10 for Tuesday

I have holiday fever! The last few months of the year gives my family much to celebrate....all of our birthdays and the standard stuff means we are broke by January ;) It truly means that life around these parts can feel like a blur. The birthdays abut against the holidays and in an effort to make sure everyone is celebrated adequately I jump through a
lot of hoops. Birthday banner down, Christmas tree up... Pretty much anyway.Tuesday's Ten is a simple list of some of the holiday things I want to do before the end of the season.
1. Go on a drive to see the festive lights.
2. Eggnog and fireplace date with the hubby.
3. Listen to all of my favorite Motown Christmas carols while wrapping presents.
4. Watch holiday movies with the little man.
5. Go see all of the Christmas decorations on the National Mall.
6. Make homemade cards for some very special folks.
7. Go to a grown up party and wear something sparkly.
8. Bake some goodies both standard and borrowed recipes.
9. Take some long relaxing baths after long busy days at work .
10. Go to a holiday performance.

What is on your agenda this holiday season?

Merci, Thanks, Gracias

So very much to be thankful for during this holiday week, here are ten!
1. Days off. Yay for Wed, Thurs and Friday -so happy you are here ;)
2. Mason jars. I bring you the adult sippy cup.
3. I phone. I just can't get enough of my phone. How did I function before it?
4. Cool fashion choices....teal, black,butterflies and sheer fabric...love it!
5. Nice parents. My conferences went great and I even got a gift!
6. Lunches with girlfriends. Something about gabbing over food is really just the best.
7. Rachel Maddow. If you don't know I can't explain it.
8. Great health insurance. We just completed the open enrollment paperwork and I am just so grateful that I have access to affordable healthcare.
9. Making room in my life by removing clutter. Still shredding stuff but the end seems near.
10. Amazon. No I am not being paid for this endorsement but really they make it super easy to get what you need.

Happiest if Thanksgiving to all of you! Eat well and enjoy !!

                                                 Making my way through the paper clutter.

                                                Love all of the uses of Mason jars!

A shot of my clothes :)

Little Reminders

I know I am not the only one who gets overwhelmed or feels like there are not enough hours in the day to do all that needs to get done. Man do I feel all of those things pretty often! This weekend has been what the entire holiday season is for us, busy busy busy! I enjoy spending the time with the people I love and yet the reality of life is just around the corner. This weekend was full of fun family time, my cousin was here from Seattle and so we ate well and laughed a lot. It was bliss. We put her on her plane and it is back to reality. Getting ready for the work week and tackling little projects. Or not so little projects. In my never ending quest to get organized, I am tackling some of the paper clutter. Beyond the usual stuff, how long do you need to keep tax stuff for any way? I have been going through papers for the past few hours and I was feeling rather overwhelmed when I thought it would be a great time to put my little hurricane of a helper down for his nap. He flat out refused. Ugh. My plans, my plans! Anywhoo I left him alone and returned to my mounds feeling doubly defeated when I had an epiphany: instead of bemoaning how much I have to do, I should embrace how far I have come. Two big trash bags full if shredded papers are certainly testimony to what I have been able to accomplish. Quite pleased with my revelation I hopped up to tell my husband my aha moment only to discover him and our son passed out in our bed. He had gone down without me pulling out my hair over it or getting all riled up. Wow two big reminders in one afternoon. Life really is full of awesomeness.

What have you had to remind yourself about lately?

Ten for Tuesday: Gratitude

What an appropriate time to show my gratitude in this month of Thanksgiving. So 10 things that I am thankful for this week are:

1. my helpful husband who gives baths & keeps that little one occupied for hours on end
2. my job that keeps me on my toes
3. a full fridge that I can manage to pull meals out of even when I did not meal plan
4. this magazine that uplifts me and constantly gives me something to journal about

5. friendships that challenge me and support me endlessly
6. package tracking, I know I am not the only one who thinks this feature is pretty much the cat's meow
7. weekends~ I love the time to reconnect and move at a snails pace with the family
8. help~ all of the helping things that make my life easier from washing machines to hairdressers to grocery deliveries I can't do it without these helpful things
9. my little cousins, I have two amazing rockstar cousins who are both coming to visit this weekend. I can't wait!!
10. a cozy bed! Pillows and more pillows, love it!

What are you grateful for?

Partay! Partay!

My husband's birthday was last Thursday and on Friday I threw a surprise shindig for him. In the effort of full disclosure I planned it all in the Monday before his birthday. That is just the way my mind works and it all turned out wonderful!! His friends came out and he was smiling the whole night. I consider that a success. We had a bunch of yummy finger foods and my cousin, the bartender, made sure we had an abundance of delicious punch. It was a really nice night.
Of course I forgot to take pictures but I do have one or two to share. I went with a red theme as that is his favorite color and the decor was just not over the top.
I will say that hosting a surprise is a lot of fun but hard to keep it all to yourself!

10 for Tuesday: Election

iTotally on pins and needles~ if I can't handle close sporting events and I REALLy can't, you must know that close presidential elections really get me crazed. But on a positive note, I did get to have a Tuesday off and I will totally take that gift.

Ten ways I have occupied myself so that I would not obsess over CNN.

1. Dropped the little off at daycare and picked up party food too.
2. Worked on the plans for the little party that I decided to throw for my hubby's birthday. Yeah in typical Jackpot fashion I decided to host a party four days before the party.
3. Had my buddy over and we got some sewing and chatting done :)
4. Graded papers. Go me! Grades are due on Thursday.
5. Ordered cake for the party.
6. Made the easiest dinner. Bonus for being yummy. Why haven't I been making soup and sandwich a part of the menu routine in the past is beyond me.
7. Chatted with Bestie. Always a highlight of a day to me.
8. Read Bearenstain Bears stories to the little.
I am noticing a trend. Stress brings out me wanting the comforts of my past. Soup and sandwiches, Bearenstain Bears are all things from my childhood, and making time for my friends is always a priority.
9. Writing for Nanowrimo. Mostly pressure free but a bunch of typing and hashing out details. Loving it!
10. A wee bit of relaxing.

How has your election day been?

Nanowrimo Time

So I started Nanowrimo~ November is National Novel Writing Month, the expectation is you will finish a novel in a month. I am only a few days in and way behind the expected daily totals but I am all those many words past NOT starting a novel so I am super pleased with that progress. I have an outline and characters and conflicts. See I feel like I am in a good place. Are any of you guys doing Nanowrimo? Feel free to offer encouragement if you like or tell me I am a loon. Haters can be my motivators~ not really but that is the high school teacher in me adding a bit of the teen mentality :)