February 12x12

I'm not a big fan of the 12x12 on Sunday, because it feels like a such a boring day to document. But, one of the things I like about the 12x12 is documenting the mundane things as well as the fun. So- I added our dumb coke point entering and books I'm reading in an effort to accurately document our lives.




1. the next two books i'm planning on reading are Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo and Moneyball by Michael Lewis. both of these authors recently spoke at the Tate Lecture Series. Dambisa Moyo was especially interesting, because she talked about her recommendation of completely removing all foreign aid to Africa. she isn't proposing to do it tomorrow and without warning, but recommends giving governments a timeline and then cutting off the faucet. given that i work in HIV i am especially interested in her thoughts on how her idea would translate to fighting HIV in Africa.

i also loved listening to Michael Lewis- did you know he is married to Tabitha Soren? he actually made finance interesting. one of the things i love most about this lecture series is the diversity of speakers. next up Michael Pollen. yikes i better get cracking. i'd like to reread In Defense of Food before his lecture.

2. i'm rereading the Hunger Games trilogy in anticipation of the movie and i'm finishing the last book. today was the perfect day to get cozy, because it is dreadfully cold here.. low 40's. i'm a big baby, although in my defense it's hard to get climatized in Texas because the weather isn't consistent. today it was very low 40's (although with the humidity, it was much colder) and in 3 days they are anticipating 70's.

3. my cute calendar from ms. amy. it makes me happy.

4. even lulu's bagel is in a loving mood. she was fascinated on how the heart shape formed.

5. ted and adam making pizza crusts to freeze. we made a total of 6.

6. two of my most favorite people in the world. this is sarah my hugely talented friend. i almost exclusively wear her jewelry and i get a compliment on them every.single.day. seriously, do yourself a favorite and buy her jewelry. i promise you won't be disappointed. not only do i think she is awesome, but so do my kids.

7. ted's valentines all ready to be delivered. thank you Design Mom.

8. one of my young women got me hooked on york peppermint patties. i forgot how delicious they are.

9. ted and lulu after church. my mom made them their cute church bags. some sundays i'm amazed we make it through church intact.

10. lulu's cute valentines for her classmates. the boys are getting mad libs and pencils (again, thanks Design Mom) and the girls are getting melted crayola hearts. i even used my japanese washi tape (also from ms. amy) that i've been hoarding.

11. we enter coke points for free stuff. they consume a huge amount of diet coke at adam's work, so we also enter their codes in addition to ours. we probably drink too much, but thanks to coke points it has paid off. we have gotten lots of movie tickets, frequent flyer miles, great backpack, etc..

12. lulu helped ted with his valentines. they really work well together.

I was getting rather sick of my last post.

• I had a dream I deleted my blog last night. I either need to come to terms with it being a mommy blog or delete it all together. I'm just not sure I want to severe my blogging ties. Although I'm a pretty reluctant blogger already.
  

• Ted is in desperate need of a haircut. His hair has moved from the "cool" phase to the "get that kid a haircut" phase. But, doesn't he look 1970's awesome in this photo (this was about a week before he moved out of the "cool" phase).

• I'm very proud of my Christmas card this year. We got lots of sweet phone calls and notes about it. Now the pressure is on for next year! Although my cousin commented "it isn't often you see a firearm incorporated into a Christmas card".
  

• I haven't had a sip of Diet Coke in over a week. In order for me to give it up, I have to completely stop cold turkey. I've noticed that I only really crave it when I'm stressed.

• Adam got me a North Face down vest for Christmas. It has come in handy these last couple of days. We have barely gotten above freezing. My blood is too thin for these kind of temps.

• My hopes have been squashed. I thought I would be able to go with Adam to San Diego (he's taking his oral boards) for a couple of days to see one of our favorite families, but alas, I have no one to watch my kids. I've tried about everything but it seems like the timing stinks. Sometimes it sucks to live so far away from family.