Life: It Goes On - March 9

It's spring, it's spring! Or at least, it finally feels like we're almost there. We're supposed to get a few really warm days this week and dinner on the patio is a real possibility for the first time in five months. I'm headed off shortly to pick up some paint supplies - I've had a couple of pieces of furniture I've been wanting to paint and I think today I'll be able to get outside to do that.

The Omaha Film Festival was held this week and we headed off yesterday to catch a block of comedy shorts. We're always impressed with the quality and variety of movies they have at the film festival. It's fun, too, to people watch; such a wide variety of people attend from the predictable "artsy" crowd to middle-aged suburbanites (us!) to young people.

Here's What I'm:

Listening To: I'm all caught up with Radiolab, Freakonomics, and The Splendid Table podcasts and now I'm working on catching up with NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcasts.

nbcsports.com

Watching: Hollywood Game Night hosted by Jane Lynch (one of my new favorites for watching while walking on the treadmill), new episodes of Person of Interest and Elementary, and lots of basketball, both high school and college. Our Husker men and women are making for some exciting games this year and we're loving watching Doug McDermott and his Creighton Bluejays make a run at the Big East championship in their first season in the league.

Reading: I'm over 400 pages into Outlander now but I've got to tell you, I'm having some real problems with this book. Because I'm reading it with a readalong group, I'll plug along but I can't see myself continuing on with the series. Half way through the book there had already been three rape attempts on the lead female character. I'm also going to start The Goldfinch this week for discussion with the Omaha Bookworms next week.

Making: Nothing memorable last week but this week I'm making a couple of surprises for my Dad for his birthday.

Planning: Another staycation next weekend. If I'm going to play away a chunk of next weekend, though, I need to make sure I've got things in order before I leave.

Grateful for: Being close to family - this week is my dad's birthday and they are coming in to have dinner at the restaurant Miss H works at so she can be his waitress. So happy to be able to have these times together.

Loving: An article I read yesterday about a family of five that downsized into a 665-square-foot home. I'm so inspired to get back to reducing the amount of "stuff" we have. Now if I can just convince The Big Guy that the fact that we have room to keep something doesn't mean we should.

Feeling: Like dancing. I've got Pandora running and I'll be dancing my way through the house cleaning this afternoon.

Thinking: I wish I worked four-day work weeks. There is just not enough time on a weekend to get everything done that I want to get done and still have time for fun.

Looking forward to: Heading down to a deli across town today which has a university student art display up; Mini-me has some work up. His stuff is unique and I can't wait to see how it compares to what his fellow students are doing. No water color landscapes for our boy!