Fabulous Week

Well ... Thanksgiving is over. The turkey is not all gone yet, but I don't think I can eat any more of that bird. Seriously -- I am over turkey for a while. We spent the first half of the week with some fabulous friends at Dumont Dunes. Then we came back to a fabulous Thanksgiving feast put on by Ryan's mom. Today we went to the Santa Paula tree farm and picked a Christmas Tree for my dad's house. And tonight we finished off the week by ushering in some Christmas spirit by making sugar cookies : )

Christmas

I am usually irritated when I walk into a store just one day after our Halloween costumes have been put away and already the Christmas candy is out, along with all of the other garb that comes with holiday consumerism. Sage and Aspen, on the other hand, are just beside themselves with joy. What child wouldn't be excited? Giant candy canes? Reindeers? SANTA?? Sage will then say to me, "But Santa is just pretend, right mom?" "Right," I say. Then we usually talk about the real reason for Christmas, which then leads to some sort of discussion about baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph getting married, and usually ends with Sage wondering when she will get married and have kids. It's a very involved discussion. Then I had to ask myself: How can I be irritated with holiday consumerism which should reminds me of Jesus and the big celebration to come on December 25th? Shouldn't I be excited about Jesus' birth year-round? Heck, in front of our Von's parking lot a manger is displayed every year. Should I say, "No, sorry, it's too early to put those decorations out right now." Anyhow, this year I have really enjoyed all of the decorations being out early because it has sparked many a conversation between Sage and I regarding the real reason for the Christmas and that to me is pretty priceless.

Learning

I was at my sister's house during the summer and she was making eggs. I noticed that prior to cracking the eggs, she lays down a paper towel, and then after she cracks the eggs she places the shells on the paper towel, wraps them up and tosses them in the trash. I don't know why but it just seemed like a genius thing to do. I am always dripping egg whites on the counter tops on the way to the trashcan (and then have to whip out the Clorox bleach to clean it up). Or sometimes I put the egg shells back into the egg carton ... but that can't be good, right? Anyhow, the paper towel method works for me now.

In other breaking news .... Aspen climbed out of her crib 2X and Sage has been asking every other hour when Thanksgiving will be over so we can decorate the house for Christmas.

First Sewing Project

Here they are! Sage's long-awaited PJ Pants : )

Frugal Snob

I am always fascinated by how different each and every person is from another. What might bother or annoy me humors another. What might seem beautiful to me is harmful to another's eyes.
So ... what are my idiosyncrasies?

On the frugal side would be my make-up. I have had the same powder for almost 3 years and it was actually given to me by someone. The lid of the powder container cracked, so I put the container in a zip-lock bag. My lip-liner is also about 2 years old and I just used up 1 of the 2 eye-brow pencils that I have ... never mind the fact that I sharpened that pencil down to it's last bit of usefulness. Make-up just isn't that important to me.
But, I am a shoe snob. This has come and gone in waves. I went from best dressed in High School to only wearing professional garb for my corporate job when I first got married. I didn't care what my pumps looked like, as long as they were cheap! But post-kids my love-of-shoes is returning. Still, I try to find the best brands at the best price. But I don't just want to buy the cheapest shoe anymore, especially since I want the pair of shoes to last a few years (or more). And this requires me to dish out a few more bucks than normal. I care about my shoes!

So, those are some of my funks ... care to share yours?

Halloween!

Another fabulous Halloween! Still, I have to question the Day itself ... costumes, candy, sugar-overdoses, etc. Our church put on a Harvest Fest which we were glad to be part of. It's just another way to fellowship with people, even if we are eating Butterfingers instead of bread.