More March

As I was hurrying to get to sleep on time the night of my recent post, I realized I failed to mention one of the tastiest parts of March. I must've become sidetracked while uploading photos. Don't worry, here's a picture of the not-to-be-forgotten bacon cheeseburger pizza from Papa Murphy's.

When I first saw the commercial for it, I thought, Pickles on pizza? Before I could object, my brain embraced the concept. Oh, pickles on pizza!
I tried it as soon as the opportunity arose. It's good! It tastes like a cheeseburger. It has a zesty burger sauce that's really yummy. I'm worried it will only be available for a limited time. =/ We've bought it twice so far. =) I love pickles. But they have to be dill. Sweet pickles, bread&butter pickles, etc., are disgusting!

--> I'm getting ready to paint and decorate our front room, finally! I'm in the process of deciding which color to do. I was sick all last week, but the last two days I've felt fantastic. I sound normal again. If I hadn't gotten ill, I think I would've had the whole painting project done by now. Instead I rested while reading "The Hunger Games" trilogy. I'm kind of stuck in the middle of the third book. It's going a bit slower than the first two, and isn't keeping my attention very well. I started reading them because I wanted to know what all the hype was about, and to be ready for the movie. I think they're well-written stories, and I like them. But truthfully, I just want to finish the last book so I can do something else with my self-appointed spare time. I'm not a very fast reader, and some of that comes from my being easily distracted. I find myself constantly monitoring the thickness of pages I have left.

--> On the 15th, Renee and I took Maria out for a two-days-late celebration of her birthday. She suggested we see a movie and get dessert, so we saw "The Vow", then went to Shari's for something to eat. It was after 11:00pm. We lamented the fact that everywhere good closes early. Shari's food wasn't bad, this time. I'm sure it was enhanced by our really moist conversation, which covered all sorts of fun topics. From our window seat we saw a sporty black car pull up with a huge decal on the windshield- The Punisher. As we wondered what makes a person decide to put something like that on a car, I could have sworn I saw it move a parking spot closer to us. Ack! And the driver wasn't even in it.
When it was time to pay up, we had a lengthy discussion with the waitress about oatmeal. She raved about it for longer than I've ever heard anyone talk about it, letting us in on all of her favorite ways to prepare it.
I can hardly wait until the next time we get together!

--> My mommy turned 60 on March 1st. I hope looking that good at 6 decades is genetic! She rocks her longish sleek silver hair, and she's still so cute. And I don't mean that in a "cute little grandma" way. A while back, she had some older ladies come up to her in the mall and tell her how great she looked in her jeans.

--> Maria, her husband, and their 2-year-old girl are expecting a baby boy in July! Yay! I'm so eager to meet this little guy.

--> My sister Megan, her husband, and their 4-year-old boy are expecting baby #2 in October. This revelation was completely unexpected by everyone except them! What joyous news!

--> Jane was accepted into Pioneer School of the Arts for next year! It's a magnet school, so they determine enrollment by way of lottery. I think it will be great for her, seeing as she's so creative and artistic. I wanted her to go there when we moved in, seeing as it's within walking distance from our house, but they didn't have any open spots in the middle of the year and blah, blah, blah... I just hope she likes it there, 'cause she doesn't seem to like her current school.

-->I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that Cora will begin middle school (6th grade) next fall. She's not so sure about it. If we were in the Boise school district, she'd still get another year of elementary school... I don't think I'm ready for what's ahead. She's already demonstrating some nice mood swings. But usually I can just give her some food and she's happy.

Getting ready to go eat Sunday dinner at Mom's house with the whole happy bunch. =) Yummy salad bar tonight.

Parts of March

This has been a pretty good month, aside from the first day or two.

I'm not a frequent crier. Since I'm not a cry-over-everything-whether-it's-happy-or-sad type of girl, when I do break down it means I'm utterly crushed. Before this month, the last time I cried was the beginning of September. I guess I was overdue for a good tear duct purge.
On the night of March 1st, something sucker punched my soul, and I had to just go to bed and cry. Quietly, because I didn't want anyone to hear. I was on cloud -9. I woke up the next morning and remained on the verge of tears as I helped the kids get ready for school. They left, and I started misting up as I drank my breakfast, but then Oliver said something to make me smile. I pushed away the misery until later. I made myself exercise, then in the solitude of the shower I wept again, letting the tears mix with the water as silently as possible, well aware that any wailing would be amplified by the tile surrounding me. I look pathetic when I cry. My chin contorts, forcing the corners of my mouth into a sickening perma-frown. I can't speak coherently or relax my face, no matter how I try.

I pulled myself together to go run errands. Ryan was off work that day, so he stayed home with Oliver, and I went shopping by myself. At one point I was driving to another store, but when I got there I couldn't go in because a song I was listening to made me start sobbing once again. So I just drove around until it was time to go home. I was thankful for tinted windows.

I wouldn't ordinarily feel it necessary to document a crying spell, but I don't want it to seem like I only share my fluffy, silly moments. I'm generally a happy person, but I'm also not a stranger to anguish. And maybe I brought it up so the remaining days of March would seem extra delightful to read about.

