tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48522491417466930842024-02-20T17:51:48.257-06:00The Scrapbook TreehouseUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger529125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-80432664133274699032022-08-28T21:47:00.003-05:002022-08-28T21:47:22.295-05:00Back in the Classroom!<p>Well, it has been a long time since I posted! The scrapbooking blogger community has dispersed for the most part it seems, and that was one of the main reasons I started a blog.</p><p>Then since I wasn’t scrapbooking as much, I really enjoyed sharing travel posts for awhile. I do have two big trips I can share on future posts and just might. We had an epic trip driving down the coast of California in 2019. Then the pandemic hit which changed so much in regards to just living and enjoying life! But we also managed to take an amazing trip to Wyoming as well in 2021. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinh_7kTdMKCtBI8cs4tiaULXyxmmcKqeZFKuD5BHE6S_qQVRTiWl_a72gQPF9ZaupXhshi6H2byb7H4yF6V47dHxSKm8uNOBOHCHHI_CsyPUtw00eShNk9PkwodU5OeoizHoqOZIYLOKIMAy4LJjEjUnE6licLNERH5XdJkoXmqpNiaTvlq4tYRVkwtw/s4032/9934186C-8C10-47F3-B7AB-224512341E19.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinh_7kTdMKCtBI8cs4tiaULXyxmmcKqeZFKuD5BHE6S_qQVRTiWl_a72gQPF9ZaupXhshi6H2byb7H4yF6V47dHxSKm8uNOBOHCHHI_CsyPUtw00eShNk9PkwodU5OeoizHoqOZIYLOKIMAy4LJjEjUnE6licLNERH5XdJkoXmqpNiaTvlq4tYRVkwtw/s320/9934186C-8C10-47F3-B7AB-224512341E19.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>But the big life event that changed for me in 2020 besides the arrival of Covid 19, was my decision to return to teaching full time that Fall.</p><p>I know, I know. What a crazy time to go back to teaching, right?? But my husband had just returned to traveling out of town for work after 18 months at home. My oldest had just graduated high school and was off to college. Something just told me it was time, and I found the perfect first grade position at my daughter’s school. </p><p>I decided to dust off my blog and create a post about one of the most popular spots in my classroom - the Calm Corner, because I plan on sharing a Reel on Instagram, but felt it needed more explanation. </p><p>Last year my teaching partner and I had an aha moment when we realized we needed to slow down the curriculum a bit and focus on social-emotional growth with the kids. This pandemic has been so stressful for everyone, and it has affected the kids just as much if not more. We were seeing them exhibit an intense need for immediate gratification, lack of patience, and more emotional outbursts and meltdowns then usual. The maturity level that would be typical for this age just wasn’t there. One of the plans in my mind was to have a place that just felt safe to calm down or reduce stress for a bit.</p><p>Last year parent of one of my students donated a beanbag chair, I purchased a “support teddy bear” from Build a Bear, invested in some fiction and non fiction books on feelings, mindfulness, and yoga, and added a few more stuffed squishmallows that went along with my classroom space theme. It was nice and the students used that area often.</p><p>This year I took it a little further.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7u7beweEPBH1YdLpLmSj9eM-e0Jfe-5D_rxavhepS4Y1JdkWtNE_lBHa4S_CLelQ2zqd17c0UrDPr1OCtfC-YJk3VQb6rKLaCKIjppsfyrzC3MwwZI7vaMg0Lqpoa8DUmwoQfQOEEhKSUeQKLeIr7m_0-dX7J7gRa1QCklNHC0MNNULU91366Z2FFbQ/s4032/F60B45DD-78A9-4E58-A52F-DC2ABF550E5F.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7u7beweEPBH1YdLpLmSj9eM-e0Jfe-5D_rxavhepS4Y1JdkWtNE_lBHa4S_CLelQ2zqd17c0UrDPr1OCtfC-YJk3VQb6rKLaCKIjppsfyrzC3MwwZI7vaMg0Lqpoa8DUmwoQfQOEEhKSUeQKLeIr7m_0-dX7J7gRa1QCklNHC0MNNULU91366Z2FFbQ/s320/F60B45DD-78A9-4E58-A52F-DC2ABF550E5F.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>I still have the beanbag chair, floor cushions, books, teddy bear and squishmallows. You can’t see it but off to the right there is a table lamp and plant to give it a more homey feel.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGF-3-C0hW-CDAbNIvERdSKY57NQwfeLLmmMdkK6V8JoQ7dbXFMtbCyCzJCHS8T6FnZTsFhJBvMxhfRIeyNfGYG28K6ihQa_lzpah7j7RI3XN--BbJf5_wOozjS8FriWlvZMkNZz1xyGrrFKqu1r73NiNcoxXTLb2jMQVS5bFj3o1Er7McQxR1dIfcmA/s4032/36D426B9-6C61-4F90-A917-F70E50970C21.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGF-3-C0hW-CDAbNIvERdSKY57NQwfeLLmmMdkK6V8JoQ7dbXFMtbCyCzJCHS8T6FnZTsFhJBvMxhfRIeyNfGYG28K6ihQa_lzpah7j7RI3XN--BbJf5_wOozjS8FriWlvZMkNZz1xyGrrFKqu1r73NiNcoxXTLb2jMQVS5bFj3o1Er7McQxR1dIfcmA/s320/36D426B9-6C61-4F90-A917-F70E50970C21.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>But I also added a few items on the middle shelf. There is a green container with some activity cards for mindful breathing techniques. (I’ve already had one student share it with another student. In the black wire basket, I placed a few stress balls, rubix cube, a waterfall sensory timer, a fidget spinner and a sensory jar with water and glitter for shaking. There is also a purple container that matches the green one that holds a notebook for drawing and some markers.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxFvxPa5a6jIUFKWtBHYtpXXNBvRAbjNADwktz_IuOgOloR7q0kyhFx8PYTla7L2yutU5QLiIW_RzUfjeG4fl8kkVQ0aX3JhA6xWCMkMtk12V5c2m4GMDj6OjkuwY_yFD9rh0Fabzci09pj02ow18JYv3YZr80DJP8BNWBf-1EA7mN86oO9-f01oyhxA/s4032/16D22BF5-8594-4934-93B2-C6FB9E77862A.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxFvxPa5a6jIUFKWtBHYtpXXNBvRAbjNADwktz_IuOgOloR7q0kyhFx8PYTla7L2yutU5QLiIW_RzUfjeG4fl8kkVQ0aX3JhA6xWCMkMtk12V5c2m4GMDj6OjkuwY_yFD9rh0Fabzci09pj02ow18JYv3YZr80DJP8BNWBf-1EA7mN86oO9-f01oyhxA/s320/16D22BF5-8594-4934-93B2-C6FB9E77862A.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvwqRB0rbfJM7kRF8kH0MOLM2nEEJnoAVyL2zonDUZoG-UJHFaephU6WLa4ZO4dQDLhQzJBQfAozed6ojq52QEyjsBs_gCzLUISP3Y3sms4KF6xUjmD5nS5nJJ_BG4DURTT8zXMwly4i4b2vBwgbagRotQyTuXhiwejY02MG2fPN-BSmsLo0tOS0SM3A/s4032/7840A419-0094-48E7-88EA-91DE42916D77.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvwqRB0rbfJM7kRF8kH0MOLM2nEEJnoAVyL2zonDUZoG-UJHFaephU6WLa4ZO4dQDLhQzJBQfAozed6ojq52QEyjsBs_gCzLUISP3Y3sms4KF6xUjmD5nS5nJJ_BG4DURTT8zXMwly4i4b2vBwgbagRotQyTuXhiwejY02MG2fPN-BSmsLo0tOS0SM3A/s320/7840A419-0094-48E7-88EA-91DE42916D77.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>My students love it, and it has come in handy on a few occasions. If you are a teacher, I highly recommend a spot that your students can escape to even for a few minutes to decompress and relax!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-27330603750423332512020-03-10T21:36:00.001-05:002020-03-10T21:38:04.121-05:00In the Past YearToday I thought I would quickly share a few things we’ve been up to since my last post which was a little over a year ago 😬<br />
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I posted this on Instagram recently. It’s amazing how quickly time goes by. One minute we are looking at high schools for our son, and the next we are touring colleges! He applied to four schools and was accepted to all four and awarded merit scholarships. All his hard work has paid off!<br />
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I’ve been doing a lot more reading and trying to spend less time on screens and especially on social media.<br />
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We took an amazing, fast paced moving down the coast of California vacation that I will have to share more about later. So many places and so many photos!<br />
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Erin had a lot of “firsts” 😊 First ride on the Batman rollercoaster at Six Flags, first time visiting San Francisco, first time visiting a beach in California and first day of 6th grade.<br />
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I will end for now with 2019 being the year I finally saw my Blues win the Stanley Cup! 💙💛💙<br />
Hoping for a repeat in 2020!<br />
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What have you been up to?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-21487168171161494042019-03-06T16:37:00.000-06:002019-03-06T16:41:02.528-06:00The National at Red Rocks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have been wanting to write this post since last October when it actually happened, so it is long overdue! <br />
We celebrated 21 years of marriage in 2018 by flying back to Denver, Colorado for a three day trip to see one of our favorite bands at <a href="https://www.redrocksonline.com/">Red Rocks Amphitheatre</a>.<br />
When we were on our family vacation there in June, Red Rocks was one of the places we visited. Mike and I decided seeing a concert there was definitely on our bucket list and we would go back someday.<br />
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As soon as we saw The National was going to be there in October so close to our anniversary, we decided someday was going to be sooner than we planned!<br />
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Unfortunately the weather prediction for the day of the concert was cold and rainy with the possibility of some snow later that night. Thankfully they weren't going to cancel, so we went to REI and bought some waterproof rain jackets. I was so grateful for mine, and that it didn't rain the whole time. But when it did, I stayed pretty dry underneath.<br />
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We were in General Admission seats, so we arrived to Red Rocks early enough to be right near the front of one of the GA lines.<br />
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When we were finally let in, we found a spot as close to the front as we could.<br />
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Despite the cold, it felt pretty incredible to actually be at Red Rocks at all much less to see The National! <br />
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After the opening act, Sharon Van Etten, they began setting up for The National.<br />
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A bonus - the lead singer Matt Berninger came out first and talked to the crowd for a little bit as the rest of the band showed up.</div>
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They opened with "Nobody Else Will Be There" which we love.<br />
Actually we love all the songs they played, so it's hard to pick a favorite. I think it was one of the best concerts we have attended together ever!<br />
And one reason...<br />
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Matt came out into the audience not once but three times. This is a screenshot of one of my video clips as he floated up right past us. He literally does this using a microphone with a cord. It's crazy and brave in my opinion and he moves so quickly! I don't know how he does it!<br />
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Even though it will be hard to top Red Rocks Amphitheatre, I cannot wait to see them again. It will definitely be this year 2019 as they are going on another world tour to promote their new album coming out in May. They have a few stops in cities not too far from us, but I wouldn't mind somewhere new and farther away. I guess we will see!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-62333751176238292842019-02-12T13:38:00.000-06:002019-02-12T13:38:20.634-06:00Home Sweet HomeMy husband's job takes him out of town quite frequently. In fact, when he is assigned to a project, he will often be gone Sunday night through Friday evening most weeks of the year for however long the job lasts. It's not ideal, and was really tough in the beginning! But we have learned to make it work for our family over the years.<br />
I am not exaggerating when I say the expression "absence makes the heart grow fonder" really rings true for us all. We have learned to appreciate the time we have together so much more and try not to take it for granted.<br />
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Plus, I have to admit there are perks, too. Like the summer the kids and I were able to live with him down in Miami while his company was working on the Miami Dolphin football stadium.<br />
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Or back in 2011 when he was working up in Burlington, Canada outside of Toronto. The kids and I took a memorable road trip up there to be with him for a few days.<br />
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And funny enough, the other day my daughter was saying how she remembered playing on the rocks by the lake and having ice cream while we were there even though she was only four. I told her I had a photo of it somewhere and here it is! I am so going to frame this for her.<br />
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But overall it's not always easy doing the solo parent thing here while my husband is gone. Plus, we miss him! <br />
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His latest project has had him up in Iowa the past two years in a town that is four hours away from home. It's a small town with not much to do, and we did the best we could to find fun whenever we went up to visit him and save him a drive home. <br />
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I am happy to say though that job has come to a close for him and he officially moved back home again last Friday! We have no idea how long it will be till his next assignment takes him out of town again or where it will be. We could have days, weeks or months! I think it's looking pretty good that he will be here for a while though, and we plan on making the most of it!<br />
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Already he has been a huge help with the morning school commute for me. And I can't tell you how happy it made us to have him stay on Sunday night, instead of rushing off to get back on the road. He was also able to go to an ice skating function for my daughter's school with us on an actual school night which is huge. He has said a million times how hard it is to be away and miss so many family activities. Hopefully he will get to enjoy a few more for at least the rest of the school year.<br />
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We are happy you are home, Babe!<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-88144770084737188932019-01-22T21:37:00.003-06:002019-01-24T11:37:52.539-06:00Frisco, Colorado - Part 2Well, I got a little distracted there with the turn of the new year and a pretty busy month so far. In addition to lots of school and extracurricular activities for the kids, I have been doing the <a href="https://whole30.com/">Whole 30 plan</a> and <a href="https://yogawithadriene.com/dedicate-a-30-day-yoga-journey/">Yoga with Adriene 30 day journey for 2019.</a> I am on Day 21 and Day 17 respectively for each one, but will share more about those in another post.<br />
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Today, I want to finish up sharing our trip to Colorado last summer.<br />
You can see my other posts here:<br />
<a href="http://scrapbooktreehouse.blogspot.com/2018/11/colorado-trip-denver.html">Colorado Trip - Denver</a><br />
<a href="http://scrapbooktreehouse.blogspot.com/2018/12/colorado-trip-part-2-red-rocks.html">Colorado Trip Pt. 2 - Red Rocks</a><br />
<a href="http://scrapbooktreehouse.blogspot.com/2018/12/colorado-trip-part-3-mount-evans.html">Colorado Trip Pt. 3 - Mt. Evans</a><br />
<a href="http://scrapbooktreehouse.blogspot.com/2018/12/frisco-colorado-day-1-and-2.html">Frisco Colorado - Day 1&2</a><br />
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On our third morning in Frisco, my husband headed out for a longer bike ride to Keystone. So the kids and I took our time having breakfast, and then headed to a playground close to Main Street. My teenage son sometimes feels he is a little too old for playgrounds these days, but my daughter loved it! And eventually he gave in and joined us.<br />
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It was a pretty nice view there. The playgrounds here at home definitely don’t have a view like that!<br />
Our next stop was to drop Evan off at the marina so he could fish for a little while. Erin and I had planned a visit to the Art Studio on Main Street.<br />
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It was a fun creative, space decorated with the owner's artwork. There were many arts and crafts activities to choose from, and Erin decided to decorate a picture frame. While she was painting away, I explored the studio.<br />
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One of my absolute favorite quotes was painted in a corner! I collect magnets from all the cities and places we visit. I decided to get a Frisco magnet from her shop because it was so unique.<br />
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When Mike had finished his ride, he biked over to us to hang out for a little bit before going home to change and pick up Evan so we could all have lunch together.<br />
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After lunch we drove to Breckenridge, and decided to take a gondola ride up to <a href="https://www.breckenridge.com/explore-the-resort/activities-and-events/summer-activities/epic-discovery.aspx#main_nav__dropdown__1">Epic Discovery </a><br />
to check it out.<br />
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It's pretty much a resort at the top with a restaurant and activities and rides.<br />
To be honest if you are on a budget, I would not recommend it. Although it was pretty neat riding up on the gondolas, plus there is the view.<br />
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But it is also a little pricey. The boys got the $20 per person Scenic View Ski Lift ride that took them up an extra 1100 feet. We also spent $49 on a three activity pass for Erin! So I took her...<br />
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on the Bungee trampoline ride (which you can do for $8 here)<br />
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and the Gold Runner Coaster twice which she loved. It twisted up and down around the trees!<br />
