Please, Contain Your Excitement

Vacuuming

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 03:31:00 +0000

Ike doesn't really like the vacuum. He's okay with it until I turn it on, and then he turns around and hightails it out of the area I'm vacuuming. But then he always gets curious and comes back around to observe from a safe distance. Yesterday I was vacuuming the stairs, and he was standing at the top of the stairs looking very concerned. I told him the scary thing was not the vacuum but the fact that our carpets need vacuuming so often, and we only have one kid in the house. Also, I told him no cats or dogs. Ever.

Daydreams

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:04:00 +0000

I frequently daydream about what I would do if I won or was given certain sums of money. (Anyone who wishes to make any of my dreams a reality is welcome to do so.) Plus it's one of those questions that people get asked in a sort of getting-to-know-you kind of way. Here's how I would put various amounts of money to use. (If anybody had any doubts about how boring I am, those will shortly be put to rest.)

$100
I'd just put it in the bank. I'm sure it would eventually get used for something.

$1,000
We are doing a quasi-Dave Ramsey financial plan. We've saved up our six-month emergency fund, but with both cars soon to take their last spins, we are pretty certain we'll have to buy at least one car this year, and when we do that the emergency fund will be at least in part depleted. We're hoping to have saved up enough for a car that when one of them goes we don't have to drain the emergency fund at all, but right now the prospects of that are grim. With that said, we'd put almost the entirety of an extra $1000 into the car fund. I might spend under $50 for some kind of treat like new clothes or a dinner out or something.

$10,000
This answer is pretty much the same as the first. With the money we'd have left over (because we plan on buying a newish used car instead of a brand new car), we'd probably contribute to paying down the mortgage. Again, maybe a little splurging, this time on a small vacation or something a little nicer than dinner out.

$100,000
This is quite a bit of money. And I'd chuck it at the house. And it would cut years and years and years and years and years off my mortgage. And it would be amazing. If I didn't have a mortgage (because the house was paid off or something) I'd probably put it toward retirement and also go on a trip to Europe.

$1,000,000
I would definitely pay off the house. And I'd go on a trip to Europe. And I'd buy some new clothes. And I wouldn't wait for the cars to die before upgrading them. (I'd still probably buy used, though.) I would also buy some properties to rent out so that I could have continual money coming in.

And that is what I would do with extra money.

Fashion Challenge - Days 4-10

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:28:00 +0000

Kayla's winter fashion challenge is now over. As you will recall, I posted pictures of my outfits for the first three prompts last week. My fashion ensembles for the rest of the prompts are below.

Day 4's assignment was to "channel someone." I didn't do it that very day, but I did on the following Sunday. I channeled my inner Ensign model. Gray skirt from Banana Republic. Pink cardigan given to me by my brother and sister-in-law for Christmas many moons ago (2004). Gray button-up shirt purchased from Liz Claiborne when I was a junior in high school. Pink headband from Ross.

Day 5 was pattern mixing. I did not do it because I do not have many patterned items and because there are no viable pattern combos among the clothes I do have. I have several striped shirts and sweaters, a couple of argyle sweaters, one polka-dotted top that I never wear because it is kind of wonky and weird, and a couple of paisley-floral-ish tops, one of which is a little big and works best as a maternity shirt. I have no patterned pants. I have three non-solid skirts, and as you can see the patterns are just not mixable with my tops. And yes, I did go to the trouble of pulling out all my patterned clothes and photographing them just so I could have an excuse for not participating in Day 5.

The assignment for Day 6 was "Decade or Region." Bam. I found this shirt in my mom's closet when I was like 16. It was one of my favorite tops in high school, and I really needed to pull it out and wear it. I happened to not leave the house at all that day, besides to go to the mailbox, and that is a crying shame. But for the sake of being positive at least this one time, let's give a big huzzah to the fashion challenge for getting me to find something I really super duper liked.

Day 7 was Bright Colors. Easy Peasy. I wear a lot of bright colors, so it was hard to decide which clothes to wear. I went with the yellow shirt I wore last week for the layering day. The orange sweater I got from somewhere in 2004. And I have a green one just like it that I am currently wearing. I love these sweaters. Only 3 days left to go. Everyone stay with me.

Actually, there's not much left to stay with. I really fizzled here at the end. Day 8's assignment was to dress up a coat. I thought I'd put a really cool pin on my brown coat that I wear pretty much every day, but then I realized I do not have a pin. Not a one. Too bad. But there was a very lovely sunrise that morning.

Day 9 was an OTI, "Open To Interpretation." The idea is that you look at the photo on Kayla's post and wear an outfit somewhat loosely based on that one. I just didn't have anything that I felt remotely went along the lines of the photo, and I had a really early meeting for work (8 a.m.! What is wrong with those corporate people?) Plus I had to look moderately nice at said meeting, so I really couldn't risk wearing something that was ultimately kind of goofy because I had to make an impression on people who do not really know me.

Day 10's assignment was to do something that scares us. I don't have any fashion things that scare me. I just have a million fashion things I don't like. So I didn't do today's assignment either.

So that's a 60% completion rate. Good thing I'm not getting graded. Also good thing this challenge is over and I can go back to looking like a bum most days. (Also Eric is glad because maybe now I will quite whining about my lack of clothing when in fact I have more clothes than the majority of people in the world.) (But with that said, do you realize how many things I own that were given to me or purchased in 2004? Yikes.)

Semantics

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:30:00 +0000

These are things that have bothered me for ages:

It is no longer "The Ukraine." It's just "Ukraine." Ukraine is its own independant nation now. It is not a part of the Soviet Union (which no longer exists as such). I have been told that Ukrainians do not like it when you say things about "The Ukraine" because it implies they are still under the thumb of the Russians. Stop saying it. If you are reffering to Ukraine during a time when it was under Soviet or Russian control, it is okay to refer to it as "The Ukraine." But otherwise knock it off.

