Sunday Sunset #15

Listening To: Silence. I love getting up before everyone else and checking my email, Pinterest, etc in peace.

Book finished: The Dark Glamour; What If; The Age of Innocence; Bait and Switch; The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up; The Lost Soul; Witches; The Art of Steampunk; The Night Circus

Reading: Highlander Unbound by Julia London

On the Nightstand: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Making Lists: Groceries. It's grocery day in the house... Here's to hoping I get to go alone without all the kiddos.

Around the house: No big changes, but it's house clean day. There's a long list of chores on the fridge and everyone gets to participate. I'm a super popular person today, ha ha!

From the kitchen: Nothing exciting. Although I'm getting back on the smoothie bandwagon this week. I miss waking up and making a yummy smoothie. My grocery list contains a few new green smoothie recipes as well as a new dessert and two new dinners. We'll see how they turn out.

Watching: J and I officially finished Farscape this week. I can't believe the ending before the miniseries. Ugh! I was about to throw something at the tv and I knew there was more. It was a good series, but now it's over. Time to start something else. Beyond Farscape, we started watching Mr. Robot and I am definitely hooked. J and I have some theories about what is really going on, but we'll have to wait and see how it plays out.

Wondering: What should we do on our day trip into SF? I'm thinking the Musee Mechanique (request from twins and my mom), but then maybe North Beach for lunch?

From Nature: The high temps seem to be fading back into the high 70s, low 80s. Guess we can turn the AC back off and open the windows. I love having the windows open.

Project: Planning the twins' last two weeks here. We have a ton of activities and errands to fit in. Plus, my mom arrive next Saturday. Busy planning her week with trips into SF and a winery day.

Picture: Arthur and his cars.

Sunday Sunset #14

Listening To: The sounds of morning around the house. J is taking a shower. Arthur is playing quietly in the playroom. Nick is rustling through the kitchen for breakfast. And apparently Alex is still sleeping...

Book finished: The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared; The Age of Innocence (review pending; need to watch the movie first); Sally Heathcote: Suffragette

Reading: The Dark Glamour by Gabriella Pierce; The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (reread for book club next weekend)

On the Nightstand: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins; Bait and Switch by Barbara Ehrenreich

Making Lists: Ugh grocery lists! Even with my new meal planning system, I still have to make a grocery list almost every week. Really not a fan... Otherwise I've starting making a list for when my mom visits in July and for craft class ideas.

Around the house: My house is in a constant state of unrest. The toddler is being very messy with snacks and breakfast. Toys are everywhere. My stuff has piled up as we were so busy last week. And there's laundry everywhere! Really need to take some time this coming week and get everything under control!

From the kitchen: No new recipes this week. Although I made Caribbean jerk pork tacos and Mongolian beef that the twins actually enjoyed. Score for mom! This coming week I want to try the recipe for apple pie cookies that has been sitting in my Pinterest for weeks now.

Crafting: This week I dove back into the twins' scrapbooks. Turns out they were two years behind. In one week I caught them up about three months. Plus I finished filling the current traditional post-bound scrapbook, so I bought new D-ring albums and switched them to Project Life style. It's going so much faster now. I'm hoping to get Christmas break 2013-2014 done today and move on to the rest of 2014 this coming week.

Watching: We introduced the twins to Robin Hood: Men in Tights last night. They didn't like it as much as Spaceballs, but it was a good one. J and I have been watching Farscape. Halfway through the last season and boy has the show gotten crazy! Really feeling the push to finish the series this month.

Wondering: How many goldfish are currently hiding in and under the couch, in the playroom, and other random places? We're going through a stage right now...

From Nature: Back to nice warm (not hot) temperatures and a nice breeze. One thing I love about Castro Valley is the lovely near-constant breeze we get. South Bay was always so still, I'm loving the bit of wind we get up here.

Project: Twins' scrapbooks!

Picture: Blurry, but incredibly cute photo!

Sunday Sunset #13

Listening To: The boys chat about Pokemon... trying to tune it out, but it's so hard.

