Sunggled at Home Where It's Warm

Sooooo... the weather cancelled our tournament for the weekend. The boys are all sad because they wanted to freeze their butts off outside. I am sad about missing soccer but happy inside where it is mostly warm. Of course, that gives us a free weekend so I am guessing that means more CLEANING! It is going good and if B could get off the Xbox it would go better :) I got a few bags of trash out of the boys rooms over the last few days and they don't seem to notice a bit... (shocking!) Other than that not much is new around here... Glad we didn't get pounded with snow.

For my wonderful husband, another week of reasons why I love him...

Jan 23. He thinks I'm pretty even when I don't try to and makes sure to tell me.
Jan 24. He's terrible at keeping a secret and proud of it!
Jan 25. He appreciates hard work.
Jan 26. He can relate to the kids.
Jan 27. He doesn't abuse relationships for his own benefit.
Jan 28. He appreciates my organizational skills (and recognizes he has none).
Jan 29. He recognizes his weaknesses and isn't embarassed by them.

Preparing for the Cold!!

Brandon's soccer team has a tournament this weekend and the highs are supposed to be in the 30s!! That does not sound fun. For Christmas my mom got Brian what he says is his best gift ever... It was a Nautica coat that he says is the warmest thing he has ever owned... So I am headed to the Nautica store today hoping that they have one in my size! I think it will be brutal sitting in the wind and cold but I love watching soccer... so... I am hoping to test out the validity of his claims to said Nautica coat. We shall see...

For anyone else wanting to suffer along with us they are playing at Five Star Complex in The Colony...

FRI @ 6:00 pm Field # 4
SAT @ 3:30 pm Field #4
SAT @ 6:30 pm Field #3

Any chance of this cold front missing us would be greatly appreciated :)

Spring Cleaning

This week Brian decided we needed to do some major spring cleaning. His goal was to go through the whole house and get rid of 25% of everything we own. He is a happy minimalist and unfortunately, in this relationship, I am the pack rat. If you had asked me I would have denied that I keep unnecessary things, however, this week has revealed my true character! I keep STUFF! So, my husband has been unusually patient with me as I try to come to grips with getting rid of some STUFF. We are doing well so far but it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

So, I am taking a break to tell you a week's worth of things I love about my husband. I will say that I have a journal where I write them down, day-by-day. I don't think I could sit on Friday's and just think up a week's worth of stuff but one thing a day is manageable.

Jan 16. He is aggressive and confrontational and comfortable being that way.
Jan 17. He is patient when he knows I am struggling.
Jan 18. He is focused and determined to finish a project he starts.
Jan 19. After several days of spring cleaning, without a word he did my chore and took the many bags of trash to the curb.
Jan 20. He has an intuition about things that I don't have.
Jan 21. He understands that Thursday night is for watching Grey's Anatomy.
Jan 22. In everything he does, he wants what's best for our kids.

Today's project is cleaning out our file cabinets... I am sure you can sense my EXCITEMENT!

Week 2

Week 2 of the New Year and we finally got to celebrate Christmas. We went away to the Great Wolf Lodge which was a great time and really eased the transition of Christmas. It was unlike any other Christmas we have had so broke the traditions a little which was nice. It still felt strange to be opening presents without Dad around saying "I picked that for you" even when we knew he didn't. The kids had a blast though!

Other than that not a whole lot is new so here we go with week 2 of my resolution...

Jan 9. He is supportive of the kids in whatever they do and cheers them on as their biggest fan.
Jan 10. He does stuff with us that he doesn't like to do and doesn't complain (like go to a waterpark when he doesn't swim)
Jan 11. He takes care of the kids so I can work and don't have to worry about them.
Jan 12. He does stuff for me that he knows I hate doing (peeling stickers).
Jan 13. He takes care of our finances so I don't have to.
Jan 14. He sings believing he has a good voice (which I love and makes me laugh out loud).
Jan 15. He has a passion for soccer that we share and a love for the kids on his team as if they were his own.

So far so good... this may be the longest I have ever kept up a resolution :)

New Year's Resolution

I hate New Year's Resolutions! It never seems to last more than a few weeks but in those few weeks it makes the gym very crowded! I rarely make them, however, this year I have decided to and to use this blog to hold me accountable to keeping it for the entire year!

One of the things I struggled the most with in losing my Dad was putting myself in the place of my Mom and losing the love of my life. That person that she said "I do" to almost 40 years ago. The person she vowed to be faithful to and care for in sickness and health. Not just the fact that she did have to care for him in sickness or the memories that she will forever cherish of their time when he was healthy. It was overcoming the extreme loss of the person she was to grow old with who was not even old yet. And as I cried for her I found it almost impossible to separate the feelings I would have if the roles were reversed and I had lost MY best friend, soulmate, lover, father of my children... husband.

So, this year my mission is to find something about this man that I chose that I love. It may seem like an easy task, and many days it will be, but the challenge of it all is to find something that I love even on the bad days. At the end of the year, I will have 365 reasons to remind me why he was the one I wanted to grow old with...

Jan 1. During the saddest time of my life, he held me.
Jan 2. He knows how to make me laugh.
Jan 3. He fosters a love of education in Little One that I couldn't and makes him want to be better.
Jan 4. He has worked hard to create a business that we are successful in while enabling us to be a family.
Jan 5. He encourages me to be successful with new ventures and shares in the successes as if he had the same passion I do.
Jan 6. He will watch a chick flick with me and make it to the end (unlike some of us).
Jan 7. He gave me one of the best gifts, 11 yrs ago today, in our oldest son.
Jan 8. He makes me feel loved.

Trying to Find Normal Again

I am trying to pick up and get going again and am having a tough time knowing where to start. My life feels a little like slow-mo right now. The bathroom is still a wreck. Some Christmas presents are still not wrapped (since we have not done Christmas with my family yet). My office looks like a hurricane hit it. And I just don't have any umph right now to get up and go.

However, there was a bright spot to my day. Just before Christmas I had a call from the editor of Advocate Magazine that she wanted to write an article about my purses. I said "SURE!" and sent her one so she could touch it and feel it and well, you know... love it! And she did! So I thought I would post her article here so I can brag a little, I mean, you can enjoy it too...

http://www.advocatemag.com/lake-highlands/blog/Last_minute_gift_old_magazines_lh.html