Spring (undies) Cleaning

So last week I was at Target buying socks for my girls. I have no idea what in heck they do with all their socks, but they got to a point where they didn't have any more and we were about to go on vacation. (nevermind that they ended up leaving their suitcase behind and we had to stop at Walmart and buy them all new clothes...) While I was there, I noticed that Target had cute women's cotton undies on sale - some on clearance. I bought myself 5 packages.

When I got home I went through my underwear drawer and threw out all the yucky pairs of underwear. You know the ones. The undies of last resort. They don't fit right, they may have rips, or they are just old and ratty. I threw them all out. I ran the new ones through the laundry,and voila! I had a whole drawer of underwear that I liked. And that fit. And that I wasn't ashamed to wear.

And it cost me about $20. I STRONGLY encourage you all to do your own Spring (undies) Cleaning! No more through picking through the drawer for the pairs I like. Now I like them all. I know underwear is not something I normally put a lot of thought into, but this is a little thing that could make your morning a bit brighter!

It works for me! For more Works for Me Ideas, visit...www.wearethatfamily.com

What is a Soldier to Do?

Heard an interesting story last week on NPR about soldiers returning from war who feel lost. Often combat soldiers return and feel stressed and confused about their role in the non-combat world. Well, a few returning vets realized that these soldiers have specialized skills that could be used for humanitarian relief at quick notice. The created a group called Team Rubicon, which "bridges the critical time gap between large humanitarian disasters and conventional aid response. We provide vanguard medical care by fielding small, self-sustaining, mobile teams of specially skilled first-responders."

What a FANTASTIC idea! Why not utilize the training and abilities of these soldiers and let them help in times of crisis? Team Rubicon does just that. I think its a great idea. It is just getting off the ground, and is in need of donations.

Listen to the story, and I'll bet you will be equally driven to give.

A Tourist in Our Own Town

We are lucky to live in a very picturesque, historic area that is ripe for tourists. But, like many, we tend to ignore all the feature available to us. So thanks to Groupon and Living Social, in the last few weeks we have acted like tourists.

We took the Old Town Trolley (tour bus) around town, seeing all the sites. We only got off at a few stops, but had a great time. We stopped at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and saw lots and lots of money! The kids thought it was very cool. Then we walked down to the Jefferson Memorial and hopped back on the trolley. We took it past the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, White House, etc. Then we hopped on the other trolley and took it up Embassy Row to National Cathedral. It was a random Friday when the girls didn't have school, so the Cathedral was not crowded at all. We took the elevator to the top and enjoyed the view. We stopped by and saw some of the amazing stained glass (including the cool moon rock space window), and then played hide-and-seek in the Bishop's garden. Then we took the trolley back through Georgetown to our car.

This weekend we went to Mount Vernon (with a family friend). It is less than 20 miles from our house and I don't think I'd been there in 15-20 years!!! It was a lovely day and we had a great visit. They even provide a kind of scavenger hunt map for kids!! The house itself is very impressive, and we learned some fun things. (Did you know George Washington wanted to make the house out of stones, but it was too expensive, so he did it in wood planks, had them cut to look like stone blocks, and mixed the wet paint with sand to make it feel like stone?) The new museum and visitor's center were very impressive. The kids all loved the cool holographic head of George, who seemed to follow you around the room.
So playing tourist in our town is what works for me! For more works for me, visit Works for Me Wednesdays!

Swingin From the Trees

Doesn't this look so cool? They are hotel rooms suspended in trees. I think it looks awesome. Not only do you get the cozy treehouse feel, and the amazing views - but they are suspended, and so sway in the breeze! It is in Vancouver, Canada, and not that expensive. I would love to try it some time. The only downside is that the bathroom is in a separate building. But you know what, I'd deal. I need to find a reason to get to Vancouver and try this out!!


http://www.freespiritspheres.com/index.htm

Our Daily Bread

K is such a picky eater. We have tried everything. We have cooked together. She LOVES to cook, but won't eat what she has made. We have bribed and begged her to eat things. She does, but hates it. Now the kids at least follow the 3 bites rule (you must eat three bites of everything on your plate), but getting her to like new foods is a constant battle.

To try and find something we could work on together that she would like, I bought a bread machine. But I have yet to take it out of the box. Instead, I bought "Artisan Breads in 5 Minutes a Day". K loves bread. So on Monday night we made the basic dough. Then, the following night, we took some out of the fridge (the basic dough makes 4 loaves) and baked it. YUMMY!!! It was so delicious. K loved it - the whole family loved it! We ate the whole (small) loaf! And I am returning the bread machine!!

This book is genius. I can't wait to try more recipes!!! I highly recommend it.

Lose Yourself

Sometimes it is good to let go of who you think you are. I am an overweight, out-of-shape middle-aged woman. But I don't always have to act that way!

Last year I blogged about going to ski for the first time. At the time I had just turned 42 and weighed about 180. I wasn't in great shape, but I was doing pretty good. I was excited to try skiing. I took a class, and got a few good runs on some green (easy) slopes. I was feeling great. Then I took a wrong turn, ended up on a harder slope and totally freaked myself out. I just couldn't get past my fear. I went up a few more times, but was pretty much petrified.

This January we went on a skiing weekend with some friends again. Now I am 43, have gained about 25lbs from last year, and not in shape at all! We had a great weekend. But I only skiied one day, and was still somewhat scared. I had fun - but was VERY stiff. I pretty much locked my legs in position and was thrilled when I made it down the mountain in one piece. I paid for it with very achy legs. But the girls had made some progress in skiing and we didn't want to let it go.

So on Sunday we went to a local mountain to ski. DH had hurt his leg playing softball, and didn't ski. Some great friends offered to help me with the girls (one of which had never been on the ski lift, and we weren't sure how she could ski). We had a BLAST! And I got my skiing mojo back. I decided to pretend I was in shape and could ski just as good as anyone else out there. And I had fun. I still only went on easy trails, but was not petrified. We even went on a very easy blue (medium) trail. And I had a good time. I never fell down. I felt like I could actually do it! We are actually trying to see if we can fit one more day in skiing this season!

It felt like a bit of an epiphany for me. Just because I am a middle-aged, fat, out of shape woman, doesn't mean I have to act like it! If I believe in myself, I can achieve - and have FUN doing it!

Couldn't have had a nicer weekend!

I am still here

I am still here. Work has been INSANE, and I am feeling overwhelmed. But I am still here. We are all good. Hope to be back soon!