The Friday Five!!

I don't think we've ever been both so sad and excited to have the winter break come to an end. On one hand, we had a fabulous time hosting, dining, exploring, and relaxing. On the other, we all went through various iterations of whatever flu and cold bugs had been going about town and just kind of overdid everything. So the kids happily went back to school on Tuesday and I happily started a January Whole30. We managed to still fit plenty in this week in between our readjusting to normal life. Take a look!

Cooking -- It's only day five of our Whole30, but I must say that we are slaying this round. I have known Joel for almost 15 years and he has never once taken leftovers for lunch to work until this week. We negotiated hard for who would get the leftovers of this Garlic Lover's Beef Stew.

Reading -- I just started a friend's new book: Defending Giants: The Redwood Wars and the Transformation of American Environmental Politics. Brings me back to my Seattle college days when I studied ecology and is a thought-provoking read (especially considering our country's current political climate). The kids have moved on to another Stuart Gibbs series and are on Spaced Out. I can't really remember another author and set of series that has captured both kids' attentions so well -- they insist on listening to it ALL THE TIME. They somehow both snuck in extra audiobook sessions the other night and I didn't notice until the next morning when I went in to wake them up and found the book still playing.

Making -- the kids both got a ton of maker presents for the holidays, but Cam has been loving this loom. At just over $20, it's a bargain!

Wanting -- ummm marble moto workout tights?! How do I not own these already?

Playing -- We are pretty restrictive when it comes to video games in our house, but we bought Kane the Bloxels: Build Your Own Videogame for Christmas and I'm SUCH a fan. You build your own set, storyline, and characters learning about animation, strategy, and a whole other host of great things along the way. Highly recommend!