Owen wanted to buy some marbles today, so we stopped by Beyond the Blackboard. I could spend all day in that store, but we had to get down to Rockley Music to get some piano books before it closed. On the way, we drove past a reptile shop, so we came back to it after getting the piano books. Owen has been asking for a reptile of some sort, so I thought it would be fun to look at them. We were in the back where they had a bunch of branches for sale, and I saw something in the corner on top of some branches that looked like an inguana, but I assumed it was fake since it wasn't moving or anything, so I jokingly said to Owen, "Look out, it's alive!" He said no it's not, and touched the head, which promptly swung around. Turns out it was a real iguana after all! I guess he is the store pet, so he gets to wander around freely. It was pretty funny.

This morning I got to sleep in a little, and then I went to the Apex and walked 2 1/2 miles on the treadmill and a few miles on the exercise bike. I have to work tomorrow, so I won't be able to exercise again until Tuesday. I am trying to get into a schedule, but it is hard since things always seem to come up. I have been doing more Wii workouts again, if I don't have as much time to do a whole hour class at Apex.

This is a photo of the Owen's little spot that he cleared out for his pinewood derby cars and awards. Too bad we don't know where his older cars are, but I'm sure they'll turn up! I think this was his favorite year since he got the trophy, and last time he came in first as a Tiger, he only got the medal. Guess it depends on who is buying the prizes! Declan was pretty happy to get his trophy, also, for his very first race. We went out for a donut afterwards since last year they had some there but not this time, and the kids were disappointed. Our upcoming blue and gold banquet is pot luck, so I guess they are trying to save money.

We spend some time at the park while Scot was shopping at Costco and getting a haircut. It has been nice weather for the last couple days, but I am still hoping for more snow! I told the kids that after they finished their chore/homework/piano we could play a game, so Declan picked out Yahtzee. They hadn't played the real version before, but seemed to do o.k. Owen wanted to play Doodle Dice, but I told him we had to wait until tomorrow since it was bedtime by that time.

Oh, and I got the new shoe rack in the closet, and just need to get two more sets of drawers to finalize the restructure. Then I can focus on getting the new mattress!

Yesterday was Declan's Wow Day at school, so I went in for that. I sat next to him while he shares his poster that he filled out, and showed some of his things. He brought in his soccer medals, the screaming monkey slingshot, a Creature From the Black Lagoon book, and a finger skateboard. I brought him a special lunch from Chipolte and sat with him in the lunch room. Owen went in for lunch while Declan was at recess, so I stopped in to say hi to him on my way out.



This morning I helped in the library. I also managed to make a little progress on the closet, getting rid of the lowest shelf so I can put the shoe rack and dog food container there. I need two more sets of drawers, and then we should have space for all the clothes that are currently in the bed drawers. Tanner and Elias came over after school, so I didn't go to Rockley's as planned. I'll have to get Owen's new theory book tomorrow after the Pinewood Derby. It was warm here today, so they were out playing basketball until dark.

Since we were foiled last week trying to play Bingo, Dawn and I went today for the noon Bingo with all the senior citizens. It was pretty painful trying to watch the second caller try to get the ball lined up with the little camera! It was much like the other place, and they did have the electronic cards, which I may do next time. Most of the bingos were with the paper cards, though.

I helped in the school library in the morning. I am working on re-doing the bar codes for the book room books. Those are the ones that the reading groups use, so there are multiple copies of each book in a ziplock bag, so the bar code just goes on the bag. Speaking of books, Declan brought home a level 28 today, Freckle Juice. I guess that means he is close to 3rd grade reading level already! Tomorrow is his Wow Day, so I will go to school and eat lunch with him after he does his little show and tell.

Tonight was the weigh-in for the pinewood derby cars. They won't see them again until Saturday, the race day. Hopefully they will not come in last!

Yes, I had a naughty little treat today. Turns out the oral surgeon's office is right near Krispy Kreme, so after the consultation I stopped by for a donut. Talk about stress eating! I am booked up for the surgery next month, but not really looking forward to it. I know there is a big cavity on my wisdom tooth, but it's not bothering me in any way, so it makes it hard to want to put myself through the ordeal. But, I have been putting it off for over a year now, and he said the decay would only spread to my other teeth. At least I will be under anesthesia for the procedure, so it will go quickly, hopefully without a broken jaw or any of the other possible side affects they have to tell you about!

