February and a long winter

Well I did pretty good in January at blogging. I started out with a goal to blog daily, and I was doing it at the beginning. Then I started to wonder why, why blog daily? I haven't come up with an answer yet so I will try to blog often but not necessarily daily.

Here it is, February. The month of love. As happens this time of year, nothing is really happening. It is winter blah time. And we were quite sad the groundhog did indeed see his shadow . :)
Even though it has been a mild winter, so far, it still isn't spring and we don't like that. I really want to start my garden and sit outside while the kids play, and BBQ. I want to not bundle up Sam when we leave the house. I have got to learn to like winter though. I am, in all likelihood, going to live in Utah forever and so I should enjoy it. I will try to find 1 thing I love about Utah in the winter for each day left in February. We'll see how it goes.

Getting back in touch with life

For the last couple years I have fallen into the habit of texting and keeping up with friends on Facebook instead of in person or by phone. It is very convenient and easy to fit in with other tasks. The problem is that even though I have been in touch I still feel like I have been falling out of touch a little. Quick texting conversations have their place. To confirm appointments, send a quick thought or joke, or let someone know you are thinking about them. Something is lost, however, when you replace face to face and phone conversations with texting and social media rather than using it as a supplement or aid.
So I made a vow to myself that I would reach out more to the people in my life. What are we here for, what are we living for, if we shun human contact for brief contact through distant computers that can never quite convey the feeling and warmth you can gain from the sound of a voice or a single look.
So far I have reconnected with an old friend both in person and on the phone. Several times when I have thought of texting someone to say hi I have called them instead, and I feel more alive and happy for it. That isn't to say that I will no longer text, email, or Facebook, not to mention blogging, but I will make an effort to find more balance. I also hope to use those tools to connect more with those that are far from me. There are so many ways to keep in touch with those I love, so I hope to embrace it all and fill my life with love, laughter, friends, and family.

Snowy slip and slide

400 N in Bountiful UT
Saturday January 21, 2012

Saturday Lars and I had planned on fixing a part of our fence that had blown over during the big windstorm in December. It was cold and rainy but we had the supplies and it needed to be done. So we set to work and worked until we were soaked and Sam had woken up from his nap at which point we decided to go inside, drink some hot chocolate, and warm up a bit. Once we had done that and Sam was settled, playing happily with Emma and Lilli, we went back outside to find a winter wonderland. We also found cars lining the streets, we have a corner home, and many accidents, both in progress and already happened. Our street had truly become a snowy slip and slide and many people were still trying to navigate it, despite the accidents on the street. Now I must say in their defense, before you come around the corner near our house you can't really see what is going on on the rest of the hill. They probably were quite surprised to see cars lined up along the streets, cars in yards, and people waving and yelling not to go down the hill. Unfortunately at that point it was probably already to late, you put on the brakes and begin your decent against your will. Thankfully people were finally able to get high up enough on the hill and low enough down to stop more traffic from coming up or down the hill. The severity of the situation can be viewed on this youtube video taken by someone 2 streets down from us. It was almost comical at first but then people helping those that had crashed or slid into yards and curbs were nearly run down but out of control cars. 

The snowplow was even having a difficult time making the climb up the hill. We watched wondering how this would play out. Finally after several failed attempts the snowplow began to turn around. Was he abandoning our street as a hopeless cause? And then he began to go up the street backwards, allowing the salt that shoots out the back of the truck to lay down traction up the hill instead of down. Another snowplow arrived on the scene and suddenly they were working together, one going backwards and one facing forward pushing the other along just to lay down that salt and make the road passable even for them. It was quite a scene and I am so sad we didn't get it on video. There were cheers and clapping on the street as the snowplow turned around at the top and finally cleared a path down the hill. Everyone waited, watching, as the snowplows made a couple of passes up and down the hill and finally the road was once again safe to drive on. There was, of course, clean up of the cars that couldn't be driven but everyone waiting was able to safely drive up or down the street. 

