Christmas Review: Part One!

Yeah, so the whole idea of starting to write every day didn't really work out. It was probably for two reasons: it was December and I was in the process of quitting a job. Life got really nuts around the holidays, just like it does for everyone else.

I am warning you now that this is a long post. Hopefully, I will get photos up soon, but this is just a text review of the holidays. If you don't get through it, I won't hate you!

We had a day after Thanksgiving gathering and our Christmas party Dec. 11 (and I had made 13 kinds of cookies all the food, decorating, etc.). On Dec. 12, we went to a surprise 50th birthday party for my aunt and went to Hozak's farm (the same place we got our pumpkins) to pick out our annual live tree. The following week I had a work Christmas party and was getting ready for Christmas.

On Dec. 19 we went to my grandma's house to decorate her tree, and my cousins were there, too. It was a good time. Since my grandma wasn't feeling well, she told my mom the week of Christmas that she would like my mom to host the holiday. She didn't want to give it up, but it was the best choice. I had spent all day Dec. 8 taking my grandma to get x-rays and tests done. We were all excited mom was going to host Christmas, since my parents' house is bigger.

My last day of work was Dec. 21, and it was such a happy day for me. I hated the job, and I really needed to move on. (You can read more about that here.)

On Dec.23, we went to dinner at Undo's, a local Italian eatery, and then we went to the B.E. Taylor Christmas concert. He is a local musician who puts on a fantastic show. If you ever get a chance to listen to his Christmas music, you should listen. Joe and I pretty much agree that the B.E. Taylor Christmas songs are the best versions of the songs. We love him.

Dec. 24 was the most wonderful Christmas Eve. It was so relaxing and wonderful. I assembled a Christmas breakfast casserole (apples, French toast, etc.), and here is the recipe for it. I used the reviewers suggestions and flipped the layers. Also, I added a little pumpkin pie spice and most of the apples. It was tasty. I then made a cranberry spread that my family loves. I made that for our post-Christmas Eve Mass celebration. I served the spread with Nilla wafers, cinnamon Graham cracker sticks and honey Graham cracker sticks and honey wheat pretzel sticks. Here is the recipe for the spread. I also assembled a DELICIOUS chicken, broccoli and stuffing casserole. That recipe isn't online. It was from a Taste of Home magazine.

After making those things, my husband and I made lunch and cuddled on the couch to watch "Home Alone." It was so perfect. After that, we got ready for dinner at my parents' house. My mom made pasta, sausage and salad. After dinner, my brother, sister, husband, dad and I went to church early for choir practice and then celebrated Mass. There is nothing as magical and wonderful as Christmas Eve Mass. It was beautiful. After Mass, we headed back to my parents' to hang out a bit longer, visit and eat again. Come on, it's the holidays!

The next day, Joe and I woke up early and opened our gifts from Santa and each other. Wow, he spoiled me. My favorite gift from him was probably the mugs, plates and bowels he bought me from Ireland that match the teakettle I bought when we were there in August. I was pleasantly surprised. Then we headed to my parents' house to exchange with everyone. We had breakfast, then my mom, dad, husband, family friend who is a priest Father Bill and I headed to my dad's mom's house and visited and had lunch. We then headed home and got ready for Christmas dinner. Everyone was there, including my in-laws. It was great. That night my brother stayed the night so he and my husband could play their new video games. I made them barbecue riblets and chicken nuggets.

The next day, my husband and I hosted a Christmas movie day for our friends after Mass. We served sloppy Joes and a delicious macaroni and cheese. (Note: I used to make Pioneer Woman's mac and cheese, but this recipe is better.) I made a triple batch, and it was hammered. We all wear pajamas and everyone comes over and brings food and blankets and we are bums ALL DAY. We watched "The Santa Clause," "Elf," "Polar Express," "A Christmas Carol," "The Grinch," "The Grinch" cartoon, ""Four Christmases," and "Christmas Vacation." it is so needed after the busy holiday.

On Wednesday, we visited with my cousins, and we had a wonderful time. We went to their house, and we had a blast.

Thursday was the Christmas celebration at my dad's mom. We had lasagna, salad, bread and tons of cookies and cake.

On New Year's Eve, my parents hosted again! It was great and the night did not conclude until almost 5 a.m. on New Year's Day. We played games and had a wonderful time. My sister-in-law and her boyfriend stayed with us because my in-laws Christmas celebration was the next day, and their house was a bit crowded. So, after virtually no sleep, we headed to the in-laws for a wonderful Christmas gathering. It was a long day!

