Happy 1st Birthday!

Our youngest niece is a year old!   We celebrated virtually since we couldn't be together.   I was sad that we couldn't see her in person (and eat some homemade cheesecake!) but glad we were able to participate in her special day.

Her smash cake became a take every tiny piece and drop it on the floor (her mommy and daddy got a few bites into her mouth), but she certainly had fun doing it!     Sister was smart and put a tablecloth down under the highchair, for easier cleanup.  Even doing that some of the cake got on the carpet, and a few pieces on the wall!

I am so thankful for video messaging so we can see her as much as possible, she's no longer a baby but a full out toddler.  We even saw her walk around in shoes yesterday!    She can walk, and kinda run.  

We love you and look forward to celebrating future birthdays in person!

COVID-19

It has been a confusing and scary time with rapidly changing rules and decisions of what to do - Should I go to work?  Can I get ok'd to stay home?  What should we tell my mom (in her 70s) to do? Where is all the toilet paper at the stores?  What do the closures mean to those who work at those places? 

 It seems like it has been a lot longer than it has been....hard to believe that in our community it really only started effecting daily life I think 3 weeks ago?   The days blur and I don't really know...

For me, it really started to feel real when on March 12 we had a meeting (I work at a university) to try to plan for taking all coursework online (at that point only for a few weeks), and what questions there are for a variety of areas.   The school was at the end of Spring Break (staff actually had that Friday the 13th off).  That night I met my husband at our local sushi place and was thinking I needed to pick up some stuff, I stopped at the Target in the same shopping center and grabbed a few things (TP was already gone).

This was my view walking into the grocery store that Sunday, March 15, to try to grocery shop.  This (and the TP aisle) were the emptiest but it was anxiety inducing.  

The next week Kevin was on "extended Spring Break", and my school had no classes (to allow faculty and students time to transition) but our offices were still open.   I did a mixture of working remotely and working in the office.  That Friday while in the office we found out we were transitioning to telecommuting (at this point through 4/3), except for a small set of 'essential' staff (I've never been so happy to not be 'essential'). 

This entire week I worked remotely, using both our big set up (two screens, dedicated room) and my work laptop in the dining room when my hubby needs the nicer set up.  I've also been helping him test some technology to be ready to work with his students remotely.  Our attempt at a 'green screen' was a fail....

The county (Harris) ordered a stay home order on March 24.

We are trying to make the best of us.  We are fortunate to be staying busy, and trying to get outside to clear our heads and move our bodies...

Stay safe everyone!

2009 and 2019

I've been seeing posts on facebook of a pic from 2009 and 2019 to show the changes over a decade.

I decided to participate....its hard to believe these pictures are 10 years apart (I also had to laugh at some other photos I found that had me wearing the SAME shirt...time to update my wardrobe?)

For posterity, here again are the pics I chose:

2009 (during our trip to NYC)

2019 (holding our newest niece)

I chose photos of only me, but do think it could be fun to do 2009/2019 pics of myself and Kevin together, or other combinations of family and friends (I love that digging through pictures I found several outings with my sister that I'd forgotten about)

I did also see many time gaps with few pictures, or trips with nearly no photos of me.  I need to make sure I take more photos with me in it, and not keep waiting until I lose that weight that I may never lose to be in the picture.

Looking at pictures was also hard, as I came across many photos of or with my dad.  Its hard to believe he has been gone for almost a year.

I do have many wonderful memories with my dad and am thankful he was so central to my life for 40 years.

Smokey's gotcha day

July became a blur too....we had a great trip, and I am so glad we got home with me having a few more days off (we got home on the 4th, I'd taken off that Friday and the weekend), so we could get caught up a bit at the house before I headed back to work.   Work has kept me very busy, and I've also managed to make a couple more visits (with my mom) to see our new niece -- she is the CUTEST.

Today marks TWELVE years since we brought home our older furbaby, Smokey.  I cannot believe we've had him 12 years.....we know we are lucky to still have him with us, and he's overall very happy (though he still wonders why we ruined his 'retirement' years with a little sister).

We are going to celebrate with a special treat for him - he gobbles up the dog ice cream we found for him....

June blur

I feel like I blinked and June is gone.

We got to meet our brand new niece when we got home from DC, she is such a cutie!

I worked 2 weeks and then we left our on long in the works road trip --  Kevin has had this trip in mind ever since he first bought the Jeep. 

We are driving through New Mexico, Colorado and today we got into Wyoming ...2 new states for K! (NM and WY).   We are having a great time sightseeing and off-roading.  We are doing hotels rather than camping (I love my showers and AC!)

We are actually closer to the end of our trip by now, but the altitude wears me out so I've been too tired to do much updating.....I figure I can send updates when I'm back, better to fully enjoy the trip while I'm on it.