How about some bagels?

Sunday morning - it was cold - too cold for a walk, so we jumped in the car and headed to Einstein's for bagels. Took a drive and took some pictures of houses where we like the landscaping. I've got some work to catch up on. Sam's headed to the mall with Rachel.

Saturday's for Kicking Back

Most Saturday morning start out slow for us. On this day, Jan. 10, Rick and I took a walk then he headed out to peruse garage sales. I started in on just a few morning chores -- bathroom towels, kitchen dishes. Sam -- as is the case on many days -- woke up and headed straight for her art table and began coloring her drawing she had completed the night before.

Working from Home - Not

I tried working from home after my dental surgery. I didn't really get much done and besides, I'm not generally someone who likes working from home. I seem to draw energy and focus by being part of a team and working with others around me. Looking at this picture, it strikes me how old I look with my gray hair and wrinkles. Oh well, time catches us all and I'm actually pretty happy with where I am in my life. My husband and I have worked hard to build our lives emotionally, financially and physically and in many ways we're closer now than we ever have been. We're not quite to the "golden years," but I'm starting to understand why they are called golden.

Up to Date!

I'm up-to-date now with posts. As I'm writing this, today actually is January 9th. Not much going on. Working from home after my dental surgery. I'm staying off the pain pills as much as I can. But hubby has said "no driving" just in case. He's probably right. My digital camera battery lost its juice. So no photo. At least not yet.

Say Goodbye to Wisdom (Teeth)

I had two wisdom teeth out today, January 8th. It went great -- the doctor knocked me out and I woke up 30 minutes later with my mouth stuffed with cotton. Some tenderness and swelling, and I slept in and out of pain meds most the day, but better than the tooth pain I had before. Yeah, I was supposed to have this done a while ago, more than a year ago in fact I knew they should come out when I had the first one out. Can you say procrastinate?

Nothing Much New So Here's the Cat

A regular day - school, work, pay bills, a few hugs and how was your days? So here's the cat, Sadie, patiently waiting as she does every morning. She's already eaten her breakfast, so we're not really sure what she's waiting for, except for maybe to stay our of Max's way. . . .

Day 6 - Loan Papers!

Just before Christmas, we put in an offer on a new house -- well, new to us. We call it the IKEA house -- "some assembly required." It's a true fixer-upper, but we got it at a great price and it's only two blocks from Sam's school! Of course, everything couldn't go smoothly. Rick started shopping around for a loan even though we had been pre-approved by Chase. He thought by going to Wells Fargo we might get a better rate -- since we have been customers for more than 20 years, etc. etc. Long story short, when they ran our credit report, which apparently dropped our credit rating and they said so sorry, your rate just went up. Needless to say, Rick was irate (this all happened just before we went to Flag). When we got back Rick decided to check in with Chase just in case they could do something for us, lo and behold they came up with a great rate for us -- lower than Wells -- and lower points in the bargain. We gave Wells and their terrible attitude the heave-ho and gladly signed with Chase.

Back To School -- January 5

It's a Monday, back to school, back to work. Rick is making Sam's lunch ... as he does almost every morning. But we've already warned her -- you'll be making your own lunch in the morning very soon, so enjoy the extra service while you have it!

Day 4 of the 365 Project - Our Daily Routine

Routines are good -- and we fall into them many times without even realizing it! Rick usually is up before me -- he's an early riser. He makes the coffee. We both now like stealing a strong "first cup" from the pot ..... and then perusing the newspaper before launching our morning walk -- which is sometimes harder than others, but we try to stay committed, and we pretty much do. I'd say, we walk at least 5 or 6 days a week -- but we always read the paper and surf the morning TV news.

The Biggest Loser Challenge Begins!

Both Rick and I have gradually added on a few pounds over the years of our marriage (more than 20 now!). I can't believe I was really 116 on my wedding day and concerned that I was three pounds overweight! Now the scale is, well, um, I weighed in at 151. I'm working on modest goals. First stop: 140.

Day 2

We came home from Flagstaff -- a little worn out, but we had a good time. My amarylis made it all the way through Christmas and into the New Year with a glorious display of color!

I have been inspired to blog about 2009 which should prove to be a year of many changes and transitions for my family.

I'm going to try - please keep me honest - to participate in the "365 project" with a post and picture every day. I started taking pictures Jan. 1, but am just now getting to the blogging part! I'll also try to post a picture for every day!

Here goes!

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We spent New Year's Eve in Flagstaff -- we had a small suite and just hung out in the room eating some munchies and drinking a glass of wine (Sam had soda of course!). January 1, we took our sleds to what is now "Wingfoot Mountain SnowPlay Area" -- it used to be just an area off Forest Rd 222b that you had to know about and there were always 50 or 60 people there sledding when the snow was good. Well, someone decided to turn this into an official snowplay area, put up signs and a fee booth (now you have to pay $10 for what was free) and HUNDREDS of people showed up. The good news/bad news is the parking lot is limited, so once it's full you have to wait (we waited about 30 minutes) to get in. This limited the number of people sledding, but the wait was unexpected.

We still had a good time and after a few hours of sledding we were worn out enough to head back to town for a hot lunch and some cocoa!

This photo is of Rick getting airborne as he came flying down one of the hills.