I fell asleep before 8 last night and laid in the bed until after 9 this morning. Winter is doing a number on me!
We did get out yesterday and walk several cemeteries, taking pictures to fulfill requests. That's so rewarding, people are just thrilled to get the correct spellings and birth and death dates of their family, I have gotten so much feedback and thank-you's, it's a bit of an ego thrill, I will admit. I have met some nice folks, too.
Speaking of meeting people, I joined an outdoor club over the weekend, it's run by women. I am going to the first planning meeting in March, I am surprised I did it! They are not homeschoolers and kids are not allowed to join-though they can attend outings. So it's not a mom-centric homeschool-based group, which is very new for me! But, I am down to my last 5 years at this gig, if that, thanks to the GED. It's starting to be time to look ahead to when we are not homeschooling any longer.
Camping plans are looking like this:
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Yeah, that's crap. This time last year, I already had paid for reservations at Holt Lake and LBL! I have not even been inside the camper in 4 months, we have not camped since last JUNE. We camped April, May and June and quit. Blah, that sucks. I know this year I will be off camping all of September while poor Matt mans the post and keeps the animals fed. But that's 7 months away. 7.5 months. I want something in the works. I still want to do the whole Natchez Trace, though the kids respond each time I bring it up as if I have suggested we go watch paint dry.
What else that's in the works is another weight loss jag, I am aiming for a 24 pound loss this time by September. Matt and I are planning to walk the track tonight and tomorrow while Chan is at practice. I have made our grocery list for this next trip on Thursday, it's full of things that are better choices as I have been...not making those just lately.
The kids have at least expressed interest in backpacking. I got a little excited a few years ago and bought 2 tents, Kelty Jr backpacks for all 3 kids, poles, cooking gear, a little stove, a water filter and lightweight sleeping bags and pads. We thought Matt's surgeries were going to fix his apnea and we would be able to camp without electricity. That did not happen and the kids were still so young that I was not comfortable going alone with them. I tend to bring too much stuff no matter how often I pare down. I could only imagine how loaded down I would be with food and cooking gear and the tents. I even bought Jess a big pack-but she can't carry weight now, her joints would suffer. Maybe Kuma can come along-he could carry Zephyr in there.
With Jake bigger than I am and Ben and Chan able to hold their own on longer hikes, we have decided to lay out a couple local trips-the first in the pasture-and go from there. I am hoping Jake's pack will still fit him, those things are NOT cheap.
