Great Gift Ideas For Christmas

Even though I didn't join the madness of Black Friday (I'm talking about those people who started at 10 pm on Thanksgiving night and into the wee hours of Friday,) I did my fair share of hitting the stores with my mom and my two girls.

I got to sit and chat with my mom as my 14 year old perused the YA books. (Here are my shoes again Beth!) We hit Old Navy, Aeropostale, Bath & Body and few other retailers. The next day I could be found with Husband and the family at basketball practice.

Do you remember me buying these shoes from Land's End? Yes, I still have them and yes those are fuzzy socks!

Yesterday I dropped by some really cool sites for some neat Christmas present ideas.

How about this Etch A Sketch iPad case from Think Geek for the techie you love? Umm, that would be me...

Aren't these PB & J throw pillows the cutest? Etsy always has unique gift ideas.

Maybe you want something sensible this Christmas? Like some pots and pans?

Calphalon pots and pans are amazing and you can find them at any fine retailer.

But for me, I would really love these, but they are way too expensive. I found them on a blog last year and still dream about owning a pair...but $100 buckaroos for Ugg slippers? Ugh, I don't think so...

So what's on your Christmas list? What did you buy already? Did you join the millions who raced around on Black Friday, or did you shop online from your own home on Cyber Monday?

When Life Gets A Hold Of You...

I wish I could say "you haven't heard from me because I was away on a Mediterranean cruise; or hiking the Andes or even on vacation," but it's because I've been so busy working. Or living in real life.

The last few weeks have been strewn with four birthday celebrations, a huge snowfall, a thaw, working away from home, working from home, a dentist visit for all three kids, piano lessons, parent teacher conferences and all the other in between things that keeps life a buzzin'. (See, you're all caught up.)

For goodness sakes, I haven't even had a chance to take many pictures with my new Nikon D3000 SLR.

*sigh*

It's just that way sometimes. In fact as I was saying "see you next week" to one of my piano students last night, the office manager at the school of music where I teach said, "umm, there's no classes next week because of Thanksgiving..."

Oh yeah, Thanksgiving.

And yet I am so thankful, I was belting out "Give Thanks" at the piano the other day, apparently too loud, that the neighbors overheard me and actually stopped raking their leaves. Yeesh.

But I am, so thankful that is, for:

Husband, our three children, a sweet, yet neurotic 130 lb. English Mastiff, my new found work, the fact that we live in a state with four seasons and that last week's 5 inches of snow was just a hint of what's to come. (We love Christmas in the Midwest.)

There's more, but you don't need to hear it all.

So in case life gets a hold of me again, which I think I hear a 12 lb. turkey calling my name, have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving. :)


{photo: The little pond that runs through our tiny Midwest town.}

A Wedding & A Weekend Getaway

In our family we're notorious for cramming in as many events into a short period of time. We're crazy that way. So among those happy, albeit whirlwind-like four days, we celebrated our oldest daughter's 14th birthday; jumped from store to store for a birthday shopping trip in the big city; had a birthday lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings; bought an SLR camera (I'm still giddy with excitement!) threw in a romantic weekend getaway (after dropping off our three kids with my parents;) attended an outdoor wedding and went 'trick or treating' in the rain.

The wedding was one of the most beautiful weddings Husband and I have ever attended, with a gorgeous backdrop of changing Fall colors.

The bride's dress was beautiful and the entire ceremony was so touching. Even the bride was wiping away the tears.

Husband and I used this opportunity to spend a relaxing weekend away from it all. 'It' being kids, work, stress, laundry, the dog and all the other demands we parents have these days.

Our hotel was a luxury boutique hotel which upon arrival we were immediately upgraded to the 'Platinum Suite.' (Our key cards didn't work, so they changed our rooms!) Included was a kitchen, a fireplace, two flat screen TVs, a king sized bed and a double whirlpool tub. I know!

Our trip consisted of wine tasting, a pub visit, a stroll on the water, breakfast out for the 'Best Breakfast In Town' (unfortunately it was also the 'Worst Coffee in Town,') a stint at Starbucks, a walk on Main street and lunch at a Mexican restaurant. (Look how clear the water is, and yes! That's my shoe!)

Stop.

Husband: Are you really taking a picture of your shoe? Me: Yes, bloggers love to see shoes! (Plus they're sling backs that look like ballerina toe shoes and I got them from Goodwill for $5.99...) 

