Fun With Dry Ice

Waste not. Want not. It's a good rule to live by. So, when a wonderful package of Omaha Steaks gets delivered for Christmas (thanks, Pops), who can resist playing with the packaged dry ice? It was included to keep the meat cold until you can think to get it off your front porch and into the freezer. Note: DO NOT touch the dry ice directly to bare skin.
 

This may be the equivalent of playing with the toy's packaging box instead of the toy.

Gratitude Journal Monday

A tree, my kid, and his thoughts.

In all the excitement of the holidays, take a moment to declare your true blessings; the blessings that do not come all wrapped in a bow, or sit under a glowing tree. Be thankful for the simple, the ordinary, the every day. It's how we live most of the time in our lives. Find grace in that.

Thankfulness is pleasing to the Universe and the Universe thanks you right back. Happy Monday! If you want to see where and why I started my Gratitude Journal, click here.

361. I am grateful for my health: mind, body, and spirit.
362. I am grateful for the rain because it is not snow that I have to drive through.
363. I am grateful my cousin's son entered the world today and all are doing great.
364. I am grateful my nephew's 12th birthday is today and we wish we could be there in-person to celebrate.
365. I am grateful for living close to downtown where we can see all the light displays and enjoy some holiday cheer.

 

Goodbye Week. Hello Weekend. Lessons Learned: Take 73.

Goodbye tons of homemade toffee I sent off with Super Hubby to give to his clients for holiday gifts and thanks for a good year (this toffee gift is a tradition).

Goodbye finishing up Kiddo's holiday wish list and being lucky enough to be at Target right after a new shipment hit the shelves - woo hoo!

Goodbye shirking responsibilities to spend time having lunch with girlfriends - so good for the soul during this most hectic time of year.

Goodbye light homework week and enjoying the gifted break.

Goodbye annoying chirping from our smoke detector, even after changing the battery and cleaning it with canned air.

Hello, Santa, we need two new smoke detectors.
Hello slowing things way down and getting into the true holiday spirit.
Hello hosting another Gamer's Club meeting this weekend for my son and his friends- I'm seeing homemade Rice Krispy Treats for snack - yummy!
Hello trying my hand at a paella recipe - wish me luck.
Hello rain, rain, and more rain (better than snow).

My lesson learned this week comes from where most wisdom resides if we look and listen closely enough: from within our own children. We had a tough week as a family. Some typical kid stuff happened in the school locker room with my son being involved in the "incident". I'm so proud of him for sticking up for himself, but that part is too long of a story to get into. Rumors spread like rumors do, especially with quick-tongued 5th graders, and a lot of "junk" went down this week. The school administration knows the truth of what happened, so do we, and despite the rumors being spread, so do the boys involved. Acting as Mother Hen, I want to protect and I worry about how all of this is affecting my son. I spoke to him last night during dinner, informing him about the rumors and asked him how he felt about it. He responded with a quote he had read earlier in the week from a Cleveland writer for the Plain Dealer, Regina Brett. His response: "What other people think of me is none of my business." I'm not worried anymore.

Go gently, friends, and have a wonderful weekend. 

 

You Gotta Checkout: Matchbook Magazine

Current Issue

 OK, you know that feeling you get when you open up the mailbox and find, sitting there in all its shrink-wrapped glory, your monthly magazine subscription? You get all giddy because you know it means, if only for a few hours, down time and escape from the everyday. Some rest for the bones, some mindless gawking at glossy pages and beautiful people, and, of course, some raunchy gossip, if you're into that sort of thing. Ahh- I can smell the bubble bath now.

I get that same feeling when Matchbook Magazine's latest issue pops into my e-mail's Inbox. This magazine is absolutely amazing! Launched in January of 2011, "Matchbook is an online lifestyle publication celebrating classics - shaken not stirred." I am absolutely captivated by the over 100 beautifully laid-out pages. It's all about home decor, culture, fashion, art, and entertaining: the best of the best. They consider each issue to be a "field guide to a charmed life." Charmed? I'm sure, because this monthly goodness comes to you FREE! Nada, zero, nothing! Sign-up for your e-mail subscription today!

I was not compensated in any way by Matchbook Magazine for sharing this treasure with you today. 

