old man winter

berries, a photo by sassyladybug on Flickr.

it finally snowed. at least, it finally snowed during winter. we had that lovely snowstorm that put us out of power for almost a week back in the fall, but this is the first real snow that we've had this winter.

i hate the snow.

i hate the cold. i'm cold regardless of season. even in the summer, my feet are cold. right now i have socks on and it is a most beautiful, warm-ish day and my toes are cold, i can feel it.

when i was younger, bundling up and playing in the snow appealed to me. i remember going sledding with friends when chris and i were engaged. now? my time is precious and my toes are cold. i rarely get free time and i don't want to spend it creating more laundry for myself. and cold-er toes.

like i said, its warm out today. i didn't wear a coat and i don't intend on wearing one tonight when i head to class. my toes may be cold but my arms are just fine in long sleeves and warmish winter weather.

the snow is mostly gone already - the rain from last night and the glorious, beautiful sunshine took care of it for me - and i just keep thinking, no more snow. one time this winter was enough for me.

weeks 2 & 3

my entire plan of blogging more was halted by my lack of internet. yes, we screwed up our own internet, accidentally, and then could not get it working again. still we are struggling to keep it working. thankfully i have a fantastic brother-in-law who came over and fixed it, but it seems to continue to have problems and go in and out. i'm frustrated but trying to take this as a sign to get more projects and cleaning done around the house.
so i bring you week 2, theme blue. i tried to photograph christian's blue lips as he got out of the tub, but they were more purple than blue. and of course, then my internet went out and i couldn't get that dsl light to just light up. depressing.

week 2/52: blue, a photo by sassyladybug on Flickr.

of course the internet was so slow once it was back up that i couldn't upload any photos. week 3 was curves, and i was pretty stumped. then during one of the most mundane tasks - dishwashing - i saw an abundance of curves in all the little bubbles in my hands. so of course i grabbed the camera and carefully - i was so, so afraid of dropping the thing into the dish water - attempted to capture the bubbles.

week 3/52: curves, a photo by sassyladybug on Flickr.

i'm really enjoying this challenge - it is my pace, because i could never keep up with this daily.

week 1: new

week 1: new, a photo by sassyladybug on Flickr.

week one and i had about a million ideas in my head for the theme, but yet i couldn't seem to get any one of them just right. then today, chris heads to barnes and noble to check for a special edition of Risk and came home with another edition of Monopoly. we collect Monopoly games, and we haven't gotten one in a while - but this was the platinum edition, and at 50% off he couldn't resist. we absolutely love Monopoly and sat down tonight to spend time together and play.

cheri has a mr.linky up to link to anyone else blogging their photos. its not too late to join!

challenge

52aYear.jpg, a photo by tinkerellen on Flickr.

so cheri and i decided to create a 52 pictures a year challenge. truthfully i was the one who pressured her into the idea. i attempted a 365 last year and didn't get very far. we created a facebook group for everyone to join to share and organize the photos, as well as link to their blogs where they can also post the photos and an explanation if they wish. i'll be posting mine here and linking to anyone else who blogs their photos. so, join on up... we already are finishing out our first week of the new year and have the perfect theme for this week.

52aYear_wk1.jpg, a photo by tinkerellen on Flickr.

sparkle

IMG_5304, a photo by sassyladybug on Flickr.

whew, thanksgiving was here and then blink it was Christmas. i just barely made my goals of having the gifts wrapped before Christmas eve - just a few left that didn't keep me up too late. this season is so amazing now, as a parent. watching the delight in my boys' eyes is amazing. baking a cake for Jesus' birthday with Andrew and then talking more about the birth of Christ with him. driving to see lights and stopping at a manger scene. letting my boys pick out gifts and give them to those that they love.

of course there is the flip side, as there always is - ornaments broken by my favorite 2-year-old. the constant mess and clutter that decorations provide. bags and bags of gifts that must be wrapped when all you want to do is relax at the end of the day.

but regardless of the rush, clutter, tiredness - this season inspires people to give and that in itself is inspiring to me.

grateful friday

my sister posted a video on facebook that really made me think. i've been enjoying talking up christmas to the boys, encouraging them to let me know what they'd like to receive and looking at the trees and decorations already out in the stores. but i have not encouraged them in the spirit of giving and being thankful. and so i have made a commitment to being grateful myself, and to share that with my boys this coming week.

calm, a photo by sassyladybug on Flickr.

a quick trip to TJ Maxx this morning and i have a new mug. everything in this picture makes me happy. my yellow walls, the placemat from target, the mug rug from my talented friend kelly...

new mug, a photo by sassyladybug on Flickr.

funny enough, after i took the picture i put water on for a nice cup of tea, enjoying the quiet of my house. and i realized, my favorite tea is called calm - and my new mug says the exact same thing. i suppose that it is the little things for which we should be thankful - because without that gratitude in our hearts for those somewhat everyday things, none of the ordinary would be spectacular.

handy

smore, a photo by sassyladybug on Flickr.

the fabulous cheri made me a cute watermark for my blog photos so i figured that was excuse enough for a post. silly me, i thought my kids would want to eat s'mores this summer. who would have thought that they wouldn't be into the stuff all melted together? they actually asked for each part separately. only my weird kids.