Winter Recess Faves

I can't believe I'm at the end of Winter Recess!

This week was crazy..............it had good moments and not good moments. Restful, yet busy.

The good thing is that we don't have much snow left on the ground even though it's been very windy and bitter cold!!

It's not too difficult for me to find faves from the week because I can see God's hand in so much of this past week.......even though for 2 days I had a horrible intestinal virus with flu-like symptoms. UGH...but even with those days of feeling icky, God brought blessings.

Join in with other bloggers and link up at Susanne's to share your five faves from the past week!

FIVE FAVES

• BOOK TIME!  My book basket has several good books from the town library plus a couple from my dad. After dropping my youngest off at her ballet class last Saturday morning, I did some errands so that I could have the afternoon to just sit curled up in my favorite living room chair and READ.  And read I did! It felt great to have errands and light housework done for the weekend.....and I read for almost 2 hours of uninterrupted bliss!

•  FAMILY ROOM PURCHASES!  Since the bamboo floor went in a couple weeks ago,  I've been wanting a new area rug for in front of the TV so I can continue doing Pilates in this room.  We have a small braided rug (heart-shaped) in front of the deck door but I wanted something oval.  I had researched Capel rugs and thought I'd have to buy one from LLBean until a co-worker told me I could get one locally at this place!  Big difference in price! So after a lunch date on Sunday, we headed down to Albany. After we found the rug I wanted, we wandered around (it's been about 6 yrs since we shopped at this place) as I was looking for a mirror for the large wall behind the sofa.  We didn't find a mirror but we DID find the awesome night chest pictured above. At another great price.  I wanted it for the room because it goes with our Shaker style TV armoire.....We put all the dvd's in the drawers....I finally have the collection OUT of the white wicker basket (which was perfect when the girls were young..they could just choose and toss back in).  It really perks up the room! 2 purchases at low prices and now all the room needs is a new coat of paint!

• LUNCH DATE!  On Sunday after church, Dave and I used a very generous gift certificate he had received from the Youth Pastor at Christmas time for a lunch date at this establishment.  I had never been there before as we don't usually choose restaurants in the malls. I didn't like that we had to wait 35 minutes (they only take reservations for groups of 20 or more) and I also did NOT like the ambiance:  tables much too close, bar area much too loud, music AND tvs going....UGH. But the food was amazing!!  I had the chicken almond salad on whole grain bread, a mixed greens tossed salad and baked potato soup....YUMMY!  We had a lovely time chatting about the new novel he is working on and just having the time together.

• COFFEE DATE!  My good friend Lynn and I finally had our schedules in synch for a long overdue coffee date.  She works part time, I work full time and with Monday being a holiday we both had the day off.  And thank goodness we had that time together because the next morning is when the flu bug hit me!  We got caught up on all that was going on in our families and ministries we lead and just enjoyed the fellowship.  AND...she surprised me by telling me that she and her husband can come to our Couples Game Night on Saturday evening (her husband often has to work on Saturday evenings!).  I find it a huge blessing to be able to connect with my friends from church during the week and even after a 2 months time of not getting together,  we always have plenty to say!

Claire in Washington Park, Albany
Spring 2011

• SHOPPING DATE!  My youngest, now 14, is awesome.  She is sooo patient. She and I had plans to shop on Tuesday, clean the house thoroughly on Wednesday, and then more shopping on Thursday before heading out to the central part of the state to visit my dad today.  Well, when I woke up sick on Tuesday, she never complained.  Yesterday (Thursday) I was finally feeling better so after a morning of some light housework we went and did the shopping for the musical she's in at school.  The show isn't until the end of next month, but we knew we should spend a vacation day to purchase the needed items. We found everything in just 3 different stores!  We came home for late lunch (only to discover my husband was home from work with the same bug I had had!) and after eating, we then headed over here to get new shoes and so she could browse in this bookstore and spend her gift card.  I rested in the cafe and read while she shopped.  It was great.  We came home and had dinner together and then I did more housework and checked on my husband.  Later that night we enjoyed a movie together.  This girl brings so much joy to my heart...I can't believe I get to be her mom. (and yes...i feel the same way about my oldest!)

That's about it for me.....we are spending some time with my dad out in Central NY while my husband recuperates.

and tomorrow evening we are hosting our Annual Couples Game Night with several couples from our church!!

Happy Weekend, everyone......