6710 Grand

Ike has taken a liking to my new job.  He's absolutely OBSESSED with cows and pigs.  I let him look at a photo of Duncan on my phone once and now that's all he wants to do whenever he sees me scrolling through my phone.  He'll climb up on the couch next to me, force his way onto my lap and say "piggies?"  If I say no, he responds with "Cows?"  Because I must be looking at one or the other.   Last week during the big snowstorm, Indraloka posted live videos of the cows in the snow.  Ike would watch for HOURS if I let him.  I was trying to get a few things done over the weekend so I was down in my office.  He would NOT let me do anything on my own so finally, I relented, put on the videos and walked away.  I got much more done in the kitchen.  

 God is my salvation.  I will trust and not be afraid.  Isaiah 12:2 Success is important to me.   Success in work, parenting, marriage, life in general—I want to be successful.   I work hard at it, sometimes making unrealistic demands of myself.   I set a goal (to burn 1500 calories a day more than I eat; to bake 25 kinds of Christmas cookies during the busiest season of the year; to raise $2500 every day for my organization—because that’s what we spend; to not get frustrated with my kids) and push push push to get it done.   Sometimes I make it (a lot of times actually) and sometimes I don’t.   When I do, I feel good—like I can take on more and keep it going.   But when I don’t, I internalize the failure.   I forget that sometimes the goal isn’t realistic or that there are things beyond my control that keep me from hitting a target.   It’s never easy when it doesn’t work out the way I see it in my head. Sometimes I forget that my life is hard.   (Isn’t everyone’s?)   I’m not inter

 It's my favorite time of day--the early morning.  I'm awake but no one else is.  The house is quiet.  The coffee is fresh.  I can cuddle up on the couch with a blanket and a book, watch something not animated, or sneak down to my office to unload a few thoughts or ideas.   It doesn't last long, but I savor every moment.  It's the time of day when I can, for a short while, stop being mom and wife and just be Robin.

 They're sort of everywhere.  On the counter, filling the freezer, in the cookie jar, on platters.  Half-finished in the fridge and on baking sheets.  Everywhere! Cookies. Lots and LOTS of cookies. It's like this every year.  We pick 25 different kinds and set out to bake one every day starting on December 1.  It started out much more modestly--only 3 types back in 2006.  Then I found a cookie cookbook and it went up to 11.  It's grown steadily until I finally put a stake in the ground at 25.  One a day until Christmas.  And that's what we do.  The girls love helping.  Everyone loves eating.   I don't eat them really--maybe one or two here and there but mostly, I just bake them.  This is the busiest time of the year for me (big shock!) not just with my own family holiday preparations but at work too.  Fundraising hits its peak in December so I'm going going going more than usual.  Baking calms me down.   I have a pile of ingredients in a corner of my kitchen: 25

 Yep.  Did it.  We adopted dogs.  Not just one--two.  What on Earth was I thinking?   I know what I was thinking.  I was thinking about all of the amazing childhood memories having a dog gave me.  I was thinking of Iris and her sweet note asking us to consider one (she's being raised by a fundraiser, what can I say?).  I was thinking of the many, many animals needing homes.   And so we found Pookie (I HATE this name) and Lucy (Also one I would not have chosen given our recent loss).  They're a bonded pair who's former human died.  There were five dogs in the home and the other three found homes.  Pookie (the Pookster, Pook Pook, and often just Puppy) and Lucy (Luce Luce and sometimes Lucy Lu) are always together.  He's ok without her, but she's NOT ok without him.  So far, we're getting along well.  They're older dogs and not really puppies which is good.  Some kind of chihuahua mix, they're quite small so they seem like puppies.   Most days, they hang o