Our Christmas Card

I don't do Christmas cards.  It's not that I am opposed to them--I just can't get myself organized enough to even buy/order the cards.  I can't imagine actually sitting down, addressing, and mailing them too!  But, this year, I did my part--I made a very amatuer christmas video, compiling pictures taken throughout 2011.  I should have themed it "together" because that was just what this year was--nothing fancy, just being together.  And it has been awesome. 

So, those of you who aren't sick of constantly seeing my family, enjoy!

Ready or Not...

Yes, it’s that time of year again.  The Christmas season has been fun this year because Cecilia is excited about everything Christmas.  Our Christmas tree is on ALL DAY long because she insists on looking at the lights, she makes me make detours in the store just to see the Christmas trees, and she enjoys playing with our Nativity scene.  And, Anna is fun to watch because she idolizes her sister which means that she get excited about anything that Cecilia does.  It also means that you can hear “The tree is for looking not for touching,” followed by, “Cecilia, do not touch,” followed by, “Cecilia stop…..I said stop!” throughout the day.  But, who can blame her—our tree is pretty:

Yep, that’s live.  We went Christmas tree "hunting" together this year….at the church down the street.  This tree is compliments of the St. Francis Knights of Columbus.

In order to start introducing the story of Christ into Christmas, I decided to do a Jesse tree this year.  It’s been moderately successful in that Cecilia really enjoys putting the different symbol ornaments on the tree and she understands that it is about Jesus.  For 2 years old, I can’t ask for more.  I’m just hoping it sticks and as she gets excited for it every year, she soaks up more. 

And, of course, there is the snow!  It’s snowed a few times already this year.  I’m not a huge fan of snow, but the girls get so excited that I can’t resist bundling them up and taking them outside.  I even try to overlook the fact that Cecilia just enjoys EATING the snow.  Here are my little snow bunnies enjoying the snow:

She still has a little tear below her eye from the faceplant that she did prior to the picture.

Cecilia getting a snack....

Time For a Brain Cleanse

I was travelling for work recently and was in need of a book.  So, I do what I typically do which is hit the airport bookstore in hopes of finding a mildly entertaining book that would require little effort to read.  I had it narrowed down between “The Help” and “One Day.”  I had heard good things about “The Help,” but worrying that it might be too deep for an airplane ride, I opted for “One Day.”  Also, I should mention that it had Anne Hathoway on the cover which later will be my husband’s only reason as to why I considered the book at all.

See, the Anne Hathoway thing is this—it’s not that I really, really like her.  It’s just that she makes a decent airplane movie.  I would never sit down an voluntarily watch her movies but there is just something about being 30,000 ft in the air with 8 hours to kill that makes her movies mildly entertaining to me and, yes, mindless.

 

I ended up reading maybe three whole chapters on my trip.  I opted to do work instead….it was that bad.  The story idea was a little cliché and the characters really annoyed me.  I actually felt bad for them and there was just something about the Emma character and her life that made me feel dirty.  Not in a moral way—in a physical-living-in-filth-and-not-taking-a-shower-way.  I don’t even know why.  But, here’s the thing that confuses my husband to this day:  I actually FINISHED the book.  It didn’t get any better and I’m pretty sure that I rolled my eyes through most of the book.  I’m not sure why I did but it may have something to do with the $15 that I spent on it and the thought that, since it was a “New York Times Bestseller”, it HAD to get better.  Wrong.

As I studied the cover later, I realized what should have been one of many clues that this wasn’t for me.  All of the rave reviews on the cover were from tabloid-type publications, including a great 5 stars from People Magazine.  I should really spend more time picking up these small details.  Well, it’s not a total loss—on my next trip through Detroit Metro, I will be turning it back in and getting half of my money back.  In the mean time, I have decided to do a brain cleanse and read some classical literature.  Nothing too heavy, just some Jane Austen.  I feel better already.

Family Fun

While in Virginia this month, we went to one of those toy stores where they have a lot of toys out for kids to play with while shopping.  I found out that Anna likes trains and Cecilia has officially reached the age where she actually plays with dollhouses.  Once she zeroed in on the dollhouse, she was hooked—playing with the dolls, putting them to bed, etc.  Joe made the comment that I should probably step up my plan to build her dollhouse.  Hmmm….would it be possible to build one by Christmas?

