Lunch on the beach in Cozumel. Can you think of anything better?
Enough complaining. I'm in a "winter" cleaning mode today. It actually started last night, but is thankfully continuing today and will hopefully last all week! After a talk with Julie last night, I've decided that I was not born a "cleanie", I was born a "messy". Unfortunately, that just means I have to work much harder to keep my house in order. blah! I wish HGTV would send someone over here and get me organized...wishes....wishes.... I'm amazed at how much stuff we've accumulated over the past year and a half. I have a huge bag and a box that are being filled for Goodwill. And I just did this last summer - where does it all come from? My goal: get this house in tip-top shape by Casey's birthday! (And keep it that way!)
My other goal: lose 60 pounds this year! That's only 5 pounds a month, and I can do it. Thankfully, I have Julie to go this road with me, which will help a ton! Together, she and I could lose a small person - Yikes!! I've been saying I want to lose weight for years, and this year, is my year. I never had a weight problem when I was growing up, but then I got married and I think I just stopped caring. Unfortunately that has led to a 60 pound weight gain since my wedding day - 15 years ago - that's only 4 pounds a year. I'm trying to put my focus not only on losing the weight, but on a healthy eating lifestyle. I've gotten so careless over the years and I really want to change that. I don't want Casey to struggle with this like I have. I'm also working on being a more positive person, which will help me and my family more than anything!
With God's help, I can do it!!!
Ola! I miss Playa del Carmen. It was beautiful, with loads of heat and sun! We came home to below zero temps and 6 inches of snow... Maybe the winter won't seem as long since we had a "break" in the middle of it all? We went with 3 other couples and had a great time! It was sunny and 80+ when we arrived and it stayed that way pretty much the entire time. Every night we would walk from our resort down to Quinta Avenida (5th ave) and browse the shops and eat at one of the many restaurants. During the day, we either stayed at the resort, or took a day trip somewhere. Tuesday we took the ferry over to Cozumel and rented scooters for the day. Oh what fun! We rode all over the island. Stopping frequently for drinks, chips and salsa/guac, of course! I think I've consumed more chips and salsa in the past week then in the previous 10 years!! But it was sooo good... Thursday we spent the day at Xel-Ha, a water park of sorts. They offer snorkeling and swimming, cliff jumping, lazy river among many other things. It was fun, but Cozumel was better. All in all, I'd say it was a fabulous way to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary.
Casey spent the week with Nana, and did very well. She missed us, but there were no major breakdowns, which was good. When we picked her up, she told me "Thanks for coming to get me!" She was very happy to see us and we were very happy to see her. It was the first time we've left her for that long (9 days), and I hope it's a long time before we do it again. I really missed her! What usually did me in was when I would look up at the moon at night - and think "I see the moon and the moon sees me..." ...her favorite song.
As much as I enjoyed the trip and the sun, it was nice to get back to my own bed and my own house. I'll post pictures soon. Oh, I'm going to learn Spanish this year. I've been saying for years that I would like to learn it and have never done anything about it. That's going to change!
Adios!
Here we are - only a week and a half from Christmas. I've finally found my Christmas spirit. (It was hiding in the basement with my Christmas decorations, and as soon as I got them out, it escaped...) I attempted to wrap presents with Casey, but she thought it was much more fun to cut the paper and stick tape everywhere. Thus greatly inhibiting the progress of actually getting the presents wrapped. At least I was able to use up nearly all of my 5 year old paper. Note to self: Do NOT buy the huge rolls of wrapping paper unless you want to be using the same paper for 5-10 years...
Today we went to Julie's house and made Christmas treats for our neighbors. I really enjoy doing that kind of thing, especially with friends. It's so weird to think that I didn't even know Julie a year ago, and now she's my best friend. I love how God works.
About a month ago, Chris bought a pair of "kid-friendly" scissors for Casey. She had discovered how to use mine and I didn't think it was very safe for her to be using a scissors nearly as big as her... Anyway, she LOVES to cut stuff. (Including her hair, it wasn't major, but still...) When she gets going, a room can very quickly look like a snow storm hit. I'm talking microscopic pieces of paper everywhere! My vacuum has been getting a workout lately. Here, she got into some old holiday stickers and immediately stuck most of them on herself, the remainder - well, you can see the scissors at work. You know, if I wasn't a mom, I would never know what this feels like. I'm so thankful to be a mom.
I'm sitting here wondering why I'm not feeling more "Christmasy". I mean, it's that time of year - every time I enter a store or even drive through town, I'm reminded of it. But for some reason I can't seem to find that Christmas spirit inside of me, yet. I say "yet" in hopes that it will show up soon. It is, after all, a Winter Wonderland outside - the weather is perfect for Christmas. And still... Maybe I need to search inside myself and find the true meaning of Christmas. I know, that sounds so cliche, but...I think it's true for me right now. What is Christmas? Is it all the decorations and beautiful lights? Is it the homemade and delicious food? Is it finding just the right gifts for all those people on your list? Where's Jesus in all of this? And how can I remember that He truly is the reason we even have this holiday? How can I teach my daughter that Christmas is so much more than pretty trees and presents?
I'll find it. Christmas, that is. I will. And with it - my Jesus.
What a weekend! We moved our bedroom out of the living room into Casey's new bedroom until our new bedroom is finished. Did you get all that? Essentially, I now have a bedroom, a living room and a dining room, and they are beautiful! Cluttered, right now, but beautiful!
Chris came home from work Friday night and decided that we needed to move upstairs. So that's what our weekend consisted of. It was so much fun, and Casey loved it! As soon as the bed was set up, she started jumping on it, "This is my room! This is my room!" Too bad for her though, she has to wait a bit longer before she gets to sleep in it... She seems to be doing just fine with us upstairs, while she's still downstairs.
I'll post pictures as soon as the clutter is gone...
I've seen a couple people do Flashbacks on their blogs, so I thought I would give it a try, too. I've been sorting through pictures, getting ready to scrapbook again, and just need to share some of these with you.
This was taken the first week after Casey was born. My favorite.
Sometimes I wish I could freeze time, but then life wouldn't be life, would it? That's why we have photographs - memories we can see that live forever.
Lunch on the beach in Cozumel. Can you think of anything better?
