Recently, I've decided to put Lucas and I on a loose weekly routine. I'm finding it difficult, and a little boring, to try and come up with new activities on the fly every weekday morning. We don't have any regular plans with other moms due to everyone's varying schedule restrictions, although I try to get together with my mom's group as much as I can. So we were starting to get into a rut of simply visiting the park down the street or playing in the backyard. Not very mentally stimulating for either Lucas or me, plus we end up watching more television than I'd prefer just to pass the time.
Mondays are generally reserved for the large grocery trip of the week, laundry, and various errands both inside and outside the house. I've decided to set aside Tuesday mornings for the zoo, and this week we tried out toddler storytime on Wednesday morning at our local library for the first time. It's at a perfect time for us, 10am, and I figured if Lucas had a total meltdown we could just leave. There was a pretty great turnout for our small little library, about ten toddlers or so. The librarian alternated between sitting and reading a book, then standing to do a short song and dance. She did three books and four songs, then we ended with some coloring.
As I suspected, Lucas was the worst toddler there in terms of his ability to sit quietly and listen to the stories being read. It's just not something he is able to keep an interest in. He loves to read books at home, but we only do so right before nap time and bedtime, because this is the only time of day he is mellow enough to want to sit still and look at books. So when Miss Librarian busted out her books, Lucas was up and moving. I was mostly able to keep him contained to the lifesaving puzzle table during the story area, but the extremely tempting rolling library cart located directly behind the librarian was a real problem. Anytime he started to squeal or whine because I was keeping him from the cart, I reminded him that if he couldn't stay quiet, we would have go home. Shockingly, that actually worked for the most part!
The main reason I stuck it out is because when the songs and dancing started, he was enraptured. We stomped like dinosaurs, and he actually stomped! He was pretty shy about joining in, but sat still in my lap or stood still next to me and smiled through all the songs and giggled when I helped move his hands for the dancing. I love that tiny shy toddler smile when they are experiencing something new that they enjoy. Being the parent with the out of control energetic toddler was worth it for his happiness during the music time. He even liked the coloring at the end pretty well too, particularly when Miss Librarian gave him a car stamp on his hand. He held his little hand out to show me and said "A car???" I'm definitely going to try a few more times and see if familiarity might improve his behavior.
As for activities for Thursday and Friday, I'm still working on it. This summer, we'll have a membership for the local YMCA, so at least two mornings or afternoons will be set aside for swimming. But until then, I'll probably pick a special park that he really enjoys and do that one day, then brainstorm another idea for the remaining day.
Lastly, I made some delicious shrimp tacos last night and wanted to share the recipe since I made it up as I went along. It was very gratifying to have it turn out so deliciously. This recipe grew from the fact that I had a can of crushed pineapple in juice I wanted to use up.
Marinated Shrimp Tacos with Pineapple Salsa
Ingredients
1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 can crushed pineapple in 100% juice (chunks would work too)
1/2 cup oil (I used olive, but any kind would be fine), divided
2-3 tablespoons tequila
1 lime, divided in half
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced and divided in half
1 tomato, chopped and de-seeded
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced (if you like spice, use the whole pepper)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
10 corn tortillas
1 can beans, heated (your choice, we used refried but black would be good here also)
1 avocado, diced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional - we just really like cheese around here)
salt and cayenne pepper, to taste
Instructions
1. Strain the pineapple to divide the juice from the fruit. Separate into two bowls.
2. Add 1/4 cup oil to the bowl containing the pineapple juice. Add the zest and juice of half the lime, tequila, two cloves of minced garlic, and some salt and cayenne pepper. Whisk together the ingredients and add to a ziploc bag along with the shrimp. Place in refrigerator for 1-4 hours.
3. To the bowl with the pineapple, add tomato, red onion, jalapeño, cilantro, the remaining garlic, and the juice of the remaining half lime. Mix together with salt to taste and set aside. I made this the day before and it tasted great after sitting together for a day or so.
4. Heat a medium nonstick skillet to medium heat. Add the remaining 1/4 cup oil. Once the oil is hot, add one tortilla at a time to the oil. Let cook about 15-20 seconds per side, then remove. Continue until all tortillas have been lightly fried. Set aside with a cloth over them to keep them warm.
