Love Stories:

Something I loved about 2021….

… our summer vacation. We had such a perfect fun time together and Wyatt loved the beach and lake swimming.

Our Love Story

Billy and I met in 3rd grade, when we shared a double desk. I was super quiet, he was super chatty. I think our teacher had hopes that Billy would be quieter if he sat next to me. But, my silence did not dissuade him from talking. He would also draw me pictures and eat part of my lunch (after he asked if he could have it of course – he was always polite)

Then we re-met in high school. He had a mohawk and rode a skateboard everywhere, and I remember my mom told me that she didn’t want me “hanging around with that boy” all summer. After a month or two of getting to know him though, she ended up loving him. And so did I. We were inseperable, not just for that summer, and got engaged 4 years late and were married two years later. We had a huge wedding, 400 people were there, we had 10 people each in our bridal party, and it was New Orleans themed, with cajun food and beads and doubloons and masks. People still talk about our wedding, 21 years later. It was a blast. We took a 17 day honeymoon, going to New Orleans (of course) for a week, followed by a week at Disney World. We certainly lived it up!

And here we are 21 years later. Through good times and bad, hard times and easy times. He and Wyatt are my world.

Things I Love:

What food do you love and must have on a regular basis? Hm. I love soup. And toast. And I have a Haribo Cherries addiction. I eat them every Saturday night for movie night.

What fashion “trend” do you love?  It doesn’t even have to be a current trend. Oh dear. I am so not trendy or fashionable. I will say I love the 70s hair and curtain bangs that people are doing now, but I don’t think it would work on me.

Which season do you love most?  Why is it your favorite? Fall!! I love bonfires, crunchy leaves, chilly nights and warm days, boots and blankets and cider and Halloween – and oh just everything autumn!

If you could be with a loved one who has passed, who would it be and what would you do? This question made me cry. I miss my Aunt Barb so much everyday. I have so many loved ones who I would love to be with again, but my Aunt Barb and I had a special bond. I wouldn’t care what we did but I will say for sure that we would have a cup of tea and a dessert and let her play with Wyatt.

What would you love to accomplish in 2022? Baking cookies that actually look and taste like cookies. My latest attempt looked weird, crumbled like dust, and also tasted like dust. Yum.

Which do you love most:  shoes, handbags, belts, or coats? Coats I guess? I have like two pairs of shoes, no belts, but I do have lots of coats and jackets.

What love remains with you today? Family, animals, nature. Books and words and learning other people’s stories. Freshly fallen snow, a quiet woods. Summer picnics under the trees.

How do you show your love?  What is your love language? I had to take the love language quiz because I had no idea! I am apparently all about quality time and acts of service. I know that I do really just enjoy spending time with those I love, not even doing anything in particular. I also like to help my loved ones – and apparently I like it when they help me too!

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Hey all! I hope you all had good weeks last week. Ours was a bit odd – we were expecting to have Wyatt’s EEG this past week but it got bumped due to the predicted snowstorm. We were supposed to get 15 inches of snow; we got 5-6 inches instead. Other than that, the week was pretty quiet and spent homeschooling, reading, playing, and prepping for the snow. I had a moment of panic thinking we were going to be snowed in without coffee so I made sure to buy two bags to be safe.

Read Last Week:

This book was spectacularly spooky! I loved it. I plan on reviewing it this week.

Reading This Week:

This was incredibly hard for me to find at the library! I don’t buy a ton of books, and prefer to use the library. I ended up having to borrow this as an e-book from my library system’s partner libraries. Has anyone read this? It sounds really good to me!

Posted Last Week:

A Little Bit of Everything Valentine’s Gift Ideas

Two Mini-Reviews: The Girl Who Speaks Bear and A Blizzard of Polar Bears

Hello February!

Watching:

We are watching so much Masterpiece right now. I signed up so we could watch All Creatures Great and Small and we have been wandering around watching other shows as well. We are in love with Around the World in 80 Days. It is fantastic. I was sort of lukewarm after the first episode but now I am addicted. We are also watching Kim’ Convenience Store on Netflix.

Saturday night is our movie night. We pop popcorn, eat candy, and pick a movie. Last night’s feature was Howl’s Moving Castle, another Studio Ghibli. I loved it. I think I liked The Secret World of Arrietty a little more but this one was also fantastic.

