Christmas Miracle!

DH charged up my cell...just to see if it might work. IT DOES!! Hurray!! Anyway, can't chat. Babes is waking up from her nap. Talk to you again soon!
~B

Happy Holidays!!!

Hi y'all! Very excited as vacation is t-minus 5 hours!!! And we may get off early. Hoping that's the case. So, last night, up 2.5 pounds. Not surprising as I'm PMSing. Plus, it's the holidays and I haven't been too careful. Between last night's lovely basket from Hil & Hayley and this morning's treats, I'm in sugar overload!! So, I'm cut off for the holidays. Well, trimmed down anyway. :) Really, I just want to maintain. And get off the 2.5 I put on.

Two parties tonight, mini picfolios and wrapping tomorrow, then that's it!! We're in Hfx for Christmas and heading to CB for New Years. I don't have web access at home (poor mom & dad haven't joined the computer age), so the blog will be updated on my return. Till then, have a happy, safe holiday!!! And please, PLEASE, if you drink DON'T DRIVE! Little E will never meet her wonderful grandfather because someone thought they were "okay" to drive. Get a cab, stay the night, swallow your keys when you get to the party. I don't care what you do but please, consider the safety of others, if not yourself.

Shay & fam - hope your sadness is replaced with joyful memories of dear Mary. Mari & fam - wishing all the best to you and yours! GJ - love ya my dear, sorry I missed hugs, lots of drink, lots of dressing, gravy & chips! And to all the rest of ya, thanks for takin' the time to read my ramblings. :)

Love y'all! Peace out!
~B

Movie Night - SNOWCAKE

Wow...what a stunner. DH & I really liked this movie. Very kwirky and uniquely Canadian. Amazing acting...Sigorney Weaver was AMAZING!!! She plays a highly functional autistic woman. The story goes that her daughter bums a lift with this sad, lonely fellow and not long in the journey, they are hit by a transfer truck and she's killed. The man goes to visit her mother for forgiveness and to somehow relieve his guilt over this incident and previous skeletons in his closet. Very moving tale. I recommend you see it. It'll leave you thinking.

So, I broke down last night. After all this temptation with the 12 Days, I decided to have dessert last night. Something that I really wanted and haven't had in a long time. Montana's Apple Cobbler. It was delicious and I don't regret enjoying it. I didn't finish it and I found it extremely sweet. Next time, I'll make a low-fat, sweetner version at home. Still, sometimes you need experiences like that to make you realize the truth. It is hard to leave that guilt on the shelf though. I'm constantly reassuring myself that it was a conscious decision, not a whim, and I learned from it not to have it again. Still, it's a struggle.

Tonight's weigh in and I don't expect to go down. I'm PMSing so I'll likely be up a bit or stay the same, which I'm cool with. I indulged with 2 desserts and 2 dip/cracker days. Overall, I am pleased I haven't eaten my way though the holidays. I'm a bit concerned about going to CB next week without coming back with cargo. I think I'll do alright now. I just need to prepare.

Anyway, I really must go. TTFN!
~B

Gettin' jolly with Old St. Nick's!

In case you've never heard of the stuff, READ ON!! Old St. Nick's eggnog liquor just happens to me one of the best ever, in my humble opinion. I discovered it a few years ago as I was shopping around the liquor store...versus pick up and go. Had to try it...and fell in love!! They only bring it in during the holidays and once they're gone, that's it! Just like regular eggnog. Now, you can do it straight with ice but I prefer mixing mine with milk. It's funny, you think mixing rum and eggnog would be easy but I never quite got the right mix. With Old St. Nick's there's no guess work. Just pure holiday deliciousness. :) Pick up a bottle (if there's any left) at your local NSLC. It's not expensive. A quart is around $13. And you might want to pick up 2. One for yourself and one for company. :) Thanks J-man! We just drained ours yesterday. Your gift couldn't come at a better time. :)

