I can feel it. 2008 is going to be the year we make progress on getting a house on the property. We are not entirely sure how or where or when but we are sure we want it. We already rebuilt on of the dilapidated structures and we have permits to built two more structures for storage and I am told that in January we will have electricity! Whooo hooo. All we need now is indoor plumbing. I am not sure this home which looks cozy enough for the likes of Bilbo would be for us, but it sure is cool.

You may remember that in the beginning of the year I was all talk about taking more pictures. Well while on vacation I took plenty of pictures, but I would say that my picture taking in every day life didn’t change one bit. I didn’t take a single picture this Christmas. I am not going to to make the same mistake and try and promise that 2008 will be any better. With all the other things I am hoping to get done this year, I will just have to be content to leave picture taking to others for the moment. Like this blog called One Pic a Day.

I love to bake. Especially in the winter. Following a recipe, cooking my creation to perfection, the smell throughout the apartment, and adding the finishing touches. It is like crafting but with a yummy payoff. For years I have been using a hand mixer instead of investing in a stand mixer. This definitely makes me think twice before starting a baking project. Things become just that much harder with you have to try and add flour slowly and hold the mixer, or whip something to stiff peaks, and there is the ever present danger of burning out the motor. Well 2008 is going to be the year of baking because, ladies and gentlemen, I am getting a kitchenaid. I am going for the artisan 5 quart and while I would like to go for something like the wasabi, it is probably going to end up being the white since it is $100 less for some reason. Hey, if I save $100 on the mixer, maybe I can get one of the many accessories. I just hope that M&I don’t start to grow wider.

This past weekend an EMT told me that you should have an entry in your phone address book for ICE. This stands for In Case of Emergency and will help people help you in case you aren’t able to tell them who to contact.

M&I are off to visit family today. I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas with a light heart and troubles out of sight. I will be back to blogging on the 26th until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow, so have yourself a merry little christmas now.

As years go by Christmas has lost a little bit of something for me. When I was a kid there was anticipation, family, presents, treats just because, lots of joy and lots and lots of love. As I got older it was more about family and less about presents and now I would say it is mostly about family and not at all about presents. I have to say that I dread shopping for Christmas presents. Shops are terribly crowded and people are not always at their nicest when they are hot and tired, I am always worried if the intended recipient is going to like the gift, and I am starting to feel like most people I know have way too much stuff as it is (M&I included!) I have been trying to make more and more of the gifts I give, although that still wasn’t feeling like enough. This year M&I are trying something different. Instead of giving gifts this year we decided to make a donation on behalf of those who would normally get a coffee maker or ceramic bowl or new tie. There are a lot of great organizations out there but our choice became clear after a little discussing. We feel very fortunate that we are able to provide for ourselves in jobs we like (well we like them most of the time) and we wanted to help provide others with that same feeling so we went with FINCA. If you are so inclined there is still time. The message goes out to your loved one via email. If you are wondering where to start I have included a few links below to help you out. And next year if M&I are on your list, we would like to say now we would love for you to make a donation in our name to the charity of your choice. If it makes you happy, it will make us happy. And isn’t being happy what Christmas is about?

http://www.charitynavigator.org/
http://givingparty.wordpress.com/
http://unclutterer.com/2007/11/20/2007-gift-giving-guide-charitable-giving/

As years go by Christmas has lost a little bit of something for me. When I was a kid there was anticipation, family, presents, treats just because, lots of joy and lots and lots of love. As I got older it was more about family and less about presents and now I would say it is mostly about family and not at all about presents. I have to say that I dread shopping for Christmas presents. Shops are terribly crowded and people are not always at their nicest when they are hot and tired, I am always worried if the intended recipient is going to like the gift, and I am starting to feel like most people I know have way too much stuff as it is (M&I included!) I have been trying to make more and more of the gifts I give, although that still wasn’t feeling like enough. This year M&I are trying something different. Instead of giving gifts this year we decided to make a donation on behalf of those who would normally get a coffee maker or ceramic bowl or new tie. There are a lot of great organizations out there but our choice became clear after a little discussing. We feel very fortunate that we are able to provide for ourselves in jobs we like (well we like them most of the time) and we wanted to help provide others with that same feeling so we went with FINCA. If you are so inclined there is still time. The message goes out to your loved one via email. If you are wondering where to start I have included a few links below to help you out. And next year if M&I are on your list, we would like to say now we would love for you to make a donation in our name to the charity of your choice. If it makes you happy, it will make us happy. And isn’t being happy what Christmas is about?

http://www.charitynavigator.org/
http://givingparty.wordpress.com/
http://unclutterer.com/2007/11/20/2007-gift-giving-guide-charitable-giving/

My lips are chapped which means I am trying new lip balms. Pretty much I never have one when I need one so I figure when I buy one I may as well try something new. I have tried chapstick, Burt’s Bees, Vaseline, Carmex, Blistex, Neutrogena… this list goes on and on. My favorite though is Labello. What, you say you have never heard of labello? There is one of two reasons. If you are American, it is because you can’t get it here and you didn’t know how great it was when you saw it on your vacation. It may also be because it sometimes is disguised as Nivea lipcare. This last fact I learned only today. This is sad because don’t you know it, New Zealand sells Nivea lipcare products! I even bought one thinking “Gee, doesn’t this look just like my favorite brand of lip balm? ” At least I have the one. Had I known I would have stock piled. Now I just have to wait for someone to take a trip… Hey B, didn’t you say something about a trip in your near future. I am officially asking you to be on the lookout. Don’t be fooled by the pretty colors, blue is the best.

Time is a funny thing. When you don’t need it, there is more than you know what to do with. Then there are times like now where you would do anything to get more because somehow the 24 hours you have in a day don’t seem to be quite enough. Once again I spend my year doing other stuff… or nothing, who knows and now I am out of time to do all the things I would like to do for Christmas. Now I am left picking and choosing what I think I can get done in the amount of time I have. You would think I would learn. My prediction is a similar post next year at about the same time.

I am doing it! I am totally judging books by their covers. I do it all the time. I have read some good books that way and of course I have started some real stinkers. While in Australia we found ourselves in a few bookstores. Why on earth would we go into a bookstore while on vacation when there are mega bookstores everywhere you look here? Well M&I love books. We love them. Can’t get enough. They are heavy and take up a lot of space and we curse them every time we move, but that doesn’t stop us from buying more. While we were browsing I started to notice that the books seemed to generally have different covers that I am used to here in the US. No puffy letters and drop shadow. No neon colors. Cleaner, simpler and bolder. They were much more pleasing to my eye. In fact I took down a whole list of books that I wanted to read and put them on my library list. I have already started one and a few others are on the way. So far so good.