Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

My food-creation adventure began this evening with an empty, unhappy belly, armed with a newfound diet determination. Although this year has been largely devoid of regrets, one unhappy moment came when I could no longer fit myself in to mypants. An unwelcome by-product of a welcome development - my happy marriage - happy feelings seem to have swollen up and taken over my body. I checked out a couple of pumpkin pie smoothie recipes tonight, for some pumpkin puree I had, that I purchased for something like this, before Christmas, having no intention whatsoever of cooking anything with pumpkin.

Pumpkin is supposed to be, like, super good for you, so I'm thinking I have nothing but good things ahead of me tonight. Unfortunately, in all my bad-girl cooking (and eating), I've run plumb out of any of the healthy ingredients these recipes call for. For one thing, I'm supposed to have frozen my puree. Not gonna happen; this girl's hungry. For another thing, they call for some nice plain or Greek yogurt, which is all fine and good, but all I can seem to find in my fridge is heavy cream. I figure at 40 calories a tablespoon, that cream ain't gonna cut it, so I kept looking, and lo and behold I find some leftover holiday egg nog. I need to get rid of this stuff anyhow, and it probably won't do to add to my coffee before work in the mornings, seeing as it's got alcohol in it and all.

2011 Ornaments

My 2011 ornaments came about in a rush, because this ornament exchange snuck up on me, then I couldn't find the supplies I wanted for my first idea. I ended up with this. Pretty happy with them!

Ingredients for one dozen (you'll have lots of leftovers!):
3 Sheets White 12x12 Card Stock
Elmer's Paper and Fabric Glue
Skinny Sparkly Yarn
Felt
Tiny buttons

To make:
1. Take card stock and cut into quarters, then cut each quarter into a circle, then cut in half. Twist the six-inch-long semi-circle into a cone shape (sorta half it then pull ends together) and attach (I stapled, which somewhat flattens that side, then bent the staple a bit).

2. Apply glue on the bottom of the cone and start winding yarn around. You can use any kind really, but I got skinny yarn and I think if it was fatter it would have looked sloppy since the trees are so little. I wound all the way up as well as I could, adding glue as I went, then went back down and filled in the gaps. You can add as much glue as you need to, because it dries clear anyhow. You'll get it all over your fingers. Also, before we stapled the cone, we added a little loop with the knot on the inside, so you don't have to worry about attaching it later. It kindof gets in the way, though, so if you can ball it up at the top, it helps keep it out of the way.

3. I cut the stars out of felt and glued them on along with a tiny button. And that's it! My husband's mom and I did a dozen in about three hours, but the first ones probably took a little longer when we were still figuring it out.

No Meat May

"Eating greens is a special treat. It makes long ears, and great bit feet. But it sure is awful stuff to eat." - Thumper

I hadn't originally planned to have a "diet" month, seeing as how I'm less of a dieter and more of a healthy lifestyler, or at the very least a healthy lifestyle attempter. I don't generally believe in fad diets or anything you put your body and metabolism through that you don't plan to or can't continue indefinitely.

One of the easiest - ok, best - ways to control your diet is to begin to make all your own food. I was able to start this during no spend month, because I couldn't eat out. Although the goal of the month was not to improve my diet, it did end up having that result. Making your own food means you control all the inputs, and more than that, you know what the inputs are. This has helped me to be able to cut out meat.

So I covered the how. Now for the why.

Green month started the "why". In learning about green living, I've reinforced something I already knew - meat takes a lot of energy. Cutting out meat can do good things for your carbon footprint. I'm not even cutting out milk and eggs, but animal-derived energy needs many times that energy for its production. This energy largely comes from fossil fuels, which aren't sustainable. Thus, a vegetarian lifestyle comes closer to a sustainable one. Growing lentils or beans, which are other good sources of protein, takes less energy than producing a similar amount of protein in meat. Getting a calf out of a cow, growing the feed for the calf, feeding and housing it, butchering it, and keeping that beef fit for consumption until it gets to the grocery store takes a whole lot more energy than it takes to grow a bag of beans. All this points me toward attempting to cut out meat. For no meat month, we are cutting it out completely, however in the future I expect we will eat it in limited quantities, especially for special occasions or when there aren't many options. For example, this week I got invited to lunch at a BBQ joint... I figured I could eat some beans, as long as they don't have any pork added.

