TICK TOCK

Just quickly touching base.

I had another successful day. I did not, and I will not, weigh daily. I'm not sure when I will weigh. I don't like getting hung up on the numbers. I go by how I feel and how my clothes fit. The only new clothes I want to buy are smaller. :-)

Speaking of.....I THINK clothes have been resized. In the past few months, I have actually gone down a size in a certain brand of shorts. However, my size is the biggest I've ever been. Is society making it OK to be big? Even so, I don't like how I look and feel....that is my goal....to change all that.

I got to eat a LOT of food yesterday, compared to the 3 days prior. My favorite? MEAT!!!! OMG! I missed meat. And, bread. It was great to be able to eat a small sprinkling of cheese with my eggs yesterday. This morning, my first meal was 4 slices of turkey bacon on whole wheat toast with 2 sliced tomatoes (that I grew myself). PRETTY DARN TASTY!

I did the exercise video. Yep....old, and out of shape, I am. But, I hope to change that. Two of my boys were quite helpful. One, exercised beside me. The other was pointing out improvements I needed to make. "Mom, you need to go up on your toes more." Truly, it was helpful. The one, before exercising with me, made sure that I wouldn't feel bad or be intimidated. LOL! Sweet boy. Those who know my kids probably know who that was.

So....just wanted to check in and say that I'm still ticking.

I am down to my last 4 weeks before in-service. So sad.....not gonna lie. There is still so much that needs to be done around the house in order to feel good about leaving my house for the next 10 months. I'm working on that.

In other news, because it has been a coon's age since I've been on here:

We did not take a month long vacation this summer. Why? We put in a pool and a pavilion. It is SO nice. We love it! I may post pics later, but......ugh....the computer situation has been crazy.

We currently have 4 laptops. Two of the computers have crashed a few times and we have had them repaired. So, a lot of my pics are on different devices. I simply cannot wrap my head around all that.

We are still big in JBQ, only I have 2, instead of 4, in it. My 3rd son, this will be his last year. We just got back from Nationals in Chicago. He was a BEAST! He quizzed out (forward) 16 out of 25 rounds. That is crazy good. I am kind of a behind the scenes coordinator at our church. (I haven't been officially named coordinator, but things I do need to be done and I'm the only one who does them.)  I am also co-coordinator for our Area, which means I help with the meets and have some 30-ish teams. It's fun. It's work. It's stressful....especially with DH still flying and teaching.

My oldest son will be getting his license in a few weeks. We've been teaching him. I'm ready for another driver in the family. He will be a junior. His brothers? Freshman, 6th grade, 5th grade.

My hubby is still flying. He's still my hunka-hunka!

We now host a middle school youth group for our church. We sure enjoy those kids. This year, a lot of them will be students I actually taught.

Alright. Until....tomorrow? Maybe

Peace out!

ACCOUNTABILITY

I have a lot of curse words right now. I had a post, last night.....a LONG post.....but, due to some technical difficulties (namely a problem with Blogger) it did not post.

*GRRRR!!!!*

This won't be near as long, because now? I'm just ticked!

Basically, here's what we have going on. I am on a new weight-loss journey life-style change.

Why? and Why now? Well....I'm getting older. I don't want to be old and fat, simply put. I'm not doing a great job setting examples for my kids. It makes me very.....sad.....to feel so hypocritical. So, here I go.

The reason I am letting you in on it is because I have a pride issue. If you know I'm doing this, then I'M GOING TO DO IT! The whole family will be involved, somehow.

"So, what are you doing?"

I'm glad you asked!

I'm doing the 21 day Fix with 3 day kickstart by Beachbody. I have a friend who recently did this challenge. I have another friend from high school, who is a coach. I listed her as my coach, spent my cash, and now? I'm working toward a better and happier me. It really does not have to do with vanity and my looks. I've popped out 4 babies. There are going to be some things on me that are....um.....shall we say....in a different place than they were originally.

My issue is I love food. I love to cook. I'm kind of a foodie. These are all OK....depending on the choices made. Sadly, I have made some unwise choices in the past.

"But, ~LL~! Why not do one of the other programs out there? The ones your friends do?"

Well, let me tell ya. I've tried a lot of them....with varying degrees of success. Let's do a run-down, shall we?

