Nutcracker

Brent's parents, Joyce and Dave, invited Alice and Dominik to see the fantastic Pacific NW Ballet perform the Nutcracker in Seattle today.  Lucky kids...and what a treat!  They really thought it was awesome- like nothing they ever had seen before. It makes my heart sing when my kids enjoy live performances, theater, concerts etc.  I know these are the types of experiences that broaden the minds of young people, and make a lasting impression.

Santa

My kids have never been big fans of visits or photos with Santa, so I never pushed it. Today at a thrift store the kids were fascinated with a Santa that plugged in and had a price tag in the middle of his forehead. $89.99 !

Anyway, I decided to get a long-time coming holiday photo of Santa with the kids.

Thanksgiving # 2

I had the chance to spend another Thanksgiving day today with Brent's folks, his brother and family.  It was so nice to visit, dine on a home-cooked turkey dinner and catch up with my other family. A great day.

NWAP

Today I was interviewed and accepted into a really great organization.  I am now a member of the National Association of Professional Women.  I am excited about all of the growth opportunities that I see in my future and I would like to take advantage of all the educational perks included in membership with NAPW.

Also, I think when women put their minds together amazing things happen. As women we have a responsibility to support each other in the professional world and see to it that each of us has a chance to succeed.

Thankful

Today is Thanksgiving. One year ago on this day I had an experience that kick-started my need to focus on gratitude daily in some way or another. It was early morning, and I was up and sipping coffee , enjoying some quiet while the rest of my family slept.  I looked out the front window to see that a freeze had happened overnight and a layer of frost was covering everything in sight.  I then spied a a large trash bag spread out covering something in the gardens of the park across from our house.  When I discovered that from under the trash bag blanket a man was waking up and trying to stand, I felt pangs of sadness for his need to sleep out there in the cold.  I, in no way, could sit in my warm home sipping coffee when I knew this was happening just outside my door.

I grabbed a large travel mug, filled it with hot coffee, and out the door I went.

There was a language barrier, but I didn't need to know what words he spoke, as the joy in his eyes told me everything.

I turned to walk back to my home I felt incredibly thankful for what I had and that somehow fate had handed me a chance to make it as far as I had.  I felt humbled and gracious...and knew there was likely very little difference between this man and me. We all make choices every day that effect where we end up tomorrow. I had simply been lucky so far.

Since that day I have changed my perspective on gratitude.  I am thankful for so many things that I know could vanish in an instant.  Keeping this in mind helps me to live in the moment and take less for granted.

Today my children and husband sat down with my parents and some of my siblings and their children and we ate this fantastic turkey and all the trimmings.  Pretty lucky, I'd say. 

New necklace

Some might say that I decided to become a parent solely for the handmade jewelry. This one is made by tiny colorful rubber bands. I love it.

Belly laugh

Felt good to giggle and guffaw with a coworker today after I had met a big deadline.  Comic relief is a must when things get so busy I don't leave my seat all day. Grateful for the laughs.

Anticipation

The best part about this being Sunday night?  It's almost impossible to dread Monday when you've got a two-day work week ahead.  Anticipating spending 5 full days away from the office relaxing with my awesome husband and kids. It's Thanksgiving weekend so there will be much visiting with our families over more food than could be consumed by a small army.  Feeling super lucky tonight.

Yahtzee

I have to work this weekend...since the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday puts a cramp in my payroll process. I spent a lot of time at the office today but home in plenty of time for a game of Yatzee with the kids, Mexican food out, and then a movie with popcorn at home. A great night, and I must say the chili verde burrito I ordered was one of the best I have ever had.

Columbo

The best way to round out the week? A night of volunteering to work concessions  at the Holiday Gift Making  event at the kids' school, and then home to watch an episode of Columbo on Netflix. Excellent!

Swamped

A day that started out with the baking of 48 cupcakes followed by a trip to Seattle and a two-hour commute home, ended with seeing my Dominik in his role as a tadpole in his 3rd grade production of Swamped.  Here he is with a couple of his buddies, Aidan the owl on his right and Matt the dragonfly in blue to his left.

The little things

It's been cold...Jack Frost cold. In the morning I take one trip over to the Middle School @ 7:45a for Alice's orchestra. Dom and I then go back to the house for 45 minutes before I take him to school and I go to work. The last two days there has been thick frost covering our car windows and we have gone out early to scrape, scrape and scrape some more so we can see out the windshield.  This morning I was fully prepared to scrape, but no frost...hooray!  It's the little things, ya know.

Change in plans

I woke up this morning with a plan of commuting to Seattle for work today...but there was a change in schedule so I got to stay here in town to work instead. I fully appreciated my one mile commute today!  No, it wasn't sunny and I wasn't jogging to work...I just liked the photo.

Brunch

Today the kids were off from school and I took the day off with them. We spent the day running around with errands and appts but brought along a friend of Alice's, Penelope.  We went out for brunch and sitting across the table from these young ladies, something dawned on me. These two have been friends since they were babies.  They treat each other more like sisters...but it is so endearing! They have been at different schools do far, but next year they will go to the same Middle School and they are excited.

Birthdays

Was lucky that we had a chance to celebrate Fall birthdays with family today. Griffin, my nephew,and the awesome stuff he got for his 3rd birthday was a hit with all the cousins.  Fun was had by all!