That's my Salted Caramel Mocha. A treat while Husband read online news and perused ESPN, of course. We were all dressed for the wedding, just chi-laxin' at Starbucks.

And while we were sitting there...

...what should go by but a horse and carriage. (They must have known this was our romantic getaway weekend!)

All in all, it was a wonderful time. I can't wait to post next about my camera. All of these photos are unedited due to a busy work week ahead, but I couldn't resist posting about our trip. That's how awesome my SLR is!

Hope your weekend was a good one! :)

Mommy Mantras And Other Randomness

This time of year is especially hectic. Usually one of our three children picks up a bug from school-check; I usually make a big deal for our seven-year-old's birthday festivities-check, we move into our eldest daughter's birthday (in two days) and then into Halloween. Throw in a wedding we're attending this Saturday (just Husband and I, woohoo!) and my mind is reeling with details. Still not sure when we'll be carving pumpkins and baking those delicious pumpkin seeds...

But I'm not too worried, in fact I'm calmer than usual, having given into my two new mantras, a) "something's gotta give" and b) "there's a fine line between_______" Maybe these are just cliches, or just movie titles, who knows but lately I've been saying things like:

"There's a fine line between loving your children and smothering your children."

and

"I just can't do it all, that (messy room/dog slobber on the wall/phone call/school form/appointment/hobby) is just going to have to wait." 

You know, really profound things like that.

Mostly, I'm just trying to match up the mental calendar in my head to the one on our kitchen wall. A mom I talked to last week basically said "motherhood will suck the life out of you." I'm feeling it sista.

A Girls' Night In

There was a lot of football in the house this weekend, we were flying our flag and watching the neighbors up the street don themselves in the appropriate team colors. But our girls (meaning me as well) can only take so much sports in one weekend. So while the boys decided to do football, I rented the "Ramona And Beezus" DVD and hung out with my girls.

The movie based off the children's book series by Beverly Cleary was well done. I remember reading the books as a kid and loving the antics of the adorable, yet tenacious Ramona. (Does anyone remember her "pixie" haircut?)

What I appreciated even more about this adaptation was the "G" rating and the relationship between the two sisters. It's hard to find a nice kids movie that isn't laden with innuendos and mature scenarios, even at a PG - PG13 rating!

Our youngest cried at two parts and I admit there were some very tenderhearted moments in the movie.

But all in all, if you're looking for a nice movie for young girls, and an opportunity to bond with your daughters, I highly recommend this movie! :)

40 Days Of 'The Love Dare'

Rarely do I have a planned post. The nature of a "jane-of-all-trades," I suppose. But I've been fooling around with my work camera, a Sony DSC-H7, trying to figure out aperture settings and so forth.

This is good practice for me, because like many other mommy bloggers, I'm on the "I really want a 'Canon Rebel SLR' " rage. That's called coveting, by the way.

So I meant to write about photography and link to some cool photo sites. But after looking at this photo, I'm going on a completely different tangent. Surprise!

That's my engagement ring, from Husband, I love it. It's an estate piece (which is fancy for "used.") Fitting for a Goodwill/garage sale gal like me.


The book is The Love Dare. While many of my bloggy friends have committed to doing 31 days of something, I'm doing 40 days of 'The Love Dare.'

On a side note, the story about how I acquired this book is sad. I won it from a mommy blogger 3 years ago. Months later, that same mommy blogger disappeared from the blogosphere. If I remember correctly, her marriage dissolved...but don't quote me.


For whatever reason, I never used it. But since my schedule is so busy, I've been unable to join a Bible study, so this is my 5:30 am ritual/devotional.

Whether you've heard of this book or not, it's a great tool to help you reflect on your marriage, but also about other "self"  issues like; selfishness, pride, greed, and let's add coveting since I'm all over that topic.

Because I'm doing this freelance thing, it makes me dream about Macbook Airs, Canon SLRs and iPhones. All of which I don't have. I'm thankful that I have access to some of it because if I had to buy all of it at once, forget about it, I can't even imagine. (Hey look, there are my old curtains sitting on our rocking chair in the background. Would be nice if I took them to Goodwill at some point...)

Funny, material things aren't the only things to desire. Even bloggers desire more exposure, sponsors or followers, etc. (That's Kelle Hampton's blog I'm looking at, the one that I posted about without really posting about it.)

Anyway, if you really delve in deep enough, these chapters can help remind you that a solid, loving marriage is okay to desire! So, I've taken the dare, maybe you have in the past too.

What are your thoughts on marriage and "the wanting of things?"