Last night I finished off the ornaments HURRAY!!! And baked!!! At lunch I'm going to pick up some fixin's for E's daycare Christmas party. Santa's dropping by!! Hope she doesn't run and cry. :) Tonight DH & I are going to the premiere of Snowcake...hopefully. I never know what time he'll be home so it's a guessing game whether we'll go or not. If we do go, I'll be off the hook for Christmas projects. All I have left now is preparing the cheese & crackers for the party, figuring out what to bring to the 2 parties I have Friday night, the wallet picfolios, the desktop picfolio, wrapping and that's it!! Whoo hooo!! At least I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Oh, and I have to find out the mass schedule for my church. Because I live out in the boonies, our priest floats between 5 parishes. So likely we'll only have 1 mass at ours. Last year it was at night. I'm hoping for a daytime mass so E won't be up late.

Well, better get going. TTFN!
~B

The Need to Please...

...gets especially terrible around this time of year. We run ourselves raggid and really have no one to blame but ourselves. I guess I should speak for myself only, really. I take on way too many projects way too close to Christmas and then I stress through the holiday season. It must be that whole need to please syndrome. Maybe if I work myself silly over the holidays, someone will notice and pat my back extra hard. Seems so silly to have this need to feel loved and appreciated yet at the same time feel undeserving unless I make these sacrifices. Realistically, I know the people around me love and appreciate me. Guess I'm just a praise junky. How sad is that?

With that said, I finally finished my secret project. I call them Comfort Packs. Included inside is tea, coffee and cocoa all separately, decoratively wrapped of course. Oh, and a few of my homemade, scrumptious shortbreads. What makes them so yummy is the icing. I put a little marachino cherry juice in the icing. Delish! I brought them for the guys in the office. They really liked them. I almost pee-ed my pants when Thom called my shortbreads "nipples of venus." So funny!! I'll never look at one the same again. :) Joseph was very impressed with my card making. I'm getting the nack of it. It's become an unhealthy addiction. :)

So, tonight I'm back at it. I need to finish my ornaments, wrap up the daycare teachers comfort packs and maybe wrap a little. I have a few other projects to work on but they'll wait till later. Anyway, I better get going. TTFN!
~B

UPDATE: Survivor Pool results

I came in third!!!! Yes, from the bottom of the heep I rose to 3rd place winning my money back! Whoo Hoo!! Kristen, who was CLEARLY in the lead, guessed the top 5 right (cheater) and took the top prize. Anthony, who was near the bottom of the pack, voted the exact same as me, came in second. We both voted the top 3 correctly and had the bottom 2 switched. Nice to win, even if it's not a million dollars. :)

~B

All I Want For Christmas...

...is to have my voice back! My goodness, I sound AWEFUL! I've been whispering since yesterday. Until Ann, one of my workout buddies at Curves said it's the worst thing you can do. So I'm using my cut in-cut out voice now. Hopefully I won't get many phone calls today. :)

So, the weekend. Friday night is a bit of a blur. I believe I worked on Christmas cards...oh yeah, and made shortbreads, which turned out beautifully! Saturday I got up early and thought I'd get out early to get some shopping done, etc. Well, that was the intention. Oh well, still, got out with DH. He dropped me off at Geo Valentino's (hair salon). Nicolle (co-owner)'s husband used to work with Jeff. She did an amazing job, as always! She shortened my hair in the back, left it long in the front. Side part with swooping bang and "poofed" up at the crown. I'll post a pic soon. And she coloured it brown with blonde highlights! I absolutely love it! Even though Mrs. William's is truly disappointed that I've lost my wings. :)

After hair, DH & I finished shopping/running errands and grabbed a quick bite before going home. Then the mad rush to get ready for the party. I quickly painted my toes and dressed in my $lutty Christmas outfit. :) Instead of explaining, I'll post a pic from our bit night out! Went downtown to the Tap Room (former Upper Deck). Delish hor d'eourves, lovely meal, a little slow but otherwise the service was A1. Got a lovely prize and then the music kicked off. Unfortunately DH forgot to bring earplugs so we left way earlier than I wanted to. Still, probably the best thing for me since I'm sick (and now have no voice). I'd love a re-do of the night including earplugs and sickness free. Lets hope for next year.