So, the other thing that I witnessed for the first time in our travels was the show “Yo-Gabba-Gabba.”  We don’t have cable so I’ve never actually seen this before and all that I can say is, no need to get cable any time soon.  I hear about kids being addicted to this show and I feel really bad for those parents.  I’ve never done drugs, but I have to imagine that this is what an acid trip may be like.  So. Bad.  Check it out on YouTube if you dare.

We also managed to find time to go to the Air & Space museum at the Hazy Center.  I have to think that I am not normal in that one of the coolest items on display was a section cut of landing gear strut and, of course, the blackbird.  This is a cool photo from that day:

But, the best part of the trip was being able to see my in-laws and watching Cecilia and Anna play with them and tear apart their house.  Anna got to go on a tractor ride and Cecilia had crayons for coloring so all were happy.  Hopefully, we can make it back again soon.

Culinary Conquests – Super Easy Thai Green Curry & Awesome Pasta

We love this dish.  I picked up my secret ingredient on one of my many trips to Trader Joe’s and it blew me away the first time that I made it.  Super tasty, a little spicy but not too much.  Check it out:

Step 1:  Cook chicken

Step 2:  Add chopped red & yellow peppers (optional if you can spare the time)

Step 3:  Add secret ingredient, heat through, serve over rice. 

Ok, not a conquest.  But it’s so tasty that I will probably never attempt to make green curry from scratch.  Try it—thank me later.

If you really want to act like you are cooking, try this pasta sauce.  I got lucky once when I happened to have all the ingredients on hand and cooked them together.  So tasty that it is now a regular meal in our house.  The two secret ingredients:  spicy chorizo and this sauce:

Step 1:  Cook chopped onion, mushroom, and 2 links of ground mexican chorizo sausage until sausage is cooked through.  (adding an yellow or red pepper is also tasty)

Step 2:  Add sauce, simmer for 5 minutes.  Serve over pasta of your choice. 

The sauce by itself is not all that flavorful--the chorizo is what brings it to life.  If you try it with something like ground beef, you will be disappointed.   

I love Trader Joe’s. 

When I grow up, I want to be a ……

I’ve always wanted to fill in this blank with even the smallest amount of conviction and/or passion.  Well, maybe I should start with a disclaimer:

I believe that, in general, work is not fun.  I’m pretty sure that this is why they refer to it as “work” and not “super happy fun time where you make lots of money.”  And I believe, that even in your most favorite job, you still would rather be sipping mojitos on the beach listening to the sound of waves roll up on the shore.  Ahhh….  Yeah, anyhow, my point is that I haven’t been looking for a career that will complete me as a person (I’m pretty complete already. J) or for a job that I will be skipping to every day.  I’ve been looking for a career that I can focus on and, in general, find interesting. 

After my company went south management-wise (my opinion, of course) and then decided to move south geographically, the question was even more on my mind than usual.  Yes, I have become a stay at home mom and I love my girls and my family but keeping my brain stimulated really makes me an easier person to live with.  I decided to do what I try to do with most of my life but DEFINITELY in the areas where I have no clue—pray and have that little mustard seed of faith that God will lead me.

Well, God didn’t “lead” me anywhere.  What he did was drop a part time work from home job in my lap and it is SUH-WEET.  I mean, I get to still spend the majority of my time with my adorable girls but I get the mental break/stimulation that I crave.  But, today, after a conversation with my boss, I totally felt my mind start to clear and I realized with, yes—conviction—that I have been and am currently in the industry of my choice.  I could care less about cars, computers, etc. but aviation?  Love it. 

So for now, I am just going to be happy that I can continue down this path and see where it leads.  FAA?  Consultant?  Lobbyist?  That part is still cloudy but I don’t mind.   For the first time in a while, I am excited about my job.   

The Adventures of St. Joseph

St. Joseph tends to be substituted as the third playmate around our house. He gets a lot of play time.  Sometimes, he just hangs out and plays:

He also has a lot of fun bouncing in the Princess Castle:

He even gets put in “time out”:

Ok, I think he has been taking some blame for Cecilia….just a hunch I that I have:

What a good sport!

Summer Hits of the 90’s

As I have mentioned before, I tend to listen to a lot of Pandora.  I have several different stations but I pretty much have it tuned to “Matt Maher Radio” all day, every day.  One day, a station suggestion appeared at the top of my screen that I couldn’t resist:  “Summer Hits of the 90’s.”  So, I tuned in.  It started out fun—a little Oasis, a little Dave Matthew’s Band—songs that reminded me of the second half of the 90’s i.e. my college days.  FUN TIMES!  But then it started shifting to the early 90’s and I realized something.  I realized that I really didn’t like high school.