Good ol' calorie and fat counting: I was good at this. It was successful. It was....*whispers* 60 pounds ago. I loved the numbers. I weighed everything. I read labels. I learned what foods held what nutrients. I could look at a plate, and tell you how many calories (and fat calories) were on that plate. If you wanted to lose weight, I could tell you how many calories and fat calories you needed. Why did I stop? Lazy? Immature? Bored? Busy? Maybe a bit of all

Medifast: Successful. Food? Gross. I was ok for about 10 pounds. But, honestly? The food got to me. After awhile, I could no longer handle the cup of doped up fortified soups and powdered eggs.

HCG: Successful. But, BORING! I did get tired of eating 1 melba toast with a bunch of lettuce and some tomatoes. Having a semi-regular dinner was just not enough. The big reason, though, was that I was putting hormones into my body. I don't like that.

Plexus: Yep.....successful....somewhat. It got to where it wasn't working for me. The BioCleanse? Yea....it's cleans like I do. Have you seen my house? I did like the pink drink. It helped me sleep. Honestly, exhaustion will take care of things and I will eventually sleep.

ItWorks: Kind of successful. I didn't lose weight, but I LOVE the Greens. First, I KNOW what's in there. Second, the wraps. I do like them. But, the pills? I'm not keen on taking pills, I'm not gonna lie. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm NOT granola. I would rather chop down a tree to read a book, than to hug it. But, when it comes to fake junk getting pumped into my body....I'm not a fan. (Please, spare me to sermon on *You drink sodas! That's crap!* Yes....I KNOW!!! I'M WORKING ON IT!!!)

Thrive: this is a touchy subject as I have a lot of friends doing it. I have even lost a friend because of it. But, let's not open up THAT wound.  It was not successful, but it was not a failure. I mean, I lost nothing. Did I feel energy? Yep....the first day. And I gotta say, it was concerning. I mean, I would start my day with tea and have a soda mid-day. On the first day, I didn't have either, but with 2 little pills and the patch......HOLY SMOKES! I couldn't run fast enough. Talk fast enough. I was wound tighter than an 8-day clock.  Yes...I DID give it my time. A full month and $150. It is not worth it for me. Besides, I do not know (to this day) what all is in the patch or the pills. That's an issue. Yes....I'm.....chunky, but I do try to eat REAL foods. I just eat too much of it, and it's not all considered *clean*.

Which brings me to the 21 day fix. They send these boxes (fancy, colored, square measuring cups) to *retrain* you in portion control. From what I'm seeing, there will be a LOT of food I can eat. It's all whole foods. Clean foods. I can, if I choose, have a Shakeology shake once a day, but I don't have to. I'm not popping pills. I'm not wearing a patch. It's just.....real. And life. Once I'm done, I can maintain without spending money (or selling it in order to have my products for free.)

The horrible thing about this? The 3 day kickstart. HO!LY!SMOKES! It was awful. Very low cal, 3 shakes a day, very little food, and a fiber sweep. Yep, it was as bad as it sounds. No....I didn't live in the bathroom. But, the drink? Well...you know how okra gets slimy? Imagine a drink of gritty, lightly citrus-y, okra juice. I did cheat on day one. My headache (remember the tea and soda?) was SO bad, and I was SO hungry, that I ate 1/2 banana, took 4 Tylenol, and drank 1/2 cup milk....then went to bed with an ice pack. My poor kids. But, they have been troopers.

I am happy to say, that this morning, I am down 4.4 pounds.

Now, I will not be posting before/after pics. I'm not looking for kudos. I will not be telling you how much I weigh. I will say that I would like to lose 35-50 pounds.

That being said: I've got lunch to prepare. Any encouragement and prayers are welcome. Please, if you do know me, and care to comment, I ask you to NOT put identifying information in your comments. 

2014 PART 2

OK.....so the blog I just finished talked about my difficulties in successfully completing my projects. I don't feel badly.....necessarily. Perhaps if I did a "20/20 Blog" where I looked at all I DID do....

Maybe next year. 

SO, this year, I wanted to get the family involved in the projects we intend to take on. I told them all to consider physical, spiritual, family, and individual. I also just asked for 3 goals from each of my boys. 

I will let you know what they are.

First, I will say that all the boys said they want to read through the New Testament this year. So, I printed up a reading schedule. I also will get you-version app on their iPods so they can listen to it. As reading through the Bible is one of my goals, I will read the NT portion of my reading, with my youngest. I know that it could be a bit overwhelming for an 8 year old. 

OK....here we go. (For the record, the littles followed the bigs in their goals...which is OK.)

