scenes from Christmas

The morning...it began at 6:17 courtesy of Olivia, first kid up!

My two smiley girls holding the gifts they gave each other. Great minds think pretty much alike, eh? (Same girls are currently fighting over markers, really loudly, like the end of the world is looming).

Skipper the dog enjoying his first Christmas. He did sorta open the package (funny, b/c normally he can shred the entire Sunday newspaper in under 4 minutes) and was most intrigued by all things squeaky...especially the $1 sheep from Walmart.

The girls receiving Band Hero at Dave's parents later that night. I mean what is not to love? It features Taylor Swift you know. (and for the older crowd: the Go Gos, Jackson 5, YMCA).

And I will end with this very sweet girl, loving on her Dad :)

It's almost here...

Just one more day! Just ask my kids, they know :)
Above is the way the final card came out. Only red, not pink. Only the mailing labels mostly fell off. So most people did not get a card in the mail. And you know what? It has been OK. Just in case, I am sending it out into the blogosphere for all to receive with this post.
Have a very Merry Holiday.

A 37" flat screen has already been gifted to Dave as I had no way of getting it out of the van. I survived a flawless, Christmas Eve purchase at Walmart. It is a Christmas miracle :) I am wondering if procrastination is not a bad thing after all?

Smart Talk Connected Conversations

Remember last year when I attended talks given by Billie Jean King and Diane Keaton (and got to meet Diane in person!)? Well, the 2010 dates and speakers have been announced:

Valerie Bertinelli-Jan 27
Ann Compton-Feb 25
Patricia Heaton-Mar 15
Lee Woodruff-April 29
Helen Hunt-May 26

For details on their topics, pictures of these beautiful women and how you can get tickets, please check out their new website ::HERE::.
I am looking forward to attending a few of these myself. Heck, a subscription could make a good holiday gift, right?! Hint.

The power of the in-store sample..

Yesterday, while Krogering, I sampled a Garden Fresh Artichoke and Garlic Salsa, mostly b/c she was just opening container so I knew it was fresh and b/c it was 11:30a and I was starving.



So I ate my crackerful and walked away but it was so good, that I had to wind back around to the refrigerated deli case and grab a tub. This stuff is good. Very garlicky, so be warned.



So my "snipped" photo here is not the best. Check it our for yourself ::HERE::.

project 365 and life with a new laptop

9 days ago I got my first laptop. It is an HP and I am totally, thoroughly pleased with my purchase. Right now, let's bow our heads and say thank you and we love you Windows 7. Amazing. Each day I find something new to impress me. Yesterday: snipping tool. Today: ease of installing new Fonts.

I have planted myself more firmly on the first floor of the house, instead of my usual perch in my second floor office. I am enjoying being more present in my family's life while also getting work related, computer related, tasks completed. The perfect example? Last night I digi scrapbooked my first page on the laptop, while watching Elf, with the rest of the fam. I have a lot to learn on PSE 7 since I am used to PS CS2 but I am pleased with how things are going. I completed this page to add to my Project 365 2009 photobook. I need to bring more photos down on a flash drive so I can crank out some more.