That's my no meat story. I have tried several new recipes this month and have enjoyed them all. I don't feel run down or deficient in any way thus far. Time will tell!

I will have to post some of my favorite new recipes soon!

Green Month

"One single can is of great importance, because 99 is not 100." Valter (wastelandmovie.com)

Because of the fact that Earth Day falls in April, I decided to make it Earth Month, (or Green Month, depending on what mood I'm in). I like trying to see how my actions affect the world around me. I listened to Green Living For Dummies to get some ideas.

By the way, Audible.com has a really great deal on audiobooks if you are interested in them. You pay a low fee monthly for credits which can be used to purchase the books, and you can cancel at any time. There are always great deals on them if you exceed your credits and want more, plus there are often sales that will put them as low as $5, even for a popular title.

Green Living for Dummies was interesting, but not terribly in-depth. What did I expect? It was however, short and sweet, which I appreciated. This month won't be bleeding into the next, because I managed to listen to it in about a week, hooray!

Spirituality Month Wrapped Up

It's certainly not spirituality month any longer,  but I'd like to go ahead and reflect on it.

First of all, my foray into church-going looks promising. My betrothed and I both enjoyed the church our friends attend and it seems to be a very non-judgmental atmosphere, so different from the one I knew growing up (which ultimately turned me off to it.) The first sermon was on the Sermon on the Mount - certainly not one I was unfamiliar with, but it impacted me in a positive way just the same. The next week we got to see some friends of ours share a very impactful testimony. Add to that, another one of our friends has a mom who likes to cook for everyone after church, and it will be hard to keep me from coming back again.

The Four Agreements ended up being really interesting and helpful. I still most like "Don't Take Anything Personally." You never know what other people are going through or what in the world may be motivating them to act the way they do toward you or anyone else. In the end, I was impressed with the level of awareness the book promoted, but felt it may be a tad on the detached side. I think there is still a very big place for kindness and generosity toward others that the book did not seem to promote. It was more of how to be at peace with yourself - but simply being at peace with yourself will not give you total peace.

April is Green Month, because of course April 22 is Earth Day. I will get into that more later!

Spirituality Month - Almost Over

Wow, these past couple of weeks have flown by! Everything has been peachy, but busy, and obviously I haven't been focusing enough on writing.
Good thing this month's theme is no longer "diligence", because I would have gotten an "F". Although I have faithfully listened to The God Delusion, now halfway through, I have completely lost interest. It made some very good logical points, and I appreciated the information, but it is much too heavy for my taste and I had a hard time following it in some parts. Although it hasn't changed my opinion on anything (in fact, it reinforces it in some instances), it did as I said before make some good points. The first being, believing in God is not logical. I always thought that it was. As a kid, I had a book that was called "It Couldn't Just Happen", and until recently I subscribed to that line of reasoning.

One of the main reasons I believed in God and a creator is that I saw the creation and didn't believe that it could have happened by chance. However, I now think that is a faulty line of logic. Think of the amazing features and workings of all the plants and animals, most times much more complicated than we as non-scientists could imagine. I used to think that since it couldn't have "just happened", that there must certainly be an intelligent creator. However, who among us could have designed all that? Isn't it just as unfathomable that there is someone out there who could dream it up and create it? Because you see, if the creation is unlikely, so much moreso must be the creator. In short, I realized that none of my reasons for believing in God are logical, and that is not why I do. Mr. Dawkins is an atheist, and gave reasons not to stay an agnostic forever - after all, there is convincing logical evidence that there is not a God. He ended up pushing me the other direction. I am completely, completely against religious and lifestlye intolerance, but I feel more confident now than I did a few weeks ago in God's existence. It's a faith thing, and nothing more - there is no sense in trying to logic it into something reasonable, because it isn't.

That's all I'm going to say on the subject, because I'm certainly not looking to get into a debate with anyone. But, that is what I got out of (half of) the book.

I have begun The Four Agreements, and let me tell you..... book is kooky. It's got some different ideas, for sure, but I'm very interesteed to read it.

I have not been wearing my "no complaining" bracelet, but, I have been mindful of my complaining, and I realized something: I don't really complain that much. I would much rather make an effort to be happy than make an effort to complain. I don't have a reference, but I know I have heard and even through personal experienced have realized that complaining only makes you feel worse.

