Birthday Pictures

I had a birthday dinner .... way back in February. A good time was had by all.

After we ate, we wandered over to the playground. She seriously could not get over her shock for a few minutes. I think she liked it ;-)

Despite the fact that this was smack in the middle of the decision to uproot my family's life as we know it, I smiled a lot this day. Even years are good years for some reason, and I know 28 is going to be awesome.

Things Lately

On Mondays, I get to work from home. I may not look too hot, but this was a pretty awesome lunch. There was nothing extremely spectacular about it, other than it was a normal day. We sat on the floor, we at lunch, we played, we cuddled.

And yes, that is a 2" scratch on my face from a certain over excited little girl ;-)

Tuesday we drove to San Antonio for my most recent Craigslist Score:

Sorry about the mess. I'm not fooling anyone with "My house is always clean" bull.

Liv got a roller coaster! I thought she would be much too little for it when we brought it home. We set it up while she napped. When she came downstairs she looked at it for about 3 seconds, turned to me and said, "Agablahgiohti?!" and ran over to climb up. She pushed herself off immediately and laughed the whole way down. Then she repeated 4672 times.

Yes, she's naked to recover from a diaper rash. Focus on that face! SO sweet!

Do you know what this is? A big girl bed. An empty one. No, we're not making the transition officially, I just forgot to take the pack n play back to my mother's so we attempted this. It resulted in her sleeping (happily) on the floor by the door for an hour. Half success?

We took a trip to see Grandmother last weekend. As always, we stopped in Johnson City for a break. She loved the swings and especially the slide.

"Mom, this is a pretty big slide ....... WEEEEEEEEEE!"

Kitty in play pen. Just cute.

Sweet. Just sweet. Oh, and heartwarming. And all those nice things.



She played in the fountain outside the Italian Restaurant. She told me there were ducks, but I think she was lying ;-)

Kitty, Livy, Poppy

Liv took a dip in the Guadalupe River.

Even Parking Habits Change

I started working for my company when I was 19. So over the years, it hasn't been uncommon for me to pull in on a Monday morning and yank a parking pass off my dash. They were usually acquired at some hip bar downtown.

Tuesday morning (since I'm not in the office on Mondays), I pulled in the parking lot and started laughing. There was a new kind of parking permit on my dash.

My, my, how things have changed. 

And your daily does of cuteness. Liv loves sour cream, apparently. She started off dipping chips in it, but that didn't last long when she gave up and went for the gold.

"Give it back!"

Wordless Wednesday - Puppy Madness!

We went to Zilker Park on Sunday, and ran into some adorable puppies! One in particular just fell in love with Liv, and vise versa. She did great. She was so gentle and sweet, without even needing any coaching.

Cooking

I've been trying new recipes from Pinterest for a few weeks now.

Last night we made This Little Girl's Guide to Sugar and Spice's Broccoli Cheddar Soup.

(Her photo, not mine)

It turned out pretty darn good! I would/did make a few changes:

1. We used 2% Milk to cut down on the fat and calories. Since the soup has flour, 2% milk didn't affect the creaminess of the soup at all.

2. Make sure to use regular cheddar cheese. Don't accidentally buy mild cheddar like I did, because you'll have to use twice as much cheese. Oops!

3. Also, I'm probably going to cook the flour before adding it to the rest of the soup next time. It took a long time to cook the flour taste out of this soup. My plan is to use half the chicken stock with the veggies, and half with the flour and milk. Once the flour and milk is cooked, then I'll combine.

This soup was a hit! We'll definitely be making it again. I'm wondering how 2% cheese would work. Maybe half regular cheese, half low fat? I'm worried it won't melt well, though. Has anyone cooked with low fat cheese?



Perspective

This blog has evolved over the last few years. It started off as a blog mostly about my life as a newlywed. One thing it won't be: A blog about my life as divorcee.

I think most people know by now that Chris and I are going through a divorce. I've been hesitant to talk about it here - in such a public, permanent place. I am not ready to go into all the gory details, but I am happy. I feel good. I wake up in the morning and see a more colorful world. The heartbreak and the tears and the sadness all became things of the past once we started the divorce process, and that is what has helped me to know I've made the right decision.

We have 41 days until we can finalize (not that I'm counting or anything) the legal side of things. There are so many things to do, and so many other aspects of our lives to separate. I feel like changes are coming, and yet so much is staying the same.

One thing that hasn't changed is Olivia. I think I've settled on a blog title and subject of "Olivia's Perspective." Maybe it doesn't mean anything to you, but to me it means the world. Seeing life through Olivia's eyes has changed everything. It's made life so clear. It's shown me what's important. Obviously, she is my number one priority, but when I have time, her point of view has even helped guide decisions I've made just for ME.

Milk!!!

It's too early to call my Mother, so y'all get to hear about it ;-)

Liv drank milk!!

We've offered her milk several times a day, every day for the last 2+ months. On the rare occasion she'd take a sip, she'd make an ugly face and spit it out. We've tried regular whole organic milk, 2% organic milk, even almond milk. Hell, one time I warmed it up with honey. I thought we were doomed (since she also hates cheese and yogurt).

This morning she asked for some of my milk. So I obliged. She continued to finish off several ounces in the glass and drink some more when I refilled it. Granted, it was Mootopia Skim, but it's better than nothing!

This feels like such a victory :-)

Where Do I Start?

 

Yes, the title was such a tease, and this post is not what you were expecting. I know about this -------------->


But for now, I'm having fun, I'm happy, and Chris and I are getting along fabulously. So forgive me while I continue to be annoyingly vague and drone on and on abut my adorable child.

Photo credit: Bansky