Friday Morning Walks

 Last Friday morning I was walking on this beach wearing short sleeves with my good friend, Chris. This morning I am planning a walk at the mall thanks to single digit temperatures and streets with refreeze from yesterday's slushy snow. I guess that's the difference in 1400 miles in January. My sunny beach walks have brightened my winter and left me better able to cope with the next couple of months. I do love walking on a long sandy beach littered with sea shells, but I will have to save that for vacations. Iowa has lots to offer but not those long beach walks.

Escaping Winter

I was fortunate enough to get away from winter weather for a long weekend. I left in bitter cold temperatures and came home to blowing snow and colder weather. Thanks to a delayed flight my return home ended up being after midnight. This gave me extra hours on the beach Sunday afternoon and an unplanned stay in a Cedar Rapids hotel later that night. Travel was not advised and the wind chills were 35-50 degrees below zero so I was content to spend seven hours longer away from home. I made it home safely this morning and will be posting some beach photos soon.

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday to Jay! You may be a grown man but I still remember you well as my sweet, considerate and energetic little boy. I hope that you have a wonderful birthday today! Love you!!

fitbit

Dale's Christmas gifts have increased my activity and created motivation for me to keep doing better. I had never heard of a Fitbit and if he had asked I probably would have said that I didn't need one but it's become a part of my daily life. I wear it every day and it tracks the number of steps that I take as well as active minutes and the miles that I walk. I love seeing those numbers go up and feel determined to reach my personal goals each day. As I watch the numbers and graphs on my Ipad I feel a sense of accomplishment. This has been a great motivation especially during this harsh winter weather.

Afternoon Snow

 When Lincoln asked to go outside to play in the snow I couldn't think of a good reason to say "no" so we bundled up and headed out. Well, he bundled up. I wasn't prepared for snow play so I was wearing running shoes and a fleece coat but it was lots of fun. We shoveled and played then met up with some neighbors for a sled ride too.

 I was only watching Lincoln for an hour before Daddy got home from work but we made the most of it. I am so glad that he loves being outside even in the winter. His activity level helps me to stay more active too.

January Thaw

 We have had some warmer days and got a real January thaw on Saturday. It was so nice to want to be outside that I took some extra walks. A big bonus was this sunset that Mowgli and I saw on our third walk of the day.

 It was also a great time to get out in the garage and do a few small projects. I purchased a cordless drill for a bargain price of about $15 after the clearance, discount and rebate. It seems to work pretty well for what I need. I hung Lincoln's snow shovel and Mounted my weed wacker under the work bench.

 It might be kind of crazy but I like my garage to be orderly and somewhat attractive. I guess that's why I hang posters from Broadway shows and an annual photo of my grandson in the yard. Sunday I worked on another garage project but its not quite finished.

Coming Together

Before Lincoln was born I made a small quilt for him. Although it ended up being a changing pad at my house it did travel to a parade and a few car trips. It's still in fine shape but I thought my second grandson could have a "changing quilt" of his own. When Mom recently gave me lots of fabric I had envisioned using lots of navy with some color. It's windy and snowy so I have been cutting and sewing with the pieces scattered on the living room floor. It's coming together but its still a work in progress. It is fun to be quilting again. Maybe after I finish this one I will complete my 2013 quilt that Lincoln and I were making.

Indoor Trails

 This winter has been a walking challenge. At first I was able to stay outside walking on the snowy wooded trails but then we had rain, ice and sub arctic temperatures that made the snow crunchy and slick rather than fluffy and safe. The streets have stayed icy much of the time also so I have resorted to many more indoor miles that I would like. I do walk the malls often but added a work day routine as well. Working in a big hospital gives me the opportunity to walk long halls behind the scenes and away from patients. It's actually posted for Blue Zone walking. I start and finish my work day by walking the halls and going up and down the stairs. I have always taken the stairs down from my fourth floor office but this winter I have started going up as well and its not too bad.

Every chance I get I ditch these indoor trails and walk outside. I am hoping that the rest of winter is more mild than the first part. This morning I bundled up to brave the sub-zero wind chills and walk in my neighborhood with Mowgli. It felt good to be outside but I would prefer to avoid this look and be comfortable with fewer layers.

 

Panther Fans

Sunday afternoon basketball at the McLeod center is a perfect time to gather for a fun sporting event. It's not too late for Lincoln and it isn't cold and dark. I was so happy that Briana, Ashley and Lincoln were all available. The games are fun and I enjoy our friends there lots. Lincoln shared his popcorn with Linda, Kimbo, Alicia, Aunt Breezy, Mommy and Grammy. It's such a great gathering and good basketball.

Lincoln brought his TC that he got for Christmas from Uncle Jay and Aunt Breezy. He held it the entire time using it to cheer and even held him up so that his TC could see the game too. It was an extra fun game and I am thrilled that there are a few more Sunday afternoon games on the schedule.

January Sunrise

 This morning I ventured out of the house when I noticed that the sunrise was bringing lots of color to the sky. I threw on sweats, slippers and a coat before driving a few blocks to the golf course where I could get a view of the entire sky. Fortunately I remembered to grab my camera too because it was a good one. Usually I am driving to work or cozy in the house when the sun rises so today was a treat. It makes me think of vacation because I always enjoy chasing sunrises and sunsets when I am traveling.

Fun at Wal-Mart?

