Spread a little cheer this season...

I just wanted to share this link for Toys for Tots and ask everyone (ok...all 3-4 of you who read this silly thing) to make a small donation to a worthy cause. It's all about the kids this time of year and this is a great charity that's all about making sure no kid goes without a little something. I made my donations today to Toys for Tots and my local newspaper Santa. I know that if money is tight for me this year with heating and gas prices going crazy, it must be so much worse for those already struggling financially. So I juggled the budget a bit and found a little money and gave it away. And you know what...it made ME smile to do it. And that's a good thing.

A few little changes...

Feeling a bit bored with the "old" look, so I did a little playing around this morning and settled on this one...for now. Someday I will learn how to personalize my banner and general design, but for now I'm happy that there are people out there who make fun templates for me to play with.

It was a great weekend - some good football, a Christmas tree, some quality time with John and lots of good food. I have some pictures to share that I remembered to download from the camera, but forgot to upload to Flickr so that I could easily post them here. I'll try to get to that tonight in between decorating the tree (can we talk about the 2 adorable little mice that had decided to finagle their way into my Christmas stuff in the shed? What? You didn't actually hear the screams? LOL!) and doing some general cleaning that didn't get done this weekend.

Here's to finding my Christmas spirit and enjoying the season...and finding a new home for those critters in the shed! ;)

Baby steps and clutter...

I am a pack-rat...not nearly as bad as some, but more than I can stand. I've been trying to take baby steps to simplify my life and neaten things up. This past week it's been cleaning out my email accounts. Sounds simple enough doesn't it? But I keep things "just in case" waaaayyyy too often and for far too long. But I'm proud of myself. I've been purging and filing emails and I think I've done a fantastic job of it! And for the past week, I've been keeping up with reading them as they come and deciding what to do with them right then. I've been really good about resisting the impulse to save it "just in case" and hitting the delete button. Small steps I know, but it's making me feel more able to tackle the next step...my scrapbook supplies! But maybe I'll wait until after the new year to start that project...(did I mention that I'm a horrible procrastinator too??? LOL!).

It's a quiet day at work and I had a chance to play on Flickr a bit. Here's today's mosaic from the new favorites I found:


1. the road, 2. Red Berries in the Snow, 3. After the snow, 4. Snow tunnel, 5. First Snow, 6. Picture 040, 7. Tobias, 8. Holiday Cards, 9. Love Me Ephemera Album, 10. Got Snow?, 11. Solitude, 12. My throne, 13. Cosmos lady, 14. lily girl, 15. rosehips wreath, 16. porch, 17. morning, 18. On the Bed, 19. Tree at work, 20. peek, 21. Fall Colors, 22. primizie a siena, 23. HIEDRA // IVY, 24. Tulip on Slate, 25. winter wonderland

Now I'm totally inspired to do something creative and colorful! I promise next time I'll upload some of my own photos. I've been taking one each day for December so I can create a little book (check out Ali Edwards' blog for this idea). Maybe I'll get a chance to upload them this weekend and share.

Can I go home now? Happy weekend all!

Time...

There isn't enough of it. Another month has gone by since my last post and although it was eventful and busy, I feel a bit of a failure because I neglect to keep up with this blog. I live with all the best of intentions and yet I still have not mastered the ability to follow through on all of them.

Here's the quick update...

• My grandfather passed away on November 12. He was 84. And while I'm terribly sad that he's not here with us anymore, I am so glad that his pain has ended and that he's been reunited with my grandmother and mother. There is a hole in my life now...and I can only wait for time to heal it.
• I spent a lot of time with family last month and it was good. Very good.
• Thanksgiving was a wonderful day...great food, lots of laughs and memories made.
• John and I have started working on the house. We've done some insulation that was needed in the basement and we've been wandering HD and Lowe's making plans, plotting budgets and wishing to win the lottery!
• Snow season is here and I am happy!
• John and I went to a Festival of Trees at a local church this past weekend and got totally inspired for the season.

This weekend we're taking a little road trip to see the lights at LaSalette Shrine in Attleboro, Mass. and we're getting our first Christmas tree. I'm really making an effort to embrace the holidays this year instead of thinking that "next year I'll go see all the lights and do all the things I've been planning". Life is short and the moments should be embraced as they come. And it's up to me to make sure that I live and see and do as much as I can.