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Later that evening, the kids ate dinner at home while Mike and I had a date night. We went out to eat at a nice restaurant on main street called Vinny's. Then we decided to walk around a bit after we ate, and did a little shopping just the two of us.<br />
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The next morning, Mike and Evan headed back to Breckenridge for Evan's 16th birthday gift - a fly fishing trip.<br />
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Erin and I on the other hand decided to go back to our favorite spot...Main Street!<br />
We had breakfast at a restaurant called Bread + Salt, went back to the museum to get another Passport with stamps, visited a little candy shop and toy store. She said it was one of her favorite parts of the trip lol.<br />
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Then we drove to pick up the boys and have lunch back at the condo before Mike went on one last bike ride.<br />
While he was gone, I took the kids to Rainbow Park to make the 1.5 mile hike to Rainbow Lake.<br />
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It started off with this nice little wooden bridge type trail by the parking area.<br />
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But pretty soon we were walking on terrain like this...<br />
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and this. It was definitely NOT Erin's favorite part of the trip. But Evan and I enjoyed it.<br />
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And when we reached the actual lake, it was a mostly quiet, peaceful area. Definitely a nice way to spend time waiting for Mike to come back.<br />
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That night we went back to Breckenridge for dinner at The Canteen Tap House and Tavern. We ate out on the patio and enjoyed the view for our last night in Colorado.<br />
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I'm just going to end by saying, Frisco, Colorado was one of those places that will always hold a special place in my heart. I loved it! Really reminds me of how I felt while we were in Brussels, Belgium. Sometimes you just find a place that you connect with. I have two of those places now - Frisco and Brussels. Looking forward to seeing what other cities I can add to the list!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-27270657036208581572019-01-01T20:36:00.001-06:002019-01-01T20:45:46.247-06:00Happy New Year! (and a movie review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Let me just start out by saying that 2018 went by way too quickly. And I keep hearing from so many different sources that the older you get the quicker time flies. I definitely hope that is not the case for 2019, but I have a feeling it may be the fastest yet with all we have to look forward to this year!<br />
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I have so many things going on in January alone - trying Whole 30 again, starting a new One Little Word project, the Yoga with Adriene 30 day challenge, subbing in classrooms, basketball practices and games for my daughter, drum performances for my son, and my husband's out of town project ends soon so he will be home more (yay!)<br />
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But for my first blog post of the new year, I want to share my thoughts about the newest Mary Poppins movie which we went to see on New Year's Eve. (all images found on the internet) *And if you haven't seen it yet, there may be spoilers*<br />
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I will be honest - I am a huge fan of the original Mary Poppins movie with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. I thought they were perfection, and I loved the way Walt Disney and crew brought the book to life. I was definitely excited to see another story turned into a movie, and was so glad they weren't just doing a reboot of the original one.<br />
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I was a little afraid to get my hopes up that this one would be as good as the original. Emily Blunt has huge shoes to fill when it comes to portraying the character of Mary Poppins.<br />
I went in with an open mind though. And to be frank, at first I felt she was just "playing" the character of Mary Poppins. Julie Andrews IS Mary Poppins. But by the second half of the movie I think Emily had won me over and achieved the right feel for the character. She has a lovely voice and I can't imagine anyone else playing the part in this movie now.<br />
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Which brings me to the songs. They were fine, but I didn't feel they had the same uniqueness as the original Mary Poppins movie. They actually seemed pretty generic. The only one that really caught my attention was The Place Where Lost Things Go. It was pretty moving during the scene in which she first sang it. And without giving too much away, I thought it was even more moving when the children sang it to their father in a reprise towards the end.<br />
As for the rest of the songs, like I said they were ok, but I can't really remember too many of them today so I don't feel I really connected with any of them. On the other hand, I could sing most of the lyrics from the original songs right now if you wanted :). I didn't see the first movie until a long time after it was released, so I don't know if the songs were as loved or as known back then as they are today by so many. I guess time will tell if the same will be true of the new movie. I just don't think that will be the case though.<br />
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Another area of Mary Poppins Returns that wasn't as magical was the animation scene. In the original, they jump into a chalk drawing of an English countryside which leads to a merry go round and horse race. The new movie had a little bit of a more adult theme to it and ended a little darker and with nightmares.<br />
The one thing I really did love about this new animation scene were the costumes Mary, Jack and the children wore. I loved the faux animation details so much!<br />
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One of my favorite parts of the original Mary Poppins, was when they went up on the roof tops with the chimney sweeps! They had a similar scene in Mary Poppins Returns, but it started out with them going downwards into a sewer. All I could think was really, we are going to the sewers.<br />
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But in truth, it was a pretty great song and dance number. And when you first come across the lamplighters, it's an impressive visual. I think it was one of my favorite numbers in the movie.<br />
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As for the other characters, I really did enjoy Lin-Manuel Miranda's performance. He also had big shoes to fill, but I like they he had a completely different character. The children also did a pretty great job. I loved that we were able to see what happened to Jane and Michael after they had grown up, but I couldn't help wondering where their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Banks were. They definitely were not so old in the original movie that they would no longer be around. And I will confess, I have not read the book so maybe more was explained there.<br />
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All in all, I did enjoy the new movie. I thought it was great that Dick Van Dyke had a cameo at the end. And I will admit that I may have teared up a little for sentimental reasons. (lol) Mary Poppins will always be one of my favorite characters and movies, so I'm glad another generation will be able to enjoy a new story.<br />
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I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars!<br />
<br />Which reminds me - my husband and I also watched Game Night with Jason Bateman and The Bird Box with Sandra Bullock. I would give Game Night 4 out of 5 stars and The Bird Box 3 out of 5.<br />
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Did you see any new movies over the holiday break? Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-74954040986266992422018-12-20T21:31:00.003-06:002018-12-20T21:31:48.228-06:00Frisco, Colorado - Day 1 and 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The next part of our trip took us to Frisco, Colorado. Mike picked it out because it was only an hour away from Denver and had lots of great bike trails that he could ride on between places like Breckenridge and Keystone.<br />
What I loved most about Frisco is that it is a much smaller town than Denver, so it gave us a different feel for what Colorado is like.<br />
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Plus, I loved the main street! With the mountain backdrop and rustic feel, it was one of my favorite spots to hang out!<br />
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When we arrived into town, we drove straight to Main Street to have lunch. I had read about the Butterhorn Cafe online, and it had good reviews. It did not disappoint. I would definitely recommend having a meal there if you are ever in Frisco. <br />
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Then we walked down to the Frisco Museum which is FREE.<br />
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Part of the museum is housed in the original schoolhouse which Erin loved.<br />
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But what she really loved the most was the area behind the schoolhouse, where
they had some of the actual original buildings set up like a town.<br />
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And each building had a stamp press where she could get an embossed stamp for her little Passport book that the museum provides.<br />
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After our visit to the museum, the boys decided to hike up Mount Royal, which is the mountain on the left there right behind the museum. I knew Erin would not be able to handle that climb, so we decided to explore Main Street.<br />
It was a good decision, because they were gone almost three hours on their hike!<br />
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We started at this cute little bookstore...<br />
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and made our way towards the mountains. We stopped at several little shops...<br />
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checked out this adorable little art studio where we made plans to return to when the boys had their day of fly fishing.<br />
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Then we finished off with drinks here.<br />
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Loved the street signs!<br />
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Then we headed to our condo. Too funny that this is the only photo I have of our condo there. I took tons of pictures of the one in Denver, but somehow didn't get any in Frisco. Oh well, it was cute. Not as big as the one in Denver which was two stories. But it was big enough with a master bedroom and bath, plus one smaller bedroom for Erin. Evan had to use the pullout sofa in the living room. It was only one mile from main street and the lake, and right across the road from the grocery store and other shopping spots.<br />
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The next morning, I went for a went for a walk for exercise. I was determined to stay on track with it even while on vacation.<br />
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The view was pretty spectacular.<br />
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After working out, my husband went for a nice, long bike ride and my son actually wanted to do some more hiking. The previous day they had hiked that first mountain you see in the above picture, which is Mount Royal. Next to it is Mount Victoria, and the one after that with the snowier top is actually called Peak One. His goal was to get to the top of Mount Victoria. A pretty popular hiking trail connects the three mountains, which you can read about it in this article <a href="https://www.summitdaily.com/news/sports/best-hiking-trails-in-colorado-a-guide-to-mountain-royal-and-peak-one-near-frisco/">Best hiking trails in Colorado: A Guide to Mountain Royal and Peak One in Frisco Colorado. </a><br />
It took him about four hours to get to the top and back.<br />
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While we were waiting, Erin and I headed to a nearby playground with another beautiful view!<br />
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Playground...<br />
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View!<br />
Then we went back to the condo for lunch and to rest while waiting for the boys to finish.<br />
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That night we drove to Breckenridge to check it out. Kind of weird that once again I did not take any photos. I guess I was just enjoying the moment and not wanting to keep pulling out my phone.<br />
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Mike had biked into Breckenridge earlier that afternoon, so he was familiar with it. We ate dinner at a place he had seen called Blue Stag Saloon which was just ok. Afterwards we enjoyed walking around for a bit. It's more touristy than Frisco, but still a pretty little town. <br />
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And that was it for our first two days in Frisco! We still have two more to go, but that will have to wait until after the New Year!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-2971097237405899382018-12-12T16:09:00.000-06:002018-12-12T16:09:57.189-06:00Colorado Trip Part 3 - Mount Evans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This was the big day! It was a long, but exciting one. It's not every day that your husband tries to bike up a mountain with over 14000 feet of elevation! I have over 100 photos from that day, but I promise I won't share them all here. Just a few favorites that help tell the story.<br />
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We woke up at around 6am and drove to Idaho Springs which was going to be Mike's starting point.<br />
The kids and I had planned to drive up to the Echo lake area so Evan could fish for a little bit.<br />
And then we would drive from there up the mountain offering Mike support as we went.<br />
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Echo Lake! It was so pretty up there.<br />
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Mountains, trees and a lake in every direction. Loved it!<br />
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One of the best decisions I made, was to turn over our smaller Sony camera to her and I used my phone and the DSLR. She took so many photos while I was driving, and there were some really good ones in there. <br />
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He tried a little fishing, but didn't have much luck.<br />
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The Echo Lake Lodge was a short walk up the road from the lake.<br />
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Our red truck parked down there on the left side of the picture was around the halfway point between the lodge sign and the lake. Erin and I had decided to walk up to check it out at one point and discovered it had a gift shop and restaurant.<br />
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Mike arrived and took a short break before we all started the next part of his ride. <br />
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The kids drove in the truck and would ride ahead of him for a bit to find a good place to park and wait. You can see how narrow the road is and how there is no guardrail on the side. It made me a little nervous at times.<br />
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Of course we had to make a few stops on the way to look around and take photos.<br />
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Mike would catch up to us and either stop for a break or keep going depending on how he was feeling. All I can say is that he had some major hills to climb throughout the day!<br />
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This was one of our main stops where we took a break and waited for Mike.<br />
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Mountains for miles.<br />
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The higher we climbed, the rockier and less green it became.<br />
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Summit Lake was the next big stop for us. I have to say, pictures just can't do it justice. It was a pretty cool spot, and I wish we could have hung out there a little bit longer. But there was a pretty big hill for Mike to climb just past this lake, and we wanted to give him a little more support.<br />
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This sign is no joke! Once we passed Summit Lake, it was a little scary in some parts.<br />
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I mean he looks like he's going to ride right off the edge of the mountain. I was driving in the middle of the road at this point to get around him. (Photo courtesy of my son. So glad he snapped this shot!)<br />
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And then he made it! So proud and happy for him!<br />
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Afterwards, I drove us back down to Echo Lake lodge where we had lunch to celebrate.<br />Such an amazing experience! Can't wait to see where his next big ride will take us.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-51140685176065861082018-12-02T20:45:00.000-06:002018-12-02T21:12:42.332-06:00Colorado Trip Part 2 - Red Rocks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On our second day in Denver, we decided to take a trip to see <a href="https://www.redrocksonline.com/">Red Rocks Amphitheatre</a>. But first we had breakfast at <a href="http://woodenspoondenver.com/">The Wooden Spoon.</a> Erin really enjoyed her large chocolate croissant!<br />
