Sunday Six

1. I woke up with a pounding headache this morning. I have myself to blame. I let my husband talk me into watching The Family Stone last night. It's one of our favorite Christmas movies but it always ends with me doing the ugly cry. That explains the headache. It also explains why my eyes are swollen to about five times their normal size, making me look as haggard as I feel. Awe. some.

2. Coffee is helping though. Coffee always helps.

3. I was in Arkansas most of last week. My mom's husband lost his battle with lung cancer and I went for the funeral and to spend a couple days with my mom. My sister and brother were there too and I think/hope we helped her get some things in order.

4. I stayed at my brother's house while there. There's nothing like being awakened first thing in the morning by a 3-year old singing "Let It Go" from Frozen. Trust me, it's angelic.

5. I am trying not to think of all that didn't get done last week in my absence. My to-do list is frightening. I see some late nights in my future. And coffee. Lots of coffee.

6. It's snowing here right now. Big, fluffy flakes. We haven't had a lot of snow this season so I'm happy to see it falling today. I really want to stay in bed and read and watch movies and nap, but that frightening list is taunting me. Happy Sunday, folks!

December Currents

Current Read: Well, guess what? I'm so happy to tell you that I've read not one, not two, but THREE books since my last post! Orphan Train was excellent. So was Freefall to Fly. And The Dinner? Eh. It was dark, but it kept my interest and that is huge. Earlier this week I started reading Touching Wonder, an Advent book that my husband wrote a few years ago. It's my favorite!

Current Playlist: Christmas music! Sometimes I start listening before Thanksgiving, but this year I waited. I have a good mix of old, new, traditional, and non-traditional stuff. I love it all!

Current Color(s): Gray, black, and brown. I actually like them all mixed together but I like them separate too!

Current Food: I can't get enough roasted spaghetti squash. Have you ever roasted one? It's SO easy. My favorite way to enjoy it is to heat about a cup of roasted spaghetti squash with a Tbsp or so of pesto and then add some rotisserie chicken and a sprinkle of feta on top. So delicious. It's been my go-to lunch almost every day this week.

Current Favorite Favorite: Not Your Daughter's Jeans. I've heard about these jeans for years but have never tried them on until two weeks ago. We were at the mall and I was determined to leave with a pair of great-fitting jeans and boy did I find them. These jeans are the BEST. So comfy, so well-made, and so flattering--especially for women of a certain age. Their tagline is: Look and feel a size smaller. I gotta tell you it's true. I got a lot of compliments this week when I wore them. They're pricey but I was grateful to find them on sale. I'd be willing to save up and pay full price though--I love them that much.

Current Addiction: Sweet & Spicy tea from Good Earth.

Current Wish List: I want some hiking poles, snowshoes, and a FlipBelt. Santa has been informed. I even went so far as to load up his cart on REI.com. I'm helpful like that.

Current Need: I NEED to clean my house. I haven't been home this much and it's insane how quickly a house can get cluttered and dirty when you're on the go! Desperately need to find some time this weekend to get it shaped up. It's going to be a family affair. We all pitch in around here!

Current Triumph: I hiked the Incline yesterday. It's an insane workout (2000 foot vertical gain in just under 1 mile) and you better believe I'm counting that as a triumph! The Incline has been closed for repairs for a few months and yesterday was the official re-opening. It was crowded but fun! There were news crews and photographers everywhere and I found this pic on one of the photographer's sites. I have no idea what I'm doing with my mouth but it cracks me up!

Current Annoyance: Rude people! I think this time of year either brings out the best in people or the worst. Sad to say that this week I saw more of the latter. Ugh. Another annoyance? Paying for 2-3 priority shipping only to have your items still not arrive 5 days later. Not cool USPS, not cool.

Current Blessing(s): Time with friends this week, receiving Christmas cards in the mail, and just simplifying some things this season that have brought calm and peace.

Current Outfit: Skinny jeans (never thought I'd love them but I do), boots, long sweaters and scarves have been my go-to's this week. 

Current Excitement: We have some of our favorite holiday parties coming up! This time of year is so fun!!! I'm also excited about seeing the movie "Wild" with my friend who got me to read the book. It released yesterday just not in Colorado Springs! We're waiting patiently for local movie times to be posted.

Current Project(s): Ironing out details for a church event in February and working on getting 100+ gifts packaged and mailed for work. Both are big (but fun) projects on my plate right now!

Current plans for the day: Find time to clean this house, do some meal planning, take a nap (I have goals, people!), finish up some online shopping, and hopefully squeeze a date night in since all three of our kiddos have plans this evening! 

SMP 12.3.14

SMP = Seven Minute Post

Good morning, dear neglected blog.

I've got exactly seven minutes before I need to jump in the shower and get ready for this day. I sometimes tell John, "Hey, I'm jumping the shower" and he always always always replies, "Hey, why don't you just step in the shower; jumping is hazardous". He's a funny one.

My day today is full of errands and meetings and some Christmas shopping thrown in. I like Christmas shopping! I'm getting close to finishing all that up--hooray!

We still don't have our Christmas tree up. We carved out a block of time last weekend and it was the most frustrating experience. Exactly one dozen lights on our pre-lit tree were working. We decided to re-string the tree with lights (too much work to cut the old ones off) and I sent John out three times ro buy lights...lights...and more lights. After stringing 1500 lights, I plugged in the last strand to finish the top and they ALL went out. I was MAD. And I was FINISHED. We took the whole tree down and returned the lights and went the other night to buy a new pre-lit tree. Which is still sitting in the box in my entryway.

That's how we roll.

I cancelled some stuff we had going on tonight so we could put that ding-dang tree up as a family! In between kid activities and Christmas parties we just haven't had a night we were all home and that's an activity that we do as a family!

So...that's not all I intended to write about this morning but my seven minutes are up and I must shower and get my day going. Happy Hump Day, y'all!