The next day we went to church and then my husband, sister-in-law and her boyfriend headed to my parents' house for leftovers. Then my sister-in-law headed back to Cleveland, and we went to my parents' for dinner that evening.

It was a busy but wonderful holiday. Although we continued the season through yesterday, our big celebrating concluded then. I wish everyone a blessed and Happy New Year! Hopefully we have an exciting and winderful year approaching. Stay tuned, and I am back!

Let's Get Cooking ... Well Baking

So, the whole blogging every day thing will happen at some point, but I guess trying to do that in December was pretty ambitious. I am so busy, just like the rest of the world, getting ready for the holiday season!

Friday, I ran to Macy's after work and picked up gifts for my mom and a few things from Walmart.

I then headed home and baked peanut butter blossoms and snickerdoodles with my hubby, while watching "Elf" and some Simpson's Christmas episodes (Joe's choice).

After going to bed, I woke up bright and early for a big baking day. We have our Christmas party this weekend, and I had tons to prepare. On Saturday, I made Wheaties cookies (love), gingerbread men, sugar cookies (Joe helped with these), red velvet cake balls, made the cake for the spice cake balls and pizzelles. It was an all-day event. We had Wendy's for dinner. During the day, our neighbor came to my house and asked if I would be her sponsor, as she comes into the Catholic Church. Considering I didn't really know her until then, I was pretty honored.

Sunday, I got up and did my Weight Watchers meeting, went to choir practice and church, headed to my parents' house for lunch, went grocery shopping for the week, went home and made the spice cake balls and Oreo truffle. It was midnight by the time I headed to bed.

Then, yesterday was really crazy. I headed to a few store after work. I got my gift exchange gift for Saturday, picked up a few things for the party, headed to Bath and Body Works for my holiday soaps, and I then headed home. When I got home I made hot dogs and fries, and we ate. I then tackled the mini cheesecakes for Saturday, and the first batch was an epic fail. They just weren't right. So, I moved on and made the mini quiches for Saturday. I made them with bacon, and the egg was allover the bottom of the tray, so we will see how they are. (The cooking gods were not with me yesterday.) Then I remade the cheesecakes, which turned out better.

Today, I am on deadline for work. This is my second-to-last deadline at this place. Woo hoo! Tonight is "Glee!" I have a roast and carrots in the crock pot. I hope to get all of the holiday platters, roaster and things cleaned tonight. I wish this was all done and the party was here!

Busy, Busy, Busy

So, remember how I was going to blog every day for the month of December? Hah! I did the first day and already fell off the wagon. But, I am back today. Last night was interesting and busy. I ran to the store after work and bought all of our paper products for the party (plates, plastic ware, napkins), and everything matches because I am anal like that.

After I got home, it was a little late to start the barbecue chicken for dinner that I had originally planned. So, I made egg sandwiches. I made baked sweet potato fries for me, and I made ham and hash browns for Joe. It actually hit the spot.

After dinner, I switched out the dishes in the China cabinet, put up some more decorations. Joe also pretty much finished the basement.

Then we sat down to watch "The Santa Clause," and I wrapped the plastic ware for the party, and Joe wrapped up some of our pictures that hang on the walls in the basement. He does this around the holidays, and it always looks so darn cute.

After that, we headed to bed. So, although nothing exciting happened, we were busy bees.

Oh yeah, and it's 17 days until I leave my job! It is bittersweet, and in the end it will be good. but, right now, I am in that awkward stage of closing out what I am doing here, and it's kinda sad. But, I think it will be good!

Christmas from the Past!

So, I am going to try to do one post every day this month! December, what a great month to start with, right? We'll see!

Anyways, I this is a wonderful month. I was so enthralled to wake up to snow falling on the ground on Dec. 1. It felt magical. I love the snow, and it is pretty snow. I love everything about the holidays, especially how often I get to spend time with family and friends. I love the smell of winter, fires burning, cookies baking, Christmas music playing ( I have it on at work right now - Celine Dion's "O Holy Night"). I just love it, really.

In honor of the month of Christmas, I am going to post some pictures of some Christmases past. After looking through my files, I realize the only two Christmases I have uploaded are from 2007 and 2009 (the rest are on the computer at home). I will warn you, this post is picture heavy. So, here they are:

Cutting down our tree in 2007





Our Maddy in 2007!









