January 2015- Cheese and Chess | The Harris Family Blog

To begin this edition of the Harris Family Blog, a quick blurb is in order about my expanding….waistline. Because it wouldn’t be January if I didn’t discuss (complain) about the extra 5 (ten) pounds that I acquired over the holidays (starting in October).

Cheese = Evil. Except that I love it, and by love it I mean that if I had to choose only one thing to eat for the rest of my life, it would be cheese. Now, that scenario would be a shame since cheese ALWAYS goes better with a glass (or three) of wine. I love cheese on things, in things, as a side, and as a whole meal. Case in point, for New Year’s Eve I was making dinner for just myself, because John was sick and the kids had something delicious like Totinos pizza. I went to the grocery store, under the disguise of getting John some cold medicine and came home with THREE different types of fondue.

Three.

One is plenty of cheese for a month’s time, three is enough to last the whole year. To make myself feel better, I eat the fondue with carrots and a green apple….Plus an entire baguette and a side of cheese.

Hello, my name is Julie and I am addicted to cheese. I feel better for getting that off my chest.

Moving on….

What else did we do in January?

John went to Palm Springs for his annual boys golf trip (the first of many during the year, let’s be honest). This particular week each year is also known as “the 5-day period where Mom doesn’t shower, put on makeup, or cook dinner.” We eat fondue, of course.

I kid. We eat Chinese takeout with these people.

This lovely couple, who are rumored to be getting hitched this year, were nice enough to come over and provide me with some adult company, just when I needed it most.

And, Jackson got a couple of games of chess in with his favorite opponent.

There were two people in particular who missed John terribly while he was away….

…..mainly because this is what happens. He would have never let this happen, let alone take a picture of it. Sometimes, he has more compassion for the dogs than the kids:-)

YEE HAW!!!!

The remainder of the month was relatively low-key, especially when compared with the previous months. But, that’s what I like about January…..it’s time to take a breath, regroup, relax and get ready to conquer 2015 with a vengeance.

So, that’s exactly what we did. Many a Friday night, you could find us at home making pizzas….

Or cuddled up on the couch….

Grandpa visited a few times and taught his grandkids the fine art of “spoons.”

Please ignore the dead plant in the corner.

Note the empty wine wall….what?!?!?

And lastly, the back-to-school routine for the big kids allowed me to spend some quality one-on-one time with this little lady. I decided it was time to begin teaching her the finer points of “ladies who lunch.” Grandma Jane would be sooooooo proud.

(So what if we’re at Subway? We have to start somewhere….)