I was also near a Target, so I stopped and got some drawers for the closet, and a shoe rack. I have to get the closet in order before we get the new bed, and then I have to get my craft room in order to make room for the old bed down there. Getting new furniture sure is hard work!

Once again, I got to leave work early, so I was able to come home and enjoy some coffee. I took the photo next to the puzzle map of Taiwan to symbolize that fact that I started reading Taroka Gorge. It's pretty good so far.

Not a very exciting day otherwise. I bought our tickets for the Portland/Sun River trip, and ended up going with the late Friday night flight, since it was cheaper anyway. That way we don't have to fly and then drive another 3+ hours on the same day.

Tomorrow I get to find out what will be involved in pulling my cavity-ridden wisdom tooth. Joy!

That is poor, unwanted Dottie in the background. She is such a sweet dog, and I can't understand why there have been so few inquiries about her. She is getting better around the cat, also. Kitty dared to come out and sit with us while we were watching a movie last night, and Dottie did not try to chase her, so that was big progress! We watched The Town, which was pretty good. I still have the 2nd half of United States of Tara to watch, but I probably won't get to that tomorrow since I have to work during the day.

The kids finished up their pinewood derby cars today, so we are ready for the Wednesday weigh-in. They also practiced their skateboarding skills, since Declan got a new one yesterday at Target. I spent some time at the gym this morning, clocking in 1 1/2 miles on the treadmill and 6 miles on the exercise bike. I went to a work party at Lucky Strike bowling alley, which was fun. The game was on in the background, so I was able to see the Steelers secure a spot in the Super Bowl!

One of the things I accomplished today was gluing Owen's walking stick back together. Unfortunately, the wood glue had dried up, so I had to use Elmer's. Not sure it will hold, but we'll see! We also went to Home Depot today to get the spray paint for the pinewood derby cars. They are due to be turned in on Wednesday for weigh-in and voting. The kids did the painting today, and tomorrow will put on the decals and the wheels and weights. I guess one good thing about switching back to our original pack is that Owen is one of only 4 Bears, so he won't have much competition in his division!

Someone came to look at the car, and is coming back tomorrow for his wife to drive it also. Hopefully they will want it. We are taking a lot less, but since we aren't willing to fix the check engine light problem, we can't ask for much. He seems willing to deal with it, so I have my fingers crossed...

We also went to the mall to try out the Sleep Number mattresses. It's pretty cool how you can adjust it so easily. We both picked somewhere in the 40's, but it's kind of hard to tell when you're not really sleeping on it. You can return it within 45 days, so we should be able to tell by then if there's a problem. Now we just need to figure out what we want to do about the frame. You can get basic legs or metal frame from them, or use your own. I'm not sure about getting a headboard/footboard, or just the legs. I don't see how a plain headboard is much different than just having the head of the bed against the wall, but I guess it's for looks mostly. Maybe we can find a cheap set used or something. Scot thought we should move the old bed downstairs to my craft room, since I don't use it much for crafts anymore. I might be o.k. with that if we just keep the mattress and just get a basic frame for it, maybe something on wheels, so that I can move it around easier if I need to make space in there. I also showed Scot the drawers I wanted to put in the closet to make up for losing the under bed drawers. We are not using our bedroom closet space very well, so it will be nice to get that more organized, also.

Yes, I missed a day. I forgot to take my photo yesterday. Oops! This photo is from today, when I finished Mockingjay. Now I will be curious to see the movie they're making out of the first book in the Hunger Games series.

I did get a chance to see Eat, Pray, Love, and much like the book, I enjoyed the Italy and Bali parts the best. Since yesterday was Thursday, and bowling night for Scot, the boys and I had an early dinner and headed off to the pool. I got some reading done, and they had fun going down the slide a bunch of times. Today they had a testing day at school, which meant Declan had to go in for a 15 minute time slot, and Owen was there for 2 1/2 hours. He was very excited to get his recorder for music class. He keeps asking me about other notes, but I told him he was probably only going to do the left hand notes. He did get some nice low C's, though! Since we had the afternoon free, I decided to take them to Sports Clips to get their hair cut. They were not happy with Fantastic Sam's last time, so I figured it was better to go to a place that only does male hair. As luck would have it, Sports Clips is right next door to a Lamar's Donuts, so of course we had to stop in afterwards for a little treat...