Daddy and Maddy on Christmas Eve morning 2007!





 

Us in front of our tree after Christmas Eve Mass 2007









She is trying to guilt us into more gifts! That adorable face gets us every time!









This is during our gift exchange at our party.



Some of the gang at our house for our annual Christmas party.

 



Hubby and me before Christmas Eve Mass.

 

The 2008 cruise group at our Christmas party!







My brother's girlfriend Maria, me and my sister Kayla at my parents' house after Christmas Eve Mass.




My brother Derek and me at my parents' house on Christmas Eve.






My husband and me at Grandma's on Christmas.

 

Gift time at my other grandma's house on Christmas Day!

The hubby back at our house at the end of a long Christmas Day.

Aunt Renee snuggling with Hannah at my in-laws' house the day after Christmas.





We host a movie day after Christmas Day at our house. Everyone lays around ALL DAY, eats and watches Christmas movies. We all wear pajamas and are so lazy. It is wonderful!

Mom and her gang at grandma's house.

My sister and I with Dad at Grandma's house.

Chapter Closing!

Ok, so I kinda fell off the earth there, but I am trying to get back on the blogging wagon. A lot has been going on in my life. It's crazy enough that it is the holiday season. However, I then decided we should have two rooms in our house painted; then we did the good clean of our house, and I mean good clean (every corner, closet, wall and floorboard was scrubbed and/or reorganized.) It is wonderful now. We had the holidays mixed in, a friend staying with us for a weekend and a few gatherings at our house. Plus, I have two jobs, which brings me to the biggest change of all: I quit one of my jobs.

It's a good thing in the long run. I am not using my skills here, and I feel used. I have three positions in this building and answer to four people. It makes for one insane work week. When I was hired, I was initially hired to work for the newspaper. (I have a degree in communications.) Then, approximately three years into the job, my one boss came and told me I was being promoted to the director of a new program in the building; it involved a raise, so I took it. At that point, I was working two jobs. However, I quickly realized that the new job I took on was not a promotion by any means; I became a secretary. Now, don't get me wrong, I have all the respect in the world for secretaries, but I went to school to be a journalist. I understand you have to work your way up in a company, but I felt that after three years, I had proven myself, and I felt like I was going backwards. I stuck out the second job because of the nice raise.

Then, this past summer, my head boss (who was new) came in and told me they would be splitting me again into a third position. This time, there was no raise. Yeah, I felt really appreciated. In their minds, it was a compliment I was getting so many positions. They said they knew I could handle it. To me, well, I felt like I was being used. Plus, did I mention, the new position was another secretary position? It was.

The company I work for has been downsizing for a few years, just like everyone else. We are a nonprofit organization, and I know money is tight. But, I went to school to be a journalist, not someone's you-know-what!

The final factor that determined my resignation was that I wasn't even happy in the position I originally signed up for. When I was in college, I was the assistant editor and promoted to editor of the school newspaper. I graduated with honors and had a paid internship at a newspaper. I covered fires, an attempted murder trial and so many other things. They offered me a job, and I turned it down to take the job at this paper. I knew the stories would be less interesting at this job, but the money was better, hours were better, and the commute was better. So, I took the plunge.

When I came here, I realized I was working with two older women who were stuck in their ways. They weren't very good with journalism and didn't understand design and a lot of the grammar rules. It was frustrating. It was like teaching an old dog new tricks; it wasn't happening. The one thing I convinced them to change was that stories shouldn't jump backwards, meaning if a story starts on page four, it shouldn't jump to page three; that's backwards. They did let me convince them to change that.

I know I am rambling, but I need to get this all down. I thought time would change things. However, my immediate boss at the paper can't stand giving control to anyone else, so she covers 95 percent of the stories. I do some design (without much creative liberty), a handful of stories a year and typing, a lot of typing. Again, I did not go to schoolt obe a typist. It is frustrating; it is tiring; and it is time to move on.

If you have gotten this far, congratulations. I really needed to get it all out. I mean, I have worked here for almost five years, This is a big chapter of my life closing.

I put in my resignation Nov. 23, 2010, and I told them I would stay until Dec. 21. I want to leave on good terms. For the most part, this place has been good to me. I have great co-workers, and the hours are unbeatable. It just isn't working for me anymore, and I have realized money isn't everything. I will be picking up more hours with Weight Watchers, and I will hopefully be moving up the chain there. I may get to do some public relations there, too. I really hope this all pans out.

