Currently ::: November

Current Read: My Anatomy & Physiology textbooks are primarily what I read these days, but I did buy Rising Strong last month and try to sneak in a few pages here and there. I'm a huge fan of Brene Brown.

Current Playlist: I mostly listen to podcasts, but I've got a Justin Timberlake playlist that's back in rotation after his amazing performance at the CMAs (which I only watched to try to get a glimpse of Jen Hatmaker) I also really like Adele's new song and throw that one in there too.

Current Color(s): Gray, orange, green. Not together necessarily, but those have been some of my favorites this fall.

Current Food: Jalapeno-stuffed olives and roasted veggies, especially roasted broccoli. Y-U-M and Whole30 approved.

Current Favorite Favorite: Feeling like I have a new wardrobe now that I've pulled out my sweaters and scarves and winter clothes.

Current Addiction: Sleep. Can't seem to ever get enough.

Current Wish List: An immersion blender. I borrowed one from my neighbor to make a few things last week and what a timesaver! I'm keeping an eye out for a good Black Friday sale.

Current Need: A 2016 planner. Need to cross that off my list because I just ordered one on Amazon.

Current Randomness: Last Saturday I drove up to Denver for a cadaver lab. It was an optional lab we could take for Anatomy and Physiology. I was a little nervous going into it but ended up loving it. I'm a visual learner and it was great for me to be able to actually see things I've been learning about like the sciatic nerve, the brain, the small intestine, ovaries, etc. I was completely fascinated. I loved telling the girls that I got to hold an eyeball and a brain. It was definitely an experience I will never forget. I was VERY glad that I packed a salad for lunch though. Not sure I could have eaten meat after that lab--saw a little too much "meat" that day. Ha!

Completely unrelated, we saw this deer on our hike yesterday. He was so close to us and so pretty! As you can see, we still have a good bit of snow leftover from our mid-week storm.

Current Triumph: I'm 2/3 of the way through my class. I turned in my Module II assignments this week and got my grades back yesterday. So far I have an A and I'm pretty happy about that.

Current Annoyance: Excuses. Lying. Just own up to things and be honest!

Current Blessing: Today, I'm feeling thankful for a warm house, a fridge/pantry/freezer full of food, and money to pay our bills. Those are not small things.

Current Mood: I'm happy it's Saturday! But yesterday's terrorist attacks in France bring a certain somberness to today. It's so troubling and sad.

Current Excitement: We get to see Will for Thanksgiving!!! Gosh, I miss that boy. He's doing great and enjoying his first semester of college but we are SO ready to see him.

Current Project: I want to work on a blog post (or two) about my Whole30 experience. I'm trying to write down a bit along the way about why I'm doing this, what I'm learning, and how it's changing me. I just need to find time to put it in post format. I also need to put together a Christmas shopping list. I have a couple of things purchased but that's about it. Christmas is coming fast, y'all!

Current Plans For The Day: Study, gather a few things from the grocery store and watch a bit of football in between. If I can convince John to go to the grocery store for me, I may just stay in my pjs all day.

How I Spent My Snow Day

We had our first measurable snowfall last night. I think we probably got between 4-6 inches but the wind made things a mess this morning so our district upgraded our two-hour delay to a closure. My girls squealed when they heard the news. I might have cried tears of joy.

Things have been cuh-RAZY here lately and I was behind on a lot of things. Today was a gift.

Here's some of what I did today:

- completed a huge school project and got that baby turned in
- cleaned my bathroom (you have NO idea how gross it was)
- cleaned my oven (it's self-cleaning but I was waiting for a cold day to do it)
- made 3 quarts of chicken stock from carcass of last night's roasted chicken
- made chili for dinner
- took a nap!
- made a dent in my never-ending pile of laundry

I can't even tell you how much I needed a slow, domestic day at home. I loved puttering around in the kitchen. I love cleaning. I don't love laundry but I love it when my pile gets smaller! My girls were pretty much sloths all day but they needed that too. I wish every Wednesday was a snow day!

Popping In

Thought I'd pop in here for a bit this morning since I have a little bit of time before heading out to hike. I've blocked off time on Fridays to hike with friends. Hiking is my sanity! Life is a little nutty these days and I really need that time and space to get outside, move, connect with my people, and laugh. I say this all the time but I am grateful to live in Colorado!

We've had some mild and lovely weather this fall but the cold has begun to make an appearance. It's currently 27 degrees and I'm hoping it warms up a bit before we hike. Yesterday was the first snowfall of the season. It didn't stick and it didn't last long but there were some big, fat flakes flying for a few hours yesterday morning. I don't mind snow this time of year. I actually like it.

Snow and cold weather make me want to make soup and stew and other warm, hearty meals. Yesterday I made the Pioneer Woman's Perfect Pot Roast. It's so delicious--true to it's name, it turns out perfect every time I make it.

I'm doing a Whole30 right now. Maybe not the smartest month of the year to be doing this because of Thanksgiving, but I'm fiercely committed. I started Monday and have four great days under my belt and am feeling great! I have a few challenges to work around this weekend but I have a plan to succeed.

Speaking of the weekend--ours is very, very full. We've been really great at keeping our weekends uncluttered (it's my primary study time) but everything in the world seems to fall on November 6-7-8 this year. It's all great stuff and worthy of our time which definitely helps my attitude.

That's all for now. Going to make some breakfast and fuel myself for hiking! Have a great weekend, friends.