Monday, March 11, 2013

Somewhere

 Somewhere inside of me is a story fighting its way onto paper. Or at least to a word file on my laptop. I have the epilogue (or what I think is the epilogue) partially written and partially still being tweaked in my head.

Anywho, the rest however just won't be making its way out tonight. Between J being on vacation for the last 2 and 1/2 weeks (not complaining - trust me, M and I absolutely loved having him home) and M teething like it's her job (I seriously think she's cutting her 4 canines in one shot), my routine for housework/cleaning/things I can't do while M's awake has taken a serious hit. So after pampering myself last night (ie - I did the bare minimums) tonight has been a catch up. I haven't sat down since she went to bed at 9 and it's now quarter after 11 but the house is looking much more than just orderly and the laundry room no longer looks like a bomb went off in it. There is so much still on my to do list though. One thing is that I want to post a couple of pictures from M's first trip to Disney, her first Christmas, her first birthday on here (and now that she's nearly 15 months old...I'm so far behind!) and show how beautiful my girl has become. Eh - maybe tomorrow.

So what did we do while J was home? Well....

1. We bought new living room furniture since the set we bought when we moved into the house has just about had it. I have to say it didn't hold up nearly as well as what I thought it would when we bought it. It makes me sad because I loved the set, angry because it wasn't necessarily inexpensive for us to buy it at the time and it looks far older than the 9 years that it is, but I'm also happy that it's going. It doesn't fit the layout of our home; we bought it because it was what we wanted but not what would work best with our home. The new couch and recliner will work much better in the space.

2. I read a couple of pretty good books though M has taken to being read to (and I am in heaven because of it - I want her to be a reader like me) so I have read far more to her than for myself. What did I read? Well...



Altered by Jennifer Rush
Erased (Altered, #2)

Hot covers huh? Yeah - they're even more impressive side by side. LOL. I really liked Altered and an eagerly awaiting it's sequel in Jan of 2014. Yup. Next. Year. I do suggest that you check out Altered though, the story line is different from other books that are currently available for YA/NA readers.

I also read Undone, the novella to the Unraveling series. Definitely makes me want Unraveling's sequel, Unbreakable much sooner than it's April release. Undone answered some questions, created a bunch more and left it with a cliff hanger!! Ugh - I hate it when books do that but on the plus side the sequel is only a month-ish away - which is better than 6 months.

Liz Norris Website
Unraveling (Unraveling, #1)Undone (Unraveling, #1.5)Unbreakable (Unraveling, #2)

Other than that we just spent time as a family. Went to an aquarium and saw some sea lions, some penguins, and some harbor seals. M didn't really care for the fish. Hung out with some friends. It was nice to just have some downtime with my little family.

Random Fact: If you run in the rain, you will get about 50% wetter than if you stood still.













Monday, March 4, 2013

No Limitations

If there was absolutely nothing to hold you back (time, money, circumstances, etc.), what would you do with your life?

I had this question posed to me in the comments section of one of my other posts and it really got me thinking. What would I do?

I would write.

I have all of these stories bouncing around in my head but they are all incomplete. Unfortunately right now I just don't have the time. I try - don't get me wrong - writing and being published is a dream of mine but unfortunately right now other things are taking precedence.

I would have a personal trainer/nutritionist.

I need to get into better shape and eat better. I've been doing ok on my own but it would be nice to have someone there to kick my butt when I'm not feeling particularly motivated - plus if I was paying someone to keep me motivated - well for me not wasting $ is always a motivator.

I would give back more.

I would love to be able to teach M about donating to worthy causes more than what we already do. J and I make every effort to give back to to the community that we live in, and donate what we can to those in need but there are times, the Holidays for example, when I'd like to do more. I want my daughter (and any future children) to know that she's fortunate for the loving family and the opportunities/amenities she has, even if we aren't the wealthiest by monetary value.

I would find my dream house.

I'm hoping this one doesn't seem shallow because I'm grateful that J and I are able to afford our own home and really there's nothing wrong with it. I'm just not fan of how the location has changed over the years of us being here. I'd rather be in the country than in the village which is strictly my personal preference. I don't need a mansion, or some exorbitant country estate, I just want something where my neighbors aren't so close.

I would adopt.

I know how hard J and I struggled to have M. Adoption is one of the topics that came up several times along the way. Would we consider it? How would it make us feel? Could we love an adopted child as much as we would a child we had created? Would family love the child as a blood relative? Would it make me feel like a failure because I hadn't given birth to the child? We both thought long and hard on those and many other questions but the answer was resoundingly yes - adoption was something we could (and would want to) do. We may still consider this as a way of adding to our family down the road.

I'm sure there are more things that I would do but those were the ones that .came to mind immediately. What about you?

Random Fact: The act of snapping one's fingers is called a "fillip."