Saturday, December 24, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
12 Months of Goals
This year I'm going to try something different. A new goal each month for 12 months. Problem is... I don't have any ideas.
Anyone?
My first goal (which I started last week because I'm an overachiever like that) is to read 20 pages of a novel each night. I'm reading "The Paris Wife" right now. It is very good and I'm speeding through it. It is an easy read and I'm guessing when I hit some grittier stuff I might have to scale back the 20 pages a night. I have a stack of good reads from my mil and sister so I have lots of books.... a few trashy novels by Nora Roberts, The Help, The Bonesetter's Daughter.... and a stack of others.
So that's a solid goal. Now I just need 11 more.....
Anyone?
My first goal (which I started last week because I'm an overachiever like that) is to read 20 pages of a novel each night. I'm reading "The Paris Wife" right now. It is very good and I'm speeding through it. It is an easy read and I'm guessing when I hit some grittier stuff I might have to scale back the 20 pages a night. I have a stack of good reads from my mil and sister so I have lots of books.... a few trashy novels by Nora Roberts, The Help, The Bonesetter's Daughter.... and a stack of others.
So that's a solid goal. Now I just need 11 more.....
Last day of school 2011
This is it. The last day.
Dropped kids this morning with a ton of luggage. Sweet had two paper bags of treats for the recess paras. And a giant blue grocery bag with his book exchange gift, a teacher gift and a "tree" gift of the sharpie markers his teacher wanted. He also had a veggie tray with ranch.... his contribution to the healthy holiday party.
Tuff was lugging a teacher gift and a "tree" gift. Her tree gift was glitter glue.
This year for teacher gifts I went with Body Shop items.
Normally I give black gloves. Two stores in town offer a holiday price ($9.99-$12.99 for regularly $25 gloves) for nice black driving gloves. Either Manzella or Black Diamond brand. I have the Black Diamond ones and have been wearing them for years. They are nice alone or layered under my John Deere gloves. And they are longer... so they cover naked wrists. I like that. I also think black gloves are easy to re-gift so if they don't want them they can pass them along.
As the daughter of a teacher I realize no teacher needs another coffee mug, Christmas ornament or body lotion from the dollar store. So I went and broke my own rule and got lotions and potions. But... Body Shop. Right? I hit a deal at Body Shop and for $25 I got two gifts (plus a cute bag I plan to use as part of a housewarming gift later this year). One teacher is getting a giant jug of strawberry body wash, a bath pouf, peppermint foot scrub (I love that scrub.... I had a hard time not keeping it for myself) and hemp hand cream. The hemp hand cream is raved about... but it kind of smells like dirt. My mom and sister love it. Maybe next year.... The other teacher got a vanilla spice set... body butter, body scrub & a bar of soap. So those were both high-value gifts on the cheap.
The SACC ladies got treat bags like the paras. This year was fudge, cheerio scotcheroos, white chocolate cookies & hershey's kisses. I'm not going to lie... it wasn't my best effort. The fudge was overcooked and hard. Tastes good but not my usual creamy flawless fudge. The scotcheroos were an effort to use up some seriously stale cheerios... good but would be better with new cheerios. And the cookies.... I discovered I had no brown sugar. So they were messed up. Here's what I like to do.... use your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and then sub white chocolate chips and adorable tiny blue snowflake sprinkles.... make them small and round and bite-sized. They are adorable and tasty. Well.... no blue snowflake sprinkles could be found so I used red and green holly..... they looked like spinach cookies. Not adorable. I'll do better next year.
I didn't get anything for the superintendent, music teacher, pe teacher or front desk staff. Is that bad?
What does everyone else do for holiday gifts?
Dropped kids this morning with a ton of luggage. Sweet had two paper bags of treats for the recess paras. And a giant blue grocery bag with his book exchange gift, a teacher gift and a "tree" gift of the sharpie markers his teacher wanted. He also had a veggie tray with ranch.... his contribution to the healthy holiday party.
Tuff was lugging a teacher gift and a "tree" gift. Her tree gift was glitter glue.
This year for teacher gifts I went with Body Shop items.
Normally I give black gloves. Two stores in town offer a holiday price ($9.99-$12.99 for regularly $25 gloves) for nice black driving gloves. Either Manzella or Black Diamond brand. I have the Black Diamond ones and have been wearing them for years. They are nice alone or layered under my John Deere gloves. And they are longer... so they cover naked wrists. I like that. I also think black gloves are easy to re-gift so if they don't want them they can pass them along.
