the cake is a bit dry.

Feeling: My stomach has been a bit off for the last few days.

Planning:  Still working on Quentin’s Project Life spreads for 2017. I’m up to November, so my goal to finish that year during this month is definitely doable. Hopefully I can dive into 2018 spreads later this week.

Loving: A few weeks back I bought a log of cranberry goat cheese from Aldis and loved it! This week, I grabbed another log for last night’s book club and another of Blueberry Vanilla to enjoy at home.

Next up on the TBR pile:

February 2019 Life Goals

Let’s check in on January's goals and my progress.

• Get a Nebraska Driver’s License — Fail. I seriously need to block out an entire day to accomplish this.

• Find Eye Doctors, Dentist, and GPs — Another fail. I hate dealing with health insurance.

• Start Kindergarten Registration — Success! We got the process started and some of the forms uploaded. Next step is to schedule a physical after Feb. 12th.

• Discuss Spring Break Plans — Ongoing. The twins are deciding on their party plans. I need to nail down dates of travel, but it’s tentatively on the schedule.

• Read 4000 pages and 15 books — Success! I blew this one out of the water! 29 books and almost 8000 pages read!

• Check in with BFC about Exchanges — Success! We are currently in the middle of our Q1 exchange. Going well so far.

• Schedule January RnR Classes and Activities — Success! I scheduled things and then a few winter storms disrupted the schedule.

• Complete 1/2 of January’s Self-care List — Fail. My completion rate is more like 1/4 of the list, but that’s okay.

February's Goals:

• Secure hotel for April’s Stampin’ Up! convention — Rooming with a friend, but don’t want to pay for the extra charge to be next door to the convention center.

• Nail down travel plans for March — Self-explanatory

• Nail down travel plans for April — For the convention

• Driver’s license — Ugh, still

• Make dentist appointments — Another task that keeps getting put off

• Find a babysitter for monthly date nights — It would be nice to get out once in awhile.

• Library ban for rest of February — No more checkouts. No more holds (none currently there anyway). I need to work through the giant stack I already have and my owned books.

• Get rid of two boxes in the kitchen — I have two random kitchen boxes still sitting around. One is full of party supplies and the other full of random things. I could probably get rid of like half of the stuff, but some will still need homes.

Next up on the TBR list:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• The cold! We were at the western edge of the polar vortex this week, but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t cold. School was canceled yesterday due to the weather.

• Finishing up my 29th book of the year so far. I don’t think my Goodreads goal of 175 book is going to be hard to attain at this rate.

• Broke my promise to not get more books from the library. I have a bag full of comics sitting by my chair. Oops!

• Searching for a new pajama set is proving to be surprisingly difficult… I might just have to go back to Victoria’s Secret.

• Q’s diaper rash (was really bad two days ago) has gotten a lot better. Here’s hoping for dry bottoms.

• I hate dealing with health insurance. That is all.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #1

Reading: The Fifth Seasonby N.K. Jemisin. Somehow this book kept getting pushed to the bottom of the TBR pile, but so glad I picked it up last week. Oh so good!

Watching: Slowly slowly working my way through Riverdale S2.

Listening: I listen to a ton of podcasts, but the Apocalist Book Club is my current favorite. Such fun!

Making: Working on some card kits for a friend’s craft retreat later this spring.

Feeling: The kids keep waking up in the middle of the night and early in the morning. I’m super run down right now…

Planning:  Why does my family always need to eat? Argh! Back to meal planning…

Loving: My little escape lately has been working on my planner and memory planner. Looking through my planner stickers really makes me happy.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Winter Bucket List Update #1

Christmas is over! Time to jump into the bleak season of winter here in the Midwest. This list was a bit of a struggle to create due to the weather constraints, but I think I’ve come up with some goodies.

1. Read 45 books (in progress) — I’m up to 17 books so far this year.

2. Eat at 5 new-to-me restaurants

3. Go sledding

4. Attend a hockey game

5. Attend two theater performances

6. Bake some bread ✓ — I made a long of Hungarian White Bread with Fennel for one of our grilled cheese nights. Very yummy!