Again, sorry this was so long. I promise my future updates will be more exciting. Now, I feel like i can get back to some happy blogging. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I ate too much, but it was wonderful!

Carolina's Coming!

Yeah, so I was going strong, blogging almost every weekday and absolutely loving it. Then, life happened!

We decided to have our living room painted and had to clear those rooms out for the painter, pick paint, pick new curtains, etc. After the painting was done I decided I wanted to do a good clean of the two rooms, which mean floorboards, floors, rugs, every piece of furniture in the room and everything that goes back into the room (including what goes back into the china hutch). It was tough work. After I finished that, I decided I wanted to do a good clean of the back bedroom since my best girlfriend, Carolina, is coming to stay with us. So, that meant scrubbing the walls, floorboards, floors, rug, cleaning the curtains, comforter sheets and everything that went back into my room. My back is crying for a break. Yuck.

But, it will pay off because I get to see my Carolina! I just have to clean the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom tonight and maybe make a few treats for the weekend.

Carolina and I waiting to see "Sweeney Todd" in April.

Me and Carolina at the Cherry Blossom Festival! We had incredibly beautiful weather.

Carolina is from Columbia, and we met in college in a history class. We studied together a couple of times, and we really hit it off. I was a communications/journalism major, and she was a communications/theater major. We ended up having a few classes that overlapped, and we just kept hitting it off. Although I was not involved in theater in college, I loved and still do love theater. Carolina was the stage manager in many of the productions, and I loved going to see her.

Carolina, my mom and me

Carolina looking adorable, while I look like a total bum. We were heading home after "Wicked."

Our second year in college, my first roommate decided to live off of campus, so I was left without a roommate. Carolina was my suite mate, and when things with her roommate didn't work out (think young college girl dating a man older than my parents...blah), Carolina decided to move in with me.

We stayed roommates throughout the rest of our college experience. She was the neat freak, and I was the slob. However, I think she rubbed off on me because I am a crazy clean person now. Yes, my house gets messy, but it drives me insane.

In our junior year of college, Carolina and I moved into a house on campus. That house is where we truly bonded. We got our own rooms and had the chance to have some more space to ourselves. It was really good for us. We spent many nights sitting on each other's beds laughing, crying, studying and gossiping (and we, of course, occasionally opened a nice bottle of wine). It was perfect!

After college, Carolina moved around a few times and is now living in Virginia, near Washington, D.C. We see each other more now than we did a few years ago. The last two Thanksgivings she has come to our place (day after Thanksgiving). Last Thanksgiving, she came down to our place, and we went to Cleveland to see "Wicked" and the house from "The Christmas Story." I traveled down to see her the week of Holy Week, and we went to the cherry blossom festival and to see a production of "Sweeney Todd." It was nice because her birthday is April 2, and I got to see her! Remember, we love our theater. So, that's always an important part of our time together, too!

Carolina and I at "Wicked" last November.

My brother's girlfriend Maria, Carolina and I waiting for "Wicked."

I can't wait for this weekend. Our plans include some Christmas shopping and catching up with friends for a nice dinner. It will be great and relaxing!

At a restaurant featured on "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives," after "Wicked."

Visiting the house from "The Christmas Story," after "Wicked."

I will try to get back into blogging more. Right now is rough because of the holidays and other big things going on, but I am trying to get back into the swing!

Have a great day!

Week in Review - Oct. 17-23, 2010; Halloween Party

Well, we had another fun and exciting weekend, and now it's a rainy Monday. What a bummer! Anyways, last week was so busy, and I was lazy and forgot to (more like neglected to) document each day. So, I am trying to recall it all at one time! What a joy.

Sunday - It was the day after alumni band, and since we went to Mass as a part of those festivities, we didn't have to go to Mass that day. However, I did have to get up and do a Weight Watchers meeting in excruciating pain. Remember my foot saga? Oh, it was bad. I pretty much laid around and elevated my foot for the rest of the day. I even watched some of that show "Sister Wives." I totally and completely disagree with their entire lifestyle, but I couldn't look away. It was like a car accident. Later, we headed down to my parents' house for pizza and then headed home. It was relaxing, and it was nice for a change.