Sunday was relaxing for the most part. Continued working on my secret project. Still 1 more part to complete. Survivor was awesome. I almost had the top 5 right with the exception of mixing up the last 2 (4th & 5th) positions. I'll tally it up and let you know the winners later.

TTFN!
~B

The Plateau is BROKEN!!!

6.5 pounds down!!!! Very, VERY thrilled today. I knew I was down but had no idea. I'm now WELL under my pre pregnancy weight and am 9.5 pounds away from my High School graduation weight. I'm so darn proud of myself!! And I'm all geared up for the holidays with some new tools. SFL now has 25 Holiday recipes available TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC at www.simplyforlife.com to help me/you get through the season without over dueing it. There are a ton of great recipes I've printed off to use. Low Fat Eggnog, Apple Stuffing, Peanut Butter Bumpy Nuggets. I can't wait!!

So while I was out last night, did some shopping for MIL. They had a "sweets" day at her work today and she didn't really want to bring any in since there are diabetics at work. Instead I picked up grapes, cheese, dip & crackers at her request. I'm really proud of her for making such a great choice. It's easy to get caught up in the ol' "well It's Christmas...it only comes once a year" game and eat your way into the New Year. Personally, I'd like to get through the holidays without putting on anything extra, unless it's a nice warm sweater. :) And from what I hear, MIL's coworkers are really enjoying it!! Hurray MIL!!!

I also met DH for dinner at Montana's...yummy! We chose fairly well. Chicken Fajitas and Ribs which we shared. The ribs weren't fatty at all so I guess they weren't too bad. However, we certainly didn't need the cheesy spinach dip...but it was delish!! :) Before heading home, I popped into Michael's and picked up "snow" for my ornaments and accessories for my secret project. Speaking of which, I still have to print off some wallet pics for another project. But after that, I'm doing alright. Tonight is cookie baking night. I know, you'd think it would be tempting but not so much. I like shortbreads, but they're not my favourite. Plus they're part of my secret project so I can't eat them all. :) I may try one...just for quality control. (hehehe)

Well I better get going.
TTFN & have a great weekend!!
~B

Cell phones & Washing machines DON'T MIX!!

Hard, hard, HARD lesson to learn. But I did. Last night. I want to cry. Guess it's not so bad. I'm due for an upgrade anyway. DH dropped his down an elevator shaft into a giant pool of hydrolic fluid a few months ago. He got a fancy, smancy new phone. At the time he saw a bunch of phones, one of which was pink!! If I can get that one, it's mine. :) Love my pink.

In other news, I'm 95% done my cards. Well, the cards are completed but I'm part way through addressing them. And of course I have to wait for the damn pics of E to come back (Saturday). I have the ornaments 95% done too...just need sparkles ("snow") for the insides. Unfortunately, I had 1 casualty. One of my glass balls bit the dust. It wasn't my night last night. :) So, this evening, DH & I are weighing in...I feel I've lost this week; DH doesn't think he did at all. Afterward we'll grab a bite and he's getting me to pick out one of my Christmas gifts. Yeah I know, there'll be no surprise but he would rather (and so would I) that I pick it out. I asked for a new outfit to wear to Curves. I'm really stoked about it. I think it's the best practical and indulgent gift I could choose.

So, the other side project I have in mind is a go. Well, if I can get all the stuff I need. I'll keep it a secret since some of my co-workers and friends read my blog. :) I drove all the way out to Costco on my 1/2 hour lunch only to find that I left my wallet on my desk at work. D!OH!!!! Anyway, I'm going to attempt it again today. Hopefully I'll have everything together over the weekend and have them ready for Monday. Monday is also my turn for "12 Days". Every year, our work has a sign up sheet to bring in goodies for everyone during the 12 business days before Christmas. I picked Monday so I'll have all weekend to prepare. But I decided not to bring the traditional sweets. Rather, I'll pick up grapes and cheese...give everyone a break from the sugar.

Well, I better get a move on. Hope you have a great day. Stay away from the evil washing machine. :(
~B

O Christmas Tree!!

