Friday!

so excited for today -- it has been a busy, but not busy, but really busy week.
today:
-jon's birthday
-last day of work for 10 days
-class party -- lots of sugar cookies, a gift exchange, and finally finishing (they didn't last week) santa paws
-clean sheets
-seeing family and friends

and speaking of friends -- one of my friends forwarded this to me yesterday and i found it quite interesting:

conflict minerals -- company rankings  -- you might be surprised -- like i was -- three cheers for the proactive companies!

lots of good reads and information on the site: raise hope for congo -- take a minute to click through

i like this boy almost as much as he likes fritos and i like taco  night -- happy birthday!

a quick share

chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies  

i made these for our annual bake day and really enjoyed them a lot.

needing to bake some more cookies to pass around -- but am thinking they might be an after christmas treat at this rate -- where did the month go?  

today is our christmas program at work -- the little ones have done so well practicing this week (thank goodness) and i am sure they will be fabulous this afternoon.  kids christmas programs are beyond cute.  definitely adding to the holiday spirit!

hope your holiday spirit is going strong -- if it isn't -- i recommend baking cookies and watching a holiday movie asap!

two for tuesday

so yesterday i had a morning moment where i was really sure --for about an hour-- that it was friday -- but it wasn't, it was only monday...

since yesterday really was monday that means today is tuesday and it's time for two good things that i have found this morning:

i haven't been sleeping well lately -- especially the last two nights -- jon and i are pretty sure that we belong on an 11-8ish sleep cycle, but it just isn't very realistic for daily life.  bummer.  therefore, i am back to creating a new, more productive sleeping time....hmmm....

this morning i ran across a few articles to share

sleep - why you need it and how to get more of it  by dr. frank lipman
- a little long but some good reminders

winter survival for your skin -- who has dry skin about this time of year?  me me me me me  - this year i am trying to do so much better  -- i don't know about the "so much" - but i am doing better - trying to form the habit of lotioning up right before bed...

two more quick tidbits:

taco night is soon approaching -- this picture is from saturday haystacks -- yum

also, i have been using my bite guard for the past week.  it is amazing in several different ways.  one -- my jaw is much much less tight in the morning -- two -- it is causing me to realize (even more) how much i clench my teeth.  excellent.  definitely worth the money, though i wondered when i was paying my dentist bill this last month.  

picture time

dinner out with the family on saturday-- grandma and my sister too

jon and bradley at the parade of lights

one cold, but very happy, group

sunday's annual bake day -- just a taste of all the yummy

tuesday night's christmas tree adventure...

and taco night in the messy kitchen -- too many other things to do than clean tonight -- like eat christmas cookies and watch "date night" with friends

wednesday morning maple bars with jon and my brother and sister

tonight we watched "four christmases"

it is one of my all time favorites -- "mistletoe!"

happy night to you too!

tomorrow night: decorating the tree -- stay tuned :)

two for tuesday

 ---  watching right now:  10 questions with Michael Pollan  - i have been reading his books so it was interesting to watch the interview -- i like him and agree with most all of his viewpoints -- mostly -- you get to vote with your fork 3x's a day -- vote well consumers!

---  and just thought i would share one of my current favorite websites: mind body green  --  this morning it loved  10 Tips To Set Yourself Up for Success Every Day

and one more:  what are we eating? what the average american consumes in a year

tonight is christmas tree night!  hooray hooray hooray!

december!

this was our driveway the other night for a few hours -- luckily it was about 20ish degrees colder than it is today --sad story that i woke up this morning and looked out my window to no more snow.  it's might have thrown me into depression, but i rallied and had homemade granola with huckleberries for breakfast.

it's december 1st -- crazy!  25 days til christmas -- send me a comment and let me know what your traditions are -- jon and i are getting ready to start some more of our own this year -- i'm liking new pj's on christmas eve and the twelve days of christmas -- it would be new for both of us

december 1 also means it's time to start my december daily book --  ali edwards kind of started the fun -- here is a link to her site where she talks about her process: december daily album

oh my -- i just looked at the clock -- time for work -- i'm late i'm late i'm late -- or soon to be if i don't get a move on it!