Monday - Monday, my foot was swollen bad, and I had trouble putting a shoe on. I hobbled into work, and my co-worker Janice encouraged me to call my doctor. So, I took the afternoon off and went to the doctor who was convinced I had gout. That whole story is here. After stopping by the doctor's office, I went to the store for my weekly groceries and dropped off my prescription. Then, I headed home and put rustic chicken in the crock pot. It was so yummy. I then ate lunch and relaxed for the afternoon and evening.

Tuesday - I woke up, and the steroids and pain killers were magical; I finally had some relief. I did some light working out that day, just to see how it went. I went to work. After work, I made beef and noodles and worked on cleaning out the office a bit in the evening. "Glee" was a re-run, so I had to make other plans. I had some stuff to put in storage, and my brother and Joe took the stuff downstairs.

Wednesday - I woke up and did Tae Bo before work. I then headed home for lunch. After work, I dropped off some stuff to Goodwill, and then I headed to Weight Watchers to do my meeting. We had leftovers for dinner, and for Wednesday date night, we watched "Hocus Pocus." We love that movie. Then we relaxed for the rest of the meeting before heading to bed.

Thursday - I got up and worked out (I believe). I went to work and went home at lunch to put chili in the crock pot for dinner. I can't remember what I did right after work. But, I remember we had chili for dinner, and then my brother came up to watch "Community," "The Office" and "Outsourced." We had hot chocolate and had a great evening, and Joe finished putting together my Halloween costume (pictures coming).

Friday - We had a busy weekend coming up. I went grocery shopping for all the events. When I came home, we had leftover chili for dinner. Joe had cleaned the house, and we had a great evening making a spider cake. We made a chocolate cake in the shape of a spider's body. We used chocolate frosting and chocolate sprinkles (to make it look hairy). Then we made chocolate-covered marshmallows and attached them going out from the body, to make the legs. We used pretzel M&Ms for eyes. It was huge and was a hit. We delivered it to my parents' house. That night, I could not sleep. I think I was up until 5 a.m., absolutely wide awake. It was terrible. I have gone through bouts of terrible sleep for years, and this weekend was bad. I was so exhausted. I only slept for three hours. I then got up and made a lot of food for Sunday. We were planning on heading to the pumpkin patch, and I was having my family over afterwards for food and "Sweeney Todd." On Saturday, I made pumpkin trifle, sweet potato salad, pumpkin dip and a cheeseball. Then I showered, ate and laid down for a bit before the Halloween party at my parents'. However, I only slept maybe a half an hour. I got up, got my stuff together, got ready, and then we headed to the party. We stayed there until 2:30 a.m. Then we headed home, and I got approximately five hours of sleep before my Sunday Weight Watchers meeting. It made for a long and tiresome Sunday.

Making the spider cake. My husband is the artist, and this was his baby.



I am working on the frosting and sprinkles.



Our finished project. I have quite a creative husband!

Yesterday, I got up, did my meeting, went to choir and church, headed to the pumpkin patch for a fabulous but hot few hours. We went to the shop, ate fudge and kettlecorn, shopped and had a wonderful day. Joe, my mom, dad, sister and I went, and it was so much fun. We headed to Kroger before heading back to the house for food. I served a pepperoni cheeseball (with crackers); pumpkin dip (with gingersnaps, Nilla wafers, graham crackers and cinnamon pretzels); pumpkin soup and bread; barbecue beef for sandwiches; a walnut, feta cheese and cranberry salad; homemade macaroni and cheese; Doritos; pretzels; some leftover desserts from Saturday that my mom brought up and an awesome pumpkin trifle. It was tasty. My mom, dad, sister, brother, Maria (brother's girlfriend), Joe, Father Bill (family friend who's a priest), friend Shaun and I had a great evening and watched the gruesome "Sweeney Todd," which was a hit. Joe and I love that movie.

What a week. I need a nap after my long weekend!

Here are a few more pictures from the Halloween party. Pumpkin patch pictures will come next week.

My awesome parents dressed up as Carnival  Cruise Line employees. We love cruising, and I love them! Hilarious.

And the big reveal of our costumes. I was Flo, the Progressive Insurance girl, and Joe was the Nationwide guy. This was Joe's idea. He made my apron and buttons.

My brother was the three hole punch version of Derek (as opposed to Jim). If you watch "The Office," you understand.

Questionnaire of Sorts

Here is a questionnaire I found on other blogs and thought I would do. Someday, I may be able to look back and laugh at some of my answers or may still agree with them! The theme is fours (don't know why four, but it is).