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Then it was off to Red Rocks.<br />
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When I was researching things to do in Denver, Red Rocks was at the top of our list. I love traveling to places I have only heard or read about about from other people or online. Seeing it in person, was pretty cool. My husband and I decided right there that we definitely wanted to come back and see a concert at some point. Little did we know it would only be a few months later for our anniversary! But more to come on that in another post.<br />
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I really liked how this map laid it all out. I had no idea the large rocks had names.</div>
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Family selfie at Red Rocks - 2018</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEhOIeQ0qMCdTddC3VsAB1aMvw0a3WaqX6F8YgXZzqvpMixy0MytdDV6LrjmYBN7AcVm2LmfIouC_yR29_ic1sJKBBnD7vxhsxtBBnh5p0kX7mTxJfvJa8k1VADRJ02JqbsK8RVVQEgrX5/s1600/red+rocks2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEhOIeQ0qMCdTddC3VsAB1aMvw0a3WaqX6F8YgXZzqvpMixy0MytdDV6LrjmYBN7AcVm2LmfIouC_yR29_ic1sJKBBnD7vxhsxtBBnh5p0kX7mTxJfvJa8k1VADRJ02JqbsK8RVVQEgrX5/s640/red+rocks2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We went inside and down to the lower level for a little bit to cool off, and of course had to find U2 on the gallery wall. We knew they had performed there in 1983, so it was pretty easy to find them listed there.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3bQBQj25-KCPk3KBVVv6bhEbn0z7qP158SZhvfLOZ9bhpVM299VBUjV3Ip7cAJtSc517SsBGS8sKBxIqQPTqaV4BzlAC7IBygwNTUZg55rCXO3js3RyDhVneVkOrbSZXuO5BOCceMHva4/s1600/red+rocks+hike4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1069" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3bQBQj25-KCPk3KBVVv6bhEbn0z7qP158SZhvfLOZ9bhpVM299VBUjV3Ip7cAJtSc517SsBGS8sKBxIqQPTqaV4BzlAC7IBygwNTUZg55rCXO3js3RyDhVneVkOrbSZXuO5BOCceMHva4/s640/red+rocks+hike4.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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When we went back outside, Evan and I decided to walk one of the smaller trails. Mike and Erin stayed behind, because we were pretty sure it would not be her thing. :)</div>
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We started off walking downwards on the trail...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVN8puUOd31RsTg2GiM7csTI9I4ARaX0THOyWSpIvr85H1y0yGBCxdIRCbBsQdb6Er2DXTj9hDtnnK5vV82bPU8MG5-rO3RBZOVc1t7J96BnC4dUAsHVxuifqfv5PhkwbYlsz3MXrUUEPs/s1600/red+rocks+hike16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVN8puUOd31RsTg2GiM7csTI9I4ARaX0THOyWSpIvr85H1y0yGBCxdIRCbBsQdb6Er2DXTj9hDtnnK5vV82bPU8MG5-rO3RBZOVc1t7J96BnC4dUAsHVxuifqfv5PhkwbYlsz3MXrUUEPs/s640/red+rocks+hike16.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdci8k-QMCZ7-zcfaLdU_aq1i60cdQY-W6xhEgZwJ_UjrSyAEPzStoXGDnlETPYPoD-KbsUlBnFc8vJI0g6e5bu0LV0vpZ5JSVVGqPt7F-ZzATV6mxl7Z7rKxdaZEfkQy-JNzGnzd9Fb1/s1600/red+rocks+hike2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdci8k-QMCZ7-zcfaLdU_aq1i60cdQY-W6xhEgZwJ_UjrSyAEPzStoXGDnlETPYPoD-KbsUlBnFc8vJI0g6e5bu0LV0vpZ5JSVVGqPt7F-ZzATV6mxl7Z7rKxdaZEfkQy-JNzGnzd9Fb1/s640/red+rocks+hike2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkCLiuJtxL-XPqDMMmE3wI1MAJLrSVN-JUJ9rwrlbgIsh3KA2qOZIcuy9CTFQV8GNESbylwQAS3-GXPwmQGltNzPpnrrXR9Hcv0aB5iXJoUiZ62GodOxbYSXXVrG3u6yVpfGS2kgjDk2g/s1600/red+rocks+hike9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkCLiuJtxL-XPqDMMmE3wI1MAJLrSVN-JUJ9rwrlbgIsh3KA2qOZIcuy9CTFQV8GNESbylwQAS3-GXPwmQGltNzPpnrrXR9Hcv0aB5iXJoUiZ62GodOxbYSXXVrG3u6yVpfGS2kgjDk2g/s640/red+rocks+hike9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4oBvLV1SzwQ-qmr9tbEcc-yDXmkKFCJQauy1_HGLDl-4tcXEqd7T1HShbzq9R_mE-2neZl5g4YNhu4ppYg3whM0Xw8wj1qFU8tC2pGcIC3Sj9NkNdN_2DFR9iQe4hdTDFoDl-fUbNAFrd/s1600/red+rocks+hike19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4oBvLV1SzwQ-qmr9tbEcc-yDXmkKFCJQauy1_HGLDl-4tcXEqd7T1HShbzq9R_mE-2neZl5g4YNhu4ppYg3whM0Xw8wj1qFU8tC2pGcIC3Sj9NkNdN_2DFR9iQe4hdTDFoDl-fUbNAFrd/s640/red+rocks+hike19.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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and saw lots of great rock formations. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizgNr5spF003OASkgayDG8ww9U-wLzcxtCZG6luLeaD9cL5wzeO49tC7ltstyRQttgLjiEg-m6B5-FsK3H_0tBc98ql1sFbbuQ5BAahMnecZ__q2Ld1EzrQarIbRC2UqNzQQVIxJngTDVl/s1600/red+rocks+hike18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizgNr5spF003OASkgayDG8ww9U-wLzcxtCZG6luLeaD9cL5wzeO49tC7ltstyRQttgLjiEg-m6B5-FsK3H_0tBc98ql1sFbbuQ5BAahMnecZ__q2Ld1EzrQarIbRC2UqNzQQVIxJngTDVl/s640/red+rocks+hike18.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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We crossed a little bridge, and on the other side...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwo1eLYs02V5A5BRHNKdYsiggFcIRO7doPeqdpsCdZBuAm4Ya9gPJNGtJifQdLWkrMCmnZIdXng6xbB5qbiaFnehdrKTHRwvD_PiJ-VRVpAXeyYCgRokSBjuGS0Gl0mIXDn6Sis7-mzYEU/s1600/red+rocks+hike22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwo1eLYs02V5A5BRHNKdYsiggFcIRO7doPeqdpsCdZBuAm4Ya9gPJNGtJifQdLWkrMCmnZIdXng6xbB5qbiaFnehdrKTHRwvD_PiJ-VRVpAXeyYCgRokSBjuGS0Gl0mIXDn6Sis7-mzYEU/s640/red+rocks+hike22.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We saw more rocks...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic5OB-98M3fKhteV34HQuZl8jeg3MQiT9pEykG8OhS_qO_5WAZaTazjh0aY9Oux7U76HV4-xfgRZnrfw3uEjX-Q61DLYFzaTE7EoC-mBV3rFIYTyfyA2-9bhrXq4onNrVShYkpfxcgtb16/s1600/red+rocks+hike23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic5OB-98M3fKhteV34HQuZl8jeg3MQiT9pEykG8OhS_qO_5WAZaTazjh0aY9Oux7U76HV4-xfgRZnrfw3uEjX-Q61DLYFzaTE7EoC-mBV3rFIYTyfyA2-9bhrXq4onNrVShYkpfxcgtb16/s640/red+rocks+hike23.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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and some deer before heading back to the top.</div>
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I'm not going to lie. It was hot and going uphill towards the end was a little rough. But thankfully we had brought water with us and it became a little shadier. I would definitely recommend bringing lots of water if you ever head to Red Rocks on a hot day.</div>
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The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We did a little grocery shopping for breakfast and lunch items since the house had a kitchen. Then we walked over to REI...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnEI6rMZGBrqajgCdt2mLTy_AaIr7SeMk7BoOPGAqG8YBJ8bBNdG6PPBqLvi8dF7RLS1T9Yq3t30gWOvrp2I0KgA_Eo-pVhryBVylIxoa0nRuZoCS9tcYTrW3MB1vRvHb2D2SVhZnT5Zqg/s1600/denver3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1069" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnEI6rMZGBrqajgCdt2mLTy_AaIr7SeMk7BoOPGAqG8YBJ8bBNdG6PPBqLvi8dF7RLS1T9Yq3t30gWOvrp2I0KgA_Eo-pVhryBVylIxoa0nRuZoCS9tcYTrW3MB1vRvHb2D2SVhZnT5Zqg/s640/denver3.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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where we saw Wilson from the movie Castaway with Tom Hanks. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN2BJWfOnF5-2f9mDlnSeWzU_iRS6DEAldhjpzfidFbMubCnaBl3hqwkFJXBUK2ENRV6IigtaCbwxZNI6XLkjILN9nlanxV5FKKyKZkr1EHZiz5fmhuLohHCkcWvbn1hyphenhyphenbCBwjk-8DaXS6/s1600/denver2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1066" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN2BJWfOnF5-2f9mDlnSeWzU_iRS6DEAldhjpzfidFbMubCnaBl3hqwkFJXBUK2ENRV6IigtaCbwxZNI6XLkjILN9nlanxV5FKKyKZkr1EHZiz5fmhuLohHCkcWvbn1hyphenhyphenbCBwjk-8DaXS6/s640/denver2.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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We finished the day off with a trip back to Little Big Man Ice Cream. We didn't want to stay up too late because the next day was a big one. Mount Evans! Blog post coming soon! </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-71436836492555291912018-11-26T22:04:00.000-06:002018-11-26T22:04:25.500-06:00Colorado Trip - Denver <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIQcQTEbWHGlPP_0pyum8hsddhHCs7wcpDwLXmtgSEXmnZJBZNefKupkIh9nxAmh_Hu2edvO8jcpCrsiTZjVf3RtxCyxGHXNlIw1Jc4iFlAODCJd4xpWIgsViXIc2WhSt8eflg2z03Azse/s1600/denver17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIQcQTEbWHGlPP_0pyum8hsddhHCs7wcpDwLXmtgSEXmnZJBZNefKupkIh9nxAmh_Hu2edvO8jcpCrsiTZjVf3RtxCyxGHXNlIw1Jc4iFlAODCJd4xpWIgsViXIc2WhSt8eflg2z03Azse/s640/denver17.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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(sculpture downtown Denver)</div>
This past summer we took a family trip to Denver, Colorado. My husband is a pretty avid cyclist, and had decided he really wanted to bike to the top of Mount Evans. It is known for having the highest paved road in North America, and he wanted to take on the challenge. The more we talked about it, the more we realized it would be great to turn it into a family vacation so he would have us there for support.<br />
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We left on Sunday, June 3rd and began the 12 hour drive to Denver. Mike and I took turns driving until we were about twenty miles outside of Colby, Kansas where we dropped him off so he could bike the rest of the way into town. The kids and I drove to the hotel to check in and find some dinner for when he arrived.<br />
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The next day we drove the final four hours or so to Denver, where we were able to drop our luggage off at our Airbnb. It was a little early to completely check in, so we went to find lunch and see downtown. We had pizza at a little restaurant called Pronto, and then drove over to the capitol building.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-oLM3kK4vS0JKSVH-uONjlQINCHMzeUgfQ01fn9S2E6itln5keD58Bd5xGPN8N9C2HHS2mb19cOT-DFCrfBcqhxNxCoYguxUEukGhAlUJ77HvVYGx-WV0RT65cQZdJW5VayVfovlx5nP/s1600/capitol+building4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-oLM3kK4vS0JKSVH-uONjlQINCHMzeUgfQ01fn9S2E6itln5keD58Bd5xGPN8N9C2HHS2mb19cOT-DFCrfBcqhxNxCoYguxUEukGhAlUJ77HvVYGx-WV0RT65cQZdJW5VayVfovlx5nP/s640/capitol+building4.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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We walked around inside for a bit and checked out the Senate and House of
Representative rooms, but they were not in session. At that point we
left the building and walked through Civic Center Park<br />
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(taking a break)</div>
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By this time we were all pretty hot and tired (Erin pretending to be passed out lol), so we decided to return to our Airbnb and officially check in.</div>
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Loved the house we picked out!</div>
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It was in a great location know as LoHi right by downtown. We decided to splurge a little on a three bedroom home with two baths so each of our kids could have their own room.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYBPKKbDUnYEOX5jz7FkrWFjxRWMwn2oAaySWUnsRxhzx1yIHAPdeJl2sOvB4batxB9WVWn8_8ZbkBF94xzOVQJH2cXynR3Ff8WIOEUsQX5xuLavr0ooH9r-HpDoOPCQPqMocfVXUQbtGq/s1600/denver+condo4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYBPKKbDUnYEOX5jz7FkrWFjxRWMwn2oAaySWUnsRxhzx1yIHAPdeJl2sOvB4batxB9WVWn8_8ZbkBF94xzOVQJH2cXynR3Ff8WIOEUsQX5xuLavr0ooH9r-HpDoOPCQPqMocfVXUQbtGq/s640/denver+condo4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Living and Dining room area</div>
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Kitchen (refrigerator was right to the left) The owners even stocked it with some snacks and drinks.</div>
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Master bedroom with a huge walk in closet on the opposite wall and a door leading out to a deck with a view of downtown.</div>
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Upstairs bathroom</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlUKaz0_J_GF3v1RW56AHRnmsKD2oz_3tqZ3_9xsP5WM6LeNpGnnr8b2zpVVBkKGLtilTc6bzPw0fdV7tXXQuruGgkKC4eJ-EgTp72aVQvRRJSNacCMihfmj-klHqPqKD5B62SLCUcvtNM/s1600/denver+condo7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlUKaz0_J_GF3v1RW56AHRnmsKD2oz_3tqZ3_9xsP5WM6LeNpGnnr8b2zpVVBkKGLtilTc6bzPw0fdV7tXXQuruGgkKC4eJ-EgTp72aVQvRRJSNacCMihfmj-klHqPqKD5B62SLCUcvtNM/s640/denver+condo7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Erin was super happy with her bedroom and...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGAbl9k6p7ZimP0ZrI2YtgkCw1iDW-7y-F4z2uS5FAoUYY6kX5ofQKUxLYU6Sah1iUT9WJTBQIyZ7t3o66fdIMqX7fnsrfBzTPv16O5A_DEWxb_QMKdP-dOUvrz5Xh1jtXgxwTaKCJSpmh/s1600/denver+condo3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1065" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGAbl9k6p7ZimP0ZrI2YtgkCw1iDW-7y-F4z2uS5FAoUYY6kX5ofQKUxLYU6Sah1iUT9WJTBQIyZ7t3o66fdIMqX7fnsrfBzTPv16O5A_DEWxb_QMKdP-dOUvrz5Xh1jtXgxwTaKCJSpmh/s640/denver+condo3.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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that it had it's own little writing desk where she could put her laptop. We also loved that it had a Frisco, Colorado print hanging above it which was going to be our next destination after Denver. But more on that to come later!</div>
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This was the downstairs bedroom off the kitchen where my son, who is a teenager, stayed. It had a door that led to the garage, and definitely gave him some privacy.</div>
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This house was such a good choice for our stay in Denver.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPPkwfXgxzIQZ4T3sH2eaJGwLktg8maKLIIhcnsT8UjNlOcQNWyYl8B9B9abuVh5ZEv0eLQ49cAUftV19e82A_cmYHVylq-HY3Ib42FamArOytmOr0Sqobbs7ton6znFRxNAo5PPa0lopk/s1600/denver15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPPkwfXgxzIQZ4T3sH2eaJGwLktg8maKLIIhcnsT8UjNlOcQNWyYl8B9B9abuVh5ZEv0eLQ49cAUftV19e82A_cmYHVylq-HY3Ib42FamArOytmOr0Sqobbs7ton6znFRxNAo5PPa0lopk/s640/denver15.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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After resting for a little bit, we headed for dinner at the Ale House which was within walking distance of our house. It had pretty good food, and a great upstairs patio. </div>
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We decided to walk down to the river after dinner for a little bit before heading to Little Man Ice Cream.</div>
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It's a pretty popular ice cream place I had found on line knowing how much my husband and daughter love ice cream! The line was so long it was a 45 minute wait, but my family said it was worth it. We went back the next day in the afternoon and the line was quite a bit shorter. Evenings in the summer are typically pretty busy though.</div>
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And that was our first day in Denver. Up next Red Rocks Amphitheater!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-1016115112213644392018-11-19T17:37:00.000-06:002018-11-24T21:07:58.022-06:00Different Directions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My blog has not been something I post to regularly the past three or four years. I was on a roll again for awhile blogging a few times a month and then I decided to take this past summer off. Summers tend to be pretty busy for us and we did a lot of traveling this year as well. <br />
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I used to be an avid "blogger". I loved to read them and had quite a few I followed. I belonged to a fun community of women who supported each other and our blogs. And while writing posts can be a lot of work at times, I am so glad I have shared so many. I think the posts about our trips are my favorite. When I go back and read those posts, it's almost like reliving them a little bit all over again. They totally make blogging worth it for me!<br />
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I have had several discussions with friends about blogs lately. And the debate about whether or not people even read blogs anymore or whether they are worth it, is always happening in facebook groups and on the few message boards I participate in these days. With Instagram and Facebook being so quick and easy, many people have moved there to record their memories and share photos. And while I love to post on Instagram, I don't feel you can tell as much of the story there as you can on a blog! <br />
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I have had some friends and family tell me "oh I saw that on your blog", so I know someone is reading what I write here! But truthfully it's ok if only a few people see my posts, because I've never been one to seek a lot of attention through my blog writing.<br />
Although if I recall correctly, I mainly started blogging for scrapbook design team purposes. It did bring in a larger audience at the time, but I left that world behind several years ago. My blog is for me these days, even if it just evolves into a place to write about our travels. <br />
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Because this is so me! I know I caught the travel bug last year in Europe. I used to laugh at that expression, but now I really think it's true. Some days it's all I can think about - where can we go next? It doesn't matter how big or small. Even adventures that just take us away for a day or two are fine with me.<br />
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If you are still reading my blog though, or even stumbled across this post accidentally, don't be shy and say Hi! And if you are still keeping up a blog, let me know and I will come by and return the favor. :) The blog community may not be as big or as popular as it once was, but there are still a few of us old timers here keeping it alive. And you never know, blogging may come back into fashion again, kind of like vinyl records. For those of us who listened to vinyl growing up, we've learned to never say never (lol).<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-71860465591289583922018-11-11T20:27:00.002-06:002018-11-13T07:53:19.908-06:00Netflix Binging<br />