She ain't naked no mo!!! Hurray!!! Last night was a classic Christmas scene. After E's bath, her & Nana came into the living room while Mama unveiled (un-fish net-ed) the tree as Christmas tunes play in the background. E was a bit nervous until the blinking lights came out. :) She loved them the most I think. I managed to trim the top branch to put the star on top. I swear with the star sitting on the branch, it's like 1 inch from the ceiling. But it looks really nice. Dear MIL sacrificed her extension cord so we could plug in all the lights without incident. Then the red ribbon, sparkly ornaments and the special ornaments we've received over the years. I still have 2 from Brownies, 1 from a teacher in grade one and 1 from that same teacher again in grade three (Mrs. MacKenzie). It's so nice to remember all those special moments from childhood. Then there's Emma's 1st Christmas ornament from Mama. And Nana's new tradition of giving E an ornament every Christmas. The cute wagon full of toys engraved with love from Nana.

Fall and winter are becoming my favourite seasons. I love the crisp air in autumn, the coloured leaves that crunch underfoot, and cuddling up in a cosy sweater. Then comes the thrill of the first fallen snow, staying warm inside under fleecy blankets with hot cocoa in hand and all the joys of the Christmas season. It's truly a wonderful time. Makes me really appreciate the little things in life. My good friend and coworker Myrna told me this endearing story about her oldest son Jason when he was just a boy. Now forgive me if I get the details wrong...but I think the story goes that Myrna asked him how much he loved her. Jason's sweet reply was, "50 cents and a rock." It was all he had of value in this world. Now Jason is a grown man, in the Military and heading to Afganistan in February (prayers please). They still joke with one another about it and when she asks him how much he loves her, the reply is the same. 50 cents and a rock. This story was prompted by the pocket full of rocks I found in a hand-me-down coat for E. It made me wonder if there's a little girl missing this valuable gift. :)

Love to you all on this Christmas spirit filled day!!!
~B

Hard Days Night

Finally!! I'm just getting to blog now. We had...okay, I had...a crappy sleep last night. Got home late and was so wired from our Scrapping class/coffee buzz, I couldn't sleep . When I finally got to sleep, the power went out 3 TIMES!! Each time the silence woke me up (we keep our fan running all night for background noise). And each time I reset the clock, reset the alarm, checked on E and put her sound machine back on. The final bout was at 5 a.m., after which I couldn't get back to sleep. So I just laid there thinking of doing yet another Christmas project as gifts for friends/daycare teachers/co-workers. *sigh* I should have got up right then instead I was late getting out the door which puts me behind the 8-ball. I think I'll be way less stressed in the mornings next week. MIL & I talked about ditching the carpool idea. It did work well in the beginning but now that I'm obligated to Curves (and obligated to be to work on time), it's been real tricky. This morning I was putting my makeup on at my desk. :) Anyway, MIL is off next 2 weeks so I'll see how the a.m. commute is.

So yes, last night we did end up having the Creative Memories Intro Class, despite me having just 1 guest (instead of 2). Thanks to Hilary for coming!! We had a lot of fun! Hil did a beee-autiful page of Shelby, her cute kitty! And I continued on my selfish project...the desk top calendar that I'm keeping for myself. :) I'll have to put that on the back burner though since I have other projects waiting. I have 2 more steps left to my homemade cards before I can sign, address, insert picture and ship out this weekend. I have 3 steps for the ornaments. I have 4 other little scrapping projects I have to get at too. Oh, and the idea that kept me awake this morning (probably do 1/2 dozen of them). I'm going to bake some shortbreads sometime. And did I mention my Christmas tree STILL is naked? Other than the lovely fish net it came home in on Sunday. LOL!! Boy oh boy, not enough hours in the day. Fortunately my slate is free tonight. I think I'll start with the poor tree. :)

Anyway, hope your day is flowing smoothly!
~B

Rock the baby...and other automotive tricks.

