Currently :: November '11

Weathering: Cool and grey today. Honestly, I've enjoyed the warmer fall days, but I'm ready for cold.

Wearing: capri pants (a little too chilly for them, oh well) and a black long-sleeved t-shirt.

Listening: I purchased the Relevant keynotes to listen to ... I don't know that I have a huge desired to travel to a large blogging conference, but I did want to hear Ann Voskamp, Joy Forney, and Simple Mom speak. And the $10 was for a worthy cause. (Thanking my friend Susan who DID get to hear these women talk for the 2cents on whether or not to purchase). : )

Watching: T and I have watched several episodes of a new show called Once Upon a Time. So far, we have really enjoyed it ... clean and adventurous and I love the fairy-tale and bit of happily ever after that it contains. Hoping it continues to be just as enjoyable. Looking forward to unpacking the box of Christmas movies next week and watching those with the girls. Considering Home Alone for the first time with them this year ... we (T & I) have fun memories of watching that as kids, but I really don't remember it so we want to preview for them.

Reading: Hoping to dive in to The Fiddler's Gun soon. Written by A.S. Peterson, brother of Andrew Peterson who wrote one of my favorite series. And when I searched for it on Amazon, the Kindle version was only 99cents. Sweet. : )

Drinking: coffeecoffeecoffee and occasionally some decaf iced tea or Earl Grey. But mostly coffee. Today was one of those homeschooling days that necessitated the second pot to get through. Oy.

Eating: A little of this and that. Using my crockpot several times a week as our days have not been well planned because of various and sundrey outings and errands. Definitely more than I prefer to pack into a day/week and still feel like we are able to get our schooling done. Anyway, lots of crockpot action. Am also working on (I think) my first ever Thanksgiving Day menu for next week. We are, as it turns out, just us for the actually Thursday holiday and I'm am putting together a little menu for us for the day.

Inspiring: Enjoying these December Daily pages that Michelle Wooderson has put together for her album. Getting excited about my little album for this year and gathering supplies.

Wishing: To slow down my days. The last few weeks have felt rushed. Disjointed. Not restful. Not bad ... I think some of it is just the age of my kids and that they are older. Rest times are shorter and bedtimes for some are a little later. I am seeing the need to try and set aside some one-on-one time with my girls and wonder how that will fit it with other responsibilities. In contrast, our homeschooling days right now are looooong; my tentative schedule that I started the year with worked great for a few weeks, then we had several weeks of sickies that totally threw us off. Now I'm spending days with a frustrated four year old and a baby that sometimes takes a good nap in the morning and others ... not so much. I've put pencil to paper which is the best way for me sketch out a new plan of action and pray over it for the weeks after our few days off for Thanksgiving. I really want our weeks after Thanksgiving to be unrushed and simple so that I don't come to January 1 exhausted from the madness of December.

Whew. That was a lot of wishing there. Processing it all. : )

Thinking: Christmas plans, traditions, to do lists for December. I do love to plan for our family and am trying to balance that with not over-planning.

Loving: watching this baby girl ride her bike. Someone figured out two wheels last week and it is a sad, sad day when she doesn't get to ride her bike.