House Hunting and More Winter

Hubby and I have began the task of house hunting.  We moved to Northwest Arkansas a year and a half ago.  We have been living in an apartment since we have been here, but now have decided it's time to buy a house.  It is something that has turned out to be harder and more time consuming than I thought.  We have just started and I can't even count how many hours have been spent surfing the internet and driving around just to get the feel of the neighborhoods we would be interested in living in.

Now, there just seems to be so much left to do.  We have to contact a real estate agent and schedule some showings.  We have found several that we like the outside of and from what we can tell from pictures, the inside seems nice.  But, I understand how things can be different once you get inside and walk around.  I can tell this is going to take quite some time and have to just be patient with it.  I am trying not to get my hopes up on any particular house and just take my time and enjoy the process and really figure out what house we want to make a home.

If the weather forecast hold up, we may have more time this week to get serious with our house hunt.  They are predicting another winter storm to move through this week so there is no telling what is in store for us.  I hope we don't miss too many more days of school.  There have been predictions from 2-10" of snow/sleet/freezing rain.  Tuesday is hubby's birthday so he may have the day off.

What a Tease!

Mother Nature can be down right mean sometimes.  I have two issues with her this week. January has been a brute of a month weatherwise.  We have been cloudy, cold, and have also had our fair share of winter weather.  I know it's really nothing compared to what lots of places have to endure, but for crying out loud we are in Arkansas.  It's the south, we are below the Mason Dixon Line, and the drearyness is starting to get to me.  But, starting today we are actually seeing a warm-up and there is sun.  Yay for blue skies!  On Saturday, we could even get up close to 70.  We have outdoor activities planned like going to see some Trumpeter Swans that for some strange reason have decided to migrate here in the winter.  We are also going to break out the grill.  All of this is absolutely fabulous, until Monday that is.

Guess what?  That's when Mother Nature has decided she is going to pull the rug out from under us again.  We will once again return to the land of cold, cloudy, and dreary.  There is also a chance of rain/sleet/snow thrown in for good measure.  That is just plain mean.  I will, however, enjoy the spring teaser we will have over the next couple days.

The other beef I have with Mother Nature is the wrench she has thrown into my sleep pattern.  For a couple nights this week, she thought I didn't need sleep.  Obviously, she has never been a teacher.  Teachers need their sleep; they don't need to be blogging and facebooking in the middle of the night.  Thankfully I was able to get some shut-eye last night.  My brain appreciates the rest it was given.  Hopefully, that trend will continue for this girl that really enjoys sleep!

Mom's Birthday Weekend

We have been all kinds of busy around here lately.  Hubby and I are each taking two graduate classes this semester so we have been trying to get back into the swing of things with that.  After having two snow days last week, it's been a challenge going back to work.  Hubby is now doing after school tutoring two days a week and I am doing a faculty book study about working with guided reading groups.  All of that was just to say that I'm kinda slow getting mom's birthday weekend recap up.

Despite the snow we got last week, mom was able to come up on Saturday to celebrate her birthday.  We started out with a quick lunch at Steak N Shake.  Then, it was time for gifts and cake.  

The cake came from a local bakery that I had heard rave reviews about.  It did not disappoint, either.  Not only was it beautiful; it was delicious.  I got a white cake with fresh strawberry filling.  All I can say is yum!  Another think I really liked about it was that the fondant frosting wasn't super thick.  It was just thick enough to decorate.  We got mom a Razorback snuggie and an iPhone4.  She was happy.

Our day was just getting started, though.  We did a little shopping and then went for a good dinner at Venesian Inn.  Venesian Inn is a local restaurant that has been open since 1947.  We always enjoy meals there, but don't go too often because it is so crowded on weekends, especially football weekends.  We all enjoyed our meals of Italian food and fried chicken.  It may sound like an odd combination, but it works and it makes me excited about the leftovers I inevitably have.

After dinner, we headed to the local high school to watch a fundraising show they were having for the band so they can go on a trip to NYC.  They got the cast from #1 Hits of the 60's in Branson to come into town to do the show.  I knew it was something that mom would enjoy and I was right.  All of us really enjoyed it and had a great time.  I even caught myself singing along at times.

Hubby and I spent Sunday afternoon driving around looking at houses we may be interested in and then it was time for football.  We have to soak it in while we can; only a couple more weeks and it will all be over for the season.  I hope all of you had a great weekend, too.  The week is already half over and another weekend will be upon us before we know it.

Snow Day (Part Deux)

We enjoyed another snow day today and this one was a real snow day.  In my town there was anywhere from 4-6 inches.  The weather moved in about 2 a.m. and ended around 11 a.m.  It was beautiful while it was falling.  Snow is always so peaceful and to me is just another reminder of God's love being so pure and unyielding.

Hubby and I got out and spent a little time enjoying the snow.  We even took Sadie out to explore.  She was not so fond of it and was immediately ready to come back in.  I thought I would share a few pictures that we were able to get today.  Excuse my eyes in these pictures; I have no idea why I am so squinty.

We have already found out that there will be no school again tomorrow.  It is nice to have a four-day weekend.  I hope everyone that has snow is enjoying it.  I know we are!

Relax

I feel very fortunate to say that I have enjoyed two relaxing weekends in a row.  It's amazing how refreshed and ready for the week you are when you have the opportunity to just relax.

Both of the past two weekends were spent back in Central Arkansas.  To have the opportunity to get away from our day-to-day life was really nice.  We laid around the house and enjoyed family time.  We went to see a movie the past two Saturdays and that is something we haven't done in a while.

The first movie we saw was "True Grit."  I'm not usually into westerns too much, but this one was exceptionally good.  Maybe it's because it was based on a book by an Arkansas.  I'm sure the fact that it was set in Arkansas didn't hurt either.  Besides those facts, it was just an entertaining movie that made me want to get to know the characters.  I enjoyed it so much, that I have requested the book at our local library.  I am still number 8 on the list so I could be waiting for a while.

I saw "Country Strong" this past weekend with my mom while hubby saw "The Green Hornet."  We were all satisfied with our movie choice.  I enjoyed this movie, but not quite as much as "True Grit."

I love having some time to relax because that makes me enjoy our busier weekends.  I feel so lucky to have a job that allows me the time and money to do those things I enjoy doing.  I am also very grateful to have a family that enjoys going and doing things, but also enjoys taking time to relax and enjoy life.  This balance makes me feel so very blessed and fulfilled.