Love/Hate Relationship

It is SPRING which means that SUMMER is quickly approaching, and when you live in Phoenix SUMMER comes with a definite love/hate relationship. It is always this time of year that....

I LOVE cleaning and fixing up our house,

I HATE the money it takes to do these things,

I LOVE having all of the doors and windows open,

I HATE all of the dust and pollen that blows in with the fresh air,

I LOVE the warmth of the sun,

I HATE having to sleep in a room that can't get any cooler than 85 degrees because our thermostat is on the North side of our house,

I LOVE my husband for buying me an air conditioner for our room so that I won't have to go through that again this year,

I HATE how big the air conditioner is and that I can't close my blinds all the way,

I LOVE going out and buying new bathing suits and good books to read,

I HATE having to face the few extra pounds I have put on since last summer.

Definitely the good outweighs the bad and I am looking to a fun filled summer with my kids. This will be the 1st year that we are NOT enrolling them in a summer program. It will be up to me to keep them busy!

Fun in the Snow

Well, it has been a LONG time and since I last posted we have been very busy! Life is good and somewhere amongst all of the stuff we have to do, we found time to play in the snow!!!! There did not turn out to be as much snow as we had hoped, but it was enough for Collin to try some pseudo snowboarding (and he was good), also for us to enjoy a nice fire all weekend long, and most importantly it was enough for Chad and Ryan to get our trucks stuck.

Lately, we have been busy with soccer, work, school, and more soccer. The weather this time of the year in Phoenix ROCKS and we are taking full advantage of it. My mom and I have been eating lunch outside every chance we get.

We also celebrated my 33rd birthday last Saturday! We went to the melting pot with 3 other couples and had a blast. It was nice to see everyone let loose -- including me =).

More to come soon.....

Inspiration

It is funny how even the smallest things can inspire us. Recently for me it was the movie Julie and Julia. The first time I saw this movie I blogged about, and I recently re watched it at home and once again felt inspired both to blog and to cook! Mainly to cook. I thought about what an interesting challenge it would be to pick a cookbook and cook my way through it, so that is exactly what I plan to do.

My mom, Jenn, and I all went to Barnes and Noble today and picked out new cookbooks. Jenn has agreed to partake in this challenge with me (FUN). We both picked cookbooks with approx. 115 recipes and will make our way through them within one year starting January 1st. My mom lives by herself and didn't want to make that big of a commitment, but she picked out a cookbook and has agreed to try one new recipe from hers every week for the next year. I am both excited and nervous. It all could turn out to be a big disaster, but I am hoping I will be a better cook for it. I am sure there will be many stories (and hopefully great recipes) to come.

Let the cooking begin....