5. Heat a large nonstick skillet to medium. Add the shrimp to the pan and cook about 3 minutes per side. Once they are pink, remove from the pan.
Now your shrimp tacos are ready to construct and eat. We put in a good spoonful of beans, followed by cheese, shrimp, avocado, with a big dollop of pineapple salsa on top. The combination of the marinated shrimp, pineapple salsa, and lightly fried corn tortillas was just delicious! Brandon and I definitely enjoyed this meal. If you wanted to save some time, you can buy already prepped fresh pico de gallo at the store and just mix that with the pineapple. I would have done this myself but my store was out of pico de gallo that day.
That's all for now! I'll update in a few weeks about how my weekly routine has shaped up once I have it all settled.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Books for February
I thought I was going to beat my number from January, but I ended up bailing on not one but two books halfway through so I've only got three more again. Still, I was pretty pleased with the ones I did finish.
4. The Diviners by Libba Bray: I've read several other books by this author. Generally, I enjoy them but don't find them to be anything particularly special or memorable. That was true of this book as well. It was sort of a supernatural plot that was pretty generic, and most of it seemed to be setting up the next two books in the trilogy. The main villain/demon was also a bit too violent for my sensitive soul. What I loved about this book was the Roaring 20s setting and that the main character was a very stereotypical flapper teenager. The slang, fashion, and settings really gave this book a fun atmosphere, and I enjoyed that part of it. I kind of wish I had just read a Roaring 20s book without any demons in it, though. I doubt I'll make any effort to read the remainder of the series.
5. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore: The final book in my beloved Graceling trilogy, I wish I could say that I enjoyed this book more than I did. That is not to say that I didn't enjoy parts of it. I very much like the character of Bitterblue and liked following her journey from child queen to ruling sovereign. But I'm afraid I disliked more parts than I liked. The main problem is frankly that Cashore created too intense of a villain for me in Leck. His creepiness was evident but tolerable in the first two books, but learning the extent of his perversion and evil in this book overwhelmed my ability to enjoy the rest of the plot. There needs to be some kind of tool I can use to let me know which books I should avoid. Does this book contain child rape? If yes, I will pass. I was also very unimpressed by the love interest and found another character to be a far better fit as a partner for Bitterblue. So of course I've rewritten the ending in my head to be more satisfying. In all, kind of a disappointing end to the series. What is good about this is that the trilogy is only loosely connected, so my lack of enjoyment in this one does not affect in the least my love for the first two books.
6. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson: This one has been on my to-read list for quite a while and I really liked it! I'm excited to read the rest of the trilogy. The quasi-Catholic religious aspects were interesting and well-done, and I liked that the lead is not the typical kick-ass female that you get in a lot of books of this genre. She really grew into herself throughout the book, and I'm looking forward to seeing that continue in the next two. There were a few very shocking moments, as well, which I always appreciate, and I liked the detailed portrayal of the different cultures in the book. I like any book that gives me good details about the food everyone is eating! I definitely recommend this one to fans of YA fantasy.
Books I started this month and abandoned:
Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed and Wild by Cheryl Strayed: The first is a collection of advice columns written by the author. I had read a few of her pieces online and enjoyed them, so I thought I'd give this a try since I tend to enjoy advice columns in general. Sadly for her and for me, the very first column in the book gave a detailed description of the sexual abuse the author had suffered at the hands of a relative as a 3-4 year old. I'm afraid this completely turned me off and I was unable to read any further. I have so little leisure time in which to read, and I'm not interested in spending that time reading about the most horrible things and people that the world has to offer. The second book is a memoir by the same author about her time hiking the Pacific Coast Trail. I was a little turned off by how unlikable she seems to be, or was at the point in her life when this book takes place. I made it about halfway through but couldn't stop rolling my eyes at her so I eventually gave up. Don't get me wrong, Strayed is a good writer but apparently she's just not up my alley.
I'm reading an amazing book right now that I'm sad I didn't finish in time for this month's reviews, but I'll be back next month to rave about it!
