My Mom's Funeral and Eulogy

My mom's funeral was yesterday and one of the hardest parts during the service was right at the beginning when the song O Holy Night played.  Yes, the Christmas carol.  It was my mom's favorite Christmas song and she always told us that she wanted the song played at her funeral.  I can't tell you how many times she told me that.  Just this past Christmas I asked her which version, Josh Groban or who?  It kills me that I can't remember her answer but I want to say that she didn't necessarily want Josh Groban, besides, she had been telling us this before he even existed on the music scene.  We listened to many versions over the past few days (specifically to make sure the "fall on your knees" part was powerful - my mom's favorite part) and ultimately went with Bing Crosby.  It's a classic.  We must have listened to it half a dozen times and then again on Saturday at the funeral home to make sure it sounded okay.  But yesterday, when the service started and the song played, it hit me that this was it.  No more her just telling me something to remember far in the future, no more dress rehearsals to pick the song and make sure it was okay.  This was it, the real deal, the moment she'd been planning for.  It was surreal and truly felt like a nightmare situation that you're watching play out but there's nothing you can do to stop it.  It was impossible to handle.

It's really such a shame that it takes a death and funeral for people to get reunited and speak of the deceased with such love.  Why can't we live our lives in the now and keep in touch with our friends and tell them what they mean to us?  So many people came from Lima, Ohio where I was born and my parents lived over 25 years ago.  It had been that long since my parents even saw some of those people and yet they had such wonderful things to say about my mom and shared in our tears.  Other people told me life altering events that occurred because of my mom or that my mom helped them through difficult times and yet my mom never knew she had such an impact.  My dad got in touch with his best man from 40 years ago, whom he hasn't seen in 30.  They're making plans to see each other this summer.  If this has taught me anything it's to cherish your friends and loved ones and never let a chance go by to tell them how you feel.  Make sure they know if they've affected you positively in some way.  Don't wait until their funeral to share the stories. 

I gave a eulogy and actually held it together until right at the very end.  Many people came up and told me that if they were in my shoes, they couldn't have done it.  I don't know how I did it either but it was something I felt like I just had to do.  I had to tell everyone how great my mom was if they didn't know already.  I owed it to her to tell the world what I knew about her and what made her special.  If I wasn't going to do it then, when was I?  It may not all make sense out of context and it's missing my sarcasm and inflection but here it is:

I would like to thank you all for coming. Looking around the room, I am amazed at the number of lives my mom has touched. Although, I really shouldn't be surprised.

My mom was the type of person to go above and beyond the ordinary – when a friend was sick in the hospital, she didn't just send one Get Well card – she sent one a day; when my brother's neighbor, a woman my mom didn't know very well, had a time of need, she didn't just send her condolences across the driveway, she brought them food; she didn't just love and protect her own family, she loved and treated everyone as if they were family. I've heard many stories from people in the last few days of how my mom was like a second mom to them – I never realized so many people felt that way towards her and I'm so glad that we weren't the only ones who thought she was amazing.

I thought I would share with you some stories about my mom so you could really get to know her.

First, let me address the yellow guy you passed on your way in here today. For years, my mom has always said that she wanted what she called a “herky jerky guy” at her funeral. We have since found out that they are called “Air Dancers” and my brother scoured the internet for one and came across this guy on a website with the name LINDA down it.  He quickly bought it and I think she's thrilled right now.

When my brother and I were little, our friends always knew that our refrigerator would be jammed packed with food and that according to them, my mom made the best brownies ever. She probably wouldn't be happy with me for sharing this but the brownies....were out of a box.

Every morning, she cooked my dad breakfast. She packed our lunches for school every day and we had a homemade family dinner together every night. We were even lucky enough to try new recipes know as experimental dinners, such as Experimental Dinner #43.

Christmas was her absolute favorite holiday and she'd shop for presents year round. Once Christmas came, it was always extremely over the top and overflowing with presents but she didn't care because she loved it and that's how she wanted it to be – magical for everyone.