Time for another "what I'm watching on Netflix" post!<br />
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I am all caught up on most of the shows I have been watching and mentioned in the past. (Supernatural, The Good Place, Riverdale and Stranger Things) So I decided to give a few other shows I've had in my watchlist a chance.<br />
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1. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1843230/">Once Upon a Time</a><br />
I am completely addicted to this show! In fact, I blew through the first season in less then two weeks. I can't believe it has taken me this long to discover it! It is such a clever twist on fairy tales especially with the way they have brought them into modern times. Hopefully the rest of the seasons are as good as the first season. So far so good on the second season!<br />
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2. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1519931/">Haven</a><br />
Being a Stephen King fan, especially of his earlier work, I decided to give this show a chance. It's loosely (very loosely) based on one of his novels called The Colorado Kid. In fact, it really doesn't have a lot to do with it. But there are a few fun references to some of his other work, which I like.<br />
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I wasn't too sure about this show at first. It kind of comes across as one of those cheesy made for tv movie series that doesn't always have the best special effects. It is growing on me though, mainly due to the mystery aspect. Every time I think I have things figured out, another twist is revealed. And I am really starting to like Audrey and Nathan, but the jury is still out on Duke. Something about him just bothers me.<br />
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3. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7569592/">Sabrina</a><br />
Ok, not 100% sure I am going to stick with this show, but thought I'd give it more of a chance since I'm only one episode in. It's kind of a mix of Supernatural meets Riverdale. And as I look at the photo posted and see at the top "from the Executive Producers of Riverdale" I can see why (lol). This is another one of those CW teen type shows that I didn't think I would ever watch. But after finishing two seasons of Riverdale and being able to look past some of the unrealistic annoyances, I may be able to do that with this show. Time will tell. The only thing I'm kind of uncomfortable with is they pretty much associate witchcraft with satanism, and I'm pretty sure that is not the case.<br />
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4. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2314952/">Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee</a><br />
I've always kind of loved Jerry Seinfeld. He definitely has a carefree attitude that I sometimes wish I could emulate. I like this show because it is a unique concept. But it's kind of hit or miss for me depending on the comedian he has on that episode. And frankly, some of the shows fall flat because Jerry and his guest don't have good rapport. It's still a fun watch for me though.<br />
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5. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8139862/">Norm Macdonald Has a Show</a><br />
Another favorite comedian of mine has his own show on Netflix. I thought it was pretty funny in a typical Norm style. Definitely not for children! Most of his guests were great and I learned some interesting facts about a lot of them! I flew through Season One without even realizing it in less than a week. I guess I can actually add this show to my "all caught up list" because it's only one season so far. But since it's new, I thought I would mention it here.<br />
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For the record, I must add that I am not a lay around Netflix binger. I mostly watch these shows while I am cooking dinner, cleaning up the kitchen, folding laundry or working out on one of the cardio machines at the YMCA. If it's a quiet day at home, I might watch an episode in the afternoon before school pick ups. But otherwise I like to stay a little active during my TV time.<br />
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So between Once Upon a Time, Haven and Sabrina, I have plenty of episodes to keep me busy for a while. Now my husband and I just need to find another good show to watch together. We just finished Sense8, but are having a hard time settling on the next one. Any suggestions? :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-61198650519255998052018-10-18T11:19:00.000-05:002018-10-20T16:58:10.267-05:0021st Wedding Anniversary!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Wow! It's been a while since I posted! It's also kind of hard to believe our wedding day was 21 years ago, lol. There are times when it really does feel as if I can't remember the time before I met Mike. We've actually known each other for over 27 years. <br />
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One of the biggest questions I get asked pretty frequently now that we have hit the 20 year mark of marriage, is how do you do it? It seems as if so many marriages are ending in divorce, how do you stay together? <br />
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Well...I feel at this point I could almost write a book on the subject. Of course I won't do that here. :) <br />
I will say though that I feel there are a few big reasons why our marriage works. <br />
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<b>1. We went into our marriage not even considering divorce as an option.</b> From day one we promised that we would never just give up. Now I know that can be easier said than done if I'm going to be honest. I mean I guess no one really marries thinking that divorce will be in their future. In fact, when a marriage is just beginning, everything is exciting and new. There is no way to know what life is going to throw at you though. Just no way. Both of us have grown and changed in different ways over the years, but I think we've tried to stay connected through it all. I will admit we have definitely had some tough times which I believe all marriages endure. Sometimes the connection just wasn't there between us. But ultimately in the backs of our minds, I think there has always been that promise that no matter how tough it is, we can work it out.<br />
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Even though we have weathered a few big storms together, I am just grateful we love each other enough to realize that what we have endured has never been so bad it justified being apart for good.<br />
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<b>2. Good communication is very important!</b> It is so easy to assume your spouse means something completely different then his or her intention. If you are not careful, this has the potential to create all types of problems. These days, I am more willing to ask questions and clear the air if there is a problem or misunderstanding. I think it's better to just ask "what's up" or share how I'm feeling rather than keep it inside. We made a promise a few years back that we would be completely honest and say how we feel in a kind way no matter what, and I think it makes a huge difference. It may not always be easy, but honesty is such a big component of trust. And trust is key in a marriage.<br />
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<b>3. There is a difference between real love and infatuation (or "falling in love") </b>That feeling of infatuation or attraction is what draws people together and gets the ball rolling. But I believe real love is so much more than that. When you really love someone, you want the best for them. When you really love someone, it's all about loving in the good times and not so good times. It's so easy to be attracted to someone when things are on the surface and you are just learning about each other and on your best behavior. But to me real love is accepting someone for all their amazing qualities as well as their flaws. I do believe marriages can be very romantic and you can still have that "butterflies in your stomach" feeling for your spouse. I know I still get them :). But life is not always going to be easy. I think a true test of love is how well you work together when it's not so romantic.<br />
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<b>4. If you have kids, it's ok to have date nights and go on trips without them! </b>We love spending time with our kids, but one of the absolute best lessons we have taken to heart is that it is ok to have time together just the two of us. My husband's work and travel schedule is crazy. In fact, it can downright suck sometimes. So we know how important it is to find time to connect. We like to go out to dinner at least once a month just the two of us. When he is in town during a weekday, we try to have lunch or movie dates. In addition, I just can't tell you enough how great we are together when it's the two of us traveling. Eleven days in Europe nonstop last summer, made me realize how much I just really still enjoy hanging out with my husband! I know we are better parents for it, too.<br />
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<b>5. The marriage wall is crucial. </b>We both have friends and acquaintances of the opposite sex, and I think that is just fine as long as they are "friends" of our marriage. I also believe it is important to keep up what I have always called the marriage wall. It's the place that only the two of us share and nobody else is getting in! We are extra careful to keep other relationships outside of our own to people we can trust to be respectful of our marriage. <br />
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<b>6. To be married, a sense of humor helps! </b>I love being with someone who makes me laugh and that I hope I make laugh, too. I know I've mentioned in the past that I have struggled a bit with depression and anxiety. It's not always easy for either of us. But I remember having a really off day once and my husband, knowing my love of the tv show Supernatural and who is not threatened by my non-romantic love of Dean, sent me a few gifs to cheer me up...<br />
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You have to love it when your husband can make you smile on a particularly bad day. We have had a lot of good times over the years, and it helps to know I have him to turn to when I'm having a not so great day.<br />
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<b>7. We are a team. </b>I really do try to think of us as a team, and that we are in this marriage together. We are not always going to agree on everything. But ultimately this is where communication becomes important again. We do our best when we can talk to each other face to face, and really listen to each other. And don't get me started on how important it is to present a united front to your children. 100% true!<br />
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(Yes, we love to dress up in costumes for Halloween together!)</div>
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<b>8. We have things we love in common. </b>It is totally ok to have different interests, hobbies, friends and even personalities. I think it's good for a marriage to kind of have your own thing. But it really helps to find areas where you can connect. We both love listening to music and going to concerts. We love watching favorite tv shows together. We both love traveling together to new places. These are some great ways we can connect and enjoy each others company. I think if we didn't have any common interests it would be a lot harder. Not impossible, but definitely harder. <br />
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I will say though I try to take interest in my husband's love of cycling. I ask him tons of questions, read up on it myself, and totally supported him when he biked up a mountain back in June (which needs to be a whole other post I hope!) Even though I'm not much of a cyclist myself, we did go on a bike ride together in Amsterdam because I knew it was something he would enjoy. I am so sloooooow. LOL But it was an experience I wouldn't have missed for anything in the world!<br />
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<b>Wrap up </b>- I know there are times when staying in a marriage is just not an option. Maybe there are safety issues or a multitude of other problems that could make it just too damn hard.<br />
That's why I'm so grateful we haven't faced anything like that. I hope and pray we never do.<br />
But for now, we are living our life the best we know how together. Which makes me super grateful for where we are now and the past 21 years!<br />
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Would love to hear any tips you have for a successful marriage! I am always willing to learn :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-76231908717890011242018-05-07T17:11:00.002-05:002018-05-07T21:08:46.993-05:00U2 - St. Louis - May 4, 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Whenever U2 comes to town, we always try to get General Admission tickets. The only show we did not have them for was back in 1997 right after my husband and I were married, when the band was here on their POP tour. But they didn't even have GA for that show, and it was just reserved seats on the floor.<br />
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After they had to cancel the Joshua Tree show scheduled here last September, I was sure that was it for U2 coming back to St. Louis for awhile if ever. But surprisingly we found out that St. Louis was going to be the second stop on their new tour. We were so happy to get another chance to see them here!<br />
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The morning of the concert (May 4, 2018), my husband, son and I arrived down at the venue around 4:30 am to get our General Admission line numbers. We were still pretty high up at 194-196 considering how early we made it down there. It was the earliest we had ever arrived for GA and the highest for numbers ironically. They told us to go home and come back at 7am when they would line us up again for new numbers. If you weren't back at that time you lost your spot and those behind you could move up.<br />
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When we came back we were given new numbers and made it to 163-165 for the three of us. Still pretty good though because the stage set up had plenty of room to be close to a rail. Once again they told us we could go home but had to be back by 2pm to get our bracelets. So thankfully we didn't have to hang out in line all day as we've had to in the past. We actually had a few much needed opportunities to go home and rest. <br />
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After 2pm we decided to just stay in line and were finally let in sometime between 5:30 and 6pm. We started to go for one of the open side rails next to the long catwalk part of the stage... <br />
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but at the last minute we decided to risk it and headed toward the main
stage area by where the Edge usually stands. Luckily, there were spots!<br />
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And then the hardest part of all. Waiting for them to come onstage. It always seems to take forever!<br />
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There is nothing to really describe the feeling when they finally arrive and you realize that they are standing right there in front of you :)<br />
They played The Blackout on the catwalk, but then they came back to the main stage for the next eight songs (Lights of Home, Beautiful Day, I Will Follow, New Year's Day, All Because of You, The Ocean, Iris, and Cedarwood Road) with Bono moving down the catwalk and back for part of Beautiful Day and I think Cedarwood Road.<br />
Sunday Bloody Sunday had the whole band back on the catwalk. And then Adam and Larry returned to the main stage while Edge and Bono stayed on the Catwalk for Until the End of the World. Always a favorite for us.<br />
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They had a really cool (to me) Intermission with a cartoon type story on the screen that played along to a recording of Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me from the Batman soundtrack.<br />
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After the Intermission, they went down to the little round stage on the opposite end of the catwalk for Elevation, Vertigo, Desire, and Acrobat (which was a song Mike and I, as well as a ton of other U2 fans, have been wanting to hear live for years!) Next they played a stripped down version of You're the Best Thing About Me, and I really hope they record and release it because I loved it!<br />
Edge and Bono stayed down that way doing an acoustic version of Staring at the Sun while Larry and Adam once again came back towards the main stage for a little break.<br />
Then we had Pride, Get Out of Your Own Way, American Soul, and City of Blinding Lights with the whole band back at the main stage.<br />
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For their encore we heard One, Love is Bigger Than Anything in it's Way, and 13 (There is a Light). I'll speak more about the what Bono said before they played One in a little bit. But I just have to say, that Love is Bigger was one of my favorites of the night. Bono was on our side a lot during that song and really connecting with the crowd there. And 13 (There is a Light) was the perfect end for me.<br />