Stop saying you had the stomach flu or the flu if you did not really have influenza. Influenza's most common symptoms are chills, fever, muscle pains, sore throat and a hacking cough that makes you want to die. Throwing up is not usually a symptom of influenza. If you are having gastrointestinal problems, you likely do not have the flu. Instead, say that you have a stomach bug.

Don't refer to somebody's child as their "adopted child." It's rude. Unless you are making a point of telling about the adoption or some other situation where you need to point out that the child is adopted, it is generally uncalled for.

I feel glad to have gotten all that out of my system. Thanks for obliging me.

Fashion Schmashin . . . OR Smashin' Fashion? (Probably the Former)

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:59:00 +0000

I seem to be doing Kayla's Winter Fashion Challenge. I wear plain colored shirts and jeans pretty much every day. I do not have a lot of clothes in my closet (or elsewhere). Plus I hate most fashion trends. Seriously. So why am I bothering? Because I want to make at least a feeble attempt at just looking nice-ish sometimes. (And that sentence shows you just how committed I am to that.)

Day 1 was "Layering." Kayla said, and I quote, "Anyone can throw a cardigan over a t-shirt and call it layering..try and push yourself a little." I do not like layering. I have never been a fan of the style. It is very popular, even in the summer time when extra layers means extra heat. I do not understand it. Consequently, I do not own much that can be used for layering. I own two, yes only two, tank tops. I own a few cardigans, two of which are not in really great shape. Plus, I looked at every single picture that Kayla provided as inspiration and thought, "That person looks ridiculous." So for day one I wore one of my two tank tops purchased somewhere completely forgotten to me now, a yellow top from American Eagle, a purple cardigan (with rosettes along the side that you cannot see in the photo) from Ross. Black skirt that my friend, Jessica, gave to me in 2004, pantyhose (because I still have not gotten into this tights thing), and black flats from somewhere. Maybe Ross. (As you can tell, I am very attached to my clothing and have perfect memory of where and when I obtained my most precious and favorite items.) Also there was a headband and a necklace and earrings.

Day 2 was "Monochrome." Unlike the previous day, I did like some of the photo suggestions. The difficult thing is that I don't really have a lot of non-jean pants, and I do not have a lot of solid-ish skirts that are not black or gray or brown. Plus I don't wear skirts unless I'm at a function that requires me to wear a skirt. I like to sit cross-legged and with my knees pulled up to my chest, both at home and at work, and wearing a skirt does not facilitate that. Plus most of my skirts are very multi-colored. So, I decided to wear my Old Navy "perfect khakis" that are incidentally the only pair of non-jean pants that fit me right now. Only, they're not the traditional khaki color, they are "poison ivy," which means "green so dark you will probably think it is black." And I wore my green turtleneck. Plus some green jewelry, which was kind of fun. Overall, I liked Day 2. (I had just come home from a Mary Kay facial party, so I was not wearing makeup for the photo. Pity.) Pants from Old Navy. Turtleneck from somewhere. Necklace from my MIL from her Alaskan cruise. Bracelet from my MIL from her trip to Armenia.

Day 3 was "Embrace a Trend." Um, see above. The trends Kayla suggested included many things I do not like - animal prints (tacky), faux fur (gag), skinny jeans (just cannot bring myself to wear any), sequins (is this a trend?) and a few other things that I didn't know were trends. In short, It was very hard to embrace a trend when I do not purchase, and therefore do not own, trendy products. I decided the best I could do was wear a scarf. I got several compliments on it at work. Black top from Old Navy. Scarf from my sister-in-law from her trip to Thailand.

So, that's what I've got so far. Sorry for the dark and grainy pictures. The cord to our camera is missing, and it's a pain to get the pictures off of it, so I've been relying on Eric to take pictures of me with his phone. And Eric does not get home until nighttime, when it is dark and the lighting is terrible. (Stupid winter.)

Boys Will Be Boys

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:58:00 +0000

Let's just get the exciting stuff out of the way. Ike broke his arm. Here's how it happened:

On my work-at-home days, I hang out for a good portion of the day in our upstairs office that faces the street. I keep the blinds open mostly because I like sunshine, but also because I like to see what's going on outside. It was last week that I realized my kid might like to see what was going on outside too. The neighbors across the street were getting some exercise equipment delivered. So I pulled the blinds all the way up and let Ike stand in the windowsill to watch. Then the next day he watched the rubbish truck do its thing up one side of the road. Then I quickly got him dressed and plopped him back in his windowsill to watch the truck come back the other way. He was totally mesmerized. Later that day he stood in the windowsill some more, eagerly hoping that something awesome would happen on the street. He did get to see his babysitter come out to bring her rubbish bin back to the side of the house, and he was so excited to see her. (She lives across the street and two doors down.) On Sunday he stood in the window sill and watched Eric leave for his morning meeting. And then he promptly fell out of the windowsill because I am a negligent mother.

He cried for a little bit but then settled down. Everything was okay, and he took a nap. The rest of the day proceeded as a usual horrible Sunday with one o'clock church.I noticed when I changed him over the next couple of days that he whined a lot when I pulled his arm in and out of sleeves while dressing him. Because I am a negligent mother I let him keep doing that thinking that he'd probably get over what was bothering him in a day or two. Last night he was climbing the stairs when he suddenly began to wail, and for the first time in this whole ordeal, hold his arm. Eric and I decided to call the pediatrician's office, which has extended hours a couple of nights per week. The nurse on duty told me that if this had been going on for a few days I ought to bring him in. So I sent Eric. And then the nurse practitioner sent Eric and Ike over to the hospital to get x-rays. Ike cried a lot during the x-rays as they put his arm in all the positions to get the shots they needed. The technician said he couldn't see anything obviously wrong with the arm, but based on how Ike was behaving there was probably something wrong. He was right.

Shortly after Eric got home the nurse practitioner called to say that he had two very minor fractures - one in the radius, and one in the ulna. She said to make an appointment to get the boy a cast on Thursday, so that's what we'll be doing tomorrow morning.