4. The Diviners by Libba Bray: I've read several other books by this author. Generally, I enjoy them but don't find them to be anything particularly special or memorable. That was true of this book as well. It was sort of a supernatural plot that was pretty generic, and most of it seemed to be setting up the next two books in the trilogy. The main villain/demon was also a bit too violent for my sensitive soul. What I loved about this book was the Roaring 20s setting and that the main character was a very stereotypical flapper teenager. The slang, fashion, and settings really gave this book a fun atmosphere, and I enjoyed that part of it. I kind of wish I had just read a Roaring 20s book without any demons in it, though. I doubt I'll make any effort to read the remainder of the series.
5. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore: The final book in my beloved Graceling trilogy, I wish I could say that I enjoyed this book more than I did. That is not to say that I didn't enjoy parts of it. I very much like the character of Bitterblue and liked following her journey from child queen to ruling sovereign. But I'm afraid I disliked more parts than I liked. The main problem is frankly that Cashore created too intense of a villain for me in Leck. His creepiness was evident but tolerable in the first two books, but learning the extent of his perversion and evil in this book overwhelmed my ability to enjoy the rest of the plot. There needs to be some kind of tool I can use to let me know which books I should avoid. Does this book contain child rape? If yes, I will pass. I was also very unimpressed by the love interest and found another character to be a far better fit as a partner for Bitterblue. So of course I've rewritten the ending in my head to be more satisfying. In all, kind of a disappointing end to the series. What is good about this is that the trilogy is only loosely connected, so my lack of enjoyment in this one does not affect in the least my love for the first two books.
6. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson: This one has been on my to-read list for quite a while and I really liked it! I'm excited to read the rest of the trilogy. The quasi-Catholic religious aspects were interesting and well-done, and I liked that the lead is not the typical kick-ass female that you get in a lot of books of this genre. She really grew into herself throughout the book, and I'm looking forward to seeing that continue in the next two. There were a few very shocking moments, as well, which I always appreciate, and I liked the detailed portrayal of the different cultures in the book. I like any book that gives me good details about the food everyone is eating! I definitely recommend this one to fans of YA fantasy.
Books I started this month and abandoned:
Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed and Wild by Cheryl Strayed: The first is a collection of advice columns written by the author. I had read a few of her pieces online and enjoyed them, so I thought I'd give this a try since I tend to enjoy advice columns in general. Sadly for her and for me, the very first column in the book gave a detailed description of the sexual abuse the author had suffered at the hands of a relative as a 3-4 year old. I'm afraid this completely turned me off and I was unable to read any further. I have so little leisure time in which to read, and I'm not interested in spending that time reading about the most horrible things and people that the world has to offer. The second book is a memoir by the same author about her time hiking the Pacific Coast Trail. I was a little turned off by how unlikable she seems to be, or was at the point in her life when this book takes place. I made it about halfway through but couldn't stop rolling my eyes at her so I eventually gave up. Don't get me wrong, Strayed is a good writer but apparently she's just not up my alley.
I'm reading an amazing book right now that I'm sad I didn't finish in time for this month's reviews, but I'll be back next month to rave about it!
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Recent Funnies from Lucas
My little boy is getting to be quite a funny little creature! Not that he wasn't always, but the addition of words is certainly a good one in his case. Where do toddlers learn these things?
One of his favorite words is "Help" (Hawp). Recently, he's started getting his foot fake stuck in things, like the crevice between couch cushions or a toy bucket. Then he'll look over at me and say "Hawp Hawp Hawp" until I go "rescue" him by freeing his foot.
This past weekend, he started playing a game I like to call Stunt Man. He'll flap his hands at his sides and say "Whoa-oh-oh!" like he's losing his balance, then fall on his butt and start cracking up. I have a fun video of this. Sometimes he'll pitch straight forward and face plant onto the carpet instead. Maybe it's time to turn that college fund into a clown college fund, huh?
Another game involves taking all the shoes out of my side of the closet and pushing them behind Brandon's dresser inside his closet. That one took a few minutes to figure out the first time when I couldn't find my running shoes!
We had a recent bubble themed park playdate with my mom's group, and Lucas got a huge kick out of it. His favorite is to chase after the bubbles and try to eat them. He even learned to say "Bubble" that day and now he asks for them all the time when we're in the backyard.
