Just for today...

Thinking I might try a weekly challenge for a bit after 2 months of daily challenges.
Today, I'm trying something from The Simple Woman's Day Book
FOR TODAY ...Wednesday, December 30...
Outside my window... I see the trash cans all lined up
I am thinking...the first trash pick up day after Christmas has got to be the garbage man's least favorite day.
I am thankful for...the warmth of my home
I am wearing...my new super soft jammies (100x softer than any snuggie)
I am creating...a home that is a soft place to land for all my fellas
I am going...to attempt to pack for our trip to AZ
I am reading...facebook (fear not, I have a real book to take with me on vacation, The Friday Night Knitting Club)
I am hoping...to accomplish a lot today
I am hearing...the cheerful morning chatter of my youngest son who is eager to spend some of his Christmas cash at the Lego Store today (thanks Mary Beth for including my kids on this shopping adventure)
Around the house...is the proof that everyone has been home lately (a tad too rumpled for my tastes)
One of my favorite things...the quiet of the early morning, when everyone is still asleep and I am sipping from that first cup of coffee
A few plans for the rest of the week: Sun City, Baby! Don't ya wish you were us? Bringing in the New Year in the retirement center!

And without a photo or two...a blog is pretty boring...

Sumo Santa?
nah, just Thing Two...

The things he says

Thing One...continues to amuse us with his take on life...

A few nights ago, I sent him upstairs to get ready for bed. He went upstairs as he was told, but missed the part about getting ready for bed. When confronted about this, he replies loudly "I'm a MAN, and don't you know that MEN DON"T LISTEN"!

Then there is the whole "Santa situation"
He recently admitted that many of the kids at school have told him that "Santa is just your dad". But in typical Thing One fashion he shrugged it off and said "Have you seen MY dad? He's like Chinese and Bald...how could that be Santa?"

yep, we'll always have Thing One..

Season of Joy: 24

Season of Joy: 23

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Season of Joy: 22

Catching up with neighborhood friends today...while the kids splashed and played in the indoor pool, us Moms chatted. Brought back warm memories of our summer days spent at the neighborhood pool.

Joy....in watching my kids play with their friends and seeing how blessed we are to have so many wonderful people living in our neighborhood!

Season of Joy: 21

That crazy kid we call Thing Two.
Determined if he has enough pillows stuffed into the santa suit, he can pull off looking like Santa.
His theory was wrong...he looked like a little sumo santa...and he kept toppling over.

Dang...where is the video camera when you need it?
(reg. photos to follow later...too lazy to go download them from the camera)

Oh, and this year's batch of fudge? Turned out p.e.r.f.e.c.t.
Which is good because I've not had the desire to do much holiday baking...the few things I make need to turn out right because I'm not that interested in making anything other than the tried and true standards.

Season of Joy: 20

While cleaning out the mess in Thing One's back pack (he's 12, 'nuf said)...I found this letter to Santa

Santa,You make kids everywhere happy at Christmas. Please make me happy by getting Mom and Dad some money. Dad lost his job and Mom failed her big final exam. That's all I want...for them to be happy.
Love, Patrick

Oh my....talk about heart breaking.

Yes, Hubby was laid off on Monday (12.14). It's OK, seriously...as a contractor, we'd known this day was coming for a year or more. We've saved, planned, and financially, are as prepared as you can possibly be.

And really, getting laid off from this job will indeed be a blessing in the end: He really didn't care for the work (boring) nor did he find the environment very inspiring (Week 1: Team meeting was to discuss dress code, and the manager inspected all their shoes. HELLO; these are engineers with zero customer contact, you hire the guys for their attention to detail, not their footwear. Each week was some new story with a similar theme...not a happy place to send your spouse each day).

And me and my school concerns, will work themselves out....I know that...

But this note? It breaks my heart AND fills me with joy.

He's my quirky kid: the one who we were told when he was three that he has autism and will always have problems connecting with others.

Really? Because these days, he is so empathetic and concerned about others....to set aside his own wishes for Christmas and instead wish for something bigger for someone else?

That is HUGE...

And to read a letter written to Santa...the man who fills wishes...he's twelve...I thought he "knew".

Yet, here is proof that he still believes...and that is indeed so very magical

May you all find magic and joy in the eyes of your family. I know I already have...

Season of Joy: 19

Oh my...this is getting hard to keep up with.
No, not finding the joy...just remembering to check in on the blog.