So I'm having some car (van) trouble. The starter is going. In the meantime, DH gave me a trick to start the tricky van. If you turn your ignition and hear nothing but a clicking sound, likely it's your starter. With your foot on the ground (as leverage) rock your vehicle while turning the ignition. It took a few minutes to rock the hefty van but it did start in the end. The embarrassing part is doing it while others can see. Almost had to try it outside Curves this morning. Fortunately the van started on the 2nd try.

Well we had a fun weekend. Friday night we battened down the hatches for a little snow fall. Watched some Classic Christmas movies with E. It was a lot of fun. Didn't do much else. Saturday E & I stayed in while Dad & Nana went out shopping. They were back by lunch and MIL went over to a friends for the weekend. DH went out shopping again in the afternoon before picking up cousin Joey at the airport (back from out west). DH & Joey hung out, played with E and then I took over so they could do some "male bonding" aka play video games. After E went to bed, I continued on with my card making.

Sunday we laid low till 10 and headed out to bring Joey in town to get the shuttle to CB. We went to lunch and sent him on his way. E was so tired, she fell asleep in the van and didn't wake up even when we stopped to pick up a Christmas tree. We snuck her in bed when we got home and DH & I had a nap...which sucked because I was supposed to get groceries (still, it was nice to nap). E woke up around 2:30ish. In the big rig-a-ma-roll, we rushed out to pick up a few groceries before heading over to Shay's. We spent so much time making supper, we hardly had any time to work on our ornaments. Still, we did what we could. E had lots of fun playing with Phaedra & Deylin. She had supper, a bath, and went to bed...in a real bed...Phaedra's bottom bunk!! All it all, we had a great night, we're a bit tired today but ready to battle through another busy week before the holidays.

~B

P.S. Hey Shay: I wish we did have a cover for that dish. I spilled the sauce all over my lap on the drive home. Even one ofE's new boots got hit (when Jeff took it out to the van)!! I stayed up late to wash all our coats and hand wash the damn boot. What a fiasco!!

Double weigh in...

...the results are in. Nothing fantastic but still, I'm down. Weighed in at SFL last night and I was down 1/2 pound (grrr). Yeah, I know, better than up. Just frustrating. Anyway, Erika gave me a journal to write down what I'm eating and when. We did talk about it. I think I over did it with the "good cholesterol" foods. She told me what amount I should be having and I was having double. Then she said to have only 1 of those "gc" foods per day when I was having 2 or more. So, that probably did me in. HOWEVER....

I got measured today at Curves and had some wonderful success. By their scale, I've lost 1 pound this month (which is fairly accurate to where I am). BUT, and it's a big BUT, I lost 7.5 inches!!!! I think that's GREAT progress. My BMI also was down by 0.6% which doesn't sound like a lot but it's great. From the results, Marjorie said I gained a pound of muscle. How cool!! And I lost the most inches from the top down. It's movin' baby!!!! As you can tell, I'm feeling pretty motivated by the results. This has been a particularly hard month for me. The "honeymoon" phase is over. The pounds aren't dropping off like they once were. And I'm heading into the most challenging time of the year. But I'm not discouraged. I'm just pushin' forward, ready to fight and keep droppin' the weight.

So, Survivor last night. Yes, Jonathon is a ba$tard but I'm really sad to see him go. Regardless of his lack of people skills, he knew how to strategize. Oh, well. Whatcha gonna do. And I've hit an all time low in the Survivor Pool. :( I'm now on the bottom of the barrel. Got ZERO points last night and the 1 guy below me is ahead of me by 1 point. D!OH!!! But hey, I'm in it for the journey...for the fun of the game...alright, who am I kidding, there ain't no way I'm gonna win this. :) Next week should be real interesting seeing what Ozzy does. Truthfully I want Yul to win FOR SURE. The only 2 I don't want to see win are Parvati and Adam. They haven't pulled their load at all. And if it's their strategy to coast their a$$es off, it's a sucky strategy. Any of the other 4 are okay to win in my books.

Later.
~B

Shoot me in the face, please!

