Sophomore Year 2014-2015

Last year at this time I was in panic mode as my daughter started her first year of high school. A freshman...how could that even be possible.  Well now, a year later, it's time to start another year of school.

As the tradition continues, pictures by the lamp post were a requirement. I've gotten rolled eyes and "come on, mom" before; however, I think she's realized nothing is going to change. Well, at least for the next couple years anyway.

Here are a few pictures from this morning:

 

 

For comparison, here is last year:

 

 

I can't believe how much she has changed, grown up and matured since this time a year ago. It truly makes my heart smile when I think about her.

 

I'm looking forward to hearing all about the first day of her sophomore year. 

Six on Saturday

As usual, it's been forever since I've blogged. It's just a rut that I can't get out of. However, I figured I would try to come up with six random mentions to create a Six on Saturday. Here we go.....

1) We've had sunshine here in Northern Indiana for the past couple of days. It's crazy what the big bright ball in the sky can do for one's spirit. Next week the weather people are calling for highs in the mid 40's to 50.  They are also calling for rain, but the warmer temps will be welcoming. Flooding is going to be a big concern, but right now I'm just thinking about the warmer weather!

 

 

2) My mom's birthday was earlier this week. We are getting together as a family to celebrate tomorrow. I always love it when our family gets together.

 

 

3) Olivia's birthday is next month. She's given my husband and I some ideas, but honestly, I'm not sure we'll get her what she wants. That sounds kind of mean, and I don't want it to come across that way. Most of what she wants costs more money then I can/will spend. I am reminded that since she will be turning 15, that means she will be able to get her driving permit. That is scary to think about and even scarier to type it out. Ahhh!!

 

 

4) I am so excited to be starting my business traveling this year. In March I will be heading to Charleston, SC for 3-1/2 days. I'm looking forward to it. I've been there only once and that was a couple years ago. Then, I only had the chance to spend about 1-1/2 days and was begging for more time. After that, my travel looks like this:

May=St. Augustine, FL

July = Indianapolis, IN

September = Jekyll Island, GA

November = Atlanta, GA

 

5) Last weekend our Clothes Mentor had their 3-2-1 sale. That means on Friday, their clearance items were $3, Saturday they were $2 and Sunday they were $1. Because of other things going on, I didn't get there til Sunday. I was pleased spending only $5 and walking away with 4 shirts and a pair of shoes. Happy Shopping to Me!

 

6) I have a guilty conscience for not watching more of the Olympics. Not sure why, but they aren't that interesting to me. I think I like the summer games better. As a proud American, I wish I could get more into them. Boo me!

 

Well, there you have it. Six random things today. Enjoy your weekend. 

Bored out of my mind

Listen here, I am bored out of my mind. We have had such a bad, cold, nasty winter that it feels like forever since I've left the house. Granted, this time around, I'm only on day 3 of being stuck inside but it feels like 3 years!

You would think by being stuck inside that my house would be clean, the laundry would be done (which it is), all the clutter would be in it's proper place and my house would be spotless. Well, that's not the case. Not at all. There is so much I could be doing, but am lacking the motivation to get it done.

I think my problem is this: there is SO much to do that I've overwhelmed and don't know where to start. Therefore, I don't start at all.

I can remember thinking "man, if I only had a few days with nothing planned and then I could get that certain project done". Well, I've had plenty of time to do things and just don't do them. Ugh.

I'm in a winter rut and I hate it. How about you? Have you had the winter blues? If so, what are you doing to get out of it?

I need some inspiration. Would you please help a girl out?

Catching Up

Hey there all of you in blogland. It's been forever since I posted, but that's really not that unusual.

I have read so many blogs over the past few weeks with people listing to-do lists, resolutions, etc and I just can't get myself to do that. It's too much of a commitment for me. Ick.

We had a great Christmas and so far a Happy New Year. Yes, I know it's only mid January. But, so far; so good.

Soon after Christmas we left for vacation to visit family in South Carolina. It was nice to get away from the freezing (and below) freezing temps and snow for a week. In SC we really didn't do much which was nice. As a matter of fact, my husband only left the house once. Go figure, it was so we could go to Cracker Barrel for our annual New Years Day tradition. We made sure the tradition continued even though we weren't home in northern Indiana.

Although it was great to get away from the winter here for a week, we got back the night before Blizzard '14 hit our area. Yep, we had about 18" of snow, blowing and drifting snow, record break temps (our high one day was like -13 or something similar). The weather put a dead stop to everything. Roads were closed, schools were closed, stores were closed and businesses were closed. Everything basically shut down. The kids were thrilled to get an extra 3 days of Christmas break though, that's for sure. And, if I'm being honest, it was nice to have a couple extra days off work for me too. It was; however, very hard to get back in the swing of things.

As I type this, I'm seeing snowflakes outside the window just flying around waiting to land. We're supposed to get more snow today, but not too much. I think maybe 1"-3". That's do-able compared to 18" from last week.

I hope 2014 is being good to you and yours.
Until next time.....

End of the Year

Well, if I had been a little more organized for blogging, I would have had a really cool post set up for the end of the year. But, unfortunately, I don't. With such little time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, there was barely time to breathe. And now with the week in between Christmas and the New Year, I don't have time either. Bummer.

I want to wish all of you a happy and healthy 2014.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Cards 2013

Ok, so it's that time of year when I try to figure out what my family is going to do for Christmas cards. I LOVE sending out cards with our picture (s) on it. Actually, I LOVE receiving cards with pictures and I hope my friends and family feel the same way. I mean, really, what's more awesome than a picture of my family (just kidding).

Over the weekend I wanted us to get pictures taken. You know, just in our living room with the camera on the tripod. Well all the weekend days came and went and it just didn't happen. Time goes so fast and I figured that if we didn't get this little project done, my cards may not go out til 2014. Last night was the night. Finally. Thank goodness.

I have narrowed my decision down to one or two of the pictures that I plan to use. As always, not all the pictures turned out great. Most of them are just because my daughter decided to act silly as soon as the timer on the camera went off. In some of the pictures, we all got goofy. Want to see a few that I won't be using for our Christmas 2013 cards?
Here they are:

 

However, just taking the picture is half the battle. Deciding on what card to order is hard as heck. I've looked at multiple websites, created a few "fake" cards and still can't decide. Soon, tho, soon.....like as in today or tomorrow at the latest.

How about you? Do you have your cards all ready to send out or is that checked off your list of things to do? The countdown is on; only 22 more days til Christmas.