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It was an amazing show in so many ways, but not without it's flaws. I didn't expect perfection, because it was only the second stop on a new tour for them. There were lyric slip ups (Bono during Acrobat). And Bono even said something like "let's try that again" during one song (I can't remember which one now) that had a little bit of a rough start. There was some sound distortion and a few technical issues at times. But I don't mind that type of stuff. It makes them more human to me :) And really the first few shows of a new tour never go smoothly. That's why we usually wait till later in the tours to go, but there was no way we were going to miss St. Louis.<br />
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I could also see though how much more concentration and focus Edge and Adam seemed to need when a show is newer as opposed to how more relaxed and engaging and in tune with the audience they become as a tour progresses and it all becomes second nature.<br />
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He had his eyes closed a lot during the concert this time around.<br />
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This was 2011 here in St. Louis, but on the third leg of the tour when they had already been in North America once. Then over in Europe, South America and Mexico for the second leg of the tour and back here to North America. So lots of practice. And he was definitely all smiles with eyes wide open a lot back then. But I am NOT complaining. I love being that close to them and watching them play no matter when the concert is taking place!<br />
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And he really does have a lot of guitars. A new one came out for practically every song!<br />
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When it comes down to it, I thought it was a great show (mistakes and all). A lot of people were disappointed that they didn't play any songs from the Joshua Tree album. And I totally get why they felt that way. It's the album that put U2 on the map over here and many people have a huge connection to the band through it. But they just finished a whole tour dedicated to the Joshua Tree! And while St. Louis technically lost out seeing it when the show was cancelled, this is a completely different tour and I'm just glad they came back here. Bono definitely mentioned it more than once that they were happy to return and apologized for the wait.<br />
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As for politics, Bono definitely had a lot to say. And the message is one I get behind 100%. I neither consider myself Republican or Democrat, but more Independent in my political views. Somewhere right down the middle. Before they played "One", Bono spoke out:<br />
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"You can only solve these problems if you reach out to the people who you don't normally want to sit across from. So, forget the White House, left and right. Working together: That's what we learned in the One Campaign. We can work together, whatever it is: budgets, gun violence health care - it won't be solved by half the country that's for sure. And you can disagree on almost everything if the one thing you agree on is important enough. Choose what that is." <br />
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This. I'm so tired of left and right and so little compromise or meeting in the middle. People can complain what does it matter to Bono, he doesn't even live here. But it does matter. He has always professed a love for America and the idea of America. That is why Joshua Tree was even made. And right now America is a mess. And it doesn't just affect us, but other countries as well. Anyway, I'll leave it alone for now, but it was a very meaningful moment for me as someone who is just frustrated about how hurtful and selfish so many seem these days. Especially those in power.<br />
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I'll leave you with a photo of Adam Clayton because I think he is just about the coolest bass player ever!<br />
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And Larry who I have a new appreciation for now that my son plays the drums. The look on Evan's face as he watched Larry play was priceless. So he had me watching and all I could think was so amazing. To think where they came from to where they are now.<br />
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Would really love to be able to see them again on this tour - when it's a little more polished and they are a little more relaxed. Not sure it will happen since there aren't many shows left over here, but I've learned to never say never when it comes to U2. I think the next time though we would probably sit in regular seats just to take in everything. I know there is quite a bit we missed when they played at the other end, and that big screen just does not have the same effect when you are so close. <br />
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I have to say, their show here back in 2011 for the 360 tour still remains my favorite one ever. As much as I appreciated this concert for what it was, and I will never, ever take for granted any opportunity to see my favorite band up close, it's hard to top that 2011 one for me. Although I think the original Joshua Tree tour that came here is a close second along with when we saw them in Dublin, Ireland in 2009! :)<br />
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Have you ever seen U2 live? (Julie, I know you have lucky girl! lol)<br />
What is your favorite all time concert?<br />
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<span id="goog_254062465"></span><span id="goog_254062466"></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-91104647464529202822018-03-13T22:01:00.000-05:002018-03-13T22:01:13.393-05:00What's On TVWe recently decided to cancel our cable tv because we realized we weren't really watching it very much. I do still like shows such as The Voice and So You Think You Can Dance. And my husband and I would often watch HGTV shows together when he was home. But it seemed as if the tv shows and movies on Netflix, Amazon Prime and Apple TV were taking over.<br />
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In January of 2016, my son talked me into watching<br />
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I remember thinking the first episode was kind of cheesy. But then the more I watched it, the more addicted I became! I finally finished watching all 12 seasons that were on Netflix in August of 2017, because my son and I were hoping to actually watch Season 13 together in real time. But this was around the time we cancelled cable and trying to watch it on the CW app was just too painful. You can't skip the commercials and had to watch the episodes within a certain time frame or they expired. So we decided to just wait and watch the new season when it comes on Netflix hopefully in May or June.<br />
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After I finished Season 12 of SPN, I was looking for a new show to watch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi0htdo0m3JqS1H35wp80F6ciVJdN01Bo47NCTTv4WXbkBIpAnpHZuofbS_dwSW9n0PD0yLJymRzeRETFDkFbr43GNsvXLU5I9VTL2fPejst9xC79Q3r5oU3iW5FAlEO8GDcirUZszfm6W/s1600/tv+kimmy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi0htdo0m3JqS1H35wp80F6ciVJdN01Bo47NCTTv4WXbkBIpAnpHZuofbS_dwSW9n0PD0yLJymRzeRETFDkFbr43GNsvXLU5I9VTL2fPejst9xC79Q3r5oU3iW5FAlEO8GDcirUZszfm6W/s400/tv+kimmy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
And I discovered Kimmy on Netflix. Oh how I love Kimmy! Such a funny show and the characters are all so over the top, but I think they are hilarious. I am not so patiently hoping and waiting for a Season 4 to come out soon.<br />
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So while waiting for Season 4 of Kimmy Schmidt, I stumbled across...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEismr6IU07lHjPeqpC2-mCq6gfZeCkAWoSYkZzIE7OAEW_yjZi08BPvQekOwmQ9yy2FpT9A3T2hbKDe1Hji3UP3IhXg_Ejo0Hx2u2onCmUwRt6qgJEjTBU_YrTohiQUxOTuRL1AVnx67pff/s1600/tv+the+good+place.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="416" data-original-width="568" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEismr6IU07lHjPeqpC2-mCq6gfZeCkAWoSYkZzIE7OAEW_yjZi08BPvQekOwmQ9yy2FpT9A3T2hbKDe1Hji3UP3IhXg_Ejo0Hx2u2onCmUwRt6qgJEjTBU_YrTohiQUxOTuRL1AVnx67pff/s400/tv+the+good+place.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
also on Netflix. I started watching by myself, but then got my husband hooked on it too! We are always quoting certain parts from it. (what the fork!) And I think Ted Danson and Kristen Bell are simply perfect. This is another show we are not so patiently waiting for the next season to finally be added to Netflix.<br />
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Then Mike talked me into watching...<br />
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on Amazon Prime. He saw the first two seasons on his own and liked it so much he re watched them with me, so we could watch season three together. It is a little (well the best word I can think of is) raunchy at times, but that doesn't really bother us. It could be a little much for some people though. All I know is that we laughed a lot in some parts and it became another show we quote from quite a bit. Season three ended in a definite cliffhanger, so we are pretty sure there will be another one. Keeping our fingers crossed!<br />
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The next one he convinced me to watch was...<br />
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and it's another Netflix show that's a little out there. It started off one way, and I remember asking him do I really want to watch this? But then it did kind of a 180 and I became hooked and really liked the kids. It wasn't what I expected at all. Not for the faint of heart though.<br />
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One of our absolute favorite shows on Netflix that we watched together was...<br />
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which I know is pretty popular. We binge watched this together in a weekend when the second season came out close to Halloween. The only problem at first was that my husband leaves to go out of town on Sunday nights, and we ran out of time when we only had 30 minutes left in the last episode! Crazy bad planning on our part. But we got creative and when he arrived at his destination, we watched it together as we used FaceTime on our iphones! So we did get to finish it together after all.<br />
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I decided after all these other shows, I needed a new one to binge watch on my own while we wait for new seasons to come out.<br />And I am embarrassed to admit, after saying I never ever would, I started watching...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM2X3dKSvE59X4O-Hi9wq6jznVv8vs_J9sK4u2FcO5QFaDfFFnzJFzGzaxksP6DXPg0rLUqW96vj2UXmdecigr72xiQwrnbAg-K3F0CmQNXtwZBZRKK9RYJ1sXar7uHZ8REA_VuuBbocNz/s1600/tv+riverdale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="726" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM2X3dKSvE59X4O-Hi9wq6jznVv8vs_J9sK4u2FcO5QFaDfFFnzJFzGzaxksP6DXPg0rLUqW96vj2UXmdecigr72xiQwrnbAg-K3F0CmQNXtwZBZRKK9RYJ1sXar7uHZ8REA_VuuBbocNz/s400/tv+riverdale.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Yes, I did. The entire first season that is available on Netflix. It is so over the top dramatic and unrealistic in a typical CW "teen" type show. Although I have to say, I don't know very many teens who act and dress the way these characters do. Definitely not your typical Archie comic story lines. But I of course got hooked on the mystery in season one, and had to finish it out. I think Jughead is about the only character I actually like, and was totally surprised to find out he played Adam Sandler's son in Big Daddy, and one of the twins on that Disney show "The Suite Life of Zach and Cody". Anyway, I may give season two a chance, just to see where it goes.<br />
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And now I am looking for a new show. One for myself and one for the husband and I to watch together.<br />
I tried<b> Mad Men</b> - and while I like the style and design of that era, it makes me glad I don't exist as a woman in that place and time. I don't think I will be keeping that one on my list.<br />
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Shows I am considering are: (and facebook friends please give me your opinion in my post over there!)<br />
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Parenthood<br />
Under the Dome<br />
24<br />
Sherlock<br />
The Royals<br />Santa Clarita Diet<br />Mindhunter<br />
Gotham<br />Hemlock Grove<br />
and<br />Van Helsing<br /><br />So what do you think? Unknownnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-9249596893340196012018-03-06T22:43:00.005-06:002018-03-06T22:43:46.928-06:00OLW - Self Care in MarchBefore moving on to my goal for March, I just have to say that February really and truly went by so fast that it feels as if I didn't have as much time to focus on my Self Care goal as I did for exercise in January! But I still felt that I was successful.<br />
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I talked <a href="http://scrapbooktreehouse.blogspot.com/2018/02/one-little-word-february.html">Here</a> about my goal for February and the Vision board assignment we were given in Ali Edward's One Little Word class. I am in the process of working on my "vision board" page which I am going to just place in my album when completed. And I will hopefully have February pages to share soon.<br /><br />As for my goal of nurturing and building up my relationships, I feel that having this goal definitely helped me be more mindful of how I responded to friends and family that I am close to. I reached out to several people by email and text just to reconnect. I tried to really engage in my family's interests like my husband's biking, son's drumming and my daughter's love for pets. But one of my favorite things was actually following through and creating a Self Care basket for one of my best friends on her birthday!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXI9SXBNkzL84fxHaudWMFcArAINkF0odSvxJoZV4sr_cCmTvvWjfaT7Ycfz11Y6UVO8y9cCtBWaAPStyKjNXpv1nN615HglHCUauIajXxnUhH0EBn-YbmeXQQx6gF_Ltkf20RvDvyu1-k/s1600/self+care+basket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXI9SXBNkzL84fxHaudWMFcArAINkF0odSvxJoZV4sr_cCmTvvWjfaT7Ycfz11Y6UVO8y9cCtBWaAPStyKjNXpv1nN615HglHCUauIajXxnUhH0EBn-YbmeXQQx6gF_Ltkf20RvDvyu1-k/s640/self+care+basket.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I mentioned in the post I linked above, that I had seen this idea on Pinterest. And it was so much fun putting this basket together for her. She totally loved it! And I was so happy to be able to focus on her and thank her for being such a great friend. I plan on doing more of these as the year progresses.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCpT4ff0Ia5bRShqVa-yoB6dajwqEAAsCKuDRP7FCTVLDX1Gxw29QreMY_9JFPzvD3tXQeHju-DNDSKwNi_bKlQF8pXf9DNlBfL0zyf2ywUDhIZce06Ec1NyofqWK_eW8AjQhHYm_sVcCl/s1600/body+pump.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCpT4ff0Ia5bRShqVa-yoB6dajwqEAAsCKuDRP7FCTVLDX1Gxw29QreMY_9JFPzvD3tXQeHju-DNDSKwNi_bKlQF8pXf9DNlBfL0zyf2ywUDhIZce06Ec1NyofqWK_eW8AjQhHYm_sVcCl/s640/body+pump.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
And my January goal is still something I strive for. Exercising at least once a day! Favorites are still Body Pump class, Yoga, and...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHc4MM5h8xzfcUJcWHF9Ru6fkYI5pyEeLp9mjWhWIVjsGXJQNKC1S0Ln-0Ygz_zZylYnZmg5V-wh4J5OXETPo8qKwDf4T2g3SKA7dY788beL0jX1ft2TEyukzznS85X0zbrNQDKJeZrLLZ/s1600/elliptical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHc4MM5h8xzfcUJcWHF9Ru6fkYI5pyEeLp9mjWhWIVjsGXJQNKC1S0Ln-0Ygz_zZylYnZmg5V-wh4J5OXETPo8qKwDf4T2g3SKA7dY788beL0jX1ft2TEyukzznS85X0zbrNQDKJeZrLLZ/s640/elliptical.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
the Elliptical at the gym. I have been trying to do an hour workout at least twice a week.<br />
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As for March, in the OLW class, Ali asked everyone to commit to doing one act every day during the month. My goal for March was originally focused on more clean eating. But I have decided my daily act will be part of that goal, and I will also be keeping a food log every day except Sunday. That is my day off.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuN_QRPow26bPyYUwKN7rjtZOCcFtLlNdBHh9JWYKiKPkhSU7GtT4AKyTFIsaoUfCobo4o9xFJHQq11Gl95o8RbSQd5-Kv10okvH2NZUEcO65YUOXG28CCjrV2HpgMgWX7rGYLa3DT_vAM/s1600/my+fitness+pal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="169" data-original-width="300" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuN_QRPow26bPyYUwKN7rjtZOCcFtLlNdBHh9JWYKiKPkhSU7GtT4AKyTFIsaoUfCobo4o9xFJHQq11Gl95o8RbSQd5-Kv10okvH2NZUEcO65YUOXG28CCjrV2HpgMgWX7rGYLa3DT_vAM/s400/my+fitness+pal.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I am using the My Fitness Pal app on my phone, so it's pretty easy and convenient. I really want to be more mindful about what I am actually eating this month. I have pretty much eliminated processed sugar and am drinking zero soda or other sugary beverages. I mostly drink plain or fruit infused water and tea. But it's still pretty eye opening to realize that some meals aren't as clean as I thought. <br /><br />So by the end of March, I hope to have a pretty good idea of what my food patterns are like and what changes still need to be made. I have also been trying out more recipes that are compliant with <a href="https://whole30.com/">Whole 30 </a><br />
Like this one...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiumeg5FrwBklFV-fV4Ne_MI1f0iUQGouXQu1TR36ALest_FKN_I-wmZLBS4vAQncgKpc5Z8yD5UrKTreZPpgFBAuJb6Yr8IIdpNCrJdO7StGhcdfU2i9mBjkIeSbJ17t0cnawuq54pwCt7/s1600/breakfast+salad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="849" data-original-width="564" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiumeg5FrwBklFV-fV4Ne_MI1f0iUQGouXQu1TR36ALest_FKN_I-wmZLBS4vAQncgKpc5Z8yD5UrKTreZPpgFBAuJb6Yr8IIdpNCrJdO7StGhcdfU2i9mBjkIeSbJ17t0cnawuq54pwCt7/s640/breakfast+salad.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
