10 to kick off 2010

I thought it would be fun to do a little reflecting to round up 2009 and kick off twenty-10:

10 words to describe the past year:

trying... thrifty... different...

fulfilling... bumpy... simple... settling...

encouraging... emotional... blessed

Top 10 PS Posts:

Comparison Trap

Family Rules

My Little Man is 2

Dreaming of... Creative Spaces

How Full Is Your Bucket

Fall Resolutions

Spending Hiatus: Filling the Gaps for Free

Monday Meal Planing and the DIY Planner (finally)

Friday Favorites (or something along those lines)

Learning To Pick My Battles

Something I learned this year, in 10 words:

Simplifying life, thoughts, and actions is easier than I thought.

(And 10 more)

If I just could've kept it up... Here's to 2010!

10 blogs/individuals I met that inspired me in different ways

(spiritually, stylishly, business-wise, as a mom, in money-matters, creatively, and/or attitude):

LolaB's

Haven and Home

Simple Thoughts

(In)Courage

The Good Life For Less

Down and Out Chic

We are THAT family

LobotoME Brain Fog blog

knack

Kind Over Matter

10 words I'm going to try to exemplify in 2010:

Happy last day of 2009!

Here's to an awesome 2010!

I'm Here (kindasorta)

I had every intention of being back for my Monday Meal Plan, but we're still recovering from Christmas. It was so wonderful: Chock full of family time, snow(?!), a surprise visit from Santa (although the little guy might argue as to how wonderful this was), thoughtful presents (a paper cutter: Thx to my mom-in-law!), cool cousins, awesome siblings, a new scrunchy-face smile (for almost every picture!), sweet grandparent moments, fun toys... I could go on and on. We're laying low, relaxing, trying to get everyone 100% healthy, and just relishing the no-alarm clock mornings/days. I'll see you soon!

Merry Christmas!

So we never got around to doing another photo shoot... Sent out a less-than-my-best Christmas card... The little guy woke up this morning with a fever... Just realized we didn't have enough vegetable oil to make those cinnamon rolls... But you know what?

It is okay.

Today is magical: The excitement. The anticipation. The miracle.

Enjoy your holidays. Take it all in. Every moment.

Merry Christmas!

Last Minute Gifts

Although we've been giftier than normal (I guess somehow trying to make up for missed birthdays and mother's days and such during the layoff), I've done really good this year on my to-buy-for list. I only have one gift left to purchase and that's my "shootout" gift. The one where you bring a gift within a certain price range, draw numbers and unwrap/steal until the game is over. I have my eye on this scarf to accompany a sweater cap I already found. Most years I'm still scrambling though...

If you need something quick and economical you can purchase pdf's from etsy. You just purchase the listing and the seller will email you the pdf. You can then print it on your own paper as many times as you'd like. I have a few in my shop, including the newest "Fruits of the Spirit" print. (I just love how all encompassing this message is and thought it had to be made into something I could hang up.) There are a ton of other print-your-own options on Etsy. So much to choose from. Just grab a frame (or two or three) and you've got a sweet gift ready to go.

How are you doing on your shopping?

Monday Meal Plan

Bring on the holiday festivities! In my near future: My mom's stuffed pork tenderloin (cue: watering mouth) and my mother-in-law's award winning chili (Really. Her picture used to be up on the wall of Chili's. Oh yeah, I married into chili royalty.) I'll be contributing an appetizer (Check out my friend Ruth's recipe below) and a dessert (not yet decided: ideas?). Christmas morning breakfast will be at our house. I'll be serving this breakfast casserole, and I'm thinking about attempting these cinnamon rolls. I have all of the ingredients and am just trying to muster the courage and energy. They don't seem to follow my must-be-simple prerequisite when it comes to cooking, but they look so darn scrumptious that I think I'll give it a go?!

The days leading up to these meals will consist of that potato soup that I didn't get around to making last week. (Yes, we ordered pizza last week. Had to be done.) And probably sandwiches and salads. Keeping it simple for sanity reasons.

What's your favorite holiday fare?