Today's joy: came with a visit from one of my oldest/dearest/friends...Auntie Terri.
what a treat it is to spend the afternoon sipping tea and chatting...no need to get the house "company ready"...as Terri really is family. She's seen me at my best, my worst and everywhere in between.

Season of Joy: 18

Two words: Chex Mix
Yummy!

Season of Joy: 17

Oh my...was headed up to bed and realized..."the blog challenge".

Joy...nobody had homework tonight and hopefully, nobody will have homework during the Winter Break and track off that starts tomorrow.

Joy...in having 2 weeks of relaxed routine here around the house.

Triple joy would be had if they start to sleep in just a tad during the break...hey, a girl can always dream, right?

Season of Joy: 16

Tired...so very tired...

But I think for the first night in a long time, I shall sleep like a baby.

Today, I found joy in the concept of teamwork. Two projects came together with a perfect outcome. One involved some "elf work". (and OMG, if you met this sweet 5 yr old, you'd be beaming with joy knowing her Christmas morning is going to be so magical).

The other involved working together with my fellow RN-classmates.
At times I've questioned: do I really want to join the rat-race of nursing? Backstabbing and upstaging is very prevalent.
But not with these 11 classmates: everyone chimed in willing to help, voicing their opinions and creating a united front.

What amazing things can happen when we all work together....this is joy in action!

Season of Joy: 15

December 15th and I was able to run errands without a coat. Just a sweater and a t-shirt.

The joy of feeling the warmth of that sun....warming me up, melting away my worries.

Yep, the little red-haired orphan had it right...the sun will come tomorrow and really...as long as there is tomorrow...you can get through the troubles of today.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to my friends and family who checked in on me, listened to me whine and cry, and cry and whine. I know that indeed life isn't about what things we have, but rather the people we share our lives with! This truth? Fills my heart with joy!

Season of Joy: 14

Today? Not much joy to be found...(though I did have lunch with my pal Fran...that was good!)

So, instead, I shall share a joyful moment from last week.

Hubby and I took the "cheap date night" route....and as we sat on the couch side by side, munching popcorn and trying to keep track of who was scamming who (Duplicity: if you've seen it, you know what I"m talking about)......I realized how very lucky I am to call Dom "Hubby".

He fills my life with joy...and I know as long as we are together, we can weather whatever storm passes our way!

Season of Joy: 13

Today....not one but two fabulous parties here in the neighborhood.
A chance to visit with friends that I don't see nearly as often as I'd like.

Joy...was it the spicy buffalo dip that I had at Party A or the yummy cranberry treat I had at Party B.

Tis the season to enjoy countless tasty treats.........joy? More like YUMMY-JOY!

Season of Joy: 12

sorry, no 12 on the 12th. I accidentally left the camera hooked up to the computer and drained the battery. D'oh...

Today, I've finally gotten started on my favorite tradition of the season.

Christmas cards.

I know...call me a freak...but it is the one task I enjoy doing each year. And it was bumming me out that I hadn't gotten even a slight start on this project. I can scale back on the decorating, ease up on the baking and the shopping, but I just can't pass on sending out greetings to all my family and friends.

So today's joy came from getting this process well underway! Yeah me!

Season of Joy: 11

How do you know that perhaps this year's neighborhood Santa was a bit on the young side?

When he arrives at your house to board his sleigh (aka, Natasha) and he spots the t.v. on in our family room

"Cool! I love this show!" he proudly announced.

What show were the Things watching that caught Santa's eye you ask?

Why of course...Phineas and Ferb!

Joy...it comes from laughing as you watch Santa mesmerized by the antics of Phineas and Ferb. It comes from laughing with friends who call to check in on you and make sure you are bouncing back from your bad day.

Laughter...tis all good as long as you can still find something to laugh about!

Go...find the laughter of the Season!

Season of Joy: 10

The neighborhood Christmas party: a HUGE success...so many families came to visit and catch a glimpse of Santa.

It helped make a pretty lousy day end on a happier note.

Joy comes in knowing that tomorrow is a new day, a fresh start and that the disappointments of today will be less raw tomorrow.

Season of Joy: 9

The gift of friendship.... it fills my life all year long with joy.
But during Christmas season? It takes on magical proportions!

Today, a friend of mine offered to help make the magic of Christmas come alive for the daughter of a classmate of mine.

These two women have never met (though I plan to change that as soon as possible). That didn't matter. What mattered is one friend had a request that another friend could help out with.

