Olympic Fever

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I'm coming down with something.  It's pretty contagious too.  I get it about every two years.  OLYMPIC FEVER!  Are you as excited we are for the Winter Olympics?  We can't wait!  I felt like we OWNED the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.  We watched every last bit.  Of course we didn't have school while they were on, so this time around it's going to be a little harder to make time for all the Olympic glory.  So I'll share our secret to enjoying the Olympics as a family... 

We eat dinner in front of the TV.

Gasp!  I know.  So tacky.  Ha!  The only other time we do this is for American Ninja Warrior.  We have little wooden TV trays we set up in our family room and we enjoy dinner while we watch.  If waited until after dinner to watch we would either have to cut it short for bed time or keep everyone up waaaaay too late.  That's no fun for anyone the next day.

Here's how I'm prepping to take in all the action and cheer on Team USA.  Like any good American, I grabbed some limited edition Olympic Oreos.  I also have a jar of patriotic sprinkles ready to put on anything that comes my way.

If devouring a bag of Oreos was an Olympic event, my family would take home the gold.

Who wants to do dishes when bobsledding, luge and curling are on?  Not me.  I grabbed plastic plates in the colors of the Olympic rings which matching paper napkins.

I set everything up on a tray in the kitchen so it's easy to grab.  Then I did a triple axel of joy.  

Next I stopped to admire the Oreos because they will be gone at a speed faster than a downhill skier.

In the viewing (and temporary dining) room I hung this banner. 

We are ALL SET to cheer Team USA to Olympic gold!

Will you be watching?  Are you catching Olympic fever?

A Great Book and a Giveaway

A sure sign of a good book is when you feel compelled to drop everything, throw your to-do list out the window, and let your children fend for themselves for dinner so you can keep reading.  That was the case with Lincee Ray's Why I Hate Green Beans.  I could not put it down!

Not only do Lincee and I share a hatred of green beans and a deep affection for both Dr Pepper and Troy Aikman, but we both absolutely love television.  I first came across Lincee through her wildly popular recaps of The Bachelor franchise.  I'm thrilled to get to be on the launch team for her book which releases tomorrow.

She has a great sense of humor so I KNEW I would laugh.  I laughed a lot through this book.  What I didn't expect was to burst into tears as Lincee revealed deep hurts and struggles.   We all wrestle with insecurities, disappointments, and circumstances we wish we could change.  Lincee is so brave to share hers in a raw and genuine way.  What I loved most in the book is how she uses her faith to find her true identity and stability when life is unstable.  It was incredibly encouraging to me.  I know it will encourage you too.

Hurry, hurry and pre-order the book here.  If you order it today, you'll get the audio version for free!

I'm also giving away a copy of Why I Hate Green Beans to one lucky reader.  To enter, just leave a comment and tell me what food you detest.  The giveaway ends Wednesday at noon mountain time.

Happy reading!

Movie Night: Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day on a Friday??? It's too perfect!

Groundhog Day is the perfect example of a silly thing that is fun to make a big deal out of for your kids.  So tonight we are going to watch Groundhog Day (obviously) and I'll tell you how we are handling the content in just a moment.

This movie will forever remind me of my "first date" with my dear friend.  She was new to our school in 9th grade and invited me to go see Groundhog Day at the theater.  That was the beginning of a lifelong friendship.  Here we are at age 40 (well, I'm 40, she's almost there) and y'all we talk just about every day!  So this movie, as annoying as it can be, holds a place in my heart.

I made groundhog cupcakes and got the idea here.   

I pretty much followed Bakerella's method, but I used chocolate chips for the noses instead of sunflower seeds.  I think they turning out just darling.

I had this "grass" tablecloth on hand and stuck with black, white and green for everything else.

My kids are stuffed animal hoarders, so I grabbed this little guy and stuck him in a potted plant.  I think he's technically a prairie dog but he today he's playing the role of Punxsutawney Phil.  Personally, I think he's nailing it. 

This plant might look pitiful, but I won it at bunko just days before I had my daughter.  That was almost eight years ago and it's still holding on.

So as you probably know, in the movie Bill Murray is forced to relive the same day over and over.  For dinner I thought it would be fun to have a meal that we just might choose if we had to eat the same thing day after day.  Steaks, baked sweet potatoes and roasted Brussels sprouts with pancetta are on the menu. 

We are trying something new tonight and watching the movie on VidAngel.  Some wise and like-minded friends told me about this.  It's a service you use to filter movies to help keep them family friendly.  How great is that???

Here's hoping you have a fun Friday and that we see an early spring!