Happy New Year

I figured if I typed my resolutions on my blog for everyone to see I might be more likely to actually keep my resolutions this year, so here they are...

-Read more often- I hardly ever read unless I am forced to, and oddly enough I'm not forced very often. I've always said, I just don't enjoy it, but this year I'm going to read anyways. I just read a book this week, and it was lame, so I'm hoping I can get suggestions on better books. I've of course heard Twilight was good, so I figured I would jump on the bandwagon a little late and read the Twilight series.

-Save Money- We'll we kinda have a lot of debt because of student loans. I have referred to our student loans as our "magic money", because it just appears in our bank account every quarter, and we didn't work or do anything to get it. It's just magic. Go figure, this "magic money" thing isn't going to last much longer. So, I'm hoping this year we can transition into the real world where we don't get to borrowing all our money. I want to do more to save money by not spending as much. I want to start coupon clipping. I have seen people save a ton by doing this. So, teach me all you know expert coupon clippers.

-Speak more kindly- Okay, please don't think I'm a horrible mom, but there are some days that I don't speak to my children in the sweetest voice. Baylor is an expert at not listening, and doing the same naughty things over and over again. I mean come on, doesn't he know by now that he can't lay on Chase and suffocate him, or take every toy from him, or crash into him with his car/truck, or push him down, or yell at him for no reason. Brody has pointed out that maybe he yells at Chase, because I'm always yelling at him, because he doesn't ever seem to listen. I don't want it to be like that, so I'm going to try harder to speak more kindly.

-Run 1/2 marathon and do a triathlon- I'm planning on running the Columbus 1/2 Marathon in May before we move. Then in August/Sept I want to do a triathlon. There are a few triathlons in Texas and Louisiana during that time, so if we move to Lake Charles than I should be able to do a triathlon there.

So that is it. Hopefully I can keep these goals. Best of luck to the rest of you making goals too.

Winter favorites

I'm not a huge winter fan, because I don't really like cold weather, but here are a few things I do like about the winter...
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It seems like no matter what I always find money in my winter coat pocket. I'll need to remember that on a random day that I'm strapped for cash. It's like a reserve bank account in my winter jacket pocket.
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I absolutely love the way kids look when they wear winter clothes. I don't know if it's the beanies, mittens or big puffy jackets, but I think they look adorable. I just wanna eat them up, but I don't think it's socially acceptable.
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I love these cute winter boots people have been wearing lately. I even bought myself a pair.
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I finally have a child old enough that the Santa thing is starting to work. I love that just by saying, "Santa's watching", it changes my 3 year olds behavior from naughty to nice...well sometimes.
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I really like drinking hot chocolate on a cold night. I haven't always loved hot chocolate in the past, but this year some friends have introduced me to new ways of drinking it. Like with a Tim Tam or a cookies & cream Hersey bar melted in it, and of course marshmallows or cool whip (as if it didn't have enough calories before).
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Christmas all together. I really love Christmas. Like I mentioned, I don't like the cold weather, but I think that's part of the reason Christmas is when it is. The Christmas season has a way of warming your heart and soul and I love that.

So, those are a few things I love about winter time. I hope everyone has fun getting ready for Christmas and enjoys their winter season.

Oak Park Dental

This is the dental practice Brody will most likely be working for when he graduates in June. We visited it about 2 weeks ago and love-love-loved it. The dentist/owner is revising the contract right now and will probably have it to us on Wednesday.
It is a huge practice and Brody has the potential to do really great there. They get about 300 new patients a month! The economy is strong in Lake Charles, and the town is growing. The 2 dentist that are there are booked out for 7 months. So, they really need a new dentist and I know Brody will get tons of great experience there. A lot of the staff has been there for 15-20 years, so they are very efficient, professional, nice, and have it all together. The dentist/owner is probably one of the nicest guys ever. Every one of his staff, and people in the community just love him. He also seems like he will be a great mentor and will be able to help Brody with anything.
The town seems nice. The people were really nice and friendly. They are obsessed with eating good ol' Cajun food. Everyone we met talked about crayfish, gumbo, shrimp, etc. I'm sure it won't take us long to become Cajun fans ourselves.
We know there are other options that could work for us, but we both really feel like this is the best. We are excited to know where the next step in our lives is probably going to be.

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving in Houston this year. It was so fun for us to visit my family. Baylor had a blast hanging out and playing with cousins. We arrived in Houston Wednesday and stayed until Sundays. On Sunday Brody and I went to Lake Charles and left the kiddos in Houston so my parents could watch them, and we could check out a dental practice in peace and quiet. I'll tell you more about the dental practice in the next post, but to sum it up, it was great and the dentist and his staff were so nice. Here are some pictures from Houston. I just realized I don't have any pictures of Thanksgiving, but if you use your imagination I'm sure you could picture it. It probably looked similar to yours but just add a lot of crazy Jensens. I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday. Happy Thanksgiving!