On this lovely rainy, dark New Year's Eve, I AM LOVING:

~that one of my oldest friends in the whole wide world Jen and her hubby Trav welcomed

Ford Thomas

into the world on December 26!

~that Valentines Day is juuuuust around the corner...

(i know, i know. but i can't help it. i love holidays.)


~my bling bling.
I mean, seriously. I try not too brag but look at this beauty :)

:)

www.weddingchicks.com

oh yeah. just a little warning for the gym-goers come January 1.

The back machines (deltoids? i don't even know what those muscles are called?) are gonna be taken for the next ooohh.... 9 months. :)

inspiration at it's finest :)

did Drew write me this note?

Wrong. :)

but I will say... I did dig up some old love letters that were definitely worthy of being in the next issue...

hahaha no. just kidding. this book is amazing. :)

My Claim to Fame

and so I figured why not. Do the fun little recreational, 5-k Jingle Bell Run, donate some money for arthritis, tie some jingle bells to my shoelaces, get in a good workout and spread some holiday cheer.

All going just fine and dandy...
and then we get to the final 100 yards before the finish line. I take a step to the left to dodge an unruly dog and the next thing I know I am face first into the pavement with hundreds of people watching. True. Story. :)

I Survived: Getting Taken Out By a Double BOB Jogging Stroller.

People, this mom was on a MISSION! and ain't no little 25 year old jogger was gonna stop her. (just kidding. it was an accident, but still... :)


Whatever. It hurt REALLY bad. hurt my hands and my face and my leg :)
Finish the race, have Drew laugh at me, blah, blah, blah.
Get some bandaids.
Head to breakfast :)

The restaurant was FULL of fellow Jingle Bellers! I start walking to a table in the corner, and this other table starts whispering and looking at me.

The lady turns to me, stands up, claps her hands together and exclaims across the restaurant, "OH! You are the girl that fell! We all saw you fall!"

The table goes off about how the mom and daughter had wanted to stop and help me up, but the dad had said it was their chance to pass me ;)

The waiter than came over and started telling me about the campaign he was a part of when he was younger to try and outlaw dogs on leashes during running events...

and for like 2.5 seconds, I was famous.

:)

and then my french toast came... and I stopped talking to my fellow fans :)
Haven't had your moment of fame yet? Just you wait :)

Twas the Week Before Christmas...

Drew tried his hand at decorating sugar cookies... (hahaha. get it? Tried his hand? I am so clever :)
Got cute little cookies from the neighbor kids and was reminded just what Christmas is really about.

Had a "older cousin" sleepover at Grandma's. :) Matching slippers included ;)

drove around looking at Christmas lights. This house was rather creative... :)

had to break some really hard news to my little (21 year old) sister ;)
did some festive manicure work :)
got a liiiiiiitle carried away with wrapping presents. This year, I decided that the more things under the tree to unwrap, the better! That included some fabric softener for my sister and a hammer for Drew.

and you are never too old for matching Christmas pajamas. although they do get a little more un-christmasy and more year-roundish the older you get :)

and watch out world. I got a new iphone and a fancy schmancy camera for christmas, so this little ole blog is not gonna know what hit it :)

i hope you all had a merry christmas, and got glimpses of just how big our God's love for us really is :)

Spokane, Washington...

An anonymous donor dropped a diamond ring wrapped in a dollar bill in a Salvation Army red bucket. The ring is valued at $5,000.

Volunteers also found a silver coin worth about $30 wrapped in a note. The note read:

"I've saved this ounce of silver for twenty years. I'm unemployed for 13 months. My house is in foreclosure. I'm filing for bankruptcy, and at 61 my retirement is shot, but I still know there are families in worse shape."

-read this in the newspaper on Thursday... :)

Christmas Cheesecake Bars!

CANDY CANE DESSERT SQUARES

CRUST
36 (2 CUPS) finely crushed chocolate wafer cookies (i used the keebler elf mint ones)

1/2 cup butter, melted

3 tablespoons sugar

GANACHE

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2/3 cup whipping cream

FILLING

1 cup powdered sugar

16 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 teaspoons peppermint extract

1 1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped

2/3 cup ground up peppermints of candycanes

Combine all crust ingredients in a small bowl. Press onto bottom of a 13 x 9 ungreased baking pan. Set aside.