7. Make winter crafts

8. Create a table centerpiece ✓ - Nothing super special, but I did buy some flowers and arrange my center table tray.

9. Get our fireplace working

10. Movie Month January (in progress)

11. Weekly Game Day/Night with Arthur (in progress) — Arthur got a few card games for Christmas. We’re currently enjoying Go Fish.

12. Make Valentine’s

13. Try 3 new hot chocolate recipes/mixes

14. Visit two new-to-the-boys museums

15. Have an indoor picnic.

16. Swim at the gym 5 times

17. Host a tea party!

18. Make a snow globe

19. Make a seasonal door hanger/wreath

20. Complete a jigsaw puzzle ✓

21. Find a great coffee shop for me!

22. Spend an afternoon at a local bookstore

23. Buy some new cozy pajamas

24. Explore an area of Omaha

25. Travel to Indiana for Nick and Alex’s 16th Birthday!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• My amazing plan to take Quentin to the gym pool on Wednesday was thwarted by an epic 40 minute tantrum. Maybe next week. Le sigh.

• Speaking of, I’m really craving some gym time (last time was Sunday morning). I am willing to go at 7pm, but I really hope we can find another earlier time that works.

• January’s reads are turning out to be a mixed bag. Some great. Lots of middling reads.

• Digging some Regency romance and cozy mysteries this week.

• On the other hand, January movie month is going much better. Some great movies so far!

• Attempting to navigate the Nebraska DMV site is giving me a headache.

• I moved all the random crap so I can park in the garage again! (Just in time for Friday-Satruday’s storm) It’s a tight squeeze, but the van fits. I have to pull all the way in and pull in the mirrors. Fun fun!

• Downloaded the Me and White Supremacy workbook from Layla F. Saad. Need to find some dedicated time to dive in, but looks very interesting.

Next up on the TBR pile:

January 2019 Life Goals

Let’s check in on December's goals and my progress.

• Finish cleaning out the kitchen and living room -Eh. Not a complete success, but most of the randomness has been put away.

• Read 15 books (including 5 Christmas themed) - Success!

• January Blog Drafts - Success!

• Enjoy the holidays! - Success!

January's Goals:

• Get a Nebraska Driver’s License — Need to transfer over my license.

• Find Eye Doctors, Dentist, and GPs — I’ve got some leads, but need to make appointments for everyone at each doctor.

• Start Kindergarten Registration — Enrollment process starts on Jan. 14th for our district. I need to get everything moving!

• Discuss Spring Break Plans — I’ll be going to Indiana to celebrate the twins’s 16th Birthday and have some family time, but need to nail down travel dates, decide on hotel if needed, etc.

• Read 4000 pages and 15 Books —Hoping to start my reading year strong!

• Check in with BFC About Exchanges — Another fun care exchange is coming!

• Schedule January RnR Classes and Activities — I’ve got most of it scheduled, just need to fill in a few more things.

• Complete 1/2 of January’s self-care list — I took a huge 365 self care idea list and broke it down into monthly lists. Some are little things and some are more complicated. I want to complete at least half of January’s list this month.

Next up on the TBR list:

2019 Goals and Resolutions

Usually I make a whole list of goals and resolutions to focus on for the year, but honestly, I’m not feeling it this year at all. Instead of yearly goals, I’m going to try and focus on monthly and seasonal goals. I want to be more intentional with my weeks as opposed to this large, lofty goals.

Revisiting 2018’s goals and resolutions:

1. Read 35,000 pages — I surpasses my goal and ended up reading almost 60,000 pages.

2. Read 100 books — Another goal surpassed! I read 217 books.

3. Clear off another shelf of unread books — Success! I’m shooting for three shelves next year.

4. Rejoin the SSINK Design Team — Success! Unfortunately the Design Team is dissolving.

5. Restart MommaStrong — Fail. Although I did join the gym when we moved.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Winter Bucket List

Christmas is over! Time to jump into the bleak season of winter here in the Midwest. This list was a bit of a struggle to create due to the weather constraints, but I think I’ve come up with some goodies.

