The fact that I’ve already watched the trailer online about 8 times is probably evidence enough that I am dying to see The Hunger Games movie. And if you’re as obsessed as I am, you’ll be just as excited to find out that they are planning FOUR movies to cover all three books of the series. Seriously, a must read!

On Saturday, Beau and I ventured out to do something we’ve never done before. I know, it sounds really risky, doesn’t it? Well, in actuality, all we did was visit a bar in downtown Houston, but if you knew me in college, well then it isn’t a suprise that I have never really been to a bar. I mean, the occasional ‘after the wedding bar visit’ or once for a meet up with the professors after visiting my college for a conference, ya. But anything other than that? Nope.

Possibly the most interesting part of our bar experience was that the Green Ranger was sitting just a few feet away from us. I swear! At first I thought it was a joke when the entertainers had mentioned it, but we looked him up online when we left and it’s totally true. I was always partial to the pink ranger, but for Beau this was quite the exciting encounter. Who knew my husband was into Power Rangers growing up?

I think the Super Bowl got Ephram a little excited. Yesterday afternoon he started rummaging through his drawers, pulling out every piece of Vikings apparel he owns, bringing it out into the living room, and pointing at it while saying ‘fuh-ball’! Poor guy, if only he knew how long we have to wait until we see another football game, let alone with featuring our favorite Purple and Gold team. But hey, Adrian Peterson was in Houston this morning!

I’ve been trying out a few new actions in Photoshop lately. And I came across this gem this morning that Beau took during our ultra-lounge-around-the-house-superbowl-sunday, right after Ephram woke from his nap. Love that little boy more than anything. Yes, even a little more than the Hunger Games movie trailer or Football. ;)

Two huge months of change. A new state. A new climate. A new home. A new job.

Wow.

December and January were two huge months of change.  From (potentially) selling our house in the North Star state, to moving to an apartment in the Lone Star state, to trading our snow boots for sandals, to retiring from meteorology and staying home with Ephram.  Change I had dreamed of but never thought would be a reality. I’m not sure I could ever feel more grateful.  Grateful to have the opportunity to care for Ephram each day, enjoy every evening and weekend with Beau, and spend more time on my photography.  Grateful for our friends and family for helping us make the huge move; there aren’t even words for how thankful I am for them.

But back up to December.

December marked a month of unknown.  If you know me at all,  you know I don’t deal with change well.  But I think because I saw the potential for us to move awhile before we knew for sure, I was able to adequately prepare myself.  I guess it didn’t hurt that Texas is amazing and we had always hoped to move to a warmer climate someday.  A place with palm trees.  Where snow rarely visited — which is rather funny since snow has been a rarity in Minnesota this winter too.  Yet when it finally did snow, I was quick to put on my boots and snap a picture.  Someday I might actually miss the snow.  But not anytime soon. ;)

January brought less uncertainty, but more change.  We fell right into our new lives without skipping a beat, even though we had no furniture in our new place.  What likely would have taken awhile to feel like home, felt even more odd with empty walls, no desks, or couches, or chairs.  But we adjusted to the new lifestyle, soaking up the warm sun, and enjoying much more time as a family than we could in our previous life.  One of the best parts for me in January was time to rest, clear my head, and even enjoy a good book (or two).  It’s been so long since I had time to sit and read that I had forgotten how enjoyable it could be.

Below are those who are doing monthly self portraits with me. If you’d like to join us, place a link to your monthly photo in the comments below and I’ll add you to the list! – Remember to link back to me too!

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Doppler Dolly . Shanna

Since moving to Texas, Ephram has started sleeping in.  Like beyond 5:45am sleeping in.  And each day I think, maybe I should get up and start my day before Ephram wakes up.  Take a shower, get breakfast ready, do some computer work.  But every day I’ve lounged in bed, reading or catching up on Twitter or just dozing off and on until he has woken up.  Until today, that is.  I woke up, showered, put in a load of laundry, and got our breakfasts ready all before my 23 month old woke up for the day.  And. it. was. glorious.  If you have a toddler, definitely try it. Of course, now that I have realized this little early morning secret, I’m sure Ephram will quit sleeping in.  Isn’t that how it always works?

A certain uncle requested I get back on the Instagram wagon so he can keep up on everyday life with Ephram.  So I’m back, sharing random photos throughout the day, mostly of Ephram, but hopefully as we decorate our new living space, I’ll share bits of that as well.

Some things I’ve noticed about Texas so far:

+ We lose power just about every time it rains. At least seeing the CenterPoint Energy trucks is somewhat exciting for Ephram.  Whenever there’s an outage, we get to watch them fix the power lines from our window.

+ I cannot find sausage pizzas in Texas.  And I can’t seem to find out why!

+ The Houston Ikea does not have Huge A** Fans like the one in Minneapolis.  And apparently other Ikeas have them too.  Houston, I think you need to get with the program here.  It’s my son’s favorite part of Ikea!

+ Bugs. Other than a few bees who visit our lemon tree occasionally, there are no bugs in Texas.  Do they come in the Summer?  I don’t care at this point because no bugs + Texas Winter is like Minnesota Summer – pesky mosquitoes!

Reading: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, the third book of the Hunger Games series.  I think it was Ashley that mentioned this book sometime last year and I was hooked on the plot immediately.  I am so glad I finally had the time to read this series because it’s so well written.  And just in time for the movie! Any Houstonians want to see it with me?

Working on: A new combined blog.  I asked for opinions last week on Ephram’s blog if I should combine the two and I that’s just what I’ll be doing.  It’s going to take some time, but the blogs are in the process of combining into one simple blog.  More on that later.

Until then, I’ll be pondering how a not-even-two year old can operate an iPad so well.  He of course calls it the “pad” though – can’t put more than 3 words together in a sentence but he can use an Apple product.  Now that’s how you know it’s a good company. ;)