January is a Good Month for . . .

Snow, cold, TV-watching and recuperating!

Beautiful flowers from a coworker!

Hello Friends  -- 

I've been a little quiet this past

week as I am recuperating from surgery - a laproscopic hysterectomy.

It had been on the calendar and rescheduled many times due to 

other issues (Mr. Tennis's illnesses),

but I was finally able to get it scheduled

and completed.

It's a relief to have it over.

Now it's time to rest and recuperate!

I think winter is the perfect time for recovering

as it's cold out, snowy and who wants to go

out anyway??

I feel pretty good, even though my poor tummy is

super swollen and bruised - however, someday

I will probably have a flat tummy again!

Now, there's a goal!

Back later with hopefully more interesting posts!

xoxo

jboo

Daydreaming on Below-Zero Days!

When it's Below-Zero here 

(as in -20 wind chill with temp at  -12),

I daydream of warmer days 

and beautiful places!

The beach scene at Hilton Head Island !

Riding bikes on the beach!

And

Little Miss M catching some air at the beach!

What are you daydreaming about on cold winter days?!

Paint Yourself Polka Dotted

One of the fun things we did during Maddy's 

Christmas break was to visit a Lincoln

institution called "Paint Yourself Si!!y."

It was one of those Christmas break days when nearly every parent 

had the same thought  -- what can we do today??  The place was packed!

The big question -- what to paint?

On previous visites, we've painted little critters, a piggy bank,

a goldfish (that looks just like the Goldfish crackers goldfish) and
probably some other undefinable objects that
were put in the circular file once they sat at home for a while.
When Maddy was young, paint colors would occasionally get
mixed together and result in a not-quite-so-attractive brown color.

This time we decided to pick something that we hoped we'd actually
keep and use!  Maddy worked on a cup/mug
and I did a bowl.
We saw some samples of a polka dotted bowl, so
we attempted to be big copycats.
We are like that -- so don't show us anything
creative or original unless you don't mind us copying!

We're waiting to pick up our creations
and will share a photo of how they turned out later!

It was loads of fun!
The best news is that
the Nothing-Bundt cake shop is in the same
strip mall and it wouldn't be
fair to visit one store (Paint Yourself Si!!y)
without visiting the bundt cake store too, and
you know, we are all about playing fair!

Old photo -- we actually bought a mini-bundt cake but wished we had a big one!

Happy 2016!

Happy 2016!

I always have a few resolutions each and every January -

as in - eat less chocolate (seriously??); 

exercise more; declutter; plan better meals, blah blah blah.

Look at me, I've already zoned out on those resolutions!

So, it's time to make resolutions/goals a lot simpler.  

I saw this on a friend's FB and 

decided it was appropriate for me too.

These are some habits I hope to develop this year:

Begin with gratitude;

Be hopeful;

Celebrate with joy; and
Focus on my sweet family!

I'm already feeling both grateful and joyful

that I haven't decided to give up chocolate!

;)

Love "Dove" chocolate!

Another thing I love about 2016 already . . .

it's an even-numbered year!

I'm not sure why, but it's stuck in my head that even-numbered

years are generally better or more momentous years for me in

some way, shape or fashion.

I first learned how to ride a bicycle and drive
a car in even-numbered years . . .
not the same year, of course!

Let's make this year a really good
even-numbered year, shall we! 

Snippets of Christmas 2015

Yes, I am one of those people who is just now putting

together a blog post about Christmas!

Let's blame it on the fact that December was a crazy, busy month and

at the beginning of January, I got hit with a tummy bug followed by a sore throat, cough and head cold

delaying my blogging, organizing, cleaning, etc.

On to some snippets from Christmas

We actually had a picture perfect Christmas as we woke up to

4 inches of snow on Christmas Eve!

Miss M was in heaven.  Every year, the main thing on her list is . . . 

a white Christmas!  She got it this year! :)

We went to Christmas mass as usual on Christmas Eve and

came home to our entire neighborhood lit up with the

lovely soft glow of luminaries. 

It's so pretty and kind of magical, especially with the fresh snow!

I made a feast of our favorite Mexican Dip and ----- well, that's

all -- Mexican Dip is a meal in itself!

We put some cookies and milk out for Santa and

hit the sack.  

Harry loved his Minion pjs!

On Christmas Day, we ventured over to my

son and his wife's home for a really  yummy breakfast meal 

at dinner time and fun with the littles!  

There is something special about having

little kids around at Christmas!

Harry also loved his own karaoke machine!

Miss M had a great Christmas and received some items from her

list including gift cards, Uggs, Bath and Body Works lotions and

a surprise gift - a pineapple shaped ukulele! 

 She loved it all!

She did a fabulous job of stuffing all the stockings at our house 

except for her own - I did that one, of course! 

It was really a wonderful Christmas and made even better by the fact that 

Mr. Tennis has been recovering nicely from his Crohn's-related surgery -

at least partially mainly due to my excellent care!

We are hopeful for a healthy 2016!

Happy Birthday to Miss M!

A bit late reporting on it . . . but

Miss Maddy turned 14 on December 20!

She was really hoping for snow on her birthday, but

the snow waited to make a Christmas Eve appearance!

Happily, her birthday was on the weekend and not

on a school day!  

She slept a little late and was greeted 

with her favorite donuts and a birthday balloon!

Never too old for a balloon right?

The whole big family met us for her birthday lunch at her favorite 

restaurant where she dined on her favorite food - chicken strips and fries - 

with garlic ranch dressing, of course!

It was such a fun time, but super crowded so we were unable to

get any photos except for a quick blurry one with Mr. Tennis.

Later, she went ice-skating with a friend.  They had a great

time but neither realized just how hard ice-skating can be -- at least

there were no falls or broken bones!

Miss M took on some new challenges this past year -

she perfected the front flip and back flip in gymnastics-- oh my, she is flexible!

She's such a good student and works so hard -- 8th grade homework

is tough people!!  But she digs right in after school and gets it done.

She took the lead on their 8th grade junior achievement project.  In sports,

she tried something new and

really enjoyed playing on the girls volleyball team and 

also participating in choir and honor choir.

She's taken tennis back up again and already thinking

of activities for high school, besides homework, that is!

She is simply the best daughter ever!

Happy 14th Maddy!  

We love you to the moon and back!