We've started trying to do time outs as he's getting closer to two, but they rarely work in terms of him knowing why it's happening. He gives me this big wide-eyed stare, then starts smiling and tries to hug me. It does work in terms of distracting him from hitting me or throwing toys, though, so I'm calling it a win!
One of his favorite words is "Help" (Hawp). Recently, he's started getting his foot fake stuck in things, like the crevice between couch cushions or a toy bucket. Then he'll look over at me and say "Hawp Hawp Hawp" until I go "rescue" him by freeing his foot.
This past weekend, he started playing a game I like to call Stunt Man. He'll flap his hands at his sides and say "Whoa-oh-oh!" like he's losing his balance, then fall on his butt and start cracking up. I have a fun video of this. Sometimes he'll pitch straight forward and face plant onto the carpet instead. Maybe it's time to turn that college fund into a clown college fund, huh?
Another game involves taking all the shoes out of my side of the closet and pushing them behind Brandon's dresser inside his closet. That one took a few minutes to figure out the first time when I couldn't find my running shoes!
We had a recent bubble themed park playdate with my mom's group, and Lucas got a huge kick out of it. His favorite is to chase after the bubbles and try to eat them. He even learned to say "Bubble" that day and now he asks for them all the time when we're in the backyard.
We've started trying to do time outs as he's getting closer to two, but they rarely work in terms of him knowing why it's happening. He gives me this big wide-eyed stare, then starts smiling and tries to hug me. It does work in terms of distracting him from hitting me or throwing toys, though, so I'm calling it a win!
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Books for January
One of my New Year's Resolutions was to try to read more. I thought it might be fun to keep track of the books I read on here. I read three books in January and two of them came from the library! Technically I read three and a half books, but you'll have to wait to hear about the fourth one once I finish it in February.
1. Fire by Kristin Cashore: Graceling was my absolute favorite book I read in 2013, and I think I liked this companion just as much, if not more! The world of Katsa and Fire is a very interesting and well put together one, and the characters are fascinating. I found Fire to be slightly too perfect, as her only flaw was arguably a strength (finding it in herself to defeat her father and thus save countless others from his cruelty). The monsters were a fascinating and very creative concept, and I enjoyed both of the male characters that made up the requisite love triangle to be very engaging and three-dimensional. My only real issue with the book was the author's need to shoehorn Leck, the villain from Graceling, into this book as well. I don't think he was needed and it took away from the main story for me. The ghost of Fire's father was plenty villain enough. Looking forward to reading the third installment next month!
2. Son by Lois Lowry: The final piece to The Giver universe series of books. The Giver is my #1 young adult novel of all time, and sadly, the subsequent novels have never come close to measuring up to that one. But I think I liked this one best of the other three (Gathering Blue and The Messenger being the other two). Part of that was because a good portion of the book took place in the original community from The Giver. I liked getting some alternative perspective to The Giver story. I also felt a strong connection to the main character because the plot hinged on her undeniable and enduring love for her son, a subject I am obviously invested in. I was a bit annoyed by the ending, but Lowry ended The Giver on a similarly vague and dissatisfying note so I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised.
3. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling): I'm not usually a fan of mystery or crime novels, but Rowling is a great author (obviously) and this novel kept my attention fairly well. I didn't guess the murderer until right up until the end, and I enjoyed the interaction between the detective and his assistant. I get a bit bored with all the investigation and clue-discovering, but that's all a part of crime novels, so I can't hold it against the story. Crime novels still aren't really my cup of tea, but I'd probably read another Strike novel once one appears.
Sigh, only three books in a month? A decade ago, I would have been very disappointed in myself, but I'll take it. I'm also pleased that two of these came from the library! I've also got the online reservation system figured out now, so I'm hoping to get some really good stuff next month, as opposed to just the closest book I can grab that looks somewhat interesting while I am trying to keep Hurricane Lucas from disrupting the entire library.
