January: It's Cold

Yes, I know I live in Ohio.  Yes, I know this weather is typical.  No, I don't care.  I'm not a lover of cold.  I'm just not.
But I'm trying to get better with it.  My favorite form of exercise is walking.  So I'm still trying to get outside and walk a few days a week even when it's cold outside (but not today.  Today I'm sick and it's only 7 degrees outside, so NO WAY).

We've actually been very lucky.  The snow this year has been a minimum and the weather has been warmer than normal.  But of course all that changed at the end of last week.  And as luck would have it, my son had a wrestling tournament in southern Ohio over the weekend when the snow storm hit.  Due to his food allergies, I made sure that I went and took all his safe food for him.  I also ended up being the food lady for the team.  So loaded up with several coolers and my 50 pound suit case (I do not pack lightly), I left the day before the storm and headed to Cincinnati for the tournament.  It's a four hour drive and I was by myself.  I'm not usually an audio book person, but I downloaded an audio book from our library and it really helped make the trip pleasant and made time seem to go quickly.  I love that the library also has audio books and digital books that you can take out at no cost.  That audio book saved me!  I found the book by recommendation on the Simply Luxurious Life blog.  The book is Death at the Chateau Bremont by M.L. Longworth and the mystery was very entertaining.  Some of the reviews for the book mentioned that there were too many details of French cuisine and life in France in general, but I really liked those parts.  I'm interested in French food and French culture so for me, it was an added bonus.  I plan on continuing with the series, but right now, I'm in the middle of two other books, so it will have to wait.

Luckily we missed the second snow storm on the way home too.  I'm a nervous wreck driving in the snow and I prayed to miss it all, and we did.  Prayers answered.

The tournament was good and two of our four guys placed.  My son is a newer wrestler, so it was good experience for him.  But I am glad that it's our only tournament that we have to travel to.

In other news:

In a few weeks, my oldest son turns 18.  How is that even possible?  18?  It's just amazing to me how quickly time goes.  I always want to impress to moms of littles how quickly it goes and to enjoy every minute.  But when you are in the midst of those "littles" years, that is really the last thing you want to hear.  It can be hard.  And tiring.  And you really can't enjoy every moment because in many of those moments, you want to run and hide.  But believe me, those moments ARE hard, but they go by SO quickly, even when it doesn't feel like it.  Even if you can't enjoy every moment, try to take it all in.  Those years are so precious.  I'd suggest starting a diary or an online blog/journal and writing down the daily mundane.  It's sweet to go back and revisit those days.  Before you know it, 18 years will be gone in a blink.

Things I like for January:

Essential Oils for mood (I don't sell oils and I don't buy from one particular company, so I'm not hocking anything here):  Essential Oil for Treating SAD (graphic on Pinterest) I like citrus blends, thieves oil, or a blend of peppermint, lavender, and lemon.

Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea This tea is so cozy and uplifting at the same time.  It's my favorite for this time of year.

Sherpa Throw from Walmart  This blanket is such a great size and it is super warm.  And it's SOFT! The kids fight over who gets to use it.

When I walk outside, I wear these leggings under my heavy sweat pants.  They are fairly warm.  If I were rolling around in the snow, I'd probably want something else, but for walking, these are plenty warm and the price is right.

From Thanksgiving, a birthday, Christmas, to New Years

 SO MUCH has gone on since mid November.

First we had Thanksgiving.  There were 11 of us.  And this year we did two turkeys.  One I did traditionally in the oven and the other my husband fried.  It was a nice, relaxing day.  I love Thanksgiving.  It's just a relaxed holiday with zero expectations.

The power went out the day before Thanksgiving but I was still able to get prep done with my handy dandy headlight lamp

The main table.  We also had a kids table in the kitchen.

The oven baked turkey.

Next up was my 50th birthday.  I'd rather not even discuss turning 50, but it did happen.  My husbands company Christmas party was at our house on my birthday weekend, so my husband planned the celebration for the following week.  I requested NO PARTY and I put my mom in charge of making sure that no party happened.  She did a great job because of course my husband wanted to do a party.  But instead he planned a night at a local glass works where we made Christmas ornaments and then went to dinner.  It was a fun night with just our family of 5, my parents, and my mother in law.

Me getting some instruction on working with glass.

Next up is Christmas.  It was a wonderful day spent with family.  The boys loved all their gifts and I love watching them open them.  It's 6 months worth of effort over in 45 minutes.  But I wouldn't have it any other way.

This years tree.

A gift from his big brother.

The aftermath.

And lastly New Years Eve.  It was another quiet night with just the 5 of us to start with and then just 4 of us because the 17 year old went to a friends house.  We usually do fondue, but we decided to have homemade chicken wings and French fries.  I bought everything for the fondue, but we were too full for it so maybe we'll use it this weekend instead.  After food, we decided to watch The Swiss Family Robinson on Disney+.  3 of the 4 of us made it to midnight.  The 7 year old went down at 11 pm.

Some of the wings.

I love homemade fries

The fondue pots were on standby.  Maybe we'll use them this weekend instead.

I can't believe the holidays are over.  It just goes by so fast.  But it was good and I couldn't ask for anything more.  Now on to the new year.  I'm hoping to get this house more organized in the new year.  I'm joining The Bowl Full of Lemons 2020 Home Organization Challenge.  I follow her on Instagram and I find her so inspirational.  I may or may not update my organizing here.  So stay tuned for future updates on how that's going and also what our family is doing in 2020.  Lots of major happenings this year!