<a href="http://fedandfit.com/the-breakfast-salad-2/">Breakfast Salad</a>. My husband and I both liked it quite a bit.<br />
I'm looking forward to trying a few more Whole 30 recipes and have some pinned <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/maryjor/whole-30-meal-planning/">Here.</a><br />
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It feels pretty good to be taking care of myself! :) <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-15956177866314540052018-02-27T20:28:00.001-06:002018-02-27T20:28:58.300-06:00OLW 2018 - January Completed<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEyikpd-mcScu1daMpJBzbhMyH2nc5epTKMavV2p1zZEsEKpg5jS9Hlk6AzG2p8TLsgGyrlLRSIV-fKmpfXfewO5zf97GjWsKS1vfIPX_FqvMdUl7VhQ5K5d9ToAACEAY-WntSq_grzYB5/s1600/January4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEyikpd-mcScu1daMpJBzbhMyH2nc5epTKMavV2p1zZEsEKpg5jS9Hlk6AzG2p8TLsgGyrlLRSIV-fKmpfXfewO5zf97GjWsKS1vfIPX_FqvMdUl7VhQ5K5d9ToAACEAY-WntSq_grzYB5/s640/January4.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
I didn't do a lot for my January title page, and in fact I may redo the card at the bottom because I'm not 100% happy with it. I just used some foam dimensional letters and two embellishments. Photo is from when I was wearing a fun pair of exercise pants my husband gave me for Christmas to class. And this was such a great goal for me this month. I really did follow through and only missed two days when I was sick!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVxHK92HnFHCKpKBkb2Axa4uCHaWA7-w7eagiaH4TVz_n5TnzFTLqYejaf2d1WhSEVREb_ejVat9fbWOBNu9pGs8qbkSjvUvNyt5rtQ6A3qU2pj5pKeJhBtfUwVI3I9Drs9pBDZ3mEqLP1/s1600/january3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1134" data-original-width="1600" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVxHK92HnFHCKpKBkb2Axa4uCHaWA7-w7eagiaH4TVz_n5TnzFTLqYejaf2d1WhSEVREb_ejVat9fbWOBNu9pGs8qbkSjvUvNyt5rtQ6A3qU2pj5pKeJhBtfUwVI3I9Drs9pBDZ3mEqLP1/s640/january3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I like to have different sized page protectors in my albums, and I don't know if you can tell but the purple water bottle protector is a small 4x6 size holding the 4x4 photo and two small cards at the bottom. You can see another page peeking out behind there.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKsQSaPqJZlFxI2CHAWzc5EM6Kf3_YLEKN2tt6eiU2wf50VPdAPYGa0gX4FW761WRzjRJMBVbwMBCe2ehW6NTWQ2md5v_CRqTvsxfewPpgP99qfaUclGSVvxTVPqag7N9l9KRnuRk0druV/s1600/January2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKsQSaPqJZlFxI2CHAWzc5EM6Kf3_YLEKN2tt6eiU2wf50VPdAPYGa0gX4FW761WRzjRJMBVbwMBCe2ehW6NTWQ2md5v_CRqTvsxfewPpgP99qfaUclGSVvxTVPqag7N9l9KRnuRk0druV/s640/January2.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
Here is a closer look at the page on the left. Body Pump class was huge for me in January! In fact, my YMCA membership where I take the class is probably one of the best things I could have done for myself exercise wise. It's one of my favorite places to go these days. <br />
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Yoga was also big for me in January! I love yoga all year round, but every January I join in the annual Yoga with Adriene 30 days of yoga challenges. This year it was the 30 Day True Journey. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwTR1Wy1DR-zc16vEp1J20215J_WZa1ty9R8PhHFMEiY330-yS6r8Q5xXqv8shJF3w5lAyfwB62F8gkIdMMCseJZNI4RzSXl_d6Y_i8fhtmG6fMHf8BPHICFTaG9TWrhfYUEsTTfLbVSy_/s1600/january5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1263" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwTR1Wy1DR-zc16vEp1J20215J_WZa1ty9R8PhHFMEiY330-yS6r8Q5xXqv8shJF3w5lAyfwB62F8gkIdMMCseJZNI4RzSXl_d6Y_i8fhtmG6fMHf8BPHICFTaG9TWrhfYUEsTTfLbVSy_/s640/january5.jpg" width="504" /></a></div>
And here is a closer look at the page on the right. I used a screenshot of one of the workouts and then a self timer photo of myself. Yoga in pj's is now one of my favorite ways to do yoga in the evenings. There were a few nights that it really helped me relax before bed and ended the day just right. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT53TNrcQSD-UWyEKKu3bM3xmiR0bwU9P0QYjUi2svMYP4RpuYMjVxs-PaQWQdtq2bo1F-e6FXNjdBEv8sI9x_DyG5-DNulcmemEfnuVy8pMVOj4NEY5RvkAUFdBOS1gJMNlsq_LkFNJas/s1600/January.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT53TNrcQSD-UWyEKKu3bM3xmiR0bwU9P0QYjUi2svMYP4RpuYMjVxs-PaQWQdtq2bo1F-e6FXNjdBEv8sI9x_DyG5-DNulcmemEfnuVy8pMVOj4NEY5RvkAUFdBOS1gJMNlsq_LkFNJas/s640/January.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
Then I decided to add a monthly reflections page about how my goal went, which I plan on doing each month. As far as exercise, I am still doing pretty well in February. Of course not as many workouts as in January because I was doubling up a lot of days back then just to see if I could. But instead of letting exercise slide if I am too tired, I usually make the choice now to follow through. It has definitely become more of a priority and I really can't seem to let a day pass without some form of exercise. It just doesn't feel right! So I would consider my January goal a huge success!<br />
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I'm getting ready to start my pages to document my goal and progress for February, so I will have those to share soon hopefully.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-55207208185383702362018-02-19T21:46:00.000-06:002018-02-19T21:57:01.252-06:00Around Here<br />
<b>Listening </b>to lots of good music on Spotify and some of my favorite Podcasts<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUddzM10v6vxZJ8ML0sNSqAsHAPOd_KL_0WulF5HdLu3fofLC1M5kQ5Yvn8TsRNqFFWCTa4JXAwxQcNxSvX3TDbS6a8Mf-krDTJPj8G7nUk5oTXDTcmY5Ifh2ZIZ3ThwA-rAHQJBOVERpi/s1600/podcast+collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUddzM10v6vxZJ8ML0sNSqAsHAPOd_KL_0WulF5HdLu3fofLC1M5kQ5Yvn8TsRNqFFWCTa4JXAwxQcNxSvX3TDbS6a8Mf-krDTJPj8G7nUk5oTXDTcmY5Ifh2ZIZ3ThwA-rAHQJBOVERpi/s640/podcast+collage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Starting </b>a new to me tv series on Netflix<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWccd9oVlX8teuCro-9iAveFJ1u1FRIyICQ1MTD5B8b4GBxyEaFMoREALyvvnKLo0i5-wP83XxFx9W-tmSCCsIjoxkxARIVk7NIL7r4uTwP0kKD8yrRumsDnXgiT89gY8yFRzBsFnw-42Z/s1600/tv6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWccd9oVlX8teuCro-9iAveFJ1u1FRIyICQ1MTD5B8b4GBxyEaFMoREALyvvnKLo0i5-wP83XxFx9W-tmSCCsIjoxkxARIVk7NIL7r4uTwP0kKD8yrRumsDnXgiT89gY8yFRzBsFnw-42Z/s400/tv6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Only one episode down so the jury is still out. But I am liking it so far.<br />
My husband and I usually watch one or two series together and we are into this one right now...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhA8Z2sszSAvBanI37-LBfcxzzPJczajalOSPLf7OGEBoQX7sJ_nLxLsXjdah7SAkXizvTL7hwrGwuUiHAqL89rhFCYgu1RL_eAX0O3rIT9JiECxLZwcXDfGopopheUJuSjjiu5qN1hCVR/s1600/tv5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="284" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhA8Z2sszSAvBanI37-LBfcxzzPJczajalOSPLf7OGEBoQX7sJ_nLxLsXjdah7SAkXizvTL7hwrGwuUiHAqL89rhFCYgu1RL_eAX0O3rIT9JiECxLZwcXDfGopopheUJuSjjiu5qN1hCVR/s400/tv5.jpg" width="285" /></a></div>
So weird in so many ways, but it's kind of got us hooked wanting to see what happens next. <br />
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<b>Exercising </b>at least six days a week and giving myself the option of one day off if I feel I need the break.<br />
Just finished the<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFKE7WVJfvaHW5q283SxchA"> Yoga with Adriene</a>...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXbvCMeYg4fpjzUQbBIK-16BFkOrkXvyVTw5Dabu5bOVCt3yLZWAtx88cEqVGFMCHxA68q03vjUy2onSK77K8e7bxP3-izEnZREJPuE6qnr3rCVw33D6vg-On3XzIxD401bUVLGQEjDpXI/s1600/yoga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXbvCMeYg4fpjzUQbBIK-16BFkOrkXvyVTw5Dabu5bOVCt3yLZWAtx88cEqVGFMCHxA68q03vjUy2onSK77K8e7bxP3-izEnZREJPuE6qnr3rCVw33D6vg-On3XzIxD401bUVLGQEjDpXI/s400/yoga.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
It was amazing and I made so much progress throughout this series! I highly recommend her yoga channel on YouTube.<br />
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<b>Drinking </b><br />
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcXgyN4Q8J1TwNqBq7gKf1WNL1VCvz_4L_ofNdc9XFJVoASUzXCTfCDjefQiVeQbTPHjzylVsrzSTNDPhDjZp0sRlvpwnjq88qaiMq815BsTVxUgUbBaavpK8Nkb5FFVdvTnlzUQqMa-FR/s1600/water.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="734" data-original-width="1024" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcXgyN4Q8J1TwNqBq7gKf1WNL1VCvz_4L_ofNdc9XFJVoASUzXCTfCDjefQiVeQbTPHjzylVsrzSTNDPhDjZp0sRlvpwnjq88qaiMq815BsTVxUgUbBaavpK8Nkb5FFVdvTnlzUQqMa-FR/s400/water.jpg" width="400" /></a></b></div>
lots of <a href="https://www.drinkhint.com/">Hint water</a>. No affiliate links here. I just like to share what I love, and I really do love this water. It's a little pricey, but so good and natural. It's been a great substitute for soda. You can find it at Target, too a little cheaper and on sale sometimes. But normally I just order directly from their site.<br />
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<b>Working</b> a little bit more than usual as a substitute teacher at a more regular position. It's a challenge for sure. I have to say that I am in awe of women who work full time. During the weeks I work 4+ days, I am still trying to find a nice balance of working outside of the home and then actually getting things done around the house. I like to have those two or three days off during the week to clean house, run errands and just stay caught up. But oh how I love being back in a classroom again! And I also love that Pinterest is a huge help with lessons.<br />
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Last week we were studying Adverbs and it just wasn't clicking. The book we are working out of isn't that great. And on top of that, it's really not the easiest concept for second graders to grasp. But I found this idea on Pinterest...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDh7IOnYFn_zd4-sRfu5q8fSv59lUL-zxuygZXYxPe80Sam8e60e1VwrR3HqG2NtiUlfPVfJlgtV9VqRH7bw5HL7SDWYcYGrg_HIuvE2WJbmBestT-_2gnNnaRvDlFOfA325sAbgWBnJF1/s1600/adverbs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="907" data-original-width="691" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDh7IOnYFn_zd4-sRfu5q8fSv59lUL-zxuygZXYxPe80Sam8e60e1VwrR3HqG2NtiUlfPVfJlgtV9VqRH7bw5HL7SDWYcYGrg_HIuvE2WJbmBestT-_2gnNnaRvDlFOfA325sAbgWBnJF1/s400/adverbs.jpg" width="303" /></a></div>
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and they loved it! Anna Adverb was a great supplement to our lesson. So Pinterest for the win!<br />
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<b>Wearing </b>these shoes...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzBEP3F97yKWfjP4ZMxdXAxunszhvKaAqlDadIjrCixAMfBj1TYnC2iFf2O2QynpdKYmFlpPaNdO1_mAkawgEozjggV9bmB-ervXkwUZi7vKPB95kelHi2duzgdAklarEQB4tPlR10V9f1/s1600/shoes4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="750" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzBEP3F97yKWfjP4ZMxdXAxunszhvKaAqlDadIjrCixAMfBj1TYnC2iFf2O2QynpdKYmFlpPaNdO1_mAkawgEozjggV9bmB-ervXkwUZi7vKPB95kelHi2duzgdAklarEQB4tPlR10V9f1/s400/shoes4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
my black Palisades slip on sneakers by Roxy. They are so comfortable and remind me of our trip to London this past summer. Definitely love them!<br />
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<b>Thinking</b> I can't be the only person on Instagram with two accounts who forgets to switch over before posting. I can name at least four times in the past week or so when I posted a photo to my public account instead of the private family one. At least I caught my mistake pretty quickly each time, but I need to be more mindful of which account I am on before posting. It's kind of like accidentally sending a text meant for someone else to the last person you were texting with. I do that more frequently than I would like as well. Thankfully, it's never been anything too crazy.<br />
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And finally...<br />
<b>Feeling</b> sad and shocked at yet another school shooting, this time in Florida. But also feeling angry at how some people continue to come up with the worst solutions possible to the problem. One I keep reading about is the need to arm teachers and support staff in the schools. Worst idea ever and one that avoids the real issue. This should not be the norm. We should not be turning this into something that is just accepted as reality for this day and age. Something needs to be done to prevent this from happening ever again. And arming people who are not comfortable with weapons is a huge mistake. I'm not going to go into the politics of it all right now. At some point I may get on my soapbox and make a lengthy post on my position. But for now, I am encouraged to see students and young adults finally taking a stand and telling our government, this is NOT ok. And I will be watching closely and paying attention to which of our congressmen and women actually work towards making the changes necessary to move us in the right direction. And I will be very active in contacting my senators and state reps. I promise you that.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-74296068353710177182018-02-11T22:04:00.003-06:002018-02-12T06:19:38.949-06:00Let's Talk Music<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDCD_krcbwRhyJJw5q07o0ClGRp0y1eXOliN9UQ4ZYi0NcV85SDDTLIeYn7jf2j5kqaOTMWEVKl4X9Q7iVTYkWH9LcmM_7UeXxbwkDofRMCnJZdvjStB7c3olpRxNTar0kjJRlnbN9MrC/s1600/music.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="564" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDCD_krcbwRhyJJw5q07o0ClGRp0y1eXOliN9UQ4ZYi0NcV85SDDTLIeYn7jf2j5kqaOTMWEVKl4X9Q7iVTYkWH9LcmM_7UeXxbwkDofRMCnJZdvjStB7c3olpRxNTar0kjJRlnbN9MrC/s400/music.jpg" width="277" /></a></div>
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I found this quote on Pinterest and it clicked with me so much that I added it to a board I created on there called <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/maryjor/my-music/">"My Music"</a>.</div>
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I have been such a music junkie my whole life. In fact, I can't remember a time when I didn't love to listen to music. I have vivid memories of dancing in the living room of my Nana's house to Abba's Dancing Queen when I was a little girl. It was one of my favorite songs! </div>
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These days my taste in music can be pretty eclectic. I could probably find at least one song from every genre that I would like. But I do tend to lean more towards rock, classic rock and alternative. </div>
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Now that we have Spotify premium, just like the quote says, I really do have a playlist for everything. Most of my playlists are pretty upbeat but I do have a "One of Those Days" playlist for when I'm feeling not so great. </div>
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One of my current favorite playlists is called "All in One Place" and has music from three of my favorite bands who all just happened to release new albums around the same time recently. I went through and picked my favorite songs from those albums and now I can just shuffle that playlist and listen to them all in a row. </div>
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That playlist got me thinking about my favorite bands right now.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNsTS4slArL-diASoJG7QNPvi99r_h5OupZdfTEbMx0QMOKXwiBxKi8EZDaAAJgJ-UhCFRDJCC6fkFCuTit6ZaD-1Pk20Lt7HOSHghoZ6SH-TDFsd8vQKte-wMrCXI51EasE8xDKzyboGD/s1600/music2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNsTS4slArL-diASoJG7QNPvi99r_h5OupZdfTEbMx0QMOKXwiBxKi8EZDaAAJgJ-UhCFRDJCC6fkFCuTit6ZaD-1Pk20Lt7HOSHghoZ6SH-TDFsd8vQKte-wMrCXI51EasE8xDKzyboGD/s400/music2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I always joke with my husband, that spots one and two will be forever taken by U2 and Radiohead. That never changes. I will love U2 till the end of time. They are my all time favorite band and I explained why in this post, <a href="http://scrapbooktreehouse.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-road-to-u2-joshua-tree-2017.html">The Road to U2 Joshua Tree 2017</a>. So much history for me as well as my husband with this band.</div>
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My second top pick is Radiohead. In my opinion, they are musical geniuses. I have been following them ever since Pablo Honey came out back in 1993 and continue to love them to this day. Unfortunately, they rarely come close to here for concerts. But I was able to surprise my husband with tickets to see them as a birthday gift many years ago. They weren't the best seats, but we still say it was one of the best concerts ever! </div>
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As for my number three spot, that is always up for grabs. I have rotated quite a few bands through it over the years. Since 2013, it has been The National. My husband is definitely even more of a music junkie than I am and he has introduced me to a lot of amazing bands over the years! The National is one of them. And frankly, though I don't like to share a lot of personal info here, I credit some of the National's music with helping us in a not so easy time in our marriage. We had one year or so that was just awful. I was struggling with depression and he was having to travel so much for work at the same time. It was pretty hard on both of us, and we just weren't talking at all. But The National have a song called "About Today", and the lyrics really caught my attention. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-DQRr9pmgu_UfsamR8SNBEQ8DZVHHxw16TRkZ6H4YKdgUElDQU36guyeSVjVMLnkhWTNWuEEBmFeVe5saqdQ9p40vq5wP_eUVPf6HOWhgt4GX6L5zdjjdlRC6PdagigEPV-ilOYVCze4Q/s1600/music3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="846" data-original-width="386" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-DQRr9pmgu_UfsamR8SNBEQ8DZVHHxw16TRkZ6H4YKdgUElDQU36guyeSVjVMLnkhWTNWuEEBmFeVe5saqdQ9p40vq5wP_eUVPf6HOWhgt4GX6L5zdjjdlRC6PdagigEPV-ilOYVCze4Q/s640/music3.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>