Melt chocolate chips and 2/3 cup whipping cream in a sauce-pan over low heat until smooth. (4 to 5 minutes) Spread evenly over crust. Place in freezer for at least 10 minutes.

Combine powdered sugar, cream cheese and peppermint extract in large bowl. Beat at low speed until creamy. Gently stir in whipped cream and crushed candies. Spread evenly over ganache layer. If you want, sprinkle with additional crushed candy. Cover. Freeze 4 hours, or overnight.

Cut into squares and serve frozen or refrigerated!

SOOOOOOO GOOD!

The directions looks long, but it's worth it :)

It's like candy cane cheesecake bars with Keebler Mint Elf Cookie Crust ;)

i cannot wait to have teenagers. i hope i remember these parenting tips :)
(p.s. Baby Ford Thomas we are ready to meet you! Your momma and daddy are ready too. Go Jen, go! You rock, girl! :)

I'm just gonna go ahead and say it.

I was at Fred Meyer getting some nail polish, matches and some milk when I realized I had a red-box movie rental in my purse to return.

I was holding the grocery bag, the gallon of milk in one hand, my car keys in the other and was trying to stick the DVD in the little slot.

It kept saying, "Please Wait. We are Not Ready to Accept your Return."

So I stood there waiting.

I found myself looking at the bell ringer, who was so kindly ringing his bell to the tune of "jingle bells". I started staring, and watching.

And yep. I'm just gonna say it.

99% of the people that I saw walk up and put money in that metal red bucket looked like the lowest on the economy scale. People I would probably generalize as "homeless" or less fortunate, ya know what I mean, the ones who just look like they are having a hard time.

Now I know that just because a person looks homeless or less fortunate, by no means does that correlate to having a lower income.

But what I observed? Most of the people that threw in money lined up at the bus stop outside of Fred Meyer's and didn't walk up to that gas guzzling cherry- red SUV in the parking lot.

The old lady who threw in a handful of change was talking to her friend about how if they didn't hurry, they wouldn't make it in time before the food bank stopped giving donations.

I watched the lady with the 6 inch stiletto heels and gorgeous coach purse (from the new winter line, I WANT!) cruise right in there without even a glance towards the bell ringer. She almost ran right into the guy who looked as if he hadn't showered in weeks, as he, yep, threw something in the red bin.

By now I had gathered a line waiting for the redbox, so I got myself together, stopped staring and returned the movie.

I walked right out of that store, got in my car and off I went.

Come to think of it, even after all of that, I didn't donate. I have really never been into that. But seeing who was donating that windy afternoon... it got me thinking. Maybe they all know something I don't.

Like really what it means to give and not receive.

I haven't been able to stop thinking about these people.

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world"

~Mother Teresa

I feel like these people I watched were okay with being the pencil, where so many times I want to be the author, and because of this, nothing gets written.

My Recent Food Discoveries

TONIC WATER IS NOT THE SAME AS CLUB SODA
So I had always read/heard/knew that a healthy drink choice is club soda with vodka or gin
(well i mean, healthy for a alcoholic drink. ya know, as opposed to a margarita or a mudslide :)
~So I finally ordered one last week at dinner.

IT WAS SO GOOD! It tasted like Sprite and I was like oh my gosh, what have I been missing out on! No more Long Island Iced Tea for me!

Flashforward: I thought I was all cool and knew what I wanted. Walked up to the bartender, ordered my new drank and waltzed to my table.

Umm... he brought me my drink. I took a big gulp. I sprayed it all over the table. UMM. it tasted like warm water with ear piercing cleaner!

So we put two and two together. My first "club soda" drink was actually tonic water. This one? Club soda. :( And of course the tonic water is the higher calorie, higher sugar content of the two. ;) Club soda? Not that good.


CARAMEL GREEK YOGURTI used to detest Greek yogurt. TRY THIS! It literally has straight caramel on the bottom. anndd it's healthy :) lots of protein!


