- Seeing the girls excitement about starting our Advent calendar and then their enjoyment of the Lindt mini chocolate truffles we filled it with. I heard, "These are sooo good!" Even to young children, they're noticeably better than cheap chocolate, heh. (We bought just enough so Neil and I can each have one a day during Advent too. I wish they were a little bigger though!)
- Submitting my Corporate Fitness Challenge activity log. I logged 920 minutes (just over 15 hours) in November. That's 30 minutes a day on average, which I think is pretty good for me. Logging my activity actually did make me try to exercise a little more than usual.
- Making Overnight Oatmeal* twice this week. I hadn't made this for several months, but I love it. Thanks again for the recipe, Maureen!
- Chatting with Georgia when she first wakes up in the morning. She's so chipper right out of bed and says cute things like, "Look at the tiny penguin in my hand!"
- Sleeping through the night Monday night. No one (not even the dog) woke me up. This is extremely rare.
- Having thoughtful conversations with my coworkers about politics, racism, and more. We often have interesting conversations during our coffee breaks. It's great to have great coworkers.
- Watching Madeline and the other Sparks decorate a Christmas tree at a retirement home on Tuesday evening. My dance class was canceled so I had the opportunity to attend the Sparks Christmas party. (Sophia had a Brownies Christmas party as well.)
- Donating new and used items for the Christmas Charity Challenge at work. I was very pleased to move those dolls out of our house so quickly, and Transition House is such a good cause.
- Getting more Christmas shopping done. I don't have a huge number of people on my list (just my husband, my girls, and six nieces and nephews), so it's not too difficult. Plus, I like shopping for children. I'm almost finished. (Except I'm leaving all birthday shopping until after Christmas which is new for me.)
- Receiving alumni registration info for the 2009 session of Library of Memories (starts in Feb). I can take it two more times for free, and I'm looking forward to resuming the tasks involved since I put them on hold to participate in other classes this year.
- Listening to Madeline read Pinkalicious at bedtime. She doesn't actually read it, but she likes that book so much, she committed quite a bit of it to memory and enjoys "reading" it to Sophia and me.
- Getting eight hours of sleep on Thursday night (b/c getting more than six hours is even more rare than uninterrupted sleep), after a couple of very bad nights. (Sophia has been the main culprit lately. Sometimes she wakes me up to tell me she can't sleep. Grrrrrr!)
- Decorating our Christmas tree. I love our eclectic collection of ornaments. We have several that were given to Neil by his mother, those we've purchased for our girls over the years, numerous miscellaneous ornaments, and many hand-crafted by my Great Grandma Georgia, my Great Aunt Carrie, my cousins Sydney and Tanys (when they were little), my friend Cheryl, and, of course, many made by our children.
- Overhearing Sophia and Madeline's comments when Neil accidentally boiled over a pot on the stove: Sophia said to Neil, "Everybody makes mistakes," and then Madeline added quickly, "Nobody's perfect. Right, Sophia?" It just sounded so funny coming from them.
- Attending the St. Nicholas celebration at the church hall this afternoon. Sophia and Madeline sang two songs with their K4J group: Silent Night and Spread the Good News. They all wore angel costumes and were adorable! Many talented singers (a choir, two quartets, and a soloist) also took the stage and sang many Christmas carols. It was beautiful. I love Christmas carols!
- Seeing the look on Sophia's face when St. Nicholas, dressed elaborately in a red and green bishop's hat and robe, arrived at the celebration to give treats to the children. Priceless!
- Hearing myself say, "Madeline, put your boobs back on the tree." (Well, I've never said that before!) Does this require explanation? She had taken a couple of round Christmas ornaments...
*Overnight Oatmeal - Apple Cinnamon
2 apples (peeled, cored & sliced) [I like to use Granny Smith]
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3c brown sugar
2c old-fashioned rolled oats
4c water [I prefer to use 3 1/2 cups]
pinch of salt
Mix the apples, cinnamon & sugar in the bottom of the slow-cooker. Sprinkle oats over the apples, them pour in the water & salt. Don't stir ~ just leave it alone. Cook on low setting for 8-9 hours.
