Meet Max & Sparky

I took some fun pictures of our boys on Friday while Jay and I were in the kitchen cooking. They usually don't stay still, but I think the warm sun streaming in made them really patient. I took a ton of shots, but I think these are the best of the bunch. Thanks for looking!

Post Christmas Fun

Wow, it feels like ages since I last blogged! First, a belated Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope you and your families had a wonderful Christmas full of the wonders only the season can bring. I had a wonderfully crazy last two weeks finishing circle journals and last minute Christmas shopping that I had no time to do any blogging.

I had a great Christmas. The best gift actually came the Friday before Christmas when I got the call that I landed a long term temporary position at a firm in San Francisco. The downside was that I was starting the next Monday. All in all, I'm very excited about working again. I've been happily waking up at 6 am to get ready for work.

Jay and I had Christmas dinner at my brother- and sister-in-laws' home in Santa Clara which was a bit of change because we've had it at our house the past couple years. On Christmas Day we went to Mass then had lunch at the mother-and father-in-law's home immediately after. The rest of the day was spent just lounging. Ahhh!

Meet my new friend, the Cuisinart coffee maker! Yay!! My Krups decided last Tuesday morning that it would no longer operate itself so I have not had a morning cup of coffee since then. Ughhh! Anyway, I slogged through those days and finally picked this one up yesterday when Jay and I went to so do some Christmas returns. So very happy happy!

Jar of Whimsy

I participated in a swap on SISTv called Christmas Jar of Whimsy. We each filled a jar with fun scrappy stuff for our partner. Well, I got my jar of goodies yesterday. Thank you to Vivian for all the scrappy goodness, I'm in heaven. I'm still working on my December Daily so everything will be put to good use!

Holidays & Coffee

I started a new Christmas tradition yesterday: holiday coffee! The inspiration came while I was grocery shopping (at Raleys if you're from NorCal) on Saturday. I came across Don Francisco's Dark Chocolate Mint coffee. Yummy! I had a couple cups yesterday and it is absolutely heavenly! It's like having a mint mocha, another Starbucks Holiday favorite of mine!

I tried to snap a couple shots of Max & Sparky with reindeer antlers on, but as usual they won't cooperate.

And so it goes

I don't know why this is, but I just can't get back into the swing of things. I was doing so well before Thanksgiving, efficiently checking off my to-do list. (I am temporarly unemployed so I have no excuse.) I have tons to do, but I just want to be lazy! To make matters worse, my normal routine was thrown into a tizzy on Wednesday when I had to prepare for a last minute interview (which went well). I like a lot of structure, but I'm usually able to recover quickly

I haven't finished pre-making my December Daily nor have I taken any pictures (except for Monday) or done any journaling! Aacck! Here are some of the picture that I took on Monday of our Christmas tree.

Hello December

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was very low key and casual. Jay and I took care of the turkey and the fixings and BIL and SIL provided the pumpkin and whipped cream. Everything was so yummy! We cooked a 20 pound bird which is big for only four people. I think we'll be eating turkey leftovers until the end of the week!

I didn't partake of any Black Friday or Saturday and Cyber Monday craziness. Luckily I don't have a ton of people to shop for this year or any year for that matter. This year the "kids" (ie. me, DH, SIL and BILs) are doing a secret Santa type of gift of exchange.

I'm so happy that December if finally here! I can finally sing Christmas songs freely and without shame! I have to say that I LOVE Christmas! Family, food, singing! I miss the big get-together that my mom's side of the family has every year. I have a large extended family and it seems to get bigger every year with new babies. With so many people in one place it is loud, but it is also so comforting.

With all the time I have, I decided to do Ali Edwards' December Daily album. It's such a fabulous idea to document everyday blessings and traditions of Christmas. I hope it will make this Christmas even more meaningful for me and Jay. I'll post the cover as soon as I take a stinking picture of it. Another fabu project is Tim Holt's 12 Tags of Christmas. I'm thinking of playing along and maybe using some in my December Daily. His projects are full of great techniques and are simply gorgeous!