Feb 19 - 25

Notable things that happened this week:

• 2 more snow days (number 5 & 6 now). 
• Went to Mom's for dinner.
• Had our biggest snowfall so far this season on Saturday.
• We made lemon poppyseed muffins with a homemade glaze. 
• Had a proper Sunday roast that Dad was here for.
• Tried Sweet & Sour Chicken Helper to much success!

Book Review: Everything I Never Told You - by Celeste Ng

Reason for Reading: This book was recommended to me by my first cousin once removed, Peggy. She had recently read it and enjoyed it.

Review: Overall I loved this book. It's about a family who's middle child, Lydia, dies and the story surrounding her death. All the things that happened to lead up to that point, in both her and her family's lives.

It takes place in 1977. However it moved back through time and forward again quite a few times to tell the story and that was probably the only thing I struggled with. For me it was hard just to picture it all happening in 1977, but when it traveled back to her parents childhoods it took a while for me to wrap my head around the era. But after I got used to it, it clicked and became a pretty quick read.

I loved how detailed the story was and I felt it could've easily been a true story. And each character was developed and multidimensional and there were times you felt sorry for them, and then angry at them and back again. I would definitely recommend this book to fiction lovers.

Feb 12 - 18

Notable things of the week:

• Lilly and I went to Bella's school for Star Card Cart.
• Bella had her school dance - Candyland Theme!
• We made cupcakes as a family for Valentine's day!
• I cut about 4 inches off of Bella's hair.
• Started using iTrackBites again with Sarah.
• We had 2 more snow days.

Feb 5 - 11

Notable things of the week:

• I went to visit Sarah and Jason in Michigan for the weekend.
• Ross and the girls flew their kites for the first time in a while.
• I dyed my hair for the first time in over a year.

Jan 29 - Feb 4

Notable things of the week:

• We went to the school Skating party with the new owners of "Skate America".
• Bella went to Pre-Teen night at the YMCA for the first time.
• Dad treated me and the girls to McDonald's on Sunday. 
• Church unveiled the new Preschool worship room that Lilly has class in.

January 2015 Wrap Up!

Looking back at January these are some of the things that happened that felt note-worthy:

• Our new nephew, Elijah David, was born!
• Ross and Bella went to their first Daddy/Daughter Dance.
• We had our second snow day of the school year on 1/6.
• Lilly got an earache and took her medicine like a champ!
• I tried cooking two new things - Sugar Cookies and Chicken Fried Rice "Hamburger" Helper.
• I ran the Star Card Cart at Bella's school and the two of us went to our first Movie night there.
• We celebrated Caroline's first birthday!
• I went to my first book club - discussing "The Secret of Pembrooke Park".
• I had a girls night with Melissa and Mom before Elijah was born while Ross took the girls to a Veggietales movie at church.
• Bella went to her first Pre-Teen Night at the YMCA.

Resolution update:
1. Saving Money - We definitely made our target this month. We actually saved 15% over what we'd hoped, so we are carrying that over to next month since next month seems like the target amount might be a little less reachable than this month.


2. Lose 2 pounds a month / Get Healthier - This is much harder to quantify but I'm going to say that I reached this goal. I got myself to the doctor and got back on my blood pressure medication which is a step towards better health. My weight went up and down but overall I was maybe 1 pound or so lower than last month. I need to weigh myself with a definite time and frequency to track this better. Overall I'm happy with this goal, but I want to do better next month

3. Read 3 books a month -Hey! I did it! And honestly it wasn't as hard as I thought. I read three and started a 4th. I know that the subject matter can determine if it's something I'll finish quickly or not. Fiction = easy, Non-fiction = Taking my time, letting things sink in. I also joined Goodreads again and started tracking my books in there.
      Here's what I read:
            Say Goodbye to Survival Mode -  Amazon, My Review

            The Secret of Pembrooke Park - Amazon, My Review
            Nightmares! - Amazon, My Review

4. Blog at least once a week - Hey, I did this one too! I'm a little surprised that I pulled this off after trying for years to actually blog consistently. It's not "easy" but certainly it's easier now that I'm not working and can put a little more time into it. I would like to come up with some more topics for blogging.. perhaps movie reviews or something like that. But I won't make any promises yet..