Okay...that's enough

Winter, I'm done with you. Be Gone!

Even if the snow was pretty today, I despised it. The day was too cold.

My office is freezing.

April begins in 2 days. We don't have a place for snow in April. No more, I beg of you.

Leave us alone.

Spring Break in a Nutshell

Spring Break was a busy week. But with all good things.

We had a parental birthday party back home with the whole fam. It was awesome...and now, so many children!

Clearly, Dad had no idea what to do

with his new Kindle. I love this expression!

Mom is pumped about her new, extremely heavy

marble rolling pin.

Jane obviously enjoying the birthday party.

The two oldest granddaughters with their Papa.

Maddie helped with the cake and was very proud.

They are so grown up!

I made it a long weekend at home, coming back just in time to make lots of food for friends with new babies. Here's a list of all the food items I made this week:

• Spinach Egg casserole and multiple pots of coffee
• Cinnamon coffee cake (double batch for extra yummies)
• Meatloaf and mashed potatoes with steamed veggies
• Lentil Rice bake with ham, veggies, and fruit salad (for 1 family)
• Pizza rice casserole, garlic bread, veggies, and cookies (for 1 family)
• Savory ham and rice, veggies, fruit salad, and cookies (for another family)
• Smoked ham and cheese tortilla with chopped boiled egg

I also had homework to catch up on for class on Thursday, had some work preparation to do for next week, had a specialist doctor's appointment in town (relatively speaking) on Tuesday, a second opinion in Chicago on Saturday morning, and tried to find time for working out and Bible reading. It was a lot to cram into one week that was supposed to be about rest. But, every piece of this week was well worth it:

• I spent quality time with my entire family.
• I helped out three families who are probably exhausted and needing to not have to think about dinner.
• I have found some resolution (in theory) to my nerve/leg/hip problems that have been bothering me (to put it lightly) over the last 8 months.
• I even managed to take better care of myself and feed my husband something worth eating.

There is a lot facing me in the next two weeks. It's a busy time of semester at work. It's a busy time of semester in school. We're beginning to see friends again (after a couple-week break). It's Wilson family birthday season (which includes Kyle's birthday). Needless to say, there is a lot on my mind.

I find myself so grateful for good friends and loving family, for random times to process and other times to just get through, for my kitty (who is precious a great deal of the time), for loving what I do and what I'm studying, for having enough, even more than enough. And, for being blessed so that I can bless others. Even as I sit here in a great deal of pain, not knowing when the pain will end and when I can attempt to get back into shape, I can say God is good. I feel his love; I see his work. And for tonight, for this week, this year, this life, that is enough.

Why I Heart This Weekend

Kyle and I found ourselves in the first weekend we can remember this year (2011) in which we had no pressing engagements. We decided to treat ourselves with delicious new recipes, movies, and relaxing.

We began the weekend by sleeping in until 9am. A rarity for me, it felt amazing to get so much sleep. Kyle scheduled haircuts with our local hairdresser for 10:30a on Saturday. It was the first time she'd ever seen us together and we had a great time chatting it up while we both got our hair cut. Another great feeling.

I love grocery shopping. People might think it's absurd, but I love menu planning, making a list in order of how the ingredients are located in the store, going in and grabbing everything and timing the whole store-run. I also love seeing how many things I can buy on sale. This weekend I was able to stock up on canned tomatoes. I love it! I, therefore, had a lovely outing to the store, and upon my arrival back home, I set Kyle to trimming and cubing a pork loin for a new dish described by Emily on the GOFR. It's a divine crock meal, I might add. New flavors, perfect combo. But that was not the only culinary art created yesterday. I made two loaves of banana bread, both overflowing (literally) with goodness, one specifically with mini chocolate chips. Delicious!

We accomplished much in the food-prep and kitchen-clean-up, which always helps me feel better about my house and my life, incidentally. Kyle went to the nearby RedBox to grab the new Robin Hood with Russell Crowe and The Sorcerer's Apprentice with Nicolas Cage on Blu-ray. Both were highly entertaining. While I'm not a Crowe fan in the least, this take on how Robin Hood came to be an outlaw is phenomenal. Well worth a watch. The other was purely entertaining, very funny, and displayed lots of cool magic. We were so relaxed; the day was perfect (and sunshiny, too).

Today dawned and I realized we lost an hour of sleep, which was unpleasant, but we rebounded well. After church we stopped by Culver's for lunch where I was able to satiate a craving I didn't even know I was having: breaded pork tenderloin! I love them and this one (with pickle, tomato, and lots of ketchup) was awesome. We had another afternoon of cooking and cleaning up the kitchen, this time Stephanie's recipe for Chipotle Mexican Meatballs. With Kyle home, he got to do the dirty work of sticking his hands in raw beef: he loved it! I got to avoid doing that, which I loved! Tomorrow, we'll be making guacamole (first time ever), chopping some tomatoes, sauteing red & green peppers and an onion, and serving this all (with the meatballs) on tiny tortillas. We can hardly wait.

I finished my day with Bible Study, which is so uplifting. I'm so grateful for this group of women who've allowed me to be a part of their study for four years. It's been a fun and meaningful time for me.

Needless to say, as you can probably guess, I don't want this weekend to end (which is why I'm still awake and writing this ridiculous post). Oh well...I get to see my nieces, nephew, sister, and brother-in-law this week, and that, my friends, is enough to make this week worth starting!

The Quest for Sleep, Update

We have clearly figured out that the last method described (2 gates + 1 folded card table on its side) is the very best and most effective at keeping Quincy in his part of the house and letting us sleep peacefully. We have had no other incidents. It's been blissful. I've been sleeping a ton (as in going to bed with Kyle between 9 and 10:30p and waking up at 6:30a), and I'm feeling much better about pretty much everything in life.

We are still insanely busy, just hoping for March to go by quickly while letting us enjoy the few trips back home to see family for birthdays, a Spring Break for me, and hopefully getting together with some friends (maybe...still don't know if that can happen with our weekend schedules).

I have a story I need to recount to you about my day last Thursday, but, in truth, I also have a paper to write by Thursday at 4pm. I think the paper takes precedence, considering the state of mess it's currently in.

Today, Kyle worked 14.5 hours. Yes, he really did. Trying to make up time for his "snow day" last Friday. Bless him. If you think of it, say a prayer for the man. With his 2-nights-per-week class and his 10 hour work days, he's about dead by now. Which is why we want March to pass by quickly. He will be done with the class at the end of March.

Until I can get back to you to regale you with the story of my last Thursday in February, I wish you well and good health.