Book finished: 666 Park Avenue; Minimalist Parenting

Reading: The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton; The 100 Year Old Man Who... by Jonas Jonasson

On the Nightstand: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot; The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Making Lists: Grocery lists for next week. Ugh! The neverending task.

Around the house: The twins have been helping out around the house. Their help really lightens my weekly cleaning load even with their dirty additions. We're keeping it up.

From the kitchen: I made some homemade blueberry muffins the other day and they turned out more like blueberry cobbler than muffins. Not what I was expecting, but they were still good.

Crafting: Finishing up May's Project Life pages. Almost done and then I'm moving on to catching up the twins' scrapbooks. That will be a chore! The books are three years behind.

Watching: Picking up some random shows that we're currently watching: Farscape, The Newsroom, and Atlantis.

Wondering: What should we have for dinner on Monday night? The eternal question...

From Nature: We went from super hot temps at the start of the week to nice and breezy temps at the end of the week. Still enjoying the weeks' weather.

Project: I've started working on the October retreat. So far, I have three people (including me) confirmed with deposit paid. Very excited to get this moving along!

Picture: Someone made it very difficult to take my daily picture for my capsule wardrobe. But he is a very cute photobomber!

Sunday Sunset #12

Listening To: The twins' crazy stories... they are so weird sometimes!

Book finished: Fire; Dead Wake; The American Plate; The Martian

Reading: 666 Park Avenue by Gabriella Pierce

On the Nightstand: Minimalist Parenting by Christine Koh; The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

Making Lists: Grocery lists, twins' to-buy list (growing out of clothes!), library books to keep track of, my craft projects with due dates, summer TBR piles, shows to watch. It's a list bonanza around here!

Around the house: We've instituted a bit of a chore routine for the summer and I think it's going really well. Everyday one twin helps me cook dinner and one twin helps J clean up. Then the next night they switch. So far, we've had minimal complaining... I think it helps that I started this the day they flew in and have kept it consistent. The only day so far that we haven't done the routine was Friday night. We got takeout from Panda so no cooking and minimal clean up. But Saturday it was back the routine. I've also had them do one small chore each day. The other day one swept the dining and kitchen areas and the other collected all the trash from the house. Small, but chores that really help me keep the mess at bay with five people in this house.

From the kitchen: Nothing major to report. I stuck with some tried and true recipes for the twins' first week.  Next week will be more of our tried and true recipes. With everything going on, attempting something new and complicated doesn't sound like much fun. But maybe, I'll try a new dessert or breakfast pastry...

Watching: The first night here, the twins and J watched The Fifth Element while I went to a board meeting. From there, we started watching Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown. I started watching it when J was at motorcycle class and the twins joined me. They actually seem to enjoy learning about other countries even if they won't admit it.

From Nature: Warmer temps this past week allowed the twins to spend a ton of time at the pool. Mostly they went down while Arthur was napping. I'm hoping to get down there soon and enjoy the lovely water.

Project: We're working on confirming our bucket list items. So far so good. We've already checked off the library, pool, and mini golf in the first five days!

Picture: Awesome mini golf action shot!

Sunday Sunset #11

Listening To: Lots of One Bad Mother episodes. I can usually only listen on the way back from South Bay but I'm slowly working through their backlog.

Book finished: The Dovekeepers; Born Reading; American Vampire Vol. 2; The Manhattan Projects Vol 1; American Vampire Vol. 3; Graceling; Geek Mom

Reading: Fire by Kristin Cashore

On the Nightstand: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin; The Martian by Andy Weir

Making Lists: Making our summer bucket list. I decided to use the same notebook as last year. We had a ton of blank pages and some of the activities we didn't get to. I added some fun new East Bay places and updated some of the old pages. Still a work in progress...

Around the house: We had to completely redo the playroom this week. Arthur learned that he could climb up the toy cases and onto the fireplace wall. I'm not a huge fan of this set-up but it's the only thing I could think of at the time. The tunnel really messes up the space in this arrangement.

From the kitchen: I tried a new BBQ Beef Stuffed Potatoes this past week. It was a great yummy dinner. I will definitely have to add it to our recipe rotation.