My Girls

This year I'm only buying for my mom, 2 of my neices, and of course, my daughter. I'm a little bummed by this as I love to shop for my sister and sister-in-laws, but I must stick to the name drawing rules. My sis's bday is in February, so I'll look forward to that. Here's what I will be giving my gals:

niece:

I have two nieces to buy for: One will be getting this doodle pad photo frame (I got mine with a Target red tag, but it's similar to this one), this Optical Illusions color booklet, some gels pens, and this great felt ring. For the other niece I went nuts with my 40% off coupon to Justice For Girls, but their site doesn't have any of my choices on it. Hint: It was all turquoise and sparkly!

mom:

My mom and I went shopping together with the intentions that she'd pick out some clothes she like. All she chose was a sweater jacket that was on clearance for $13! I decided to do a little online shopping in the Ann Taylor Loft sale section to go along with the sweater. I got some steals and she's going to be so happy (assuming I chose the correct sizes).

daughter:

This year my daughter had a long list of little things. Along with this bike, we decided to get this robin lil kinz, the American Girl cat "Ginger", and I'm having a Barbie Three Musketeers skirt/cape made for her (since I possess absolutely no sewing skills whatsoever).

teacher:

We gave my daughter's teacher this scarf and fingerless gloves from Target.

Now if I can just hold myself at this, I'll be golden. I have this little habit of being set, and then I'll go pick up little things to supplement. I will hold strong. How are you doing on your holiday shopping?

The Men In My Life

On my list is my husband, son, 2 of my brother-in-laws (I have 8, but we draw names on both sides of the family), 2 of my nephews, and my father-in-law. Here's the gift sampling for these men in my life:

dad-in-law:

He recently went through chemo and this hat will keep his head from getting so chilly. And I think he'll look quite dapper.

bro-in-law:

A massage was on his wish list.

son:

My little guy will go gaga over these construction vehicles, and they are so nicely made too. This skoot bike is supposed to help with future "bike handling skills" or so my biking husband claims.

nephew:

This money origami set (along with some crisp dollars) will help balance all the video games he's asked Santa for. (I hope this pre-teen doesn't think it's silly.)

nephew:

I haven't pulled this trigger on this one yet, but I'm thinking this set of vinyl wall art would be good for my guitar playing nephew.

hubby:

These trail shoes are a promise of hiking, camping and outdoor family time. (And they were on sale!)

bro-in-law & hubby:

I think these recycled beer bottle glasses will be perfect for these two beer enthusiasts. Bottlehood put together a custom set for me, and fast!

hubby & son:

Oh yeah, I got them matching shirts. It's kind of a joke bc my husband is proud of his 29er bike. This shirt says, I roll on 12s. Made me laugh.

What are you getting your guys?

Menu Plan Update: 3 Things

There are some revisions I need to make to my plan:

1: My plan was to get that pecan flour to drudge my chicken breasts in for our salads last night... Well, Central Market just happened to have "pecan-crusted chicken breasts" in their already-cooked-you-just-warm-it-up section. I baked it in the oven and threw it on some baby spinach with balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Oh.My.Goodness. Delicious! So I totally cheated and really didn't prepare and cook it myself, but I think it still counts. (Hubby said so.)

2: I had stayed out of Central Market during the heavy Spending Hiatus months because I didn't need that wine section or the expensive specialty items to tempt me. Well, I've renewed my love with the store (Don't worry: I still paid with cash :-) for another reason (in addition to the free balloons & samples): their build-a-meal kits. Did they have these before? CM has this whole section near the produce that is lined with recipe cards at the top and the little kits below. Since I had stir-fry on my menu and was going to shop for the goods to make it at the regular g-store today, and I'm so not against simple and easy, I decided to try one of their kits. Aside from the meat, it wasn't too pricey either. The veggies are so pretty and the fun oils make me so very excited about it. Do check it out!

3: I had several people ask me for the potato soup recipe that's on the menu for this week. It's a good one! I got it from the secretary at the first elementary school I taught at. It was pre-married life, so the recipe was initially cooked for my roommates. We loved it and now the fam does too! Here you go:

Happy Tuesday!

Meal Plan Monday

My husband has this sweet ( and somewhat manipulative) way about him. When I cook, he'll go on and on (and on) about how great the meal is... How much he loves my "home cooking"... That this was one of his favorites... While I'm quick enough not to completely believe his gushings (bc I am not an excellent cook, really), I can hear the message he's giving: My man likes to eat and he loves me. Okay, I get it. I'm cooking some more this week for you, hon.

Moday:

pecan crusted chicken on

mixed greens

Tuesday/Wednesday::

spaghetti and meatballs

Thursday:

stir fry

Friday/Saturday:

potato soup

Sunday:

out (okay, this is for me :-)

What's cooking at your house?

'Tis the Season

Could we really already be almost halfway through December? I said I would take this month in stride, but last night found me quite stressed. I thought I should do a check in and a reminder to slow down. Enjoy the festivities. Breathe. Notice the little moments. Take in the special-ness of the season. Breathe.

How's it going for you? Are you keeping it in check?