When my mom was growing up, she wished she had a pet monkey but ultimately developed an unquenchable love for giraffes. One Christmas I remember going to see the Lights at the Zoo and the giraffes were walking about. One stuck it's head out of it's enclosure, over the crowd and sniffed my mom's head. I thought she was going to burst with excitement.

Through the years, she's loved her family pets – dogs Spuddie and Smokey Joe and cats Julie, Fiona and the newest addition, Chloe. Chloe was a rescue and had only been in the house a week or two when she accidentally sent my dad flying head first down a flight of stairs, landing him at the hospital. My mom felt terrible but kept the cat anyway.

She was quite the shopper and a sucker for a bargain. You'd get things from her you never even knew you needed. She and her granddaughter Mallory would go on a big annual shopping excursion and I know both of them always looked forward to it. I, myself, have been conditioned to the point that I can't purchase a single top or pair of pants without needing my mom's input. What I'm going to do now, I have no idea.

My mom recently joined this little known thing called Facebook and was quickly hooked, okay, somewhat obsessed. She was thrilled to be able to catch up on what everyone was doing in their lives and loved to post her snappy little comments.

As many of you here today know firsthand, my mom loved her friends. She was always telling me about the latest email she had received or phone call she had. Throughout the years, she bowled on leagues with friends, had Saturday Night Live parties back in the 70s when the show was still good, watched the show Twin Peaks over coffee and cherry pie, went to musicals and concerts and traveled to Florida and Hilton Head where they would all have a blast.

And while she was so quick to do anything for anyone, she was so careful never to be a perceived nuisance to anyone else. She would call my brother, her own son, from his driveway to let him know she was there instead of just showing up on their doorstep. Or, she'd take them her latest shopping haul when they weren't home so as not to bother them. Even over the last few weeks when we were visiting her in the hospital or rehab center, she was kicking us out the door shortly after we'd arrive so we wouldn't waste our time there.

When my mom found out I was pregnant, she burst into tears, not a reaction I was expecting, and told me that the baby gave her a new lease on life. She turned her guest room into a nursery, complete with a crib and changing table, and made sure she always had diapers and essentials on hand. When our daughter Audrey was born, my mom fell madly in love. So much so that after my mom's first stroke when she was still in the hospital, hooked up to many machines and not totally coherent, when she saw Audrey come into the room for the first time, she was struggling to get out of bed so badly so she could hold Audrey that we had to hold her back in bed.  She didn't understand why she couldn't hold her.

My mom and I spoke on the phone every day, sometimes even multiple times a day.  What tempurature for the pot roast?  What do I do about Audrey?  Am I going crazy?  She was my best friend, confidant, and person I most looked to for advice and guidance. I am going to miss her terribly.

And finally, my mom was a fighter. God obviously needed her in a bad way because He tried to take her three times before this. The first time was in 2003 when she had a heart stent put in. The stent caused a clot to form and her heart stopped. She had to be resuscitated and suffered broken ribs from the manual CPR efforts after the defibulator didn't work but she obviously proved that she wasn't going down easily. Then in the last 5 weeks, after both her first and second strokes, she fought back again. She worked extremely hard in rehab to regain her strength to walk again and worked in notebooks to read and write again. Her efforts were paying off and she was actually doing very well. Why the third stroke or any of this happened, we'll never know but we do know that she's with God now and watching over all of us.

We will miss you, mom, and think about you every day. We can only hope to have the same positive impact on our families' and friends' lives as you did. You led by example and inspire us all to be better people and strive for fuller lives. We love you with all our heart.

