Life: It Goes On - March 8

I have a confession to make - since Christmas my mantel (and all of the other surfaces which normally get decorated with snowmen after Christmas) has sat empty. I just could not make myself put snowmen out. Yesterday I decided I might as well just go straight to Easter decorations. Then I realized that my family has outgrown my Easter decorations. When your baby is twenty, stuffed bunnies and plastic eggs don't cut it. What with the forecast for the coming week, I guess it's just time to pull out the spring things.

This Week I'm:

Listening To: Still Jane Eyre, downloaded from Librivox. It's well read and I'm enjoying it. But after I bought four new audiobooks at the library sale the other day, I've been sorely tempted to pop in something I haven't already "read." All of the audiobooks I bought are books I already own in print but I'm far more likely to get to them on audio.

Watching: "The Voice," "Elementary," and "Funny Girl" Friday night while I stayed up waiting for my own funny girl to come to spend the night. Love that she is close enough to do that and still wants her mommy when she doesn't feel good!

Reading: With an empty house Friday night, the timing of #flashreadathon could not have been better. I used my time Friday night and Saturday morning to finish The Boy Who Loved Rain by Gerard Kelly. Last night I started Wally Lamb's I Know This Much Is True which the Omaha Bookworms are reading for the next two months. Hoping I can sneak in a few more hours of reading this afternoon but I've been pretty lazy around the house this week so I suppose I should clean.

Making: A cheeseburger casserole but not a whole lot else. We ate manicotti several times after making it for last Sunday's and Monday's birthday celebrations and sneaked in a few meals out. Including my first ever experience eating out in a real restaurant by myself.

Planning: On eating on the patio on Thursday evening! It is supposed to be 70 degrees and, with Daylight Savings Time, will be plenty light out. Okay, it may be a bit chilly to sit out there too long but after four months of being cooped up, I can't wait.

Grateful for: Quiet time. I love him, but The Big Guy must have noise of some kind going all of the time. He was off with family Friday night and Mini-him was out so I read for a long time without the t.v. on or any music playing. I sometimes forget how much that can recharge my battery.

Enjoying: Talking books with my family yesterday. My dad has just finished a book he really enjoyed, The Cowboy and The Cossack, and BG's sister-in-law was raving about Reconstructing Amelia. Don't be surprised to see more about both of those pop up on an edition of Mama Shep's Family Recommends" or even a review (hint, hint, Dad!). Sister-in-law was also about 50 pages from finishing The Girl On The Train so we had fun talking about that one although I so wished she were finished so I didn't have to worry about giving anything away!

Feeling: A little morose. Mini-him is moving out the end of the month. It will be our first time being empty nesters and I'm not really looking forward to it. Although, I am already thinking about what we can do with his room. Luckily, he works close enough that he can still pop over for dinners once in a while.

Looking forward to: Getting back on the 40 Bags In 40 Days bandwagon and working on my photo organizing project. That's a slow process - so many trips down memory lane! Every trip involves so many side trips, too. Here I am with Mini-him the day we brought him home from the hospital. Sitting on our pink sofa (it was the 80's, people!), the first piece of new furniture we ever bought together.

What are you looking forward to this week? I know a lot of you are still in the throes of winter; I'll try to wish some warm air your way this week!