Here's a little snippet of what's been happening around here this month:
planning and preparing for next month...the Thanksgiving plates were barely washed and I was chomping at the bit to start delving into Christmas decorating, planning and preparing. Tonight, Miss B. wanted to hear the Christmas iTunes playlist while we worked together in the office, and of course I obliged.
listening to...(bear with me...this is the mushy month and I've been slipping a few holiday songs in too)
the new A Thousand Years, Part 2 which features a duet with Steve Kazee and Christina Perri
the full-band version of She Is Love sung by Parachute
Last Christmas performed by the cast of Glee (yes, originally performed by Wham in the 80's)
Baby, It's Cold Outside sung by Lady Antebellum
The Heart of Christmas sung by Matthew West
Cassadee Pope's voice performance of Over You
Thinking of You via Katy Perry
For the Rest of My Life sung by Third Day
giggling through the Pitch Perfect movie watched with my boys (who thought they were getting dragged to a "chick flick" but ended up laughing repeatedly and enjoying themselves) and loving the soundtrack!
dancing Gangnam Style which was first introduced to us by the 13.75 year old guy who learned the dance steps in his Zumba class in PE. We laughed so hard when watching a snippet from the Ellen Show of a mom and son getting their jig on to this song.
preparing this scrumptious Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Soup - it's a hit with the family and my idea of "fast food".
loving the foliage but realizing in just the past few days the leaves are being whisked away.
savoring time spent with this girl...breaking the rules by staying up way too late talking...sharing and being slap-happy.
digging this month's bands on the braces...aqua and green
watching the Hallmark Christmas shows with Miss B while cooking, baking and crafting...it's our tradition and guilty pleasure.
supporting local businesses this holiday season and loving this little town...especially with these two.
choking up when the senior UO Duck football players escorted their mama's and their families for their last home game of their college football careers...and then really choking up when our Ducks lost to Stanford in overtime.
missing our family on Thanksgiving but feeling blessed and making the best of the day.
deciding the Hubs has mastered the turkey...brined, smoked on the Traeger, rubbed inside the skin with sage butter, stuffed with rosemary, thyme, apples, onions, and rubbed with spices.
eating turkey for days...with no complaints...it was that good.
experimenting with new pumpkin pie recipes and seriously blown away by this incredible whipped cream made with mascarpone cheese!
playing games...like this Thanksgiving Day Parade Bingo and this Apples to Apples.
lunching on homemade tortillas with the crockpot refried beans and the sweetest little mandarin oranges for lunch.
debating on which photos to use for the holiday card.
hiding these love notes around the house...
feeling grateful...every day.
reminding you to take this little safety measure and program ICE into your cell phone with the person who should be notified "In Case of Emergency" (ICE), such as your next of kin, if you are hurt, unresponsive or in a disaster situation and someone needs to contact a loved one via your cell phone. Emergency care providers such as hospital personnel or paramedics will be grateful that you have your ICE designee programmed for an emergency situation.
xo