My World Has Shattered

I have horrible news.  My mom suffered a third, very severe stroke on Monday morning.  We had been in Ohio over the weekend to househunt in Cleveland and saw my mom on Sunday.  Had it not been for the wheelchair she was sitting in, you never would have known she was not 100%.  She looked great, had a wonderful attitude and even held Audrey on her lap.  We went home to Iowa Sunday only to be called back Monday morning.  I was told that she was blind, paralyzed on her left side and could barely speak but she was able to tell everyone she loved them.  We got to Ann Arbor (she had been transferred to University of Michigan) around 9pm and by then, her eyes were always closed and she was in and out of consciousness.  I believe that she was able to hear us because many times when we'd talk, she'd squeeze our hands or rub our fingers.  Throughout the night - an extremely long and painful night - we talked, told her we loved her and said everything that we ever would have wanted her to know.  I must have told her I loved her over 300 times.  I kissed her often too.  Mulitple times between 1:00-3:00am we talked with doctors to discuss options.  Surgery was considered but it only would have kept her alive, not improve her physical condition.  They expected that she would be severely disabled and possibly require 24 hour care.  We knew she'd never want to live like that.  We did choose to put her on a ventilator to help her breathe.  By morning, she was no longer responding to simple commands because the swelling in her brain was becoming too much.  By afternoon, her heart was becoming strained and the doctors feared she'd have a heart attack.  We didn't want her to go through any more trauma so we decided to remove her ventilator and she passed away on Tuesday at 6:30pm.

I feel a pressure in my chest that is indescribable and it feels as though my breath has been sucked out.  I am grasping at how I am supposed to live for the rest of my life without the one person who knew me the best.  I spoke to my mom every single day -sometimes more than once!  Some people may think that's weird and that's fine.  I think it's incredible that I had such an amazing relationship with my mom.  Who am I going to call?  Who is going to guide me in life?  Who is going to help me when I have questions on how to raise Audrey?  Who is going to remind me what tempurature to cook my pot roast?  Who is going to be my shopping buddy?  Who is going to over-do Christmas but in a way that makes it magical for everyone?  Who is going to give me unwanted advice that I end up following anyway?  How is Audrey going to know how much her Gammy loved her and remember how much she loved her Gammy?  My mom is going to miss Bill's upcoming graduation, our move to Cleveland and being only 2 hours away instead 7, our new house, her niece's summer wedding, taking Audrey to the zoo, taking Audrey to Cedar Point, watching Audrey grow up, our future children and helping me figure out how to raise more than one....I could go on and on.  The pain I feel is overwhelming and I am truly at a loss.

My mom had recently joined Facebook so I plan to print a copy of her page and posts to keep forever.  Posts and emails from my own Facebook page will also be kept.  My dad's blog has also been somewhat theraputic and I plan to have it made into a bound book.  Even the comments left on my mom's obituary's guest book will be kept.  It's important to me to remember the support we receive during this time.  I will also be able to share these things with Audrey so she can see how much my mom was loved and how many lives she touched.

Goodbye, Mom.  May you be welcomed into God's arms to watch over us.  I love you.


Linda M. (Baran) Ericksen, 63, of Sylvania Twp., passed away Tuesday, March 29, 2011, at the University Of Michigan Medical Center surrounded by her loving family. She was born March 21, 1948, to Edward C. and Helen G. (Nemeth) Baran in Euclid, Ohio. Linda's life was centered around her family, pets and home. She was the best pal and companion to her husband for more than 40 years. She especially cherished her two granddaughters. She enjoyed bowling, shopping and vacationing with family. She was a kind and caring person who enriched the lives of everyone who knew her. Many have considered her their second mom. She was a role model on how to live life - simply and fully. She was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her loving husband, Evan; her children, Sean (Dawn) Ericksen, Laura (William) Tabayoyong; brothers, Edward (Sannie), Gregory (Dixie) Baran; grandchildren, Mallory and Audrey. Visitation will be Sunday from 2-6 p.m. at the Dowling Funeral Home, 7509 New West Road at King, (King Rd. between Central and Sylvania) Toledo, 419-841-8111. Funeral services will also be Sunday at 4p.m. with Father Charles Ritter presiding at the Funeral Home. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Joseph Catholic Church, Sylvania, where she was a member or the donor's choice.

Good News and Not-so-good News

I think I'll start with the not-so-good news first.  On Saturday morning, my mom suffered another stroke.  She was so extremely dizzy that she couldn't even lift her head off of her pillow.  Once again my dad called 911 who got her to the hospital quickly where they learned that the stroke was in the same location as the last one but instead of another clot, it was a hemorrhage.  Over the course of this week, her dizziness has gone away but her eyesight is worse, she has tingling on the right side of her face and her arm hurts.  Her coordination has decreased as has her stability when walking.  Due to this, she's going to be transferred back to the in-patient rehab facility tomorrow where she'll stay for at least another week.  She's very, very upset about this mainly because it's such a set back but also because she was hoping to be able to play with Audrey this weekend when we're there to house hunt.  I just hope that the rehab helps and that she's able to regain her strength and coordination.  My dad and sister-in-law are planning on taking Audrey to my mom so they can at least visit.  That should lift her spirits.