1. Fire by Kristin Cashore: Graceling was my absolute favorite book I read in 2013, and I think I liked this companion just as much, if not more! The world of Katsa and Fire is a very interesting and well put together one, and the characters are fascinating. I found Fire to be slightly too perfect, as her only flaw was arguably a strength (finding it in herself to defeat her father and thus save countless others from his cruelty). The monsters were a fascinating and very creative concept, and I enjoyed both of the male characters that made up the requisite love triangle to be very engaging and three-dimensional. My only real issue with the book was the author's need to shoehorn Leck, the villain from Graceling, into this book as well. I don't think he was needed and it took away from the main story for me. The ghost of Fire's father was plenty villain enough. Looking forward to reading the third installment next month!
2. Son by Lois Lowry: The final piece to The Giver universe series of books. The Giver is my #1 young adult novel of all time, and sadly, the subsequent novels have never come close to measuring up to that one. But I think I liked this one best of the other three (Gathering Blue and The Messenger being the other two). Part of that was because a good portion of the book took place in the original community from The Giver. I liked getting some alternative perspective to The Giver story. I also felt a strong connection to the main character because the plot hinged on her undeniable and enduring love for her son, a subject I am obviously invested in. I was a bit annoyed by the ending, but Lowry ended The Giver on a similarly vague and dissatisfying note so I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised.
3. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling): I'm not usually a fan of mystery or crime novels, but Rowling is a great author (obviously) and this novel kept my attention fairly well. I didn't guess the murderer until right up until the end, and I enjoyed the interaction between the detective and his assistant. I get a bit bored with all the investigation and clue-discovering, but that's all a part of crime novels, so I can't hold it against the story. Crime novels still aren't really my cup of tea, but I'd probably read another Strike novel once one appears.
Sigh, only three books in a month? A decade ago, I would have been very disappointed in myself, but I'll take it. I'm also pleased that two of these came from the library! I've also got the online reservation system figured out now, so I'm hoping to get some really good stuff next month, as opposed to just the closest book I can grab that looks somewhat interesting while I am trying to keep Hurricane Lucas from disrupting the entire library.
Updates and Pictures
Oh, hey, a blog! I've been having trouble feeling inspired enough to blog lately. Being home with a toddler has some great aspects to it, but it's tough to come up with material for a blog entry that's more than just a catalog of our daily routine.
Lucas is still picking up new words at a fairly steady pace. I haven't been keeping a complete list but I'd say he's up between 20-30 words now? He figured out that the stove/oven is hot earlier this month so he'll walk up to it, hold up his hand like a stop sign, and say "Hot! Hot! Hot!" over and over. He also used his first phrase by asking me for "More Ice!" We're still working on please and thank you, he occasionally will sign 'please' when prompted but I haven't gotten any successful 'thank you' signs yet. He can't say his name yet but he'll poke at his tummy and smile when you ask him "Whose name is Lucas?" He says "Ohhh" in this deep angry voice -- I think he's trying to say "No," maybe? Usually he just shakes his head. "Yes" is still a "Haha!" plus a grin.
He's also attached to a lovey, his little stuffed Clifford that my mom found him for Christmas. He doesn't want to carry it around all day or anything, but it's so cute to watch him snuggle it up under his chin when he's getting ready to sleep.
We're definitely still struggling with tantrums, although I can tell it's easier when he can communicate what he wants. Mostly we get tantrums when he's being asked to transition in some way. I'm not exactly sure how to deal with it, but I am giving verbal warnings of impending transition since he seems to understand a lot more than he expresses. "Five minutes until we go home, Lucas!" He likes to hit when he's mad, and last week he tried to kick me for the first time.
Size wise, we're just about to bump him up to 3T clothing. He's somewhere in the vicinity of 33-34 pounds, about 35 inches tall right now, and currently wearing 8wide shoes.
I've been having a lot of fun taking him to the zoo, since my mom's group seems to meet exclusively when he's napping these days. He takes one 1-2 hour nap daily around 11:30, which puts us at odds to most other kids his age, but I try to get him to hang out with other toddlers whenever we can. He has a really sweet little heart most of the time when he's interacting with other kids. He loves to share his toys, and will actually clap and smile if another kid comes up and steals toys from him. Lol! My gentle giant. I'm aware he could grow out of this, but it makes my heart happy to see him being so kind.