1. Read 45 books — I want to start off the year strong with my reading!

2. Eat at 5 new-to-me restaurants — Omaha has so many great restaurants and I want to explore a bit!

3. Go sledding — Obviously dependent on the weather here, but we have all the equipment.

4. Attend a hockey game — I used to love going to hockey games in my hometown. Hoping to get the boys to one this season.

5. Attend two theater performances — Our membership to the Rose Theater gets us free tickets to two shows and discounted tickets to one show this season. Now to pick what to see!

6. Bake some bread — I love fresh homemade bread with some jam or honey and a cup of tea. Winter means baking to me, but I want to branch out from cookies…

7. Make winter crafts — We can’t really spend a lot of time outside, so it’s prime time for crafting. I need to peruse Pinterest for some ideas.

8. Create a table centerpiece — I want to decorate the house a bit more now that we’re out of the baby stage. I think I’ll start with the dining room table.

9. Get our fireplace working — It’s gas, but we lack the key and need to just get a whole inspection. But I would love a fire this winter!

10. Movie Month January — I’m going to start the season off right with an entire month of (mostly) new-to-me movies!

11. Weekly Game Day/Night with Arthur — We have a ton of card and board games at the house. I want to start playing more regularly with Arthur.

12. Make Valentine’s — I love crafting of course, but want to make some cute Valentine’s for this year.

13. Try 3 new hot chocolate recipes/mixes — Arthur discovered his love of hot chocolate over Christmas. Let’s explore a bit!

14. Visit two new-to-the-boys museums — I’m thinking probably SAC and The Durham.

15. Have an indoor picnic — Weather doesn’t allow for outside ones of course.

16. Swim at the gym 5 times — The indoor pool is great, let’s attempt to utilize it this season!

17. Host a tea party! — Part of my attempt to make some new friends.

18. Make a snow globe — I’ve seen a ton of versions on Pinterest, I want to try it out!

19. Make a seasonal door hanger/wreath — We have a hook on our door. I want to decorate it!

20. Complete a jigsaw puzzle — I’ve got a few just hanging out. Planning on doing them in the kitchen at the “office” area that is under utilized.

21. Find a great coffee shop for me! — Not Starbucks, not Scooter’s. Something local and interesting.

22. Spend an afternoon at a local bookstore — I need to find a go-to place for browsing.

23. Buy some new cozy pajamas — Sadly my PJ collection is lacking. I want some cute cozy ones for winter, but can’t be too heavy as I get hot easily.

24. Explore an area of Omaha — Really anywhere that’s outside of our little area of town.

25. Travel to Indiana for Nick and Alex’s 16th Birthday! —Arthur’s spring break, their birthday, and spring break all line up this year. We’re hoping to have a good celebration.

Christmas Bucket List Finish Line

Final tally 14/25 tasks completed. Sickness threw me early on in the month.

1. Make Christmas Cookies ✓

2. Watch 5 Christmas movies

   1. The Polar Express

   2. Scrooged

3. Decorate our new house

4. Make hot cocoa ✓

5. Buy fun candy canes — Grabbed some weird fruit ones on clearance!

6. Read “A Christmas Carol”

7. Build a snowman

8. Create snow angels ✓

9. Create a popcorn garland

10. Create paper snowflakes

11. Have a snowball fight

12. Donate to a toy drive ✓

13. Sing Christmas carols ✓

14. Build a gingerbread house ✓

15. Drive around and see the lights ✓

16. Go visit Santa ✓

17. Send out Christmas cards ✓

18. Read 5 Christmas stories ✓

    1. Alaskan Holiday

    2. Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe

    3. A Town Called Christmas

    4. A Christmas Gift

    5. Mischief and Mistletoe

    6. The Night Before Christmas

    7. Winter Street

    8. Winter Stroll

    9. That Mistletoe Moment

19. Leave out cookies for Santa ✓

20. Go to Christmas at the zoo

21. See a Christmas performance

22. Buy a special ornament

23. Take a photo of all four boys together ✓

24. Try a new holiday coffee drink

25. Find a new holiday album ✓

Next up on the TBR pile:

Christmas Bucket List Update #3

We’ve been knocking out some fun holiday items this past week.