Ok, it’s not that I have had great memories of high school.  Well, with the exception of my senior year which, for some reason, we spent an inordinary amount of time at Waffle House and rolling down the sled riding hill in the park—hey, nobody ever said that I was “cool.”.  But outside of the total creep I dated most of high school, I didn’t have particularly bad memories either.  It was weird how hearing those songs could stir up emotions that I haven’t felt since those vulnerable teenage years.  Then I realized that it really wasn’t high school that I didn’t like, it was being a teenager. 

I had a nun for religion my freshman year that said something to the effect of “I know that everybody says that this is the time of your life but it’s not.  Being a teenager is hard and not fun.”  I thought that she was a little crazy at the time but it turns out that she was right—for me, anyhow.  (I know people who look back on their high school days like I do my college days….crazy people.)  So, I figure that I have approximately 12 years to prepare my girls to deal with the emotional rollercoasters of not being good enough, smart enough, skinny enough, athletic enough, pretty enough, rich enough….the list goes on.  I just hope that I can give them a healthy enough outlook on themselves and life that, someday, when they listen to Summer Hits of the 20’s (2020’s that is), they can listen and smile.

Who knew that Pandora could be so inspiring? 

My Husband's Post

So, Joe decided that I needed to update my blog to which I said, “I know, but I don’t know what to write about.”  He then proceeded to tell me what to write about so here we go!

1.      The Basement:    

For whatever reason, recently, our house decided to fall apart all at once.  And, being a home, it is never what you anticipate.  It’s the things that you don’t think you will have any problem with that start falling apart.  Last April, we had a small backup from our storm drain that had me spending much of the night with the shop-vac.  Since this had never happened before, we hoped it was a fluke and would not happen again….ha, ha.  Joke was on us.  This is a picture of our basement about a month after that:

Note:  Not near the drain.

                                             

We had to have somebody come in and remove drywall, carpeting, etc. to ensure that we didn’t get any mold.  The good news—it’s finally rebuilt.  Hurray!  So, the good—it looks better than it did before the flood and we found an efficient, reasonably priced contractor.

Oh, and our air conditioner is working which is fantastic since it is so hot outside….

2.      Our Awesome Girls:

Yeah, they’re cute and growing.  And nothing says cute like some pictures, or in this case, small collages of pictures:

3.      My Awesome Husband:

Like, I said, it was his idea.  J  He is great though and I love him more every day.  I remember praying for the man that I would marry when I was single.  Have you ever noticed how God blindsides you with the unexpected?  Joe has completely blown away everything that I ever could have asked for in a husband.  And he is a FANTASTIC father.  Our girls LOVE, LOVE, LOVE him!  It is so adorable and I love to watch it.  What’s he doing while I write this blog?  He’s at the grocery store…rest my case.  J

4.      My 5K:

Ok, so now I take over.  I ran a 5K on the 4^th of July with some friends.  It was fun and I actually ran it is 24 minutes which is better than I anticipated.  I am aiming to do a 10K next at the end of August.  If I can motivate myself, I may even try the Detroit ½ marathon in October.  You know, before I go into hibernation for the winter.  I hate running in the cold, ice, snow, etc. 

5.      I thought that this was a good post from one of the blogs I read regularly.  Check it out:

http://badcatholicblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/pictures-of-naked-women.html

My Pandora

So, one of the many advantages to working from home is that I get to stream Pandora guilt free while I work.  I have mostly been listening to my "Matt Maher" station and every once in a while, I hear a song that I fall in love with and download it to play repeatedly on my ipod.  Here are my two new faves:

Hillsong is awesome.  This one is getting added to my "Adoration" play list:

I love Audrey Assad's music and her voice is BEAUTIFUL:

Enjoy!

Summer Time is Awesome

I haven’t posted in a while—I have no excuse other than, lately, one day seems to run into another.  When I started working part time, I thought that I had a lot more free time on my hands.  As it turns out, taking care of the two munchkins all day long really is a full time job!  Well, more than full time because you have to consider all of the work that you do while they are asleep….  But I wouldn’t trade it.  I also wouldn’t trade working part time because it keeps me sane.  So, quickly, here are the latest highlights:

We have been spending the summer playing—at the pool, at the park, and at play group, taking adventures to Dairy Queen, etc.  

