Crazy weather; date-night; weight loss progress.

Hi y'all.

So it's 58 degrees (Fahrenheit) here today! To put that into perspective, our average high this time of year is around 23 degrees (Fahrenheit). We have thunderstorms and rain fore casted, and Theo drove into a black sky and heavy downpour on his way to work this morning. I feel like spring is here, like I should be out looking for bulbs poking up through the snow, which by the way, is rapidly melting, and should be gone by the end of the day. Instead, we're back to snow by Thursday. And three more months of cold weather is still looming. I don't mind, I like the cold quite a bit. These little bouts of warmth are nice for the plants, I'll be lugging the large houseplants onto the back porch in hour or two, once the temperature is safe. The plants will get a bath, and some fresh air. Plus, we'll open up some windows this afternoon and circulate some fresh air inside, too. When you're used to the temps being in the upper 20's, 58 feels downright tropical!

I'm sure many of you heard about the 40 car pile up caused by fog and speeding on I-90 near Madison. Theo and I were home all day yesterday, but that pile up was on Theo's normal route to work.

So, we had a nice weekend here.

Saturday I went to the local antique mall and walked around in a daze for 2 hours. I had a $35 budget, and I found some small insignificant painting with colors I could not resist. One is a church in a lush valley, and the other is a vintage paint by number scene of a little boy and his dog lakeside. Both paintings were just on the canvas, not framed; they both had intense olive green and gold colors that are warming up our bedroom walls already. I also picked up a encyclopedic-type print of some pheasants in a frame, and this print is also in our bedroom now. I also found a wooden chicken pull- toy priced at $1.60 for my kitchen. I was so excited to find this chicken, it reminded of a women who decorated her kids' bathroom with vintage wooden pull toys. My chicken is in my kitchen now. I found a birch lined basket for $3. I picked up an enamel pot for gardening for $1. Then, at the antique mall across the street I found a pillow made of a vintage fabric, a print of deer in the woods. I was so pleased with my finds. I love these little tiny treasure hunts; Theo and I dream of a log cabin or woodland styled home some day, and each day I take a step closer to filling our imaginary home with treasures.

On Saturday evening Joey's mom Julie watched the kids for 6 hours (!) while we went out on a rare date! We used an Applebee's gift card we received for Christmas. We ate slow, and savored the quiet company and calm, not to mention the food. We then toured some stores learning about HDTVs & laptops (our tax return this year is going to an upgrade of both items in our home, and you can't very well learn from sales people when kids are screaming and demanding in the stroller beside you). We also went into a furniture store (we could use a number of different items ranging from end tables, a coffee table, a dresser for Theo, bunk beds for the boys, and a bed for us). We drove through Starbuck's (a rare treat b/c Theo believes they do not support the military, but he knows how much I love Gingerbread Lattes), and walked around Gander Mountain so Theo could show me the turkey gun he wants to get this spring.
Finally, we went to the mall and picked out a few chocolates from Fannie May with a $5 gift card we received for Christmas. We explored Sear's technology department, found some spring bulbs on clearance, and we roamed and tried on glasses in Lens Crafters (we both need new frames soon). We were so relaxed. We held hands nearly the whole night. Just that one night, and I feel so much closer to Theo. I can't thank Julie enough.

On Sunday we slept late (6:45 or so), stayed in our jammies, and lounged around. Theo and the boys napped in the late morning, and I rearranged our bedroom. I did some dusting, and editing. I'm not all the way done, there is a pile of stuff on my desk waiting to be sorted. In the evening we decided to try and get most of the toys into the playroom, while also moving out the toys the boys have outgrown (peek-a-blocks, ring stackers, etc.) So far, all the toys are in a mountain of a pile in the playroom, awaiting my instructions.

In the afternoon I started feeling the symptoms of the cold I've been fighting coming back. I went to bed pretty early, and woke up sick again. This morning, I'm dragging butt, sipping coffee, and trying to not use an entire box of tissues. Fortunately, the boys are not sick, and they seem to be having a pretty good day.

I was so pleased to see that I have lost another bit of weight bringing my total weight loss since December 12th to 10 lbs! So exciting, and it feels so good to lose weight through the holidays & despite eating in a restaurant, and eating chocolates! A number of you have shared the news that you're on missions to lose weight as well. I hope you all had great success the first week of the year.

Happiness to you all.