1. Make Christmas Cookies ✓

2. Watch 5 Christmas movies

   1. The Polar Express

   2. Scrooged

3. Decorate our new house

4. Make hot cocoa

5. Buy fun candy canes

6. Read “A Christmas Carol”

7. Build a snowman

8. Create snow angels ✓

9. Create a popcorn garland

10. Create paper snowflakes

11. Have a snowball fight

12. Donate to a toy drive ✓

13. Sing Christmas carols

14. Build a gingerbread house ✓

15. Drive around and see the lights ✓ - The boys and I went to the Fantasy of Lights Friday night. They loved it.

16. Go visit Santa

17. Send out Christmas cards ✓

18. Read 5 Christmas stories ✓

    1. Alaskan Holiday

    2. Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe

    3. A Town Called Christmas

    4. A Christmas Gift

    5. Mischief and Mistletoe

19. Leave out cookies for Santa

20. Go to Christmas at the zoo

21. See a Christmas performance

22. Buy a special ornament

23. Take a photo of all four boys together

24. Try a new holiday coffee drink

25. Find a new holiday album ✓

Next up on the TBR pile:

Christmas Bucket List Update #2

We’ve been knocking out some fun holiday items this past week.

1. Make Christmas Cookies

2. Watch 5 Christmas movies

3. Decorate our new house

4. Make hot cocoa

5. Buy fun candy canes

6. Read “A Christmas Carol”

7. Build a snowman

8. Create snow angels ✓

9. Create a popcorn garland

10. Create paper snowflakes

11. Have a snowball fight

12. Donate to a toy drive ✓

13. Sing Christmas carols

14. Build a gingerbread house - We made a gingerbread train and it actually stayed up for a few minutes before the kids destroyed it. ✓

15. Drive around and see the lights

16. Go visit Santa

17. Send out Christmas cards ✓

18. Read 5 Christmas stories - In progress! So far, I’ve read 4 stories set in winter/Christmas.

19. Leave out cookies for Santa

20. Go to Christmas at the zoo

21. See a Christmas performance

22. Buy a special ornament

23. Take a photo of all four boys together

24. Try a new holiday coffee drink

25. Find a new holiday album ✓ — I grabbed the newest Pentatonix Christmas is Here! and am really digging it.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Feels good to have our travel plans set! Now to get on with packing…

• Our basement is still in shambles after flooding two weeks ago. Hope it gets down by the time I return from Indiana.

• Finishing out the year strong with my reading. I’m already over my big GoodReads goal of 200 books. Shooting for 210!

• Looking forward to getting my TBR pile for 2019 ready.

• Loving getting Christmas cards from lots of friends and family.

• After yesterday’s Costco trip, our pantry is bursting. I need to get a better organizational system in place.

• I think I need to pick up one more small presents for the littles.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Christmas Bucket List Update #1

Fall is over (at least in my book) and we’re on to Christmas. Time for a new bucket list!

1. Make Christmas Cookies

2. Watch 5 Christmas movies

3. Decorate our new house

4. Make hot cocoa

5. Buy fun candy canes

6. Read “A Christmas Carol”

7. Build a snowman

8. Create snow angels

9. Create a popcorn garland

10. Create paper snowflakes

11. Have a snowball fight

12. Donate to a toy drive ✓ — Q and I dropped off a box of art supplies to CSI’s Substitute Santa drive.

13. Sing Christmas carols

14. Build a gingerbread house

15. Drive around and see the lights

16. Go visit Santa

17. Send out Christmas cards - Almost done!

18. Read 5 Christmas stories - In progress! So far, I’ve read 2 stories set in winter/Christmas.

19. Leave out cookies for Santa

20. Go to Christmas at the zoo

21. See a Christmas performance

22. Buy a special ornament

23. Take a photo of all four boys together

24. Try a new holiday coffee drink

25. Find a new holiday album

Next up on the TBR pile:

December 2018 Life Goals

Let’s check in on November's goals and my progress.

• Fix the master bedroom — Success! We got the furniture sorted out and clothes put away.

• Layout my TBR for the end of the year / start brainstorming reading challenges — Success! I’ve got the books I still want to read this year laid out. And I started working on my 2019 RCs.

