Day 27

Call me Claire...(if you are a fan of the TV sitcom Modern Family you know who I am referring to). Anyway, my family thinks I am a "Claire", especially in the 'stop sign' episode. To summarize, after two very long years of campaigning, emailing and meeting with city officials, we FINALLY got the stop sign at the corner of our street and the busy St. Hubbins TODAY. I will gladly come to a full stop and look forward to see traffic slow down along St. Hubbins Drive. Woo Hoo! A tiny victory to some, a large one for Claire! (and me)

Day 26

Game night with Ben ~ a little "speed" Trivial Pursuit with us. We played the "speed" version (ie: you land on a color and if you get the answer right, you get a triangle). Ben, the smartie pants that he is, whooped his parents! Go Ben!!

Day 25

Our sweet puppy Boomer LOVES to play! He will bring us a toy, drop it at our feet and sit there looking at us through his long bangs. He loves to play with Ben because he will run up and down the hall with him, throw toys and let Boomer chase him. I'm not sure who loves it more ~ Boomer or Ben. But one thing is definite, they bring me joy ~ and although this picture is not top quality, it captures the moment!

Around Here...

around here we've been busy with indoor soccer, IHS fundraisers and basketball season.

around here I've been spending enough time on HOA issues, phone calls and meetings that it feels like a part time job.

around here we have had a sugar fast ~ sort of. Sarah gave it up for the month of January and I have cut mine back significantly.

around here we have a new neighbor and our entire family is in love with him! We had hosted a party to introduce him to everyone! xxoo for you sweet Maxim!

around here I have started drinking La Croix sparkling waters and love them!

around here Vince is going into his Mount Juliet office more and working from home less.

around here we haven't seen my brother in awhile as he opens a new Buffalo Wild Wings in Tupelo.

around here we have been playing more games as a family since the weather is mostly crummy, wet and cold.

around here I am trying get time in my studio to paint more and create.

around here we have had several "family meetings" about our big summer trip we have dubbed Planes, Trains & Automobiles.

around here we are looking forward to spring!

Day 24

I am back from my girls trip. Fairly recovered. Tired, but refreshed. Sounds strange, huh? I have spent the good part of the day catching up on emails, HOA stuff, jewelry orders, laundry and unpacking. Nothing too exciting. I lit this candle in the kitchen while I worked. Sometimes the scent of a candle just makes doing the mundane life stuff a little more pleasant for me. This one is a Tyler Candle - High Maintenance is the scent. Funny how I gravitated to this scent when purchasing! :)

Day 23

As I spent most of my day traveling and being delayed due to problematic weather, I really should have posted a photo of an airport or plane! But it was nice to arrive at home and as I was relaxing on the couch last night in my exhausted zombie state I looked outside the window to this scene that welcomed me home. I love these Tennessee sunsets - they are stunning year round. Welcome home!

Day 22

Wrapping up a great weekend of girl time and scrapbooking. Here is my "work" station in the end. I will show the final products of the weekend when I put some finishing touches on them. Thank you Michelle for hosting even though you didn't feel well! Love you!!

Day 21

Every year we take a break from wearing pajamas and lounging to run to a craft store... because well, it is just fun! So here we are running into Michael's with the unbridled joy of children!!

Day 20

Cheers! A beer toast with Beth ~ so good to be with friends this weekend. A much needed respite for me. Not that my life is exceptionally difficult, but I really needed a few days of laughs, relaxation and girl time. It is just an added bonus that I get to work on a hobby I love and come home with something "finished".

Day 19

I have arrived! Baltimore is cool, crisp and sunny like home. We stopped at Harris Crab House and had some lunch. We had an incredibly rich cream of crab soup ~ it was so thick my spoon could stand in the middle of it! I couldn't finish mine but it was quite tasty. Then we walked along the empty dock and set the camera up for a picture. Off to the beach for our girls weekend...

Day 18

Not much going on today. Preparing to go to Delaware for my annual scrapbook weekend in Rehoboth Beach. I actually took a photo of my suitcase ready to go...but I am still learning how to upload from camera. I was hoping to do it wirelessly but I can't figure it out and am too lazy to hook up the cable for one photo.

