Father John Misty - Chateau Lobby #4

This week has been all about Father John Misty. His voice is so silky smooth, and his lyrics are both touching and funny. A few lines from this song from his latest album:

"I wanna take you in the kitchen
Lift up your wedding dress someone was probably murdered in
So bourgeoisie to keep waiting
Dating for twenty years just feels pretty civilian
I’ve never thought that
Ever thought that once in my whole life
You are my first time

People are boring
But you’re something else I can’t explain
You take my last name

First time you let me stay the night
Despite your own rules
You took off early to go cheat your way through film school
You left a note in your perfect script
Stay as long as you want
I haven’t left your bed since"

That wedding dress line cracks me up every time, but the overall song is so sweet. 

Love.

Enjoying Winter...

I love this one of me and a bundled-up Nathan on the lift

When you have six feet of snow in your yard, what should you do?  Head north and play in more snow!  

We spent a week in the Vermont mountains. Overall, we had a really nice time, despite the initial brutal cold and an accident on the second day that caused a serious knee injury for one of our friends. He will be having surgery this week as a result. That definitely put a damper on the trip, but he maintained an amazingly positive attitude about it all and refused to allow it to impact the rest of us. The conditions were wonderful, and it was nice to see the advantage of getting so much snow this winter. The kids are getting so good, too, which is really fun to watch.

I wonder how many years in a row I can take this same picture from the top

Now we're home and getting back into our routine. The winter is going to get old pretty quickly now that our ski trip is behind us, and I find I'm already dreading spring. Don't get me wrong - seeing my grass again will be nice, but I hate the cold and rainy days of March and April. I'm also going to be working a lot during the next couple months. 

I need to find some positives and focus on those to get me through. Plan some outings with friends, date nights, play-dates for the boys, make some music mixes and spend quality time with new albums, organize an area of the house...anything to help us muddle through the hardest part of the year. I'm grateful to birthday party invitations for the boys, and I'm reminded that Kevin's birthday and my own are both in those awful months, so at least that gives us an excuse to celebrate.

I should remind myself, though - It's not spring yet. A few more inches of snow coming tonight. Maybe we can fit in some more skiing...

Priorities...

I kept hitting snooze this morning, despite my intentions to get up early to exercise. Then I remembered that I would be shoveling quite a bit again today, and shoveling is pretty damn good exercise. You should see my shoulder definition right now.  

This has been a remarkable winter so far. I've lived in Boston for a long time now, and I'm fairly comfortable with snowstorms, but Mother Nature still has a way of surprising us. Three snowstorms in two weeks! Five missed days of school/work. And mountains of snow. Everywhere. 

It's really no wonder we spend so much of our lives talking about the weather. 

Amidst all the snow days, I've been trying to make sure we're hitting on all cylinders.  I know what my priorities are, and I work really hard to make sure I'm spending time on all of them. Often, I feel like I come up short, but I do have times when I feel pretty good about all of it. The key is to be intentional about it. If I feel like I'm in control over how I'm spending my time, then I have no one but myself to blame if I'm not spending it the right way. That sounds easier than it actually is of course, but you know what I mean.  

This:

My priorities this week?  

- The boys (always #1)

- Work (vacation next week, so work has to take a high spot in preparation)

- Shoveling (did I mention all the snow?)

- Yoga (targeting 3 times, to try to stretch out my tight neck and shoulders)

- Guitar (it's been too long since I picked it up)

- Finishing my book (Kevin's out of town, so this should be an easy one)

- Getting a couple friend gatherings on the calendar

- Vacation planning 

The Decemberists - Wrong Year

This week's music pick is the Decemberists.  I'm digging the new album, and this song isn't even close to my favorite.  Enjoy!

A Couple New Recipes...

Since going back to work, I've mostly relied on our dinner standards, in addition to going out to eat and getting take-out more often than I'd like. I recently decided to go through my giant stack of food magazines, and in doing so, I identified a couple new recipes to try. It was time.

This easy meatless manicotti was good. It's very similar to spinach lasagna. I was worried about how my boys would do with it, but they both loved it! I served with a wheat baguette, salad, and a bottle of red wine. It's a high-maintenance meal, so it's reserved for Sundays, but it makes enough for a leftovers night during the week too.

I had saved a recipe for shrimp curry with coconut rice, but then I couldn't find it or didn't have one needed ingredient. I looked online and decided on this one instead - Coconut-Curry Shrimp. I think the reason I've failed with curry dishes with the boys is that I've typically only included veggies. They are pretty good with veggies, but I thought perhaps I'd have better luck if I tried something different. And it worked!  They both LOVED this dish as much as I did. It was easy, too. I used cilantro instead of basil, because that's what I had, but I otherwise made it exactly as written and served with broccoli. Definitely a keeper!

A Few Things...

via Simple Lovely

Just wanted to share a few interesting reads...

What you learn in your 40s.  I loved this. I am absolutely loving my 40s so far.  Perspective is a beautiful thing.

The Definitive Guide to Healthy Eating.  Brilliant.  Exactly what I think whenever I read a new article about some particular food I'm eating that is supposedly going to ruin my life.

Sarah Silverman Gets Serious at Sundance.  I mostly loved reading this because I hate when people get pigeon-holed.  "People are not all one thing."  Amen.

Teenage Kicks.  My talented friend Lou writes about being a mom of a teen and reminds me of the phases still in front of us.

8 Reasons Why You Should Marry the Complicated Girl.  Here's to speaking your mind and being your own woman, and to the men who decide we're worth it.

Seth Avett and Jessica Lea Mayfield put together an album of Elliott Smith covers.  There is so much to love about that sentence.

The Mother 'Hood Official Video.  So funny and so true.  We all judge each other, even though we try (some of us harder than others) not to.  Ultimately, though, it is (or it certainly should be) all about the kids.

You're a Mom, You Know.  And this one sums it up. No matter what kind of mom we choose to be, we all get it, because we're Moms.

Escaping...

We did it!  Two other working mom friends managed to escape to the New Hampshire mountains last weekend. We left our husbands and kids behind, and we enjoyed the break and the company. It was freezing cold, but it was gorgeous. We skied, we ate good food, we marveled at the ease of getting ready without kids in tow, and we talked a lot about how hard it is to keep up with everything at home. I then came home mentally recharged and physically sore in the best way.  

Now I'm back at it. Work is pretty crazy at the moment, and it seems it will remain that way for the next few months. I find myself back in survival mode. I'm happy I have another break coming up, though - more time in the mountains, this time Vermont, and this time with the whole family and our best friends. We will ski, catch up, laugh, play, and relax at least a little. It's going to be great and I can't wait. 

In the meantime, I'm going to work on fighting this annoying little cold I seem to have brought home with me. I'm going to plan some meetings with friends who I haven't seen in a while.  I'm going to organize something in the house. I'm going to stare in awe at the amount of snow in our yard. And I'm going to continue to live in the moment, soaking up the little joys in every day.