CAFFEINATED WAFFLES

these babies are taking over Bellingham by storm. Coffee stands are starting to sell them, and a vendor sells them up at the college. What do you think? Time for those Eggo's to move over?

and We are Ready for Christmas...

it was not the best week. And it ended by me running over to my eyebrow wax lady after work on Friday to get a quick brow wax. she did her thang, and then pushed her glasses up on her nose and said, "i think it time we start give you a lip wax? yes?"

what do you say to that? Umm...? okay? I guess?...

so. i felt kinda glum :) but then I was flipping through my camera and was couldn't help but smile at my week.

1.)

We got our Christmas tree! my Dad wanted to put it in the FRONT window, where it could be seen from the street. (I think it's just because you can see all the neighbor's trees from the street. he just wants to fit in ;) It just didn't work, so back to the living room it went, in it's nice little corner.

2.)

For some reason my dad REALLY was caught up on having a tree in the front room. He drug me into my grandma's back woods (handsaw and all) to "hunt" for the little tree he was envisioning. When he started trampling through the poison ivy, I decided to give up and take pictures. Needless to say, just big trees, no little Christmas trees ;)

3.)
Oh, but do not worry. Greg found what he was looking for. The Charlie Brown tree now resides in the front room ;) (for those of you who know my dearest mother, please imagine her excitement with this little thing.;) sarcasm

4.)
To celebrate our Christmas'y house, we had gramma spend the night and we had a mini Christmas party. Santa even came :) He brought me this candle that I had been oohing and ahhing over from Fairhaven. Pineapple Cilantro. Sounds gross, huh? SERIOUSLY YOU GUYS! It is the most amazing, best smelling thing ever :) (and really, we did have presents under the tree that we got to open ;)

5.)

I made these cupcakes for the "Christmas" party. Just put the batter into a few different bowls, and make different colors. Layer into cupcake tin. These pictures don't even do them justice. The insides are like perfectly organized mini-rainbows :) (eh. minor detail that grammy has celiac's and can't eat gluten. whoops )

I used to not really get why people took pictures. I always took them because I felt like I "should", like one day my kids would be mad at their momma for not having documentation of life in the 2010's. I felt like I wanted the best Facebook photo album, or the coolest instagram account or the most organized photo-albums.

Seriously? I was laughing out loud after looking at these pictures. and I forgot all about my impending lip wax; and that my friends, is worth taking pictures to me ;)

Ok, ladies. First the bragging. Drew is so sweet and thoughtful that when I went to pick him up Monday evening to go to a little birthday party, he had something hidden behind his back. He got in the car and said he had a surprise. Since this movie is like the funniest thing EVER, (come on people, flowing like lava????) I was so excited to see that he had gotten this DVD for me. (aww, how sweet. right?) oh ladies... he is not off the hook yet... ;)

He then proceeded to say, "yeah, i got you this because I figured when you get all stressed out planning your wedding, this will be a good laugh!"

He really said "your" wedding!!!!!! Like it was just mine!!! Umm... I AM MARRYING YOU! It is OUR wedding, you silly boy :)

So if I am getting stressed, you are going down with me ;) and that comment allows me to force you to watch Bridesmaid's as many times as my little heart desires over the next nine months, while I plan "my" wedding"

ohh.. if it's MY wedding,that mean you will wear the pink tie? Perfect. Glad we got that settled ;)

She was so annoyed and not having the best day. She took a 15 minute break and decided to clear her head and make a coffee run to Starbucks.

She got in the drive-through and there was only one car in front of her. She waited, she waited, she waited... Her cell phone was ringing, her oil light was blinking and she needed to get back to work. But nooo... There was a car with an Alabama license plate in front of her. Seriously. what could they be doing? They had been sitting there for at leaaaaast 5 minutes. Then she saw the lady's hand come out of the car to hand the cashier the money (finally!) but THEN she drops a bunch of change out of the window. Quarters and pennies and dimes flew everywhere. "JUST. WHAT. I. NEED," she thought. Don't people from Alabama know what dollar bills are?!?! Who pays for their coffee in change? A twelve year old?

She was about to honk her horn when the car finally gathered all their change, got their coffee and drove off.

She took a deep breath and drove up to the window to finally get her coffee. The cashier slid open the window, flashed her smile and said, "Here's your coffee! The lady in front of you bought it for you!"

heard this story at church a few weeks ago ;)

seriously. i dare you. try it for the rest of the week :)

GREAT Blood Pressure!