DS 1: Save up more money, be nicer to the brothers, read through the NT.

DS 2: Save up more money, act nicer toward the family, read through the NT.

DS 3:  Save $120, act nicer to his brothers, read through the NT, get his 20, 30 and Master Seals in JBQ, and something that is written in code :-) 

DS 4: Be nicer to family, save some money, read through the NT, get a JBQ seal, and focus on what he is doing

Let me break here for just a second. First off....those who know my #4, know the value of this statement: "focus on what he is doing." I did not give him this idea. At first, I thought it was just a cute little 8 year old thing. But, then...it kind of hit me how astounding that statement is. How many times do you just get through stuff? I, myself, have often said (especially in the last 4 months) that I am *just surviving.*

GOD, FORGIVE ME!!!!

That is not my job! I am to focus on what I am doing, and more importantly, who I am with at the time. 

So, now? That is one of my goals, too! 

Some of my goals are: Read through the Bible, exercise regularly, limit sodas to only when eating out, schedule my housekeeping duties, read more.....those were the ones I wrote down. But, let me take a few moments to add more. 

• call my grandmother regularly
• more walks with my kids
• 1-on-1 dates with my boys (even the hubby) quarterly
• make *some* Christmas cards
• clean out my corner of the garage and donate, toss, or use my teaching stuff
• start riding my bike with my boys
• wake up to a clean kitchen.....daily
• limit eating out to 14% of the time.....that's 3 out of 21 meals (yes....I did the calculation, LOL!)
• schedule my boys to be more active in helping around the house....not just their rooms
• blog more.....maybe once a month? Surely, once a month!
• earn my 101 Club in JBQ
• reprint the boys' chore/responsibility charts
• RELAX!!!

When I say "relax," I don't mean to rest and not do anything. I mean, to just chill.....not be so uptight. If I learn to relax, it will help me to meet another goal to focus on what I am doing. I am usually wound tighter than an 8-day clock. Because of that, I might be on step 5, but focused on 9 and 10. Not. Good.

That seems like a lot now...especially with teaching. 

Speaking of teaching....I am finally at a peaceful place. So much has to do with getting my body clock adjusted to falling asleep earlier and waking earlier than normal. And, of course, it depends on hubby's schedule and my cycle. (TMI, I know....but it is life changing to know that how you handle things depends on the time of month. LOL) 

Well....thanks for reading. I hope I see you again soon....at least by February. :-)

EPIC......FAIL?

If you have read here at all, you have probably noted my feelings on resolutions.....I don't like them. They have negative connotations. However, considering this season of life, I do need to make new goals. I did talk to my kids about it, too. We have made goals for various facets of our lives: spiritual, physical, personal, and goals in dealing with our relationships. Some of the goals, I have FOR my kids.

The reason this is going to be so hard is because of my 2nd job. Holding down 2 full-time jobs is very hard. Holding down 2 full-time jobs while your hubs is out 18 day a month is pert-near impossible....but ONLY *pert-near.* It is NOT impossible. :-)

That being said, let us review last year's list. The copied and pasted list is in yellow. My notes on how I did is in another color. :-) If I remember, I will highlight what I actually accomplished. 

PROJECT WISH LIST

(THESE ARE LISTED IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)

I will send a gift (of my choosing) to a friend, once a month. (Not the same friend....different friends.) 

*I started this. But, sadly stopped. The reason is stupid, really. But out of the 4 or 5 that I sent, only 2....TWO let me know they received it or said, "Thank you." I wasn't looking for kudos. However, I would like to know that it made it to its destination.

I will call my grandmother once a month. (Don't judge.)

*Not quite :-(

I will clean out my FTU at least every other week. (We're talking vacuuming, wiping down, emptying the buffet line in the back.....again....don't judge.)

*I actually did pretty well at this. And, then? I GOT A TRUCK! Thanks, Honey!

WE (dragging in DH) will get the garage cleaned out. (That, right there, could be my entire list....and I would feel accomplished by doing it.)

*My hubby did a great job!

I will donate my teacher stuff to some teacher friends. (I can't begin to tell you the number of brand new wooden pencils I just came across.....not to mention, the books! And colored paper. And chalk....well....who uses chalk anymore, but still...you get the idea.)

*OK....this is a tough one. I did donate.... A LOT! There was a student-teacher who needed some stuff for her first classroom. So, she got about 2-3 boxes of books. THEN, I went back to the classroom. Thinking I could use a lot of my things. Well, when my youngest child saw the chalk, he asked if I let my former students go draw on the sidewalk.....(insert eye roll here)...."No, son. We actually used chalkboards, back in the day." 

