365.4: Mixed Emotions

It's our seventeenth anniversary and the last day of Christmas Vacation. Talk about mixed emotions! We made biscuits and gravy for breakfast, opened the windows to let in a breeze, and began writing lesson plans for school next week. T was playing chess by himself in the living room, and he reminded me of a movie I saw a long time ago. After a quick check on commonsensemedia.org, we decided that Searching for Bobby Fischer would be a great one to watch.
What a great movie! The boy that played Josh Waitzkin really tugs on the heartstrings. The movie is based on a true story and has a strong message about family, priorities, and the importance of doing right under pressure. If T didn't love chess before seeing the movie, he certainly does now! If you're looking for a good movie for family night, this might be it! Click here for a full review from a great site.

365.3: UPS Christmas After-Party

Have you been reading all the ruckus about the late deliveries from UPS and FedEx this season? Some people have been pretty upset by it all. We had two packages come quite late from UPS. One was full of Christmas presents that were for family that had been visiting for the holiday. Those will need to be mailed on since family has already gone home. The one that arrived today was for us and was full of presents from my parents. It was like a little Christmas after-party. The girls got some fun clothes and accessories. T got a devotional book and a cool string puzzle book. I got a little lens for my iPhone camera (more to come from that in a later post). M got a new phone case and some socks. It was all great fun!

But then...

There was a tin at the bottom of the box. I knew what it was before I even opened it. Puppy chow. Not kibble for young canines, but the chocolate-peanut-butter-powdered-sugar-covered breakfast cereal that has played an integral part of my family's Christmas tradition for decades.

How many times do I have to reboot this New Year's diet thing?

You may say there's no such thing as Santa, but the powdered sugar in my goatee may give you pause.

365.2: Tacos con la Familia

It's just a Thursday night. It's just tacos. It's just family. I love the smell of taco shells in the oven.

365.1: Packing Up Christmas

Yesterday was the first day of 2014. Other than a quick trip to Publix to get eggs we spent all of it at home. Chess, fudge, Christmas leftovers, knitting, nail polish, crochet, and tatting were the day's activities. Oh yes...we also took down Christmas decorations. All four trees are now packed and ready for their debut on the day after Thanksgiving.
I'm not quite sure how our garage now looks more organized with all the boxes of Christmas decor back in their places, but it really does. I am amazed by my wife's organizational skill. In seventeen years of marriage, I have never known our kitchen/living room/dining room not to be "company ready." She is raising three children, has run three different businesses out of our home, moved twice in the last six months, taught full-time, babysat, and kept a sloppy, creative, free-thinker like me grounded and sane. Somewhere in there she still finds time to sew, crochet, tat, and craft amazing handmade treasures for us, our family, and our friends.
When I was a young boy I had a huge crush on Wonder Woman.
When I was a young man, I married her.