HEEELLLPPP!

I totally screwed up my blog as you can all see! I tried to change it from a two column to a three column and ended up messing everything up, which I now cannot fix. Please bear with me while I try to pick up the pieces of my mess.

Timing is Everything!

I had been really stressed and overwhelmed this week starting school and having my two week vacation come to an end. Brady went back to work and life resumed the monotamy that I had been trying to hold at bay. I am trying to find joy in the everyday things that I do. I am also trying to make sure that I do things that are worthwhile instead of filling my days up with mindless tasks. I hear you scoffing at my remarks and I would add that it is harder than it sounds. There are plenty of things around the house that I do enjoy; sparkling clean toilets, vaccum lines on the carpet, a squeaky clean kitchen, and no laundry to do or put away. But therein lies the problem; there is always a bathroom or kitchen to clean, laundry to do, dinner to make, lunch to make, did I mention breakfast? Where is the joy in the journey? It's in what I make of it and I am trying. Yesterday, I set ANOTHER new schedule for myself to try and stay organized and sane. Miraculously, it worked! The problem was that today that schedule got pooped on and then flushed down the toilet. A friend needed to go to the doctor and asked if I could watch her son, no big deal! Then another friend was going to run important errands, get some groceries and pick up the daughter of another friend. Our friends just had an adorable baby boy, who had to go back into the hospital. So, I kept my friend's son while she went to get our little "Squish". None of this was a problem or made me stressed out. I just felt like I got nothing accomplished today. When looking back on it (aka when Brady pointed it out to me), I saw that the fact that it didn't stress me out is a huge leap, and that all I did all day was serve other people. Christ spent his whole life in service and if I can do one day devoting my time to helping others lives run more smoothly, then I should be grateful for the opportunity. Also, it's not all about me....no really! I also was on the receiving end of service as well. My friend had actually put both her kids in the car and run me over some eggs because I was half-way through a recipe when I realized I was out ( I HATE that!). Then while she was out and about doing everything she needed to get done, she made the effort to get me some more eggs so that I wouldn't be out. It seems small, but it is now one less thing that I have to worry about. I need to be less concerned with my to-do list and worry about the things that are important. Like the precious time that I spent making pretzels with my girls this morning. It is so easy for me to get caught up in the next thing that is pressing and to tell them I am too busy. They are getting so big and I don't want to miss out and regret it later. So, there is my self-awareness for the day. Great way to start out the year...let's see if it lasts.

Until We Meet Again...

Christmas is come and gone....again. I always get the post-Christmas blues. They only last a few days, but they are painful and incite great misery for me and those around me. I like to leave up my decorations until New Year's Day, but this year I feel like putting everything away right now and banishing good tidings. I am in a particularly stinky mood this year, I wonder if getting older has anything to do with it? We had a wonderful Christmas and were very blessed this year. The girls were so excited to wake up and see their scooters from Santa (thanks Amazon for the "razor" price mix up) and also for their rockin red kitchen from Woot! Of course all the Grandparents spoiled them horribly along with my sisters, who came out in force this year. It made up for all that has been lacking around here lately. It was very special and we are so grateful. I am the proud recipient of bath products and chocolate galore. There isn't anything better than that! We are so excited for the huge Thomason Family Christmas dinner tonight. The Nickerls flew in from SC and have been visiting friends in Yuma, but will be back tonight and the girls are so excited to have everyone at our house. There will be 17 cousins including Cat and Sarah; 5 couples and half of the 10 original Thomason kids in one place. By this weekend, Manda and her family will be here and then we will have 6. It is pure craziness! Right now, I am sitting here typing away to the sounds of cleaning by the ECOMAIDS. I love Christmas! So, if all the holiday mess is being cleaned up for me, why am I feeling so foul? Hopefully, 2011 will bring a brighter future and an even happier Holiday season!

