Wow. I can't believe I haven't written in here since 2009! So much exciting stuff has happened in the last few years–but I'll save that for my Christmas letter. (This year's letter, by the way, will be going out later this month. I made the decision early on that I was not going to stress myself out by trying to get it out before the holidays.)
Anyway, one of the benefits of having church at 3pm this year is TIME. Of course, the actual time available on Sundays doesn't change at all. It's simply the perception of having more time. Either way, it is a delight.
I have decided to use this time to update the blog and keep everyone informed of what's going on with The Remmers Family. For more up to the minute happenings–and lots more pictures–I highly recommend you friend me on Facebook. I post little tidbits there almost every day.
Anyway, our year started off on a great foot. On New Year's Eve we had our "second Christmas," where we got together with Dan's sister, her husband and his son, as well as Dan's dad and his wife. Lyn has been saying that she wants to open a crépe and hot chocolate food truck, so we decided to have a little trial run and offered an assortment of both savory and sweet toppings that people could use to build their own. As you may know, I have been on a raw food diet since June of 2010, so I used tomato slices for my base and topped them with dehydrated spinach and mushrooms, as well as a mock hollandaise sauce made from blended cashews. It was delish! (I'd post a picture if I could figure out how to get it from my phone onto the blog.)
We all got lots of delightful presents and had a great time hanging out.
That night Dan went to a New Year's Eve party hosted by some friends of ours. Of course, I was invited too, but we were unable to find a sitter (though we admittedly didn't try very hard–I'm not one for staying up late these days, plus I had been pretty sick the week previous), so I stayed home with the kids while he partied it up. He had a great time.
On Monday, we spend the day doing my favorite thing of the whole year–taking down Christmas decorations! I like putting them up, but I like taking them down even more and reclaiming my space. :) This year we have embarked on MISSION ZERO: One year to reducing our belongings down to as little as possible. It has always been a dream of mine to live with next to nothing. It will be fun to see how close I can come! LOL
On Sunday, John accidentally broke the knob on the stove, so Dan took it apart and tried to fix it. We were in need of a part, however, and obviously no stores were open on the holiday. That night I made some sesame zucchini in the electric skillet and served it with rice from the rice cooker.
On Monday, Dan tried to get the part, but the store was closed for the holiday, so we were still without a stove (or oven, since it's all one piece). I suppose I could have gotten creative for another meal (microwave, perhaps?), but we were all pretty tired from house cleaning, so we went to our favorite little Japanese place nearby. The kids filled their tummies with sushi, while Dan had tempura. I had a salad (of course) and a lovely vegetable combo roll that they made for me without rice.
On Tuesday, life started back up again. Dan went back to work, the kids went back to school, and life resumed as normal. I am continuing to see the doctor on a weekly basis due to my chronic hip problems. We have discovered the root of the problem is my misaligned left foot, of all things, most likely stemming from an injury I suffered in fourth grade!!!! Crazy. Anyway, we are currently playing the orthotics game--adjusting and readjusting until we get it just right. I have been through this before when we believed the same problem to be the cause of tendonitis in my left leg, and it's no fun. But I'd rather be going through this than some of the other health problems people have!
Also on Tuesday the kids have piano lessons. They are both doing well, though it seems Lyn is losing interest as her music gets harder and harder. What a surprise. ;)
Finally, I have started teaching a class at the local government center on the first Tuesday of the month. Unfortunately, since I had been sick and unable to prepare, I had to reschedule it for January 17. This month we are talking about New Year's Resolutions--how to make ones you will actually keep! If you know anyone locally who may want to attend, here is the link for more information and to register. The class is free, but we do prefer that people register so that we know how many chair to set up, materials to provide, etc.
Wednesday was Scout and Activity Night. It was John's last meeting as a Bear. He'll be moving up to Webolos after his birthday. Activity Night is the equivalent for girls 8-11. When Lyn turns 12 in July she'll move up to the teen program. Yikes!
Thursday was "Crazy Thursday." This happens every other Thursday when Lyn has ballet AND John has chess club. This week it was "Super Crazy Thursday," because in addition to those activities, I headed out to Poolesville, MD to attend an Indian Food raw food class. So we did the following dance: I picked the kids up at school, dropped both of them at ballet, John did his homework while Lyn danced, I headed to my class, meanwhile Dan left work early, picked up the kids, grabbed some dinner on the run (John at Chipotle and Lyn and Dan at Red Mei), dropped off John at chess club, brought Lyn home so she could do her homework and practice the piano, picked up John and brought him home to practice his piano. Whew! And we only have two kids!
My raw food class was, by the way, AMAZING. We had coconut curry soup, spinach saag, garam masala gobi, vegetable samosas with cucumber & mint raita, and banana crepes. The only problem was, I didn't get enough! I am definitely going to make these again–especially the gobi and the samosas. In fact, I'm going to make them this week! Yum!
On Friday, Dan took the day off work so that we could take the Subaru into the shop. The clutch was slipping so badly it was really hard (and possibly dangerous) to drive. It was supposed to be a quick trip, but ended up taking over TWO HOURS to get home. In addition to construction, which had narrowed down the lanes, there had been a fairly bad accident. We got home so late, I felt the day had kind of been shot, but I did manage to get a little work in (writing my 1st quarter business plan) before the kids came home.
On Friday after school I took Lyn to get her hair cut–not short, just shoulder length. It was just getting unmanageable. We also ran a couple of errands then headed home to make dinner. Oh, yes, Dan fixed the stove on Tuesday after I had gotten the parts during the day, so that's all taken care of.
Saturday morning I attended a women's class at church. They are starting a series of enrichment classes every other Saturday, and I was asked to help contribute to one on "Work/Life Balance." We were small in number, but I think everyone left with something usable and were glad they had come. I had a chance to talk to two women who have committed to coming to my class on the 17th and are interested in possibly being a part of my business–so that's fantastic.
After that, I took Lyn to get a birthday present for her friend, and then Dan took the car to a Sweeney Todd meeting at LTA. He agreed to design the set, but not to build, since hopefully I will be in the cast. He is reluctant to tell anyone that's the reason he's not building, though, on the off chance that they don't cast me because they'd rather have him. LOL!
In the evening, I dropped Lyn off at a birthday party, swung by a store to look at some rings (my wedding rings are now too big, but I don't want to get them resized until I am done losing weight), and then picked up a friend of John's for a playdate. They had fun playing on the Wii, while Lyn had fun at the slumber party.
And that was our week! Pretty busy, but we wouldn't have it any other way.
Hope you are doing well and your 2012 is off to a great start!
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