I need a vacation!

Luckily, I have planned to go to Florida in two weeks to see my parents. My sister Jennifer is coming from Minneapolis and my sister-in-law Anna are going to be there with my niece and nephew! I am so excited. (This picture was taken on my last trip to Florida to see the family. Counter-clockwise from right to left is Simon, Jennifer, Mom, Grandma, and Dad.) I have not seen the kids since Christmas of 2007. The weather here is cold again, and a "wintry mix" is predicted for tomorrow. Sundays have a 4/5 chance for winter weather of some kind lately. Who decided that "wintry" is a word? How come weather people are the only people who use this new word. It's a stupid phrase that makes me angry when I see it.

I am now into my second trimester of pregnancy and feeling okay. I have more energy day to day, but have had more problems sleeping. Partly because I can actually feel myself growing in the middle of the night! It's weird. My organs definitely feel out of wack. Imagine how fun it was for me to shop for a swim suit for Florida today (sarcastic tone). Thankfully, I found one I can actually do some serious swimming in.

I have also have accomplished the large task of putting together my license application and submitting it to the board of deciders for the state. Now it's just a matter of waiting to find out about my license. I have been working towards it now since 2004.

That's it for my updates. February has been a long month here for many reasons. Spring, come soon!

V-Day Butter Bombs

I made some cupcakes for our small group this week. After I had already poured the cake mix package in a bowl and the eggs, I realized I only had about half of the oil I needed. So I melted some butter for the rest. Hence the name Butter Bomb. They were very tasty and almost like a cookie on top. Unfortunately, they fell apart before I could frost all of them. Here are some that I salvaged. I had been wanting to do something valentine-ish. My preference was for the little red hot hearts, but I couldn't find any and had to settle for conversation hearts.

Monday Blues

It's Sunday night and I have that same feeling I have had since I was five on these nights. I don't want to face the challenges of the week. I use to feel this way about school. Yes, even in the younger grades when the rest of you couldn't wait to behold the new day. I dreaded the school bus from the very first time I saw it. I remember watching it in middle school go around the block and then approach my house. Trailing it was the homework I forgot to complete, my social phobia, general feelings of incompetency and an intense desire to hide or escape from the overwhelming tide of anxiety. Unlike school, once I get to work, I'm fine. It's just the worry of the night before and my resistant drive in the morning that seem to never go away. I have always wanted to be a "can do" kind of person on Mondays (and mornings in general), but I never have been. I'm not sure if I should accept that this is how I will always feel or if I should try to change it. If I were to change it, what could I do? I don't know....