Snow nice

Beth and I escaped for a little photography time today. We headed to Indiana Dunes State Park. Same place we took these pictures last summer. It looks a little different in the winter, y'all.

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Back at the house, it was finally warm enough (ABOVE ZERO!) to take the kids out to play in the snow. Ariel and BJ were the only takers.

It's cold, but it's so warm

I arrived in Indiana yesterday! When we landed at the airport in Chicago, the temperature was -5. MINUS FIVE. That's damn cold, in case you're wondering. And right now, it's -19. It's so cold I can't even talk about it.


As soon as I walked in Beth's door, it was warm and cozy and smelling like brownies and lunch. But mostly brownies. DE-VINE.


The rest of this post is going to be a bulleted list because I just can't focus long enough to put together paragraphs.

• Now let me tell you about Leroy's Hot Stuff. We ate there last night after I insisted on a local eatery as opposed to a chain joint. It was interesting. And smokey. And apparently we should have ordered Mexican food. Overall not a bad experience.
• Target. With Beth. A dream come true.
• All BJ wants to do is play in the snow. But it's too damn cold.
• While Beth and I are in the same room, we're still Twittering and emailing each other. It's strange, but it just feels right.
• We're heading out to meet Sarah and Asher for lunch. I cannot wait. To pinch Asher, mostly.
• The rest of the girls are coming over tonight. Unbelievable.

More later. I promise. We're running out the door now. To freeze our butts off.

Wednesday Weigh-In

It's weigh-in Wednesday over at the Sisterhood! I'm proud to say that I'm down this week! Woohooo!

Last Wednesday: 158.4

Challenge Start (last Thurs.): 155.8

Today: 154

So I'm down 4.4 since last Wednesday and 1.8 for the Challenge! Those are good numbers for me, y'all!

I'm going to face some challenges over the next 7 days. Today I'm leaving to go out of town! We're actually flying to Chicago (hopefully! Have you seen the weather there?) tomorrow and staying in Indiana with Beth until Monday.

Well shoot. I just watched the weather channel and it's not cute at all. Phrases like, "coldest winter in 8 years for Chicago" and "40 cancelled flights in and out of O'Hare" and "4-5 hour delays" are not exactly what I want to hear.

Please bear with me while I throw a little fit here. THIS IS MY CHRISTMAS PRESENT. Going to see Beth is what I want to do and I want to do what I want to do NOW. Stupidassweather. I mean, I wanted snow, but this is a little ridiculous. Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot. UGH.

Okay, I'm better now. But I'd better make it to Chicago tomorrow. Or else!

Fall on the Frio

Today after I picked up BJ and his friend from school, we headed over to the Frio River to hunt for rock treasures, build a dam, and admire the beautiful fall foliage. It was a perfect day, although at 72 degrees, it was a little warm for my taste. But hey, it's Texas and that's the way it is.

BJ and the Cypress Trees

Cypress Foliage
Look Mommy, it's seaweed!

Impromptu dam building

More colors

I'm really having a good time getting to know my new camera. I adjust the settings and make the same shot several times so I can see what I get. It's fun and a great way to learn. I'm also getting back into Photoshop and relearning some editing techniques. It's amazing how much your forget when you don't use a skill for a long, long time. It's coming back though, and it doesn't hurt that if you Google Photoshop, you find hundreds of sites with free information and downloads and techniques. Wonderfully amazing.

I hope to find a little time everyday to stop and admire my surroundings. To photograph them in an artful way. To share them with you.

There really is beauty in everything, sometimes you just have to look a little harder to see it.

Don't go too fast, Fall

The wind is blowing different today. It's a cooler, crisper North wind. Don't get me wrong, the high is still projected to be in the 90s today and probably will be for the next few weeks, but the air feels different.

It's almost Fall.

Fall is absolutely my favorite time of the year. Cool mornings, warm afternoons, cooler nights. It's the best time of year to get anything done outside as far as I'm concerned. The leaves will start to change and the grass won't grow quite as fast. I can plant yellow, orange, brown, and red chysanthamums. Oh, how I love chrysanthamums.

Fall also signifies the year is coming to a close. That's the only part I don't like. The ending of the year. For me, it seems as soon as September hits, I blink and it's January. Then I sit there wondering how it could of happened so fast. Is it like that for you, too?

There's so much hustle and bustle involved with Fall. BJ will turn 5 in 3 weeks. My sweet, unbelievably sensitive, and smart little boy will be 5. It's enough to make me want to cry. My birthday is the day after BJ's. And don't even get me started on my petite princess, Mia. She'll be 1 in November. When did that happen? Maybe I will cry. Add in Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas to the mix, and it's understandable how quickly this time of year flies by.

I feel like I just want to sit on my front porch and enjoy every moment. Maybe if I just sit, time will pass more slowly. Possibly, but lots of things won't get done either. Like shopping and gardening and watching my children grow one year older. But I'm making a committment to myself right now. This Fall, I will try to slow down. I will try to enjoy every moment. Every birthday, every holdiday, and everything else that I might normally miss. Because I'll never get a chance to relive these moments, these special times. This Fall.

And like I said, before I know it, it will be January. The holiday decorations will come down. The grass will be dead. The leaves will be gone. The air will be just cold enough to be annoying. Then there will be me. Sitting on my front porch wondering how the time flew by so fast. Trying to remember and relive every little moment. Fifth and first birthdays. Halloween. Colorful leaves. Thanksgiving. Christmas. Good food. Family time.

Please, don't go too fast, Fall.

Whatever

So both of my kids are napping. Which NEVER happens. Ever. I mean, Mia naps, obviously, but BJ does not. He's really tired today after the late night we had. And I'm exhausted and have a bazillion things to do around the house, or I could be napping too, but I'm not. Instead I'm here to let it all hang out. My house is a total wreck. We did just get back from Houston late Tuesday night and I did spend 5 hours yesterday in route to, at the ER, and in route home. But still, it so messy it feels hopeless to me. I just can't get motivated to put everything way including the 6 loads of laundry miscellaneously piled on top of any and all flat surfaces. Maybe it's the weather, or the fact that I haven't had a decent nights sleep in, oh about 4.5 months. Ugh. Who knows. Maybe I just came here to bitch and get some blogger sympathy.

Here's what BJ did to his room today. No, the head wound is not slowing him down! Apparently it seemed like a good idea to barricade his room:



It's just one more mess for me to clean up because let's face it, a four year old is NOT going to clean it up. No, he might start with the best of intentions, but he'll end up in fantasy land playing with action figures and matchbox cars. . .

And here's my living room:

That photo does not do justice to the mess. Trust me.

And here's my little angel, so cute and happy with her fingers:


This is what it looks like outside. Muggy, damp, and misty. Ugh. At least it's greening up.

So anyway, now I guess I'm off to try and tackle some of the mess. Baby steps. Maybe I'll start with the dishes. . .or not.