And then Lars and I finished the fence and drank more hot chocolate. It was quite a snow day. 

Fashion or clown

We are all familiar with the smokey eye look.

http://www.thebeautyinsiders.com/smokey-eyes-make-up-quickly.html

Well when I was waiting for my haircut yesterday I was flipping through one of the magazines they had out and came upon this, ummmm beauty.

As seen in an issue of Beauty magazine.

It is supposed to be the smokey eye but bright and fresh. I think it says "I'm dressing up as a clown" or "I've been in a fight with a clown"
Can someone really do this and think "Wow, I look smokin'"?! Sadly due to the power of advertising and media some poor girls and women will think just that. If they saw it on a woman walking around they would think it is ridiculous, put it on a model in a magazine and it becomes high fashion.
So, no more hiding those black eyes or dark circles under our eyes, from now on highlight and accentuate them! Makes life so much easier. (especially for us sleep deprived moms) Ü

January

January always seems to be synonymous with sickness at our house. I can't think of one January without at least 2 people being sick in our home. Nothing serious, just annoying viruses. Colds, stomach bugs, unexplained fevers.
This year is no exception. Emma had had a fever of about 102 degrees the last two days. She seems to be on the mend today but I'm on the watch for the next person. Thankfully, I don't get the illnesses myself, I'm too busy taking care of everyone else. When I get sick it's not good, nothing really gets done and I can't relax for thinking of everything I need to be doing.
All I can say is, thank goodness this January seems to be going a lot faster than last January, probably due in part to the fact that I have a baby this year and last year I was pregnant. Both of those events come with their own time warps. With pregnancy time slows way down, with a baby it's kicks into hyper-drive.
And seeing as its January and we are barreling towards February, I will be posting my annual tax post. Tax season is upon us!

Just for fun here is a picture of me and my new haircut. It was time for a change, my hair was too long and I didn't have time to dry, straighten, or whatever. With my thick hair, especially when it is long, it takes over 1/2 an hour to blow-dry. So this will be a nice change.

New addictions and fun surprises

I have a new addiction...Instagram. It is an iPhone app. It is kinda of a cross between blogging and Pinterest. It is a quick and easy way to post pictures of what you are doing or things you see. It has the ease of pinterest with the personal touch of blogging. I love it.

And speaking of pictures check out the beauty below. When we moved into the new house there was this ugly carpet downstairs but we figured it would do for now. But Lars pulled it back and found this fantastic old floor underneath. It was a great surprise, especially since so often during remodels the surprises are not fun and generally expensive. Yay for fun surprises!

A sense of accomplishment

When you have a baby sometimes it is hard to feel like you have accomplished anything, or to actually accomplish something. The day is filled with keeping the baby safe and yet providing them with a stimulating environment so they can learn the things they need to. It is amazing how much learning is crammed into our first two years of life. Not the point though. The point is that with a mobile baby the days are full of watching, teaching, and playing. (Which is wonderful, don't get me wrong) For some reason though my family also wants clean clothes, dinner, rides, etc. There is also my list of to-dos and projects needing to be done beyond the dishes and laundry. And we come to the point, it is often hard to feel like I've accomplished anything beyond the baby stuff. I know this stage ends and with him being my 5th I'm in no rush for him to grow up BUT today I actually did get to check something off my to-do list! Yay, it feels good to have one less thing on my list, though somehow 10 things have appeared to take that one tasks place. ;)
We moved into our house 4 months ago now and have had a pile of stuff on our back porch since then. It was mostly the stuff we realized we just don't need or want. It has been accumulating and each weekend we promise ourselves we'll take it to DI, a thrift shop, and yet it has sat, and worse, grown. Well my porch is no longer the embarrassment of the neighborhood! Yay!
So tonight I celebrate this one small accomplishment, tomorrow I will enjoy my baby and family.