Thank goodness THAT'S over!

Well, it's a pretty safe bet to say I came back from CB with CARGO!! I completely ate my way through the holidays. I'm so disappointed in myself. And people are quick to let me off the hook. 'But it's the holidays! It only comes once a year.' And so do birthdays, Easter, Thanksgiving and Halloween. So thanks for your kind words but really, I WAY over did it. I at least did 1 thing right. I went to Curves Wed-Fri last week. And I went back in this morning. MIL took her own car in so I wouldn't be prepetually late. :) However, I was a few minutes late because little E didn't want to wake up this morning. :)

So, Christmas recap! We had a wonderful Christmas in the Whitty household. Lets go back to Dec 22 (Fri). 2 parties, 1 night. DH, E & I went to Steve & Rhonda's (S used to work with DH). Rhonda was so sweet!! She had a homemade colouring book and cookie to decorate for each child. It was nice seeing E play with all the kiddies. Afterwards, we dropped E home with Nana and headed to Tom & Carol Anne's (friends through Shay & Mark). They have a lovely home, beautifully decorated for the holidays. We enjoyed some delish eats too! Thanks T&CA for letting us crash. ;)

Dec 23 (Sat) was very low key. I wrapped and finished my last project - mini picfolio wallets (from E) to Mama, Daddy, Nana, Granny & Poppy. They turned out really nice. It felt so great to finally be ready for the holidays (talk about leaving it to the last minute). Christmas Eve (Sun), DH, E & I went to mass. Came home, opened 1 present for E (jammies & tub toy from Granny & Poppy Hussey). Dad & E tested out her Elmo tubby toy while mom got the preparation for Santa. We left him the cookie E decorated at Steve & Rhonda's and a glass of Ole St. Nick. :) DH & I waited for MIL to come home to open anymore. DH got Homer lounge pants. I got hand and footprint molds to make with E!! Can't wait to use them...better do it soon because she's growing so fast. MIL opened her DVD of It's a Wonderful Life. We all watched it together. It was a great night.

Christmas Day (Mon) was WONDERFUL!!! Before I had my eyes opened, DH MADE ME get up to open this one very important present. MIL got us a CAMCORDER!!! Not sure if that's the technical term but it's a video recorder that records on DVD! So exciting. THANKS MIL!! DH had a wonderful time catching E play with her toys. She got lots of great stuff: picnic table, Little People palace, drum & instrument set, play dishes & food, clothes, books, and all kinds of surprises. I got jammies, scrapbooking stuff (yeah!), a workout outfit, a camera case for the camcorder and surprises. DH and MIL did well too. Can't remember all we got but we made out like bandits! After the gift opening, we had our traditional Wife Saver's Breakfast. Then we relaxed and tidied up till turkey dinner time! It was a very relaxing day.

Boxing Day (Tue) we were supposed to go to MIL's sister's but most of the relatives couldn't make it. So we decided to pack up and head to Sydney early!! Surprised Mom & Dad. :) It was really nice because they have a BD party every year so we got to visit with a lot of them without having to go out anywhere. The rest of the week we visited with DH's aunt & family. And of course my brother, SIL and nephew. New Year's was fun! God Bless MIL!! She babysat E & my nephew while we all partied at the Westmount Yacht Club. Brother Mike's plays in the band Tempted (country) and were fab!! I didn't get too toasted which was great because we drove back to Hlfx yesterday. So, we're back home, safe & sound and I'm back on track!

Well, hope you all had a wonderful holiday.
~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

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

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

Better late to blog than never...

...yeah, yeah, I'm late. Sorry about that. It's the end of the month and busy like crazy!! Anyway, I am really excited about Christmas today. I have to go to Sears and pick up DH and E's gifts. (Yippee!!) Also, have to figure out portraits for E. MBF Shay (whose back from Ireland...and totally caught up on my blog - thanks for the comments my dear) tried to get her fam's done at Walmart and there's a 3 week wait till the pics come in. That's friggin' unheard of! And of course I have E's appointment booked for Saturday. Now I'm thinking of cancelling because I'm not sending pics out in the friggin' new year. Way to kill my Christmas spirit. Anyway, I'll wait for the call back to confirm.

Hmm...last night did some card making. Almost done 1 set of 10. Just need to write a blirb for the insides. Once I get a minute, I'll whip something up. Hmm...decorating daycare tonight...told you that already. Have to buy eggnog and cottage cheese. Wow, really exciting today huh? :) I could gush about E. She's looking like such a cutie little girl...not a baby. And she's saying so many new words each day. Moon is one of her latest. Did I mention she said s*it on the weekend? My fault. The toilet overflowed while we were giving her a bath. I said it...she repeated it. DH & I just looked at each other...half trying not to burst out laughing...half shocked. Mama will have to mind her Ps and Qs. Well, best get to Sears. TTFN!

~B

P.S. I'm getting back my pics on the 16th so I'm okay with that. Also, had a big surge of Christmas spirit...the plush Elmo chair (not the giggle/wiggle one) at Superstore is on sale from $29.98 to $14.98!!!!!!!!!

Doctor says drink daily!

WHOO HOO!! I'm not lying!! My doctor's office called me last week to come in and discuss my blood work. I must admit, I was pretty worried. There's a history of diabetes and heart disease in our family. Anyway, I went in yesterday and got the verdict. My good cholesterol is low! Imagine!! Not something to worry about as long as I treat it with diet and exercise. So, add to my menu: avocados, nuts, salmon, mackerel, olives and alcohol. Yes, alcohol, 1 drink daily. And exercise 5 times a week. What a relief!

In other news, I finally started making my Christmas cards last night. I started one style and have most of the pieces done. Just have to put them together. I plan on making 4 styles, 10 cards each. That will give me 40 cards plus the dozen or so I have now. If it's not enough, I may do 12 of each. I have to revisit my list. I always have extra people I send to that I forget about. Oh, and I have leftovers from last year so maybe I'll rely on them. Speaking of Christmas, I'm going to E's daycare tomorrow night to decorate. Very excited to help out and spread some holiday joy to the kiddies. :) Other than that, there's not much new in Bern's world today. Hope you're having a super day! And have a drink would'ya! After work of course. :)

~B

P.S. I'm all beta'ed up. Check me out!!