Brandon and I are doing well. Brandon recently transitioned to a wholly administrative position at work, without any direct reports, which we are hoping will lessen the stress of his workload. I recently made the decision to switch from active to inactive with the California State Bar, which means I can no longer practice law. I'm content with the decision; the pro bono cases I took last year were fine, but it's next to impossible to get any significant amount of work done with Lucas around, and I was unwilling to give up my break during the day while Lucas is napping to do volunteer work. Call me selfish if you will.
Here are a few more photos! Hoping to blog next with a few short reviews of the books I read in January!
Lucas is still picking up new words at a fairly steady pace. I haven't been keeping a complete list but I'd say he's up between 20-30 words now? He figured out that the stove/oven is hot earlier this month so he'll walk up to it, hold up his hand like a stop sign, and say "Hot! Hot! Hot!" over and over. He also used his first phrase by asking me for "More Ice!" We're still working on please and thank you, he occasionally will sign 'please' when prompted but I haven't gotten any successful 'thank you' signs yet. He can't say his name yet but he'll poke at his tummy and smile when you ask him "Whose name is Lucas?" He says "Ohhh" in this deep angry voice -- I think he's trying to say "No," maybe? Usually he just shakes his head. "Yes" is still a "Haha!" plus a grin.
He's also attached to a lovey, his little stuffed Clifford that my mom found him for Christmas. He doesn't want to carry it around all day or anything, but it's so cute to watch him snuggle it up under his chin when he's getting ready to sleep.
We're definitely still struggling with tantrums, although I can tell it's easier when he can communicate what he wants. Mostly we get tantrums when he's being asked to transition in some way. I'm not exactly sure how to deal with it, but I am giving verbal warnings of impending transition since he seems to understand a lot more than he expresses. "Five minutes until we go home, Lucas!" He likes to hit when he's mad, and last week he tried to kick me for the first time.
Size wise, we're just about to bump him up to 3T clothing. He's somewhere in the vicinity of 33-34 pounds, about 35 inches tall right now, and currently wearing 8wide shoes.
I've been having a lot of fun taking him to the zoo, since my mom's group seems to meet exclusively when he's napping these days. He takes one 1-2 hour nap daily around 11:30, which puts us at odds to most other kids his age, but I try to get him to hang out with other toddlers whenever we can. He has a really sweet little heart most of the time when he's interacting with other kids. He loves to share his toys, and will actually clap and smile if another kid comes up and steals toys from him. Lol! My gentle giant. I'm aware he could grow out of this, but it makes my heart happy to see him being so kind.
Brandon and I are doing well. Brandon recently transitioned to a wholly administrative position at work, without any direct reports, which we are hoping will lessen the stress of his workload. I recently made the decision to switch from active to inactive with the California State Bar, which means I can no longer practice law. I'm content with the decision; the pro bono cases I took last year were fine, but it's next to impossible to get any significant amount of work done with Lucas around, and I was unwilling to give up my break during the day while Lucas is napping to do volunteer work. Call me selfish if you will.
Here are a few more photos! Hoping to blog next with a few short reviews of the books I read in January!
 |
| He's so snuggly after his nap, we love it! |
 |
| He's really digging dried leaves right now. |
 |
| Trying out the Car Museum; mostly a bust. Turns out they don't want toddlers crawling inside priceless cars. |
 |
| Got to watch some cool polar bear antics this week at the zoo. |
 |
| Being gentle with Carmen the goat. He loved feeding her hay! |
Friday, January 3, 2014
New Year's Resolutions!
These are always fun to make, even if I rarely follow through. I think it's nice to want to be your best self and make a new start, even when that proves hard to do. Here are a few things I'm hoping to improve on this year.
1. Eat cleaner and better: I owe it to myself and my family to plan, purchase, and create healthy and tasty meals. Since I am in charge over about 90% of our food choices (I do all meal planning, grocery shopping, and most of the cooking), it really falls to me to make sure the family makes healthy choices. We aren't as bad as we used to be, but there's a lot of room for improvement. I'm hoping to significantly increase our intake of fresh produce (Lucas does okay here, but I need to work at hiding more vegetables in his meals since he'll rarely eat any if they're served to him straight). This one is also challenging because I'm working within a budget so I can't just go to town on whatever sounds good, particularly with meat. This is my main goal for the coming year!
