Movin' on "Up"!

Sometimes life gets crazy and you really have to step back and re-evaluate.  Perhaps the goals you wanted to accomplish just aren't going to happen and you need to realign, or perhaps you just need to stop and smell the roses.  This year has probably been that way for a lot of people dealing with major changes in our country.  We've certainly had a big year ourselves with a complicated pregnancy, new baby, changes in employment, plus all the craziness we normally deal with.  I keep saying "It's going to get better" and reminding myself (and Tony) to cherish all the good stuff we have, but sometimes we still forget.


This weekend, we watched the movie "Up", and I think its message was truly poignant.  Now, you may have gotten something different out of the movie, but what I took away was that you don't need big things or to do lots of crazy stuff in your life to be happy.  It's the small things that matter most, and at the end of the day, they are what really makes the difference in people's happiness.

With this in mind, I might say that there wasn't really anything terribly special about this weekend... except everything!  It was an exceptionally HAPPY weekend for no other reason than we enjoyed the small things in life.

Friday night 1/2 off Steak Dinner - Big deal, right?  We spent $5 on a couple of steaks and ate them with homemade sweet potato chips and steamed green beans.  And, after getting Abbie to sleep, we watched Game Plan on TV.  So simple, and yet, thoroughly enjoyable.

Saturday impromptu visit - We had accomplished close to nothing by noonish on Saturday.  Take that back... I cleaned the bathroom.  Big task, right?  OK, but other than that, nothing.  Around 1ish, Megan called and asked if she and her friends from Arizona could drop by for a visit (they were "in the neighborhood").  I said yes, and not 45 seconds later, the doorbell rang!  (They were truly in the neighborhood!)  We had a great time visiting with them at our house, followed by an impromptu lunch/dinner at The Loop at Duke.  It's amazing how much some good conversation and a walk outside can make your day!

Saturday night we watched "Up" and I snuggled on the couch with Tony and Abbie.  I even dozed off for a bit around 6:30pm, and we went to bed by 8:45pm.  Ah the joys of sleep!

Sunday stroll at the Farmer's Market - I highly recommend this!  Most of the prices on produce are great, and it's just so much fun to strike up conversations with the various vendors.  We got some sweet potatoes, hydroponic tomatoes (OMG they're good!), apples, fresh salsa, and even a Christmas gift for the family!  We had a leisurely lunch at the Farmer's Market Restaurant, then meandered to the mall to walk off a few calories.  Somehow, what was going to be a quick trip turned into an all day affair as we added stops to Target and the Blockbuster that is going out of business.  No chores got done, but I really didn't care, because we had a fabulous day just hanging out together as a family.

In the Abigail News...

She has begun to eat solid food.  I made her try rice cereal on Tuesday, because the doctor said we should start by 6 months (and she was having her 6mo appointment that afternoon).  She hates it.  Even the tiniest bit of rice and lots of milk seems repulsive to her.  I'll keep working on it.  But, despite her detest for rice cereal, she LOVES sweet potatoes and sucking on apples.  I baked on sweet potato and mashed it for her on Friday, and she has been gobbling it up ever since.  I'm truly amazed how many meals you can get out of one potato!  I had enough for 4 days of meals, plus some left over to freeze for later!

Abbie has also cut her first tooth.  It started poking out Sunday morning and I can now see the top ridges of the whole tooth.  I'm sure it'll take a while for the tooth to fully come in, but fingers beware!  There's a sharp edge on those chompin' jaws now!