Cecilia has forced made her transition to a “big bed.”  No, not your typical toddler bed—she is sleeping like the princess that she is in a giant queen bed.  And since she has learned to easily climb in and out of her crib (as of yesterday), I can’t even keep her caged during “quiet time.”  And she is a little chatterbox now though you wouldn’t believe me if you met her because she clams up around strangers. 

Anna has started crawling and is quickly picking up speed.  Just ask Cecilia—Anna is always chasing her and it is getting increasingly difficult to stay away!  She started pulling herself and standing and is determined to climb the stairs.  She is still a total joy—such a happy, smiley baby—but she is learning to make herself be heard.  Oh, and she loves power cords.

And, as of this week, our basement is getting fixed!  Needless to say, we have gone with painting the floor versus carpeting just in case the city storm drain decides to back up into our basement again.  

And, I will be running my first 5k in 3.5 years this Monday.  My goal:  survive and have fun!  

Happy Summer!

Weiner Sale!

So, I’m scrolling through my inbox when I see an e-mail from Spirit Airlines with the subject “Have you seen our Weiner?”   I had to laugh and open the e-mail to see exactly what this was about.  A sale in honor of Congressman Weiner and his recent internet adventures?  Of course!  So inappropriate that it looks like something that you might find on The Onion (viewer beware!).  I reacted by, well, laughing:

I can only imagine how this marketing idea came to be.  Happy hour after work with the boss?  Well, maybe, but it was probably more of a two day drinking binge because today I received this in my inbox:

Hilarious. 

For my Mom

I have been intending to write a post about my mom this month in honor of her birthday and Mother’s Day (um…both in the past.).  I am a busy person.  It’s not an excuse—it’s the truth. 

My mom is awesome.  Yeah, yeah, I know that most people say that about their mom’s too—and it’s true—but this is my mom.  I’ve heard that people appreciate their moms more the older they get and even more after they have children and it is the truth.  So, in the 15 minutes of free time that I do have, I give you things that I appreciate about my mom:

1. Her patience.  Six kids?  Patience.  40+ years of marriage?  Patience.  And, who but a patient person can teach junior high for 20 years?  Ick. 
2. Her faith.  It was my mom that gathered us together EVERY night to pray and gathered us around to say that rosary and have Bible trivia.  I still have memories of her on her knees praying the rosary in her room.  She laid a foundation for us to build on (if we chose to…).  She has always been totally committed to her faith which I admire and it means so much to me now. 
3. Her sense of humor.  How else can you survive watching your kids grow up and getting a front seat to every decision (good and bad) they will make on the way?  She cracks me up—I’ll never forget when my brother and I were talking about a ghetto (probably where we used to live) and my mom broke out with the West Side Story finger snap.  Totally mom.
4. Her stength and commitment.  Enough said.
5. I love that our kids love her.  Of course, bribing with dolls and books always helps.  :)  Seriously, it's one of the few people outside of Joe & I that can comfort our kids. 

I will always remember the story that she tells when she was pregnant—I can’t remember if it was baby #4 or #5—when somebody looked at her and said something to the effect of “don’t you know where babies come from?”*  She just laughs about it.  The ability to take people in stride—that’s what I’m talking about.  J

I just hope that when my girls are older, they can be as close to me as I am to my mom. 

*Funny, at our current church, 4 or 5 children families are the small families.  It usually means that there only halfway there….

Cecilia-isms and More Fun

If having a toddler has reinforced any idea, it is definitely that patience is a virtue.  I used to fancy myself a patient person—but there is nothing like a hard headed (gets that from her dad…) two year old to prove me wrong.  But, where my children can really try my patience at times, most of the time, they make my heart sing.  They can make me smile, laugh, and burst with pride without any warning.  Watching Cecilia develop over the last few months has been so much fun—she is becoming really agile and her language skills have skyrocketed.  Toddlers have no filters which makes it even more entertaining.  The following are some of my favorite phrases:

“Mom Kiss It!” 

So funny because it sounds like she is telling me off when she says it.  With her rate of injury, this is heard constantly throughout the day.  And just because your “boo-boo” is days old or even completely disappeared, don’t think that it is forgotten!

“Smell Bottoms”

Dad has taught us the concept of smell by teaching us to smell flowers.  It’s really cute.  But, I’m learning that you REALLY have to watch what you say around Cecilia these days.   I’m sure it started when I made an offhand remark while changing Anna one day—something about her bottom smelling—which translated to Cecilia that she should smell her bottom.  Yeah, well, I had to explain that we don’t smell bottoms but it doesn’t stop her from running over and saying this phrase every time I give Anna a diaper change.  

“It’s Whining.”