I also plan to attend church this Sunday! And, I have continued to keep Facebook and Words With Friends off of my phone.

It's been a long week. I think allergies have been a problem for many, and believe it or not, I think I may still be feeling the effect of the time change!

Cheers!

Chocolate Granola

Anything you can do I can do better; I can do anything better than you. - Annie Get Your Gun

That seems to be my motto. I like trying to make things myself - the chocolate granola I found recently is no exception. The granola I bought boasts oats, dried cherries, almonds, pecans, and cocoa. A peek at the ingredients lists reveals brown sugar and coconut. I loved it! My first round, I only made it with about half a cup of oats, to test my ratios... and cooking temperature. I baked it on my standby temp, 350, and ended up thinking that could have been a tad high. It had a cooked smell to it that I wasn't really looking for. I did better the second time around.

A Late Start - Spirituality Month



Dont, don't you want me?
You know I don't believe you when
you say that you don't need me.

I've been a little frustrated with my productivity lately. February ended up being a very high-maintenance month. Cooking every meal was time consuming. I listened to my book every chance I got. It's over now, and it was great! Comes very highly recommended. Along with all that, I've had a decent amount of schoolwork to keep me busy in addition to a fun little bug I seem to have contracted. Which means I get a lot less done that I would like each night! Still on the agenda for "money month" is finishing my tablecloth and setting up my etsy store. I can't wait, but I want to do it right! I'd like to have more than only a couple of items to start out with. On the money month note, I'm also planning on getting my car on the market soon. And all the while, trying not to get too frustrated with the fact that I have to spend 40+ hours of valuable Year o' No Regrets time at the office every week.
Onto Spirituality Month. I have a pretty open mind when it comes to spirituality, but I think that I've shut it out altogether for the most part in the past few years because of some negative feelings toward the churches I've attended. I'm not looking to get into a religious debate here, simply to flesh out my thoughts and feelings and desires when it comes to the spiritual side of my life and developing it further.

Ziti with Vegetables and Sausage

I made this Tuesday night, and it was a big hit at work the next day! I got some Ziti with Chicken from Olive Garden on Sunday, and it struck me how incredibly salty and greasy it was. I told the boy what I was making and he said, "Didn't you just have that?" But I thought I could make it better!

Ingredients:
1 15 oz. box ziti or penne pasta (I used Barilla Whole Grain, yummy!)
1 bell pepper
1/2 onion
1 pkg. turkey link sausage
1 ea. 12 oz. can diced tomatoes (I always use the no added salt kind)
1 ea. 12 oz. can tomato sauce
2 eggs, beaten with 2 Tbsp milk
1 8 oz. ball fresh mozzarella cheese (Of course you can subsitute not-fresh. But why would you want to? :)
2 Tbsp italian seasoning
2 Tbsp Garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
(And a tad bit of cayenne pepper, if you like to keep things a little spicy!)
1/4 C parmesan cheese

Money Month: 23 Days in

Thus far, in money month I have:

Cooked nearly every meal I've eaten.
Almost bought a car.
Listened to about 6.5 of the total almost 14 hours of my audio book, 4 Hour Work Week.

Amazing Banana Bread

I've always loved banana bread. My mom didn't really made it often, but whenever I could manage to sink my teeth into some, it was a real treat. I have a "Fake it, Don't Make it" recipe that I got from my boyfriend's momma, and have worn it plumb out. However, it always bothered me that it was incredibly unhealthy. The main ingredient is a cake mix, for crying out loud, and you add a pudding mix! Beyond that, it's bananas, some eggs, oil, and nuts, so, very easy. (I will send it to anyone who wishes to try it, but on behalf of your blood sugar, I don't recommend it.) I wanted a better recipe. I had some over-ripe bananas. Let's try this.

Do Good, Feel Good

I can't justify the fact that I haven't done a whole lot of volunteering in my life. I used to help with stuff at church, like Vacation Bible School every year, and I have done a little tutoring, but I can't defend the fact that my weekends 99% of the time are purely pleasure seeking. This past weekend was different.

My boyfriend and I signed up for Habitat for Humanity. Here's what I was thinking going into it:

1. There are going to be a ton of people! (I thought it would be very impersonal.)

2. I hope they like me.

3. I hope I don't make a fool out of myself.

4. I'm scared.

After our first go-round, there are some things that really struck me.

