childhood flashback

aaron and i are hoping to be safely tucked inside before the storm hits with a movie night. aaron's nextflix pick? teen wolf. oh boy. i'm sure i'll be knitting or baking or doing anything to keep myself occupied. it'll be great!!



have a fabulous weekend!

best night ever

i was home alone on president's day, so i spent the morning making cinnamon rolls. i proceeded to eat way too many and gave about half away. the rest are tucked safely in the freezer for a bad day. anywhoo, aaron didn't have school that night, so he planned fhe. us spending fhe together is extremely rare. like, never happens. i was delighted.

we had dinner at taco bell. now, say what you will but TB was a favorite of mine for years. couldn't get enough. but, after dinner, i'm sad to say, i think i've had enough. tastes yummy, but haunts the tummy.
next he surprised me with bowling and invited some friends! 3 children were in the mix which made it all the more fun. i obviously have not been bowling in a long time because the manager asked if we wanted bumpers for the kids and i was like, 'so, you're going to come out and move the blue blow up things each time the adults bowl?'. i got a blank stare for a minute then my mind realized it's all electronic now. what will they think of next?! somehow i got the high score for the night. either they were letting me win or fate was on my side cause that hasn't happened in about a decade.
we had to stop by target on the way home for some milk and aaron got a mischievous look in his eye and said he'd meet me at checkout. he emerged with another surprise in the bag. he told me to look on the way out and i seriously let out an excited scream and began laughing hysterically while walking to the car. others were looking. i paid no mind. below is an image of what was in the bag.
on a recent weekend getaway (which i have yet to blog about) aaron and i discovered my love of puzzles. i think i have always enjoyed them, but something about doing a puzzle with loved ones and no distractions seems so carefree and fabulous. i know. i'm like a 80 year old. i don't care. after that weekend we had joked that he needed to get me a wolf puzzle. mission accomplished. we started working on it that night and it has haunted our dreams since. we do a little each night before bed. when i married this dude he hated going to bed and wanted to be out and about. now we're completing puzzles before heading to bed at 930. gotcha!
thanks for a wonderful night, aaron!

the end

last week i finished two of my favorite tv shows; the golden girls and monk. i cried for both of them. i still sing both theme songs. it is too much, really.

watching the last episode of the golden girls was the culmination of a multi year effort to see every single episode that ever aired. i'm proud to say i have them all on dvd and will watch them again and again. the final episode did not disappoint. i always wondered how they would end the show. of course it was sad, but the writers did a great job and i couldn't help but be happy for dorothy, blanche, rose, and sophia. here's a shot from a favorite episode where rose, dorothy, and blanche are arrested for mistakenly being in a brothel (while wearing evening gowns no less) and rather than spring them from jail right away, sophia uses their tickets to see burt reynolds backstage and gets a lunch date the next day. love it.

i can't claim i've seen all of the monk episodes, but i can safely estimate i've seen 85-90% of them and now that we have netflix i'll be sure to finish them off. the two part finale was so touching and i was totally sobbing at the end. good thing aaron wasn't around to see it. something about monk just draws me in. i must finish them all, but, no doubt, will be sad when i do.

next up, gilmore girls!

work perk

this baby goat was left in a park and transferred to my work on friday. she made the rounds and stopped in for an office visit before heading to the ranch where she'll be fostered until she's old enough to find a permanent home. all she wanted to do was nuzzle in a pair of arms and fall asleep. too cute! it's not unusual for me to interact with dogs, cats, birds, lizards, rabits, guinea pigs, goats, donkeys, and whatever else we have in our temporary care. by far the best part of my job!

january review

january's theme for my happiness project was 'be prepared'. oh baby. nothing could have prepared me for january, but i'm so glad i was implementing some new skills when the crazy hit. let's see...i was asked to give a talk in church which parlayed into giving the same talk in stake conference the next weekend (oh and the talk was on the temple and the temple president and matron were sitting next to me. no pressure.), subsequently being asked to facilitate a discussion at a temple coordinators meeting by said president, the stress of planning a HUGE activity for yw, then being asked to be the yw president, rounding up an entirely new board and presidency, an assortment of health issues, aaron starting school again, and other fun things that threw off my calm routine. whew.

i was so happy i was working toward being more prepared and if i succeeded at nothing else during the day, i could cross picking out tomorrow's clothes and planning all of the next day's meals off my list before bed. small simple things, but they really work.

i am happy to say i survived january and am still planning for the next day each night. i think i've formed new habits! february seems to be following in january's busy footsteps, but one can always hope!

old man winter

during my commute home last night, my frozen long lost friend, sandy, tells me she has traveled 3 miles in the last 4 hours on her way home from work. apparently she made a rookie mistake and took the infamous lake shore drive. for anyone keeping score, steve hijacked her to chicago like 2 minutes after their wedding. we miss you, sandy. anyway, she's in the snow with various factors that add up to danger in my mind. us california girls don't think of blizzard necessities. long story short she made it home after about 8 hours in the car because steve came and got her. he stayed behind with the car. until about 4 am, then left the car.

the next day i'm viewing a blizzard slideshow on msn and what is the first picture? cars stuck on lake shore drive in chicago. anyone see a black honda accord? poor sandy.

i thought about sending a care package but i doubt it would get there.