As the daughter of a teacher I realize no teacher needs another coffee mug, Christmas ornament or body lotion from the dollar store. So I went and broke my own rule and got lotions and potions. But... Body Shop. Right? I hit a deal at Body Shop and for $25 I got two gifts (plus a cute bag I plan to use as part of a housewarming gift later this year). One teacher is getting a giant jug of strawberry body wash, a bath pouf, peppermint foot scrub (I love that scrub.... I had a hard time not keeping it for myself) and hemp hand cream. The hemp hand cream is raved about... but it kind of smells like dirt. My mom and sister love it. Maybe next year.... The other teacher got a vanilla spice set... body butter, body scrub & a bar of soap. So those were both high-value gifts on the cheap.
The SACC ladies got treat bags like the paras. This year was fudge, cheerio scotcheroos, white chocolate cookies & hershey's kisses. I'm not going to lie... it wasn't my best effort. The fudge was overcooked and hard. Tastes good but not my usual creamy flawless fudge. The scotcheroos were an effort to use up some seriously stale cheerios... good but would be better with new cheerios. And the cookies.... I discovered I had no brown sugar. So they were messed up. Here's what I like to do.... use your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and then sub white chocolate chips and adorable tiny blue snowflake sprinkles.... make them small and round and bite-sized. They are adorable and tasty. Well.... no blue snowflake sprinkles could be found so I used red and green holly..... they looked like spinach cookies. Not adorable. I'll do better next year.
I didn't get anything for the superintendent, music teacher, pe teacher or front desk staff. Is that bad?
What does everyone else do for holiday gifts?
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Shoes
I'm already thinking ahead to organizing for 2012.
I had to order new snowboots for Bugsy yesterday. She has two pairs of size 6 boots and then there is a gap until the size 12 boots Tuff is wearing..... WTF? Somewhere there is a whole box of snowboots.... hope I accidentally sent them to Good Sam's and not the dump....
She's getting these... in pink of course. Size 8. Got 'em for $25 with a coupon and free shipping. I might have done better with Land's End sales but sometimes those Land's End ones are hard to get on....
You will recall I had to buy $50 boots for Sweet earlier this year. Size 6. When he gets to a size 7 he is in men's sizes.
Tuff is holding out in size 12 purple boots. The next good pair is size 2 camo sorels.... which just might not be fashionable enough (or warm enough after serving Sweet for two seasons) for next year. So I might be boot shopping again.
I'm struggling, as always, with the hand-me-down organization. We cleaned the closet and hauled out a big black garbage bag of shoes that didn't fit anyone. Now to sort that bag into:
1. Keep for Tuff
2. Keep for Bugsy
3. Give to mom for spares at her house
4. Consign
5. Give to cousin
6. Donate
7. Save for baby girl cousin
I think I'm making this harder than it needs to be.....
I had to order new snowboots for Bugsy yesterday. She has two pairs of size 6 boots and then there is a gap until the size 12 boots Tuff is wearing..... WTF? Somewhere there is a whole box of snowboots.... hope I accidentally sent them to Good Sam's and not the dump....
She's getting these... in pink of course. Size 8. Got 'em for $25 with a coupon and free shipping. I might have done better with Land's End sales but sometimes those Land's End ones are hard to get on....
You will recall I had to buy $50 boots for Sweet earlier this year. Size 6. When he gets to a size 7 he is in men's sizes.
Tuff is holding out in size 12 purple boots. The next good pair is size 2 camo sorels.... which just might not be fashionable enough (or warm enough after serving Sweet for two seasons) for next year. So I might be boot shopping again.
I'm struggling, as always, with the hand-me-down organization. We cleaned the closet and hauled out a big black garbage bag of shoes that didn't fit anyone. Now to sort that bag into:
1. Keep for Tuff
2. Keep for Bugsy
3. Give to mom for spares at her house
4. Consign
5. Give to cousin
6. Donate
7. Save for baby girl cousin
I think I'm making this harder than it needs to be.....
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Friday, December 09, 2011
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Monday, December 05, 2011
Sunday, December 04, 2011
Saturday, December 03, 2011
Friday, December 02, 2011
Thursday, December 01, 2011
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