Ten on Tuesday.

1. I woke up on Saturday morning with the cold that Fisher came down with on Friday afternoon. No warning. I am all done with this and ready to have my nose back.

2. It would be great if the sun would make an appearance. I know it's been hiding for at least 5 days.

3. Got a clean bill of health from the dermatologist today. I don't know about anyone else, but if I could change one thing about my childhood it would be my lack of sun protection.

4. It seems our family needs a whole cupboard just for water bottles, as they are multiplying. Unfortunately the cupboards are not.

5. Middle schoolers still have cute mispronunciations. Sadly, I think we're past the days of her saying liblary and callepitter, but just last week I got "persipate" instead of perspire, and I didn't even try to correct that.

6. Yesterday Minnesota Kelly Barnhill won the day by picking up the prestigious Newbery award for The Girl Who Drank the Moon! My very own daughter won the day by not only watching the awards live with me for the umpteenth year in a row, but by suggesting she'd like to miss school so we could be at the presentation in person. I mean, how do I make that happen? Do I have to be a librarian?

7. Currently reading = Homegoing. I am only 50ish pages in, but I can tell you this is one amazing book. Layered, generational, important, well done. I'm not a fast reader, but I don't mind savoring this one. (As long as I can renew it.)

8. Currently wrapped in a blanket while the kids play outside in the mild temperatures and taco meat simmers on the stove.

9. Kids get Thursday and Friday off this week!

10. We have been waiting for a free weekend to take the kids to see Hidden Figures, maybe this is the one.

The big 4-0.

Big birthday, come and gone.

Lunch with my husband.

Dinner with everyone. So very glad I could spend my 40th with my Mom!!

Then, Ron had a 40-balloon bouquet waiting when we all arrived at the Radisson Blu on Saturday afternoon. 40 balloons is a lot, let me tell you. Kids listed the balloons on their favorite list from the weekend.

Weekend fun:

Mani with Alla
Pool for the kids
Hanging up my coat for a full 24 hours
Fisher beating us at mini golf in the Mall of AmericaBurger Burger
Breakfast at the hotel
Not cooking for two days
Finishing a book, starting another
Sleeping in the hotel with all of my loves and my 40 38 balloons (pop)
Coming home to sunshine and thirty degrees

I would love to impart some wisdom upon turning 40, but all I can say is that it feels like New Year's Day, very fresh and at the beginning and appreciative and full. There is something that happens from the day you're 39 and 364 days to the day you turn 40, and maybe it's perspective. Maybe gratitude. Maybe understanding. Probably it's simpler than that. In our family we practice gratitude everyday, but this feels a little bigger, a bigger thank you. 40 years is a lot. 40 might be the new 30 or whatever garbage they are spewing in Hollywood, but it is a lot of years. A lot of earned years.

I am so thankful for so much, for my family and for health and for love and for these awesome balloons.

Ten on Tuesday.

Trying to get back to making a habit of this, so...

1. My big 4-0 is now 3 days away!

2. It's Tuesday, which means Fisher and I started our day at Chess Club.

3. Looking forward to leftovers of last night's Lentil Soup. This is an absolute family favorite.

4. Just finished The Sun is Also a Star - very enjoyable. Alla seems to be in a lull when it comes to handing off books to me, so that means I get to get back to my wonderful friend Katherine's book, Very Married! Katherine is a gifted writer; you'll want to savor these words.

5.The two novels I didn't get to from my 2016 list are Christodora and Homegoing. I will be getting to those very soon, as I'm sure Alla will start thrusting books at me if I don't. And also she truly wants me to read The Land of Stories. And also if the final Penderwicks book comes out this year, I pledge to purchase the set and devote the time to all five in a row.

6. I am getting near the end of Amy Poehler's (audio)book, and admit I am eager to be done with it. I'm too far in to quit now, but the problem is I kinda don't care. If you love SNL or Parks and Rec or AP herself, this is the book for you and there are definitely some hilarious parts. But. I don't care that much, and I'm going to have to remember that before the next audio book I pick out.

7. We got a tiny bit of snow yesterday and it's still snowing today, which is lovely, because prior to this we just had the deep freeze and a dwindling snow pack. The snow is so so pretty.

8. This may be the first winter on record that I haven't complained that my face is so dry. Success! Now if only I could figure out my poor cracking hands.

9. We were treated to Alla playing in the orchestra concert last night. I love to see her growth, am so impressed that she has learned to play the violin, and cannot believe how wonderful the high school orchestra sounds. I am hoping and hoping that she plays all through high school.

10. My awesome daughter also helped me greatly this weekend by sitting here at the computer and creating a 2017 calendar for our family so I could finally order it. She can't wait for it to come so she can show the family.

So glad it's the weekend.

I woke up this morning already looking forward to going back to bed. Not because the day was going to be too depressing and I couldn't bear it, just because sleep is so great.

And our bed is so great.

And on weekend mornings, one or both kids will often come down and join us for a reading-snuggle party until we're hungry enough to get up.

And, it's been bitterly cold, so tucking in with good books is what you do this time of year.

I'm reading The Sun is Also a Star, and listening to Amy Poehler.

Happy weekend!

Ten on Tuesday.

1. Happy New Year!

2. It's 2017. That's a big year. We are officially ten days away from 4-0. I am not sure why the use of we. Perhaps it's going to take me these ten days to get a grip.

3. In the meantime, this is the state of my living room. Just keepin it real, yo.

4. Kids went back to school today after a swell winter break. No one was very excited, but Alla seemed great when I picked her up, and Fisher said it was such a fun day. Perhaps they missed their routines more than they thought.

5. I wanted to go for a run today, outside, but was thwarted by a treacherous glaze on every running surface available to me. I hate the treadmill, but today was grateful for it.

6. Ron and I have both recently finished our read-alouds with the kids. He finished the Percy Jackson series, and I just finished The Land Without Color, which Alla and I picked up at the Twin Cities book festival in the fall. Local author!

7. I read Adam Gidwitz' wonderful The Inquisitor's Tale, and would not be mad if this wins the Newbery. It's that good.

8. Strangely enough, I did not set a reading goal for the year. I am deeming this the catch-up year, moving to the top of the list all those books that I've been pushing aside for newer ones. I'm intrigued by re-reading Harry Potter. I know Alla wants me to read The Land of Stories. We shall see. I have yet to take all of the books off of my library list, so not sure how successful I'll be "catching up."

9. We are looking forward to seeing Hidden Figures, maybe this weekend.

10. For Christmas I got a Vitamix from my very lovely husband, so I am back on a smoothie kick (kids still call them moo-moos), drinking lots of green smoothies.