What? It's February already?

This month has been craziness. How do you people that are so much busier than me keep your blogs updated? I'm in awe of you. Anyhoo, I really wanted to make time to brag about Tay. He auditioned for his first play and made it! He doesn't have a big part, but he's got his foot in the door and he loves it so far. He has 2 hour rehearsals 3 days a week, which is madness on top of Jr. Jazz and homework. But he actually functions better when he's busy, so it's working.

He got an award at school for reading fluency. He was one of the first in his class to pass off all the Fry Lists. Here he is hamming it up for the camera.

He also competed in the school Spelling Bee today. I was SOOOO proud of him. He was one of the 6 third graders who competed. He made it to round 3! He got to spell Ninja, which is one of my favorite words. He was super nervous and I was very impressed with how he held it together. You'll have to forgive my pictures. I still haven't figured out my new camera. I never seem to have it on the right setting and the pics look crappy.

I love it when my kids make me look good. Good job Tay!!! We are so proud of you!!!!!

Hello 2009!

I want this to be a fabulous year. I want to change a few things in my life, permanently. I want to quit telling myself I'm old. I've been telling myself that since I was 25 and it's ridiculous. So I'm stopping. I want to have a better attitude, more patience, more tolerance & gratitude. This will take some effort but will be well worth it, I think. I sat down today to make a list of things I'm grateful for and it ended up being quite lengthy. Of course, I'm most grateful for my family, our good health, safety and security. But there are tons of simple little things that make me really happy and I want to spend more time enjoying them. And I'm going to. Here are a few of my favorite things (not in any particular order)

Homemade bread
black & white movies
period films and sagas
candle light
reading a good book
cozy fires and hot chocolate
snow storms
thunderstorms
vegetable gardens
visiting my mom
facials
laughing at my kids
astronamy
singing
writing
porch swings
pot roast with mash potatoes and a roll
being with my sister
tomatoes from my garden
family dinners
a clean, shiny bathtub
sharing this video