Results from February Dreams and Goals

 

Last month I read these wise words from Chrystal Evans Hurst, highlighting the importance of both short and long term goals. They have reminded me that while I make these monthly goals intentionally to be short term (rather than year-long goals), there’s some benefit to keeping long-term goals in mind as well. Perhaps I don’t state them here, but it would be good for me to have them, and then the shorter goals could support them little by little! Just some food for thought today as we wrap up this short little month with its short little goals!

                Here were the dreams and goals I made for February:

 Make a Valentine’s Day plan. Well, we did that! I wrote earlier this month about our dreamy, low-key Valentine’s Day. We attended chapel at Swiss Village to watch my parents being honored for 70+ years of marriage, we went out for dinner, had a special treat dessert, watched a cute movie, exchanged gifts, and enjoyed just being together.

 Read for fun. As you saw yesterday, I did read for fun this month! Two lighthearted romances filled my reading list for this month, and both were sweet, predictable, and all the things my heart needed.

Start on our anniversary scrapbook. I did this! I haven’t gotten very far yet, but I did start on it. And somehow, I managed to keep up pretty well with our chronological books. (Sunday afternoons are generally my scrapbooking times and this month our Sunday afternoons were largely spoken for in other ways, so it was a little challenging to keep up. I’m proud of what I was able to do!)

Attend a marriage conference. We really enjoyed our trip to Ohio for the marriage conference – despite my flops and fails in the Newlywed Game! We really enjoyed the speaker and had fun being away in a nice hotel with good Amish food.  

Start brainstorming for speaking. I made great progress here! I blocked out this past Saturday and disappeared into my office to write and write and write. I made great headway with writing new material and tweaking previously used material…and I’m thankful for a quiet day at home to accomplish these things. I’m not finished, but I got a great start and feel like it’s under control – for now.

Start planning my garden. This was probably my biggest failure this month. I did some mental planning, but nothing went down on paper, and I did not set aside my day to shop and plant. I do indeed need to step up my game on this one.  

                In other news…

·         We hosted our friends in our home around the time of the marriage conference and had a great time welcoming them into our space.

·         I made Valentine’s Day treats for my coworkers – and Ryan’s, too! I enjoyed that little project. Baking and Canva creations = a great day.

·         Work was very busy this month, and I was excited to see all the things I was able to work on and create!

·         We had fun doing a little thrifting this month. I never thought we would enjoy that as much as we do…but we do! 😊 We had success with several finds, and that made my thrifting heart happy.

·         I attended a staff planning day at church and loved it. It was my first one, and I’m excited for more to come!

·         I also got to meet my new office at church (though it is still under construction) and am in full mental planning mode over that.

·         I met up with a fellow writer, and we had a great conversation about writing that spurred me on in my own projects.

I am happy with how this month went and all I was able to accomplish. I am also grateful for naps and some days that allowed me to be productive from home – especially when it was icy out!  

Bekah's Bookshelf: My 2025 Reads So Far

 

Remember last fall when I bought a bunch of used books through the Better World Books website? One of my choices, which had been on my wish list forever was a book called The Pursuit – written by Lori Wick. I cut my writing teeth on Lori Wick and Janette Oke novels as I grew up, and my goal is to own the complete collection of both their libraries, because they so formed who I am as a writer. The Pursuit was the fourth book in one of Lori’s series, and I owned the first three books already. But as I picked up this new-to-me book to read it, I realized I didn’t remember anything about the storyline leading up to book four. So I went back to book one to reread it.

                And that is how The Proposal (not the movie) came to be my first February read. As I told you at the end of January, I needed a lighthearted read after so many “stiff” books, and The Proposal seemed an appropriate February choice. 😊 This book was published back in 2002, so it’s a golden oldie in book years.

                This whole series takes place in England, so I tried to read it in a proper accent. That worked well sometimes and other times, not so much. It also takes place in 1810, so I had to reset my time period clock to embrace the days of yore.