The good news is that, as you know, we put our house on the market last Tuesday, 3/22 and.....it's already SOLD!!!!  We had a couple come through on Friday and again on Saturday and received their offer on Sunday night.  By Monday night, after a few rounds of negotiations, we accepted their offer.  Woo-hoo!  One major thing to cross off what I'm calling the "Big To Do List."  Our closing date is June 10 which means we now have a date that all other activities are based off of - moving, Audrey's last day at daycare, when all final dentist/dr appointments need to occur by, etc.  I told you my to do list was big.  The next 11 weeks are going to be insane and will likely fly by.  So much to do!!!

Happy Friday!

This was a big week.  On Tuesday, my mom left rehab and is finally home!  She'll begin out-patient rehab for 3 hours, 3 times a week.  Lots of hard work but she's had such a great outlook.  She's been in the hospital for 3 weeks and yet she was always happy when you talked with her and really positive.  I don't know anyone else who would have fared so well.

We also put our house on the market on Tuesday and already have a showing scheduled for today!  Know anyone moving this way?  It's so bittersweet.  We're excited to move to Ohio for all the good things that will come with that but we are SO bummed to be moving out of our beloved house.  We got in with the builder before it was built so we got to choose EVERYTHING.  We love our house.

House hunting in Cleveland isn't going so well.  Since Bill's work schedule will be insane and even when he's home he could get called in at a moment's notice, he wants to be within a reasonable driving distance to the hospital.  That really limits the areas we can look in and unfortunately, the houses in those areas are OLD.  Think 1920s, no AC, detached garage, radiator heat and creepy, creepy basements.  They all have converted third floors too, which might sound nice but not when you're having to duck because the ceiling is angled for the roof line.  Most of the bathrooms only have tubs (no shower) on the third floor too.  Our spirits are low but we've only been to look twice and have seen about 26 houses.  We'll go again in another week to see a few more.  If we still can't find anything, we'll just rent for awhile.  Since we'll only be in Cleveland for 6 years (that we know of) we don't want to settle on just any old place because we'll have to turn around and sell it.  I guess we'll see.  Wish us luck!

On a side note, Bill and I got a babysitter for tomorrow night - DATE NIGHT!  We're heading to a restaurant in another town that we've always wanted to try.  This is going to be a great weekend!!

Christmas Tree, Oh, Christmas Tree

Yes, I realize that this is very old but I want to get it out here.  :)  We spent Christmas in Toledo this year with my family.  Audrey had her own tree that was decorated in non-breakable ornaments.  She also had her own Fisher-Price "Little People" Nativity set that she loved.  By the end of the trip, she knew to give Baby Jesus kisses!

Not that Audrey knows what's going on yet but it was fun to play Santa after she went to bed to put all of the presents under the tree.  Our family has always been a little over the top with our gift giving - at the time I said it looked like Santa's sleigh exploded in my parent's living room.  She had fun Christmas morning ripping into the wrapping paper.  It was obvious that she had been a very good girl this year.

Helping Daddy open gifts.

She didn't quite like the hat!

Other pics from the trip.

Hanging out with Uncle Sean.

A play date with a very good and longtime friend of mine.  We've been friends for 23 years!

Reading a book with Grandpa.

My Mom

Last Wednesday night after I had gone to bed, I received a dreaded, middle of the night phone call from my dad - my mom had suffered a stroke.  They were going to bed and were at the bottom of their staircase when my mom said that she felt funny, had a headache and could only see half of him.  Luckily, my dad recognized the signs and called 911 almost immediately.  At the hospital, they worked to get her blood pressure to a low enough level that they could administer a drug called tPA that would break up any clots in her body.  The drug must be administered within 3 hours of the stroke and miracle of all miracles, her pressure lowered right at the 3 hour mark. 