Tonight I made the dinner that I was going to make for Bunco, which was quiche, fruit salad, and muffins. I ended up making two quiches, one with broccoli and mushrooms, and the other was 1/2 cheese only and 1/2 ham and cheese.

Today I decided to make a chai tea latte, so I mixed the powder with milk and then steamed it. Yummy! I ended up having to cancel bunco since a few people cancelled at the last minute and I was already short on people. It is irritating when people don't make it a priority, so I was glad for the excuse to cancel. It started snowing in mid-afternoon, so chances are I would have had more people flake out.

I got Eat, Pray, Love in the mail today, so I'm hoping to watch it tomorrow. I read the book, so I'm curious about the movie, even though I've heard it's not that great.

We were going to try a new Bingo place tonight since I didn't have to do bunco, but they were closed, I guess because of the weather. It was annoying, but there will be another chance, hopefully.

This was taken on the dash of the van this morning. I couldn't resist stopping by Starbuck's on the way to my orchestra board meeting. I have a birthday gift card to spend, after all! After the board meeting, I can home and had some lunch and then just messed around until it was time to get the kids from school. We stayed to play a little after school, and they ended up getting invited to their friends house for a short playdate. I knew it would mean rushing to get things done later, but it's nice for them to have a chance for fun stuff. They had to go to a scout meeting after dinner, while I went to recorders. Now I have to face the fact that I am hosting bunco tomorrow night, so I need to do some cleaning tomorrow and food shopping! Luckily, due to some last minute cancellations, it looks like it will be a smaller group than usual, so it might be a little more relaxing for me...

I took this photo with some of the finger skateboards the kids got on Sunday. I don't know why these are such fascinating toys for them, but they take one with them everywhere we go. We had most of the day free until we had to leave for work around 2:30. It was actually pretty warm after our big windstorm last night, so the kids were outside on the trampoline for a little while. Owen was coughing a lot last night, so I was afraid he might be feeling yucky, but he seemed o.k. I guess it's just a cold and nothing worse, like the strep that is going around school. For some reason, we have always managed to escape getting it, even though everyone else seems to get it multiple times a year, and in fact, one of Owen's friends just had it.

We were not that busy at work, but I ended up having to stay until closing. Scot was able to pick up the kids around 5:30, so they didn't have to stay too long. Last night I watched the Golden Globes, and thought it was pretty funny. I was wondering why Ricky Gervaise disappeared after awhile, even though he was the host, but I guess they were worried he was being too offensive. Robert Downey Jr. was pretty funny during his presentation, and it was nice to see Christian Bale win, even if he had some goofy hair going on...

From yesterday, once again. I forgot I had taken my photo with Declan's iPod, since it was handy, but then when I was all settled at the computer, I was too lazy to go up and get it to get the photo from it. lol I had forgotten about this iced coffee that I bought when I was getting the pomegranate juice for my birthday martinis. I thought it was strange to have iced coffee made with pomegranate juice, so I was curious. It wasn't really iced coffee weather, but I wasn't sure how long it would last. It was kind of sweet, so I'm not sure I would buy it again, but supposedly the pomegranate extract is good for you!

Scot had his first skiing day yesterday. The weather wasn't good last time he planned to go, so I'm glad he finally got a chance. We didn't do much at home. It wa cleaning day, so the kids cleaned up their rooms and the two living areas. I helped Declan pull everything out from under his bed and he willingly got rid of some things, which I put in a bag to go through later for donation or trash. After lunch, the kids wanted to go spend some of their gift card from Target, so we went and they picked up some of those finger skateboards and accessories. I saw two cute little storage drawer things for them to put on their desks on clearance, so I got those. We had pasta for dinner and then did some reading. I just got Dragonfly in Amber for my e-reader, even though I have the actual book and have read it many times. I just get sucked into the series every time! I got another one at the library that takes place in a national park in Taiwan called Taroko Gorge by Jacob Ritari. It's about some Japanese school girls that go missing.

