It's the night after Christmas

Another Christmas has come and gone.

I swear, we spend weeks preparing, and then poof! It's here. And over. And you've barely had time to take it all in!

That's not to say I don't enjoy the preparing. And I love the actual two days - Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

Our family was positively spoiled this year: both by ourselves and from others.

But I probably won't remember the specifics of this. We are spoiled every year. Every year the husband and I say that we went over the top for each other, for our kids. We have never had to have the experience of going without at Christmas or of feeling sad because we can't get our kids "enough." We've never had a Christmas where there is no where to go to celebrate the holiday with. And we've never had a Christmas apart (though it was close one year).

In ten years I might forget that this was the year I splurged and got my husband the new computer items he wanted (but would never want to spend the money on himself like that). I will probably forget that this was the year I got tons of baking supplies that I hope to use so many times that maybe in ten years they will already be replaced. I might forget that my son got a lot of dinosaur things - which he still loves and is so excited for. I might forget that I managed to somehow pick out make-up that the 16 year old actually likes. And I might forget that the 13 year old was most excited about getting a set of bed sheets with chickens printed on them.

What I hope to remember is that we baked a lot of cookies, but even better: we shared a lot of cookies. I hope I remember that my mom took me shopping and paid for cookie baking supplies so it would be one less thing for me to have to budget for the month (for while we don't go without, we also don't have unlimited spending) and that it felt like she handed me a million dollars instead of flour, sugar, butter, and some other things.

I hope I remember getting to rock our baby cousin to sleep at the Christmas Eve party. I haven't rocked a baby to sleep in a while, and her and I tucked away in a quiet room and I stole lots of baby kisses.

I hope I remember my 10 year old coming down stairs at 10:30 at night because he was just too excited to sleep! And Christmas is awesome and he just didn't know how he'd ever sleep! So we cuddled on the couch, flipped on The Christmas Story marathon and watched some tv together. And it was so sweet because at 10 he doesn't cuddle with me very often anymore. And we certainly don't get many moments where it's just the two of us.

I hope I remember the look on my mom's face as we all opened what she gave us. While what she gave us was awesome, her face of seeing us get it was priceless. For her the joy of Christmas is in seeing what happiness she can bring to others, and this year, that seemed to shine brighter than ever. Maybe it's always shone so bright, and this year is just the first year I saw it so much. But it was awesome. And I want to be like her.

I hope I remember how excited granny was that Santa brought her a present and filled her stocking too. We did this last year, but it seemed more fun this year. And I suppose it's probably been a while since granny has unpacked a stocking, but the simplest stocking stuffers made her smile.

I hope I remember that even though I didn't decorate every square inch of this house as planned - because we were having work on the house done, we couldn't decorate - that it was still a wonderful Christmas.

I hope I remember all the smiles I got to see. And all the hugs I was given and got to give. I hope I remember the happy tears - while just a few here and there - that I cried. And saw others cry, because even though things aren't perfect, and there is illness and sickness and some wish list items not purchased or received and some family isn't close enough to hug and some family members are (we like to wish) celebrating with us in Heaven, that despite the imperfections and heartbreak that exist in this world, that Christmas is still an amazing, wonderful time. And that the happiness and joy of the season seem to fill the cracks, if only for a small bit of time as you sit around the tree with your loved ones (the ones that were chosen and the ones that family ties you to). For a few moments, you look around and see smiles, and hear laughter. And sometimes there are tears in the eyes - sometimes happy tears, sometimes sad tears. But for a few moments, it's all okay.

I know we're supposed to carry the spirit of the season all year round. That's a lot of pressure though. Heck, I barely survived my great gingerbread-house-melt-down of 2015 (though I did) because it's hard to be happy and upbeat all the time. Life is just not built that way.

But for a few magical moments on Christmas, it all seems to fade away and just take a break. I am surrounded by the love of family and friends. I'm surrounded by smiles. I'm surrounded by squeals of delight.

It truly is a most wonderful time of the year for me.

I hope your holiday season was wonderful as well, even if not perfect, regardless of whatever holiday you celebrate (or don't) this time of year.

ChiTag Overview

On Saturday, we woke up early and headed down to the city for our 4th annual trip to ChiTag (Chicago Toy and Game Fair).

We came home with quite a few new games to add to our collection and I can't wait to tell you all about them because we got some fun one!

Of course, every year, when we leave the fair I think I should twice a month share about a game we love to play with because we have a lot and we enjoy playing them!

Anyway, this year, I really want to do that, so it will definitely be something I add to the blog in 2016, but for now, I thought I would just share a few pictures of our time at ChiTag this year!

6 am wake-up call to be on the road before 7!

Breakfast to feed the starving children!

Seeing friends! 

 Playing games

Playing more games

Riding scooters

Getting jewelry

More games (we bought this one!)

Building toys

 Trying more games (we bought this one too!)

All the kids with their loot!

Vacation Photos

So I know we went on vacation 2 months ago, but I've been meaning to share some pictures from our trip to New Hampshire, and, well, tonight seems like a good time! So buckle up ... there's a lot of pictures here!

 So, first up was The Beach. Yes, with capital letters because we live smack in the middle of the country. We don't see oceans and beaches and waves for as far as the eye can see! So, getting to head East and get on a beach is an awesome time for us!

The kids did some boogie boarding and LOVED it! I think the 12yo enjoyed it more than the 8yo, but she was also willing to go farther out into the water and I think that helps!

I stood up for a few minutes, took some pictures and then sat my butt down and relaxed. And knitted. Because I am me. Keep in mind, the 8yo and I had left Chicago at 9pm Friday night. Got into Boston at 1 (or 2? can't remember) am Sunday morning, got up and hopped on another train at 9am Sunday morning and met up with the others just after lunch time. We practically headed straight to the beach so to say I was a bit tired might be an understatement!

So basically, the beach was just lovely! 

I think if we lived near a beach, I would spend a lot of time there. It is always so relaxing.

Quite a few years ago we traveled to The Beach as part of vacation (on the East coast, but not to the same spot) and I slept outside one night. It was lovely. And sunrises over the beach? Lovely.

This vacation was just a day trip to the beach, so there was no sunrises to watch, but the few hours were there, were so wonderful! 

 Two of the days I was out there we did some hiking. One was pretty uphill and up a mountain. The mountain was HUGE.

Okay, okay, it wasn't really huge. But I've lived my whole life in the midwest. You know what is considered mountains out here? Things that would make people in New Hampshire laugh. Because they aren't very big.

So, yes, we climbed a huge mountain - that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Just don't ask my in-laws to collaborate that because they will tell you the hike we took up the not so huge mountain was rated as easy in their Hikes to Take Your Children or Your Daughter In Law Who Don't Really Know What a Tall Mountain Looks Like But Thinks Little Ones Are Huge book, or something like that.

It was fun. No, really, it was fun. It was also painful. And when we got home from this hike up the world's tallest mountain, I immediately just fell asleep.

But, for real, it was worth it.

The view. I mean the view from the top (that wasn't technically the top of the mountain, but do I look like a mountain climber? No. So this was good enough!) was gorgeous! And it was just gorgeous for miles around.

It was seriously beautiful. We live in a very urban area, and we have forest preserves and places to hike (without mountains), but they aren't very big areas. Well, some are. Comparatively. But I'm always amazed when we go out to New Hampshire, how much space there is. Of trees and forests and mountains and streams and rivers. You turn 360 degrees and just see nature. Everywhere. It is fabulous. 

The next day, we decided to take an even easier hike. There is this great area where you can go and dig for fossils and granite. Now, my 12 year old loves rocks and minerals so this was specifically picked for her. My 8yo just loves digging and fossils, so he was equally excited.

Except our little hike turned into a 40 mile-not-sure-where-we-were-going-and-thinking-we-might-need-to-be-air-rescued-and-saved.

Alright. Much like my HUGE mountain, I might be stretching the truth a bit. We probably walked for about 4 miles. And we figured out part-way we were on the wrong path, but we were on a path none the less, so we weren't really lost. And we didn't need air rescue. Or ground rescue. Or any rescue.


And it was fun to not know quite where we were. And it was exciting that there was a 0.000000000001% chance we were lost!

Okay, it wasn't. I lied. I kept thinking my husband is going to kill me if I die out here in a forest with two-thirds of the kids just the day after being so accomplished and hiking the world's tallest mountain ever! Thankfully, we made it back to the beginning.

And amazingly, we were able to find the right path. And walk another milish and get to the dig site.

Which was actually fun and exciting. And the kids had a great time. They each took a few bits home with them (it was allowed - I promise we were very respectful of the forest). And it was so fun.

I would absolutely do all of this again. But I might not do two hikes on two consecutive days! Because I had to sleep for like 3 days straight to recover from all that hiking. Not that I was actually able to sleep for 3 days straight, but boy, did I get a lot of good sleep for the next few nights! ;-)

Anyway, just some fun from our trip. The kids and I had a great time.

A bit o' knitting

Pine Forest Baby Blanket

These days, it seems like all I knit are baby blankets and shawls. Mostly because I have been pretty much knitting blankets and shawls.

Thankfully, I love knitting these two things. And since it seems like everyone I know is having baby this year, there are lots of blankets that need to be made.

One blanket I knit was for a little girl who will be arriving in October. This precious baby will be her parent's first baby, which is a pretty special time for everyone. Every baby is special - I know, and I don't mean to imply something else - but a first baby is different because there's so much you just don't know yet!

Close-up of the stitches

Anyway, I decided to make the Pine Forest Baby Blanket (side note: you must be a member of ravelry to see this. And if you knit or crochet, I highly recommend you join, especially since it's free. And no, no one is paying me or comping me or anything to me to say this!)

I knit it up in Caron Simply Soft. I use this yarn often, which some of you have picked up on. It's soft, it's pretty, I've found it holds up well, and most importantly to me to give to parents-to-be, it's machine washable. Because who has time to hand wash and air dry a baby blanket with a sweet new baby in the house? Well, I certainly didn't.

I also knit it with a size 9 needle (one up from what the pattern recommends) and I added extra stitches to make it longer. I cast on 144 stitches and was really happy with it. I don't know how many rows I did, I just went until the yarn almost ran out (4 skeins) and when it looked big enough, but not too big.

I'm happy with how it turned out, though I'm not sure my pictures do the blanket justice.

My son holding it up for me!

The fun thing about this blanket is that I knit it EVERYWHERE. Mostly because the shower was coming up and I was running out of time. But this blanket was worked on at the pool, at the library, at softball games (both professional and when my daughters played), at lacrosse practice, in the car (not while I was driving, in case you think I'm that crazy!)

I'd like to think that as that blanket traveled around with me, that someday the baby who uses it will get to travel often, but yet not too far from home. That she might get to do a lot of fun things, have great times, and create some memories with her family and friends! I don't know if it's silly to think this way, but it is how I think and it makes me smile. Well, knitting in general makes me happy, so thinking good thoughts is just a bonus!

Forgive Me

I realize it's been much, much too long since I last posted here. More than 20 days!

It's terrible, I know.

I've thought about posting, I swear it! There has been so much going on around here.

The end of March/beginning of April saw us getting the house ready to sell. There was a lot going on - cleaning, purging, packing, cleaning, more cleaning, and oh, did I mention the cleaning?

We scrubbed this house top to bottom! Like spring cleaning on steroids. I knew when we listed, I wanted this place to look as fabulous as possible.

A big part of that was just getting things out of the house, so we were also working to get where we are moving ready to start receiving an influx of boxes from us.

We went on the market April 1. Now, last time we sold a home, we had very few showings, it wasn't a big deal. I'm so glad we had this place in tip-top shape. Once we listed, the showings started. I'm also glad we packed and purged a lot of things. It's much easier to keep this place sparkly without all the clutter!

In that midst of all of that, I got to go visit this sweet little baby! And his mama and siblings. So sweet. It was a lovely break in the midst of everything.

We cleaned the house, the left to go visit (with food - and made a mess at their house for lunch LOL). My goodness, is holding babies was a job, I'd do it in a heartbeat!

Thursday of that week we were out a bit late during a showing. I know we technically could stay home, but no, we do not stay home during the showings if we can help it at all. But we got home.

My husband sat us all down and told us he had something to tell us.

Yeah, I wasn't quite sure what to think at first. That is when he surprised us with the news we were going on vacation. Saturday. Like not even 48 hours from when he dropped the bombshell!

It's been a stressful 2014 so far - so many things going on, so many things to coordinate. He's been busy. I've been busy. We were all feeling the stress. In early February he decided we needed a trip and so he planned it and said not a word. Not even to me!

So last week we spent the first half of the week in Florida. Then we traveled to Washington DC for the second half. The kids, okay me too, have referred to this trip lovingly as the Florington DC trip!

It was awesome. In Florida we did Universal Studios. I've never been. But I've wanted to go see the Harry Potter stuff. It was amazing.

And for roughly 10 years now, I've been wanting to go to DC with the family.

I still don't know how he pulled it off! But I am so grateful he did!

We got home Saturday and just took it easy for a bit. We've spent a bit of time at the new place and though we don't need a lot of new furniture there, I bought my first bits of furniture! I stayed up almost all night the other night to see the Blood Moon and I fought a horrible awful migraine this week.

So, I haven't blogged in 20ish days, but it's been a wild ride around here for sure! A fun, awesome, much-needed wild ride! 

Date Night Adventures

Hubby and I

 So. Forever ago I made a bucket list. That list included going to a taping of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. I love this show. Just love it. If I can't catch it on the radio, I listen to the podcast.

This year for Christmas, husband got me tickets to a taping. These tickets sell out pretty darn quickly. Apparently, my husband tried more than once to get them, but they go so fast! When I opened the gift I squealed a bit. And had to start counting down the days.

But then we realized that the taping was the day after my nipple procedure. But, I was hoping that I'd be okay enough to go, because tickets are hard to get, I really wanted to go, and the tickets were already bought. Also, I wasn't going to delay surgery because that slot was hard to get, I really wanted to get it out of the way, and it was already scheduled.

Now. I look like yesterday I went in and had a large breast enhancement. I didn't, but I have quite a bit of gauze covering me. It looks like a lot of boob under my shirt. Not just boob, but like uneven, weird shaped boob (I apologize right now if this is too much information, but alas, this is how it works).

More husband and I

I changed outfits like 4 times before leaving in an effort to not make anything obvious. I settled on jean skirt, cute sweater and a fashion scarf. Think Kirstie Alley in Look Who's Talking Now. Time was running out before I had to leave. A kind neighbor was driving me to the train station - the plan was I'd train it downtown, husband would grab me from the station and we'd eat quick subs, and head to the show.

Minutes before she came to get me, a filling in one of my teeth popped out. While I was brushing my teeth. Which, for real, is completely unfair. Shouldn't stuff like this not happen when brushing your teeth? Thankfully, the nerve must not be exposed because it doesn't hurt ::knock on wood:: but I was slightly frazzled because, um, a piece of my tooth (even though it was filling) fell out and I was sporting fankenboobs. My kids assured me I looked fine. The filling fell out of the back of a tooth so no one could tell, and they assured me I looked "normal" in my sweater and scarf.

Phew. Friend came. Got on train. Did I mention it was snowing? And kind of nasty? And while I was on the train I noticed that some pretty major accidents/incidents were happening that was causing traffic to not move very much?

Yep. I got to the train station, but husband didn't. He was sitting in traffic. And slowly inching along. We talked - should I go straight to the theater via taxi, wait for him, grab food, not grab food?

The stage! Squee!

I won't lie. I felt so frazzled! This is NOT the date night I wanted. Alas, I sat at the train station for about 30 minutes, he made it, and we rushed to the theater.

We got in, got in line, ate our subs while standing in line. Because, people, this is what 14 years of marriage looks like - date night might mean eating subs while standing in line for a show because that's just how it goes LOL!

But we got in and everything calmed down for me. The show started (about 30ish minutes after the ticket time but it was fine). And it was perfect!

The show rocks even more in person than when you hear it on the radio. I loved every moment of it. The panel, Peter Sagal, Carl Kasell, everyone was awesome. We laughed, we clapped, we let out the occasional oh-no-you-didn't-just-say-that gasp. It. Was. Great.

Peter, who rocks.

Did I mention that it was great? ;-)

Then the show ends, they say a few things they needed to repeat for editing (which is kind of funny to sit through). After that they answer a few questions and then? Then? Then you get to go on the stage and say hi, take pictures, get autographs of the panel, Peter, and/or Carl. Seriously? Awesome. The only thing that could top it? Is if Carl recorded the message on my answering machine.

Carl Kasell and me!

I was as giddy as a school girl meeting my tween crush. It was awesome. And everyone was lovely. Though, honestly I didn't get to talk to Peter and Carl much ... we were almost last in line and the theater needed to close up soon. Let's be honest, even had I been first, it's not like I would have had a conversation with them. Because I was too busy geeking out over getting to, you know, just say hi.

I also said hi to the panelists: Amy Dickinson, Luke Burbank, and P.J. O'Rourke.

My new bff Luke and I

Luke thought I looked like a grown-up version of his niece, who is obviously a very adorable girl! Then he pegged me to be in my mid-20's. Oh yes, I will bring that up 1,949,285 times the rest of this week .. "and oh, he thought I was in my mid-20's! Can you believe it? Crazy!" Amy wondered if in fact I might be her niece as well. Seriously, can I just lie and say I am both of their nieces? Aunt Amy and Uncle Luke ... that could work right? And it doesn't make me seem like a stalker, right?

Then it was time to grab a souvenir (or two) and head home.

Naturally, I'm wondering when I get to go back and do it again. Though, when we go back, I'd like to do it without frankenboobs or a piece of a tooth missing and without bad weather. I don't think that's too much too ask?

Sunday

my view from where I type this

It is a gorgeous Sunday around these parts. It is chilly outside, but the sun is shining. Many of the trees are bare, but some of them are sporting some gorgeous red and orange leaves.

The kids are happy. The husband took care of all the chores that needed to be done. I got to sleep in (thank you extra hour of sleep!). I've spent some time sewing today - which I don't do nearly enough.

This last week was good. I finished a few projects (all of which are going to be mailed to people and I hope will make them smile). We have a warm house, plenty of food to eat, clothes to wear.

Life is good. And I'm so extremely grateful for that.

Notice, I didn't say life is perfect. It's not at all. Exhaustion is still kicking my butt. There are few major life decisions that need to be made (no, I won't say more than that. Sorry.) I turned into a screaming banshee at my oldest when she frustrated me and pushed every single one of my buttons. I apologized to her later though, and I think we both still love each other. ;-) Just kidding, I know we love each other, because she wrote that beautiful piece for the blog after I turned into a witch. I've forgotten more words this week than I think I probably should and wonder if I should be worried, but probably it's stress so I'm not worried yet. Though, I will joke about how I wrote "He likes sports people the most" because I couldn't think of the word athlete and sports people worked just fine - everyone knew what I meant.

But despite all of that, life is good. It is good in so many ways. We are so loved by so many. I can feel it all the time. We have good people in our lives - really good people. In so many ways, we are blessed so much. Today, I'm going to think about those things and just be grateful for them.

xoxo

2 Years

Two years ago I wrote this post.

Two years.

I can't lie. It feels both much, much longer. And every so often, it seems like it hasn't been that long. {Though that feeling is rare and often fleeting}.

Two years.

Alright, alright. What I'm really thinking is two effing years.

Two effing years.

****

On another, related note. Since today is my two year canciversary (?) it seems fitting to share this here today. My children helped me make this video. It's for a contest Avon is holding for walkers this year. I'd like to point out, I didn't give my kids scripts. I told them generally what I wanted and let them go.

I thought we had everything we needed when my oldest told me she had something more to add, and that's how the ending came about! I teared up then. I tear up every time I watch. I'm told, I'm not alone in it.

So here you go, why I'm walking in the Avon 2 Day walk this year



Happy Friday everyone!

xoxo,
Brandie

P.S. The song in the video is by the very talented Monica Allison.

Happy 1000th!

Picture my 10yo made to help me celebrate!

Almost 8 years ago exactly (On December 31, 2004) I started this blog. It wasn't my first blog ... I had actually been blogging over at AOL before then but decided the AOL blogs weren't meeting my needs (which turned out to be good since eventually AOL got rid of their blogs).

It's been a fun ride. I blogged about my crafts. I blogged through my third (and final pregnancy). I blogged about us moving. I've blogged about reading. I've blogged about things our family has done. I've blogged about the worst news I ever got - cancer. I've blogged about moments I'm so proud of. This blog has been quite a ride!

And today? Today I'm blogging my 1000th post.

picture my 13yo made to help me celebrate

1000. This feels like a huge milestone to me. 1000 times I've come here to share - the good, the bad, the ugly, the mundane, the important, the boring, all of it. A lot of me shared with whoever happens to stumble across this little site once and those who have become my friends and come back often to see what's going on.

And I can't imagine it being any other way.

I remember when I first started blogging. People were confused What? What's a blog? Blog. Huh. Never heard of that before. Wait, you have like a journal on-line for anyone to read? Why?

I do it because I love it. I'll keep doing it because I love it.


To help me celebrate my 1000th post, The Preschool Toolbox is offering 5 themes to one winner, chosen from whoever leaves a comment on this post. Very exciting and very generous of them to offer up a prize for you =)

As I close this 1000th post, I'd like to say a great big thank you to you, the reader. I can't lie: every comment warms my heart and makes me smile. I may be biased, but I think I have some of the most fabulous blog readers around.

xoxo,
Brandie

Gratitude Sunday

Well, it's a Sunday, in November and so it's time for me to take a few moments to write what I'm thankful about. I've had fun doing it and I may do this again next November.

So without further ado, here is my list

• Naps - yes, I said naps. Because I've needed them lately and I'm blessed and lucky that I can take them pretty much every day if I need to (which is about how often I need them). My family has been very understanding about it, which is good. Now, if only we could figure out how to stop the fatigue.
• A good book - I read a book this week. It was a big deal. (The Twelve by Justin Cronin). It was a difficult read for me - a long book, the story bounced between two different years, and had a fairly large number of characters - I think I've told you before that since chemo I've struggled to read books and follow the story lines/characters/etc and this was no exception, but I pushed through and finished it (and yes, it was my brain because I read the first book in the trilogy pre-chemo which is similar in set-up and followed along just fine!)
• The library - I was so excited to finish one book that I wanted to start another (strike while the iron is hot so to speak) and thankful I could go to my library and get an e-book to check-out. All in the comfort of my own home, sitting in my pajamas.
• A fixed car - my husband's car was able to be fixed! Which was a big weight off our shoulders. Phew! And it didn't cost nearly as much as they first thought it would and we are so very grateful for that. I mean, really really grateful.
• My mom's great Thanksgiving dinner - once again, we spent turkey day at my mom's, and once again she made an amazing dinner that was so good! My rocks for so many reasons and this is just one of them.
• 
•  Baking -  I did some baking this past week. I can't remember the last time I made bread, which is sad since I used to make it all the time. The family was happy too, asking if I could maybe try to bake a bit more, which touched my heart and made me feel all warm and fuzzy.
• My kitties - I don't talk about them enough on the blog, but I love our kitties Roger and Marcy. I can't imagine them not being around. Marcy especially loves to cuddle with me late at night and I love it.
• An early holiday treat ... husband took advantage of a black Friday sale and we will get new living room furniture, which is so good, since our current couches are in bad shape (one is literally split in half and being held together with some plywood dh nailed to the bottom). I can't wait for our new furniture to come (half in two weeks, the other half the first week of January!)
• Christmas music season - I can now listen to Christmas music (okay, I started a week ago, but the family teased me because it wasn't even thanksgiving yet). It makes me smile. I love to sing along (even if I sound horrible LOL!) 

xoxo,
Brandie

Random

This is a picture of my current knitting project. It will not stay with me, but I am loving the color, which makes me love working on it. This blue is gorgeous. I've used it in other projects and I just keep going back to it.

My favorite color is purple, even though I just raved about blue above!

My favorite movies are The Princess Bride and My Life. Though, I haven't watched My Life since getting cancer and I think if I did watch it now, it would affect me even more so than before.  Also, if money and time were no option, I would totally visit the cliffs of insanity (in real life they are the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland). Also, I have read the book because I loved the movie. The beautiful thing is so many lines in the movie are directly from the book. Awesome.

I love the book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. If asked, I will say it's my favorite. But, I really love a lot of books so I sometimes feel bad that I can't say all million of them.

I love The Historian as an audio book. Just love it. I'm not a big dracula person but this book was awesome. I think I could listen to it over and over and never get tired of it.

I dislike maple syrup and cinnamon. My family thinks this makes me nuts. I figures it's just part of what makes me me. And yes, I eat pancakes only with butter on them, but we don't often eat them so it's never been an issue. I can stand a bit of cinnamon, but like a cinnabon? Not my thing.

I love, love, love ice cream. Mostly just a good french vanilla is exactly what I need, but sometimes I do cookie dough or other things.

That said, my favorite thing to snack on is a pack of saltine crackers. Any day of the week. SO good. Seriously.

Kind of related: I love bread (but not like plain white sandwich bread). But french bread, caraway rye bread, honey bread, wheat bread, oh, there are so many good breads out there. I especially like the bread I make (not that I've made any in a LONG time) or bakery breads. So so so good.

Friday Fun

I've done this before occasionally, but decided it was time to do it again!

Here are some things I've seen around the internet that make me smile =)

Rustic Burlap Wreath from Too Much Time On My Hands

I'd love to try to make this for my house. It's just gorgeous!

Harvest Time Apron from Primitive Quilt Shop. I'd love to have this to wear while making applesauce or pumpkin pie. Well, okay, assuming I was actually going to make those things!

Capture Life Necklace from The Rusted Chain. Sigh. It's just fun and nice! Also, I've met Beki before and she is simply lovely.

Double Rope Braid Bun from The Beauty Department. My oldest has started dance classes and she must have a bun for ballet. We actually did this to her hair and it turned out great.

And two outfits from Title Nine that I'm dreaming of owning. Especially the red boots that match the red outfit. Sigh. A girl can dream can't she?

Have a great weekend everyone! =)