Thank you, Dodi! Today? You were not only the source of my joy but the source of joy for a complete stranger as well.

Season of Joy: 8

Yesterday, the computer was making noises. By evening, it had progressed to the sounds of a cat stuck inside the hard drive. Since we have no cat, the conclusion was reached that the hard drive had died. Supporting evidence was found by Hubby, the network guru.

Today I bought the replacement drive...a bit sad that some data/photos were lost. Hubby is faithful about our monthly back ups so it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.

So, where is the joy in all this you ask?

When he came up proudly announcing..."It wasn't the D: drive....and your stuff is all stored on the D: drive. You are back in business".

Have I mentioned lately how much my Hubby fills our lives with joy? He is the m.a.n.!
Thanks, Honey!

Season of Joy: 7

Trust me, spending the day with "Lewis" is not where I'll find my joy...

Good thing I took time this weekend to fix the ultimate in Holiday snacks...

Homemade Caramel corn...just like Mom used to make!

I'd offer to share...but you better get here quick...it's going fast!

Season of Joy: 6

Is there anything better than a snowy Sunday?

Oh yeah...a snowy Sunday in December.



It really is beginning to look and feel a lot like Christmas!
Seeing silly smiles like this? You can't help but feel the joy!!!!
(well, once you thaw out from the cold...)

Season of Joy: 5

Class is winding down. Final exam is this coming Thursday.
Last night while surfing, I spotted a possible job that sounds like a good "fit" for me.
So today, I applied for my first nursing job in...almost 13 years?

While anxiety seems to be the prevailing emotion these days, there is a growing sense of joy in the knowledge that I know this is the right path to pursue for me and my family.

Season of Joy: 4

The Things each have a tree in their rooms. Small, pre-lit, but it's fun to see which ornaments they pick to display in their room.

Thing Two? First one he grabbed is my University of Wyoming ornament...and he proudly announces "I'm gonna go there, too!" (alumni pride and affordable? win-win)

Thing One...searches and searches. "Where's Yoda?". Um, not sure...if it's not in the ornament box, well...who knows where it might be. He promises to find something else as his first choice.
(my how far he's come...back in the day? he'd have obsessed over it for days, maybe weeks).

And then this afternoon...what do I find in another Christmas box? Yoda!
You should have seen the smile on his face.

Joy indeed....from watching your child follow in your footsteps (or at least promise to at the tender age of 10) to watching your other child learn to be a bit more flexible.

Season of Joy: 3

It's bitter cold here today and I would have preferred to have stayed home.
But, a few errands needed to be done. Off I went...bundled up as if it were...December (D'oh...it is....I forget after the recent mild weather we've enjoyed).

First stop: Rumbi Island Grill to get gift cards for the teacher gifts. The young fella, while ringing up my purchase for gift cards, gave me coupons for $5 off my next entree! Yes, folks, that is coupons. in the plural form. $25 worth of free food at Rumbi. Who wants to join me there for lunch? I might even share one of my coupons.

Next stop was the dreaded Wally World....I was waiting patiently behind a woman with a very large order. That wasn't so bad...it was watching the very new clerk ring up the order in record slow pace. Oh well, I thought to myself, it is a good time to check up on the trashy tabloids while I wait (did you hear about Tiger? Yeah...who would have guessed it...a celebrity athlete cheats on his spouse? Whodathunkit? Puhlease...just leave these people alone to figure out their messes without the world watching)

When out of nowhere appears a cashier and she says "I can help you over on lane 12!".

She laughed as I said "you made my day!"...which isn't really true....the dude at Rumbi that gave me all those coupons made my day...she? Was just the cherry on top!

Joy indeed....it can be found in that simple act of friendly service!

Season of Joy: 2

Thing Two: "Mom, you're the B.E.S.T.!"

what had I done to receive such praise?
I met him at school with sled and all the necessary gear to take a quick detour to the sledding hill before heading home and starting boring old homework.

His appreciation of this simple act...made my day!

'

Season of Joy: 1

The fact that the Things are actually old enough to "help" with the seasonal decorating gives me great joy.

Especially as I struggled to assemble the blasted Playmobil Advent thing-a-ma-jig.

Season of Joy: 1

Time for another personal challenge.

To find joy in the journey towards Christmas.

Little things, big things, favorite things....whatever comes to mind when it comes to Holiday Joy.

won't you join me in this challenge?

Each day, blog about something that gives you joy...I'm eager to see if I can turn my Bah Humbug mood around...