With all that said, the kid is as chipper as ever. If it weren't for the whining when we pull his arm through his sleeves neither one of us would have any idea that anything was wrong with the kid.

Meal Planning - Don't Get Carried Away!

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:39:00 +0000

I've had a few people ask me lately about my food shopping and cooking methods. I think I'm somewhat organized in this regard. But I am by no means hyper-organized. I usually only plan 3-5 meals in a given week. I've found that when I plan more I either shop for way more food than we will actually eat, or I end up having things come up that cause me to put the meals on hold, and then the food goes bad. I do not assign specific days to specific meals, but I do try to keep in mind which days I will be working and which days we may have unusual things going on that could put a kink in our dinner plans.

So what do we do on the days that we don't have a planned meal? Leftovers. And we have a handful of go-to food ideas. Some of them are incredibly simple like deluxe grilled cheese sandwiches or bean burritos (with tomatoes, onions, cilantro, sour cream and green salsa). Some are a little more involved like red lentil curry or kidney bean curry. We eat a fair amount of pasta, too. As you may notice, most of our go-to foods are vegetarian meals and do not require a lot of fresh ingredients. That means that I generally have all the supplies I need for that meal on hand, without even having to add things to my grocery list. (Most of the items require onions, cilantro or both. These are staples in my household, so yes, they are almost always on hand.) We just celebrated the Chinese New Year with a bunch of neighbors, so we happen to have hundreds of frozen dumplings on hand right now as well. The dumplings will be added to the list of go-to meals until we run out of them.

When I plan my meals each week, I try not to put a whole week of new recipes. Usually I limit myself to only one or two new recipes. That way if the recipe is a dud, at least we know something that week will be really good.

I'll be writing a few more posts about organizing my pantry (Take that 2012!), making my grocery list, and planning crock pot meals.

Guest Post

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:43:00 +0000

I wrote a guest post at Hey Nonny for today. Head on over and check it out.

My House is So Cold...

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:59:00 +0000

Back when I lived in New Zealand I sometimes wrote and whined about the cold. I couldn't wait to get back to the States and live in homes with central heating that I could set to 72 degrees. And I did. Except now that I have to pay the gas bill to heat an entire house, I am much more frugal with my heat.

I have the thermostat set to 60 degrees during the day. I only keep it this low because I don't want to forget to turn it down on days that I'm not in the house. On days that I am at home, I usually will turn the heat up to 65, maybe 67 if I feel like it. I pretty much always wear a fleece jacket when I am at home. It basically doesn't matter how cute my top is because I never even get to see it. I also usually wear some kind of warm socks or slippers. Some days I forget to turn the heat up in the morning, so I'll be upstairs working away and wondering why I'm so cold. Then I remember and run downstairs to turn the heat up a few degrees.

At the beginning of each month I check dutifully for the heating bill to show up online. I get very antsy about it. Our bill shows us how we compare in our utility bills relative to other homes with our same square-footage. As much as I like to keep my bill low (because I like money), I am even more thrilled to see how my usage compares to previous months, and whether I earned a 5 star rating for energy efficiency. I probably deserve a Saving the Planet badge. Somebody should get on that.

Remakes

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 17:30:00 +0000

I am thoroughly enjoying the surge in movie and movie series remakes that we've seen in the last few years. I loved the two new Batman movies and am eagerly awaiting The Dark Knight Rises. I really enjoyed the new Star Trek, even though I was never a huge Star Trek fan to begin with. I also cannot say enough good things about the 2010 adaptation of True Grit. And now I have another film to add to the list of remakes - Rise of The Planet of the Apes.

First off, I have never seen the original Planet of the Apes, but I have learned enough about it through pop culture and people explaining the movie to me, that I understood the basic premise of the new film. I also knew enough about the original to be thoroughly amused with the references to it in the new movie. (There is one part where the lead chimp is playing with a toy Statue of Liberty. Very funny.)

I loved that the whole premise of the movie is based on a researcher trying to find the cure to Alzheimer's disease. It allowed the viewers to be sympathetic to the research and his overall objectives.

I am probably very late on the bandwagon for seeing this one (we just watched it this past week), but we're always behind on movies because we just wait for them to arrive via Netflix. (We have been on a list for ages and ages and ages and ages to receive The Help. I'm actually a little perturbed that Netflix hasn't just purchased more copies for distribution. This is the only bad thing I have to say about Netflix. Maybe I will get a Redbox code and go get The Help from Redbox. It would be my first ever time to get a movie through one of those machines. Seriously.)

Free TV

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:52:00 +0000

We do not have a TV. Okay, that is a lie. We have two TVs because we got a new one for Christmas. The old one is in the extra room quietly awaiting its use as a future babysitter. The new one is in the living room where the old one used to be. But still, we often tell people we don't have a TV. That is because it is easier to say that than to say, "Where we live we cannot get any reception, and we don't have cable or satellite, and we have a policy not to pay for TV." See? "We don't have a TV," is much simpler.

I like our no-paying-for-TV policy. I like it a lot. It saves us a lot of money to watch the shows we watch ("Downton Abbey," "Person of Interest," and "Who Do You Think You Are?") on Hulu or on the network sites. I guess it's a pain to have to wait 24 hours from the original time the show aired, but you can pay me $50 per month (That's how much a cable bill is, right?) to wait for each of the shows I watch.

I will readily admit that I miss having ready access to college football during the fall. We usually would go to other people's homes to watch the BYU football games, and that was always fun. Still I was sad that I didn't get to see more than just the BYU games. (Although not particularly sad that I didn't get to see the National Championship (if you can call it that). I heard about it on NPR and on Facebook. It sounds like it wasn't an awesome game.)

We've actually been spending so much time watching TV online lately (we have recently started watching "Arrested Development" again) that we've downgraded our Netflix account to only have 1 DVD out at a time. We're just saving money left and right, folks.

We are surely not the only people who are not paying for TV. Are we?

Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 01:48:00 +0000

You know how some days are full of getting stuff done and are super productive and you are really proud of yourself at the end of the day? Those days never occur on Mondays for me. Except yesterday. It was awesome.

First of all, I always work from home on Mondays. And because Mondays are always lousy I usually consider it a good Monday if I can put in two hours of work. (This is also because sometimes I don't have enough work to do on Mondays since I am usually in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays - meaning I'm done with everything I brought home for the week.) Yesterday I worked 4.1 hours. (Yes, we log our time in increments of 6 minutes so that we bill clients as accurately as possible.) I'm afraid that with all my parenthetical comments you may have missed the point of this paragraph. It is thus: usually less than two hours of work, yesterday four!

I made a really good dinner. It was pasta in sun-dried tomatoes in cream sauce and blue cheese and cheddar scalloped potatoes. It was a very creamy dinner, but that was because I purchased the cream very discounted since it was about to go bad, so I had to use it very quickly.

I vacuumed the stairs while my child threw his Little People (which are really zoo and circus and farm animals) down the stairs from behind the baby gate at the top. He learned this game from his father and his grandpa, who let him sit at the top of the stairs and chuck tennis balls at them.

I put on real clothes and wore make-up and my hair still looked good from the day before, which totally counts as "doing" my hair.

I made the bed. (I would say this gets done about 80% of the days of the week.)

I unloaded the dishwasher and loaded it again and then hand-washed the pots from dinner.

I thought about exercising but ultimately did not because I messed up my hip being too enthusiastic on the elliptical machine and then later taking a flying leap over the baby gate. I hope to be back on the machine tomorrow.

And it wasn't yesterday, but today my curtains arrived in the mail and I will be hanging them with Eric as soon as I finish what I'm doing right now. So, check off that to-do from my 2012 goals.

2012 Plans

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:55:00 +0000

I tend to be fairly ho-hum about the new year. I really enjoy looking back and examining my previous year, but often looking forward doesn't do much to get me jazzed. I don't know why that is. But this year, I'm just really excited about 2012. I'm not sure exactly why. We don't have anything huge in the works. I'm just excited to have a reason to set some goals and kick some bad habits. (Yes, I know this is very contradictory to an anti-goals post I wrote last year. Times have changed.)

Without further ado, here are the goals that I am publishing for the Interwebs to read:

Exercise at least 20 minutes 4 times per week.
Cook three planned real-food meals per week (This is more of a lifestyle maintenance goal than a new goal.)
Organize the pantry.
Get some curtains for the sliding glass door and the kitchen window.
Write three blog posts per week
Read 52 books.

For me the hardest ones will be exercising and blogging. I only really need to organize my pantry once. It's really a matter of creating an organizational system. I will only buy curtains once, as well. But exercising and blogging regularly will take more diligence.

Here's to a year of less time-wasting.

The Dreaded Hour

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:26:00 +0000

Our ward meets at 1 o'clock this year.* Oh boy. We had been meeting at 11, and that was fine. Really, I think when your kid is still taking two naps per day (the first at about 9ish, and the second about 1ish) there really isn't a perfect time for church. The kid is just going to be a fussy grump for some portion (or all) of the meeting. Ike would actually fall asleep in our arms until about two months ago, so it hasn't been bad for us, all in all.

But some time pretty soon he's going to be transitioning out of two naps a day and into just that one afternoon nap. I think church this year is going to be a beast. I know a million people before have survived the 1 o'clock start time with a toddler, and I've watched a oodles of people struggle through it. I am not looking forward to it. On Sunday our ward only held the first hour of church, and we were woefully unprepared. Some time after church Eric and I were discussing the fact that we will need to bring an arsenal of toys and snacks with us if we ever expect to get anything out of our meetings.

The good news is that we will only have to do this for about six months. Then Ike will go to nursery during the second two hours of church and we can pawn him off on somebody else, assuming he's willing to be pawned off. And, this month I'll be helping in the nursery, and of course I'll take Ike along, so hopefully these few weeks will be manageable.

Any tips or tricks to surviving this year of 1 o'clock church are welcome.

*In the LDS church usually 2-3 congregations meet in the same building. The start-time for their meetings are staggered to accommodate multiple congregations using the building at the same time. In buildings that hold 3 wards, usually the start times are 9, 11, and 1. Usually at the new year each congregation rotates.

2011 Books

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 15:11:00 +0000

I won't be doing a separate post this year with my book statistics, so I'm just going to put a little summary here at the top. I read 48 books, 4 shy of my goal of 52. Not too bad. The top 10% of books this year are:

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand.
Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture by Peggy Orenstein
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Divine Signatures: The Confirming Hand of God by Gerald N. Lund
Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

Of the books I read this year 12 were audiobooks. (And of those audiobooks, 7 were finished in December! I really got into audiobooks in the last month or so.) Twenty of the books I read were non-fiction. Also please note that even though the non-fiction books only made up 41.7% of my total reading, they comprised 60% of my "best" list. Clearly I need to read more nonfiction.

January:
1. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows - Thoroughly enjoyable. I read it in about a day because the writing was so fun and the story so interesting.

2. Squirrel Meets Chipmunk: A Modern Bestiary by David Sedaris* - I loved the concept, but I just couldn't get past the excessive vulgarity. It's too bad, because David Sedaris is definitely my favorite This American Life contributor.

3. Divine Signatures: The Confirming Hand of God by Gerald N. Lund - I expected this book to be a little like Chicken Soup for the Soul, but it wasn't. It taught a lot of valuable principles about God's love for us and how that is manifest in His involvement in our lives.

4. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell - What an interesting read! I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to read more by Gladwell.

5. The Gift of Asher Lev by Chaim Potok - Loved. There will never be enough Potok in my life. Never.

February:
6. Old Men at Midnight by Chaim Potok - This was his last published novel. Also not his best. I liked it, but I wasn't blown away like I normally am.

7. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd - Very enjoyable. I feel like I'm finally in the loop on that one now.