I still have a lot to go through. There is a lot to throw away, whether it be completely out-dated, or nasty (from sitting out in the garage for eight....YES EIGHT....years!

I will start going on weekl.....no.....month.....no.....I will take the kids on a walk a few times, over the next year.

I will take each son on a 1-on-1 date, quarterly.

*Sadly, no. 

I will go to the dentist.....well...I will at least take my kids.

*um....nope.....and I don't feel guilty

I will have my family on a gluten-free lifestyle

*I do not know about this enough to support, OR to call BS. So, I just leave it to whomever feels the need. I am reading in support of wheat and in support of no wheat. I know some people can't handle it....I also know that my family has no issues with it. That being said, I trust that God will let me know if, and when, I need to make this change. 

I will have my family mostly organic.

*um....no. No excuses. I do what I can, when I can. I am not 100% organic, but I do try to get a few key things organic.

I will paint my hall.....as soon as DH has recovered from his surgery....because....I. Don't paint. 

*maybe this year

I will make my Christmas cards....much to my DH's chagrin. 

*This is a point of sadness for me. I did NOT get my cards going. I took on another full-time job. Alas, I have not had opportunity to make my cards. :-( I HOPE to next year....perhaps if I start....um....next week?

I will complete the Christmas crafts that I bought stuff for....last year.....no, wait.....in 2011. 

*I'm putting this as a success! I did make a craft! It might be the last one. It was cute. I enjoyed it. But, being that I didn't get so many other things done....well, I would rather work on my cards, than crafts.

I will host a full luncheon, at the school, for 2nd grade teachers, 3rd grade teachers, and 6th grade teachers. 

I will help my hubby take the boys camping.....(I will make sure the first aid kit is well-stocked and that they have a new can of mosquito repellant.) 

*hahahahahahahaha!

I will conquer the closet(s).

All of them. 

*OK....so part is highlighted because I only got part done. Hubby and I are working on our closet, AGAIN. I have worked on the other closets, but they are always in a state of process.

*sigh*

I will re-task the night stand (that is ugly), and relocate it (to the garage, or fireplace) and move the other, PRETTY night stand out from under the printer and put it by me....in it's proper station. 

*nope

I will learn to crochet. 

*um.....LOL


I will do, at least 3 loads of laundry, every 2 days.....perpetually. *sigh*

*tricky....because I am always doing laundry....I don't know how many or how often....but it, too, is always in process. Some days, just see piles sitting around. Some days see a marathon folding/hanging/putting away session. 

I will blog at least once, hopefully twice, a week. 

*obviously

I will read with my children, The Chronicles of Narnia. (I just love that series.)

*Well, we made it through the first book. I read it to my kids. My older 2, decided I read too slowly, so they finished the series. Then, my 3rd decided to read through the series on his own. THEN, I went to work.....SO....it IS being read, just not by me.

I will earn my Master Seal in JBQ.

*wootWOOT!!!

I will earn my 101 Award in JBQ.

*hopefully this year

I will try at least 1 new recipe a week.

*I didn't do this once a week. I HAVE tried several new recipes. I love to read cookbooks and magazines. I read them and get ideas of what to throw together...so...um...kind of.

I (we) will eat out less.

*Here is a problem. I think we started eating out less. THEN, I went back into the classroom. Anyone who teaches, or who is married to a teacher, knows that it is more than 40 hours per week. SO....I have a *beyond full-time job* with a *gone a whole lot* hubby and 4 kids who all have home homework, and lessons, and stuff, and I have lessons, and plans, and grading, and stuff.....yeah.....we eat out 3-5 times per week. :-(

I will *sniff* try to cut back on CFAST.

*see above*

maybe

I will reprint the boys' chore charts.

*I did, but I need to do it again to adjust for their ages that they NEED to be treated, and my work.

I will sort through ALL the boys' clothes, and get some things sorted, tossed, or donated. 

I will have a garden.

*We went to Montana for a month. So, didn't happen. It won't happen this year, either, as we are going to Florida for a month.

I will certify my 2 oldest boys in first aid and CPR. 

*nuh-uh

(Maybe there is more....)

OK.....my reading list (I hope)

*I don't even want to get into the embarrassment I feel on this. I usually read about 30-40 books a year. This past year....MAYBE five. I really don't know. I know that the books I read were not on this list. I will * the ones I either started, and or finished (in 2013).