This is my almost-forgotten coffee. Declan had his friend over this morning, so I was busy supervising that. Then I went to pick up Owen from his friend's house and go to the library since his Big Nate book was available. On the way home we stopped at Radio Shack, which finally had the iPod 4th generation screen protectors that I had been waiting for. I didn't think about coffee until mid-afternoon, and decided to make a cup. Declan saw me and asked why I was taking a picture of my drink. Scot and I had planned to go out for dinner, so I had the kids do their chores/homework/piano practice. I was checking KT to see how busy they were, and saw there were 20+ kids, although some were supposed to leave before we would get there. We were watching the Steelers game anyway, so we decided to feed the kids here and by then, more kids had left and we felt like we could drop them off. We had a yummy meal at Cork in Boulder, which hopefully will be reimbursed from one of Scot's work clients. We talked about how we don't like our bed and want to get a different one, and of course, my vote is for king-size, so we also talked about getting more use out of our closet space since with a new bed, we would likely lose the shelves under the bed that we have now.

I noticed that the foam was much different with this cup of coffee, and couldn't figure it out until I noticed I had forgotten to put on the "steam aid" tip. I am thinking I like it better without that anyway...

This morning I helped in the library at school, and was excited to see that Mockingjay finally came back. I read half of it before Christmas, but I returned it before the school break, and then it got checked out before I could get it back.

Declan has been asking for his friend Austin to come over, so he is coming in the morning for a playdate, while Owen goes to one of his friends. It is easier that way! Scot and I are going to try and go out later, maybe dinner and a movie, or just dinner. There is a place in Boulder we want to try but last time we attempted it, they were running some special and they were booked up for the whole night.

I just got Season 2 of United States of Tara from Netflix, so hopefully I'll get a chance to watch some episodes later tomorrow night. Scot and I watched some shows from earlier in the week, Men of a Certain Age and Modern Family tonight.

One day late again, but I did take the photo yesterday. I went to an exercise class in the morning, then went out to lunch with my friend Amy. I just had time to make some coffee after I got back, and before I had to go to school to give out the STARS prizes for the special December sheet. Two other people met met there, so it didn't take too long. Everyone got candy canes for prizes. I have roller skate erasers for the January prize, and then I need to order some more for Feb and March. I decided not to do April this year because they always have the Race to Read program then, and it seems silly to have two reading things going on at once. Usually for the March sheet, we have the Dr. Seuss breakfast, which seems like a good way to end the program.

Thursday nights are usually pretty relaxed here, since Scot has bowling and Owen doesn't have homework. I had the kids do their chore and piano stuff before dinner, so afterwards we could watch Toy Story 3. After I went to bed, I was having trouble sleeping, as usual, and I heard a dog barking in the distance. I got worried that maybe I had not let the dogs back in (it happened once before!), but it wasn't them. My dream for this year is trying to make a king-sized sleep number bed work in our room!

I thought I would show the base of my coffee operations. Today was the coffee I kept wanting to make but then I kept remembering things I need to do, so I made myself wait. I helped at the school library for an hour, then came home and remembered as I was getting out the coffee machine that I was going to make crock pot chicken, so I got all of that ready. Then I remembered I needed to get my Netflix movie in the mail. I watched more episodes of Bored to Death yesterday. Not sure I like it that much, but I didn't realize it was at the top of my queue until it was already on the way. I am also remembering that Season 4 of Angel was not a favorite of mine, but here I am, watching it anyway. None of my usual shows have started up again with new episodes.

Owen is up to level 3A with his piano books, so I had to go get the new ones before his lesson today. He was happy to hear that they were out of the Theory book. lol However, he has been complaining of not feeling well today, so we'll see what tomorrow brings. It doesn't feel like he has a fever yet, but he was looking wan during and after dinner.

OK, pretend this is still Tuesday! I did take the photo then, but didn't get a chance to post it yesterday. That is a tin of chocolate my mom bought for me at the King Tut exhibit. I have been good and it's still pretty full. I had my Tuesday coffee right after my exercise class Box, Balance, and Build. Due to my ever-changing work schedule, I am now doing the T, Th morning class, and my favorite Wednesday night Turbo Kick class.

I got a last minute email from Dawn asking if I wanted to go to a late show of Harry Potter, so off we went at 9 p.m. We had time for some decaf coffee to warm us up before the movie started. There was no one else in the theater, and then two other people walked in right when it started, but they left partway through. It's always nice to have a private showing. lol It was good, but it made me realize I need to re-read the book because there are lots of parts I have forgotten about.

