Five Things Friday

1. Of the 108 boxes of GS cookies we're required to sell, we are down to 15 left.  Hallelujah!  Who wants them?  (We've still only opened 4 boxes ourselves ... serious accomplishment.)  These lovely salespeople sat at the end of the driveway last Saturday and did business with some neighbors and passersby.  They didn't want help, so we spied from the kitchen window.  While Emma eagerly waved down anyone driving or walking by, Sara gave detailed explanations of cookie varieties and prices.

2. Steve and I recently watched the Scientology docu-series with Leah Remini on A&E.  Anyone else?  It was so fascinating that we keep watching all the reruns.
3. Two weeks from today I'll be meeting my sister for girls' weekend in Chicago!  I.Can't.Wait.
4. I've discovered the beauty of the at-home workout.  I'm accessing short, quick, and hard fat-burning, muscle-building workouts online.  While I still enjoy going to the gym, on busy weeknights it's so great to just go to the next room for a quick session.  I realize this isn't a new concept; I just have a new appreciation for it.  No DVDs required.
5.  On Twitter at the beginning of January, people were posting their #oneword2017.  I've decided that mine is #furniture.  In addition to my regular day-to-day, preparing for building reno is consuming me.  Maybe I'll be an architect or a designer in my next life.

this & that

We've been busy since the start of the new year, and I've been meaning to sit down and write about it ... but you how the days come and go before we know it.  

At the beginning of the month, Sara's Brownie troop enjoyed a mother/daughter overnight at Great Wolf Lodge.  It was on a Friday night, and that afternoon we got a healthy layer of snow (snow!), so while the traffic getting there was bad, the stay was great.  Although she was largely with her friends, I enjoyed my night alone with Sara.  She wasn't too embarrassed to dance with me at the late night dance party, so that was a highlight (for me).  Pretty sure the water slides were the highlight for her.

 As luck would have it, Emma had a birthday party to attend while Sara and I were at GWL, so that eased the blow for her.

 Last weekend we were so excited to go see our Cyclones at TCU!  As usual, our DFW alumni group had pre-game festivities at a big BBQ place in Ft. Worth.  We enjoyed eating, socializing, winning door prizes, and singing the fight song with our fellow alumni.  And this girl enjoyed her ribs!

Family game selfie -- we were smiling because the game hadn't started yet.

If only this huddle had led to some good plays ... for the first time in a long time, we watched our Cyclones lose at TCU.  We're sure missing last year's seniors.

 Last weekend was also a three-day weekend, and what's not to love about that?!  The girls actually played together really nicely, and then fell asleep in sleeping bags on Emma's floor.  Amidst the usual daily fights, it's so refreshing to catch the moments when they do show how much they love each other (even though they'll probably deny it when asked).

 MLK day brought gorgeous weather.  After sitting patiently through an oil change, the girls enjoyed an afternoon at the park.

 And on Monday night, for the first time, we picked up our haul of GS Cookies.  We have to sell 108 boxes.  The terrible mom in me hopes this is our first and last cookie experience ... we shall see.  Anyway, wish us luck!  So far we've only opened four boxes for ourselves, which I'd say is pretty good considering this haul is sitting in our kitchen.

In the meantime, though not pictured, we got a new washer and dryer!  Our washer quit a couple of Saturdays ago after a solid 11 1/2 years of service.  When our new machines arrived earlier this week, it was a team effort to get through the mounds of laundry that had accumulated. Our oven is also at the end of its long life, but laundry took priority on the must-purchase list.  As usual, we've also been at soccer, volleyball, work, etc.  My school is about to be renovated, so I find myself going between a parent meeting and a design meeting, a classroom observation and a construction building walk ... always adding to the "other duties as assigned" bullet on my job description!  I'm overwhelmed, but loving it all.  

I would say "Happy Inauguration Day" but ... you know.  So I'll go with "bottoms up & TGIF"!

Book Talk

 Over winter break, I read A Little Life.  This book was super long, but very good. The story follows four friends as they leave college and work to make their way in the world in.  They are very different people, with varied backgrounds, but who rely heavily on one another for stability.  Over the decades, their relationships are marked with success, failure, addiction, and demons from the past that still haunt the present day.  This last part is most true for Jude, the one of the bunch who has, throughout the years, been the group's common center.  While all four of the friends are important to the story, Jude's story is central - and it's traumatic.  It covers deep, dark ground, and although the book was excellent, it was heavy and very, very sad.

I also read Dear Mr. M, which was a pretty quick, thrilling read.  Mr. M is a famous author who writes a book about the real-life disappearance of a teacher who had an affair with one of his students.  The book constantly goes between the real event, Mr. M's life, and the current day-to-day of a person who was allegedly involved with the disappearance of the teacher.  I know that sounds confusing, but it wasn't when I read it.  Super interesting, and hooks you from the start.

"I used to walk to school with my nose buried in a book."

-Coolio