New Years Eve

The end of the year. It is always a time of reassessing what has happened the previous year and pondering what to change for the next year. I plan on reading through the Bible this year using The One Year Bible reading plan and The One Year Bible Companion, which is a handbook of key questions and answers to daily readings in the One Year Bible. Resolutions? Not so much. But I do try to start out things this time of the year...something about a fresh start seems so positive.

What did we do today, the last day of 2008? We helped stimulate the economy by purchasing a brand new Toyota Sienna, right off the showroom floor. What are the odds of finding a van with the exact options we wanted on the showroom floor?

This evening we went to Mark and Cindi's house for a New Year's Eve party. It was a very relaxing time of chatting and catching up with people, while the kids played and played and played. Unfortunately, William ended up getting sick around 11ish, so we needed to leave early. Poor guy.

So, may the new year bring many adventures into your lives and I look forward to seeing what is around the next corner for us.

Uneventful day

What a nice, uneventful day. I went and did my major shopping trip for making two weeks of food to put in the freezer. I am hoping to do that tomorrow but there is a good chance that we may be buying a new van tomorrow. We went to look at them and it was pretty clear which one made sense for us. So, depending on how long that takes, I may or may not have time/energy to make the 14 different meals. But, I have the food in the house, so I am motivated.

OK...I just went through my grocery list to see how much I actually spent. I had a few items at home so I guesstimated those prices and I did not include any of the staples. The total was just under $110. That would be for 14 meals, each typically serving more than enough for a dinner for four and then sometimes lunch the next day for 2-4 people. Definitely cheaper than going out.

Jelly Belly Factory

Advice for visiting the Jelly Belly Factory a few days after Christmas...don't. even. think. about. it. We drove there today to go on a tour and when we arrived saw a huge line out the door and around the building. I thought it was for some special event. Nope. It was just for the tour. I went to a point in the line far enough back that I have never had to wait from that point even, and asked how long they had waited. More than an hour! Oh my. Change of plans. We went and looked at the Jelly Belly Factory store and bought some yummies. No tour this time. But still managed to get a picture of James before leaving.



Meal planning followup. I have had a number of people ask me about preparing meals in advance. I checked out quite a few books from the library and ended up trying Mimi Wilson's "Once-a-Month Cooking" which has three 2 week plans and 2 one month plans. I have done a two week plan and liked the recipes enough that I went out and purchased the book. I am now preparing to do another two week plan in the next couple of days.

The saga of the van continues. Now, in addition to the transmission acting up, the air conditioner doesn't work, some of the dashboard lights don't light sometimes, there are weird sporadic noises, the back top brake light doesn't light, and I am sure there are a few more things I am forgetting, the pièce de résistance is when we were leaving the Jelly Belly Factory, a horrible smell and white smoke come from my car. We pull over, look at the engine, and nothing looks amiss. So, I drive home cautiously with no issues....but I think the van has now lost my vote of confidence. So, off to the car lot soon. We are entertaining the possibility of a Toyota Sierra or a Honda Odyssey. Sigh. I like my van....but want reliability too.

Happy Anniversary!!!

Happy Anniversary to me! Ken and I have been married 17 years....wow, that makes me feel old. In four years, I will have been married half my life. We went out to dinner at Rubio's and then to the movies to see Valkyrie . We ended the evening at Uno Chicago Grill for desserts.

Gary West spoke today at church. One of my take-aways was when you see a penny on the ground to stop, pick it up, read the words "In God We Trust" and then personalize that. Am I trusting God right now? I need to be asking myself that question over and over and over, mostly to keep reminding myself where my trust needs to be.

Horse Racing

We went to Golden Gate Fields to watch the horse races today with my sister Julie and her husband Bob. It was an interesting experience, but a tad bit on the boring side. The races were 30 minutes apart, so a lot of sitting around and waiting, and then boom, the race started and finished in a blink of an eye! And, since we had no money riding on the results, it wasn't as enthralling. But, of the four races we watched, I picked two of the first place horses.