Okay, so it's not that bad. Although that was my first thought at 6 a.m. Finally got to bed last night at 11!! I know, it doesn't sound that bad but when you're up the previous night with a sick kid, it's rough. Oddly enough, I'm feeling more awake now. Must be the coffee. Or the Christmas card on my desk. God love my union! They're so good to us!! At the end of the year they give us a "thank you" for attending meetings, participating, etc. Couple of gift certificates shoved in there. Very nice gift!!

Anyway, yes, I'm pretty tired today but managing (so far) much better than yesterday. E had another rough night with Daddy & Nana. They got her up, rocked her, gave her water and she settled back down to bed. I really hope this will pass soon. If she's like this over the weekend, I'm booking an appointment with my doctor. Speaking of doctors, my SIL went for an ultrasound yesterday (if I hadn't mentioned it, she's preggers!!). Looks like she might be having another boy!! (She had MJ 5 weeks before E. It was really great being pregnant together). I'm really excited to have another nephew/niece! Just another kiddy to spoil. :) And I can't wait to see them all after Christmas. DH, MIL, E & I are going down to CB for New Years. Should be really fun!

In other news, had a really fun time with Shay last night. Unfortunately, it seemed like we didn't get much done, despite me getting there early. We had the wrong ink to stamp our decorations and had to scrap everything. We'll try again though. And since we worked on the decorations first, we didn't get very far on our calendars. I think it was better that we quit because there's more I'd like to do to my pages but couldn't think creatively last night. Well, I best get at it. Have an awesome day! SURVIVOR TONIGHT BABY. Oh, and one more P.S., yeah Carrie-Dee!! So glad you wamped Melrose's a$$!!! Off you go dear.

~B

Holiday hustle & bustle!

Well, I intended to get the decorations up but it didn't happen. I did, however, get lots done. Going to Shay's tonight for Scrapping...hurray!! We're doing Desktop calendars with our picfolio albums (kind of like one of those 5 X 7ish flip calendars). So I went through all the pics I have and printed off 2 per month (one each for the front & back). Shay will have the calendar pages ready for us and I'm not sure what embellishments to use on each page. Fortunately I have tons of paper and stickers for the seasons. I can't wait to make it!! It's my gift to myself for Christmas. :)

I also did my thank you for Delisca at the daycare. I made a yummy cranberry pumpkin loaf with walnuts for her...and I doubled the batch and made mini muffins for the kids, sans walnuts. (Gotta be careful about nut allergies.) So I got all that wrapped up and gave her one of my nice homemade cards. She really is a lifesaver. Hmm...also wrote out a Sympathy card. One of the neighbours from home died. And of course the general tidy up, making lunches and I have a load of E's clothes waiting to be folded when I get home. I find it really frustrating to have barely any bit of the night left to just relax. But that's life I guess.

Today I got on the ball, back to Curves. Going to try to get in 4 days this week. I just couldn't face getting E up early to go after her rough night stuck at the daycare. As it was, last night she was coughing half the night. I find it very hard to decide when to take her to the doctor. She's too young for a cough suppressent but at the same time, it sounds very bad. Hmm...any advice mommies?? I was going to check the internet and see what info I could find out. It seemed to be okay 3 nights ago but now it's getting worse. Seems when she lies flat, she keeps barking and waking herself up. So she's not getting much rest at all. She woke up around 10 and coughed periodically for an hour. Finally we brought her in bed with us for a cuddle and some milk. She went back to bed just after 11 and coughed only a few times till morning. But it's a sin, you can see how tired she is. And I feel so helpless cause there's not much I can do. Tylenol doesn't really help/treat it.