We’ve been working on the concept of whining—well, I should say NOT whining.  I think that she gets it now.  We were at the park the other day and a boy wanted to use her shovel but the mom made him give it back.  He didn’t like that and started whining to which Cecilia pointed out (over and over) “It’s whining” while waiting for me to do something about it (i.e. time out).   

She LOVES the slide and does not seem to have much fear.  She had zero problem climbing to the top of this slide and sliding down yelling “WEEEEE!!!!” the whole way. 

And Anna, oh my precious baby...  She now manages to explore a room by rolling and rotating her not so little body around.   (Has it been 6 months already since she was born?!?)  Her laugh makes me laugh and she laughs a lot, especially at her big sister.  If I’m ever feeling a little sad, I give her a tickle to cheer me up.  J  And this girl LOVES to eat.  All. Of. The. Time.  The other day, I set the spoon down to get something and when I turned around, she had grabbed it out of the bowl and had a spoonful of oatmeal in her mouth.  She looked at me as if to say, “Well, I was tired of waiting for you, lady!” 

Her latest trick is trying to crawl.  She managed to get herself up on all fours repeatedly today.  (Insert slight panic attack at the thought of having two mobile children.)  She was so proud.  So was I. 

Infusion of Grace

I have been wanting to write about the experience that I had at the Easter Vigil this year but have been struggling how to frame it.  I still don’t know so I’m just going to start with this—it was amazing.  The grace that God pours out on me never ceases to amaze me and leaves me standing in awe of his almighty presence in my life. 

I had the honor of being the sponsor for my good friend who was being brought into the church.  It was awesome to see her excitement and to see the pure joy in her eyes after both being confirmed and receiving the Eucharist for the first time.  She was walking on air, in total love with our Lord—it was truly inspiring. 

So, I could write about what was so amazing—the music, the total abandonment in the worship, seeing the church brought back to life during the Gloria, the Alleluia (oh how we have missed thee!), the great message of the homily, etc, etc—but I could never do it justice.  What I will say is that the Holy Spirit moved through me like I have never experienced.  There were moments when I was just blown away and, yes, even a little bit baffled by what I was experiencing.  It all come down to this—God is faithful, He loves us, and infuses us with grace when we least expect it (but need it the most).  And for that, I am forever grateful!

Winding Down Winter

Moan of despair…..that’s what was heard in our house when we heard that it was going to snow Sunday night.  Ok, so it’s officially spring, but we live in Michigan which means that anything goes weather wise.  Just one week prior, it was 80 degrees!  I had to dig through our closet for SUNBLOCK for the kiddos and, then, snow?  Well, no matter what the weather, our kids are still growing like weeds, learning new skills, and making us smile and laugh every day.  

A couple of weeks ago, we had a visit from my best friend/sister and she brought along the newest cousin.  Anna really studied him.  This picture was taken after she rolled over to him to get a closer look. 

She's really into rolling over and wiggling around to maneuver to something that she wants.  She can even be found occasionally sleeping on her tummy now.  

Then, we had our 80 degree weather (day).  It reminded me of how much Cecilia LOVES the park and being outside.  She really likes it when dad puts her at the top of the BIG slide and she gets to slide down (the little daredevil.)  This is her after she found a bottle full of sand that she had to play with.  And, no, she is not sunburned--she just gets that red from the heat!

Anna loves the swing.  I put her and Cecilia side by side and they just LOVE it.  They laugh and have a good time and I get a little bit of an arm workout in.  Seriously, is this not the cutest, happiest baby ever?  

The latest fun toy in our house is the exersaucer.  Woo-hoo!  I’m excited because I’ve wanted one but haven’t wanted to pay for one.  Fortunately, our friends were liquidating all of their baby stuff and sending the message that they are done having kids so we scored this bad boy for FREE!  (Thank you!)  Anna is beginning to warm up to it.  It’s a good thing that Cecilia is around to show her how to use it.  

Oh….and to use it herself.  This girl cracks me up. 

My Random Run

Last night was a close to perfect night to run.  I hadn’t planned on running but, after putting the little ones to bed, I had a knot between my shoulders that couldn’t be ignored and I was feeling not quite myself.  So, my awesome husband cleaned up the kitchen so that I could put my shoes on for a night run. 