                The book opens by introducing us to a young, eligible bachelor named William Jennings, who most unexpectedly finds himself caring for three young siblings who were recently orphaned following the death of one of his distant relatives. Jennings has always wanted children, but he never got around to it because he wasn’t particularly interested in getting married.

                Raising three children (without warning) isn’t as easy as he thought it might be, so he packs everyone up and heads to his sister’s household for help. Though they’ve been estranged for years, she welcomes him in without question and demonstrates parenting while trying to mend their relationship.

                And then there’s her very pretty, single neighbor who helps out with the children sometimes too…you can probably see where this is going.

                There are many things about the book that are perfect – perhaps too perfect. Jennings throws zero fits at giving up bachelorhood to care for three children. The children have no trauma, considering they’ve just lost both parents and have been sent to live with a stranger. The relationship with his sister glides pretty easily for how distant they’ve been. And his introduction to faith in Christ happens pretty seamlessly compared to what it feels like would have been a reality.

                But minimal hiccups and obstacles were what drew me to this book in the first place, so I didn’t get too upset about it.

                I plan to finish out the series over the next few weeks, though I have several other books that I want to sprinkle in.

                Is the book realistic? No. Is the story believable? Not entirely. Was my mental English accent any good? Not in the least. But is it a feel-good read with a strong faith component? Yes.

**

                Though I read in three other books this month, I only finished one of the three. I didn’t give up on the other two. I just ran out of time to finish them in a short month that was heavy in other obligations! Maybe I’ll get to tell you about them next month.

                But my second complete read in February was Wishing for Mistletoe by Robin Lee Hatcher. This book (delightfully) showed up in my mailbox one day – gifted to me by one of you! (Thanks, Shari!)

                Shari read this book, loved it, thought it would be the perfect light read for me, and sent it my way. And she was not wrong at all. I adored it.

                The book is part of a series written by multiple authors, and I’ve not read any of the others. I didn’t feel left out, thought. By glancing at the summaries of the other books, I see that some of the characters I read about appeared in those books, but I didn’t feel like I was behind by just meeting them in this one.

                The series is called Love on Sanctuary Shores, and the setting (Sanctuary Shores) is a duplicate of Mackinac Island. You know how much I love the idea of visiting Mackinac, so it took me about .25 seconds to fall in love with the setting of the book.

                The story is very much a Hallmark movie in a book. It tells the story of fiction writer Ariel Highbridge, who travels to the island in the winter to try to find her creativity again. Ariel’s friend owns a house on the island but doesn’t stay through the winter, so it’s the perfect place for Ariel to hide out and write.

                Right next door to this house is a handsome young widower and his young daughter. Since there aren’t many people on the island in the winter, Tom and Ariel strike up a friendship – and, not surprisingly – a romance.

                The love story is sweet, and I wanted to visit the cupcakery and bookstore, too.

                My only complaint with the book was the very end. I felt like all of the sudden the story just concluded, and I wanted to know a little more! (Maybe I’m just greedy.)

                But oh, how I loved these people, the writer in Ariel, the adorable little island, and the sweetness of the story (which, by the way, has an unashamed faith thread running through it).

                My books this month were lighthearted, but I sure loved them. Just what my weary soul needed!

Fun Finds from February

 

Just a couple more days in this month, which means it’s time to share some of my favorite finds from this month! Enjoy!

               Back in 2021, when we were on our big RV trip west, we toured the adorable small town of big things – Casey, Illinois. As we perused the town, we stopped in a little local boutique, and I found a pair of workout leggings on their clearance rack. I bought them, and they have been the only pair of pants like that I’ve had for the last couple of years. The problem? They seemed too short. Every time I wore them to work out, I was fine as long as I didn’t move. But you know the key part of a workout? Moving. Every week at Boot Camp, after I did jumping jacks or squats, I had to hike up those pants. Annoying. Then I found a gift card to Amazon I forgot I hadn’t used, and I ordered these pants, which have been on my wish list for a couple of years. I wanted to cry with joy when I tried them on! No more pulling them back up after jumping! (And they have a phone pocket – actually two of them! – which absolutely matters.) They come in a three-pack, so now I have three pairs of workout leggings that fit and hold my phone. I’m thrilled – and so are the rest of the Boot Camp participants who no longer have to watch me hike up my pants. (Note: They come in multiple color combinations, so if you don’t like my choices, you have others!)