Crafting: Lots of fun playing with new products from SU.

Watching: We're in a big Farscape push right now. I really want to finish the series soon. We're at the end of Season 3 which means I have one season and a mini series to go!

From Nature: Overcast, a bit rainy, and sometimes chilly. Such weird weather we've been having lately. Although I'm not yearning for 85 degree temps any time soon.

Project: Working on our family calendar for summer. Between craft classes, baby events, twins' camps, and general things like grocery store visits, our summer is filling fast. I'm working on that bucket list, but also trying to confer with J about known work/play events to put on the calendar.

Picture: My photo day from the 20th. This was me sitting at the park watching Arthur play.

Sunday Sunset #10

Listening To: Over the past week, Sirius XM's The Spectrum was featuring all the tracks from Mumford & Sons' new album. It's a different sound, but I'm really digging it. Definitely need to pick that one up soon.

Book finished: Four A Divergent Collection; Allegiant; At Last Comes Love; Witchcraze; Odd Thomas; Seducing An Angel; The Secret Affair

Reading: The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman

On the Nightstand: Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon; The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Making Lists: Grocery? I'm doing very well at working ahead of time and planning out dinner weeks in advance. So far it's working well.

From the kitchen: About a week ago, I made a new shrimp scampi recipe. It wasn't the best, but I think I can spice it up and make it better next time.

Crafting: After a few weeks of not making any cards, I've created a ton in the last two weeks. I did an entire series featuring retiring products. And I've been making some cards for my upcoming Fancy Folds, Using Your Scraps, and Stamp Club Classes.

Watching: Besides catching up on some shows, I've been watching season 3 of Hart of Dixie. It's my guilty pleasure show! I've also been catching up on The Voice. So said that Kimberley Nichole was voted off! I guess my favorite is either Megan or Koryn. On the movie front, J and I watched Into the Woods last night. I enjoyed it even if it wasn't just like the musical.

Project: I became a Thirty-One consultant a few weeks ago and have been working on making some connections for my first big party. Loving it so far! Their bags are amazing!

Picture: Picture we send to grandma. We were waiting on J to get off the train.

Sunday Sunset #9

Listening To: Been listening to the new Mumford and Sons singles lately. Very different sound, but I'm digging it.

Book finished: Y The Last Man Vol. 6-10; The Walking Dead Vol. 18-22; Insurgent; Fairest Of Mice and Men; Fables Wolves of the Heartland; Fables Camelot; All the Light We Cannot See

Reading: Four A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth

On the Nightstand: Allegiant by Veronica Roth; Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

Making Lists: Trying to list out all my upcoming craft projects for April and May. I always seem to forgot one until the last minute so listing them is very important.

Around the house: Back home means it's time to get back to cleaning, organizing, and decorating the house. While I was gone, J managed to hang some pictures and partially organize the garage. The downstairs is almost finished, but I need to add some color in a few places and figure out what to do with the area above the fireplace. there's a huge ledge there that I just don't know what to put on it.I would put some plants there, but i tend to kill any plant in the house, so maybe something else.

From the kitchen: I haven't made anything new this week, but I have a plan. While in Indiana I meal planned for April, May, and June. Yep, that's right, I meal planned for 2 1/2 months. I am so excited to try this new method. Along with picking recipes, I made a list of the nonperishables that I'll be using in those recipes. If I see something on sale, I'll buy it early. Maybe I can stay organized and excited about cooking while saving us some money. Next step is to list out the meat and possibly buy on sale and freeze. Just need to be careful about space. We don't have a standing freezer for overflow.

Watching: We got back into a few shows catching up on Children's Hospital, Last Week Tonight, Once Upon a Time, and Archer. We also watched a few more episodes of Agent Carter. I really want to watch Shield, but we need to finish Carter first.

From Nature: So excited about the sunshine at home! I really missed it. Arthur and I have been enjoying playing in the backyard. If only we had some actual grass...

Exercising: I walked all the way down to the stop sign and back up on Friday.  Doesn't seem like a big accomplishment, but the hill coming back up to the house is a killer.