March:
8. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese - Loved the writing. Did not love the characters. (Though the characterization itself was fantastic.)

April:
9. Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt - Good historical fiction.

10. To the Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S. Monson by Heidi S. Swinton - President Monson is awesome. This biography is not.

11. A Lantern In Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich - Historical fiction at its finest.

May:
12. Then Comes Marriage by Mark D. Ogletree and Douglas E. Brinley - A bit Utah-centric, but overall a good, useful book.

13. Hearing the Voice of the Lord by Gerald N. Lund - Excellent.

June:
14. The Peacemaker by James L. Ferrell - Some wonderful scriptural insights in a very cheesy narrative.

July:
15. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer - Don't bother. Terrible writing, immature plot and character development. There are so many better YA fantasies out there.

16. Citizen Soldiers by Stephen Ambrose - A great read all around. A little long but well worth it.

17. The Princess Bride by William Goldman - A true gem. What on earth took me so long to get to this one?

18. 12 Angry Men: True Stories of Being a Black Man in America Today edited by Gregory S. Parks and Matthew W. Hughey - A nice thing about a book of essays is that if you don't like one author, you get to the next one quickly. This book is all about unjust racially profiling, egotistical cops and black men in America. A short read and quite eye-opening.

19. Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture by Peggy Orenstein - I just loved this book. It made me ask a lot of questions and think more deeply about the values and expectations we place upon our daughters.

20. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead - I just enjoyed this book so much!

August:
21. Holes by Louis Sachar - I loved this the first time I read it (about 11 years ago), but I would say I didn't love it as much this time. Still a great book, just not as much love for it as there once was.

22. The Book of Lights by Chaim Potok - Something about this book really resonated with me, but I'm unable to pinpoint what it was.

23. At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson* - Interesting and enjoyable, although a little long.

24. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick - I can't decide whether I liked this one or not. I think I liked it, but I wouldn't recommend it to most.

25. Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta - It took me a while to get into this one, but once I did I really liked it.

September:
26. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank - Something everyone should read, but not one that I necessarily need to read again.

27. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte* - You just have to love this one.

28. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead - I read it again - this time with Eric on a road trip.

October:
29. My Life With Goya by Andrew Potok - Ugh. I grabbed it thinking it was Chaim Potok, and it most certainly wasn't. I should have quit early on.

30. The Last Speakers: The Quest to Save the World's Most Endangered Languages by K. David Harrison - Fairly interesting, but a little repetitive. I don't know that I completely buy into the idea that all languages need to be saved, but he does make some compelling arguments.

31. Anthem by Ayn Rand - Meh. It's the first I've read by her. Didn't love it. Didn't hate it. Definitely don't agree with it.

32. Enna Burning by Shannon Hale* - I liked it even better than The Goose Girl.

November:
33. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou* - I am surprised that some of my peers read this in middle school. Not only is it not appropriate for kids in middle school, the beauty of the writing cannot be appreciated by thirteen-year-olds.

34. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain - Good, not great.

December:
35. The Silent Boy by Lois Lowry - I really enjoyed the tone of this book. I liked how the child narrator could describe everything going on, even though she often didn't understand the significance of it.

36. NutureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman* - Such an interesting book.

37. Gossamer by Lois Lowry - Meh. Not my favorite of hers.

38. Daughters in My Kingdom: The History and Work of Relief Society - Is it wrong if I'd like a more academic history and less of a feel-good history? I liked it, but I could always use more facts.

39. A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver by E.L. Konigsburg - I didn't think the English and French royal families of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries could ever be so interesting.

40. The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine - I expected better. I really liked Ella Enchanted, and this was fairly blah compared to that one.

41. Fairest by Gail Carson Levine - This one did a much better job of living up to the expectations set with Ella Enchanted. I enjoyed it.

42. A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah* - This was such a hard book to listen to. It's sad in nearly every possible way.

43. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand* - This book was just all-around awesome. I will have to get my hands on a hard copy so I can read it with my eyes instead of my ears.

44. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck* - This was the second time I read this book. The first time I was a freshman in high school. I didn't pick up on all the foreshadowing and symbolism the first time. I know a lot of people find Steinbeck depressing, but I love him.

45. I Am a Mother by Jane Clayson Johnson - Meh. This book was basically a book of quotes meant to make you feel good about being a mother or about not being a mother. It just didn't resonate with me.

46. Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington* - Interesting story, but not a very interesting read. I would have liked to have heard more political insight into the removal of Aboriginal children from their homes. This was an audiobook, and I really could have used a map.

47. Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University: 91 Days to Beat Debt and Build Wealth by Dave Ramsey* - This is technically a lecture series, but I'm counting it as a book. We skipped the parts that weren't really pertinent to us. This series is really motivating!

48. If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't) by Betty White* - Meh. I thought it would be more about her history, and it was more about her life at the time of writing the book. It was a series of little vignettes. Just not that great.

*I listened to an audiobook.

2011 - In Review

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:10:00 +0000

I know some people might think the following Internet meme is lame, or at the very least a lazy way of writing, but I think it really is a great way to sum up my year. So there.

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?

I bought a house.

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Sadly, no. I read 48 books when my goals was 52. I had also set a goal early in the year, when I was still working full-time, to cook real, actual food at least 3 days per week. I didn't really start doing that consistently until I started working part-time. Now we eat real food most every day. Also I planned on blogging at least 3 times per week. Ha!

For next year I'll read 52 books again. I'll also be setting some other goals that I may or may not write about.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes. I got two nephews this year.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Sadly, this question ought to be attached to the one before. I also have good friends who had very premature twins who died.

5. What countries did you visit?
Just America this year. Boo. But within America we went to Texas, Jackson Hole, and to Kansas City, Missouri.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
I am never at a loss for things I could use.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
October 6. It's a long story. Maybe I'll tell it one day. But probably not.