               When Ryan’s mom passed away, we didn’t take too many things from her house. But one thing Ryan did want was her little Bluetooth speaker. He has been using it every day, and it marches on in great health. Recently, though, he decided he needed it at work, so that meant he needed a new one at home for singing along to his music while he gets ready in the mornings. He received this one for Christmas and loves it! I forgot to tell you about it last month, so I’m throwing it on this list this month.

                It’s been almost a decade since Ryan’s mom loaned her air fryer to us and then told us to just keep it. She had a fondness for purchasing electronics and gadgets as soon as they were released – and then not using them. I’m guessing the air fryer fell into this category. But we did use it – often. I’m confident we got her money’s worth out of it, but it’s been giving us trouble lately. The door stopped closing without a proper slam, and recently, even post-slamming, I don’t think it was really, fully shut. And the last two times I’ve used it, it has smoked up the house terribly, sending us scrambling to open windows before the fire department arrived. (We took it all apart and cleaned out everything, but it still smoked.) Ryan found a new option half-off, which put it in our price range, so he ordered it. WOW! It’s so quiet, and sleek and it even has a window to watch the food while it cooks. Air fryers have come a long way in a decade. (Our old one is on the right and the new one is on the left.)

               Our toaster is still working, but I have a feeling its days might be numbered. I decided to start researching for a new one now, while it’s not an emergency, so when the day actually arrives, I’ll be prepared. Did you know a slimline toaster was a thing? Given that our kitchen space – and especially our counter space – is minimal, this one caught my attention! (To be fair, we don’t store the toaster on the countertop, so the limited counter space may not matter.)

                

                I love pasta, but I don’t love how it makes me feel after I eat it. I always feel super bloated – and miserable. One of my friends from Boot Camp told me about Hearts of Palm pasta from Aldi. (Maybe I’ve talked about it on here before, but I’ve been enjoying it again recently.) It’s shaped like angel hair pasta, comes in a pouch, and is easy to heat up and serve with whatever sauce you like. I’ve been using it for my dinners while making regular pasta for Ryan.

                Several years ago, we were given a foam roller, and I have used it only upon occasion. We almost got rid of it in one of our moves, but we decided to keep it a while longer, and I’m glad we did! I found this foam roller routine on the Nourish Move Love site and have been using it some this month. My muscles are often tight and sore, so this has been helping! (Here’s a similar foam roller if you’re looking for one.)

                 Ryan gave me this blanket for Valentine’s Day, and I love it. I read about it on some blog – or maybe it was Instagram? – and marked it on my wish list. It’s lighter weight, which should make it nice for warmer weather – if we ever see any of that again. It’s made of muslin, so it’s kind of like a giant baby blanket! 😊 We got the navy one, but it comes in many colors, so if navy isn’t your favorite, you can find another one!

                A few years ago, I bought Ryan a meat thermometer to use when he grilled, and it’s been serving us well, but it recently stopped being regularly accurate. That kind of matters in the world of food safety, so he researched a new one. I got it for him for Christmas, and we’ve both been using it a lot in the last couple of months. It’s fast, accurate, and much smaller than the one we had before. I’m a big fan!  

Favorite Recipes from February

 

Last month I had fun sharing with you some of the recipes that filled our month and filled my recipe binder with keepers for the future. I have a few more for you this month!

Arroz con Pollo – For many years, my order of choice at any Mexican restaurant was arroz con pollo, so when the familiar name showed up in the meal plan on Skinnytaste, I was excited to try it. Apparently the more authentic, healthy version of this dish does not, in fact, come drenched in queso. (And here I thought that was the whole point of arroz con pollo!) Despite the lack of processed cheese melted over it, we thought this dish was tasty enough to keep, and we probably saved a few hundred calories while we were at it!