Picture: View from the stop sign. Yep, that's the bay down at the bottom of the hill.

Sunday Sunset #8

Listening To: Curious George playing in the background. We're waiting to go to Easter dinner with the family but I have to occupy the baby until then. Hence Curious George.

Book finished: Yes Please; Y The Last Man Vol. 2, 3, 4, 5

Reading: Y The Last Man Vol. 6-10; Insurgent by Veronica Roth

On the Nightstand: Allegiant by Veronica Roth; All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Making Lists: Final checklist for the wedding next weekend. We've got most of the tasked assigned and some of them completed.

Crafting: I'm still working on Sarah's wedding scrapbook. I need to fill in the rest of the journaling cards and leave some spaces for the guest book cards.

Watching: Mom and I have been watching random shows on television. There is a lot of crap on tv right now.

Project: I guess wedding stuff. So much to do and it isn't even my wedding!

Picture: Sliding at the park with Grandma Heidi

Sunday Sunset #7

Listening To: Toto (the dog) snoring on the couch. He's so loud!

Book finished: First Comes Marriage;Then Comes Seduction; Y The Last Man Vol. 1; The Hedge Knight; The Sworn Sword

Reading: Yes, Please by Amy Poehler

On the Nightstand: Insurgent by Veronica Roth (so I can watch the movie); All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (book club); Y The Last Man Vol. 2-10

MakingLists: Starting a list of meals for the second half of April and May. Yep, I'm going to attempt to have a meal plan done before I got back home.

Crafting: Doing a bit of pre-planning for March Project Life pages. I won't have a chance to physically put them together until I get back, but I can pick my pictures and some of my insert and journaling cards.

Watching: My mom and I have been sucked into Secrets and Lies. I am totally hooked now and must keep watching to find out who killed Tom. My money is on the wife. Other than that, I've watched an episode of this or an episode of that, but not much television. We've been super busy and visiting with friends and family. I want to catch up on a few of my shows like The 100, Revenge, Reign, and Once Upon a Time. Maybe next week...

From Nature: When I arrived in Indiana last week, it was chilly but not horrible. This week it snowed! Argh! Where is spring? I really want to get back to my warm 70 degree days in California.

Project: Now that the bachelorette party and bridal shower are over, I can relax until after Easter. No big project in the works this week.

Picture: Baby boy sitting in the dog's bed.

Sunday Sunset #6

Listening To: My giant iPod list. I currently have the songs sorted alphabetically. I'm in the Fs right now. Just listened to "Fa Fa Fa" by Guster.

Book finished: Living History

Reading: First Comes Marriage by Mary Balogh

On the Nightstand: Yes Please by Amy Poehler; Insurgent by Veronica Roth

MakingLists: Packing list for Indiana. Only about a week and a half to go before I leave. I need to get start on actually packing.

Around the house: I finished Arthur's rooms this past week. Now to get started on the rest of the downstairs.

From the kitchen: I tried two new recipes last week. I made a pesto asparagus pasta that was amazing. I had to add black olives of course, but this was a great recipe. I also made a BBQ chicken salad that was pretty good.

Crafting: Most of my crafting time this week was spent making bridal shower invitations. I finally finished yesterday, so they are going in the mail tomorrow.

Watching: We caught up on Episodes and Elementary this week. On the movie front we watched Horrible Bosses 2 and Amazing Spider Man 2. Both pretty good, but I think Horrible Bosses 2 wins that battle.

From Nature: The temps went over 70 this week. Arthur and I enjoyed some lovely walks this week.

Project: Attempting to finish all of my in progress craft projects before I leave for Indiana.

Picture: Fun tunnel time!

Sunday Sunset #5

Listening To: Washing machine. It's the housekeeping task of the day.

Book finished: Remarkable Creatures; Ethan Frome; Seducing the Heiress; Never Trust a Rogue; Scandal of the Year

Reading: Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton

On the Nightstand: Yes Please by Amy Poehler; Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon; Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Making Lists: To do items before I leave for Indiana on the 17th. Sixteen days to get a ton of things done...

