Back From Christmas in Alabama

On Monday we drove back to Texas from Alabama.   It took us 13 hours.   We can usually do it in 12 1/2, but we had the misfortune of weather and stopped traffic to slow us down.   We left at 5:15 am from my in-laws's house.   I asked them to pray for us as it was pretty foggy.   We had no fog once we left their town.   We had no rain all the way to the Alabama/Mississippi line.   Then, it started raining, a lot!   A few times I couldn't hear the radio because the rain was coming down so hard!   We encountered an overturned chicken truck in Mississippi.   Unfortunately, it looked like most of the chickens were killed in the accident.   I've seen chicken trucks before and the chickens are packed very tightly.   These chickens were thrown around inside the cages and arranged in unnatural positions.   Moving right along...next, we narrowly missed being in a chain reaction accident.   I'm glad I decided I was not going to join the nutcases in the left lane tailgating each other in the rain.   I moseyed along in the right line.   The accident happened about 5 cars in front of me in the left lane while I was in the right lane.   God is good.   We got down to Louisiana and there were three accidents in the span of one mile.   It rained again in Louisiana so hard I could hardly see to drive.   We finally got to Texas in time to see the rain clear and the sun set.   We rolled into our driveway at 6:15 pm with two happy meals from McDonald's and some tacos from Jack in the Box.  We unloaded the truck and went to bed.  

Yesterday, I started unpacking and sorting through the mail.   I love reading all the Christmas cards we get each year.   I haven't done a Christmas card in several years out of shear lack of time.  Those of you who send them to us please know we enjoy them!  We also started homeschooling again yesterday.   Since we took two weeks off at Thanksgiving to drive home from L.A., I felt we needed to get started again.  

Today, my daughter and I had appointments for our flu shots.  My arm is pretty sore, but I am glad to have it over.   I also had coffee with my sweet Grandmother today.   Today, we also found out the shooting schedule for a movie my daughter booked recently.   I originally thought it was a SAG short film, but it turns out that it is a SAG full length film.   We have to be back in L.A. by Friday, Jan. 6th.   We are leaving Tuesday to head back out and plan to stay all of pilot season.  My unpacking has turned into repacking.  I have to take a variety of clothes for my daughter.   My son and I will take some clothes.  My husband will bring out clothes to change things up when he comes on weekends to visit.   I also need to take down my Christmas decorations.   I'd planned to leave them up most of January to enjoy them since I was gone most of December, but I need to take them down.  Otherwise they will be up until May!   I've also booked play dates with besties and doctor's appointments.    Things certainly got interesting quick!

Last fall, I didn't take any crafty type stuff to L.A. and it nearly drove me crazy.   I read A LOT of books.   I am trying to figure out how I can either get some of my scrapbooking stuff in the car or my sewing machine.   We were pretty tight on space in the Fall, but I have a better handle on what I do and do not need.   Our apartment is furnished, so that is a bonus.  The kids like to take some toys, so I am working on getting those into smaller containers.   I brought out a big tub of Legos out this Fall and the kids loved playing with them.   I found this in a junk store in Alabama.   It was also full of Legos, which I prompted cleaned. 

It holds a ton of Legos and is much smaller.   I think I am going to fill plastic shoe boxes with the other items the kids want and save some space.   I am debating taking my crock pot.   Sometimes days are so crazy with auditions that I don't have time to cook.   On those days, I can just throw the stuff in the crock pot and have dinner when I get home.   It will save us money on running to pick something up because it is 7:30 at night and we are starving!   I am in packing mode and trying to think of everything.  

I did come home from Alabama with another fun storage container.  I've had my father-in-law looking for library card catalogues in the various junk stores he visits.   He found four of these:

They are wood and have Lillian Veron stamped on the back.  He stacked them and connected them together. 

Introducing my new storage for Legos:

Sorted by color

Yes, it is an organization loving chick's dream.  
He also got some card catalogue drawers from the library in town that is renovating.   I'll post a picture of those in May when I have time to do something with them!

The blog may be quiet for a few days while I try to build Rome in a day.   I have a friend who blogs over here and I love that she ends every post with a scripture.   I'm stealing her idea.  

"There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens"

Ecclesiastes 3:1