And I forgot to write down our wake up songs! We listen before we actually get moving so sometimes I forget what they are. Lol. I know we listened to R.E.M. Nightswimming and Landslide by Stevie Nicks, both pretty mellow songs. Nightswimming is a better night song but I love it.

Goodbye January! You were a long and tough month this year, and I am happy to put you in the rear view!

Onwards to February! The month of the Full Snow Moon, as traditionally February is the snowiest month, and well, looking at our weather forecast I believe it. We could get 16 inches of snow in two days! I know I was wishing for snow, but maybe not this much all at once on a very important week?

I mentioned celebrating small things, or having small celebrations, in one of my last posts, and this week is full of things to celebrate if you wish. The Lunar New Year, Groundhog’s Day, the New moon. The beginning of February even, and all that could be. Tonight we are having a little celebration for the Lunar New Year and the New Moon. We pulled out all of our Kid’s Moon Club materials and are beginning again this month. We did it for a year, took two years off, and now I am excited to revisit it. There are facets of it that we never did as Wyatt was too little to really be interested but should be now. We are also going to wassail our apple tree tonight! We usually do it on the traditional day of Jan. 17 but we forgot this year. It is a fun reason to drink cider even though our neighbors probably think we are nuts. I’ve also got my thinking cap on for Valentine’s Day! Billy and I don’t ever do a ton for Valentine’s Day, but we do like to do a little something or other for each other. Last year I made heart pancakes for Wyatt – I have a different idea this year that I saw online, so I have one plan ready. And we are almost done with his Valentine’s for his homeschool group exchange – they are super cute! I will share them with you all soon!

I hope to really dig into my garden plans this month. I don’t need to order many seeds this year, but I do want to design a plan for the yard overall. I want to do so much to our small yard – but it can be a pleasant place to dream and read and grow food and attract all the bugs and bees and butterflies. I hope to add a pond at some point, and a few more apple trees. I am really hoping for some frogs if I add a pond. And what about a turtle? Is that too much to hope? I think so but I can pretend.

I’m also daydreaming about summer vacation. I need to get on it if I want to rent a place for the family. We are hoping to find a house near the beach in Michigan that our family, my brother’s family, my mom, and my SIL’s mom can all retreat to for a few days this summer. We don’t need much, just beds and sand, so hopefully I can locate something for our little crew.

That’s all wintertime dreaming right now though. We will do a good deal of that, but I also hope to get outside more, to go to the zoo which I love to do in the winter (the animals are so cute playing in snow), try a few more trails, maybe even build a snowman this week if we get all that snow. I feel like we were such slugs in January. We had a nice cozy month full of baking and creating which that part was fantastic, but now this family wants to get outside.

How are you all? Do you have any plans for the month? Are you thinking spring and summer already too?

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Last week I feel like we accomplished so much! It was one of those really awesome homeschool weeks, as well as just getting other stuff around the house done. Nothing exciting but a good week nonetheless. This week is the big week – Wyatt’s ambulatory EEG. We go Thursday for the hookup, bring him home, and head back on Friday for them to remove all the wires. I am super nervous about the whole thing; it is going to be a really long 24 hours. It needs to be done though so we will do it!

Read Last Week:

Finished up my bear books! I plan to review them both this week.

Reading this Week:

I am loving the look of this book. I can’t wait to start it – but I need to wait for my Kindle to charge. I am so not good at keeping it charged.

Posted Last Week:

How I Deal with Winter

Mini Post – Burrowed In

Watching and Listening:

Miss Scarlet and the Duke! We binged this all week and I am so very sad that we watched them all! I loved it so much. Thank goodness a second season will be aired this year at some point. I need more Miss Scarlet and William! We are also watching All Creatures Great and Small – sigh. I just love it so much. Although Billy and I had a moment of panic – we forgot that not all of the episodes have been released yet and after we finished the latest episode, thought for a wild moment that that was all of them! Then when we realized we had more to go, we just had to wait, we exhaled in relief. We also started Around the World in 80 Days. I am going to tell you a weird secret about me- I loathe hot air balloons. Like I have some strange aversion to them. In photos, on television, in person. Ugh. I am not sure why this is. And weirdly, my brother has the same hot air balloon prejudice. I wonder if something happened to us in a past life or something? Lol. So, I am watching Around the World in 80 Days but that balloon. (imagine an eye roll here) Other than that, I enjoyed the episode that we watched. We did not have a movie night last night, instead opting to finish up Miss Scarlet. Maybe tonight. I think we might watch Kiki’s Delivery Service, which is another Studio Ghibali movie.

