Busy week

As usual, always something going on around here.  First of, I think we are letting the boys play too much computer games recently.  And that includes the biggest boy of them all - daddy!

Bobby clearly needs some more practice, as seen in the video below.  Ha ha!

Okay, moving on.  We made a cherry cobbler pie!  Yuuummm... :-)

For whatever reason, the fruits so far in the grocery stores are just not tasting right.  Obviously it's winter and obviously these fruits are not meant to be grown at this time. I'm guessing that's why cherries and all the other berries are not tasty at all. Makes me miss California!

Thank goodness Ikea is the same everywhere.  I didn't want to pay too much but I really liked these hanging lights. It changes up the vibe in the dining room just a little bit. Even Bobby likes it and so that's a win :-)

I still want to paint the ceiling in this dining room.  Yeeessss.... some day!

We found a new suburb about 30 minutes due East from us called Vernon Hills.  The drive there is definitely a lot less busy than the usual route we normally take when we go out (which is South). And it helps when there's a Shake Shack too:

Haven't had one of their burgers in a really long time.  About a year ago, perhaps?! Everybody is happy although it was a lot more expensive than I remembered it being. Sheesh!

It's so gloomy here that I finally bought a plant light for my indoor plants. I know, right? If anything, it's another use for one of our lamps that we just have sitting in the corner :-D and of course the plants are now happier too:

I've added a few more plants around the house.  I decided to use some of the coconut husk that I ordered online.  We actually use them on the ground, by the back porch for the boys to walk on, so it's not so slippery when it snows/ices over.  Seems like the coconut husk makes a good pot replacement?? 

It's still an experiment, so we'll see how well this plant survives.  But I wanted to use this new planter that I had purchased recently. Aren't those tortoises so cute? I think so!

I meant to wrap this cactus into a kokedama ball but the plant I had in this planter died. So, here's the replacement.  Bobby think it looks a bit obnoxious, if you know what I mean. LOL!!

And here is a project that has been sitting around for a few years. I'm hoping to finish making this panda bear:

And this is what it's suppose to look like - hanging on the branch, which I also have to put together:

Making some progress, slowly but surely:

So this panda bear was a birthday present to Graham a few years ago. He really liked Origami so I thought it would be a fun project for him. Although I didn't realize that "Challenging" was really challenging! Graham did put the head of the panda together.  I'm hoping he will help me out with the rest of it because he has his eyes on another project. I told him he can't start another until we finish this one. Plus, I have the perfect spot in the living room to hang this little fella :-)

Bobby and I have been venturing out on a few lunches this week.  I finally found some good Pho (Vietnamese noodles) around here. Yay!

So good on a cold day and look how clever this spoon is. Ha!

The local township provides free firewood but looks like it's pretty slim pickings today! Next time I will have to remember to show up earlier:

Enough for a few more fires at least.  Yay!

Did I mention I love my truck yet??! :-)

Looks like the township has lots of tree trunks to go through still. Good things the weather is finally warming up after today though:

Although we can't wait until it snows again.  We went out and bought some new (used) gear for snowboarding, for next season!!

Now I just have to figure out where to put these!! I do have an idea brewing, so will keep you all posted for sure :-D

All of this is making Bobby very tired this weekend.  He is going to be so mad at me for posting this without his permission.  Ha ha!!

I think Graham was the one that put the "heavy" dragon on Bobby's chest.  And I say "heavy" because that stuffed animal is actually weighted - about 3-4lbs, I think. Kids have weighted blankets to help with anxiety and now weight stuffed animals too.  I actually wanted this dragon since I'm born in the Year of the Dragon, but Graham has already claimed it.  Ha!