Homemade Pizza Night

No spend month has been great so far but challenging. Because I love to eat, and sometimes get pretty busy, it's hard for me to deal with wanting to have something other than leftovers... again. I miss the convenience of hitting up a good restaurant. Last night, I was fed up and decided I was making something amazing. Here is the recipe I used/created. It takes around 2-1/2 hours to make, but you could probably make the dough for the crust ahead of time and be able to knock it out for dinner in no time. I, on the other hand, am very stubborn and ended up getting off work late, working out, starting the crust, heading to the store for toppings, then finally settling in for my piece with a glass of wine at about 11 o'clock. The pizza I recommend. My other methods, not so much. Recipe after the jump.

Measure Twice, Cut Once

I've heard this adage my whole life, and certainly considered it to be true. However, sometimes we forget that rules apply to everyone - yes, including us. Planning and careful consideration are such an important part of any decision-making or execution. Otherwise you could end up with two placemats that look like this!

See the placemat peeking out from the other one? That's only, oh, about an inch or so. Even before this happened I had basically come to the conclusion that I won't be selling this one - after all, it's been 100% by hand. The first time I appliqued, I did it a little differently than I did later, never mind this little size issue, so it's got "character". How could I let it live somewhere else? Besides, the whole reason I started making it in the first place was because I actually wanted a tablecloth, and wanted one that was my style. I have that, so my plan is to photograph it, and post it as a "made-to-order". Then in the future, I'll measure twice. And use a sewing machine.

Welcome to hodge-podge week, because I don't have just one idea on my brain today. (Honestly, when does that ever happen?)

Even though my resolutions helped me start working out, and develop some good habits; even though I'm employing the ideas I've had that I mentioned in Goal Attainment, I came up with something else.

Less is More Time, Money, and Clarity

It's officially "No Spend" month. I'm going to make myself relay here everything I buy. Last night at Brookshires I got one bag each of rice, black beans, and lentils (1.50 a pop). I made soup so I will have something to eat the next couple of days... turned out fairly well. I threw in a can of corn, diced tomatoes, a cup each of brown rice, (rinsed) black beans, and lentils. Maybe a little much, I'll probably cut it to 3/4 cup of each next time. It's pretty thick! But so filling. I seasoned it with italian seasoning, garlic, chicken bouillon, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and chili powder. An eclectic mix, to be sure, but it's savory and yummy. Besides being super nutritious.

One more thing - I had two dollars left in my wallet. So when the Super Bowl squares came around, well. I partook. Wow, only day two and I'm screwing up! I figured that little bit of cash shouldn't count, especially because, originally, my plan was to convert my birthday and Christmas money to cash and have that available to spend, which I decided against. I'm glad I did, because I realized that not thinking about things to buy has freed my mind. When I get $10 off coupons in the mail, I normally hem and haw, feeling bad about the money I could save on things I might need, or gifts I could buy. Last night I checked the mail and brought one in - I took one look at it and chucked it. It was empowering!

The Hamster Wheel

Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work, driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for, in order to get to a job that you need so you can pay for the clothes, car and the house that you leave empty all day in order to afford to live in it. – Ellen Goodman

When did this become the American dream? I want to break free from this vicious cycle.

I was talking to a gentleman whom I respect and admire recently and got to talking about my dreams and also the dreams of certain others. My dreams don't really have anything to do with making any money - in fact, I probably dream more of needing less money than I do of actually making more of it. He reminded me that we all have to consider our retirement, and need to make more than a measly paycheck that will barely pay the bills from week to week. That's certainly true. I thought about it for a couple of days, then came back to him and said, "You know, I thought about what you said. But to retire, you don't have to make a lot. You just have to save a lot."

Goal Attainment

“If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere.” - Frank A. Clark

Working at my resolutions over the past month has got me to thinking about goals, and ways to reach them... ways to keep from working against yourself and stay on target. If there's anything I like to do, it's to give advice. That doesn't make me good at it, but it does lead me do it a lot. I love to help people, so anytime someone has a problem, I try to figure out a way around or through it. That being said, these are some things that have been on my mind regarding goal attainment. They're not ground breaking - I know that. Regardless, I do hear myself saying them a lot.