The Bible (always) **
Wheat Belly **
The Chronicles of Narnia (again) **
The Other Queen
The Red Queen
The White Queen 
The Constant Princess
The Queen's Fool
The Other Queen
Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths
The Hobbit (again) **
The Annals of the World **
Wicked
To Kill a Mockingbird (again) **
Dracula
Little Women (again) **
Pride and Prejudice (again)
Decision Points **
Nicholas Nickleby
Bleak House
Anna Karenina

and, that is all.....for now.

SO.....Here's the deal. I will post another blog to talk about my goals for this year. I will probably do it list style and just talk about things I want to accomplish. It might be a one-time thing. It might be ongoing. We shall see....

Please come back.

IN FULL SWING

Yeah....I'm in full swing of several things. But, the things that are the bigger things are: Christmas (as usual), school, and JBQ.

I do not know how I am managing. I just.....manage.

A lot of things are going undone. A lot of Christmas things are going undone....

......disappointing, to say the least.

I *was* going to make cards....I will be lucky to buy and address them all.

I have several craft projects to do. I will be working on those soon. I will also take a day, or 2, to do my baking. I will be absolutely disappointed if I do not get my baking and candy making done. Happily, hubby has already secured tickets for "The Nutcracker" and TSO.

I bought a new Christmas tree. Last year, I had a few sections of lights go completely out. I restrung, I think, 4 sections. Aggravating, to say the least. Well, we pulled it out, plugged it in, and there were at least 4 other sections not lit. GRRRR!  SO, my hubby went on his yearly trek to the Lobby, and helped me choose....well, helped me carry....ok....he did all the lifting of....my new tree. :-)

I have one of my fall boxes out. I need to find the other boxes (up in the attic).....so I will wait until hubs can climb up and get them.

I know....I know....I am late getting my fall tree up, but it will be completely up and decorated by Wednesday. *sigh* I wish I could say "by tomorrow," but I'm SO SO tired....and behind. It is in the *fluff* stage, right now. 

School....

well...it's going...I love it....the teaching, anyway. It's just the schedule that is a problem. So, we won't get into it right now. I just have to trust that, for this year anyway, I am doing what I'm supposed to do. Should that change, I trust that God will inform me AND my husband.

JBQ....again. It's going. I am not QUITE as busy with it....for a few reasons. One is that school is keeping me so stinking busy. The other reason is that I only have 2 in JBQ. But, DS#3 wants to achieve the same thing his older brothers achieved....a year earlier. Which means that (if we make this happen) I have a year to get several hundred hours of studying done.

Yeah....that's no problem, because.....yeah.

I have my formal evaluation coming up. I'm a bit nervous. It has been YEARS since I have been through it. *sigh* This, too, shall pass.

Well, I need to watch "Elf!" WOOT!

KEEPING UP

OK....forget keeping up with the Joneses. I just have to keep up.....

It has been awhile....a LONG while since I have blogged. And, as my FB is about to be deactivated (another story for another day), I have promised that I would keep up, or at least TRY to keep up with this. 

I have nothing great to say tonight. I just want to give the 4-1-1 on what is going on in my house.

I went back to teaching. 

Many prayers. A few interviews. Lots of frustrations and *not* understanding. Finally resignation that I was NOT going to get a job.....and I got one. 

I am teaching 4th grade reading and social studies, and am about to pick up a science period. 

It's all good. 

They are old enough to not snot you. They USUALLY make it out of the room before they throw up. AND, I don't have to tie their shoes. On the other hand....they still cry, in some cases. 

So THAT takes all my time. 

ALL. MY. TIME. 

Oh, did I tell you I got hired the Thursday BEFORE the Monday school started? 

Yeeeeeah.

And, did you further know that schools no longer use chalk?

Or that 7th grade math materials are useless....USELESS in a 4th grade reading classroom?

OR that there are nifty projectors connected to the laptop, so you don't have to use overheads and vis-a-vis? 

Nope......

Did you know that to replace all that, it costs approximately $600? JUST for the minimum. That was just the first week. I have probably spent another $200-$400.

Oh....I have a Christmas tree in my classroom. Truth, folks!  It is a pre-lit gold Christmas tree right next to my bookshelves and 3 bean bags....it is my reading corner, and it is FABULOUS!!!

I am a bit dismayed because we are 98 days (and a few hours) from Christmas and I have not started any crafts, no cards....NADA!

