as of right now...

Right now: Pre-Thanksgiving edition

laughing at this recipe a friend linked to on Facebook.  The comments are awesome.

enjoying all the Peppermint Hot Chocolates I can fit in this holiday season:)

anticipating the end of my (short) work day today. Then I don't have to come back until Monday;)

thankful, beyond words, for my wonderful family. Life would not be as amazing as it is without them

excited to really start planning the mom-daughter trip with Alex. The trip we planned had to be postponed but we've rescheduled for March!

looking forward to all the delicious food we're making tomorrow:) This and this and this.  Plus mashed potatoes (my favorite!) and a few others:)

hoping to catch up some on my Project Life over the next 4 days. I stopped about mid-October which is when I stopped last year. Must be something about this time of year...

bummed that I didn't do ANYTHING on my fall list. Even after making a list.  I just can't seem to find any extra time during the Holiday season for extra activities. Work, Alex & Nate, cooking and gym is about all I have time for.

not loving the Daylight Savings time change. I have so much trouble adjusting to this change in light and I get so depressed and unproductive when it's dark at 5:30. My energy has felt sapped for weeks now:(

drinking one of these tonight. Or when I get home;)

preparing for the Black Friday shopping-fest. We go every year even though we don't really need anything. It's just fun to be out in the craziness. no...really. This year we're hoping to score a TV for Alex.

freaking out that my daughter is going to be 18 in less than a month.

 

I'll end the post on that note...haha. Wishing you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

jen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You'll never be what is in your heart

So I took a little break from blogging. If all of 2010 can be considered a "little" break.

I'd been feeling guilty about it for a while but 2010 was a very hard year and I just felt like I didn't have anything positive or interesting to say here. I pretty much retreated from the internet world in general. I stopped scrapbooking. I stopped following blogs. I was still doing Facebook but not like I was a year ago.

Instead I started battling my weight (and still am). We started infertility testing. I dealt  with a couple MANY other health issues. We struggled to get my daughter through her first year of high school. We dealt with financial setbacks. I turned 40. For me, personally, it's also a challenge to know how much to talk about online. I know I've found solace in regard to my weight and infertility by reading about others who struggle with my same issues  but I'm not sure I want to put my struggle out there for the world to see. I know my husband doesn't want me to put any of it out there. Unfortunately, these struggles are a huge part of who I am and so for me NOT to talk about them here...I would be lying about what my life is really about. So I've just stayed quiet.

Recently though, I read through some of my old posts and I've realized how much I miss blogging. For myself. Life moves fast and if I don't stop to record the little moments then I forget them. This was painfully obvious at my high school reunion a few years ago. I didn't remember half the stories and antics my friends were talking about even though I was assured that I was there for most of them. My daughter has grown (physically and emotionally) so much over the past year and I have nothing to reference back to. To the way she used to be. I just feel like I've missed out on so much by NOT posting about my life.

And so I am taking small baby steps back into the blogging world and you'll be seeing posts from me a couple of times a month (that's my goal at least) and we'll see how it goes from there:)

 

I can see the light at the end of the winter tunnel...

1. Spring morning, 2. 76/365: Happy Saint Patrick's Day!, 3. One Headlight, 4. Untitled, 5. if you weren't real I would make you up ..., 6. spring is there if you just look hard enough., 7. lanterns in my neighborhood, 8. Lilac Buds, 9. Shadows and tall trees, 10. Untitled, 11. more pink tree flowers, 12. Spring Like, 13. Summer fun!, 14. spring art, 15. i love yellow flowers., 16. one.dress.finished

(how do I consistently pick the one photo that won't post in these mosaics...grrr)

I don't have any excuse for being gone this long other than life got in the way. As did the cold winter weather. I dislike January and February the most of any of the months. How dark it is so early in the evenings. How cold it is even on days it looks like it should be warm. We did have a small heat wave a few weeks ago but even then I was trying to enjoy those brief few days and didn't  think about my blog.  Contrary to the impression I may give I do like having a blog. If only for me to remember what went on in my life over the month.