Aaaaaand we are back-

Well, I lasted 2 days on my cleanse...and I have to say the smoothies tasted good and were easy to make, but I didn't feel very good. I felt like I was hungry all day and even at night. I had splitting headaches.   I got tired of drinking cold sweet smoothies at every meal and I craved something warm and salty.  I think I am ready, though, to get back to healthy choices and smaller portions so I am glad I tried this and stuck with it for at least two days.  Tonight I can home from work after deciding to end the cleanse and Brent was fixing vegatable chicken chow mein with spring rolls.  Ah, the perfect way to round out a busy week! Hooray for Fridays!

Lazy

It was one of those days...lazy and quite lovely. I didn't leave the house even once. I made soup, did laundry, called my mom, listened to music and did a lot of lounging.  My little guy, Dominik & I cuddled in my favorite loveseat, and took this selfie.

Kid Wagar

Dominik has excitedly waited all last school year(we missed the order deadline) to get a hoody with his school logo on the front and his name on the back. We finally had a chance to order one in September and yesterday it finally arrived. A good day indeed.

This morning Dominik put it on as he got dressed for school.  All the while he was telling me that he would give this hoody to his son when he became a dad and his boy would probably go to Grant so it would be perfect.

This kid seriously keeps me entertained.

Bottoms up!

Tonight I started a 3-day cleanse which involves the consumption of 3 smoothies a day and only raw fresh fruit and veggies.  It's exciting because I haven't tried a cleanse or fast before and I'm not sure what to expect as results.  

This cleanse I purchased online after doing research on juice cleanses...but this powdered dehydrated formula that you blend with water and fresh fruit was a more affordable option.  

I am hoping to detox from the processed foods I have found myself eating lately and jumpstart a new chapter in making healthy food choices and being active daily. Wish me luck!

Wow

Saw this photo of Seattle waterfront today on Facebook...no photo credit was given.  What a stunning shot of this amazing place in the Fall.  I feel lucky to be in the Pacific NW especially when the weather starts turning. I know that when it feels cold and stormy here, there are several places that are colder, with hurricanes, floods, or a snow blizzard to deal with. There is no place like home.

Dessert, anyone?

Stress, for me, leads to stress eating. This kind of eating is not the healthy eating of raw fruits or veggies, whole grains and nutrient rich snacks.  I eat to make myself feel better, so I seek comforting foods to comfort the crazy going on around me and slow down my brain that feels likes its spinning on axis.

Today was a super stressful day, with several projects happening at the same time and all of the year end yuck starting up. As much as I wanted to seek out the candy dish in the main office area filled with leftover Halloween treats, I headed outside instead. The air was crisp, and the sun was shining and it only took a few minutes to clear my head as I took a short walk around a block or two.  

Thankful today that I broke the stress snacking cycle and got a little exercise while I was at it.

Happiness

Happiness is a Saturday night complete with Thai takeout and the movie, Maleficent, with the kiddos from the comfort of our couch.

Hello Weekend!

Tonight, most of all I am simply thankful for the weekend...best part about Fridays, right?

Thursday night

After working a long day, coming home and throwing burritos together for dinner, Brent and I weren't really looking forward to getting the kids in the car and heading to school for a Veteran's Day performance by the 5th grade students.

It was nice though and the kids sang and danced like stars!  Looking around at all these 5th grade faces, so many of them I remember from Alice's kindergarten or first grade, and I felt like we have been watching them all grow up together. Pretty cool. Here they were, in their last year in Elementary school. Alice is in blue here...nearest to the flag, saluting.

Tech Time Out

I go in phases of being really sucked into the pc or iPhone while I am at home.  Lately I have wanted to truly decrease the number of times I turn to the phone for entertainment or reading articles especially when I am with the kiddos.  I plan to limit the time checking emails and instead pick up my knitting projects for the evening instead.  Thankful for good alternatives that can be a better example for the kids.

Fall Produce

In the Fall, I love the produce sections of any grocer because they are filled with apples, and squash of amazing Fall colors.  Today was the first time I have seen trees of Brussel Sprouts!  So cool...I wish I liked Brussel Sprouts.  To me, they simply taste like little heads of cabbage.

Proud

Alice and Dominik decided they wanted to enter the National PTA Reflections Art Contest with a theme of "The world would be a better place if...". 

Alice is submitting a photo of Mount Si that she took when we were in N Bend a few weeks back.  Her statement was "The world would be a better place if...people took the time to see the beauty in nature".

Dominik's  entry is a photo of our cat. Sugar, with a statement "The world would be a better place if...people adopted more cats".

How did I get so lucky to have such great kids!  Proud of them.

Downtown

Crossing a street downtown today as we headed to the Tacoma Art Museum, I spied an art piece I had not noticed before. It had a great industrial feel to it which was perfect for the location. So thankful to discover gems like this in and around Tacoma.

Book of Life

Tomorrow being Dia De Los Muertos, Brent and I took the kids out for Mexican food and to the movies.  We saw Book of Life, a flick about the traditions of life, death, love and celebration surrounding the Day of the Dead in Mexican culture.  Full of beautifully elaborate art, music, characters, color and silliness...this was a fun film!