Greek Orzo Salad – This recipe makes a bunch, so I’d recommend either making it for a crowd or cutting the recipe down. I’d also recommend making it a little ahead of time, because it’s one of those dishes that tastes even better after the flavors have had a chance to marry for a while. I’ve told you before that orzo is my new favorite pasta, because it’s not so heavy. And this recipe has a good and proper Greek tang to it, which we both loved. We ate this alongside a handful of main dishes, including burgers and sloppy joes. It can go with just about anything!

Roasted Veggies – This recipe is really roasted sausage and veggies, and I have made it before just as it’s written, and it’s very good. But I had a night where I needed just a side veggie dish, so I made this sans the sausage, and it was so good. I used zucchini and onion and bell pepper, but I didn’t have any potatoes on hand, so I just skipped those, too. The seasoning on just the roasted veggies was excellent. A versatile dish!

Cookies and Cream Protein Shake – I’ve been enjoying this for breakfast and snacks alternately. For the cookies, I have used the 100 calorie snack packs of chocolate cookie wafers from Aldi. (One pack lasts for several shakes.) This satisfies my constant milkshake craving, but it’s much better for me! And I know it is strange to make a shake with cottage cheese, but I promise it doesn’t taste at all like cottage cheese!

Greek (Non) Tofu Bowls – We aren’t Tofu people, but I love it that when Skinnytaste features a Tofu dish, I can sub in chicken, and that’s exactly what I did here. Confession: I hate breading chicken because it never goes well for me. So I skipped breading the chicken and just seasoned it. I followed the bowl part of the recipe exactly and it tasted so good. We enjoyed this.

Chipotle Chicken – I made this in the air fryer, and it was quite tasty. One thing that feels important to note? I didn’t have any chipotle seasoning. I know, I know. It’s in the name. But I used the other seasonings and it tasted just fine with those! I made rice for Ryan, cauliflower rice for myself, and served this with the corn salsa in the next section. Super tasty dinner!

Fresh Corn Salsa – This was so good. One of the things we love about summer is the abundance of fresh, crisp vegetables from the garden. Right about this time every winter, we really start to miss those, and this dish helped us feel like we were in summer for just a minute. It also lent some flavor to the rice that accompanied the chipotle chicken above.

Mushroom Spinach Scrambled Eggs – I know anything with eggs can be a bit of a tricky dish to make right now, because they are not cheap! But if you have access to affordable eggs, you might really like this dish. I started making it last summer and found it an easy and tasty start to the day. I made it again this month and still love it! Note: I use Feta in this when I make it, but that’s personal preference.

    Hope you find a dish or two you like in this roundup! Happy cooking! 

Lived-In Bible

 

I’ve written before about different Bibles I’ve owned in different seasons of my life. I have quite a collection in a variety of versions and colors, and if you pulled them from the shelf and thumbed through them, you would find notes, highlights, underlines, and evidence of the things I learned from the Lord in different parts of my life.

                The high school/college Bible – that carried me through all the angst of those tumultuous years.  

                The Bible of my twenties, with all the verses that carried me through the hard, single years.

                The desert Bible, where you’d find scribbles of bright yellow, marking all the verses that walked me through the dark.

                I used some longer than others, so there are a handful of Bibles on the shelf that didn’t see a lot of marking and notations, and others are full from margin to margin.

                My present Bible has been my daily companion for almost four years now, and as I cracked it open to look for something the other day, I found pages filled from margin to margin – and supplemented with various sticky notes. I found other pages that haven’t yet been marked up, reminding me that I have so much to learn, study, and explore.

                Pink and yellow flags jut from the side, marking verses that have been meaningful to me in the last few weeks. Sticky note tabs stick up from the top, marking the verses I read every single day at the end of last fall while I struggled in the most recent darkness.

                The once-blank interleaved pages are slowly filling with notes from teachers, preachers, commentators, and authors. I’ve scribbled dates in margins, marking days when my faith was tested and the Sword of the Spirit helped me fight my battles.

                I clung to these pages as we lived our final months at WillowBridge and wrestled with the right decisions to make.

