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Not enough hours in the day

My head is absolutely buzzing with ideas and planning, goals, projects and lists. I should be a professional project creator. I have come to the conclusion that there are simply not enough hours in the day. What should one do? Sleep less? Hardly! But managing my time more effectively would probably go a long way towards helping me accomplish every harebrained scheme I think up.

What a delightful weekend we just spent. Sherlock Holmes was interestingly done and well worth a watch. I remember my mum reading Sherlock Holmes to me and my sisters at bedtime. The story of the speckled band scared the proverbial crap out of me. I remember reading the story to Jesse and Libby when they were still quite young (we were living in Hawaii at the time) and they were completely unruffled by it.

I wanted to go to the zoo today (yes, in December) but the snow was coming down thick and fast.

Todd didn't fancy negociating icy roads all the way to Indianapolis so we stayed close to home.

Ice skating wasn't the same without our English cousins but we're planning to get them stateside next winter.

Green Christmas

drip

1 comment

Father Christmas brought everyone what they wanted, but Mother Nature didn't bring us any snow.

On The Eve of Christmas

java janie
4 days ago
3 comments

We spent time with family. We ate italian sausages. We played a part in some couple's engagement story in front of the National Christmas tree. We opened our new pajamas. And I cried while trying to read our traditional Christmas books.

Santa's on his way!

Hannahbanana
4 days ago
1 comment

baking :: more painting :: bowling (I won! Okay, one game) :: board games ("Chrononauts" is more complicated than I remembered) :: simple and delicious steak dinner :: Nigella's baby cakes :: Christmas Eve present and pyjama opening :: one too many episodes of The Simpsons :: one too many glasses of wine :: cinnamon rolls for Santa, sleeping pills for the kids.

Happy holidays, one and all!

just in

bowled away

christmas eve tradition

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all my VOX neighbors and friends

Christmas Angel 001

and Happy New Year too!

Christmas Angel 002

It's officially Christmas Eve...

...as Libby pointed out when it turned midnight and we had just finished dinner. Let me tell you, our sleep patterns are shot.

Somebody (mentioning no names, you understand) had the bright idea that a few days before Christmas would be the perfect time to take care of some overdue jobs around house. We've been madly painting, painting, painting (Jesse's bedroom, the dining room and living room skirting boards and trim, the basement stairs...), Todd has replaced (and then painted) three full door frames and a window sill in the kitchen*....a big wooden blanket chest downstairs is now sporting a new colour and a coat of varnish, the list goes on. Although I do somewhat begrudge giving up my precious free time to these tasks, I am really pleased with what we've accomplished.

*Which, to me, is very impressive indeed.

Speaking of somebody, I found some shoes online that I knew were Todd's idea of perfect shoes. It's as if a designer at The North Face has been reading Todd's thoughts. If Todd was going to create a pair of shoes, these would be the shoes he would design. (And 50% off at REI too!) I ordered them for Christmas but made the mistake of giving them to him early. He has hardly worn another pair of shoes since but the mistake I made is that I haven't really bought him much of anything else. His presents under the tree are few and far between. Fortunately I married someone who couldn't care less about such things... but still.

Speaking of presents, I just finished wrapping the last half dozen*. If I had my way, not a single gift under the tree would match. I am all about as many different kinds of paper as possible. No coordination here, no sir.

mismatched

*I also, following Todd's lead, filled the stockings to make sure everything would fit. We've had some years where we were cramming and stuffing, breaking the seams practically. Come to think of it, those were always years when Esther was visiting. Is there a connection here? I think so,

And speaking of chicken and dumplings, which...we weren't. I came across this recipe the other week and seriously? SERIOUSLY it really is the best comfort food ever. I cannot stop thinking about making this dish again. I think I could eat it every day and still not get sick of it. This is a theory I am willing to put to the test.

I Didn't Fall On My Butt!

java janie
6 days ago
6 comments

Or any other body part for that matter. Now it was another story for Alex and Josiah.....

Going...going...

Gone!

Josiah falls down.....again.

Fancy Skating Tori

Steve trying to make me skate faster

Ashley ice skating

Sophia about to break out some fancy moves....or not

Josiah not falling

Mr. Bill Ice Skate

It was great to get out of the house after pretty much being home since Saturday. Steve's been driving the mini-van all week because his car doesn't handle well in the snow. A good time was had by all....even Mr. Bill.

do something for somebody

My in-laws gave each of their grandchildren a ten dollar bill and asked them to perform an act of service with the money.

super chocolatey cookies

Even though Jesse thought it was kind of a dorky thing to do, with a little encouragement from me he decided to make cookies for his friends.

cookie delivery

(His initial idea was to make cookies for our own family, but I convinced him that that didn't really constitute service.)

wave

I am sooo proud of what a super boy he is.

What nobody knows is that I am the one who really benefited from all this -- I was able to kick everyone out of the kitchen, and spend one-on-one time with Jesse, helping him make the cookies.

And we only ruined one lot of ingredients :)