I love holiday weeks! The husband took off this entire week and even though during the day he is busy helping his brother with some house work or working on a friend’s car, I still love that we can have lazier mornings together. We still both naturally wake up around 6 am and then just stay in bed talking and resting for an hour…usually joined by M halfway through that time. It’s certainly a special time.

Based on an article I read recently, I should expect to live to 200 years old! Okay, I exaggerate. The article discussed how having fulfilling relationships can extend a person’s life expectancy. Makes total sense to me and based on how blessed I have been feeling recently with my family, friends, all of you, and the many other relationships in my life, I feel like I should live forever.

And I totally just went off on a tangent. This morning, Peter & I were talking and have decided to change baby B’s name. This wouldn’t be the first time name changes have happened in my family.

Our dog Roxy used to be named Tinkerbell. My friend gave me the nickname Tinabell a long time ago and so when Peter got our dog as a birthday gift to me he named her Tinkerbell thinking I would love it. I hated it but was too embarrassed to tell him since he seemed so happy. About a year ago we both realized we hated the name and changed her name to Roxy. I think it confused M more than the dog.

My name is actually Christina, but I much prefer Tina. My family always called me Christina so I didn’t think to call myself differently until college. Then, Christina was already in place with the exception of two of my friends. Peter and a few other friends call me Tina. I always think of myself as Tina.

Makenzie usually goes by Kenzie or M. We rarely say her full name. As long as she isn’t called Mak. I don’t like that nickname. My sister and Peter’s brother both love to jokingly call her Easy Mac.

Other family member’s names have been shortened and changed thanks to what kiddos call them. My grandfather was always Grandpa when I grew up. About 10 years ago his name changed to G-Pa because my cousin would only call him that. It fits him so much better though. He’s a rad G-Pa.

My sister is now officially Ha-Ha instead of Heather thanks to M’s special term of endearment. She is quite funny so it works. Personally, I just like laughing at my sister. 😀

And now, baby B will no longer be Braedon Hunter. Instead,we have switched to Braedon Michael. Hunter is my G-Pa’s middle name and I intended to carry it on since I thought no one else had. Well, my little boy cousin above has Hunter in his name. Peter’s family is huge into Michael as a family name and when I mentioned it to Peter I could tell how much it would mean to him. So, Braedon Michael it is! Maybe it will help him live a longer life too with close relationship ties. 😉

• Do you have any nicknames? What about family names?
• Do you think relationships can have an impact on life expectancy?

The three winners of the Exercise TV video downloads are...

- Shannon @ A Better Me
- Holly @ Couch Potato Athlete
- Kasey @ Fit for Wellness

...you will receive an email with your download code from Exercise TV soon! Thanks to all who participated!

After such an amazing weekend, I worried that today would feel disappointing. Or that the good feelings I left the weekend with would not continue or last as I approached real life again. I happily report that I had a fabulous day. Likely one of the best I have had in awhile. Nothing spectacular happened, but simply a change in perspective from a refreshing weekend that reminded me of true blessings helped immensely. Some nice surprises to come home to didn’t hurt either.

While I was away, Peter worked hard painting a couple special rooms.

We switched Makenzie to the bigger room, with my old apartment’s bedroom furniture, and put baby B in her old nursery. I have a ton to organize between the two rooms and the playroom downstairs. I am so thankful to Peter for painting and getting the rooms ready for me to do that. Good thing I feel that nesting instinct kicking in!

I also came home to a special delivery from Theresa @ The Active Eggplant. She very kindly sent me the Stieg Larsson book series to read at my leisure. I miss reading books like this, but can’t find the time to finish books in the library’s time limit anymore. I can’t wait to dive in!

I also feel surprised at how much Makenzie seems to have grown in just a  few short days. That kid is speaking in longer sentences since I left.

One thing that did not surprise me was my happiness to eat my regular food choices again. I loved the food on the retreat, but certainly missed my oats and fresh fruit/veggies. It felt good to include those at my meals today.

And I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that even after many, many sweets this weekend, I still crave something sweet right now. I may just have to top off the night with a bit of chocolate “agape”…and time with my husband instead of even trying to catch up with all of this…

Sometimes you just have to…and there’s nothing wrong about it. I love you all and can’t wait to catch up more soon!

• Anything exciting to share with me since I had to skip out on reading this weekend’s posts?
• What was the last surprise you received?

Reminders:

• Sign up for the Holiday Gift Exchange if you haven’t already. I am adding as I go along, but with over 60 participating so far I can’t respond to every email. I will send out a verification email shortly before assigning partners in a couple of weeks. Thank you to all who have signed up already. Also, thank you to those who haven’t because they know they can’t commit.That is extremely respectable.
• Ask me anything for the November Q + A series. I have about 10 left right now and could use a few more to fill up November. 🙂