• Join/register preschool, gym, and library — Success! Arthur started preschool at the beginning of the month and we joined both a gym and the library.

• Buy some new jeans and key fall pieces — Success! I found two pairs of jeans I like and a few tops/sweaters for winter. Really would like some new boots still…

December's Goals: Just a small list as I really want to savor the holidays.

• Finish clearing out the kitchen and living room - We have some weird odds and ends hanging out. I want to get them put away before going to Indiana for Christmas.

• Read 15 books (including 5 Christmas themed) - Hoping to finish off strong. I have a good list of options for the Christmas reads and a set list for some of the regular reads.

• January Blog Drafts - I like to have these prepped before the new year starts.

• Enjoy the holidays! - Including lots of items off our bucket lists and slowing down to savor the time.

Next up on the TBR list:

Fall Bucket List Finish Line

Another season, another bucket list. I kicked butt on our California items, but faltered when it came to the Midwest items. Life just got in the way. Moving was a bit more complicated than I anticipated and we’ve taken longer to get settled. Hoping my Christmas goals actually get accomplished!

California (8/10):

1. Visit Rocket Fizz ✓

2. Take a Ferry Ride to San Francisco ✓

3. Have a Beach Day ✓

4. Enjoy my Retreat Weekend! ✓

5. Celebrate Arthur and Quentin's Birthdays! ✓

6. Visit Children's Fairyland ✓

7. Visit Children's Creativity Museum

8. Eat at Black Bear

9. Buy pie in Guerneville ✓

10. Have one more pool party ✓

Midwest (9/19):

1. Visit Fort Wayne Zoo ✓

2. Visit Science Central ✓

3. Visit Omaha Zoo ✓

4. Visit Omaha Children's Museum ✓

5. Get a new library card - But of course! And we’ve already checked out a ton of books. ✓

6. Find a good park

7. Go see a movie in the theater ✓

8. Go to Vala's Pumpkin Festival ✓

9. Eat at Coney Island

10. Travel to OBM Sparkle Party in Iowa City - Sadly I ended up not being able to go…

11. Find a good indie bookstore

12. Visit the comic books store

13. Find a good brunch place (Wheatfields?)

14. Have dinner with a friend alone

15. Join a new parent group

16. Join a book club ✓

17. Get my crafty business started ✓

18. Go to Fort Wayne for Thanksgiving

19. Create a fall signature cocktail

Next up on the TBR pile:

Christmas Bucket List

Fall is over (at least in my book) and we’re on to Christmas. Time for a new bucket list!

1. Make Christmas Cookies

2. Watch 5 Christmas movies

3. Decorate our new house

4. Make hot cocoa

5. Buy fun candy canes

6. Read “A Christmas Carol”

7. Build a snowman

8. Create snow angels

9. Create a popcorn garland

10. Create paper snowflakes

11. Have a snowball fight

12. Sing Christmas carols

13. Build a gingerbread house

14. Drive around and see the lights

15. Go visit Santa

16. Send out Christmas cards

17. Read 5 Christmas stories

18. Leave out cookies for Santa

19. Go to Christmas at the zoo

20. See a Christmas performance

21. Buy a special ornament

22. Take a photo of all four boys together

23. Try a new holiday coffee drink

24. Find a new holiday album

25. Donate to CSI’s Subsitute Santa drive (I used to work there!)

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Really frustrated with the fact that Q refuses to go to the gym daycare. That was part of the reason why we picked this gym. Ugh!

• I need some candy canes in my life ASAP.

• Sitting at my dining room table, I can feel the slight draft from the old windows. Landlord is going to replace in the spring. Until then, I’m going to get a sweater.

• I royally screwed up an order on Black Friday and now it looks like I can only recover 1/2 of the order. Very sad…

• My library stack is out of control. Guess I need to read some more.

• Looking forward to having the ability of just hauling all the presents to Indiana in the back of the van. Means I can shop for everything now and know I have it all with me.

• Every pen I pick up in this house sucks. I guess I need to stick to my trusty Papermate Flairs.

Next up on the TBR pile: