plan menus on Wednesdays
Meatless Mondays
do Flylady( this incorporates a lot of improvements I would like to make)
start book club
do a 10k
exercise daily
wake up earlier so I have some me time everyday
declutter everyday-start with 5 minutes
turn the office into a big-girl room for Savannah
get a new sofa and get rid of the futon! we’re both 30, it’s way past time!
have my FOO over for dinner monthly
get together with our old friends monthly
find a volunteer committment Savannah & I can do together.
blog at least twice a week.
finish knitting projects before starting another.
start Christmas preparations in September!
Thinking of doing Photo365. this is a maybe.
find a dance or music class for Savannah. enroll her.
get pregnant or lose 30 pounds
weekly date night w/ DH
weekly financial meeting w/ DH
send out a hand written note weekly
plan and plant a garden
try a new recipe weekly
bake weekly
sew weekly
check email only once a day
New Year’s Resolutions 2008 December 23, 2007
Christmas meme December 13, 2007
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
wrapping paper
2. Real tree or Artificial?
REAL!!!
3. When do you put up the tree?
After DH’s birthday, which is on the 6th.
4. When do you take the tree down?
The feast of Epiphany. January 4th or 5th.
5. Do you like eggnog?
yes.
6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Our dog Tucker. really awesome Dalmatian.
7. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes, again after like 15 years without one.
8. Hardest person to buy for?
my brothers. they’re boys. they’re 22 and 23. they have their own money.
9. Easiest person to buy for?
Savannah and Jay
10. Mail or E-Mail Christmas Cards?
Mail.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
a home decor item that is very um, “country”, so not my taste.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
It’s A Wonderful Life.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
September
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
No.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
chocolate covered potato chips and pretzels. a Christmas time only treat!
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
I don’t care. We have big “vintage” lights on the tree & outside this year.
17. Favorite Christmas song?
Do you hear what I hear? or The Little Drummer Boy
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Stay home.
19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeers?
No.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Star this year.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Both. & again Christmas night. & again the next day 
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
traffic.
23. Favorite ornament theme or Color?
I liked my purple & silver tree a few years ago. This year I’m liking the more traditional look with red, gold and green. Extra points for handmade or nostalgic ornaments.
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
everything.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
A sewing machine of my own. An ivory tablecloth. A cuff bracelet. Boots.
Happy First Birthday, Savannah! December 12, 2007
We love you so much! We are so glad you decided to join us a year ago today! You have made our life so much more than it was before-and it was pretty great before. I want to tell you how amazing you are and how much fun it has been to watch you grow and change so much in one short year. We brought home a tiny, helpless little creature who has become this vibrant, brave, kind, happy, funny, smiling, adventourous, nurturing, super-intelligent and surprisingly social little person. You won’t remember, but I will, the time at 7 months you crawled over to a crying baby anson and patted him on the head as if to say “it will be okay” or the way you try to give Gerdie kisses or the brave first few steps you took between Jay and I and how proud you were of yourself(rightly so!). I’ll also remember how willing you were to try new foods, and meet new friends, how you love the wind on your face and the look of pure delight the first time you felt wind, how excited you are to see me first thing in the morning and the wonderful feeling of snuggling up to read together. Happy Birthday!
Thursday Thanks December 6, 2007
Today I am most thankful for my wonderful husband whose 30th birthday it is! I am thankful we both made it to 30 and together!
I am thankful for the abundance of friends and family who have sent well wishes for the day and the abundance of financial security to have a decent celebration of said birthday all weekend long!
I am also thankful for a healthy happy baby and that we get to enjoy birthdays and Christmas in the relative peace of our own home. I dropped off some of my moms group’s donations to the Ronald McDonald house today and was reminded just how lucky I am!