2. Sign up for and run at least one race, and maybe more. I really miss races as a hobby. While I'd love to train for a half marathon again someday, it's more realistic for me to stick to shorter 5Ks and 10Ks for the time being. I've already picked out my first one, Finish Chelsea's Run 5K on March 1. I'm signing up next week! Brandon and Lucas may tag along on this one too.
3. Read more! Sometimes I go weeks without cracking open a book, which is terrible to me. I need to do better at utilizing the library system so I don't spend too much on new books, though. I'm going to try to keep track of all the books I read this year to see how many I can finish. I used to read well over 100 books a year. I doubt if I read much more than a couple dozen this past year. 100 is probably too ambitious with Hurricane Lucas around, but more is always better when it comes to books!
Three is probably a good start with resolutions. It's good to start small and add more things later if I am successful.
1. Eat cleaner and better: I owe it to myself and my family to plan, purchase, and create healthy and tasty meals. Since I am in charge over about 90% of our food choices (I do all meal planning, grocery shopping, and most of the cooking), it really falls to me to make sure the family makes healthy choices. We aren't as bad as we used to be, but there's a lot of room for improvement. I'm hoping to significantly increase our intake of fresh produce (Lucas does okay here, but I need to work at hiding more vegetables in his meals since he'll rarely eat any if they're served to him straight). This one is also challenging because I'm working within a budget so I can't just go to town on whatever sounds good, particularly with meat. This is my main goal for the coming year!
2. Sign up for and run at least one race, and maybe more. I really miss races as a hobby. While I'd love to train for a half marathon again someday, it's more realistic for me to stick to shorter 5Ks and 10Ks for the time being. I've already picked out my first one, Finish Chelsea's Run 5K on March 1. I'm signing up next week! Brandon and Lucas may tag along on this one too.
3. Read more! Sometimes I go weeks without cracking open a book, which is terrible to me. I need to do better at utilizing the library system so I don't spend too much on new books, though. I'm going to try to keep track of all the books I read this year to see how many I can finish. I used to read well over 100 books a year. I doubt if I read much more than a couple dozen this past year. 100 is probably too ambitious with Hurricane Lucas around, but more is always better when it comes to books!
Three is probably a good start with resolutions. It's good to start small and add more things later if I am successful.
Friday, December 27, 2013
Christmas
Oh hey, I have a blog! I have some catching up to do. I've been having trouble feeling motivated to talk about anything on here, as much of my life seems way too boring to blog about. So here's a little bit about our Christmas!
Lucas was a lot of fun this year at Christmas. He's still too young to know what's going on but he was so sweet and excited while discovering his presents on Christmas morning. It was amazing!
We had amazing weather this week so we took Lucas to the beach a couple times. He loves the beach and the ocean but it's often too big of an undertaking for me to do it on my own on weekdays. We went to Coronado on Christmas Eve and to Ocean Beach the day after Christmas. He had a wonderful time putting his feet in the ocean, chasing his shadow, and digging in the sand.
We all did a lot of excellent eating and drinking this week. For Christmas dinner we had prime rib, mashed potatoes and gravy, roasted Brussels sprouts with onion and bacon, and popovers. So tasty! I got a lot of really nice clothes (my favorite present!) and a massage gift certificate from Brandon (so looking forward to this!). I got Brandon a watch, I think he likes it pretty well. We had a great time with my parents, especially Lucas who loves having extra people to drag around the house and boss around.
Merry Christmas to all! I'll be back later with New Year's resolutions and more recent photos of the Biggest Boy.
Lucas was a lot of fun this year at Christmas. He's still too young to know what's going on but he was so sweet and excited while discovering his presents on Christmas morning. It was amazing!
 |
| Lucas was a very good boy this year! |
 |
| Christmas morning selfie! |
 |
| Whoa. I can cook now. |
 |
| Future Chef Lucas getting started |
 |
| Santa also put Lucas's favorite, Clifford, in his stocking. |
 |
| He also got a few really awesome trucks. |
 |
| The ocean is amazing! |
Merry Christmas to all! I'll be back later with New Year's resolutions and more recent photos of the Biggest Boy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)