Some Thursday Inspriration

Happy Thursday to you!!

Photoshoot Flop

We ventured out this weekend to take our Christmas card pictures. It did not go well. At all. The kids looked cute, but that's as far as we got toward a successful picture...

It was freezing cold.

One kid stepped in dog poo.

The other sat in duck poo.

It started to rain.

We headed home to de-poo-ify, dry off and try for an indoor photo. No one was hip on the idea, especially the two-year-old. And if anyone was eaves-dropping they might have overheard a couple of parents who teetered between acting like complete clowns and spewing threats in attempt to elicit smiles. (Makes me laugh thinking about the possible stories behind the pictures on all of the Christmas cards arriving in the mail). It wasn't pretty, and as you can see it didn't quite work out. I'm trying to formulate plan B...

Hopefully Kristin's got her pictures ready because she'll be getting a set of Perfect Sentiment custom cards. Thanks to all who left comments. I appreciate it!!

Happy Tuesday!

Monday Meal Plan

Is it really Monday? Our weekend went by at warp speed and I'm wanting to do a bit of rewinding and pausing. I'm flying solo part of this week, so I'm going to kick back and take it easy in the food preparation department. See for yourself:

Monday:

pizza

Tuesday:

out

Wednesday:

paninis

salad

Thursday/Friday:

chili

Saturday:

chicken caesar salad

Sunday:

out

It's not really even worth sharing, but that's my reality. And hey, at least it's a plan, right?Looking for some inspiration? Check out this December meal plan. Happy Monday to you!

If you're still in need of Christmas cards, be sure to check out my holiday card giveaway sometime today. I'll be contacting the winner this evening to get started on them asap.

You'd think...

...that since this is my little gig that I'd have our family card all designed, printed, and ready to send already. Ha! That is so far from my reality! My goal every year is to have our pictures taken, card designed, and envelopes address by the first week of December. Well, not this year. We were going to take a bazillion pictures at Thanksgiving like we did last year, but my son had another fat lip. Now at this present time the two small people in our household have snotty noses. The picture taking window has been nonexistant. Needless to say we're way behind schedule here.

{Here's a family that was way on the ball... cards ordered, printed and delivered today}

Not to worry though... The goal for us is now the second week of December. And if you're on my schedule, this can be your goal too, because I'm hosting a little giveaway: one my blog friends will receive a complimentary set of holiday cards (or gift tags if you prefer). That's 25 custom cards with your photo for free! All you have to do is:

Follow this blog and leave a comment as to which design you'd choose. You can see all of the available holiday card designs on my Perfect Sentiment website. If you help me spread the word by blogging, tweeting, or yelling it from the rooftops, let me know in another comment to double your chances. THANKS!!

{a few of my 2009 designs. See more at perfectsentiment.com}

So get those photos ready and the addresses collected and you'll be set when I announce the winner on this coming Tuesday. And for anyone who is planning on ordering PS cards before Christmas, I'm taking orders until Friday (maybe Monday, depending on where it's being shipped to). I'll announce the winner in 4 days on Tuesday, December 8th.

(Im) Perfection

I've been off lately. Flubbing up. Making silly mistakes. Forgetting things and such. Nothing big, but I've been being pretty darn hard on myself. When the word "idiot" slipped out, I thought, "whoa, that's harsh!" I wouldn't dare called any of my friends that, so why go there with me?

This time of year is so magical, but it's also stressful. I'm going to try to ease up on the ole self and take each day in stride. Read this post. It's so spot on for me. I think women everywhere would feel relieved to embrace imperfection. I know I would. Let's work on it.

Giveaway DAY!

There's a whole day of giveaways going on right now...

You can win a set of personalized gift tags or custom address labels from Perfect Sentiment, along with a ton of other goodies. I think she's up to 9 different post so far!

Definitely go check out Fab K's Holiday Giveaway Day now and let me know what you think.

Advent Starts TODAY!

It doesn't matter that I'm still scratching my head and wondering where the heck November went... December ONE is here! We count down the days using this cute little chest (from Target). I tuck slips of paper in each day to reveal an activity, treat or thought to celebrate the season. Here's our advent list that I pull from. (You can print out my list and add to it to make it your own if you like.) I usually add to it each year as I hear new ideas. My goal is to have fun anticipating the big day and also try to keep the meaning close at heart. It's always a careful balancing act between getting and giving over here. I love buying and giving presents, but I want to keep the real reason in my kids' hearts. Do you celebrate Advent? How does it work at your house?

Today we're reading The Christmas Story to start the countdown off!