As for our wake up songs, it was my turn last week to pick! I chose 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton, Into the Mystic by Van Morrison (one of my fave songs ever), Come on Eileen by Dexie’s Midnight Runners (fun fact: when Billy and I were in our 20s we always said we would name our first child Eileen TooraLoora), and Someone Like You by Van Morrison. Today we listened to the song Brandy by Looking Glass, one of Billy’s favorites.

How are you all? I hope wherever you are, you are doing well!

It’s wintertime in Michigan, and that means cold weather, snow, ice storms, freezing rain, and months and months of having to get all super bundled up to just go outside for ten minutes. And I love it. Well not dangerous driving weather, that scares me. I don’t like or love that. But I do love winter, I find the cold invigorating and I just feel so much more alive in the winter. I always tell people it’s because I was born in the middle of a snowstorm , on a night where the moon was surrounded by a halo of ice, which is true, but my brother was born in December and he is not a fan of the winter. He is all about the hotter the temp the better, which repulses me. I hate being hot and sweaty and avoid it at all costs. He jokes that my family is snow and moon people while his family is summer and sun. And there is truth to that.

I remember one week while I was attending Central Michigan as a freshman, the temps dipped so low that they cancelled classes. There were signs on the door telling us to stay inside and not go out unless we had to go out, so my roomies and I only left the our dorm room to venture downstairs to the cafeteria. The rest of the time my roommate Bethany Lopez read to us. For real. She read us young adult romance books and randomly changed the names to our names and those of a few more of our friends. My other roomie and long time bestie Lori and I were very content to sit and listen for hours. Now Beth writes young adult romances so go figure. Maybe that week had an impact on her as well.

I lean in to winter. I embrace it. I feel that is the only way to really get through it. When I learned about hygge, I felt like I had found my people and lifestyle ideal. Getting cozy in the winter is one way to combat the cold temps – I mean you can’t go wrong with hot drinks, warm soft blankets, books, and pastries. My family also enjoys hiking through the woods in the winter and in general being outside in the snow, which I know is not everyone’s cup of tea. Appropriate layering of the right clothes is the key to enjoying the cold outdoors. But.. we can’t always be outside. And in these pandemic times, we can’t always be inside crowded places or even sometimes with our nearest and dearest. So what have we been doing? Some of these ways are probably crazy, but we keep busy and happy.

One thing I have always done is create a culture of celebration in our home. I like to make a fuss over things that other people may not, like our tradition of takeout on the first snow. We wassail our apple tree, we try to make things fun. Next week is a great week for celebrations – the lunar new year, the new moon, and midwinter all fall on the same night, February 1st. I have a whole day and evening planned for us, one that includes just small little celebrations of cheer. Find things to enjoy and make a big deal over, even little small things. And your big deal can actually be quite small – warm soup and homemade bread eaten picnic style in your family room, hot chocolate pancakes for breakfast, making cards to mail to friends, dropping off baked goods (jeez I have a lot of food related ideas this morning). Whatever floats your boat, it’s up to you!

Maybe you have seen the meme that says people are like plants, we both need water and light to be happy. So make sure you are drinking enough water and getting enough daylight – and even fifteen minutes of morning sun (before noon) is said to have great benefits, including sleeping better at night. And then, add plants to your home. Trust me the green in the middle of winter brings a smile to my face whenever I see my plants. Start small if you need to- one plant, or even a small pot of dill or basil or whatever on your kitchen counter, a succulent in the study. Or go big and crazy. Follow your heart on this. Make a wish list. Go crazy. As for me, I am a fan of the humble pothos. Easy to care for, and pretty inexpensive. They also can get very long! I have one I named Rapunzel, one named Sam Elliot, and one named Poppy. I also love naming them, and it has gotten to the point where Wyatt thinks all plants have names besides their species/type because all of ours do. When we see one somewhere he asks me its name. Lol.

I am a nurturer by nature. I think it is why having plants and animals and gardening and cooking makes me happy. I love to be surrounded by life as well, my reptiles and frogs (we are hoping to add to our menagerie this spring..), and also..sourdough starter. Ok this is weird and I know it. I have issues. I love to make and name sourdough starters. (If anyone wants one let me know..)

