'Twas the Day After Christmas

Okay. So this is two days after Christmas. What a Christmas it was! On Friday morning I awoke to an awful mess all over the place. There were toys scattered all over. It wouldn't have been so bad, except for James' basketball net. I couldn't seem to find a good place for it. Our house is not exactly big, so it was just in the way.





Here it is, I think.
Yup. This is it. There is a mess everywhere! And as much as I love my Christmas tree, I had to take it down and put everything away. I went through James' toys, which he doesn't have a whole lot of anyway, and picked out a bunch to give to Mandy. Then I took some of his toys from downstairs and moved them upstairs. I spent most of the day focused on getting the living room organized. I was getting a little nutty from the mess and piles everywhere. So now it's clean and (somewhat) organized. I'll be the most happy when my desk downstairs is cleared off and I can use the upstairs desk for my laptop. But that's another story. I hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas presents!

Setting up a new computer and Christmas

Does anyone else find it incredibly frustrating to have to set up a new computer? I got my new laptop for Christmas. My husband spoils me. Well, it will be good to have for school, but now I have to get everything set up just the way I like it. I have things set up on my desk computer that work really well for me. Now I have to remember passwords and account names and all that fun stuff. Plus, I have to figure out how I got everything set up on my Flock browser. But I'm not going to complain, because I love my laptop! It's pretty much exactly what I wanted. I think a faster Internet connection would really make it rock. Actually, I'm not going to worry too much about having an Internet connection, because the Web really distracts me. So it's perfect. I download what I want so I can use it in Wi-Fi hotspots. Woohoo!

So overall it was a good Christmas. I got the gift of my dreams, and my kids were pretty happy too. Oh, yeah. And my husband was happy with what he got. He got the Sports Illustrated special edition World Series magazine, and he started reading it right away. I'm so glad he liked it. He also liked the "Twilight Zone" DVDs that I got him.

Cate was in heaven with her American Girl doll that she got. The stinker was up really early, scoping out the presents. I think most of them were for her anyway. Still, she was happy.

James was the same as last year, except that he didn't watch tv while we were unwrapping presents. I think his favorite gift so far is the musical train that Uncle Paul got him. For not having kids of his own, Paul is really good at picking out gifts for the kids! So James was just standing there watching the train and trying to add in his own little "musical notes." Otherwise, he didn't care about unwrapping the presents. I think that either John or I unwrapped everything for him. Actually, I don't think he even wanted them to be unwrapped at all! I don't know what to do with him sometimes. I think that John and I were hoping that he'd be okay with Christmas this year. John told me this morning that he was this way when he was a kid. I so wish Paula was still here to talk about this stuff. I really miss her.

Well, I ended up being sick for Christmas, so I stayed home. Frank came over and took Cate to Lisa's house so she could see her cousins. They're not home yet, so I'm guessing that they are having a good time. I was supposed to make the cranberries, rolls, and green bean casserole. I got the cranberries and rolls done, but the green bean casserole didn't make it. I just had no energy to do it. I'm feeling better now. I'll probably be better when I get a shower. For now, I'm just enjoying my new computer and getting it set up.

Merry Christmas to all!

New Favorite Breakfast Recipe

First, I'd like to thank Stonyfield Farms for printing this on the side of their milk cartons. I wasn't sure about the recipe, but I tried it. It's a fantastic recipe for breakfast! Here it is:

Fruited Muesli

1 cup oatmeal
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried apricots, diced
2 Tbsp wheat germ
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1 cup blueberries
honey (optional)

Mix the oatmeal, yogurt, milk, and fruit in a big bowl. Let sit overnight. Top with honey to sweeten.

I eat about a cup to a cup and a half for breakfast. It holds me over until lunchtime. I just made this today. I substituted sliced peaches for the blueberries, so we'll see how that goes. My husband John doesn't find this too appealing, but then he doesn't find much of my healthy food appealing. It can be tough to try to find a middle road.

This recipe can be great if you're on a diet. I'm trying to lose a few pounds, and this is the perfect healthy start to my day. I'll post other healthy recipes as I come across them. Bon apetit!

The end of the semester!

Well, I'm getting to the end of the semester. Finally! Tomorrow is my last day of classes, and then next week is finals week. I'm getting my work done (mostly) on time. I'm just a little late on my MicroApps work, but I'll get it done by this weekend. I'm so tired from getting less than six hours of sleep per night. Plus, on top of that, I have a little boy with a very bad cold. He's been getting up at night, and that disrupts the whole sleep pattern. I'll be so glad when the semester is done and I have my time to myself. Well, my time is never my own, but I'll have more time to spend with the kids and focus on other things. My relationship with God has gone by the wayside, and I am feeling that. It's not that I don't want to spend time with Him. I just have not found time in my routine. Hmm...I should have a time of spiritual refreshing after this is over.
This semester I am only taking four classes. I am taking six classes next semester. So now I'm wondering, what am I getting myself into?!?! I want to be done by next December, so this is what must be done. As long as I don't have any other presentations to do, I'll be fine. I am done with presentations for now. I had two this semester, and I'm not anxious to get in front of any other groups any time soon.
I have about six weeks until the next semester starts. What will I do? There is so much I'd like to do, but I really should spend a lot of time working with James and getting him into a routine. There is so much that needs to be done with him. I've been letting him slide lately, and it's been bad for him. He is progressing a little with his language and I'm so happy about that. So I will take some time with him. I also told Cate I'd spend some time with her too. She's been feeling all the busyness that has taken over my life lately. I feel so badly about that. Then I want to get my house back in order and spend some time practicing HTML and other programming stuff. I do have a website that I need to work on before the end of the year. Hopefully, that will mean a job for me. That would be good!
Well, I guess I should finish one of those assignments that I have left. I see the light at the end of the tunnel...it's a beautiful light....