Life These Days

1. Emersen is having surgery to repair her ear this Friday, and I'm a little nervous about her going under.  I just keep telling myself that she'll appreciate it when she's a teenager.  I'm taking her to a pre-operative prep class tomorrow so that she'll be familiar with what will happen since I don't know if we can be with her the whole time.  Hopefully, she'll come out of it just fine and will heal without any problems.  I need to remember to take more pictures of her ear before she goes in.
2. I love my new blog design.  It's simple and gray.  I'm slightly obsessed with gray.
3. We have been listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas movies on and off since November started.  I don't want to get burned out, so it's not every day.  My favorite is the Michael Buble Pandora station, but I also can't live without my Carpenters Christmas collections.  The kids love the holiday movies, and I've already pulled a you-have-to-be-good-and-do-what-your-mom-says-if-you-want-Santa-to-bring-you-presents.  Emersen totally gets it.
4. I haven't worked out regularly since September, and, miraculously, I don't really care and my clothes still fit fine.  But I just decided that I should start again because I know it will boost my mood and energy, two things I could really use right now.
5. I just noticed that our property taxes, car and home insurance payments, car repairs and tires, E's ear surgery cost, and buying Christmas presents are all due within the same two months right now.  We should probably never let that happen again.  Here's hoping it all gets worked out!  I guess we'll see how much faith we have!  (Daniel is probably going to hate that I just revealed that.)
6. On the brighter side, I have been awesome at sticking to my budget lately.
7. My younger brother is getting married in December, and I am so grateful for Pinterest right now.  My mom has recruited my sister and me to help with the open house decorations.  There's so much great inspiration on the web!  Oh, and I really like my soon-to-be sister-in-law.  I'm looking forward to getting to know her better.
8. I went with my friend Holly to get a pedicure and lunch last weekend.  We had been trying to schedule it for months.  Sitting there for an hour and a half (yes, an hour and a half!) doing absolutely nothing but listening to soothing music, being pampered, and visiting with one of my closest friends was just what I needed.  I went bold and choose dark brown paint with a gold fleck effect over the top.  It's so dark it almost looks black, but I actually love it.  I only wish I wasn't always wearing slippers or socks right now.  The other fantastic thing was that she had gift certificates, so it was free!  I appreciate my friends more and more, since Daniel is so busy right now.  I often wish I had someone other than my kids to talk to on these long days when Daniel is gone day and night.
9. Bentley has cut a few molars over the past couple of weeks and has more teeth coming.  It's been a great time for all!  He's actually been sleeping better and much happier this past week, so I'm trying to enjoy it while it lasts.  He's due for another cold any time now.
10. I went to the temple last night for the first time in months.  I have never had such a hard time getting things arranged to be able to go!  And yet, I have not felt so much peace in the last few months either.  I definitely needed to be there.  I love leaving the temple feeling more empowered to do what I need to.  It's such a blessing.
11. I'm easing up on my project list so that I can get some other things in order and spend more time with the kids.  We're all a little stressed out right now with daddy not being home much, so I'm trying to find different ways to break up the days.  BUT, I'm excited about the projects I have completed and can't wait to share.  Someday...