Well, best be off. Any advice ladies is so welcome!! TTFN!
~B

Winter takes Halifax by Storm

Everyone's sharing their horror stories of how long it took to get home. So far I think Anthony in production wins. It took him 4 hours just to get to the 101 (normally a 1/2 hour drive at the most). Then he had to drive to Kentville (which is about an hour away). It took him 5 hours to get home. I was stuck on North Street (which is like 5 minutes away from work) for about 3 hours!! Not in the same spot mind you. I moved 1 car length about every 10 minutes. I picked up E from daycare at 8 o'clock!!!!! And still, there was 1 other child there till 9! Oh, and did I mention they lost phone service because the snow was so heavy on the wires, it came away from the building??? So here I am, stuck in traffic, not able to call and find out if my baby girl was okay. Not fun. In the end, she was fine, we made it home safely and it only took 3 hours and 40 minutes. DH drove from Lunenburg at 5 p.m. and was 3 cars ahead of me on the Prospect Road. Couldn't believe it!!! (If it helps, it usually takes me 20 minutes to get home (30 in traffic) and an hour for DH.)

I'm just so thankful to God that we made it safe. And just as thankful to DH for putting our winter tires on Sunday (studded baby...only way to go!!). And an EXTREMELY SPECIAL THANKS to Delisca at Friends For Life Childcare Centre who went above and beyond the call of duty. She kept the kids entertained, fed and comforted all that time. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!! I'm going to bake her a pumpkin loaf tonight and bring it in with a card tomorrow. She truly saved the day!!

Well, wherever you were travelling last night, I hope your journey was safe. Winter is here, put your snow tires on, and take care driving!!

~B

Christmas is coming!

Something happens when December 1st hits! I get all full up of Christmas spirit. Saturday DH, E & I went to Walmart and got her pictures done. Lovely!! What really made the picture was her though. I won't go to Walmart again. They go on and on about how there are no hidden fees or sitting fees but then they try to upsell you. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Anyway, I didn't let that bother me. Saturday afternoon we went to DH's union Christmas party for the kids. Santa showed up and passed out presents to the kiddies. Emma loved her "Learn to Dress" Elmo. But when we got home, she didn't touch it. I think it's something I'll have to help her with. She did so well. 2 outtings and 1-10 minute nap. Whatta gal! By 5:30, she was falling asleep in her little chair. Poor doll.

Sunday, I got up with E around 6. We had breaky and left Daddy & Nana sleep. We slipped church to stay in our jammies and relaxed most of the day...sort of. DH got up and did a little work on the vehicles...tightened MIL's bolts (tires) and put the winters on our van. E & I decided to go out and "help" aka play on the slide, climb the stairs on the deck a million times and basically chase after little miss. DH also did an extensive search for the staple gun to put up the Christmas lights (which he finally found after dark). The lights looked great and E was in awe. We also got all the decorations ready to go. Unfortunately we were too caught up with household chores to get them done. Guess we could have skipped the movie to decorate but it was nice to relax. We watched You, Me & Dupree. Good movie, slow in parts.

Well, guess I better get at it! TTFN!
~B

Love notes...

...came into work today to hear a lovely little message on my phone from DH. He said he loved me and missed me and couldn't wait to see me tonight. Talk about making my day!!

So, weighed in yesterday, down 1. I'm a bit disgusted. I went out for lunch yesterday and while everyone was enjoying their french fries, I had a salad and quesadilia. But it's the hidden salt that got me I'm sure. Not that I was a saint last week but I certainly was better than previous weeks. I guess I have to take into account those times when I don't deserve to lose and do. So the trick is to not let it get to me...or deal with it poorly by overeating, so I didn't. I must say though, I'm really enjoying this drink a day. :) It's nice to unwind with DH at the end of the day...even if he's playing on the computer and I'm watching TV in separate rooms. (How sad. :) Really, we need that time, together or separate, just to shrug off the day.

Survivor was another great passionate episode. Love the call out on Jon but I don't hate him. He's totally being smart. And seeing Pavarti, Adam & Candice ganging up on Yul...whatever! He's playing just as smart! I know it might cost him with the jury but at the end, PAC said as long as Jon isn't in the final 4, they'd vote for him. So PAC has to go first. Then Jon. I thought I would want to take Jon to the final 2 but I'm not so sure now. He is playing smart, even if he's pissing people off. He could easily be voted sole Survivor.

Well, I best get at it. Hope you're having a good Friday. Till next week.

~B

P.S. Yeah!! December is here and we're in Christmas programming at the station. Love it!!