No favorite things, just life.

Actually I suppose life should make my favorite things list. I mean it is pretty grand right? That said, there isn't too much new in Nepper world, but I do know that my blogging absence is noticed by some, so I just wanted to check in and say hello.

I think my blogging frump is due to my lack of camera. The battery died. The battery has a warranty. But I just simply have zero desire to deal with that currently. So without a camera, I am obviously not snapping any pictures of the kids or otherwise, and as such, I am finding very little blogging inspiration these days.

We had a fantastic snowfall last weekend. This has been such a snow-less winter I was actually excited by it! Can't remember the last time I was excited about snow (I mean lets be serious, I see the stuff 6 months of the year), but I was genuinely excited this time. And it was beautiful fresh and fluffy snow. Perfect for sledding. So we dressed up the kids and headed for the giant sledding hill near our house. We got there earlier in the morning, so the main course of action was to pack down the snow. Well, the kids did maybe 10 runs in total, but I was a sledding nut! It was so much fun. Seriously, I haven't had that much fun sledding since I was like 10! So the kids sat in the giant snowbank, ate snow and watched Mommy truck up and down the sledding hill having a hoot for almost an hour straight.

We've recently acquired a cat. Betty is her name. She is quite lovely to look at, black and white with yellow eyes. She is 5 years old. Likely a lovely cat, but I'm just not entirely sold on the Betty idea yet. I think she is far too typical of a cat. You know, those aloof ones that only pay you attention at feeding times, but otherwise couldn't care if you exist? Yes, that's Betty. Hence, she's a bit of a dud in my opinion. I like "present" cats. The ones that you can actually tell you live with one, and not just by the hair she's leaving on her favorite chair. Betty, not so. Hopefully she warms up, nobody wants a dud cat.

I've been busy at the gym. I'm kind of in the middle of all my deals right now, so that makes it a little harder to create a regular routine, but I still manage to get the exercise in. Plus, it adds so much variety, I just don't find I'm getting bored with it. Lets see, in the last week I've done Spin, Hot Yoga, Circuit Training, and a Power Sets class (a weight training class using barbells, bands, and body weight). Hard to believe I've been at this for 10 months now. I'm amazed at how much has changed in what seems like such a short time.

I am starting to think about our trip to the Island in April. My Mom is having knee surgery and the kids and I will be helping with her recovery. I leave in less than a month now! So I need to start thinking about packing, preparing some meals for Rob, and transferring my life to the Island for a month. A lot to process.

I finish my current course in 4 weeks. I'll be glad to be done this one. I've come to realize I only have 6 course (possibly 5 with some new changes to the program) left to go. If that's one per semester that's 2 more years, but I am seriously toying with doing 2 courses in the summer semester to speed it up. I can't explain why I feel the need to speed it up as I won't be able to work full time for another 2 years, but perhaps I can slowly plug away at my practicum and move my focus onto something else.

This last week I registered Gabe for preschool for September and soccer this Spring. I had really thought I would want to wait until January to put Gabe into preschool, but I'm just coming to realize I need a bit of a break. 4 hours per week isn't much, but I'm hoping that it will be enough to get me some me time during the day and give Gabe a positive place to go socialize, play and have fun. Soccer is just basic understanding of a boy. That boy has energy like nobodies business, so I figure an outlet to burn it off is ideal.

Abbi is nearly finished her Zumba classes. Seriously, I chuckle the entire time I watch her. Its just so freaking adorable. She has found she is getting tired out from it, which is perhaps a natural progression of having half a heart, but it is still alarming to see. Regardless, it is still nice to see her having fun and exercising all at once. And I told her even Mommy has to take a rest sometimes when she does Zumba.

I've been on a new recipe mission. My recipe binder is getting so plump thanks to all the new delicious recipes I've been trying out. It adds so much variety to our dinners and I actually really enjoy trying out new recipes and trying different ingredients. My main source of inspiration these days is from Clean Eating magazine. I love the concept of "eating clean" and find that I already have so many of the ingredients on hand. I also have another binder of recipes that I've clipped over the years, which get transferred over to the official recipe binder once they pass the delicious test.

Beyond that, there just isn't much new, but as with life, there's always something new, if that makes any sense. Or maybe that's just life with kids, never gets dull. We have lots on the horizon it seems, but lots in the present to keep us occupied. Hope you are well.