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We both realized we had a lot of talking to do and thankfully in the process, we also both realized we really missed and love each other and that all we wanted was to be happy again. We had just kind of gotten lost for a bit. It's funny what you can learn from lyrics when they are just right. And we learned that successful, happy marriages need lots of good communication! It has really made all the difference! Like I said, I believe talk about my marriage is personal and private. But I am so proud of how we overcame a major obstacle and came together instead of growing apart. We even say as hard as it was, it's something we had to go through to get to where we are now!</div>
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So the National have a special place in my heart. And with the release of their new album, "Sleep Well Beast", it doesn't look like they will be leaving third place. I absolutely love them!<br />
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But for the first time ever, I am having to let two bands/musicians have the number three position. I can't let go of The National, but I am also totally loving Noel Gallagher!</div>
Can't stand his brother, but I think Noel is brilliant. And when he opened for U2 in Amsterdam and Brussels this summer, I started listening to him again. I absolutely loved almost every song on his album Chasing Yesterday - especially Riverman, The Dying of the Light, and You Know We Can't Go Back. <br />
So as of right now Noel and The National hold that special third spot in my top three favorite bands of all time.<br />
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Now I will admit, that my husband is usually the one who finds the good new music. I tend to listen to old favorites. I have playlists for classic rock, the 80's, alternative music from the 90's and soundtracks. But recently I shared a band with him that I've been listening to called...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdBrN2sItQPyS29TR9NapPJEUmHxcn81K6dCU9kMLQsBcrDpt4B7MVBTyayCkDBZ7SEFiFhhqA6olDoDOLKwPxabgsDPcQuBIR2IK3yRT4Pd-hoXLU0Tw8RN7wJhpLhUnJ8NeJeB2SNGUu/s1600/music+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="563" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdBrN2sItQPyS29TR9NapPJEUmHxcn81K6dCU9kMLQsBcrDpt4B7MVBTyayCkDBZ7SEFiFhhqA6olDoDOLKwPxabgsDPcQuBIR2IK3yRT4Pd-hoXLU0Tw8RN7wJhpLhUnJ8NeJeB2SNGUu/s400/music+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Highly Suspect. I heard their song "Little One" on a local alternative radio station here and it caught my attention. They are more of a harder post grunge rock, but my husband admitted tonight that he's kind of liking them. Lol.</div>
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It's always fun to play songs for each other. We like to talk to each other through music quite a bit.</div>
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I even have a playlist of songs he sends me. That one is private though ;)</div>
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So what type of music do you like?<br />
Do you have a top three list as well?<br />
I'm thinking now that I typed out this post, that I probably should document my favorites in a layout. :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-79043379125076466392018-02-05T19:47:00.003-06:002018-02-05T19:47:50.452-06:00One Little Word - FebruaryIn my last post I shared photos of my introduction pages for my One Little Word album.<br />
I haven't quite finished my January Self Care goal pages, but since it is now February I did want to at least share the next goal and project I will be creating for February.<br />
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In my One Little Word class with Ali Edwards, she is encouraging us to make a vision board to help us connect visually with our word. I have a head start because being the Pinterest junkie I am, I had already started a OLW board there. So I am going to design a collage of some of the pins I want to use and put it in my album.<br />
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Here are a few ideas I am thinking of adding to my vision board:<br />
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This is so true for me! In the past I have simply run myself into the ground trying to get everything done and care for everyone else! I got smart this time around when I was sick two weeks ago. I took time off work and pretty much rested for two days. As a result, I got better quicker than I ever have before.<br />
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I want to include this pin because I truly feel as if 2018 is going to be amazing. I have such great plans for this year, and I feel energized about every single one of them.<br />
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I know these two pins are really similar and I will probably just end up picking one for my vision board. But they both resonate with me. It has taken me a while, in fact probably the whole fifteen years I have been a mother, to realize that taking care of myself is not selfish. It's necessary!<br />
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Oh how my anxiety fights me on this one. But I'm learning.<br />
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I saw an article yesterday with a quote that basically said, don't compare your own beginning to someone else's middle. And it made me think, we all have to start somewhere, right? For example, by comparing my progress and where I am at in my Body Pump class to that of my teacher would just be crazy. She has been doing this type of workout for years, and I am just a newbie. It wouldn't make sense to feel down on myself because I don't have her abilities yet! But I'm making progress for sure!<br />
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This is the secret! I have heard that to really make a change and develop new habits, you need to give it at least 21 days. I am hoping that my monthly self care goal plan will help me do just that. Change one thing in my daily routine each month that will improve my physical, mental and emotional health! And that those changes will stick as I see how much better I feel at the end of each month.<br />
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And I love this! Such a positive perspective, which is what 2018 is about for me. Look for the positive and don't dwell on the negatives. <br />
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So I know this might sound like the the opposite of Self Care, but in February my goal is Relationships. Namely nurturing my relationships. I am surrounded by so many supportive people, that I feel very lucky. I know by building up my relationships with the people I love and care about, that I am going to be doing something to help myself as well. I want to put more positive energy into the way I interact with my friends, family, co workers and students.<br /><br />
One way I am trying to do this is by practicing active listening. When someone talks to me, I am making an effort to give all of my attention and avoiding distractions. I am really wanting to engage in meaningful conversations to learn more about what matters the most to the people who matter the most. My husband is seriously into cycling right now and I have learned so much about his interest this past year. It feels good to be supportive and gain knowledge about something he is so passionate about!<br />
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I am also planning on putting together some Self Care baskets for friends and family throughout the month. Nothing big. Just a little something to say I am thinking of you. I found the idea on Pinterest. Have I mentioned how much I love Pinterest? lol<br />
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And even though January is over, I am still planning on exercising six times per week with one rest day. Whether it's yoga, strength training or cardio at home, the YMCA or walking outdoors, I am going to keep that good habit going strong!<br /><br />Hopefully coming up next post, my completed January goal pages for my album!<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-74390899135436239682018-01-28T22:17:00.002-06:002018-01-29T06:07:45.641-06:00One Little Word ProgressWell being pretty sick for almost a week, didn't leave me much energy for the blog. But I am finally ready to share a scrapbook project I will be working on each month this year<br />
As I talked about in <a href="http://scrapbooktreehouse.blogspot.com/2017/12/one-little-word-2018-self-care.html">This Post</a>, my One Little Word I chose for 2018 is "Self Care". Since I am participating in <a href="https://aliedwards.com/shop/classes/one-little-word-2018">Ali Edward's One Little Word class</a> to help keep me more engaged with my word this year, I thought I would share a few of the introduction pages from my album.<br />
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I am using <a href="https://www.scrapbook.com/store/mw-4036.html?t12-13=simple+stories&t2=albums">This</a> 6x8 album by Simple Stories to document my progress.<br />
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I am also using a variety of size and style page protectors made by Simple Stories as well. <br />
For my introductory page I created a 4x4 title card and I filled the two 2x2 spots with patterned paper squares. The first is a piece I had with windows and liked how the 2018 fills each window pane as if it's looking out to the year ahead. The yellow square on the right repeats the phrase "good things are going to happen". Perfect!<br />
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In the class example, Ali used a photo of herself in her introduction, so I decided to follow that formula with a recent selfie taken on one of my exercise days. The black and white script is the flip side of the yellow square with the "good things are going to happen." phrase. And the back of the window print paper had a pretty purplish color to match the flowers on the 3x4 card on the facing page. I used a chipboard flower from the same collection as the paper to embellish it and coordinate.<br />
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Ali's OLW class has one lesson with a prompt per month. For January, she just wanted us to write about our word, and provided several printable cards to use in our albums to help jump start our writing. I didn't use all of the writing prompts she provided, but just chose a few I felt would be helpful to me. So for page three I used the Reason Why card explaining why I wanted to choose Self Care as my focus this year.<br />
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As I said in my last post, I am taking my word even further by choosing monthly self care goals to concentrate on. So I created my own journal block with patterned paper and a washi tape border explaining my plan. My goal in January has been exercise and I am waiting to complete those pages at the end of this month. Hard to believe we are almost there!<br />
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On the next page, I chose the Definition and Quotation cards to explore my word further. And as I wrote them down, I realized that I truly had found the perfect word for what I want to accomplish this year. Then I embellished the back of my journal card from the previous page with some encouraging phrases. The Year Ahead question page finishes off my introduction for now.<br />
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So this is what I have so far! I am looking forward to working on my pages for my January goal, and then finding out what the February lesson will be in class. I am feeling pretty excited!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-64026252040489639122018-01-17T14:44:00.001-06:002018-01-17T14:44:07.795-06:00Going to the Movies (Possible Spoilers ahead)My husband and I love to watch movies together.<br />
Before we had kids, we would go out to movie theaters for date nights pretty regularly.<br />
After kids, not so much. Maybe once or twice a year if that.<br />
But now that our kids are getting older, we are finding time to go either with them or just on our own.<br />
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In the last six weeks, we have seen six movies - three of them in the theater and three at home. So I just want to share a little review of some of these movies. I have tried hard not to spoil anything for those who haven't seen them yet. But just in case, if you are still waiting to see any of these movies, you may want to skip that review for now!<br />
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First up...<br />
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<a href="http://www.wonder.movie/">Wonder</a><br />
Ok this first one, my husband and I didn't actually see together. My daughter and I have been reading the book together and a little bit on her own. She loves this book and really wanted to see the movie. So over Thanksgiving weekend, the boys went to see Justice League (on my list, too!) and we went to Wonder. I'm so glad we did. It was great to have a movie date with her and we both loved it. I honestly thought the cast was fabulous. Jacob Tremblay in the lead role was so believable and sweet. Plus, you can never go wrong with Julia Roberts in my book. I'm a huge fan, and I felt such a connection with her in this role as a mom. Plus, you have Owen Wilson for comedy relief and I had to say he would make a pretty cool dad. I thought Izabela Vidovic was perfect as Auggie's sister, too. Her story was just as powerful as Auggie's in my opinion because she loves her family but feels on the outside at the same time due to her parents needing to be there for Auggie. In addition, she is struggling with the loss of a friendship, while finding love and new interests at the same time. Noah Jupe as Jack Will, Auggie's new best friend really showed how tough it is to want to stay loyal to friendship but at the same time feel pressured to give in to the crowd a little bit. Without giving too much away, I loved that he realizes the error of his ways, and friendship wins. <br />
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At times, it could feel a little preachy or as if it was purposefully trying to tug on our heartstrings. And I'm not a huge fan of that at all. But because I found the rest of this movie and it's message so fantastic, I was able to look past those moments which actually led to some discussions with my daughter later that I really enjoyed.<br />
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Wonder = 4 1/2 our of 5 stars for me<br />
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<a href="http://www.starwars.com/the-last-jedi/">Star Wars: The Last Jedi</a><br />
I was pretty excited about this one! My husband, son, a friend of my son's and I all went to see this one together. My daughter isn't into Star Wars like her mom, and opted to hang out at a friend's house instead.<br />
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I have loved the Star Wars saga since the first movie came out when I was a little girl. I am such a Star Wars geek and even have a Pinterest board titled <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/maryjor/star-wars-geek-girl/">Star Wars Geek Girl.</a><br />
Lol, lame I know! But love it so much.<br />
Seeing Return of the Jedi in the movie theater all those years ago is still one of my favorite Star Wars memories! <br />
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And when this movie started with the usual logo pop up and blare of the theme song, I got goose bumps!<br />
I love that they have continued the story line. I really do love the new heroes. And at first I loved having the old characters back. But it's all so tragic really. I mean, Return of the Jedi was such a happy ending. Our heroes deserved their happy ending! But here we are all these years later, and Luke, Leia and Han have anything but a happy ending. It's a little depressing actually. And they are right back where they were during Star Wars a New Hope. The bad guys are winning!<br />
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My husband and I both agree completely that Kylo Ren just does not do it for us as a villain. He just comes across as a weak whiny brat. In fact, it almost seems at times as if those serving under him, are laughing at him. Nothing like the fear Darth Vader used to strike in the hearts of everyone who came across his path.That dude was seriously scary to me back then. And the final battle between Luke and Vader in Return of the Jedi, is one of my favorite fight scenes ever. But Kylo Ren just comes across so blah. And don't get us started on Snoke. He doesn't even look real and is not even worthy of being the big boss!<br />
My theory though is that Kylo Ren just has to get worse. And by worse I mean more evil.<br />
After all younger Anakin Skywalker in those first three movies, was much more annoying than anything. And he definitely had his fair share of temper tantrums even after he married Padme. But he turned into Darth Vader eventually, so I guess there is hope for Kylo Ren. Only time will tell.<br />
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And Luke (Mark Hamill) whom I had the biggest crush on in grade school, wasn't much better at first in this movie. He seemed to have just as many petulant tantrums as Kylo Ren. "No, I won't train you, Rey." "Yes, I'll train you." "No I won't go back." "Yes, I'll help". He just could not make up his mind.<br />
But for all the faults, there were still many memorable and exciting moments. And some pretty funny one liners and jokes in true Star Wars humor. So as much as I wish some things could be different with this new series and movie, I still look forward to the next one!<br />
