Life as a Lewis

And just like that, the first 6 week of 2019 have disappeared. We are busier than ever, which makes sense since we have a tween and teenager and Brian has two jobs. This week as we came home just in time to fall into our beds for the 4th night in a row, Brian and I both said "this is no way to live!" So here's a quick list of a few happenings in the Lewis family. 1. Just enough snow and ice arrived one Sunday in January to qualify for a snow day. It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday all wrapped up and cozy. Brian took multiple naps; we watched a whole lot of football and played games. The kids had a second snow day last week but the adults weren't so lucky. As usual, Tennessee has wild mood swings that take us from record-breaking temperatures of 78 degrees one day to 20 degrees the next. Let's ignore the mess - it was a snow day! 2. Camden continues to toy with the idea of becoming an oncologist. He chose ovarian cancer as the t...

We dove head first into the deep end of the pool and barely know how to swim. That's how this week has felt as we all returned to work and school full time. January has never felt so busy! But we survived the first week and we're prepared for week #2. 1. Turns out recovering from surgery (even a little one) is harder than it seems. Or, as my boss kindly pointed out, the older we are the harder to recover. Proof my skin does not like adhesive. 2. Camden caught me off guard this week when he mentioned that he's been thinking about going to medical school to become a gynecological oncologist. Not gonna lie - he didn't know what that specialty involves. I think he would be a great doctor. It's a fine line to walk between encouraging him to pursue whatever career God places on his heart and not influencing him in choosing that career. 3. Finished my first book of 2019. 4. Brian and I booked tickets to NYC for spring break. We're taking an early an...

The 2018 Christmas season has come and gone much too quickly as usual. Our Christmas break was a little different this year with a few quieter days on the front end, busy days at the end of a 2-week break. Our family continues to miss loved ones, and the new normal is still not quite normal. Mom is recovering well from her rotator cuff surgery but dad is still responsible for the bulk of the care and feeding of my mom and 4 grandparents. She has done so well, but it's a long recovery. Becky and the boys visited for 6 days. The girls still got to have their after-Christmas shopping day (and, yes, purses were purchased); we still did appetizers and Dirty Santa (on NYE this year). Brian, dad and the boys had a football night while the girls had a movie night. Our group took up the entire back row of the theater to see Mary Poppins (delightful!). Camden and the cousins spent an incredible amount of time playing video games, talking about video games and planning to play video game...

I take reading seriously. It's been my favorite thing to do from my earliest memories. I was the kid hiding my book underneath my textbook, hiding under the blankets at night with a flashlight; a trip to the library was as good as a vacation. And so before 2018 is history, I wanted to review my 2018 in books.  I completed 67 books, heavy on the fiction side. In 2018 I learned to define the kinds of books I enjoy. A few common themes: likable characters, books focusing on a specific skill or specialty ( The Ensemble ), historical fiction from WWII ( We Were the Lucky Ones ) and early American years ( Love and Other Consolation Prizes ), books focusing on social justice or issues ( Dear Martin ,  Evicted ). While I don't read nearly as much YA as I used to, I do still like the occasional highly unrealistic teen love story or dystopian novel. Although I don't really set reading goals, I do sometimes highlight a general direction for my reading. For instance, in 2017 I...

Christmas music is playing, my Frasier fir candles are lit - the generic Aldi version that took the internet by storm and the Anthropologie version  (currently 30% off with 85 hours of burn time) - and I have an extra cup of coffee in hand. Brian took the kids Christmas shopping this morning so I'm sitting in an empty house with only the glow of the tree lights. It is incredibly gray and gloomy outside. Exams, bus runs, and basketball/soccer practice ended yesterday. I made a trip to the library and brought home 22 books to get us through the weekend. There are Christmas cookies in the pantry and plenty of coffee in the cabinet. We have a couple of quiet days planned before family arrives Wednesday and our family holiday begins. ***** 1. A little trip down memory lane 2. Not a single student on his high school run on the last day before the break. 3. As a freshman (and taking all honors courses), Camden felt the pressure of cumulative e...

Now that my personal computer is back up and running, I finally uploaded pictures from the big girl camera to edit and post - all the way back to February 8 of 2018. Crazy! It was so good to spend time looking at pictures, and I was reminded all over again of why I love my camera and photography. I'm planning to post a year's worth of photos over the next 2 weeks (sadly, there aren't many) beginning with February. I bought Rory the best book to commemorate Black History Month. The book highlights influential women, both historical and present day. Rory's favorite chapters featured Rosa Parks and Dominique Dawes. First time using a flat iron (pretty sure she hasn't used it since).

1. The ice Sunday morning was beautiful although I'm still waiting for the weather to result in a snow day. 2. I'm super behind on buying gifts, planning for the week of Christmas with guests, baking, etc. Know what I'm not behind on? Taking advantage of sales for myself. 3. This week a certain teenager in our house lived up to the hype of how challenging teenagers can be. Fingers (and toes and everything else) crossed this is a short phase because it is not fun. Where's my sweet kid? 4. It's Homecoming Week at school so Rory dressed up every day although this one was my favorite - teal eyeshadow, tie-dye, crimped hair, and overalls. 5. If you have a Trader Joe's or an Aldi's grocery store nearby, make sure to pick up Stroop Wafels. They are SO delicious, and I've bought more than a few packages both to snack on and to include with gifts. ***** A quick update on me: I saw my oncologist today for scan and bloodwork resul...