Happy Things

• My neighbor called today... her kids had been here playing for a couple of hours and she offered to have all our kids come over for lunch and play at her house so I could wrap presents! That's exactly what I did - the space under the tree is looking much fuller now!
• I was taking E. over to play at a friend's house a bit ago when he piped up from the backseat: "Mom, you know what's great about flashing shoes?" "What?" "When you're taking a walk with your Mom after dark, they light the way." That is cool, buddy.
• Yumm Sauce from Cafe Yumm in Eugene. My sister-in-law LaChel turned me on to this stuff when I was visiting a couple of years ago and brought me two jars for Christmas last week. My favorite lunch right now is plain chicken breast in a tortilla with lots of Yumm Sauce - it's de-spankin'-licious.
• Fudge. Lots of fudge.
• My new Williams-Sonoma Fennel kitchen candle. A gift from my wonderful boss, Kathy. It smells SO yummy.
• My favorite blanket. My girlfriend Brooke made me a fabulous, huge flannel quilted blanket a couple of years ago and I am literally wrapped in it all winter whenever I'm home. It keeps me so warm and makes me so happy.
• My Christmas tree. I'm all about white lights, and gold and crystal ornaments. I bought some new glass balls this year in chocolate brown and copper - it's just be-yoo-tee-ful.
• Stockings. I have so much fun buying things for my family. I love the little things they know will be in there each year - like new toothbrushes and bandaids to the chocolate orange in Asia's stocking. I get a new Yankee Candle every year and that makes me happy.
• Pumpkin Pie and Popcorn for Christmas eve dinner. Since K.'s birthday is on Christmas Eve, we always go out for a big birthday lunch and are never very hungry for dinner. We started this tradition a few years ago, and it's the yummiest combination I can think of.
• Advent. We are doing nightly advent readings with the kids and I love the anticipation of Christ's arrival - thinking of the little baby who changed the world and changes my heart each day... I love slowing down and taking the time to recognize the hugeness of that each evening around lit candles.
• Christmas cards. Not mine so much this year, since they are generic Target cards, but the ones I receive. I love seeing how our friends' kids have grown and hearing updates on their lives. We are blessed with so many special people in our lives.
• Breakfast for dinner. That's what we'll be having tonight, since I should be cooking right about now and am here blogging instead.
• Scrapbooking - I love my job, my hobby, my passion and my art. It's more than pictures and paper. It's my creative fuel and the oomph that pushes me to remember all the happy things in my life in a tangible way...
• Meeting Stacy Julian today... speaking of scrapbooking. This chick has changed scrapbooking in so many ways and for so many people. She came to the store today to chat with us and is so real and sweet and full of incredible ideas. I am inspired by her latest book as never before and can't wait to get to know her better. She's a Spokane girl - lucky us!
• My pup. I adore this silly dog. I even like the way she smells, and she smells like a dog. Go figure.
• Blogging. I love my bloggy friends. I love this daily prompt to record my life. I love that somebody - anybody - actually reads it.
• Asia's garage door. He doesn't have an opener and so sometimes I go out before he gets home from work and open it up for him... he started interpreting that as some sort of signal, a sign, if you will, of romantic availability. I don't know where that came from, but it's sort of fun to have this very silly and simple way to tell him I love him and he might just get lucky. After thirteen years of marriage, anything that adds spice is good, I say. Even if it's a garage door.
• Rain. I'm glad I don't live where it rains all the time anymore - but when it does rain here, I'm reminded of how much I like the sound of it.

Time to go open the garage door and get some pancakes started.