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3 1/2 out of 5 stars<br />
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5519340/">Bright (on Netflix)</a><br />
Next up is a sci fi, fantasy, action, mystery with a little bit of political commentary in the mix. This movie kind of couldn't make up it's mind what it wanted to be. But I love Will Smith and I thought Joel Edgerton did a great job in his role as the Orc cop buddy.<br />
It was pretty loud, a little violent and kind of hard to watch in a few places. But I was hooked on the story overall wanting to see how it ended.<br />
I generally like Will Smith in his roles, but his character was a little to cynical and jaded at times. Almost like they felt they had to keep hitting us over the head with it until the end when of course ultimately he softens a bit.<br />
So much social commentary though with a little bit of a unique twist as far as elves and orcs. But really I found it a little uncomfortable how they tried to make orcs appear to fit into a racial category that already exists. It just did not come across as authentic at all.<br />
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On the plus side, it has a happy ending so I think for that reason, liking Joel Edgerton, and the elves fighting skills, I will give it<br />
3 (instead of just 2 1/2) out of 5 stars.<br />
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4287320/">The Circle</a><br />
Another watch at home movie for the two of us, except this time on Amazon Prime. Can I just say we both hated this movie. Like really hated it! I mean with Tom Hanks (one of my favorite actors ever) and Emma Watson, how could you go wrong. But it did in so many ways. There was a little bit of good build up and mystery, but the ending was just so stupid and only a little satisfying that the "bad guys" got put in their place. And maybe it was just hard for me to see Tom Hanks in a not so nice after all kind of guy role. But frankly, I thought the dialogue was terrible and didn't help Emma Watson. I just didn't find her character very likeable at all, so it seemed odd that she would end up kind of saving the day. To say any more would just pretty much ruin the story I think, but not my favorite Tom Hanks movie. And I've seen them all. Well, except Turner and Hooch. Big slobbery dogs, not my thing.<br /><br />1 star out of 5 and only because well Tom Hanks.<br />
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3896198/">Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2</a><br />
We watched this one at home on Netflix. Finally! We'd been wanting to see it for awhile and were finally able to fit it in over the holiday break.<br />Loved it! I loved the first one, so I'm glad to say I liked the second one, too.<br />
I mean the story line was a little bizarre, but really everything about these movies is bizarre. But in a good way to me.<br />So many one liners that cracked us up. It's pretty funny in an often inappropriate way on so many levels, but we just roll with it. :)<br />
And it's actually very sweet in parts when it comes to talking about family. The whole family doesn't have to be blood, to be real family rings pretty true here. <br />I love movies with ultimately feel good happy endings and a fantastic soundtrack. I am definitely a classic rock kind of girl, so it's fun seeing how they used those types of songs in the movie.<br />
Also, Chris Pratt is his usual cool self, and Groot steals the show in several scenes. But really the whole cast is pretty fantastic.<br />
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4 1/2 out of 5 stars<br />
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1485796/">The Greatest Showman</a><br />
And last but not least, is the most recent movie we went to at the theater. I was looking forward to this one a lot, and thankfully my husband was ok going with me. Although I don't think it was high on his list of must see's. But it seemed to have a Moulin Rouge feel to it and we both ended up liking that one. Plus, we take turns picking movies to see and it was my turn. Hey, if I can sit through Last Man Standing on date night, he totally can make it through a musical, right? lol<br /><br />Anyway, there has been a lot of hype around this movie, and I will admit I was a little disappointed. I mean I think Hugh Jackman, Zendaya and the rest of the circus troupe were pretty amazing. I wasn't too crazy about Michelle Williams, and maybe it's just because she doesn't seem a musical type of actress to me. Also, I am not a huge Zac Efron fan, but I thought he did a pretty great job in his role as P.T. Barnum's partner, Phillip Carlyle. <br /><br />The intro number was definitely an attention grabber. But the first part of the movie moved a little slowly to me as they set the groundwork for when the circus actually started to come together. <br />Probably one of my favorite things about this movie was the choreography. I thought it was brilliant. Especially the musical number "Rewrite the Stars" with Zac Efron and Zendaya. It was really beautiful watching them dance around in the air. And the scenes with the circus troupe were always well choreographed. Huge props to the choreographer.<br />
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But the movie kind of let me down in a few areas.<br />
I thought the musical numbers didn't always seem to flow well. And it seemed at times that the story could have been told better without a whole song and dance. When Michelle Williams started to sing Tightrope, my husband and I turned to each other and said "another musical number?"<br />Ironically I did find myself listening to the soundtrack on Spotify the next day. So the songs were definitely in my head long after the movie.<br />
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I've seen a few complaints that the movie was not true to the characters. And that P.T. Barnum was a greedy, selfish narcissist. Actually, I thought the movie portrayed him like that quite a bit. He wasn't always the most likeable character and seemed to put his dreams first before all other things. I'm not sure if in real life he did ever come to the realization that people are more important than things or money, but of course the movie gave us that happy ending.<br />
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Where I thought the movie completely failed, was it's interpretation of Jenny Lind, the singer known as the "Swedish Nightingale". I guess for dramatic purposes they felt it was necessary to portray her as a selfish homewrecker. And from everything I have ever read about her, she seemed anything but that in real life. In the movie, she falls for P.T. Barnum, makes a move on him and then is so upset at his rejection, tries to ruin his business and life! Seriously? She was actually known for being a philanthropist. And the rumor is actually that she split from working for him because he was just too over the top. I thought it was just terrible how they made her character completely unlikable. Talk about poetic license and not in a good way. A real disservice to turn someone of good character into the complete opposite.<br />
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So despite it's flaws, I did find many things to like about this movie. But instead of being 4 or 5 stars<br />
I can only give it 3 1/2<br />
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And that is it for movie reviews here at the Scrapbook Treehouse!<br />Have you seen any of these movies? What did you think?<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-43811792105967659422018-01-09T14:05:00.000-06:002018-01-09T14:05:15.138-06:00Happy New Year! <br />
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We had such a great holiday break as a family!<br />
My husband was back from working out of town for almost three weeks! It was pretty great to have him here so many days in a row. We made the most of it for sure!<br />
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But now we are getting back into routine, and I have so much I want to talk about in upcoming posts over the next few weeks! I have a few book and movie reviews. I want to talk more about my One Little Word progress that I introduced in <a href="http://scrapbooktreehouse.blogspot.com/2017/12/one-little-word-2018-self-care.html">This Post.</a> It's really going well so far and I think the blog will be a good place to record how it's going. I want to talk about scrapbooking and how I am going to be doing more of it and working on my photography skills in 2018. Plus, I have a ton of new podcasts and favorite tv shows on the list, too. Pinterest is another love of mine, and I plan to do some posts on my Pinterest successes, failures and fun finds.<br /><br />One thing I do know, is that my blog will be taking a tiny bit of a different direction as far as family sharing. It is going to be more like my <a href="https://www.instagram.com/maryjorhoda2/?hl=en">public Instagram account</a> I started recently. Back in the beginning of December, I thought again about what type of online presence I want to have for me and my family. It was a little eye opening to discover through the bloglovin app that a few people had started following my blog that made me extremely uncomfortable. And once again it helped me realize that I truly have no idea who is actually reading here. There is no way to block someone from reading my blog unless I make it completely private, and I already have a blog like that for the real personal family stuff. I kind of like to have a blog where I can share fun things about hobbies and travel and my progress with healthy living. In a way, it keeps me accountable and I enjoy sharing these things I love with others. <br />
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But I do not plan on posting a lot of personal info or photos for the foreseeable future. My kids are at an age where they prefer not to have their private lives and photos on the internet and I respect that. So if I don't have their permission, I'm not posting. Occasionally they will let me share something. But family and friends who are still reading here, if you want that kind of info it will most likely be over on Facebook or my private Instagram.<br />
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Coming up next time: Christmas Break Movie Reviews! <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-33826661733351965782017-12-19T14:31:00.000-06:002017-12-19T14:31:02.253-06:00One Little Word - 2018 (Self Care)As 2017 comes to a close, I have to say one of the highlights of the year was our 20th wedding anniversary trip to Europe. I really enjoyed sharing those posts about it here on the blog. Each time I shared our stories, it was a little like reliving our adventures all over again.<br />
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But now it's time to switch gears and start looking toward 2018! <br />
One of my biggest scrapbook inspirations is Ali Edwards who pretty much started the <a href="https://aliedwards.com/one-little-word">One Little Word </a>concept quite a few years back. Basically you choose a word for the year and make it your focus. Some of the words I have chosen in the past are Breathe, Focus, Humor and Peace.<br />
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I've made a few scrapbook layouts over the years documenting my word, and I hope to do the same this year. Last year I tried something new and created a journal for my word Trust instead, but only filled about half of it.<br />
That is what typically happens. I always start out pretty strong and than it kind of ebbs out. But I still try to keep my word in the back of my mind when dealing with life. Such as remembering to see the humor in things when life gets tough, trying to focus on priorities, keeping peace in my home and with others, or simply breathing when anxiety is once again trying to close in on me. I use my word to help ground me and keep things light. The way I see it, I have one life to live. I can do it in a constant state of worry, stress and frustration. Or I can choose to see the positive and use my word to help me find a way to do just that!<br />
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This year I am choosing to focus on "Self Care". Ok, I know that it's really two words technically, but it's one concept. I am choosing to take care of myself so I can take care of others. So I can be the best wife, mom, friend, and person I can be. The healthier and happier I am, the more I have to give. The less anxious and stressed I am, the more peace and joy I can share. This is my goal for 2018 - to practice self care.<br />
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I used to think taking time to care for myself was selfish. That everyone else needed to come first. And most of the time I do still end up put my family first. But I also know that I need good sleep, I need exercise, I need to make sure I am eating well, and I need to do the things that make me feel happy. I have definitely made progress this past year. If I am having one of those days where I just don't have the energy to deal anymore, I know it's ok to put on an episode of Supernatural and just take 45 minutes to relax and regroup. Or instead of just talking about how much I want to do it, I actually will go and get a facial or massage. It makes me feel good and has positive benefits! Or instead of just thinking about how great it would be to join the YMCA and take a strength class, I decided to finally do it! So I am on the road already, but I know I want to keep moving in the right direction.<br />
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And since I know that in the past I kind of lose a bit of steam with my word come Spring, I signed up for Ali's <a href="https://aliedwards.com/shop/classes/one-little-word-2018">One Little Word Workshop</a>. I think it will be a good way to keep me engaged and reconnect with my word once a month to see how I am doing. This is a really important goal for me this year, because I see progress but I know there are areas where I could still improve!<br />
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Looking forward to seeing where my word takes me in 2018! I'll keep you posted :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4852249141746693084.post-90821727242982581852017-12-04T14:06:00.001-06:002017-12-09T17:05:55.566-06:00Zurich - The Last DayWell for our last day in Switzerland and our trip, we had made big plans to take the train from Zurich to Vitznau to Mount Rigi and actually get into the countryside. Unfortunately, I was sick as hell overnight and not any better the next morning. Let's just say that sausage and German potato salad are now on my list of foods that I will never eat again.<br />
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I absolutely did not want Mike to miss out on the adventure though. I could tell he was hesitant to leave me, but really we had seen all there was to see in Zurich. And I did not want him to have to stay with me while I was so very sick. We had come all this way and I was so glad he was able to get out of Zurich for a bit and visit Mount Rigi.<br />
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He did stock me up on some fluids though before heading to the train station. And I spent the day in bed watching Netflix on my phone. Thankfully, he was able to send me photos and Snapchats throughout the day. And while it wasn't as good as being there with him in person, it was enough.<br />
So most of the photos I am sharing in this post are his.<br />
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I have to admit, seeing this one...<br />
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made me a little bummed. Visiting Switzerland and seeing the mountains has definitely been on my bucket list for a long time. And this was pretty much how I had pictured it. But I'm getting ahead of myself.<br />
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He took the train from Zurich to Vitznau which takes about an hour. Then from there he took the cogwheel railway up Mount Rigi<br />
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Then came photos from the top as he made his way back down<br />
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Just Mike - Mount Rigi, Switzerland - August 5, 2017<br />
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The best was the Snapchat video he sent me. It was so quiet and peaceful except for the faint sound of cowbells in the background. And his caption was "I need more cowbell" which is from one of our fave Will Ferrell Saturday Night Live skits.<br />
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Next he took a boat ride across Lake Lucerne to the city of Lucerne so he could catch the train back to Zurich.<br />
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Here are a few of the photos he took from the boat.<br />
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Arriving in Lucerne, Switzerland<br />
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He said he walked around Lucerne a little bit, grabbed something to eat and then headed back to Zurich on the train. I think the trip in all took him between 7-8 hours.<br />
When he came back I was feeling better but not great.<br />
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So he found me some pretzels and a few more drinks.<br />
No steps today because I didn't even leave the hotel room. <br />
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Thankfully the next day, I was feeling a lot better. Our flight to Chicago took between 8-9 hours, and then another shorter 45 minute flight to get home. If I was going to be sick, I am grateful it wasn't the day of our trip home!<br />
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And just like that, our trip was over.<br />
Eleven days in Europe and I enjoyed every single one. Not even my sick day could ruin it, because we had a trip I will never forget!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3