                I clung to these pages in the years of trying to find the job that fit me – wrestling with so many that did not.

                I clung to these pages as we prayed our way through a huge decision a couple of years ago – one that would have changed everything about our little family.

                I clung to these pages as I searched for God’s call on my life.

                These pages and I have lived some stories. We’ve wrestled through some tough battles.

                I’ve fallen asleep clutching this Bible and gasped in the words when I literally couldn’t breathe. I’ve read in delighted joy as I celebrated beautiful praises.

                This Bible is lived-in. The pages are a little frayed. The binding is cracking in places. It falls open to passages that have been extra meaningful.

                I love a lived-in Bible. For as much as I love a fresh, blank page and the wonder of living life with a new Bible, I also love a tried-and-true friend, like this Bible has become for me. There are so many yet-to-be studied parts of this Bible that I plan to live with it a good many more years yet.

                I’m thankful. So thankful for this friend of a Bible. I hope all of you have had at least one Bible like this one – the life-story Bible. The good-friend Bible. My testimony is woven through these pages, and it’s priceless to me.

Sunday Snapshots: Memorable Moments from the Week

 

Good morning, friends! Welcome to the final week of February! I’m looking forward to everything about March/spring except the time change, but we won’t talk about that quite yet. Maybe we’ll just take a few minutes to look back over some of the fun from the past week instead…

Last Sunday was a mess in the weather department, but we were still able to have church and attend our youth group’s rescheduled fundraiser dinner. We enjoyed eating with friends from church – and I must say the teens were excellent, attentive servers. We were both impressed by their professionalism. 😊

I’ve wrestled with a cold this week, and on one of the ickier days, I wore myself out working. I had just a few minutes before Ryan came home and wanted to grab a quick nap. I cuddled up on the bed next to Lexi…and immediately turned into a human chew toy. Any guesses on how much napping actually took place at this time? Zero, you say? CORRECT!

This week, as you read on the blog, marked two years since we moved into this house. I was so thankful to NOT be hauling boxes around this year. In 2020, 2022, and 2023 we moved. Last year we moved my parents and helped move our church. I would like a break from moving this year. Sitting to look at pretty flowers and completed coffee bars sounds most preferable to me!

Despite not feeling so great this week, I did enjoy a few opportunities to try some new meal recipes, which I’ll link for you next week. I know not everyone likes to cook, but I do, and in the midst of feeling like a pretty lousy wife and homemaker, being able to put together some tasty dinners felt like a win.

Another first in my work-world this week included a staff planning day! We took a day away from the regular office view and met up to do some long-term planning for services and other church activities. I absolutely love my coworkers at the church and enjoyed spending the whole day with all of them! I’m excited that we get to have planning days throughout the year. (Really…does it surprise anyone that a planning day brings joy my soul?)

My work never looks the same two days in a row. Sometimes I’m visiting people in their homes or at the hospital. Sometimes I work from my home office. Sometimes I spend hours at coffee shops for meetings. But sometimes I get to work at the church, and this week included just such a day – and I put together a whole group of binders. It brought me more joy than it probably should have.

Yesterday was a writing day. I’m not able to speak at as many things as I did last year – especially if they involve overnights or travel. But I have a little handful of local speaking events coming up this spring, and I had to block out some time to write for them. I was so thankful for an open day on the calendar and zero writer’s block. (And then Ryan and I celebrated by thrifting and grocery shopping! 😊)

                I hope your week was filled with the sorts of heart-filling moments I found – and hopefully not many germs. (I’m feeling much better today than I did at the beginning of the week, and I’m so thankful!)

Saturday Suggestions: Inspirations for Your Weekend

 

                I fought a cold this week, and I wasn’t the least bit happy about it. Ryan was a gem and tended to everything so I could rest any extra moment I could find. I did sleep more than usual, which I didn’t hate, and I also didn’t hate the extra opportunities to read. I found fun things on the internet (some of which you’ll get to see today) and dove into some books, too! Here’s to a week ahead that brings a much clearer head, though! Fogginess is not my friend. Hope you are staying well, my friends!