I HAVE, however, picked a day for my pumpkin carving party and field day.

SO....in a nutshell.....that is it. I will not bore you with my schedule. Nor will I beat myself up over the fact that report cards are due Thursday at 4, I am not done, yet I sit and type. 

I know......

I'm sad.


Please leave me a comment. I miss knowing that people read.

THIS-N-THAT

Somehow, my views bumped over 100,000. I missed it....but am stoked. I mean SOMEbody is still looking. I don't know if they are looking for me, per se. Or, even reading, but they end up on my page somehow, and for a few moments, anyway. Cool, huh?

So, I'm a bit calmer than I was during the last post, for a couple of reasons.

I am doing better, because I am home. It may seem odd, considering what I am about to say, but still....it is good to be home. Not necessarily in Texas. (Though Texas is STILL awesome!) My kids were growing more and more out of sorts, as they were having to deal with high heat (high for Montana) without air conditioning. And, some of the promised activities didn't pan out, due to various circumstances. 

Then, there was the whole cooking issue. I mean...I LOVE to cook and bake. I really do. However, the conditions I found myself in were less than ideal. It was......functional......for someone with lacking skills and desire to put out anything more than a Stouffer Lasagna or a few cans of chicken noodle soup. 

I was missing SO MUCH. The biggest pot I had access to was a 6 quart....and only 1 of those. There were no baking pans. Only 1 rubber spatula....a cheap one that doesn't really scrape. And, the seasonings....well, there was salt and pepper and a few seasonings (garlic powder and Italian seasoning) with a date stamped before Gabriel was born. Yeah....I had to make a few of my own purchases, and make smaller batches of my homemade soups. And the oven....holy smokes! There was a hot spot.....a HOT hot spot in the back left corner....a few sacrificed biscuits taught me to keep everything crammed to the right. 

Oh well, it made me appreciate my ability, as I was able to adapt and still turn out some good grub.

(On a side note, and speaking of grub, I made my own sushi today. Pretty cool, if you ask me. I have wanted to do it for awhile, and considering our Alaska fishing trip that is coming up, well.....now I can make sushi using FRESH salmon. It's gonna be awesome.)

OK....so, the fall apart of a few weeks ago. It's because we looked at a house. As in.....*if we like it, we will put in an offer.

DID YOU HEAR ME? 

I go to Montana on vacation, and look at a house......TO BUY!

*just. breathe.

So, yeah....I OK'd the whole "we should look at it, because it sounds perfect," then subsequently had a meltdown; complete with snot, tears, and blubbering idiocy.  The talk was that if we liked the place, and made an offer, we would come back to Texas, pack up, and be back in Montana by the time school started. 

Yeah......about 7 weeks.

Unfortunately, or fortunately.....not sure which.....the house was NOT what we wanted/needed. 

Now, let me throw this out. Talk of moving to Montana is not new....nor is it undesired. We (my hubby and I) have talked bout it for almost 20 years. We have always stated a desire to move to Montana, but in my mind, it wasn't really feasible. Kind of like, "Oh, yeah. Someday, I would like to win the Mrs. America pageant."

*stop laughing*

My point is, it was a desire, but as I didn't really think it was possible - it hasn't been actively pursued or thought about.

Until about a year ago. Without going into detail, it has since come up that maybe....just maybe, we could make it work. Then, we went for vacation. We LOVE it. Seriously. The kids love it. It has things that Texas could use....cooler summers and support of guns. (I know Texas supports conceal and carry, but in Montana, you only need a license to conceal.....but you can openly carry without a license. Awesome....but I digress.)

So, being up there, and loving the area, made us really sit and look at things. And, it seems likely that we will be moving to Montana. We reached this realization about 2 days before we looked at the house. And, while I am excited about it, I need more than 7 weeks to transition. Of course, we have to pray about it. We won't move for the sake of moving. We need to make sure that it is of God. Fortunately, my husband is in a career that allows us to live almost anywhere (in the country) we want. And, right now, it seems we *want* to live in Montana.

When will we go? 

Who knows?

Next summer?

Three years?

When 1, 2, 3, or all 4 kids have graduated?

We won't know until we know. 

Then you will know.

Meanwhile, I am enjoying my trips to The Lobby and Chipotle whilst sipping my CFAST. Gotta enjoy those things, 'cause once we move.....they are gone.

I wonder if Chipotle will overnight me a barbacoa burrito bowl?