Around the house: Putting the finishing touches on Arthur's room this week. I still need J to hang the Enterprise mobile. Everything else is done!

From the kitchen: Nothing new from this past week. But I am listing a few new recipes to try this coming week.

Crafting: I have a few PL swaps to finish this week so I guess I'll focus on those.

Watching: We've been watching our usual currently airing shows. Really we've been staying away from most of television.

Wondering: What should I pack for Indiana? Yeah, I have no idea what type of clothes to pack. Indiana in March and April can have any type of weather.

From Nature: It's been chilly around here this week. By chilly I mean 50s and low 60s. Brr. It's also been a bit rainy. Missing my sunshine...

Project: Sarah's Wedding. She's getting married in April and I'm planning her Bridal Shower. I'm also a bridesmaid and generally helping her out. Lots of things to finish before I leave for Indiana on the 17th.

Exercising: I did our usual Shoreline 4 mile walk on Friday and it about kicked my ass. I was very winded by the end. I guess that weekend away really pushed me back on the exercise front.

Picture: My project yesterday. Cute boy themed project life cards.

Sunday Sunset #4

Listening To: The bees buzzing in my front yard. We have these flowering bushes right along the walk and the bees just love it there. Every time I go get the mail, I listen to the bees.

Book finished: Outlander (finally!)

Reading: Remarkable Creatures by Tracey Chevalier

On the Nightstand: Yes Please by Amy Poehler

Making Lists: Finalizing retreat grocery list and packing list. Only five days away!

Around the house: Yesterday I did a massive clean of the house. I did laundry, dishes, vacuuming (upstairs and downstairs), trash, garage organization, playroom cleanup, swiffering, bathroom wipe downs, and curtains hung (dining room, playroom, and Arthur's room). It was crazy, but now things are looking so much better.

From the kitchen: I tried another parmesan honey pork roast recipe last week. Decent but not the best recipe. My plan is one new recipe a week. Next week I'm going to try apple pie cookies.

On the Web: Trying to catch up on my blog roll. Slowly getting there and organizing my the blogs i follow in a better place.

Crafting: I finished up the retreat crafts before the week of the retreat. Woohoo! I am on top of stuff. I also finished my swap card and meet and greet packs. I've been a crafting machine lately.

Watching: The server went down this past week. We've been hitting up Netflix for our viewing selections. We started Star Trek: Enterprise this past week. I'm actually liking it...

From Nature: Very warm temps necessitated the buying of sandals for Arthur and a few summery tops for me. Awesome weather!

Project: Getting the house in order before I leave for my retreat on Friday. I've been slowing finishing the little projects here and there. It's looking much nicer now.

Picture: Finally popped in and got a library card. Now we can get more books!

I will be skipping next Sunday's wrap up post as I will be out of town at a retreat. Yeah for me! Sunday Sunset will be back in two weeks.

Sunday Sunset #3

Listening To: Arthur's laptop sing over and over and over again punctuated with his banging. Oh so soothing. It's not giving me a headache at all...

Book finished: None

Reading: Outlander (still getting through it, hope to be done before next week)

On the Nightstand: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier; Yes Please by Amy Poehler

Making Lists: Making my usual weekly to-do list. I love my system! So easy, but actually keeps me on task.

Around the house: Lots of house projects in the works. Currently I'm attempting to finish Arthur's room, but I've also bought curtains and rods for downstairs and our bedroom.

From the kitchen: We tried a recipe for spicy black bean sweet potatoes. Extremely yummy and easy to make! Definitely adding this to our list.

Crafting: I had a great card class on Saturday morning. I have a few more coming up for the rest of February. It's going well.  On the personal craft side, I've been pulling items for my February PL pages and potential supplies for March and April classes. I'm thinking an all flower class and maybe a special occasions class.

Watching: We watched Trip to Italy the other night. Not quite as good as the first, but I still love Steve Coogan. We also watched Big Ass Spider last night.  Hee hee! Loved the cheese.

Wondering: Why won't these stupid curtain screws go in? Ugh, I am so over it right now.