I guess when I was little, I would constantly be checking the gas gauge from my booster in the backseat to see how much gas the car had. I had a HUGE fear of running out of gas. My dad finally starting telling me that the temperature gauge was actually the gas gauge, so I always thought we were at least half full. :)

I also remember my dad and I rented a movie at the little mini-market one day and I got a grape pop and my dad got a strawberry pop. We got in the car to drive home and I was sooooooo excited to drink my pop. My dad opened his and took a few swigs as we cruised up Lakeway Drive. I remember by dad asking why I was digging my fingernails into my legs and tapping my feet up and down while I CLENCHED my pop. I told him that I couldn't believe he was "drinking and driving" and that I was so nervous because we were breaking the law. :) Apparently I thought the law pertained to soda pop too, not just booze :)

Needless to say, while my anxiety was easier to see as I got older, I must have always been a busy, anxious gal :)

With the help of my lovely medicine and my psychologist, I am finally learning to just caaalllllmmm down.

Want proof? Of course you are so interested in my life that you want proof :)

Yesterday I had my annual, yearly, whatever they are called, doctor's appointment.

Let me first say. Prettttyy sure everyone at that place knows me by name and probably dreads answering the phone when they see it's me calling ;)

-Once they called to let me know that I had missed my appointment (I had thought it was 12/21 but it was really 12/12) and I cried hysterically for an hour that they would never let me come back and they would "fire" me as a patient. I called like three separate times to apologize but each time they assured me it was okay ;)

-For a few years I would NOT drink tap water because I read that Bellingham tap water was fluorinated. I also had read that fluoride weakened my thyroid medicine and made it less effective. LESS EFFECTIVE THYROID MEDICINE = WEIGHT GAIN. So of course, the only logical thing was to not drink ANY water that wasn't bottles and free from fluoride. So when I talked to the lovely office girl at my dr. office, she politely directed me to the water district website where I so learned, in fact, my tap water is not fluoridated ;)

-I called them when my dentist informed me I did not have ANY wisdow teeth to make sure that was normal. The dental hygientist kept telling me to, "consider yourself lucky! No surgery or anything!" I wasn't quite so sure until I heard it from my Dr. :)

-Numerous times I have forced them to check my blood sugar levels (only to find they are just fine :)

-This office has dealt with my 20 pound weight swings from year to year, and when I told them I couldn't sleep unless I had ran at least 4 miles :)

So needless to saaaaaay, I am sure they were all pleased as punch to see my name on the schedule Saturday morning :)

I. HAD. NOTHING. TO. TALK. ABOUT! :) :)
It was by FAR the shortest appointment I had every had there :) We chatted and I was off :)

I even told her how weird I felt not bringing in my list of questions. :)

Today I am grateful for good health, doctors and Prozac:)
oh AND... I have OUTSTANDING blood pressure, in case you were wondering ;)

So I'm not really into that whole feng shui, energy, vibe thing (although my mom did make me take out my belly button piercing in highschool because she said it was "letting out all my chi" and making me tired. aka she heard someone say that chi (energy) travels through your belly button so she was pulling a fast one on me to make me take it out. it worked...:) but I was talking to a lady who told HER...

think of opening up your closet every morning.

think of all the things that your
eyes scan as you look for something to wear.

every single morning, you look past
that red cardigan, that orange sundress, that "beautiful" sweater from Aunt Maggie and even that $200 cashmere turtleneck from Nordstrom's that you love but for some reason never wear.

even just spending 3 seconds scanning through all that stuff, you are losing energy :)

That turquoise blazer that you just had to have but don't like the length? Yep, you are giving some of your precious energy to that silly jacket!

okay. yes. sounds weird. but I was thinking about it. Seriously how many days have I looked at that cream Henley shirt in the middle left of my closest. At LEAST once a day for probably about 4 years now. that is like 1,500 TIMES I have glanced at that. Geeeeez. Think of what I could have accomplished with all that brain power and energy that I just WASTED on something as simple as picking out a shirt.

just an interesting idea for ya to ponder today :). Anything in your closet you could part with? I'm still not sure I can part with the Henley though. What if I want it this winter???????? :)

fun with christmas sprinkles ;)

i thought the salty/sweet thing was just a kettlecorn trend from the 1990's :)

i wasn't interested in the salted caramel brownies, the sea-salt sugar cookies. none of that.