8. What was your biggest personal achievement of the year?
Working, wife-ing and mom-ing simultaneously. Of course, with different variations of success at different points.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Trying to wean the kid and get him to drink cow's milk.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Several colds and a nasty virus. Pregnancy and subsequent childcare has ruined my immune system.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Our house is pretty awesome. We also got a great dining set for a great price, and we bought a new TV for Christmas (funded mostly by Eric's work.)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Ike's. He has learned so many new tricks, and we love to celebrate them.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
I'm going to omit this answer, though I do have somebody in mind.

14. Where did most of your money go?
The house. That down payment plus subsequent payments. Dude.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

The weekends. Always, always, always the weekends.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?
Rebecca Black's Friday.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?
a) happier
b) thinner (Hooray for breastfeeding!)
c) poorer - Mostly because I'm only working part-time, but also because our wealth is now tied into the house.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Traveling.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Late night feedings.

20. Did you fall in love in 2011?
Yes, with my dishwasher, washer and dryer. (How boring am I?)

21. What was your favorite TV program?
Still 30 Rock and also we like Downton Abbey and Person of Interest.

22. What was the best book you read?
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. So awesome. Just go read it.

23. What was your greatest musical discovery?
This answer always, always, always goes back to NPR. I don't even know what the music stations are.

24. What did you want and get?
A house. A new TV. Some mixing bowls.

25. What did you want and not get?
Various furnishings for my house. They'll come.

26. What was your favorite film of this year?
The final installment of Harry Potter, I guess. We watch a ton of mvoies via Netflix, so we tend to be fairly behind. There are still heaps from 2011 we haven't seen yet.

27. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I worked from home, packed for a trip and ate the Cafe Rio Eric brought home for me after a long day of work. I turned 27.

28. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Figuring out earlier how to balance work with home life.

29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
I just try to get non-pajamas on every day.

30. What kept you sane?
Working. It really brings a lot of satisfaction to my life, and I feel incredibly lucky that I have a job that I can do from home so that I can do the mom thing and the work thing simultaneously. Seriously, I love it.

Backhanded Compliment

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:04:00 +0000

There is somebody I work with who does not work in my office. She used to work in another local office but then got transferred within the company to a location out of state. When she still worked in the state she would spend one or two days per week in our office. She was transferred around April, which was right around the time that I went from working full-time to working part-time. It was also around the time that Ike got laid off.

So, we hadn't seen much of each other for a few months. As I said in my post about Ike's lay-off, going from full-time to part-time was a good change for me. It created a much better balance in my life. One of the effects was that I started consistently trying to look nice at work - a thing I'd pretty much given up on at the end of my pregnancy and in Ike's early months when I was too tired and too rushed to really make attempts at doing my hair and make-up. Those were the months when this colleague had most recently been around me consistently, and I'm sure those images of me were the ones that were clearest in her mind because they were the freshest.

That was all the back-story. Here is the story:

This colleague was holding a training meeting that everyone in my office needed to attend. For some reason I was late to the training meeting, so I popped in about 10 minutes after it had started and took a seat toward the back - maybe about 20 feet away from the front of the room.

After the meeting the colleague said to me, "You look really good! I didn't even recognize you when you first came in."

I was a little taken aback. I said, "Wow, I must have looked really bad those first few post-baby months." Admittedly, this was not the best way for me to respond to my colleague's compliment. Then again, her compliment was not very tactful.

She then realized how badly her compliment came off, and we both kind of laughed it off and she gave me more compliments on losing baby weight and we chatted about life after having a baby and other things.

This exchange has left me thinking a lot about things that come out of our mouths in ways we did not intend at all. Anyone willing to share some examples?

All I Want For Christmas . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 04:04:00 +0000

It really isn't that hard to think about things you want or things that would be nice to have. When Eric's sister asked us what we wanted for Christmas over instant message, we ended up with this little chat:

Michelle: What do you want for Christmas?

Sherry: the seventh and eighth harry potter movies.

Michelle: Really?

Sherry: well, i do want them.

also i want a Kindle or other such ereader.

and i want curtains for my kitchen and back doors.

and an area rug in my living room.

Michelle: Hold up

Sherry: and a runner rug in my hallway downstairs.

and a bedroom set.

Michelle: What can we give you with our budget?

Sherry: :)

let's go with the bedroom set.

Michelle: ha ha ha

is cardboard okay?

me: as long as it's a sleigh bed.

Michelle: we'll spray paint it whatever color you'd like.

me: dark wood.

but not cherry.

Michelle: Brown then...

me: and not black.

yeah, a darkish brown, but not too dark.

Michelle: "Grandfather's shoe" brown then

me: also, more bookshelves. we need more bookshelves.

Michelle: STOP ALREADY!

So you see, I'm never at a loss for things that I want, especially things for my home. And then when I start thinking about the fact that our back yard has to be in place by next July, and our gold car has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and our red car cannot possibly run much longer than the gold, and Ike has just about outgrown his infant car seat and on and on and on, I can find myself becoming a little overwhelmed.

Yesterday was not the perfect Saturday. Ike is still getting over this odd stomach bug that we expected to last 48 hours and his gone on for more like 96. Eric got called in to cover a shift. In the olden days that would mean overtime, but now it just means extra work for no extra money because he is on salary. My house was messy because I'm not ordinarily an amazing housekeeper PLUS Ike and I have been sick. My house was also cold because I keep it cold to save money on utilities. Whine whine whinewhinewhine ad nauseum.

And then I remembered some awesome things. My husband has a job. I also have a job. We have a home to live in. We all have good health. We can afford to buy the things we need and some of the things we want. I thought a lot about my brother-in-law serving a mission in Ghana, who had recently been working in a Liberian refugee camp. I stopped feeling sorry for myself. I could go on and on with our many blessings, but just thinking about those was enough to pull me out of my self-absorbed doldrums.