Frankenstarter is mine, I am making Mordough for my brother (can you guess where I got the name inspo from?), and Edgar Allan Dough is currently homeless. I have made the Grateful Bread for my stepmom and I feel like I need to make a Nostradoughmas… I am full of dad jokes and bread ideas.

Look at that aeration though- chef’s kiss.

We also love to create together. We put on some music, paint or draw, color, sew, whittle (Billy’s newest hobby). We are a content people over here. We plan our garden. We think about summer and the adventures we will have. I am already thinking about my butterflies in anticipation, of rearing them and recording them and tagging them this year.

Anyway, these are just some of the things we do that get us through these cold months. What are some things that you do?

This weekend was cold and snowy – a proper winter weekend, in my opinion. It was a good weekend to stick close to home and burrow in, under blankets and with books, baking, and of course, some fun outside in the snow.

It has been a winter without snow around here, and even this snowfall was pretty minor compared to winters in the past. I had ordered Wyatt snow pants just the week before and Wyatt was excited to have the opportunity to use them though, despite the snow not being super deep. It was enough for us to play around in! Wyatt does have two matching gloves, but I am not sure what Billy was doing when he dressed Wyatt. Lol. Whatever works I guess!

We didn’t however have a sled. But no sled no problem around here! Because when it finally snows, you make do! Wyatt had a blast!

When we came in, Billy made fantastic hot chocolate on the stove. Because is there anything better than playing in the snow followed by hot chocolate when you are a kid?

I also spent Sunday making Vatrushka buns as part of the Russian study unit Wyatt and I are doing in school. I am not the best baker all the time, and these turned out ok! It was a bit to get them there though. The dough has to rise for two hours, and our house was just not warm enough to get a rise out of the dough. So Billy again came to the rescue with his improvisations. This time we put the oven on low, set the bowl with the dough on top covered per the instructions, and Billy arranged a cookie sheet shield at the front of the stove by standing it on edge, so that the heat coming from the back of the oven would be somewhat trapped. And it worked! I waited another two hours and this time it doubled, and I kept on with the directions.

They needed to stay in the oven a smidge longer, and I forgot to put the wash over the edges to brown them, but they turned out not too bad. I was excited to be able to use this china set my dad picked up in Russia when he went with his school years ago. He went on a school exchange trip with the high school he was the principal for while I was in college, and man, I was so bummed I couldn’t go too! He did bring back some awesome souvenirs though, like this little plate and cup and saucer. I used to have one of those big hats but it got lost in a move which is another bummer because Wyatt would have loved that. Anyway.. these turned out ok. We had a little tea party and read a book called The Bun by Marcia Brown, which is just like the gingerbread man story but with a bun, and is based on a Russian folktale. So now I want to know which story was the original!

How was your weekend?

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

It’s snowing! I feel like I have been waiting all winter for some snow! We are planning on sticking close to home and baking today (Vatrushka buns and Dr. Bird Cake) but I am also thinking we will give Wyatt an opportunity to get outside in his new snow pants!

Read Last Week:

I am about halfway through this delightful middle grade story. I am hoping to finish it today during a certain someone’s quiet time (maybe after that time in the snow!). I had a weird week last week and didn’t get as much reading in.

Reading This Week:

Oo I am so excited to start this one! I read A Solitude of Wolverines last January and loved it. Maybe I will start this today instead…

Posted Last Week:

Homeschooling: Russian Unit Week One

Hanging in There on a Tough Week

Book Review: A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw

Watching/Listening:

We are still hopscotching around depending on how we feel at night. If we are tired and need a laugh we watch Mr. & Mrs. Murder. Cobra Kai if we are feeling fairly happy. (even though at times it gives me secondhand angst) We watched Queens of Mystery Season 2 because we were excited that the new season was out. We finished Dalgleish which was awesome. Wyatt and I tried Masha and the Bear but he wasn’t into it. I thought it was cute though. Then for our Saturday night movie night we watched The Secret World of Arrietty and I 100% loved it! Can I just make my house look Arrietty’s? My brother has suggested that we watch the Studio Ghibli movies and also a cartoon called Maya and the Three so we put those on the list.

As for our morning listening Billy took over our morning wake up songs on Alexa and it’s been different. This week we have heard Wham! Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (took me way back), Whistling in the Dark by They Might Be Giants, Violent Femmes (an old favorite band of mine), and Friday I’m in Love by The Cure. This week will be my takeover!