until i realized... WAIT. I DO like chocolate covered pretzels...

so megs and i made some :) pretzel rods to be exact. with white chocolate and Christmas sprinkles ;)

easy to make, festive and that sweet and salty combination? Can't beat it :)

i thought i was officially a "crafter." today i went to jo-ann fabrics TWICE because i kept forgetting stuff to make my craft that i DIDN'T copy from pinterest! the second time, i strutted in. knew right where to go to grab my number and wait for the fabric lady to call me so she could cut my 1 yard of cloth. psshh. i was so pro at this whole "craft store thing" now, i didn't even need a basket.
went to check-out, had the same cashier lady as this morning. i flashed her my biggest smile and said, "i'm back again" thinking she would be like ooohh look at this little miss martha stewart.
she swiped my debit card, gave me a little pity smile and said,

"oh honey, this store is intimidating to everyone the first few times they come in. it takes newbies at least two store visits per day their first few times to remember everything they need to finish their project."

well then. sticker labels for everyone on their christmas presents next year. don't say i didn't warn ya ;)

Here's to you, December

I have decided for the month of December to deactivate my Facebook account :) (insert gasps, shocked looks)

It is my last holiday season as a single woman :) and I know that after this year, things will be different. More places to go, more grandparents to see. I just want to focus this season on everything that really matters and the main reason for the season :)

and I don't think I am strong enough to not let Facebook distract me :)

So, here goes.

One of my friends has decided to go through December without buying anything for herself. I made us these cute little frames to keep us motivated :)

I SO wanted to take out my cookie cookbook and Weight Watchers weekly program from my picture, but I had to keep it real :) Yep, my nightstand. In all it's glory :) You just can't see my floss from last night laying on the cookbook :)

So, if you get pregnant, or engaged or break up, or dye your hair or chop off all your hair, PLEASSEE let me know ;) I won't be able to facebook stalk you for awhile :)

Grace

One of my first Christmas memories is when my sister and I went to some holiday craft fair with my mom and while she went shopping with the pretty, sparkly glass things that she was afraid we would break, she plopped us down at the table in the corner to make "kid crafts".

We decorated sugar cookies aka got babysat by a probably 95 year old lady who looked like Cruella DeVille, and patiently waited for my mom to come back and get us. My sister waited so patiently, in fact, that she got a marshmallow Santa to put on her sugar cookie. I mean, come on. She was like 1 1/2 years old. How patient could she really have been? I'm sure it was her "adorable long blonde hair" that won her the coveted Christmas cookie decoration.

I was SO jealous. I had been SO excited to go home and show my dad the cookie that I had made. It was totally the best in the group. Until Mandy got the marshmallow Santa... I couldn't stand the thought of her going home and showing her cookie to my dad. He would think the marshmallow Santa was sooo awesome and she would probably get extra dessert too since she was so well behaved :)

I couldn't let that happen. On the ride home, when I was just in my booster seat and she was totally strapped into her car seat since she was still just a "baby" as I liked to inform her, I reached my stubby little arm down and grabbed her sugar cookie.

and ate it. :)

Problem solved. No one would see her cookie with the marshmallow Santa and my dad would love my cookie and I would get extra TV time :)

Well... That was the case until my baby sister saw the frosting on my face and burst into that annoying 18 month old baby cry :) Like the screeching, kicking, face is bright red, screaming ;)

Unfortunately, my mom put two and two together and realized what I had done.

All I remember is running around the kitchen, begging my mom to not tell my dad. I remember pleading with her. She was not going for any of my deals (like giving her my Polly Pocket Mansion), so I took a deep breath only 5 1/2 year olds can take, crossed my arms, and put my head down.

"Fine. Let her eat my cookie. That is fair. I ate her's she she can eat mine. Then Dad won't get to see mine either. I AM SO SORRY MOMMMYYYYYYYY!"

She grabbed my cookie (coconut "snowflakes" and all) and carried my sister over to the couch. She sat my sister down, turned on Little People (come'onn, you know the movies) and grabbed my hand.

Wait. This wasn't what was supposed to be happening. Mandy was supposed to eat my cookie while my mom lectured me and then I went to my room crying and was supposed to "think about what I had done."