Potpourri

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 05:32:00 +0000

I haven't written in ten days, so we'll do what I always do when I get behind - write a hodgepodge post.

~~~~~

I am working on one of those "my ancestor is a Native American" cases. The client's grandfather always said that his grandmother was a Cherokee. In researching both his maternal and paternal grandmothers I've found that both had sons given the first and middle name of Andrew Jackson. Dear client, your Cherokee ancestors were not very good Cherokees. (I'm not making that up.)

~~~~~

I just finished another case wherein I was pleased to solve a problem and finish the case in time for the Jewish client to receive the package by Christmas. (I'm not making that up either.)

~~~~~

I'm still on Pinterest, but I'm not pinning as prodigiously as I once was. I like to think that I've toned things down and am a more conscientious pinner. (Seriously, all you pinners need to go read RA's post about her own pinning. Don't let Pinterest take over your lives.)

~~~~~

Of the recipes I mentioned in the prodigious pinning post, I really think that only the citrus black beans were a huge hit. I've made them several times since that initial time, and they are always tasty, simple and healthy. The carrot ginger soup was pretty blah in my book, though Eric and Ike seemed to like it. The sweet potato quesadillas were fine, but nothing to write home about. (I'm not even going to bother linking to those others again because I just can't go to the trouble of linking to something that isn't awesome. You can go to my prodigious pinning post (linked above) if you want the links.)

~~~~~

I worked hard on a few of the Christmas gifts I'm giving this year. Then I heard a bit on NPR about how expensive gifts and time-intensive gifts usually mean more to the giver than the receiver. I fear I have fallen into that category. But what can be done? They are already wrapped and shipped (where applicable).

~~~~~

Ike and I got colds. Then we got better. Then Eric got a cold which he gave to Ike and me. Then we got better except for Ike's lingering cough. Then I took Ike to his 12-month appointment, at which the doctor informed me that Ike had an ear infection. He said not to worry about the cough and that it would probably clear up with the antibiotics, but if it weren't for the antibiotics (which were prescribed solely for the ear infection) then Ike might just have a cough all winter long. It's in the genes. Then Ike got some nasty stomach bug, possibly from the babysitter and her boy who had a stomach bug recently. She and her boy seemed to have had a much worse case than what Ike has. He doesn't seem to mind being ill, but I don't like changing a billion diapers a day. When will the 48 hours end? Also, his bug prevented me from going to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas concert tonight. (I obviously wasn't going to have our friends watch Ike and subject them to his germs. I'm very thoughtful in that way.)

The point is, we seem to get sick a lot around here.

~~~~~

I sweep my kitchen floor every day. When people talk about the lifestyle changes that come with having a baby they fail to mention the sweeping.

~~~~~

In Utah it is common for people to take small gifts to their neighbors. So far we have gotten homemade potpourri, and it is awesome. Also some homemade gift tags that are also awesome. The bar is high. We will just duck under it, I think. Thankfully, Pinterest has given me some good gift ideas.

One Year

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:22:00 +0000

It's been a great year! Having Ike in our family has made us far happier than we ever could have imagined.

This month's developments have included, walking (I'd say about 30% of the distance he travels these days is accomplished via walking), clapping (I was thrilled beyond words when he just spontaneously did that when he saw Eric and me doing it - all that practice finally paid off), and his two front teeth arriving with no fanfare (I didn't even know he was teething and then BAM! Two new teeth!).

Ike has been pulling books out of bookshelves, CDs out of CD shelves and pots out of the pantry for at least a month. Lately he has even begun trying to put things back, or at the very least to put things somewhere. He likes to take his train tracks out of their bin and then drop them back in.

He thinks the Christmas tree is great. If only he could reach those shiny glass balls that have been placed so high on the tree!

He likes most food that we offer him but still will not take cow's milk. This is a bit of a problem since I'm now weaning him. He is very resistant to being weaned, and it makes me sad. But not sad enough to keep nursing him much longer. His favorite food is probably bananas. He goes ape over them. (Har!)

Ike jabbers and jabbers all day. He still loves watching people, especially kids. He likes to be chased, tickled, and thrown high in the air. His favorite toys are Tobias the sock monkey, his toy radio, his train tracks (which he just holds in his hands and waves in the air), and all round ball-like objects. He also loves to climb the stairs, though he still doesn't know how to come down.

I really couldn't ask for a better baby.

This is Ike enjoying the Christmas decorations.

When it's time to eat, Ike means business. We get such a kick out of watching him open his mouth as wide as possible.

Football Clothes

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 16:05:00 +0000

Eric has been playing flag football with the guys in the ward. (And by "has been" I mean that he played once early in the season and didn't play again until last week.) Today they have a game, and depending on the results of that game, they may play in the championships. (These guys mean business, apparently.)

As Eric busied himself getting ready this morning, he couldn't find a pair of matching gloves. We have countless gloves in the house, but they seemed to be spread among several places, and I haven't gotten our winter wear organized yet this year. I managed to find him a matching set, then I went off to do my own thing. (Make a Christmas, gift, actually. One day I'll post about it.)

A few minutes later I saw Eric all decked out his in warm active wear with a hat. He doesn't wear winter hats too often. I think it's because his head is kind of big, but I'm not sure really. I commented to him that his hat looked kind of silly, and maybe it was because his head is so large. (This is something I tease him about fairly often. And teasing is just part and and parcel to being married to me.) He was looking for his gloves - the ones I had handed to him only a few minutes prior. He kept muttering, "Where are those gloves?" I told him I didn't know where they were and maybe he should replace his hat because it seriously was looking really odd and pointy at the top.

He meandered into the hallway still looking around for those gloves, took his hat off, and said, "Oh, they were in my hat. That's why my hat looked funny."

Sleep Sack

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 23:38:00 +0000

I made Ike a sleep sack this past weekend. We keep our house pretty cold at night, and we were frequently finding him not under the covers and fairly cold. In New Zealand, my friend, Makereta, made her boy a sleep sack, and I watched part of the construction of it, so I felt confident about putting this one together.

