Travel Time, Work Time?

I generally travel by plane, leaving lots of time while traveling to catch up on work... waiting at the gate, reading while flying, etc...

Thursday I'm traveling to Seattle.

I had to remind myself three different times today that I am driving... because three different times I said or thought, "oh, I'll prepare that / read that / write that while I'm traveling this week." Ummm, no.

I'm looking forward to the small road trip. It's been a long time since I've driven more than a couple of hours, and the quiet time will be good for me. If, of course, I can talk myself out of bringing work to do in Seattle upon my arrival. I will not be working while driving!

Leadership = Listening

I've been the "acting director" the last two weeks at work, and have been reminded of many important leadership lessons. The number one lesson: leadership = listening. Listening is not one of my strengths; my extroverted self tends to verbally process, meaning my mouth is often moving before my brain has engaged.

I've been aware of this for years, and have invested a great deal of energy in keeping my mouth closed. Last week, I realized that I still have some work to do. If I want to be an effective leader, I need to focus on listening.

I don't think I've ever wished for big ears before...

Slowing Down a Little...

I have decided that I need to slow down a little. I want to accomplish so many things! However, I'm recognizing my own limitations, and that trying to do everything, all at once, does not allow me to excel at anything.

The challenge for me has always been that I like everything that I am involved with! I don't want to give anything up... so, the compromise is to just do a little less of a few things. Instead of taking 2 courses per quarter, I'll take 1 (yes, I did just drop a class. I'm working through the guilt of that one). Instead of teaching 6 credits per semester, I'll teach 3. And, instead of trying to be everything to everyone, I'll focus on being the best ME I can be, recharging myself and giving myself the same grace that I would extend to others...

Check up on me. I'll probably forget this in a month and will need a reminder that it is okay to be a work in progress. :)

Saying Goodbye to the Elberts

We loved having Mike and Amanda in town for a few months. It was even better that they lived only a mile and a half away. I had so much fun being an aunt in person, not just over the phone

Before they left, the family stayed with us for the weekend. I loved it! The kiddos were having fun, I got lots of hugs and snuggles, and there were more people to cook for. It was an all around win. :)

 Kaiya, patiently waiting for the chocolate chip cookies that we made together to cool enough for her to eat them.

Snuggled together watching The Avengers... and yes, Aunt Jaime may have given them too many cookies, and let the kids eat them in the living room. :)

We were sad to say goodbye, but loved the time we shared together!

Watching the Super Bowl... For the Food...

We aren't football fans. We tried a few years ago... we picked a team whose colors we liked... but that didn't last for long. So, we watch the Super Bowl, kind of, mostly so we can eat all the fun snack foods.

Today was a potluck with Mike and Amanda... I set out cheese, crackers, and summer sausage. 

I also made Bacon Cheeseburger Biscuit Balls:

Baked Potato Skins:

(sour cream and green onion added individually to satisfy personal tastes)

And Peach Crisp - thanks to Amanda's mom's canned peaches:

Amanda brought 7-layer dip and chips and homemade pizza. We had so much food!

The game isn't quite over, but we're about done eating. I'm not sure we'll make it to the end now... but we might get in some leftovers as a snack before bed!

Babysitting

Last night we had the pleasure of babysitting Mike and Amanda's kiddos. Love them! Cam wasn't feeling well, so when he asked to watch a movie we couldn't say no. 

Once the movie was on and Cam had his blankie, he was feeling the need to cuddle.

My favorite part? That he put his hands up behind his head... in true Elbert style. :)

Oh, and that his cute little belly is hanging out. 

Kaiya chose not to wear any clothes for the evening; she had her swimsuit on when we arrived, but it made her "too hot" so she had to take it off shortly after her parents left. Needless to say, I didn't take any pictures of her, although she was very cute. 

 

Kaiya informed me after dinner that she had a plan for the evening agenda: "I was thinking that we could play duck-duck-goose, hide-and-seek, and then color some pictures with my new markers." 

 

Of course she had a plan! She is my niece. And we did play hide-and-seek and color... but duck-duck-goose wasn't in the cards for the adults in the house. :)

We had a great time babysitting Kaiya and Cam!

Cooking Together

Josh is a great cook. Seriously! I just love to cook, so generally don't invite him into the kitchen. Well, that and he tends to be a little messier than I am...

Anyhow, there are some things he just prepares better than I do, like fried rice. Tonight's dinner was stir-fry (Pork and Vegetables in Hosein Sauce) and it seemed like a good night for fried rice rather than steamed. So I invited Josh to cook with me.

It was lovely!

Our kitchen is fine for me, but not ideal for 2. However, we danced our way through prep and shared the stove-top so we could prepare our meal together. And it was delicious!

I'm not sure my overly controlling self can take it every night, but I think we might have to cook together more often. It was a wonderful experience, and reminded me again that I love my husband. We complement each other well.