We then went to Fentons Creamery in Oakland for lunch and ice cream. Yummy! Nothing like a little ice cream sundae or banana split to fill up the belly.

Then, a relaxing evening at home. This is the good life. I love watching my dad with James. It is definitely heartwarming.

I am currently reading Lost on Planet China by J. Maarten Troost and I have to say, it does not make me want to travel to China. While I am sure there are wonderful places to visit in such an enormous country, it sounds like it is a hard country to travel in. Plus...I am just a picky eater...not sure I could handle some of the food served. Normally when I read travel books, I get the itch to get on the move. But this book makes me realize how nice it can be just to stay home. But, I want to learn to be content in whatever my circumstances and to try to stay in the center of God's will. That is the safest place for me to be, regardless of the physical location.

Oh, another thing I did this evening was try to map out the meals for the month of January. We will see how that actually goes. I plan on preparing 13 meals that will go in the freezer one day coming up and then I added other family favorites for the other days. Just trying to be a good steward of my time and also of feeding my family. It is too easy for me to go out to lunch or dinner because nothing is planned.

Toys!

James is just starting to sit up and play more intentionally with his toys. He doesn't crawl yet, but squirms around, rolls, pushes and pulls and gets to where he wants to be. It is pretty addicting sitting around and watching him play with his new toys. His favorite gift....a carrot! Maria bought it for him from http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=306044 We definitely plan on adding to his collection going forward. Now....if only I could learn to make these we would be set. But I have a feeling that we just may keep the other lady in business instead.

Although I just found my bag of knitting supplies and have contemplating starting to knit again. The problem is time. 24 hours in a day. 7 days is a week. 365 (sometimes 366) days in a year. And I find that the lure of books is so strong. Right now I am reading Cathedral of the Sea by Ildefonso Falcones. I really liked Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth, so thought I would give this a try. I am definitely enjoying the following of a character from pre-birth to young adulthood, although I am only on page 159 of 603, so I am assuming that the book will end at his death. But, haven't read the last chapter yet, so not sure where the end will be. I like the writing style too.

What toys are the older kids enjoying this year? Ipods! Both Maria and William got Ipods and have been on ITunes buying a few songs, games, videos, and TV shows. They didn't receive a whole bunch of toys this year...funny how things change when you get older. They each received a DVD and have watched both Wall-E and Sleeping Beauty. And what toys did I get? Kitchen toys! I am looking forward to trying out my new Kitchen Aid...I have never had one of these before, so it will be fun to see what it can do.

Christmas Day

How am I supposed to sum up today. Not only am I exhausted but it was such a full day! From waking up early with James, 4ish, 5ish...I forget now, it was early, making a breakfast casserole, taking pictures of the kids in front of the Christmas tree, opening presents all morning, nursing, eating more cookies, cleaning up the kitchen and wrapping paper, loading up the van with seven people and driving to El Dorado, visiting with extended family, eating an amazing dinner, opening more presents, driving home.....I am a bit on overload. We took 108 pictures yesterday and today....and didn't catch all aspects! I am so blessed to have a great family and wonderful in-laws. Sure makes the holidays easier. Here are some photos that may allow a glimpse into our day. OK...I am tired and I am having trouble figuring out how to easily put pictures where I want in my post. Maybe another day. I am off to bed now.

Here are the answers to the Christmas Scripture Quiz.

1. How many wise men were there? c. The Bible does not say.

2. Did Joseph meet the wise men? c. The Bible does not say.
3. What animal did Mary ride to Bethlehem? d. The Bible does not say.
4. The Holy Family named the child "Jesus" because: c. All of the above.
5. What type of building was Jesus born in? d. The Bible does not say.
6. What animals were present at the Nativity? e. The Bible does not say.
7. Who besides the wise men saw the star? c. The Bible does not say.
8. How did the star compare in brightness with the other stars? d. The Bible does not say.
9. How soon after Joseph and Mary reached Bethlehem was Jesus born? c. The Bible does not say.