From Nature: We've had some rainy and windy days lately. Nice change of pace from the relentless sunshine. Yeah, life's rough around here.

Project: Finishing up retreat prep... Getting so close to the weekend. I can't wait!

Picture: Rare rainy day in East Bay.

Sunday Sunset #2

Listening To: Nina Simone Pandora channel... Arthur really loves it.

Book finished: The Art of Asking

Reading: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

On the Nightstand: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier; Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Making Lists: Craft projects to complete. I have a new system of keeping upcoming projects visual. This seems to be working well.

Around the house: Currently making a house punch list. I'm trying to make a list of every house project we want to do in the next few months. I've gotten a fair amount of projects done, but I need a master list to keep me on track

From the kitchen: We tried a stuffed buffalo chicken recipe that was alright. It wasn't amazing, but we'll keep it in Paprika for right now.

Watching: Catching up on our currently airing shows. Especially loving Episodes right now!

From Nature: East Bay is much much windier than South Bay. I'm loving the breeze, although I think it confuses Arthur.

Project: Retreat crafts and activities. We're three weeks away and I'm so excited for the retreat!

Picture: Zoo train selfie.

Sunday Sunset #1

Listening To: Ella Henderson new album. I am obsessed with "Ghost" right now.

Book finished: Lives in Ruins; Love Finds You in Hershey Pennsylvania; Midnight in Austenland; The Killer Angels; A Hundred Pieces of Me

Reading: The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer

On the Nightstand: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon; Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

Making Lists: Grocery lists (yep, back to that), home projects (long and short term), boo club selections, and retreat to-dos.

Around the house: So many home project ideas floating around my head. I did get started on the playroom for Arthur this past week. Still need to assemble some furniture before taking pictures for the blog.

From the kitchen: I made some blueberry crescent rolls this week. Yum yum! Other than that, I stuck to old favorites. Next week I have a few new recipes I want to try.

On the Web: Attempting to catch up on my blogroll. I am way behind...

Crafting: I finally got my craft room sorted out. Now I can get down to the real business of crafting... Check out the picture tour on my craft blog.

Watching: Catching up on some of our currently airing shows -- Elementary, Once Upon a Time, Sleepy Hollow. Oh yeah, and Archer's back. Woohoo! Plus last week J had me watch the complete web series Video Game High School. It started out at a fun web series, become a proper sitcom, and ended as a drama. I loved it! Amazing series.

Wondering: How do I baby proof the electronics? J has a plan, but it will take a few months to complete. I need something for the interim.

From Nature: So excited to be back to the nice mild weather. We need to wear a jacket/sweater in the mornings, but the sun has been glorious. Our new house is in the clouds most morning. Very beautiful...

Shopping Scores: I made a huge trip to The Container Store and Ikea this past week. Lots of items for the new house. Love to organize everything!

Project: The house of course.

Exercising: I bought a Jawbone over Christmas. My goal is 10,000 steps a day. I've only made it to my goal once in the past two weeks, but I am being more mindful of how active I am.

Picture: I swear there is a very large hill somewhere in that cloud.

Sunday Sunset #34

Listening To: More One Bad Mother podcasts.  I am completely addicted.

Book finished: A Feast for Crows

Reading: None yet. I'm taking a break for Christmas, but will be back reading after the New Year.

On the Nightstand: Life in Ruins by Marilyn Johnson; Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale

Making Lists: Christmas break bucket list

Around the house: Mom's new house is finally looking put together.  The bar was put in last week meaning she now has a place for silverware. We're still working on some storage issues, but so far so good.

Watching: Daniel Tiger and Sesame Street... that's about it. Mom doesn't have cable and I just haven't been in the mood to watch anything on Netflix.

From Nature: Progressively cold temps this past week.  Brrr!  And they are forecasting snow for Christmas Day.  I love a white christmas, but the cold temps can stay away.

Shopping Scores: I finished up my Christmas shopping this week.  Actually I'm lying.  I have all the wrapped presents bought.  But after Christmas I always take the twins out shopping.  There's always something specific that they wanted and didn't get.  I don't really buy them presents ahead of Christmas.