A quick plug for Cooper Green December 6, 2007
awful as I think they are, they still deserve the chance to win a mri….
http://www.winanmri.com/
Thursday Thanks November 1, 2007
Today I am thankful for:
a healthy baby,who’s quickly turning into a toddler and not a baby! Savannah started walking this last Sunday the 27th. For this I am thankful too. We saw a girl at the doctor’s yesterday who had something that curved her spine and her mom was carrying her around like a giant doll. It made me realize how very very lucky I am. This girl was obviously very loved by her mom, and I am thankful for that too. Please say a little prayer tonight for all those caring for a sick child.
trick or treaters. Really, it makes me so happy to have trick or treaters. We gave out really good stuff this year, so maybe next year we’ll have even more!
old friends.
new friends.
people willing to give their time and energy to make our community a better place.
books,libraries, dvds
and my amazing husband
Up too late…and some Thursday Thanks September 21, 2007
I am not sleeping, but I should be. I know Savannah will be up sooner rather than later, but my mind keeps turning and I can’t think of anything quiet to do but read or have some computer time, which is all the more valuable since I don’t get nearly as much as I used to. Anyway, we are back from the beach and had a great time. Savannah is amazingly good natured and adapts well to different situations. Apparently, she also LOVES Natalie and thinks she is really funny. Today she (Savannah,not Natalie) was taking two brave steps back and forth between me and Jay. She will be walking soon.
Some random thoughts-
if you want me to give you money 1. spell my name right. I can’t tell you how much this irritates me. 2. Send me the information in a language I read well. I might want to support your efforts, if I knew what they were. 3. If you are an organization I used to be affiliated with, don’t let your first correspondence be “please donate to our building/scholarship/general fund”. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Spend the 41 cents and find out what I’ve been up to first.
all the Lisas in my life share today as their birthday. Happy Birthday!
Now I am getting sleepy, so I will move onto the Thursday Thanks
I am thankful for…my amazing husband, my wonderful baby, sweet puppy girl, my awesome family, wonderful friends(especially my YCDI sisters!), beaches, backyards, falling leaves, wind on Savannah’s face and the fact that it makes her laugh, feeling safe in my house/neighborhood, making new friends, the internet and the ability to afford it, being able to stay home with my baby and the pretty new finish on the dining room floor!
it’s a hot,sleepy Wednesday August 22, 2007
and nothing is going on. Savannah is napping, I am quite sleepy myself, so I have tried to double brew some coffee as Zazazu has suggested sometime back. I was just thinking this is exactly what suburban days are made of. A warm,sleepy contentment and happiness. I wish the same for all of you today.
Thursday Thanks August 16, 2007
I am thankful for so many things today. I am thankful to be alive, healthy, American, educated, air conditioned and having the ability to choose to stay home with my sweet baby. Yesterday we went swimming and she figured out that if she kicked her legs in the floaty thing, she would move(with my help) and was so very proud of herself! We swam for hours. I am thankful for swimming pools as well. I am thankful for enough of a cool breeze (who knew 96 would feel cool?) to go enjoy the back yard and the crispy baked leaves on the ground. Savannah enjoyed crunching them and throwing them in the air and watching them fall back down. I can’t wait for fall!
A review and a recipe August 14, 2007
First the review: Morningstar Farms Chicken Starter Strips. I should have known better when they were on closeout at the grocery. Normally, I love Morninstar Farms products- but these were vile and disgusting. They were a strange spongy consistency, I think my sponge would have tasted about the same, and probably not made me ill, as these did. I used them in what was otherwise a delicious casserole- so on to the recipe.
Southwestern Chicken Casserole
1 cup brown rice
1 cup frozen peas
1 can kidney beans
2 carrots
1 can Mexican Rotel
1 can Southwestern Tomato Soup
cilantro
green onions
2 tomatoes
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cumin
hot peppers (optional)
2 chicken breasts or 2 servings chicken substitute (cooked and chopped)
Cheddar cheese
Prepare the rice according to directions. Shred the carrot, chop the onions, tomatoes, cilantro and peppers. Mix all ingredients except cheese in the dish. Cover with cheese. Bake at 375 for 20-35 minutes. Yummy with a crisp green salad and an ice cold beer!