This link to a 1000 square foot house showed up in my Pinterest feed recently, and while I enjoyed touring the space, I noticed the post was five years old. Sometimes when I happen upon an older post via Pinterest, I check to see if the blog is still maintained (most are not) and was delighted to see (Bonus!) this blogger actually JUST updated to show this space five years later. I love her style and how she has made use of every bit of that space. The porch, the window treatments, the coffee bar, the kitchen island…I loved SO MUCH of it!

What do you think about having dinnerware that doesn’t match? It has taken me YEARS of pondering to even be willing to consider it, but I have reached the place where I’m willing. I have always loved a good, proper, matching set of dishes, but what do you do when they crack? Chip? Break? I’ve had too many sets that were no longer being made, and I couldn’t replace what broke. Our current dishes are in that same boat. We love them, but they were rescued from Ryan’s mom’s house in a cleanout after she died. One has a huge chip in it – and we can’t get replacements. I’ve been doing some research on how to mix non-matching pieces, and I think Kari Anne’s tutorial is one of the best I’ve read.

If you aren’t great at keeping plants alive, or you have multiple homes and aren’t around one of them often enough to keep things watered, check out this ROBUST list of faux plants to use on your porch! Sarah has done her homework (and then some) which means you don’t have to! Isn’t that a gift!? The extra nice thing about this is that you can purchase the plants once and use them for several years, which saves you the money of repurchasing every spring!

Speaking of spring, are you ready to do some spring cleaning? If it’s too overwhelming to think about cleaning everything all at once, check out this calendar and tackle one thing per day. Everything is so much more manageable when done in small bites, right? (BONUS! And if you want a comprehensive guide for deep cleaning the whole house, here you go! Surely this will welcome spring, right?)

I’ve been giving much thought to my future office at the church – and I’m always giving thought to my office here at home. I was curious to see how many of these “must have” items I really “must have” as I craft my workspaces. I have (AND LOVE) #11 – the phone holder. I have contemplated getting a few more to strategically place around the house to hold my phone for Marco Polos while I work. For now, I carry mine to every room with me. My version of #16 – the standing desk – isn’t electric, but I do love it. Brilliant invention. In a previous job, I had #17 – the tiny whiteboard – and I did love it. I will probably get another one someday. I used to have #22 – the exercise ball chair. I liked it, but it was big and unwieldy. We have #40 – the white noise machine – in every room of our house. I have #63 – the acrylic magnets, and I love them. I noticed a few of the “must haves” were duplicates, but all in all, I don’t think I need all 75. But I do find a few winners in the bunch!

I have a great appreciation for Jennifer Rothschild’s writing and speaking ministry, but I also appreciate her solid faith in Christ, made even more solid by her almost-lifetime of blindness.  So much of what she has learned has come to her in the darkness, and these words about Heaven are also steeped in that same background. If you are grieving or are walking with those who are, these words are for you.

·         If you haven’t done so lately, this is a great time to wash all your throw blankets and outer bedding. I’m all about doing anything and everything to rid the house of germs, since they attacked me heartily this week.

·         If you’re feeling the itch for a little retail therapy, be on the lookout for winter décor clearance. Spring is on the move in most stores around here, so this is a great time to fill in the gaps of anything you were missing or want to replace in the Christmas/Valentine’s Day/winter categories. I was even in a store not long ago that still had some fall clearance on the shelves. Super inexpensive finds!

Winter Wondering...

 

Natasha answered some fun winter-themed questions on her blog a few days ago, and I liked them so much I decided to borrow them for this space today!

                What do you do to stay warm in the winter? As you know, I tend to be too warm-blooded for my own good. I actually had to bail out of a Bible study (that I was teaching!) a couple of weeks ago because I overheated and needed to get somewhere much cooler. Thankfully, Ryan and I are on similar thermostat wavelengths, so we keep our house pretty cool year-round.