Like now.

 I sit here wanting to catch you up on my life for the past few months and I can't remember anything of any interest. Suffice to say i am still working out like a mad woman, still cooking most nights, still suffering the drama that is a teenage daughter, still facebooking everyday.  My husband and I took up geo caching again. We went through the loss of my daughter's first grandparent (on her dad's side). I've been working on invitation samples for my sister in law (wedding in August) but not really scrapbooking anymore. I've almost given up TV completely for reading instead.

So this is me... dipping my toe back into the blogosphere. Hopefully this time I can keep it up...

jen

hello 2009

I thought it fitting to have a 2008 mosaic of Alex on this first day of the new year. She changed SO much this year, as you can probably tell...each of these pics represents a month so the first one was taken in January and the bottom right one was taken last week right after Christmas. Mid-way through the year you can see the change from tween to actual teenager.

I have some goals (not resolutions) for this year but I'm trying to get them all down before I post them on here. This is inspired by the fabulous E.

I pulled down my list (the copy I made for my bulletin board) because I have been a slacker on getting any of it done. 10 items out of 38 is not a very good percentage. I think the gas prices and the fires in Big Sur were reasons some of the items haven't been done yet. I'm still determined to get as much done as possible though so that's one of my goals for the up coming months. I'll keep you posted:)

I hope everyone had a really awesome New Year's Eve and day. We stayed out way too late (and drank too much champagme) and have pretty much done nothing all day but be lazy.  I'm not seeing this as a bad way to start the new year though so...

jen

Observe my obsession with someone new

We got back VERY early Monday but Nate and I were both fighting some type of bugs this week. I am better but Nate is still not feeling so good. I did take some pics but for the most part I just enjoyed my weekend. Lots of fun. Amazingly good time was had by both Nathan and myself. Already talking about getting back out there to visit longer. With all the activities and long travel times we really didn't have any time to just cruise around. I'll post some pics tomorrow. Sorry for the inactivity this week...

we are apparently in the middle of a heat wave here to which is just sapping my energy this week

jen

just for now

watch this


this was sent to me by my husband to me this morning and it's exactly what I needed. She is just fan-freaking-tastic .

Been out of sorts the past two weeks...seems like lately that's a more common than not feeling for me. Has been a rough winter for me...sick every couple of days it seems since February. Another pregnancy that didn't stick which makes those days of morning sickness and breast tenderness I experienced all that more sad ( I get both of those symptoms within 7 days of conception). Been staying the past few days with my in laws because of work being done on the house...and as nice as their house AND they are, there is nothing like your own house.

Note to self: be grateful for what you have. Now stop whining!


to steal from Nicole who I think stole it from Marta:

I love the smell of: freshly made coffee, made specifically for me, as i stepped out of the shower this morning
I love the sound of: Imogen Heap singing
I love the taste of: my mother in law's enchiladas (leftovers from last night)
I love the sight of: Red Gladiolus from my sweet man
I love the feel of: being in love

I actually did 8 layouts last week. AND I got a new scanner, which I haven't tried out yet, so their is a possibility of some scrappy goodness being posted. Once we are back in our house of course;)

jen

You were so all over town but still so Crayola brown...

some of you have been wondering where i am and I apologize because I have just been living life and reveling in the amazing turns life can sometimes take.

I never talked about the sad situation we were in with one of our cats...just alluded to it in a small post. On February 22nd, while we were up at the cabin enjoying the beautiful snow, our beloved 15 year old cat Winston was mistaken for a stray and picked up by the police (if you're wondering why our police have nothing better to do that pick up stray cats,  grab a number and get in line). We didn't find out until  Monday that this had happened though. He gets grumpy when we go out of town and it's not unusual for him to skulk about the neighborhood mad at us. Not until we got back Sunday night and he still hadn't made an appearance did we start to get concerned. Monday morning I called Animal Control to see if they had picked him up by accident.  She and I figured out from a report filed Friday night, that he had in fact been picked up and taken to the kennel where he subsequently escaped the police car into the Ryan Ranch area of Monterey. With hawks, coyotes and all sorts of other wildlife. Gone in a flash.