Even though we only had about 2 hours of sleep that night and both Bill and I were fighting off fevers - Audrey, of course, was just getting over an illness and was on antibiotics - we drove to Ohio first thing Thursday morning to be with everyone.  Those first few days were ROUGH, which is really an understatement.  My mom slept most of the time and when she was awake, was barely coherent, could only talk in one word sentences and often times spoke gibberish.  Tests proved that she couldn't read or interpret pictures and we weren't sure if she was able to comprehend what was going on around her.  The stroke left the right side of her body numb and extremely weak.  Her eyesight was even worse - her entire right field of vision was gone.  I didn't know this but each of your eyes sees both the right and left fields - it's not like your right sees the right and the left sees the left.  It's as if each eye is split in two.  While her actual eyes are fine, her brain can no longer process the right half of each eye's sight.  Crazy, right?  Anyway, due to this, in the beginning, she basically ignored her right side, including people standing and/or talking to her from that side.  We found out later that she had a large stroke in the back left side of her brain - this area controls vision, speech and comprehension.  She did recognize family and friends even if she didn't remember or couldn't say names.  She went nuts when she saw Audrey and we had to keep her from ripping out her IVs and getting out of bed because she wanted to hold her.

Thankfully, by Saturday afternoon my mom had very quickly turned a corner.  Her memory lapses and confusion weren't as prominent and she was looking better.  I, on the other hand, ended up in the ER TWICE that day for two ear infections and the worst pink eye you've ever seen - what a waste of 3 precious hours of the day!  By Sunday my mom was able to be moved out of the ICU and could speak at even greater lengths without issues. She was also acknowledging her right side and people in that direction.

Now, one week later, my mom is at an in-patient rehab facility and will be there for at least 3 weeks.  She has improved dramatically.  The feeling and strength on her right side is slowly coming back and she's even able to walk with a walker.  She still has trouble finding words and forgets things but we're hoping therapy will help her with that.  She struggles to read and write but think that over time this will get better, if not resolve itself completely.  In the end, we still don't know if she'll ever be able to walk unassisted, drive, if her vision will improve (it's doubtful) or what the long standing issues will be.  Time will tell. 

It's amazing how in a few short seconds, your brain can become so damaged but that it takes months to heal itself.  I believe my mom has a very long road ahead of her but I have no doubt that she's up for the challenge.  Afterall, she has grandchildren to read to and take to the zoo, and a daughter to guide.  I don't know where I'd be without her.

http://toledolinda.blogspot.com

Dashing Through the Snow

My parents got a sled for Audrey over Christmas and she LOVED it!  The "hill" she went down wasn't very big but she'd laugh all the way down and she kept wanting to go over and over again.  Here she is in all her cuteness, bundled up in her little sled.

 Up the hill.

 Ready to go!

 Whoosh!

I Smell the Turkey Lurkey!

This year, we spent Thanksgiving in St. Louis with Bill's parents and went to their close family friend's house to eat the big turkey lurkey.  We were excited because unlike last year (she came home from the hospital on Thanksgiving last year), Audrey could actually eat all of the goodies - turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes!  And so could we - needless to say, last year was a bit hectic.  :)  She ate everything!  The title of this entry, by the way, is an hommage to my late grandma Helen (which is also Audrey's middle name), who said this phrase while the turkey was cooking every Thanksgiving and is now a family favorite.

Everything is already gone from her tray!

 First time using a crayon.

Audrey's 1st Birthday!!!

I'm playing catch up with these next few posts.  Audrey's FIRST birthday was back in November, the day before Thanksgiving.  I cannot, cannot, cannot believe that she's one! This year has flashed by in the blink of an eye and it couldn't have been more fun.  Watching her change, grow, learn, experiment, crawl, walk, talk - every moment has been amazing and I am madly in love with her.  She is truly the center of our world and we wouldn't have it any other way.

I was really excited to celebrate her birthday because I wanted to get cupcakes.  Not only did she eat her first cupcake on her birthday to celebrate, she had two more birthday parties - one in St. Louis and one in Iowa City.

