Oh boy! It's been nearly a month since I've been here. And I don't think I even posted my last post to social media. Oops. It's all good. I think this may become more of a monthly thing than weekly but I think that's fine. Let's get caught up, shall we?
1. I have wrapped up my obsession with puzzles. For now. I'm certain it will visit again. We put together a 500 piece puzzle in about 24 hours. No biggie. Then we put together a 1,500 piece puzzle in about a week and a half. It was super worth it, though, because it was so fun and colorful!
THEN, I found an old puzzle in one of our cabinets and thought, why not? Well, that one - only 500 pieces - took like three weeks! First, I started it and then the hubby got sick. Like, he didn't get out of bed all day ON A SATURDAY so you know he was sick. (He's fine now - it was just a virus.) Then, I went out of town for 5 days. So, it just sat. No one helped me. It was super boring b/c it was all gray. Again, NO ONE HELPED ME! But I stuck to it and got it done. And promptly took it to Goodwill because there is no way in hell I will ever put together that god-forsaken puzzle again.
My family is pleased because we can now eat dinner at the kitchen table again. It's the small things, right?!
2. The pool table was delivered and set up. It's gorgeous. (Yes, we need to move the dart board now.) However, our space is a little tight so we haven't played on it much because we needed to get a small cue for tight shots. We just picked on up yesterday. The hubby and his buddy played on it last night, though, and said it was great. I can't wait to play!
3. I attended my last grade school Mother/Daughter night a few weeks ago. There are some things I will really, really miss about grade school. That isn't one of them. #4 and I had fun but ended up ditching out early and opting for a McDonald's ice cream cone, instead. We were both delighted!
4. A couple weeks ago I snuck away for a much needed girls trip to San Antonio, TX with my college friends. Our last trip was in 2016 to Nashville. So it was definitely time! We all joined Pi Phi sorority at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln back in 1992 and have been friends ever since. That's over half our lives! I love these girls with all my heart and always come away with a full heart. It's the best!
We stayed at an airbnb by Pearl in an up-and-coming neighborhood. There were different thoughts about the neighborhood. After my summer trip to Washington DC and staying in Eckington, I thought our San Antonio neighborhood was fine. Not everyone agreed with me:) Our location was great, though. We were close to the River Walk and Pearl and great shops and restaurants.
Thursday night a group of us ate just down the street from our airbnb at a place called Down on Grayson. We got to sit outside (even in the rain) and it was magical. The food was great, too, though I might steer clear of the salads if I were you.
Friday we went to a lovely spa called the Windflower sort of outside town and spent several hours getting pampered. I never do that sort of thing so it was such a treat! Then Friday night we met a lovely couple for dinner on the Riverwalk. If you ever go to San Antonio, you MUST eat at Boudro's. (I highly recommend making a reservation.) It was delicious and so much fun to be able to eat outside in the middle of January!
Here is a view of the Riverwalk:
Saturday we toured the Alamo after watching the movie about it at the iMax. It was fine. Nothing super exciting but if you go to San Antonio you must see the Alamo! We also did some shopping and I bought two oil on paper prints that I am in love with and are now hanging in my family room. The jury is still out if that is where they will stay but I really want them hung in a prominent spot in our house.
Here's our group after seeing the Alamo:
And here is the Alamo:
We all left at different times on Sunday and a group of us flew out late so we went to Greune, TX and spent the day. I highly recommend it! They have the oldest dance hall in all of Texas. We stopped in and they had the best band playing! They still have great musicians come and play - including BB King. Plus, they had wonderful shops and restaurants. I found a beautiful piece of pottery and they had a fantastic thrift shop. It's definitely a must-see if you're in San Antonio!
Sadly, the fun had to end. We vowed not to wait another three years and I hope we keep that promise.
5. Last weekend #1 talked me into going to an event put on by the League of Women Voters. They had recruited several Kansas congressmen and women as well as our state Senator. It was so good and I'm so glad I went. They first question asked was the view of expanding Medicare into the State and it was fascinating to hear the answers. It's a very straightforward question, no? You either support it or you don't. Those that supported it started out answering the question with, Yes, I support...and then went on to describe why. Those who did not support it talked around and around the question but refused to say yes or no until pressed by the audience. Interesting, huh?! Regardless, it was good and a great experience for #1 to hear the different point of views and see democracy in action.
6. I tweaked the gallery wall we have hanging in our bedroom. While doing that I found three KC postcards I picked up last year down in the West Bottoms. Well, the frame I wanted to put them in had four openings. So I ordered a fourth postcard and it was delivered this week. If you are in the midwest, check out bozzprints.com. I love the artwork! I had to make another mat to fit but I was able to do that today and look what I have now. I love it!
So cute, right?
7. We celebrated Valentine's Day this year with a fancy dinner in our dining room before the girls had to leave for swim and soccer. True to form we did surf and turf. It was delicious. I gave each of the girls a small gift. I love being able to use something like Valentine's Day as an excuse to have a fancy dinner all together!
8. Our house was built in 1994. We have the original furnace. You already know where I'm going with this story, right? It died yesterday. One minute it was working and the next, it was cold. Like 63* cold. In our house. Ugh.
We had friends over for dinner last night and I didn't realize anything was wrong until the dinner was already done. So I warned them and told them to dress warm and they still came over. Now that's loyalty! It was such a fun night and they were such sports because damn, it was/is cold here!
I woke up this morning and it was 58*. I am too scared to look at it now. It's probably colder. Who knows? We ran the fireplace all day, bought more space heaters and we now have 6 space heaters running throughout the house. The dog slept with #2 because we didn't want him to freeze. The cat slept on our bed.
The sales guy took pity on us and came over today so we could buy a new furnace. And a new humidifier. Our fingers are crossed that they can install it tomorrow because I'm not sure how much longer we can take this cold! (If you need the name of a guy for a furnace or AC unit, let me know!)
9. We had a special dinner again tonight for #2's soccer team. Their club season is over for the year since high school soccer starts next week. As usual we had a fabulous time with the girls and their parents. We really hit the jackpot when we found this team. Lance, our coach, is thinking of maybe starting a club, so if you are reading this and have any questions, let me know. He is, hands down, the best coach any of our girls have had. Ever.
10. All my girls enjoy doing art in various forms. This month #4 was a featured artist at the library down the street. The hubby and I took her over there today to see her painting. It was so cool!
It was really precious to get to see her feel pride in her work. I loved it.
11. The girls don't have school tomorrow or Tuesday. I'm sure they are really hoping the furnace gets fixed ASAP, too!
12. I have been working on old scrapbooks. I'm nearly caught up with everything since 2009 and it feels amazing. Some years are better than others but the kids enjoy looking through them no matter how good they are or not. I'm so glad I've taken the time to do them!
Phew! That's all I've got. It's time for me to jump under the five billion covers on my bed and watch the taped interview of Andrew McCabe from 60 Minutes tonight. Man, I never thought I'd type that sentence! 60 Minutes makes me think of my dad. Every time I hear that clock tick I think of him. I guess I'm turning into him and I can't complain at all. He was awesome.
Have a great week!