To say we were devastated would be an understatement.  Our cats are part of our family. One of us. Not just animals. They have personalities, moods and needs just like any child does.  Everyone kept telling us to be positive, that he could show up but most of them were just trying to help us feel better and I appreciate , more than I can express, their continued support in regards to our search for him. They kept our spirits up even though they believed we would never see him again. We didn't believe we would see him again.

Sometimes though... life throws you a curve ball.

Last Monday (March 10th), by chance, I was home when the Animal Control officer came by our house so that I could look at a cat she had picked up in the area that he had gone missing in. Some good Samaritan at a local business had called her about a starving kitten. In the carrier sat our cat Winston. Half -starved, dazed, and so small looking. But he was alive and relatively healthy. Experiencing some kidney issues from dehydration.  Starving (I think he ate every 10 minutes the first day back with us) for both food and human contact.  Otherwise though within an hour of being home he was back to sleeping on my pillow, drinking out of the bathtub faucet and running under my feet.  Life as I know it had been restored:)

So for someone who looks at life with a half-empty glass philosophy this has been one awesome lesson. One I'm not likely to forget soon. One I hope to use in my everyday life. Especially when my half-glass self tries to convince my other (slightly more positive)self otherwise.

jen

P.S. the random title of this post is a line from one of my favorite Modest Mouse tunes. I hate coming up with post titles. ;D

disclaimer: this song does not contain kid friendly words so please use caution when listening.

   

quick note

for those that check in with me here:

we did make it back from the snowstorm weekend but we have a very sad issue going on with one of our cats so I will not be posting for a few days.

thanks,
jen

today

so, we don't really "do" Superbowl Sunday. We entertained the idea of going to a local pub for a beer and to watch the game but...we just didn't really have much invested in either team. I think it's kind of exciting that the game is being played in my home state of Arizona but that was the extent of my excitement this year.  We chose to sleep in, make soup, take a hike, snap some pictures, eat some "pretend" superbowl food (I made individual, low calorie 7 layer dips for each of us) and will probably watch a movie before the evening is over. Oh yeah, we're going to measure each other too...LOL. I saw a personal trainer last week and one of the things we talked about was that I needed to not be concerned with the pounds lost but the inches so...since I haven't measured myself as of yet today is the decided day for that fun task. I can feel my clothes getting looser so I want an accurate count;)  And I was also putting together a kind of art journal that I will share in a few days. I was reading this blog a few weeks ago and became obsessed with her list and have since then been compiling a list for my birthday this year and thought that putting together a journal for my photos and words would be a cool way to keep track of my progress on the list. Very excited to do this! I always talk about things I want to do and rarely do I get any of those things done. Hopefully this is the inspiration I need;)

How was your Superbowl Sunday??

jen

Jennifer needs a smack daddy

today:

did a new machine at the gym tonight that really worked the legs...love to feel new workout burn

caught some of this movie tonight while my husband watched it...uhhh...I think I've seen enough already:)

made delicious won ton soup for dinner that I came up with myself

ate one ounce piece of Trader Joes bittersweet chocolate...nice reward for workout

my favorite song from my workout was this one I'm always a sucker for the oldies though;)

relaxed with a glass of this Viognier

dreaming about scrapbooking this weekend

made an appointment with a personal trainer at the gym

I completely missed taking a photo yesterday. Blew my 365 day photo taking. I woke up at like 3:00am and that was the first thing on my mind. Oh well. Haven't done Sara's project for last week's challenge either (although I did the challenge) so I'll be working on that this weekend.

What is everyone else up to this week?

jen