Looking Ahead To 2016 - Goals Not Resolutions

We went to my sister in law's 70s themed New Year's Eve party. Don't ya love the glasses hubby is wearing? They were my dad's and I remember him wearing them way back in the 70s. I was going for some big disco hair. Not sure I acheived that but it was great fun as usual. I always dance way more than I should and pay for it the next day. I say keep dancing as long as your body will let you.

I had to share my sister in law's 2016 glitter bottles. Aren't they fun? Even the menu was 70s themed party food from fondue to Chex mix.

2015 proved a year both rewarding and challenging. My kids are all well and successfully facing the challenges of career and college educations. They are thriving. My oldest has finally accomplished her dream of a job in a hospital as an RN. She will be a med/surge oncology nurse on three twelves. No more visits to people's homes where nurses cannot control their environment. As her mother I am so relieved she is done with that phase and will be in a hospital now. What is asked of home-health nurses is really incredibly risky. Many patients are great but some require these nurses to go into areas that are not safe. Anyway off my soap box and so happy for her.

My other girls are good and working and doing well in school. Parenting is hard and does not happen in a vacuum. You have to be present, in their lives, faces, business but also let them fail and learn how to fix things on their own. Your kids need you to be their parents, not their friend. It is hard and you have to stay the course. The rewards are worth all the work ten fold.

I do not share as much about the family here these recent years but I do like to offer encouragement to others if I can. My husband is well and now working locally all the time with no travel. That was an adjustment but a positive one. I love being able to lean on him more for the day to day things. I was alone a lot for 24 years of marriage and raising kids when he had to travel for work. That was hard on both of us but is behind us now. Yay!

My goals for 2016:

1. Family - Continue to be home and the homemaker I love being. Cook more from scratch and get back on healthier meal planning. Spend more time working on planning for Q's homeschooling days and do more field trips with her. December is always very busy and pushes hubby and I a little too hard. I would like to take more time for rest and down time. I often feel I cannot just sit and do nothing.

2. Myself - Walk more. Daily or almost daily walking and twice weekly yoga. My hubby has plantar fasciitis and yoga is one plantar fasciitis exercise he can do without aggravating his foot pain. Get a better handle on changes that are occurring in my own body with aging and being a woman. We all know what that means. Spend time dealing with each change as much as I can so that I stay feeling well.

3. My Spouse - This is something I really want to focus on. Parenting and the pressures of aging parents takes a real toll on a couple and I want to spend more time having fun with my husband and working on our relationship. Our marriage is good but can always be better and he really gets me, know my needs and I want to focus on him more.

4. Blogging - Continue to grow my blog and to focus on writing. Maybe work on an e-book. I still like blogging and enjoy it but I may never grow very big as I allow the pull of my family to keep me busy and away from the computer. I like this and the balance feels good to me. I am seeing my page views grow slowly but that is okay. They are growing. I love this outlet and that I can work from home sharing what is most important to me. Blogging is a great creative outlet for me and challenges me to keep up if just a little, on the computer.

I want to wish you all a Happy New Year! I pray for more peace in our country but not sure what the future holds. Seems turbulent times for sure. Thank you so much for visiting and following along with us.

On Love and Marriage and Valentine's Day

It is Valentine's week and really we have never done much in the way of romantic ventures to celebrate the holiday. Oh, don't get me wrong we celebrate it, but with the kids usually. The thought of going out on one of the busiest days of the year would give hubby and I a stroke. We hate crowds. Often we head out of town to the central coast but there are usually some or one kid with us but that's fine.

What I love is having my husband home and in the house and just being here with us. He works a lot so I appreciate his need to be home. A romantic night is curling up with the latest Sturbridge Yankee catalog and deciding what we would order if we suddenly were rich. Life is basic around here. I really just love being a family. When things are good with the kids then things are usually good with us. Our focus has always been centered right within these walls.

Now don't get me wrong. Love a little time away or even a trip to the hardware store with my man, but we are usually found at home keeping things going around here. I think it helps if your goals are similar and your home is your center. I think it's pretty hot when the house is clean and we can head out to the garden and play in the dirt. That's sexy to me. A little dirt under the fingernails. But heck I am not above stealing a little kiss from my man behind the tree out back.

So even though we aren't fancy about our Valentine's celebration, I do always look forward to a little something he brings home to me that day. Hey, I ain't gonna lie. I have never turned down an offer of flowers EVER?

So what are your plans for the day of LOVE? Do you do it up big or do you maybe just ignore the day all together? I'd love to know.

Early Morning

It is about 5:00 a.m. here and I am up early. I like to get up with my husband and get him ready and out the door if I can. I shuffle out to the kitchen and get the coffee brewing.

My feet are cold so I grab a couple of mismatched socks from the laundry basket.

It is totally dark out my kitchen window.

As is common, there is a kitty that has snuck into the laundry basket.

Aw my eggs are in there now with the store bought. Makes for the perfect fried egg sandwich for my hubby to take out the door.

And because I am hokey, I write him a little note to tuck in his lunchbox. It has been a long week for him and I want him to know how much I appreciate him.

Work Boot Flower Pots, Container Gardening

Work boot flower pots.

These boots may be ready for the trash for some but for me these boots that were my husband's, represent a whole lot of what is good in my life. My husband works harder than any man I know. Now, before I offend anyone, I know there are lots of people out there working hard like doctors and our military guys,  but for me and the people I know, my husband works so hard for us. He is a lineman for our utility here and he works long, hard hours and many out of town. There is actually a poem called "The Lineman's Wife". In it there is a line about how when everyone else is getting ready for bed, safe in there homes, sheltered from the storm, our husbands our heading out on a call. It is so true. Mostly I guess this post is for him. I want him to know how much I appreciate him. So back to the boots. These are some old boots that were once owned but my father in law. When hubby needed some new boots he went and pulled these out and said he'd wait as he knew the kids needed things for school and then he waited again as he knew it was Christmas. Finally, after Christmas, watching him actually try to sew these up, I told him it was time for a new pair. So when the new ones arrived I could not toss these, so I told him, "Honey I will plant flowers in your boots" And I did.

Update: I showed my hubby this post and he responded in his usual manner. He didn't say anything but just looked at me like, "Uh what should I say to her....and then....thanks."