Four jobs in my life:

• The Times Leader - I worked a s a reporter at a local newspaper while I was still in college. It was a paid internship, which is always a plus. Although I didn't take a job there (it was offered), I loved the people there and sometimes wish I would have stayed there. I worked with some people who influenced me significantly. Plus, I had some great experiences there. I got to cover an attempted murder trial, house fire (very sad), go skiing for a feature, go scuba diving for a feature story and even ride in an old bi-plane where I wore one those really cool leather hats and goggles. OK, they weren't cool; but, let's all pretend they are.
• The Trumpet - I was the assistant editor of my college newspaper for two-and-a-half years before becoming editor my senior year. The Trumpet was published weekly, and I really got to get my feet wet being a leader. I loved that job! I wish I could go back to those days.
• The Steubenville Register - This is where I work now. I don't have much good to say, and when you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. Let's just leave it at that: It's a job, and at least I have one.
• Weight Watchers - I am a leader for Weight Watchers. I went through some pretty incredible training, and when I think about what I do at Weight Watchers, I realize this job makes me feel most fulfilled. (yes, I am such  a cheese ball. Yum, cheeseball!) I absolutely adore helping others achieve there goals. There are tough days, but I love what I do. I think my husband would agree that I am happiest when I talk about that job.

Four movies I could watch over and over:

• Any of the Harry Potter movies - Yes, that is probably cheating, but I think of it as one story.
• "P.S., I Love You" - It is a sad movie, but I loved Ireland so much when we were there, and I just love seeing the scenes in the movie.
• "Apollo 13" - I have always found that movie to be so inspiring.
• "The Muppet Christmas Carol" (or any Christmas movie for that matter) - I adore this movie and could watch it all year around. But, I don't because my husband would frown upon that.

Four places I have vacationed:

• Ireland - Wow! What a fantastic, hospitable and beautiful country. We spent two weeks there in August, with only one day of rain and otherwise fantastic weather. It was a dream come true, and I thank God every day for a husband that helped my fulfill a dream I've had my entire life. Someday there will be an entire post on that trip.
• The Caribbean - We have been on three cruises and have been to several places in the Caribbean, including the following: Tortola, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Grand Turks, Half Moon Cay and more. I love the Caribbean lifestyle of relaxation.
• Disney World - Hello, honeymoon! It was such a magical post. I did a whole review of it here. It was quite the adventure for the two young newlyweds who had never vacationed without parents before.
• Canada - When I think of vacationing as a child, I always remember the several times we went to Niagara Falls. I loved it. My family always vacationed, and this was a favorite of all of ours.

Four favorite foods:

• Chocolate - It's a weakness. In fact, I did a whole post on that, too! I love chocolate candy, ice cream, cupcakes and frosting. It's amazing that I ever got to goal weight!
• Pasta - I may be Irish, but I love and adore Italians for their contribution of the tasty carb that is pasta. I love pasta so much, especially rigatoni. Yummy!
• Fruit - I love fruit because of how filling it is. It is naturally sweet, which helps with my sweet tooth, and it is low in calories. I have a special place in my heart for apples.
• A good hamburger - The American girl in me loves a really juicy hamburger with all the toppings. I love me a good hamburger. In fact, it is a running joke among my family and friends that I put fish and children on my burgers. For the record, I don't. Your children are safe. I eat normal toppings: ketchup, mustard, tomato, lettuce, onion, etc. The joke stemmed from a night on our first cruise when they took a picture of me eating a burger, and the burger was overflowing with toppings.

Four things I am looking forward to:

• My parents' Halloween party this weekend - It is such a great time with great friends and food. I can't wait! Don't worry; I won't forget the camera this time.
• Going to the pumpkin patch Sunday - I love the pumpkin patch. We have such  great time taking in the sights and smells of the fall season. I love fall!
• Christmas - You could ask me in January what I was looking forward to, and I would have said Christmas then, too. I just adore the season. There is nothing like it. In fact, I will probably be quite obnoxious talking about it all the time over the next few months. In my family, the Christmas music starts Nov. 1. We are a musical family, and there is way too much Christmas music to only listen for a few weeks. My husband even (reluctantly) follows this tradition! Woo hoo! It's coming!
• To see where we will be in a year -  I am hoping for a great year, and I can't wait to look back on this blog and see how much we have changed over a year.

If you do this in your blog, let me know! I would love to see your answers. Take care, and have a fabulous Thursday!

*My images are a from a collection from my computer that I have collected over time. Let me know if they belong to you!