sunshine in January....

...but look out, winter is COMING BACK! Snow on Thursday, frigid temps on Friday, and perhaps a nice snowstorm on Saturday, which ugh, because I have to pick Evelyn up at the airport at midnight! Saturday is also Emily's birthday, hopefully snow won't interfere with our planned celebration. Can you believe that my oldest daughter is turning 35?!

Paul is traveling for work, so I have to drive him to the airport today, then stop to buy dog food. This morning has been a real puttering-around kind of morning. Laundry, more laundry, sweeping up, wiping down the top of the stove, putting away clean dishes and washing up the few in the sink. I still revel in being able to just go ahead and putter. Years and years of babies and toddlers, and wading through toys on the floors and books pulled off the shelves, piles of bedding to wash...it was a balancing act, a continuous game of What Is The Most Important Thing To Do At This Very Minute. Obviously, nursing the baby, changing diapers, feeding the children, rocking hugging dressing...those took precedence. But when you cannot stand sticky, and have an affinity for clean floors, what can you do, but frantically try to fit it all in, day after day, sighing at the clothes monster on the couch, and the laundry room, do not even LOOK in there!

Now, things have wound down, and I can clean up as I like, and sit and blog, and have another cup of coffee, pretty much assured that it won't go cold, and get lost on one of the counters, because seriously, there IS such a thing of losing your cup of coffee. Believe me.

Dishes and diapers. But you can get tremendous treasures out of your days, even if they are crazy days. There is so much God wants to show us during the trials, big trials and small trials.

So yesterday, I got to go out to brekky with a few friends. I decided to just eat, had an omelette with bacon, and about half the hash browns, and requested no toast, please. I cannot sit there with a plate in front of me and NOT eat the toast, no sir, no how. Especially when they have those yummy little rectangles of strawberry jam on the table!

Water aerobics was really fun, again, was glad to make it there. It was a bit challenging, but with arthritis in my knees, and now in my spine, it's a good exercise for me.

Home...oh, dinner was good! I had marinated chicken breast ($1.49 a pound at Aldi) in lime juice, and seasonings. Paul put it in the oven while I was gone to the pool, and made broccoli and Brussel sprouts. Jonathan made some rice (which I didn't eat). When I got home, they had eaten already. I cut up some of the chicken, put it in the frying pan with olive oil, chopped green peppers, tomatoes, and onions (leftover in baggies in the fridge),broccoli, and some leftover bacon...I know, leftover bacon? strange. But anyway, I tossed it all around with salt and pepper, and yum! A nice big bowl of dinner! I rolled it by a huge spoon of crunchy peanut butter, my favorite dessert. I am not saying it's healthy, but I don't eat cookies or candy anymore, and if I want a spoon of peanut butter, I'm having it.

I still keep my "before" skirt. I remember, 8 years ago or so, wearing this skirt, and one day realizing it was getting loose. I tried it on yesterday, because sometimes you have to remember where you came from. I feel like I am not really making much progress, but slowly wins the race, I guess...



I have things to do today, have to make eye exam appointments, take Jon for a haircut, and and and.