On her actual birthday, it was me, Bill, Lolo and Lola (Bill's parents).  I don't know what Audrey thought of the whole thing but I think she had fun!  She did very well with the cupcake until she touch her hand to her face at the end.  She wasn't so happy then.

 Opening a present from Gammy (my mom).  It was a phone because she's obsessed with my Blackberry.

 Texting already!

That weekend, while we were still in St. Louis, Bill's mom threw a party for family friends.  Lots of kids were running through the house and while Audrey was tentative at first, she wanted to join them by the end!

I LOVED her outfit!

A week later, we had a few friends over at our house with their children - age 3 or younger.  It was nice to have a few hours with everyone to catch up and hang out.

 Had to do the outfit again but maybe the hat was overkill?  :)

 After she changed outfits and we put the hat back on.

 All is well in Daddy's arms.

 Our little family.

Parsnip Fairy

I believe there is a Parsnip Fairy at my work.....either that or I'm being stalked.  True story - I bought parsnips for the first time about a week ago so I could make parsnip puree.  The only person who knew this was Bill (or so I thought) and he and I had discussed going online to find a recipe to make sure we did it correctly.  I've been procrastinating and just haven't gotten around to finding one.  I came into work today (after being out sick yesterday) and ta da!  On my keyboard was a print out (in color, no less!) of a Tyler Florence parsnip puree recipe!!  I'm excited to use it and will let you know how it goes.  I wonder what else I can just think about and have it magically happen?  :) Thank you, Parsnip Fairy!

The Breakfast of Champions

I realize that I said I was going to start eating better but resolutions are only for breaking, right??  I've never been a huge donut person and I'm sure that in the past, I've gone years at a time never even eating one.  I do, however, have fond memories from my childhood of waking up on random Sunday mornings and finding out that one of my parents had already left the house that day to go and bring back donuts.  I also always looked forward to mornings at my cousins' house because they'd get donuts for us to.  In my adult life, I haven't eaten many except when I was pregnant - I craved them like mad.  So much so, that Bill and I scoured this town for donuts one morning and ended up at the local grocery store because no one had any.  Enter my co-worker.  He lives about 30 minutes away in Cedar Rapids where they have stand alone donut shops.  He would bring in donuts every once in awhile and I finally asked him if they had my favorite - chocolate covered, cream filled (white cream, not that yellow custardy stuff - yuck!) long johns.  To my delight, they did!  Now, about every other month, I have a surprise breakfast waiting for me at my desk (the sprinkles aren't normal - those are just for Valentine's Day):

YUM, YUM, YUM!!!!  And I love the bonus frosting on top!  Oh, and did I mention that he always get me TWO?!  :)

New Year's Resolutions

I don't typically "do" New Year's Resolutions.  I like to think that I am continually striving to make myself a better person all year round so why should I only start fresh upon the new year?  This year, however, after some serious reflection about some things I haven't liked in my life, I decided that I would embrace the New Year thinking and take some action.

1)  I will actually call people to talk rather than just text.

The trend of people not speaking to each other on the phone kills me.  Unfortunately, I find that I now do the same thing.  It's so much easier to text someone something quick than call and GASP! have them answer and have to actually talk to them.  But what does that say about us?  Is it really that hard to speak to our so-called friends?  I'm not saying that I will never text anymore, I'm just saying that I will think twice when I try and contact someone.

2)  I will take better care of myself by working out and eating right. 

I was lucky; I only gained 25 pounds when I was pregnant with Audrey.  It wasn't really that hard to lose and in fact, I ended up losing more than 25 pounds.  What I found, however, is that my weight slowly crept back up because I was still eating like I was pregnant - my craving for sweets and ice cream only went away a few months ago - and I wasn't doing anything to excercise.  The result?  In a short span of only a few weeks over the holidays, I gained more than I'm comfortable with.  Starting after New Year's Day, Bill and I dragged out our Wii Fit and agreed that together, we would workout 30 minutes 5-6 nights a week.  The result?  After only 2 weeks, he'd lost 2 pounds and I'd lost 3.   Not too shabby.  Plus I just feel better.  I'd been starting to feel achy and missed the flexibility I once had.  I'm getting my groove back.