We went into the kitchen and sat down on the floor. I remember my mom telling me that I shouldn't have eaten her cookie blah, blah, blah and that I made her sad blah, blah, blah and that my dad wouldn't have been more proud of her for getting the marshmallow Santa. She told me that she knew that it was hard to be a big sister and that I was doing a really good job. She was proud of me for always sharing my toys and even for watching my baby sister when my mom took a shower in the mornings.

Even though I'm not sure that was my mom's goal, that was my first lesson in grace.

I thought that letting Mandy eat my cookie was what HAD to happen. It made sense and was fair and was the only logical conclusion in my little pre-schooler mind. I ate her cookie, so I DESERVED to have her eat mine.

Do you know what I think is even HARDER than giving grace to others?

Giving grace to ourselves.

We sing songs, we study, we read books. We are taught to forgive others and shower them with mercy and kindness even if they may not deserve it in our worldly eyes.

Try forgiving yourself, or loving yourself, despite what you see when you look in the mirror.

It's really hard, and I think it's something we forget to do. We focus so much on giving grace to others (which is a GREAT and very important thing) but we forget that the same concept applies to ourselves.

I am just so hard on myself. If it's not perfect, then it's a failure. Working longer hours at work, or lowering my body fat percentage; logging more minutes reading my bible, or running any faster isn't going to make it all perfectly fall into place.

I can't earn grace. I must just accept it and know it is given to me to use.

So this holiday season while we focus on helping and giving to others, just remember to give yourself a little gift of grace as well. It's amazing how far it can take ya.

Thanks momma for teaching my little heart about love, and sorry sissy for eating your sugar cookie. Forgive me? ;)

and the SECOND the pumpkin cream cheese pie, and the white chocolate cheesecake and the chocolate creme pie and the mini apple and pumpkin tort's were devoured...

it's time for the christmas socks!

Love Train

I have always loved being the oldest grandchild on my gram and gramps side.

I always get to be the head of the cousin massage train when we line up oldest to youngest.

When the little girls were little-er they never thought about rotating so we ALL got a chance to get a massage without massaging.

They finally are on to me :) We set the timer and every minute we would have to rotate. (aka I don't get to sit in the front the whole time anymore :)

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, with lots of good food (umm... seriously though, how flipping GOOD are mashed potatoes??) lots of cousin love, and lots of back massages :)

In summer, we just throw together our paper plates, our burnt marshmellows, some campfire wood, some limbs, (maybe even some tiki torch oil) shh... don't tell... to make our summer night bonfires.

Winter time?

You must be methodical and planned out. :)

You have to know EXACTLY the resources you have, so you can get the most heat out of your supplies. :) Good job birthday boy, you made the 30 degree night quite enjoyable :)

but of course, we had to keep a little of the summer tradition alive...

but wait. I was missing out! Today at the grocery store I saw.... SEASONAL MIKE'S HARD LEMONADE.

WINTER BLACKBERRY!

and you wonder where I get my love for pajama pants and slippers.

I get it from my mommmmaa :)

just a typical evening at the Hatch's :)

and you probably can't see that we are watching the E-Trade baby commercials on You-Tube. Just to appease my dad, of course. He gets a kick out of those things ;)

I hope Drew is ready for my evening rituals :)

My New Career Choice

this weekend, I thought I was just going to a fun little fund-raiser for this cute girl and her school. I actually sat through a few somersault competions. Yep. Like who can somersault across the gym the fastest.
watched some mini-cheerleaders...

and found my new career calling... :)

I want to be a cheerleader.

Yeah, so maybe I am a little too old for the high school football team cheer squad, but come on. The Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders or the SeaGals have to be around my age, right?

it was freaking AMAZING. Those girls can lift, throw, jump, kick, do gymnastics, dance, and do the cheerleader face alllll at the same time. :) Like seriously, could you THROW your friend in the air, have her do the splits, do a flipping backflip and then catch her? All with a huge SMILE on your face. I can't even talk on my cell phone and run up the stairs at work without getting winded. :)Really, I had no idea. The music was so fun (ya know, all the trendy, hot songs that I feel like I am too old to listen to?) and seriously, those girls can groove. I was very impressed.

maybe to start my practicing, next year I will enter the somersault competition... what do you think? :)