So in lieu of documenting my packing efforts, I took a photo of this double amaryllis. My uncle Steve gave it to us for Christmas and when we got it, you couldn't see anything but the moss. It has begun to sprout and thrive in my kitchen. I am looking forward to seeing the blooms. I'll post a picture when it blooms!

Day 17

Rain, rain, rain. This gray bleakness outside is gonna kill me! But one thing it is good for is making me tackle all those stacks of papers, bills, etc. So I turned on some music, cleared the kitchen table and went through stacks of papers. I paid bills, filed bills, made new folders, shredded LOTS and recycled the rest. As much as I hate to do paperwork, and I do hate it, it felt so good to be on the other side of it looking at a clean desk top and everything in its place. For now.

My Word for 2012

As many of you know or remember last year, my word for the year was GRACE. I needed a year of introspection, really examining relationships in my life, forgiving things in my past and even things in my present. I must say it was a word that was very tough to live out but I am glad I tried.

When the new year rang in, I had not yet decided on my word for 2012.

I had been wrestling with some feelings of sadness brought on by the holidays, a tragic accident in our town, and a death in our family. Because of those feelings, I felt more pressed than ever to live in the moment. Really grasp the taste and essence of everyday life ~ good, bad, and ugly ~ and just feel joy for having experienced it.

That is when I realized my word for the year would be EMBRACE.

I would like to in 2012:

Embrace

~ love (my family, always)

~ laughter

~ friendships (old and new)

~ honesty

~ forgiveness

~ knowledge (learn new things)

~ success in my business

~ the world (ie: travel!!)

~ the ordinary every day moments that could be our last

~ books (read those books I've been wanting to read forever)

~ faith (not just praying, but living it out with actions)

~ giving (find ways to give that are meaningful every week)

~ life

I hope you will choose a word for 2012 and share it in the comments section with me. I would love to know what words are your focus for the new year.

Day 16

So, it was MLK day today and as much as I would like to say I did something educational with my kids, I did not. We all headed through the drizzle to the bowling alley and laid out some strikes! I love this angle, mostly because it does not show my back side. I love the reflection of the bowling balls painted on the wall down the lane. I took one of each of us like this and then had Ben take one of me ~ this is what he got. Pretty cool.

Day 15

It's one of my favorite comfort foods for winter. And every year I cook a HUGE pot (because I don't know any other way to make them) of red beans to eat with rice. YUM! With the gray weather and no boys in the house, Sarah and I chopped and sauteed and whipped up a pot of beans that simmered all day long. Then I sat down in my chair and read a book in peace. What a fantastic day!

Day 14

After three opening games of getting slaughtered, I can honestly say I was not looking forward to spending my Saturday night watching my son play basketball. It's not that I don't love to watch him, I just feel so badly when they lose. So, when his team hit the court, I did not have high hopes. They surprised me. It seems they finally gelled as a team and played well! They ended up winning and by quite a few! So I found it fitting to post this picture of my sweet son for Day 14. I love you Ben!!

Day 13

It was Friday the 13th and our monthly bunco night! Since it was chilly and we all just really wanted to veg out we decided to arrive in our pajamas. Here is a picture of our slippered feet! I love this group of women ~ no matter what is going in our life we find a reason to laugh and lift each other up!

365 Project

Okay... better late than well, a lot of things. I have decided to try to take part in The 365 Project. This project intrigued me last year, and each year I say I am going to participate. However, each year I seem to remember about halfway through the month of January and feel like "it's too late". So this year, I figure I will just "embrace" my tardiness and do it anyway! I hope I can stick with it as life sometimes takes over and some of my postings might be groups of photos instead of one per day. I think the final project will be one that is worth it.

The objective is to capture the year in photos by selecting one photo per day to post or share. At the end of the year, you have a history of moments captured by pictures. Since I already have this blog I figured I would post the pictures here. Some might be artistic, but I actually envision them depicting my everyday life, which is not too glam!

Maybe a scrapbook at the end of the year with all the photos? Who knows?