For every one thing that drags me down, there seems to be at least ten things to lift me back up. It's like that song goes. "You take the good, you take the bad, you add 'em up and there ya have the facts of life." Life's not meant to be a breeze, so when it's not, I am ever grateful for all the people I love, and all the little things that inevitably add up to make my days happy in spite of the trying times.

On that note, guess what! I'm going on another trip with my sisters in June! Erin discovered, with mixed emotions, that Glee will not be touring this summer, but we still wanted to go somewhere together. 'Cause we couldn't stand the thought of not going on a trip this year. Both Erin and I have never been to Vegas before, so that is our chosen destination this year. Yay! We'll drive down the first Friday in June and stay until Monday. A quicker trip, but we are planning on attending a show or two and just milling around and eating. I am so excited!


How about a few pictures of things that have been busy making me happy?

Here's my favorite snack lately. They're sea salt & olive oil flatbread crisps with yummy avocado slices. Avocados are mmmmm. . .


~Oliver and I had dentist appointments this month and neither of us have any cavities! Yee-haw! Time for some celebratory candy!

~Ryan and I went on a date on Fri, the 2nd. We enjoyed a dinner at Smash Burger. Ryan hadn't been there yet, and burgers always sound tasty, so there ya have it. Plus I wanted some of their fried pickles. Then we went to see the Sherlock Holmes movie at the cheap theater. It was quite entertaining, and a nice evening out.

~Monday the 5th was a gorgeous day out, so I asked Oliver which park he wanted to go to. He said, "The brown squishy park" down on Hill Road. We went, and happened to run into Maria, who had picked up Renee's kids for the day since Renee was sick. It was a fun surprise seeing them there. If it had been up to me, we would have gone to a park closer to home, but Oliver was adamant about which park he wanted. I was glad I listened to him!

~Saturday the 10th I took Oliver to the new Boise Aquarium. We met Ryan's sisters and their kiddies there. Ryan was at work, and the girls had other stuff they wanted to do, but I'm definitely going to take them along next time. I liked it. They don't have anything big, but I didn't mind. I'd personally rather see teeny tiny sea creatures than big scary ones. Of course, I do have an affinity for little things... This aquarium houses all kinds of mini sea horses, jelly fish, sharks, stingrays, etc. Ocean life has always fascinated me. I love all the pretty colors and shapes of everything.

~Speaking of colors, there was a beautiful rainbow the night before St. Patrick's Day. The pictures don't do it justice.


Yay for rainbows! I guess we're safe for at least another year. ;)


~I got some cute new PJ bottoms.

They basically had my name written on them. Nothing excites me quite like the combo of turquoise and pink. And polka dots!


~Jane made me this cute bookmark one March afternoon.

It's three iced cookies with sprinkles for letters. No word on why it's shaped like a pantiliner. =)


~The bulbs I planted in the fall are making their appearance!

This was on March 7th.


And by the 16th, they'd grown this much more!


This is a poor representation of the flower bed in the front yard, but it was taken before most of the buds had emerged. I am so pleased that they are coming up! My first attempt at bulbs. I hope they actually bloom. For my luck, they're trick tulips. My mom said bulbs are pretty much fool-proof, so I should be safe.

~And here's a random shot of Oliver.

I like how he has a baby Iron Man next to the big Iron Man. And of course, I love his smile. Oliver's, not Iron Man's.

I hope everyone (if anyone reads this) has a wonderful spring break!

Three Gals' Goals

Maria had some goals she needed motivation to stick with, so she thought sharing them with Renee and me would envelop her in a sense of accountability. She sent us her goals for the month and encouraged us to come up with our own three aspirations and email them to each other.
We met for lunch on the first of the month to discuss rules and rewards. I can't remember exactly what we decided. All I know is I think this friendly encouragement is just what I needed. Six days in and I haven't flunked yet. I'm glad Maria came up with this idea.

My goals for this month are:

1. Go to bed by 11:30 on nights I am home.
So far I am doing perfectly. There have been a couple of days when my head hit the pillow at 11:30 on the dot, and it honestly remained there until morning. I like to stay up late, but I just don't have a good reason to. I feel like I made myself look older than I should at 33 simply by staying up too late too frequently.

2. Read at least one scripture per day and think about it for longer than ten seconds afterward.
This is something I've slacked on for a few years. I know one scripture a day is a wimpy goal. I just chose it so I would feel extra accomplished when I read a bunch more verses than I planned on. And since our challenge began, I haven't had a day when I stopped at one verse.

3. Exercise at least twenty minutes a day, six days a week.
This is one I haven't been outdoing myself on. I bought Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred DVD. Each workout is about 20 minutes long, and it's about all I can muster. It's tough stuff.

Anyway, I think this is the beginning of a lot of beautiful monthly goals.

I disappoint myself regularly, but when my friends know what I'm working on it gives me that extra push I never knew I needed. I don't want to know what my punishment will be if I slip up on my goals. I mean, have you seen Maria and Renee lately?!