Although I would normally say that Wal-Mart is one of my least favorite places we did have fun there this week. After the frigid cold ended we got drizzle and ice. It's been challenging to find places to walk or play. When Ashley had an errand to run at Wal-Mart I decided to join them. We dropped pennies down a fun vortex for charity and found a digger to ride. I didn't know that the digger was there but Lincoln knew what he was looking for and knew where to find it. I know it's still early January but this winter weather seems longer and more severe this year.

Veggie Ideas

I have greatly increased my vegetable consumption in the last several months and it's been good for me in many ways. I roast them, steam them, stir-fry them and eat them raw but it's all getting old. I take a big bag of raw veggies to work each week and that keeps me out of the cafeteria. I keep the fridge stocked with lots of produce which helps when I am searching for dinner ideas too. Having Lincoln helps makes it lots better and even makes him consider a few bites of green things. I would like some new ideas besides the soups and other usual dishes and maybe I should try some different varieties of veggies also.  I need to do some recipe research.

Finished Projects

As I mentioned I have neglected to post the finished product after posting photos of the early stages of a project. Today I catch up on two of those.

Last July I spray painted this collection of picture frames. I bought a couple from Goodwill but the rest were inherited from someone that wasn't using them or off my own shelves. In the fall Ashley helped me with the arrangement, pounding nails and ordering prints. I love looking at it when I walk through the living room and look forward to adding photos of my second grandson this spring. I intend to move the piano over about three inches to the right but that's not done yet. It's sometimes amazing to me how long it will take to finish a project that could be done much sooner.

This basement shelving project was finished in one day and all the credit goes to Travis.

 

On a very hot day in August Travis offered to come over and build the basement storage shelves that I had mentioned. He got them done on a Saturday and I started filling them with boxes hoping to get them better organized when I got the Christmas things out then repacked. I love the shelves and the chance to keep my basement much better organized. I've even invested in a few more totes to store Christmas things and retired some cardboard boxes that had been around more than thirty years.

I think this gorgeous hank of wool will be my next project. It's been decorating my sewing room for almost two years since Ashley got me a Groupon at Crazy Girl Yarn so I was willing to splurge. This is perfect knitting weather

 

Frigid Sunday

 It was very cozy at home today but the temperatures are frigid and dropping. As I write this the temperature is -9 degrees, without factoring in the howling wind. It's going to be colder tomorrow with temperatures lower than they have been in twenty years. It was the perfect day to stay inside. Lincoln spent the day and made things even cozier. Now that he has grown to appreciate TV he is quite a snuggler.

 They are good at relaxing, aren't they?

We also played football, read books, did puzzles and pretended. It was a nice day inside the house.  It was tough to get much exercise today. I walked outside yesterday when it was forty degrees warmer but today I did what I could in the house including football, riding horses (old canes) and chasing the dog. Lincoln and I found this bench that belonged to his Mommy downstairs and brought it up. We actually got some things done. Lincoln is quite the helper. I don't foresee myself getting out of the house on Monday either. I don't work on Mondays so it's hard to imagine much reason to leave home.

Still Stockings

 

I am not ready to take my Christmas stockings to the basement yet. I enjoy them so much that they might stay a few more days. They were one of my favorite Christmas decorations even when I only had two on the mantle. As my mantle gets more crowded I love them even more.

  I finished Baby Boy's stocking the evening before we gathered for our Christmas and waited until the weekend after to weave in all the loose ends, and there are lots of loose ends! I filled his stocking and hung it with the rest. Later this year I will get to stitch his name on the yellow band and fill it again. It is a little bigger than the rest but the yarn was a bit thicker. That's ok, a little brother could probably use the bigger stocking. I wonder when they will notice?

My Christmas tree is still up too and that's not bothering me either. I love the lights in the evening so I might just leave that up a bit longer also.

 

Project Starts

On Monday I started a project that was planned a year and a half ago. I had just forgotten about it or not taken the time to consider the math and sawing necessary. When my friend, James asked if I was still going to do it and offered to help me get started that was the nudge that I needed. James helped plan and did some sawing. I have made more headway but it's not finished yet. The photo is the first part of my new project.

This also reminds me that I have other completed projects that I have not yet posted. Someone asked me at Christmas about when I was going to show the finished project that Travis did for me this summer. I looked through my blog and found at least three projects that I started and posted the first steps but never followed through with the finished project. The projects were finished a long time ago. I will take some photos and do some posting soon.  That's something for me to work on during this very cold winter. I do realize that people are not waiting on pins and needles for these updates but it's all a part of my exciting life documentation. (Do you hear the sarcasm?)

New Year's Date

 It was very quiet New Year's Eve. My date went to sleep at 7 p.m. and it was perfect! I suggested that I would be happy to have Lincoln on New Year's Eve and give Mommy and Daddy a chance to get out or have quiet time at home. Lincoln is just getting over a virus and hadn't been sleeping well so we changed our plans a bit and hung out at his house instead of mine and it worked great. I love bath, jammie, story, prayers and bedtime. Morning jammie time is another favorite time for me.

 Lincoln and I made some very tasty oatmeal blueberry pancakes that were actually quite healthy as well as delicious. It was fun to get to share our breakfast with Mommy and Daddy too.

It's been a relaxing peaceful midweek holiday and start to 2014. It's so cold outside that it's nice to be snuggled inside with lots of blankets and love.