getting back into the groove

I'm one of those people who likes to have a routine, but also likes variety in life. Doing the same thing every day bores me to death, but knowing that I can have some things the same way every day makes me sane... like knowing I'll get a hot cup of coffee in the morning, and that I can choose my schedule for work, and that the toddler will take a nap right after lunch for an hour or so, and that my husband always comes home from work around the same time. That sort of routine.

But variety is great, too! Scheduling last minute hang outs with friends, running errands on my own time (instead of, say, on a lunch break), throwing together a baked good on a rainy afternoon because I feel like it. Love it.

So now that we are back from vacation... glorious, beautiful, Washington vacation... I need to get back into the swing of things. Not that I truly want to, but I need to.

I'm finding myself wanting some change. I want to organize my life, my house, my family, so that I have that sense of sanity and understanding what exactly is happening and when. The more planning I can do ahead of time, the better I function. (Except for the previously mentioned last-minute sort of hang out times and coffee with friends.) I also want to clear the clutter. My new year's resolution, of sorts, is to go room by room in our home and get rid of things we no longer use or that I no longer like. We have so much "stuff." I'd like to live simply. That way, it will be easier to get organized again down the road.

What is YOUR new year's resolution? How do YOU stay sane and organized? Any tips are much appreciated!

this day turned out longer than desired

I'm sitting in the Houston airport. Finally. Well, originally, our schedule planned for us to be in Lynden by now, but the biggest winter storm in the Mid-Atlantic over the past decade decided to hit last night. Ugh.

So we drove to a hotel close to the airport and stayed. Boy are we glad we did! The roads when we woke up were awful. But we took a shuttle! Got to the airport, and our flight was scheduled "on time." Woohoo! One of two flights that were on time for the whole day......

EXCEPT...

We sat on the runway for four hours. And we were on a plane to connect in Cleveland, but then they changed us (and about 9 other folks going to Seattle) over to the other "on time" flight to Houston. We finally made it out, and now here we sit. There are three flights to Seattle from here, and we're booked on the last one. So it will be a late night. And we've been up since 4:00 AM -- Eastern time. Ugh.

Maddie is doing pretty well. We've had a few meltdowns along the way, but she did take a good nap on our last flight, and I'm hoping she'll take another one on the next flight! Our schedules are all messed up, we're tired, and we're sick of sitting around. What a great way to spend the first day of vacation, huh?

The good news is... we'll be on the WEST COAST by the end of the day (Lord willing)!!!

i'm like a 7 year old in a 28 year old's body

So this weekend, we are flying to Washington to be with my family for Christmas. And let me tell you, I am SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THIS TRIP!!!!! I've been counting down the days, making lists, getting organized, not wrapping gifts to stick in my suitcase (you know, because they have to go through security), buying tiny toiletry items for my carry on, checking weather reports on both ends to make sure I won't be stuck here and not able to go, and so on and so on.

I'm like a 7 year old in a 28 year old's body. I am so excited. There are so many things to be excited about!

* "What is Christmas" we ask the toddler, and she replies "Christmas tree!" and we say "It's Jesus' Birthday!!" and she replies "Jesus' Birthday!!" (We're getting there.)

* I haven't seen my family since July! Granted, I won't get to see all of them, but I will get to see most of them. And I haven't seen my extended family since August of 2008.

* Um, duh, I'm going WEST! I love love love the West. It is gorgeous. There are snow-capped mountains. It makes me feel rugged and cozy and, well, like I'm HOME. I can't help it. I just do.

* Maddie is now old enough to be excited about Christmas, but not so over the top that she thinks she knows it all. She gets excited about opening the door each day on the advent calendar, she gets excited about presents (but doesn't snoop or peek), and she's been learning about baby Jesus in the manger (or as she puts it, "the cows' house").

* We'll get to go with Dad/Grampa and chop down a real tree and help decorate it! I'm so glad he is waiting for us to get there, and hopefully there will still be good selection to choose from. If not, perhaps we'll have a Charlie Brown Christmas. Ha.

So yeah... I'm excited.

christmas decorating

I love to decorate, and Christmas is no exception. Here is my mantle this year...

winter wonderland

This is what I woke up to on Saturday morning, and it was beautiful.

family photo shoot

In an attempt to take a good family photo for our Christmas card, we took a bunch of photos last night in front of our fireplace. None of them turned out well enough for my Christmas card standards, so I shall show them to my faithful readers. (That would be you!)

These photos were taken with Photo Booth, so the quality wasn't good enough either, but it was fun squeezing into the screen together!











And, of course, we had to do one with a silly effect!