The previous Saturday, briefly

{breakfast bundt}

{parade heat via hot air balloon burners}

{our star of the show}

{dabbling}

{dabblers}

{the coolest celebration on earth}

14 hours

My work day was unusually l-o-n-g today. Coming home to the following sure made my day, though!

{dog + clean crate. Phew!}

{cocoa + whipped cream + unpictured candy cane}

{surprise email from husband stating he bought us airline tickets for an upcoming vacation!}

Yeah. I feel much better now. ♥
{airline ticket photo source: international cheap flights}

Drats!

What a huge bummer that the Vikings lost! I can't help but dwell on the outcome of the game. It's possible I'm upset that the game concluded an otherwise SUPER fun weekend... or just that I'm bummed the Vikes aren't going to get to play in the Super Bowl.

Gosh, with less than a minute left to go in regulation I started daydreaming about this year's Super Bowl party. There were talks of sleepovers, drinks and eats. I even snapped an excited "oh-my-gosh-we-will-win-this" photo!

Humph. The urgency to send our Evite quickly fizzled. We'll still host a party, and it will be fun, though could have been more fun watching our Vikings!

Man-oh-man, it sure was a great season though!
{image from theage.com}

I-O-U

Hi. So I feel like I owe you an explanation. Between October 31-January 10, I wrote four posts. FOUR!? Don't you wonder where I've been???

In short, this is what took place November-January in my world.

• Cheered on the Gophers FB team, x4
• Celebrated 7 loved one's birthdays
• Hosted 4 parties
• Baked 7 cakes, 14 batches of cookies, 40 pita pockets + 5 batches of caramel
• Attended 2 baby showers
• Canned 2 batches of cranberry jam
• Stamped holly leaves + berries on 8 tea towels
• Went to a bridal shower & bachelorette party, on the same night
• Assembled homemade Christmas gifts {towel+cookies+caramels+jam}
• Traveled to WI + cherished time spent with family
• Bought a snow blower, the day before getting 16+ inches of snow!
• Celebrated Christmas in MN, was introduced to Polish traditions {Wigilia} and baked my first ham, Eve + Day, respectively
• Went Sledding
• Was witness to a wedding ceremony + gained a new sister {siostra}
• Rang in 2010 with friends
• Toasted to both a new marriage and one 30 years strong with family + friends
• Seized a new opportunity at work
• Savored these moments

{BTW - Pay it Forward winners: I have not forgotten about you!!}

2010 Resolutions

I've been thinking about my 2010 goals since 2009, but here it is 01.20.2010 and I haven't posted a thing. Probably because I originally had just one, a spin on last year's "Year of the Craft." However, after some serious thought, I tacked on additional objectives.

:: Create 12 tangible things throughout the course of the year. {read: no food}
:: Love more, judge less.
:: Log 1,000 miles.
:: Explore more.
:: De-clutter.
:: Repurpose.

As I did last year, I'll update this post to detail my progress.
♥

2009 Resolutions, revisited

I finished updating the status of my 2009 Resolutions:
- Couple Resolutions - 2.58 of 6 accomplished
Clearly we didn't do very well on our Couple Resolutions.

- 2009: Year of the Craft - 12 for 12!!
I wrote up posts for 10 of the 12 crafts. So, if you are interested in knowing what I did for my last two crafts, check out the updated post.

On to 2010!!

Freezin' for a Reason

I signed up to jump into a frozen lake on February 6, 2010 to raise money for the Special Olympics. If you are able to make a pledge, that'd be awesome!! If interested, you can donate here. I promise to post photo(s) of the jump!!

Skol

{image from Reuters}

Giada is at Target!

I am a Food Network fan. If I have control of the remote, we are most likely watching Food Network.

My all-time favorite Food Network star is Giada De Laurentiis. She is adorable, makes simple, yet tasty recipes and is adorable! Oh yeah. I mentioned that already. A few years ago Rich bought me one of her cookbooks for Christmas. I read the cookbook like a novel. Loved it. (By the way, her crab and ricotta stuffed cannelloni is wonderful!!)

Anyhow, I guess she has a new line of products available at Target. One of which is a similar to something she uses frequently on her show. A tool I've been coveting for some time now.
It's a stainless steel, "Scoop and Strain" Colander. It's $14.99. And I think I need it. Though I really want the one exactly like she uses on her show... so this might not cut it. Nonetheless, it's worth a stop at Target.

{images from target.com}

30.

in 18 months.

image from Crystal Zaragoza