Crayola Winter Fun Giveaway

I have posted before about the great give-aways that Natalie from Natalie's Sentiments has. This one is no exception! Natalie is giving away four different fabulous Crayola products. They are fantastic presents for your own kids or for a child's birthday party. Crayola is the leader in fun, quality, imaginative kids products and you don't want to miss out on your chance to win this one! Head over to Natalie's Sentiments to check it out and enter to win. I am going for the Glow Explosion, wish me luck!

Christmas Decorations

So, the lights and garlands and bows have been up for a couple weeks. The tree has been trimmed and the presents wrapped. However, today, I found this lovely at Walmart for $20!!!! How could I not buy it! It is my signature color and goes very lovely in my kitchen.

This is my table scape for the formal dining room. I found at Thanksgiving that I really enjoy making these and they go right along with the fancy feel I try to achieve in that room. I think that they turned out fabulous!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

I took this picture on our snowy journey home. We had a great time in Washington with Grammie and Grampy. We were very glad to get home to warmer weather though! November came to a close and now we are already well into December. I am looking forward to a break from school and from responsibilities. I still have so much to do though. This picture gets me in the Christmas mood, a little Holly Wreath candle from BBW, some Bing and I am set. This is the way for Az to do Christmas!

We're Back!!

I will have to upload my photos before you can see all of the snowy-ness that we dealt with for Thanksgiving. Since my Mom and Dad couldn't come to us, we decided last minute(or the Saturday before Turkey day) to drive to Washington to be with them. We left Saturday after the delicious baby shower that was at my house about 1pm. We reached snowy or rather slushy Ogden around midnight. Horrible!! It then took us an extra two hours on Sunday to get to Chewelah. UUGGGHHH! We had a nice trip and it was fun to enjoy the snow by looking out the window at it. Have I mentioned that I am completely acclimated to Arizona and officially am a weiney? Just thought you should know. Thursday, I made whole wheat rolls, a fantastic Pumpkin Chiffon cake, haricot verts(aka small green beans), salad, and I spatchcocked the turkey. "What?", I hear you cry! Spatchcocking is when you take the backbone out of the turkey and then smoosh it flat as a pancake. It makes the most hideous cracking sound, but is so worth it! For a 12-14 pound bird, it cooks in 70 minutes! Our 12.3 lb clucker only took 60 minutes. Last year my 24 lb baby took 2 hours and 10 minutes. Whew! By taking out the cavity you cut the cooking time in half and it is all golden brown on the outside and crunchy, but tender and moist on the inside! Go look here, Martha will show you how. It was fantastic! While I was cooking the turkey, my Mom had just enough time to do the mashed potatoes. She almost didn't make it! That's fast people!!!! Enough about food. The drive home was more atrocious than the drive up, if that is possible. We left at 7am and had to turn around because my parents found our laptop hiding by the couch. We left again at 7:20 and didn't make it to Panguitch, UT until 1am. That's right, 18 hours in the car to make a 14 hour trip. We hit every blizzard and storm between WA and UT. Pathetic! Then, Sunday morning it was more of the same...blah, blah, blah, snow, slick, scary, pee...I will leave it there. We did make it home though and boy were we all glad to see 60 degree weather. My tomatoes and peppers froze while I was gone, so I have nothing to show for all of the little neighbor boy's hard work! Crap!

Having a Great Time!

We are having a great time in Washington! It is so cold, I think I might die, but it is so worth it to be with Grammie and Grampy! It was a rough journey here for sure! We are safe and sound now and having a blast!

Shutterfly Christmas Cards

Here are my Christmas cards for this year. Didn't they turn out absolutely adorable? I was able to order 50 for free because I participated in the Shutterfly Blogging promo. You can scroll down to see that post and how you can enter. You have to enter before December 31st, so there is still plenty of time. I am so happy with how they turned out and can hardly wait for them to show up in the mail.

With Love Chartreuse Christmas Card

Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Natalie's Sentiments Giveaway

Here is another great giveaway from Natalie at Natalie's Sentiments. She is offering up 50 flat cards from Minted. They have really great cards for all occasions. I found these cute menu cards, and this fantastic stationary. How cute are they? Head over to Natalie's Sentiments to enter to win.