What I Made Wednesday {A Christmas Project Worth Repeating}

Ahh, the sweet smell of the Christmas season; it really makes your senses come alive. These smells are the scents our children will remember when they become adults, thinking back on their childhood Christmases. These sweet smelling Citrus Pomanders help to create those ever-lasting memories and they are so easy to make, it's ridiculous!

What You'll Need

Whole Cloves (from a bulk foods store)

Clementines or tangerines (not Navel oranges as their rind is too hard)

Band-Aid in case your thumb gets sore

What You'll Do

Insert the tip of the clove into the clementine.

If your thumb gets sore after pushing in all those cloves, use a Band-Aid as protection.

What You'll Need to Know to Finish

I fill my crystal bowl with the pomanders, some freshly cut pine, and ribbon.

I hope you try these sweet-smelling citrus pomanders. It's an aroma from Christmas you won't soon forget.

Holiday Gift Ideas for the Whole Family

I'm kinda an ambassador for Family Time: game nights, movie nights, taste-testing contests, hikes in the park. Yeah, I'm all about family togetherness because I know, all too well, as our son gets older, Family Time may be harder to come by and willingness may sadly diminish. I hope not, but it's the reality of growing up (why should it be any different than when we were their age?).

Spending some family time at a local toy store, I saw some pretty unique and interesting selections that I wanted to share with y'all. I haven't seen any of these products at the Big Box stores, so check online if you're local Mom-n-Pop Toy Store doesn't carry these awesome picks!

Suspend
I was playing this game by myself at the store for at least 15 minutes. Think of it as an upgrade on Pick-Up Stix. There are various bent wires with different colored rubber-dipped ends. You roll the die and what ever color comes up, you grab the bent wire of the same color and place it on the suspended wire. But be careful. You have to balance the wire without letting the others drop! Patience, Young Padawan, patience.

This game is so cool, so fun, and inexpensive at $12. And to top it off, it comes in a convenient little cylinder container for easy storage. So much fun and such a nice change for the famous Melissa & Doug brand, known for their wooden toy puzzles.

OgoSport
So fun, especially if you have high ceilings in your home. The ginormous paddles have comfortable handles and soft, fabric-like centers, creating a bouncy surface for the Koosh-type ball you can hit back and forth. It's fun, keeps the whole family active, and is safe for the indoors. The price isn't too shabby either at $30. 

Mod
These people are absolute geniuses! How LEGO, themselves, didn't think of this, I'll never know, but they didn't. LEGO fans, rejoice! The dilemma is a typical one to the young builder: you want to create an army with all your mini-figures, but you don't have many identical bodies to get the effect you were hoping for. You start cannibalizing pieces/parts from multiple sets but it's just not to your high standards. Stop forcing it: you now have Mod by BrickStix. These are removable stickers you can apply directly to your mini-figure LEGO bodies so you can actually have cohesion in your invading army - what a dream!

Mod has many different sticker themes including Special Forces, WWII, Medieval, and Zombie, to name a few. And, not just for mini-figure bodies. Did I mention they are REUSABLE!!! Not bad for $6 a pack. Seriously, pure genius! I can see LEGO kicking themselves right now.

 

Happy shopping and don't forget a gift for the whole family!

I was not compensated in any way for sharing these toys with you. I just thought these items were really cool!

Gratitude Journal Monday

Seasonal bliss surrounds us. Has it filled your heart, yet? Can you feel the elevated love that permeates through the air this wonderful time of year? People just seem to be in better moods. At least two of our local radio stations play nothing but Christmas music, 24/7.

Are you getting filled with the Christmas spirit or are you trying to escape to the nearest egg nog station where you can drown some of that bliss? In all the expected happiness this time of year, it's important to be cognizant that not everyone you meet may be in the same state of emotion as you. Don't let those Grinches get you down or allow negativity to enter your soul. Perhaps, if you're flowing with Christmas joy, you can find a way to spread the love to those that may need to be introduced to the spirit and love of the season, some for the first time ever. We all deserve to feel it!

We can start with declaring some gratitude from the simple to the huge! See my beginnings, here.

356. I am grateful the winds of fate plopped me with the family I love, living the life I love.
357. I am thankful I still believe in miracles all year 'round.
358. I am grateful my freezer is full with a 4-month's supply of meat from our butcher-run this weekend.
359. I am thankful for the little heart beating next to me on the couch as we watch all those wonderful classic Christmas movies.
360. I am grateful the Universe takes the Karma rule VERY seriously.

Have a wonderful week, friends. Happy December!