I didn’t realize until I had started that it had been over 2 WEEKS since my last run!  Despite that, it felt awesome and I reflected on what I love about running—the cool air filling my lungs, the feeling of my feet pushing off of the pavement and being airborne for a split second, the stress melting away….ahhhh.  As the stress melted away, I rocked out to this song:

I discovered this artist through one of my new favorite blogs.  I listened to it twice and this is the line that just kept moving me:  “It’s Your sacred heart within me beating, Your voice within me singing out.”  How awesome to remember that God is within me every second of the day, even on a run. 

Culinary Conquests

Last Friday was Joe’s birthday.  He has the privilege of having his birthday fall during Lent 90% of the time but this year he also had the privilege of having it fall on a Friday.  His late night at work combined with his fasting had us celebrating his birthday on Saturday.  Since we weren’t going out to eat, I decided to try my hand at the first meal that I ever made for him—Caper Stuffing Roast—and to make him the desert that he has talked about since we met—a Sacher Torte. 

Caper Stuffing Roast

Some of my friends think that I am a good cook and I say that I am only as good as the recipe that I’m following.  8 years ago, a couple days before Valentine’s Day, I called my brother and asked him for a recipe that would impress Joe but was within my skill level.  I’m pretty sure that he made this recipe up as we talked something that always impresses me.  I remember being somewhat underwhelmed by the caper stuffing so, this time, I found a new caper stuffing recipe.  The combination of his marinade with this stuffing made the roast De-li-cous!

Marinade:

Beef Broth

1 cup Red Wine

1 medium onion

1 medium tomato

Garlic

Salt

1 tbsp thyme (I used basil instead)

1 tbsp pepper

Slice roast flat and marinate overnight.

Caper Stuffing

1 cup bread crumbs

¼ cup capers

1/8 cup green onion

1/8 cup parsley

1 tsp salt

Pour blend of 1 beaten egg + 3/8 cup cream over top and mix

Roll stuffing into roast, place with flap down and skewer.  Pour marinade over roast.  Cook roast at 300º until it has reached a temperature of 160º ladling marinade over the top every so often.  Remove roast from pan.  Mix corn starch with marinade until it has reached desired consistency.  Slice roast and pour sauce over the top. 

Sacher Torte

I got the sacher torte recipe from here.  The reviews were really good and for a good reason.  I was a little intimidated by the recipe at first but it really was easy and turned out to be really good.  The one thing that I do recommend is to not pinch pennies when it comes to they type of chocolate that you choose.  This cake is basically just chocolate, egg, and butter so if you use cheap chocolate it may not be as good (I’m guessing.).   

                                 The presentation may be lacking but it was still tasty.

It's A Beautiful Choice

One of my good friends recently brought home her adopted baby boy.  When she told me, I was so excited for her and tonight I was able to talk with her for the first time.  It was a good, lighthearted conversation but we talked briefly about the adoption and what little she knew about the birthmom and both agreed wholeheartedly that this woman--and any woman who gives her child up for adoption--is extremely courageous.  These women not only choose to give life to their children--they choose to give them what is, hopefully, a better life than what they can provide.  So, tonight, I not only say a prayer for my friend and her new son, I say a prayer for this woman and praise God for this beautiful, new life!

My Spring Break

So, last week I took quite a fall while running.  This is something that I do on a regular basis thanks to my weak ankles--same story every time:  roll an ankle, lose balance, scrape up knee and hand (minimum).  Well, since then, I haven't exercised.  I decided that I would start again next week so I'm calling this week spring break.  It makes me feel better about not exercising.  I'm already looking forward to Easter Break.....

Four Words

I always do things well past their peak fad stage.  In my earlier years, it was primarily due to financial restraints on my parents.  I didn’t peg my jeans (remember that?) until a year after it became popular because my jeans weren’t designed with the foresight of such sweet fashion trends.  I didn’t own my first pair of name brand shoes until I was in high school (and that was only because I started running cross country).  As I got older, it was simply because I wanted to make sure it was going to last more than a season—capri pants, highlighting hair, platform heels (ok, could have skipped this one), etc.  Joe and I didn’t own a flat screen t.v. until 1.5 years ago and we still do not have cable, dish, netflix, etc.  My oldest brother has dubbed us cavepeople at one point in time.  So, it is with a blog….

So, why start a blog now?  No idea--why do most people start blogs?  My first choice for a blog name was “My pointless blog.”  Sadly, this was already taken.  In reading other blogs, I just decided that maybe this will be a new outlet for me to write something other than an e-mail, coordination memo, or facebook post (these are the only things that I have composed over the past 10 years or so).  So, even if it is only my wonderful parents that read this blog, I say “Welcome to my awesome life!”