Comfort

Some of you may remember this post in which I discussed how wonderful my best friend is. She began sewing in the summer and had made me a set of PJs because she loves me and because she knew that I was going through a rough time.
Recently, I took the train and visited her in Ot*tawa (four lonely hours away) and while there, her daughter came down the stairs in the cutest PJs I had ever seen. Of course, BF had made them and I immediately told her that I needed to have a pair just like them. So, off to the fabric store we went in search of the perfect fabric and in the mail yesterday arrived my new, most perfect, and most comfy set of PJs ever!
How cute am I in all the pretty pink? Look at the frilly wrists and the puffed sleeves! For those of you who know me in real life, you know that I am about as far from a girlie girl as they get, so this is a huge step for me.
I love them, T. and thank you so much for taking the time to make them with all the love you have for me. You are the bestest friend a girl could have.

Our New Favorite Indulgence

Candy Cane Hot Chocolate: so good, it will make you close your eyes.

Begin with Tim Horton's Hot Chocolate (or any kind of HC you like).

Purchase a package of peppermint candy canes.

Crush them with a chopper or food processor.

Insert two Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses in each cup and fill with hot chocolate.

Top the hot chocolate with whipped cream (fat free, of course).

Sprinkle with chopped candy canes and serve to drooling guests.

It is incredibly satisfying and goes well with chocolate chip banana muffins. Enjoy!

Cuteness

Christmas Kitty

Chin on the present

Sleeping on Daddy

Monday Meanderings

• It is snowing....still. It started yesterday morning and has not let up at all since. It looks like a winter wonderland out there and I am not amused. I think I am allergic to the cold. Seriously. It hurts my brain and makes my skin feel like it is burning off of my skeleton...not a normal reaction. This is a picture I snapped tonight at around 5:00 p.m. It looks hazy, but it is the snow that is rapidly falling to the ground. It looks pretty, but don't let that fool you...it is evil snow.

• I love my Je.ep. I really, really, really love my Je.ep. Today, we had to take my lovely Je.ep in for an amputation of sorts as its tires were five years old and bald like Ko*jak. In 4x4 mode, they were good, but for everyday driving, we were starting to slide on wet pavement. So, off with the old and on with the new and improved (*read* larger and more powerful looking). I went to the store for milk just a few minutes ago just to see how they felt in the snowstorm and they handled like the truck was on rails. Love it.

• We are looking for a new second car. We primarily use the Je.ep for all of our driving and K2 uses the V.W for driving to work. He needs a new one and we are at a loss as to what to get. My dream car is the one below, but I somehow get the feeling that K2 thinks it is impractical for our lives. I mean, honestly, those of you who know us in real life...doesn't this car scream K1 and K2?? I ask you!
  

• In an effort to keep stepping forward and keep our minds on the good stuff, I baked cookies tonight. You heard me. I. Baked. Cookies. Now, my ability in the kitchen does not go far beyond cereal, toast and rice, but it is starting to get better. Since Doris introduced K2 and I to our oven timer, we have certainly evolved. Tonight, I present to you, "Christmas Cookies".
  

• And...because I will feel guilty only showing you those cookies that look good, I present to you, "The Bad Batch". You can click on the +/- to view those who saw their cookie lives flash before their eyes while I forgot about them in the oven.
  

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Happy Birthday, Dad!

Anyone who reads my blog faithfully knows just what an amazing source of strength my father is to me. He doesn't comment often, but when he leaves his mark, it is full of sage words and advice.

Women in Business

A friend of mine (who is also adopting from China) has started her own line of bath and body products called "Breathe Natural Bath and Body". All of her products are completely natural, made with her own two hands and are free from chemicals that typically cause irritation in sensitive skin.

Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.
Gloria Steinem

She is also coming out with a kids and baby line of products soon, which will be so great for all of us when our little ones come home.

Her products range from bath fizzies, to soaps, to linen washes, to body scrubs and salves, lips balms and bath salts, to hand soaps and body sprays. Thy smell delicious and when K2 put the salve on his ridiculously rough hands, they became so smooth. Jill's products are very reasonable, totally competitive and she will custom make baskets of products for anyone who is searching for gifts.

If you would like to check out her business and browse her products, you can click on the link below and it will take you there. I always support my fellow women in business and know that she will be extraordinarily successful in this endeavor.
This is my beautiful friend, Jill. C'mon, don't you want to be as fabulous as she is?

Friday Furrow

I try to leave rants off the blog as much as I possibly can, but something has been irking me since late October and I am at my boiling point.

November is a month to remember our fallen soldiers. Their service to our country means something to me and I think means something to a great many people. When I see Christmas decorations in stores prior to November 11th, it makes me want to tear every single HO HO HO banner and Twinkling Light Display down. The least we can do...the LEAST we can do is wait until November 11th has passed to begin celebrating the yuletide season. The somber events that make up the services that we will attend need not be suffocated by red ribbons and tinsel.

It's the least we can do, lest we forget.