Ah, cloudy mornings. I love cloudy mornings. Somehow my cup of coffee seems to taste better on a cloudy morning. Cloudy mornings just beg me to get a big mug of coffee and curl up on the sofa with my laptop and blog. Even if I don’t necessarily have a specific topic to blog about. But the atmosphere of the cloudy morning beckons! I must blog!
I made a discovery last week – “The Pioneer Woman”. People, this woman rocks my socks. And apparently she is the most amazing cook with an enchilada recipe that will destroy your kitchen and ruin you for any other enchiladas you will ever have. My husband has been informed that her cookbook is on my Christmas list. I’m not normally a specific “This is what I want for Christmas” type person – usually I just let my husband go wild. He loves giving gifts and is always spot-on with what he selects for me. And I’m pretty easy to shop for. I like clothes, shoes, and kitchen stuff. But this? This cookbook? Oh yeah. It is on my list. My one-item list.
Speaking of gifting occasions, this coming Friday is our birthday!!! And no, I don’t say “our” just to be cute or to sound like Gollum from The Lord of the Rings (creeeepy…) – it is literally OUR birthday. My husband and I share a birthday (2 years apart). It was one of the first weird parallels we discovered about ourselves on our first date. We even got out our drivers licenses to prove it! We always have so much fun celebrating our birthday together. It’s definitely an event!
Things got kicked off over the weekend with a special date on Saturday afternoon. We were spending the day up in the mountains with my husband’s parents, who were camping in their trailer. We ate lots of good food (they spoil us rotten!) and took the baby on his first fishing trip. So fun! We have pictures galore, which I will post later, as they’re on my husband’s phone and I need his help to get them to a place where I can post them within my limited computer capabilities. But trust me, they’re great pictures!
Shortly after we arrived at the campground, my husband’s parents informed us “You have a date this afternoon. A date with some wolves!” As a birthday present, they sent us to the Colorado Wolf & Wildlife Center for a tour! And they got to play with the baby. Which is, of course, always a bonus for them. 
The four of us had gone to the wolf center 2 years ago during a camping trip, and we loved it. Especially my husband – wolves have always been his favorite animal. So we were thrilled to go back! The wolves are such beautiful creatures. The best part is at the end of the tour – the entire group howls, trying to get the wolves to answer, which they typically do! It is so…majestic. The first time we went there 2 years ago I actually got very emotional when the wolves all began to howl together. They’ve had a few new additions and changes since the last time we were there and we had a blast!
And when we got back to the campsite, the baby did something he’s never done before – he reached for me and when I picked him up, he snuggled into my shoulder and stayed there for several minutes. He missed me! It melted my heart a little bit.
Sunday we went back up into the mountains to visit with my grandparents. Husband fixed a couple things on their computer (he’s awesome like that!) and we all played with the baby and then went out for lunch. Baby was kind of clingy with me, which is a new thing for him. But he warmed up to “Granny and Poppy” from a distance and played with them from my lap, giggling and grinning when Granny smothered his chubby cheeks with kisses.
So all in all, an awesome weekend.
And now this week, we begin…Pig-Out Week!
We discovered a couple of years ago that many, many restaurants have birthday clubs. You sign up online, and they e-mail you a coupon for a free birthday meal. We’re up to something like four restaurants and three ice cream places. I’ve pretty much reconciled myself to the idea that I’m probably not going to make any progress on my weight loss this week! But our birthday only comes once a year, so I’m going to enjoy it. Tonight we kick it off with dinner at Noodles & Co. on our way to the grocery store to pick up a couple of things we’re out of. I love me some Noodles! Pasta Fresca…mmm…
And things will culminate with a nice dinner date on Friday, just the two of us.
Which I am desperately trying to get my face to clear up for! I’ve tweaked my skincare routine a bit, and that seems to be helping. But it takes time. Nothing works overnight. Every time I try something new, I know I have to give it a few weeks to really see if it’s what’s right for my skin. But darn it, if I could just stop picking at it! After doing some pretty intensive research recently on adult acne, I realized I’m a chronic skin picker. I can’t look in the mirror and not pick at my face. If I have an itch on my face and I try to gently scratch it, I end up picking at it. And that ultimately spreads the infection and makes scarring worse. I have to let it heal. It’s hard. I catch myself unconsciously reaching for my face all the time. But I’m really trying to modify that behavior.
Finding what works for my skin is a frustrating journey – but I’m fighting the good fight, and no matter how discouraged I get sometimes, I’m not going to give up. There must be something out there that works for me! I’m learning more about my skin all the time – I have a pretty good idea of how my skin likes to be treated, so the field has narrowed in some areas and opened up in others, which makes it easier. What I’m doing right now has helped the massive breakout I was having go down, but if it’s going to heal completely it will take time. Time, and me not picking at it!
And now that I’ve practically written a novel for you, I’m going to go get my day started! Happy Birthday Week to meeeeee! 