Bill and I have also come to realize that we eat way more than we should.  Even little things like at breakfast.  I have always eaten an English muffin with peanut butter for breakfast.  I used to just eat half of a muffin until I got pregnant, then I started eating the whole thing.  Sounds minor until you consider that by eating that extra half, I was probably comsuming an additional 150+ calories.  By cutting back to just the one half and smaller portions at lunch and dinner, I figure I'm shaving off enough calories to either lose weight or maintain where I am.

3)  I will be a better friend by responding to emails in a more timely fashion and by checking in "just because".

In the same vein as #1 I will be a better emailer.  It takes me forever to respond to people's emails, if I ever do.  That's not being a very good friend and it makes it seem as though I don't care about them which is definitely not true.  I also find that many of my closer friends will text and email me "just because."  It makes me smile and feel loved.  So the next time I'm thinking about someone, I think I'll let them know with a little note.

4)  I will declutter my life - specifically my email inbox and household items.

My house seems to be overflowing with stuff - mail, items to be recycled, baby toys/clothes, shoes.  In the last few weeks, I went through a lot of my clothing and donated 6 large bags worth, 2 bags of shoes (a 3rd bag went in the trash) and 1 bag of purses.  It felt great!  I still have more to do but I think that since we're getting ready to move, it will be easy to get rid of the junk.  Less to move!

I am embarassed to tell you about my email inboxes.  At work, I have over 1,000 emails in my inbox (and yes, I do archive them!; this is what is left).  My hotmail account also has over 1,000 emails.  Where's that Delete button??

5)  I will post a minimum of 3 blog entries a week with at least one being food focused. 

As I'm sure you've noticed, there's been a flurry of blog activity lately.  As one co-worker said to me, I've posted more entries recently than I have in the last few months.  For some reason, I always get blog ideas in my head and even start to draft the text but then never get around to sitting down and typing it out.  I also really want to keep the "Foodies" side going as well, even if to a lesser degree, because cooking well and drinking wine are large hobbies in Bill's and my life.  Now that Audrey is here, I don't want to lose ourselves and just become mommy and daddy who only make fish sticks and tator tots.  We actually have a life too.

6)  I will go to bed earlier.

Not sure what to say about this one other than it's ridiculous how late I go to bed each night.  There's no excuse for staying up as late as I do so as part of #2, I must start going to bed earlier.

7)  I will read more.

I think this goes without saying but I don't have as much time for myself as I used to.  Reading, not that I was doing it a ton before, has gone by the wayside.  When I lived in Chicago, I could knock out a book a week because all I would do to and from work while on the el was read.  That was awesome.  Santa was good to me this year because I got a Barnes and Noble NOOK.  Yay!!  (If you're trying to decide between eReaders, I highly recommend the NOOK.  Write to me if you want to learn more.)  I'm making a point to set aside time each night and I'm well on my way to catching up on the hottest best sellers.  I may actually read the books my little book club recommends rather than just attending the meetings for the wine!

Cheers to 2011!  May you all find strive to be a better person all year round.

Snow Day!

As predicted we got quite the storm yesterday and overnight.  The wind was INSANE, as was the resulting drifting.  It was fun to watch the wind whip across the tundra and continually reshape the snow as we looked out the window in our pajamas and slippers. We could see cars that were parked on the street slowly disappear under the snow and idiots who thought they could drive through the drifts but got stuck in the middle of the road.  We got an email that daycare would be closed for today and the University, which was originally scheduled to be closed until 10:30am, ended up cancelling classes altogether.  That meant - family snow day!!!  I needed to try and work while keeping an eye on the ever-needy Audrey and Bill spent the entire day studying for a big test he has coming up.  We did get a chance to make hot chocolate and sneak out into the snow for some playtime.

Out our front door:

 Using Audrey to show height comparison.  :)

 Getting ready for some fun in the snow!

 I'm ready!

Playing in the large drift in our driveway.

And just because we had some extra time on our hands....