First and foremost, I think that you need to figure out your motivation. What is it that you really want? If you want to lose weight to get into a bathing suit, we've all seen the commercial that shows the girl walking past it every day eating her diet food. But this is a real motivator. Think about what you want, then figure out ways to keep that in the forefront of your mind. It could be as simple as post-it notes on your bathroom mirror. But keep your eye on the ultimate goal. There is no sense in starting a project or resolution that you have no motivation to finish. Commitment is so important.

Cons and Pros of a Home Gym

Cons:

1. Less machines

2. No dance classes, and while I can do the DVD kind, I have way less room. Those big classrooms were nice.

3. Can't watch Wheel of Fortune and guess at the puzzles while I run. That was always a fun little diversion.

4. Those mirrors everywhere were nice for A. checking your form and B. knowing if someone's checking you out. I think it's hilarious that those guys thought they were being so sneaky staring at my ass but then I turn around and - oops, caught ya!

February: Money Month

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. - 1 Timothy 6:10

Money often costs too much. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Time is more value than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time. - Jim Rohn

Money is like most anything else in this world - it can be used for good, or it can be used for evil. I've heard people try to say that the Bible says money is the root of all evil - but that's not correct. It says that the love of money is the root of all evil. I think that another way to say that is that the love of power is the root of all evil. Why would someone love money? Money is nothing but a tool. The only value of money is what it can do. It's a means, not an end.

I'm not perfect when it comes to money. I'm even less perfect when it comes to discipline, which is why I dedicated January to it, and discipline affects money to a substantial degree. But money is definitely a toughie. How much is enough? Is there ever too much? How much should you spend on yourself, and how much should you spend on others? Is it ethical to live comfortably when others don't, through no fault of their own? The more you make, the more you could donate, right? So then should you attempt to make as much as possible? This is such a personal issue and I know that everyone will come to their own different conclusion, but I think it's an important issue to examine your own feelings and motivations toward.

Happiness Examined

Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.

- Eleanor Roosevelt

Joy can be real only if people look upon their life as a service, and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness.

- Leo Tolstoy

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.

- Buddha

Sounds pretty selfish to dedicate a year to happiness, doesn't it? All the talking I've been doing about feeling fulfilled, following my passions, and living with no regrets has got me to thinking that I need to provide a little bit of explanation and background. Anyone who reads Gretchen Rubin's book The Happiness Project would understand, but I know that most of you won't get around to it, and that's okay. My happiness project is not just about me. It's about me feeling good about being me - about feeling right about the person I am in the big picture, my contribution to society as a whole, and the impression my life makes on the people around me every day. I can't live a life of selfishness and only living for myself and today. I won't be happy. And if I am not happy, I am less able to be the person I want to be for the people around me. I like Buddha's quote about about the candle. Love given away is increased, not decreased.

New Adventures of Borrowed Cleaner

You know those times when you've procrastinated so much that you can't do anything you want to do without doing something else first? Tonight I donned my workout attire and planned to do my standard pilates/elliptical combo. However, I borrowed a Yoga Booty Ballet DVD a couple of weeks ago, and have been wanting to use it. Because (I'm assuming) I'll need to move around in order to follow this routine, before starting it, I need to rearrange my workout room. Right now it houses a large TV, a futon, my pilates mat, and my elliptical machine. It's set up to give me as little room to move as possible, because I haven't done a thing to it since it turned into my own little home gym.

Excitement of the Possible

I have always loved airports. I don't necessarily like sitting and waiting. I don't like carrying bags, or being around a million strangers with their billion germs, or the nasty fast food. But there is one thing I love about airports that, even now, makes my heart skip a beat. The possibility. When I'm in the airport I see the planes coming and going; the people with different faces and languages; and the board. Oh, the board! With all the possibilities. Australia. Italy. Africa. My heart yearns to go and do it all. My eyes want to see it all.

Don't Sew When You're Stupid

Last night, I was almost done with one placemat (or at least, I thought I was) and I was determined to finish before bed. I've been staying up way too late working on this stuff, but now that I think about it, I have less than a week until school starts! Even though I can still work on it afterward, it seems ridiculous to me that I started this project "so long ago" (okay, two weeks) and still am not done. I have four placemats total to do and was getting close to being done with one. I decided to do it pillow-style, stitch it almost all the way around inside out then turn it right side out and finish up.

