Life Lately

Last week was our return to life as we normally know it.  Work for me and school, dance and gymnastics for the girls.  The Christmas decorations slowly disappeared back into the attic and basement.  The tree was hoisted from its stand in the family room and dragged to the woods, leaving a trail of needles in its wake.  I miss the fresh scent of pine radiating from the tree and while candles can help with that withdrawal, there's nothing like the real deal.

I feel slightly on edge, unable to completely slow down right now.  This is my busiest crunch time of the year at work so I arrived home (9 PM) two nights last week and then I was gone all day yesterday, Saturday (8 - 6).  My time at home between the holidays flew by and I certainly didn't feel ready to return to the daily grind.  Fortunately, we were able to fit in some holiday fun during the girls' holiday vacation from school.  There was an outing to La Salette to walk around and check out the displays and lights.  Our timing on that was okay.  It was a bit crowded as a cold front was forecasted to move in the next day.



A few nights later, the girls and I met Rich at his office.  We grabbed a quick dinner and then headed off to Jordan's Furniture to walk through the Enchanted Village, which Allie had been begging us to take them to.  Our planning was perfect as there was no line whatsoever.



On New Year's Day, we went to an early movie as a family, which happens maybe twice a year.  The girls wanted to see Into the Woods, which I hadn't even heard of.  Meh, it was okay.  Not really my cup of tea and at one point, I never thought it would end.  The kids seemed to enjoy it though.

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The girls continue to entertain me with their creative play.  Here they set up an airport for their dolls on the stairs.



scerdy = security



Yeah, that's the rest room.





Yes, that's correct.  There is a saladburger on the menu.

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Here's a funny snippet from a conversation that we were having with the girls regarding sleeping in their own rooms/beds by themselves.  Rich was asking if they needed anything in their rooms to help them, such as more light nights or a sound machine.  This was Emily's response - "Yes, I need a machine in my room that looks like a person.  It needs to look exactly like Mommy."

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After more than a year of considering an upgrade, I now own a Nikon D750 and I love it.  Amazon was offering an instant rebate if a lens/lenses were purchased with the camera and a full frame wide angle lens I'd been lusting after for years was one of the lenses in the deal.  I knew that if I didn't get in on the instant rebate while it was being offered, I would regret it.  I can't even spend $100 on a handbag so I made Rich order it for me.  Between the weather (arctic cold) and work (super-crazy-busy) I haven't had a chance to fire off a slew of photos but I've been using it here and there when I can, and so far, it's everything I dreamed it would be.  I'll talk more about the new camera later.  

I'll end with a photo of Allie.  Love this girl's style.  She asked me to do her hair like this.



Oh, one more thing before I sign off.  I'm thinking of trying to blog on a schedule - Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday nights. We'll see how that works out.