December

I missed November. Not literally. I was very present for November. I just missed November here. November was very good to us. And now it's December. And we can't hardly stand it! December. Christmas. Our favorite. family. Here is what we plan on doing:

1. Listening to Christmas music every day.

2. Going to a presentation of Handel's Messiah in St. Augustine.

3. Going Christmas crazy with our lights outside (Our neighbors have no idea what's about to happen!)

4. Finding a perfect tree and decorating it while we wear P.J's.

5. Actually sending the 2 years worth of Christmas cards I've accumulated.

6. Enjoying our paper whites in the living room.

7. The First Presidency Christmas devotional.

8. Enjoying Night of Lights in historic St. Augustine.

9. Seeing more of our wonderful families.

10. Making my mom's caramel corn. Yum.

11. Doorbell ditching some deserving people.

12. Reading the Christmas story from the Bible and the Book of Mormon.

13. Seeing the lights and window displays downtown.

14. Planning and throwing the ward Christmas party. (It's going to be GREAT)!

15. Baking up a storm of goodies.

16. Slowing down, amidst all of this list, to catch up with dear friends, and especially family.


Alright guys, if you're still there....What are your plans? Any traditions that you're carrying on? Or anything new you can't wait to do?

Reminders.

I'm full of reminders. I've started carrying 2 planners. And a notebook to keep up with myself. I have alarms set on my phone for different meetings and places to be. I'm not going to go much deeper into these past few weeks than that. It's been a whole new level of busy around here.

Yesterday however, amidst all of the reminders and alarms and places to be, I got in a quick much needed chat with one of my nieces. My sister in law has just a her fourth little one, and this specific niece I was chatting with has had a difficult time adjusting to life with another baby at home. So I stopped by to spend some time with her. And oh goodness did she have so much to say. And inside of her excited chatter, she taught me quite a lesson. See if you can catch it....

Me: "How's school going? Making any friends?"

Kate: "Oh yes, there is this girl and her name is Tess, well that's not really her name, her name is Tessa, but we call her Tess, and that's okay because my real name is Katherine, but we call me Kate. And she is so nice, and, OH!! Did you know that the 'i' is a letter in the alphabet?! My whole time being little, and I never knew that! (insert little laugh) And Tess is real nice.. (and she continues on for quite a while this way about Tess and school.

REMINDER (to me): There are so many little things to be excited about. So many things to find joy in. 'i' is a letter in the alphabet for heavens sake, and that is exciting!

NC

Here are some of the highlights from our recent trip to Pittsboro NC. This was my first time spending more than a few hours in NC, and I must say, I loved it. We found a letterbox, enjoyed the wedding of David's older brother Jeff, and his bride Cheryl, and had some time to play in Pittsboro (who was having an art market the day we were there). It was a lot of fun, the pictures don't do it justice!

Playing outside the reception:

The happy couple, David's bro Jeff, and our new sis Cheryl.

Letterboxing with the other Goodes (Allison, Doug, Jonathon, and Jillianne)

Shorter

And a little blonder.

Dating Dilema

Okay ladies and gentlemen, I need your help.

We've reached a place in our marriage. I'm happy to be at this point, mind you, because i think it's a wonderful place to be. We are so comfortable that we don't really date. Don't get me wrong, we do everything together. If we're not working, we're together. But it seems harder to date. Does that make sense? This is where you come in....what do you do for dates? I need some fresh ideas. What's your favorite place to go together? Or your favorite thing to do? In Jacksonville, or just in general. Here for example are a few of our go-to's:
St. Augustine- just to walk around, maybe a ghost tour, a walk around the fort, and stops in the galleries around the plaza.
San Marco- the little theatre, and a walk at Landon park.
Home depot- this is a recently acquired favorite! Nothing like dreaming over sinks and washing machines with the one you love =)

Thanks in advance for your ideas!

Lettuce, Lavender, and Beef Stew.

Don't worry they're not the ingredients to any new culinary creation from my kitchen.
Just the things I'm enjoying today.

I checked lettuce off my grocery list this morning as I walked out of the Home Depot garden center. Maybe it's not quite what I was supposed to get but my little baby lettuce plants look pretty perfect in their new home next to the beets. I've never attempted lettuce before, so I'll be sure to keep you posted on the adventures that are to come. (Oh how I love my simple life).

And the Lavender happened completely by accident. It wasn't on a list or even on my mind until I walked past it in my new most frequented store (see above). I was on my way to the lettuce when a familiar smell reached me. I then, realizing it must have come from one of the plants near by, proceeded to pick up and smell every plant with in 10 feet. A few employees and a bit of a stuffy nose later I found it. Lavender. And I had.to.have.it. Some women swoon after shoes. Some lust after bags. Give me a few minutes in a garden center, and I'll surely find some pot of dirt and a little green sprout to lust after. What can I say? Maybe it's not glamorous, but it's how I roll okay? So a few 10 minutes of rationalizing that lavender was actually a need (to fill in a void left when I'm not in my Grandparents garden and potentially make some soap) I had my second purchase of the day. And now it sits on my porch waiting for me to find it's perfect home.

And now, the beef stew. Which also wasn't planned. It just so happens to be drizzling, and outside has the appearance of chilly air (of course this is a terrible trick, because once you open the door the blast of humidity takes only a few seconds to hit you). But nonetheless, the beef stew is in the crock pot, the rolls are in the oven, and my day feels as full as it can get.

Hope you're enjoying a Saturday full of unplanned goodness,

which after all seems to be the best kind.

Happy Birthday!

David had a birthday! It was kind of a weekend long celebration, it started at my parents (see above picture), where he had to be the center of attention (which he loves to be so much, again, see above picture) for birthday cake and presents.

We had a special dinner and chocolate cake last night before going out to enjoy the evening at our favorite bookstore. It was so nice here yesterday, I joked that the earth was celebrating David's birthday too. And maybe it was just a coincidence, but really he's something to celebrate.

Mostly because he......

Changes the channel when scary previews come on.

Tells me sweet things when I least expect them.

Washes the dishes, and keeps the floor clean.

Knows me better than anyone.

At my request, makes a meeting place for just in case a monster attacks Jacksonville while we aren't together, AND promises to come find me if I can't get to him (go watch Cloverfield).

Also promises that we'll die at the same time...and that he'll write a book to help me keep my memory when I loose it to dementia (see The Notebook).

Finds the good in everything.

Encourages me on my quest to do something big. And believes that I can.

Laughs at the most inappropriate times.

Happy birthday David. Let's celebrate you more often, it was really fun =)