Long story short, I did not leave enough room. I tried and tried and tried and worked patiently to get it to come through, and even gave up on that and started trying to push it backward. When it became clear I was at an impasse, I ended up not only having to cut the thread that was holding the side together, but also busting off one of my beads... whose thread was also holding many other beads on. Basically I added about 30 minutes of (admittedly ingenious) fixes, and thank goodness it was salvaged and finished (see left).

Beading and Brewing

Dun dun dun.... I was not early to work yesterday. Actually, I was right on time, but that doesn't count for my spreadsheet. I planned to aim for 5 minutes early so that maybe I can develop a habit of being on time. I am shooting for 100% attainment on all my goals every day so that I can hit or exceed the 90% mark. I don't really expect perfection, but that doesn't mean I can't aim for it.

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars.
-  Les Brown

Day 5

Well folks, we're getting pretty committed to this whole "2011" thing. Don't think there's any turning back now.

I had been doing so well. My record unblemished. Working out, sink's been clean, haven't been late... Yesterday, when I got home I couldn't remember one instance all day that I had told myself to be quiet or made an effort to listen. No X for me. That's a toughie, because it could be very easy to convince myself I did or just fake it. But no. I did a LOT of talking yesterday. And this isn't one you can make up for, either. I could pick up the phone, call someone and refuse to talk, right? (I care enough about this that I'm surprised it didn't cross my mind.)

Eat, Pray, Be Neurotic

I've expressed earlier my fondness for the book Eat, Pray, Love. I enjoyed it immensely, envied her travels, became interested in Buddhism, and didn't want the book to end.

However.

The movie, not so much. I was in the middle of a pretty stressful situation in my life (and wasn't coping well) when I read the book, and part of me thinks I need to re-read it in my current state. The main character (my beloved Elizabeth Gilbert) struck me as self-absorbed, dramatic, and ridiculous. I read reviews on the book that said as much, but I thought those people were either mean or had no idea what it was like to be anxious and lost.

Ontime

7:54, bitches!

Day 2

I feel like I'm going a little overboard with the posting, but I'll be brief. I enjoy seeing other people's projects from conception to reality, so I'm going to document one of mine for the first time.

The yellow fabric will be the background/base, and the purple fabric that is mostly hidden will be appliqued onto the yellow in the middle in the design shown. I sketched an example of how I expect it to turn out; I'm going to take the four ends of the cross and duplicate them diagonally on the four corners.

This is the purple fabric cut out. It also has some little hearts with tails, aka tadpoles that are sortof cute that I believe I'll include. These are the green beads I'm going to add to the applique.










I've started beading the tadpoles, and it looks like I ought to be able to get almost done tomorrow. Will post more then.

Kept all my resolutions today; found an opportunity to keep my mouth shut, sink is clean, first workout is complete, and there were no appointments today (thus also no makeup), but if I want to get to work early tomorrow I better get to bed. I bid you buenas nachos.

Day One

It's officially day one, and there's not too much to write about. I consider it a success, but I am loathe to admit my schedule today. I woke up several times this morning but never got out of bed until about noon. I went to bed fairly late, about 1:30, and I figured if you can't sleep in on New Years Day, when can you? Soon I'll be back to school and stressing again, so I might as well enjoy it while I can. Besides, it gives me the opportunity to get home this late and still be in a writing mood.

My resolution status.

1. I did not work out today. However, I only have to work out less than every other day, and since my weeks officially start on Monday, if I work out tomorrow (Sunday) I will consider that I have accomplished my first goal for this first 2 day 2011 week.

2. I listened to people. Keep in mind I was at a family reunion of sorts today. I will not get into the details. Check.

3. We missed my cousin's wedding today because Andrew was sick last night and with it being in Ft Worth, and our family Christmas in Gainesville, logistically, it just wasn't going to happen. However, "Christmas" was scheduled to start at 5:00 today and we arrived at 4:53. Were we actually planning on getting there earlier? Yes. So what? Check.

4. Dishes were all in the dishwasher when I left this morning AND as also as we speak, thank you!

5. Due to my dad's being (predictably) later than he promised this afternoon for us to leave, I was able to do my makeup at home without making anyone wait. X for me, but this won't cut it in a normal situation. Gotta do better.

So happy it's Sunday tomorrow and nothing scheduled. My Christmas stuff is already put away and my house is clean! What to do...