30 Days of Beauty: 1-6

February is not my favorite month. I don't like the cold, the wet, the gray...it is the shortest month of the year, and it doesn't feel like it. Add to that, we've had record snowfall this year, and snow day after snow day. My children are not quiet on the best of days, but lock them in the house, together, for days at a time...Mama has a headache. A bad one.

So Erin over at Blue Bird Baby challenged her readers to find "30 Days of Beauty" - document photographically the beauty in winter. I've, as always, taken my own sweet time uploading my photos, so this post will show several of those moments of beauty.

Nothing like curling up with a good book on a cold day. I'm so glad my kids love to read as much as I do.

This is just not as much fun on the grass.

Taken the same day at the same park. It's just pretty.

Cream of chicken and wild rice soup with warm bread at Panera. Eaten with a friend near the fireplace. I love soup, but it just isn't the same during the summer.

We got over a foot of snow over the weekend, and then several more inches the past few days. Sunday it was all sunny and sparkly - I tried to capture the sparkles. It really was lovely.

Check out the pink cheeks. They were sledding and playing outside for 3 hours today. Which made for a lovely, quiet house. Don't be fooled by the Monkey's sour look - he just does that to irritate me when I'm taking pictures. He was in a particularly cheerful mood.


So there we are - 6 lovely winter images so far. I'll take more tomorrow. Have a lovely, warm, evening.

Reasons to do a happy dance...

There are so many things putting me in a good mood today:

1. I was officially offered a position as office assistant at the American Cancer Society. This is a job I was very excited about, and of course, I accepted. So, there is one goal for the year ticked off the list. Yay!

2. Bug's blood sugar was lowered significantly last week. We get a two week reprieve from the vet.

3. The Girl finished all her Valentines yesterday. When MonkeyButt was her age, I had to beg him to do a little each day. The Girl is excited to write!

4. I wandered around Barnes and Noble for an hour, uninterrupted, tonight. I didn't buy anything, which was not for lack of choices, but it was lovely to wander among books for an hour. Next I'll be off to update my Amazon wish list so I don't forget the books I want to own.

5. Breakfast with friends tomorrow, coffee with friends on Wednesday, lunch with friends Thursday, party with friends Friday. I'm feeling so socially acceptable.

Now let's hope it doesn't snow tonight. Both my kiddles are wearing their pajamas inside-out tonight (apparently this appeases the snow-day gods.) I am doing my "no snow" dance. I love the kids, but they have a day off next week.

Sweet.

This is my new favorite picture. A and I took Girl Child and Darling Nephew to lunch during winter break, and they were goofing around. I snapped this during one of their affectionate moments.

Merry Christmas...

So, let's take a trip back...a month and a week. Isn't our Christmas tree pretty?



This Christmas I decided to make as many gifts as I could. The Girl Child had two sets of bunk beds for her dolls, and she asked for one more set (so they didn't have to double up, of course.) Mom got her the third set, I painted all the beds, fastened two of them together, and made mattresses, pillows, and blankets for all of them. The mattresses and pillows are made from my old "Little Mermaid" sheets. I felt so clever. As you can see, Finnegan was pleased with the results (so was the Girl.)

Tidbits from the present...

Some things that are happening right now:

1. I have a cold. It's a nasty one, and I am not enjoying it.
2. We are still working on regulating our girl cat's insulin. She's definitely better, though.
3. One of my sisters is getting married in Vegas this weekend. I don't get to go, but I wish her well.
4. I have a good chance at a job for the American Cancer Society. Fingers crossed.
5. I'm reading some decent books. I'll have to update my bookshelf.

I need to go eat dinner now, so have a pleasant evening.