It is not fancy by any stretch of imagination. I took some fleece, cut it into two squares and sewed it together. I did cut a little neck hole, so that's the only part of the thing that isn't just straight. I did hem the arm holes and neck hole. And there is a zipper down the side. I did it by hand because I don't have a sewing machine, and the project was simple enough that I felt like doing it by hand would be a little tedious, but not overly cumbersome. I worked on it while listneing to some audiobooks, and it only took a few hours, spaced out over a couple of days.

Ike seems to like it well enough. Eventually he'll recognize it as a bedtime object, and it's possible he won't like it as much by then.

On Pinterest

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 02:21:00 +0000

I know I'm a little late on the Pinterest bandwagon. I resisted for a while. Then I realized that my goals to be a better meal-planner and a more frequent cook would be aided if I just sucked it up and joined Pinterest.

You can follow me, if you like:

The great thing is that I've already found so many great meals I want to try! I'm really excited. I'll be heading to yonder grocery store tomorrow, and I've got a great week of meals on the docket:
Avocado sandwiches
Citrus black beans with rice
Carrot ginger coconut soup
Sweet potato quesadillas

Feel free to stop by any time you'd like. I can't guarantee any of this will be good - besides the avocado sandwiches, which are tried and true for us - but I can at least guarantee . . . Okay, there's nothing I can guarantee that is really appealing. Free food. That's about all I've got. Anyone coming?

(To those who have already checked out my boards. Yes, I realize they are mostly blank. I'm working on it. And yes, I realize that almost all of my re-pins, particularly for recipes, have come from Janssen. I haven't had time to peruse other recipe boards yet. If you think your recipe boards are totally amazing, let me know, and I'll mosey on over.)

Eleven Months

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 14:30:00 +0000

Last month, I thought Ike would be walking by this month, but I was wrong. He's still acting like he's going to start walking any day. But then again, he may wait a month or two. He's very effecient at crawling.

He finally started waving this month! Usually he does it with his palm facing himself, and it's funny. He also waves when he's generally happy, like when he's eating. I don't know what that's all about. He also does a sign for "all done" when he's done eating. He occasionally says "uh-oh" after purposely dropping something on the floor. The other big thing this month - he got two teeth. They are cute.

Ike loves to go play at the babysitter's house. He's crazy about her kid. He also loves it when I come pick him up. Lately he's really taken on to jabbering as if he's really trying to tell us something. It's adorable, and I can't get enough of it. He also squeals a lot when he's happy, and that's adorable too. It's not a screechy-squeal, just a pleasant squeal of delight. It amuses me greatly when I put him down for a nap and then hear him squealing 10 minutes later. I don't know what it is that makes him so happy, but it must be pretty awesome.

Speaking of squeals of delight - usually when Eric gets home from work Ike is sitting in his high chair having dinner. He is always happy to see his dad, but then his attention gets turned to scarfing down his food. One night this past week Eric got home late and was out of his high chair when Eric got home. Ike was so excited he practically leaped out of my arms as he wriggled and squealed with happiness. Eric beamed all evening.

Ike loves to try to put things on his head. There are a few toys that we have placed on his head, just as a means of playing with him, he now will attempt to put those on his head on his own. Since they aren't really meant to go on his head, they don't stay there long. He also takes my glasses off my face and tries to put those on his head. These things, to me, are just so interesting! When did his little brain start to figure these things out?

He now can actually play his xylophone without throwing the mallet. No melodies yet. (I mean, my child is a prodigy who can play Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto on the xylophone!)

One of the greatest developments this month is his ability and willingness to laugh more readily. We do not have to coerce him to laugh through tickling anymore. It's great fun to strike up a game of peek-a-boo and listen to his giggles. He also still enjoys being tickled and thrown in the air. In the picture below, in order to get a smile out of him, I was prepping to throw him.

He's a perfect baby. I can't get enough of him.

November

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:03:00 +0000

Aren't you glad it's November? I am.

Sure, October almost always can beat November when it comes to weather. This year's October was especially delightful, despite the bizarre bout of snow we experienced in the second week that totally disrupted our Indian Summer. Besides that odd phenomenon, it was a delightful October with beautiful leaves and perfect weather. And I want to give credit where credit is due, so good job October 2011.

But I do not care one iota about Halloween. It's a holiday I could totally do without. I know that makes me the least fun person on the planet, and I do not care.

Thanksgiving, on the other hand. That's a holiday I can get behind. First of all, it merits at least one day - but usually two days - off of work. October only has Columbus Day to offer, and that holiday only seems to matter to government employees, and nobody cares about them. (Unless we are expecting some great mail from Oklahoma Vital Records, and then we suddenly care a lot about the postal workers and their infinite supply of holidays - but that's neither here nor there.)

Back to Thanksgiving - it's a holiday with treats and goodies like Halloween - but it's also a holiday about real food. It's also a holiday with real meaning and significance, or at least it can be. If we have very little to be grateful for, we can at least be grateful we don't have to work on Thanksgiving, or the day after (for most people).

When Thanksgiving is over, we can officially begin the Christmas season complete with Christmas music, Christmas shopping (mostly online, of course) and Christmas decorating.

November is a month with consistently cooler temperatures but not necessarily a great deal of snow. While I don't love the cold, I can tolerate it. I try to focus on the good aspects of cold weather - hot chocolate, soups for dinner, sweaters, hats, scarves, switching on the fireplace. (We have a gas fireplace that turns on when we flip a switch. It doesn't provide the great smells of a traditional wood-burning fireplace with chimney, but it's still warm and pleasant to look at,and infinitely tidier than a traditional fireplace.) I don't get to enjoy those things much in October, and generally they really kick into full gear in November.

Not to mention the fact that November is my birthday month, so that's always a perk for me too - assuming I do not spend my entire birthday in the car, like I did in 2007 and 2008. (This year my birthday falls a day before we leave on a road trip to the Midwest, so I think I've avoided the Birthday Car Celebration. I also avoided the Birthday Car Celebration in 2009 when we went to Washington for Thanksgiving because Thanksgiving was late that year.)

All in all, November's looking like a good month.