                When it’s chilly at home, I wear sweaters, and that happens to be one of my favorite things. Because of the aforementioned overheating, I tend to layer up when I leave the house so I can go into short-sleeve mode if needed. I have some cute sweaters and love wearing them, so I get to do that when I’m in our chilly house! I also wear fuzzy slippers that I’ve owned for over a year and still love as much as the day I bought them. It amazes me how warm they keep my feet! When I sit on the couch, I am under a blanket – and on the coldest of the cold days, I pull out the electric blanket Ryan’s mom bought me back in the freezing-Marion-house days. And a few hours before we go to bed, we turn on our heated mattress pad to warm up the bed. We turn it off when we go to sleep, because if we don’t, it’s TOO warm. But it’s definitely nice to get into the toasty sheets!

                Favorite wintertime activity? Hurkle-durkling on the couch! Hurkle-durkle is reportedly a Scottish phrase that means to lounge in bed past the time you should be up. I read it on social media a few years ago, loved it, and we use it every single day in our conversation. Lexi even knows what hurkle-durkle means. On cold Sunday afternoons or cold evenings, we hit that couch (with our blankets and coffee) so fast and watch movies, read books, surf the internet, scrapbook, nap, you name it.

                Any different beauty routines in winter? Unfortunately, no. I should use lotion on my feet, which always get super dry, but I don’t. Why? Lotion is cold. My feet are warm. Maybe I need to get a warmer like they have for baby wipes! Ryan uses more lip balm in the winter, which I should also probably do, but I don’t.

                Skating, sledding, or skiing? How about some more hurkle-durkling? I actually don’t like skating, sledding, or skiing. I’ve tried skating and was terrible at it. I’ve been sledding a couple of times, and it was okay, but I don’t like going fast, so it’s not fun for me. Skiing? No thank you. Ryan likes them all, though! I think he’d pick skiing as his favorite from those three!

                Favorite winter recipes? I love a good soup in the winter. I love how it warms up the house and smells delicious as it simmers, and I love how it warms me up as I eat it. I would pick chili or white chicken chili as my favorite, I think.

                Favorite winter hot beverage? It looks remarkably like my favorite summer hot beverage: coffee! I drink it (hot) year-round. I can’t even say I drink more of it in the winter, because I think I stay pretty consistent with my consumption. Pre-weight-loss, I did drink a lot more chai and hot chocolate in the winter, but I’ve backed off from both of those. I will have an occasional cup of either one, but I don’t drink them daily like I used to.

                Best winter memories? Oh this is fun. I’m thinking back over our marriage and some of the winter fun we’ve had. These are the ones that come to the front of my mind:

·         Our staycation where we made snow angels, built a snowman, and made snow ice cream.

·        The owl hike on New Year’s Day – where we saw no owls but did get some good giggles out of learning the calls.

·         Standing in line for Pentantonix and forming actual icicles on my eyelashes while I waited.

·         Running through the streets of downtown Chicago to make our dinner reservations after our GPS lied to us and took us wayyyyyyyyyyy in the wrong direction.

·         Seeing the Biltmore in the snow.

·         Hiking in Pokagon State Park with baby Lexi Grae. (I think she’d lived with us about two weeks when we made this trip.)

Coldest day you remember? I don’t know if these really were the coldest days, but those Polar Vortex winters when we were first married were pretty stinkin’ cold. We often slept on the living room floor so we could be warm by the (electric) fireplace. Our pipes froze all the time, the cars hated starting…it was cold.

How are you practicing self-care this winter? I’m not sure I am…other than the hurkle-durkling. I’m not huge into what everyone thinks of when they hear the term self-care.

Flannel sheets – yes or no? No, but I think it’s because we changed bed sizes and never bought new ones. For the first several years of our marriage, we had a king bed and had a couple sets of flannel sheets. When we moved to WillowBridge, we downsized to a queen, and we only have one set of sheets. They’re not flannel. With our heated mattress pad, we don’t really need flannel sheets, but I do remember how cozy the material felt. That part was nice, for sure. Maybe we can find a set on clearance here at the season change!

This was fun! Hope you enjoyed reading...and the throwback pictures!