Project: Finishing up my year end blog posts, getting ready to sign off for the year.

Picture: Best $0.50 I've spent in a long time...

Sunday Sunset #33

Listening To: One Bad Mother podcast.  It is my life!

Book finished: None (see below)

Reading: A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin (it is a monster at 1000 pages, but I'm working through it)

On the Nightstand: A Hundred Pieces of Me by Lucy Dillon; Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale; Life in Ruins by Marilyn Johnson

Making Lists: Never-ending to-do list. Being away from home has allowed me to take a step back and decide what I want to do in the coming year. I've got my new One Little Word picked out and a lot of projects to accompany it.

Around the house: I'm currently staying at my mom's house in Indiana and it's insane. The house was recently renovated, but there are still things to fix.  Just on Friday, the contractors finally finished installing the bar.  Now my mom has kitchen storage!  And they finished the flooring.  We we have to fix the ant problem (an exterminator is coming in next week) and an electrical issue (keep tripping the breaker when using the microwave.  Other than the chaos of recent renovations, it's a nice little house.

Crafting: Working on my December albums (all four of them!) and that's about it.  All of my recent crafting purchases have been sent home to California so no play time for me until after the new year.

Watching: Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood and Sesame Street in the morning.  As we are stuck indoors most days (Midwest cold!), Arthur has gotten to watch some tv during the day. I try to limit it to one episode a day, but on Friday it was a lot more due to the big house construction.

Wondering: Where we should go with our rental car this week?  I finally decided to rent a car for a week while here.  Arthur and I have been stuck at the house because mom's car is used as the delivery vehicle. I need to take advantage of the rental while I can.  I'm thinking the indoor playground, the coffeehouse/playground, the library (probably multiple visits), grocery shopping for mom, visit to grandma and grandpa, coffee date with friend...

From Nature: Cold, but not frigid yet.

Shopping Scores: I've grabbed lots of cute Christmas gifts for the boys and a few for my mom.  Plus I took advantage of some online sales for house goods and craft supplies back home.

Project: Lots of year end blogging posts, retreat planning, preschool planning, and general house ideas.

Picture: Arthur sitting in his car with the tv remote (not the real one, but he loves to pretend).

Sunday Sunset #32

Listening To: Barking dogs and baby yells

Book finished: Thirteen Reasons Why; Divergent; The Hobbit; A Study in Scarlet; Beloved

Reading: A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin

On the Nightstand: Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale; Life in Ruins by Marilyn Johnson

Making Lists: House projects; Retreat groceries

Crafting: Working on my December albums (all four of them). I just the first week's pictures printed yesterday.  Now it's time to lay them out, place them, and embellish.

Watching: PBS. Arthur and I have been watching Sesame Street (about 10 minutes) every morning. Lots of fun.

Wondering: When will all my packages arrive?  The problem with online shopping...

From Nature: Cold and blustery here in Indiana. I am completely cold.

Shopping Scores: I've been online Christmas and sale shopping like a crazy woman.  I have Christmas almost done. I also bought a ton of house goods and supplies for preschool when we get back to California.

Project: Planning a ton of things. Specifically I am working on the mom's retreat and preschool. I am also sporadically working on my blog and prepping for next year. And I'm in the middle of a huge Pinterest clean out.

Picture: Arthur loved the bubbles at the library.

Sunday Sunset #31

Listening To: Lots of Lindsey Stirling.  Love that violin!

Book finished: Annihilation, Authority, Acceptance, Evernight

Reading: Divergent by Veronica Roth

On the Nightstand: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Making Lists: Projects to work on/complete while in Indiana; random new house stuff; Christmas gifts

Around the house: Moving house of course!  Not much time to settle into the new house, but I'm thinking of projects for when we get back.  I want to make Arthur, the twins, and me reading nooks.  I'm also contemplating how to organize my craft area.  That will have to wait until January.

From the kitchen: Nothing... We attempted to eat most of the leftover food before moving. We were only in the new house two nights before Arthur and I are leaving again, so no cooking.