I thought today was going to be an empty coffee cup day, since I had to go to work first thing after dropping off the kids. I am supposed to try and be there at 9 a.m., which is difficult when I can only drop the kids off at 8:45 at the earliest. Since there was bad weather today, the drop-off was slow, and the drive up to word was slow. No time to stop for coffee--and I definitely did not get there at 9! However, it was slow, and the mid-shift person came in before lunch, even though she was told to come at 1, so I offered to leave early.

I picked up the kids after school and I could see right away that Owen was upset. It turns out he had a hard time in gym during four corners floor hockey. Some girl really had it in for him, and he doesn't handle playing with competitive people very well. I don't really know the whole story, but I tried to tell him he needs to walk away from people if they are bothering him, not throw a huge fit, which only makes them want to bother him more, I'm sure. Luckily he only has one more day of gym for this rotation. We decided to meet some friends for sledding, which might not have been the best idea given Owen's mood, but Declan had fun. Owen was having trouble with his sled and getting all mad, and then I was getting all mad because there was another sled he could use but he wanted to just keep complaining about his. We did play our new Skip-Bo game after dinner, so he was feeling better by then. Declan won twice in a row, so I'm guessing he'll want to play that one again.

I am waiting for some e-books that I have on hold to become available, so I picked up The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest again. It is my copy, not from the library, so it always seems to get shoved aside since the others have a return date. I still need to watch the movie of the 2nd book, and I'm sure the 3rd movie will be out on video soon.

Yes, today we got some snow, and we are supposed to get a little more tomorrow. I am wishing I didn't have to work, since I don't think the roads are going to be all that great with a high of only 17 degrees!

We had a pretty lazy day at home, apart from a jaunt to the library for a scouting event. Owen saw that they had audio books on a little MP3 player that you can check out from the library, so he checked out a book that he has tried to read before but got intimidated by too many words on the page.

I am finished up with Season 3 of Angel, and still reading Ice Cold, although I am almost done now.

My coffee and breakfast were on the go this morning. I had to be at orchestra rehearsal at 9:30, which doesn't sound that early, but I am not sleeping well this week so I didn't wake up feeling ready to start the day. After rehearsal I stopped at Whole Foods to get more satsuma oranges. They are so much better than the clementines in the regular stores right now. I didn't do much for the few hours I had in between coming home and having to leave for the 12th Night recorder thing. It was fun, and we had some good food. Scot and kids were at a Lacrosse game as part of a Tiger scout outing. That is my day in a nutshell!

I was volunteering in the school library this morning, so I had my coffee after lunch, kind of as a dessert. I am trying to get the right amount of milk, but yesterday I had a little too much, so today I over-compensated and ended up with too little. I was reading Ice Cold, which is probably not the best lunch time reading choice, since they always tend to be a little on the gory side. I didn't think this one was going to be too bad until I got to the leg scene. I won't go into details!

I also included in my photo my iPod with Pocket Frogs on it. I got sucked into this app and am now breeding level 6 rarity frogs for my habitats. It is pretty fun for a freebie app. It keeps me from trying to pass those Angry Bird levels that are still taunting me...

I am watching Season 3 of Angel from Netflix Watch Instantly. I have seen the series before, but it is nice to be able to watch it again whenever I want. I already re-watched all seven seasons of Buffy, so it was only natural to re-watch Angel. Scot and I watched Modern Family from this week tonight, also.

I ended up having to go into work for a couple hours since they had a ton of kids, but I got home in enough time to get my music printed out and organized for orchestra practice tomorrow morning.

Welcome to my little version of the popular 365 project. I thought it would be fun to start a new blog that talked about what I am reading, watching, listening to, etc. and leave the other one strictly for digital scrapbooking stuff. I wanted to try and post photos of my coffee every day, since it's one of my favorite times of the day. It is a moment of relaxation that I cherish, and all the better since I got my espresso machine for my birthday! Here is a photo of one of my first cups:

My mom made us each a personalized napkin, so I wanted to get a photo of that, also. I bought three of those big mugs at Kohl's, in green, white, and red. They didn't have any other colors, or I might have bought more.

Anyway, I started on my project today, so this is my coffee from this afternoon:

I had it after lunch, and I was reading Ice Cold by Tess Gerritson. I accidentally got this ebook from the library thinking it was the one that came after The Apprentice, which I just finished, but it is actually a much newer one. I put a hold on the one I meant to get, but got sucked into this one anyway, even though it takes place years after the one I just read.