Crafting: I finished and sent out our Christmas cards last week.  Wanted to check it off before the move.  So glad that's taken care of.  I also packed a travel craft kit for my December Daily album. Ready to hit the ground running this week!

Watching: We finished the Dune miniseries.  So good! And very different from Lynch's version. The next night we finally watched Edge of Tomorrow.  I really enjoyed that film and loved the alien design.  We caught up on some shows: Agents of Shield (really loving season 2), The League, Key and Peele.  The entertainment center went down last weekend, so this past week has been a no TV zone.  I caught up on some reading and of course had a ton of packing to do.

Wondering: Will Arthur actually sleep on the plane?  God I hope so!

From Nature: It's been cool and rainy this past week in the Bay Area.  Loving the "fall" weather. Now I'm bracing myself for bone-chilling temps in Indiana...

Project: Moving to Castro Valley and traveling to Indiana.  So crazy!

Picture: I think Arthur's officially a toddler now!  Such an independent little boy.

Sunday Sunset #30

It's been a few weeks since I've done one of these weekly wrap-up posts.  Thought I would try again before the crazy of Thankgiving and Christmas.

Listening To: you + me and Andrew McMahon. I actually bought two new albums a few weeks ago and they've been on heavy rotation in my iTunes. Especially loving the you + me album.

Book finished: Shadowdance; Expecting Adam; I am Malala; The Awakening; Annihilation

Reading: Authority by Jeff Vandermeer

On the Nightstand: Acceptance by Jeff Vandermeer; Evernight by Kristen Callihan

Making Lists: November craft projects; November Pinterest projects; November meal plan; Christmas gifts; travel packing; 2015 TBR pile; moving needs

Around the house: This place is a disaster zone. We are moving in three weeks, and we've already got boxes everywhere.  Our big order of boxes doesn't arrive until Tuesday, but we've already started packing.   J keeps all the electronics boxes so they are mostly packed.  I had a ton of Amazon and SU boxes laying around for temprorary storage. Those are being packed with craft and office supplies. Once the boxes arrive, I'm packing the boys' room and the books next.  Eventually everything will come together, but man I hate moving! Hoping we stay at our new place for a few years.

From the kitchen: Nothing too exciting.  Mostly I am trying to make a meal plan from the random ingredients in the cupboards and the freezer.  The next few weeks will be a hodge-podge menu with mostly tried and true favorites. Hoping to not have to move or throw away too much food.

Crafting: I finished my 30 days of cards for October and started on my 30 days of gratitude for November.  I also need to put together my December Daily album and homemade calendars before leaving for Indiana. Check out the craft blog to see all the pretties.

Watching: All our currently airing shows: Agents of Shield, Sleepy Hollow, The League, Reign, Revenge, The 100. We finally gave up on Modern Family and I gave up on The Vampire Diaries. I'm still watching Once Upon a Time, but it may be next to go. Just getting so bored by the storyline and Emma. On the movie front, J and I are watching the Scifi Channel's Dune mini series. We watched the Lynch version a few weeks back and we wanted to compare.  Two of three nights watched and I must say that I'm really enjoying it.

Wondering: Where to store the packed boxes so as not to endanger the baby or have them be in our way?  Packing with a one year old is no fun. It took me almost an hour to pack on box because he kept needing something or trying to take things out the boxes. Now we have random packed boxes everywhere.  We need to figure out the best place to store them until the move. Maybe the boys' hallway into their bathroom. No one is using the bath right now. Unfortunately I can't move anything there until I pack those closets. Frustrations!

From Nature: Cooler temps have made it feel a lot like fall around here. Halloween was rainy (defiantly need it!), but that was okay.  Our only activity was a costume party and trick or treating indoors at the Children's Museum.  We were nice and dry. Looks like we will be back to high 70s by the middle of next week. So long fall, it was nice meeting you again.

Project: I have an entire list, but the biggest one is MOVING! So much to do before we physically move. I am determined to declutter a bit and organize a lot before rooms get packed into boxes.  Doing a decent job so far, but really need those boxes to move to the next steps.

Picture: Too adorable!  At the Children's Museum on Halloween.