Nothing tells you that it’s gonna be a good day quite like having your breakfast plate smile at you as you’re putting it in the sink.  But isn’t it the little things that make us smile the most?  These pretty little blooms made me smile at the store at lunch today. Might have to go…

Anytime I’ve heard the name “Costco”, generally images of 500-roll toilet paper packs and 10 gallon drums of spaghetti sauce* have come to mind. Admittedly I had absolutely nothing to base this on, however, because I’d never set foot in one. That is, until today. True to form, they had doublewide carts that would accommodate…

I’m going to be honest. It’s kind of cool to work at a place that you get to walk by one of these as you walk into the lunchroom. But this isn’t just any old nativity. For decades, this nativity was a holiday staple in the chapel at our (my employer’s) sponsoring congregation’s mother house. A…

Country Bear Jamboree now has a cheery, sparkling red bow that lights up and a very sweet message. Poor baby has had a rough way to go. Awhile back, some knucklehead vandalized this beloved bear, setting him on fire at the base. Fortunately the fire was put out before the bear was destroyed, but he was…

A lunchtime purchase based on a suh-weet tip from a wonderful friend.  Thank you, Amy! Merry Christmas to me! An after work trip to the grocery store was off to a funny start with this guy in the parking lot. His big mug fogged up the window every time he breathed. We felt bad because…

In case it’s hard to tell, our weird cat is napping on the arm of our sofa with his face smashed into the back cushion. I’m chalking it up to the fact that he’s tired of watching football, but no one knows for sure why he does this. Another popular theory is that he’s pouting…

“Be thankful for the mess to clean up afterwards because it means you are surrounded by friends, the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means you are well fed, the lawn that needs mowing because it means you have a home, and the aching muscles at the end of the day because…

Stoner Snow People and Santa made me smile in the midst of grocery shopping chaos.  And after two and a half hours of scouring the entire store (several times over) and checking items off my Thanksgiving dinner shopping list, smiles were a very, very good thing.  Some other things that make me smile:  – finally…

If these were made for adult heads, not only would I have bought one, I would have worn it in the store. Man, kids get all the cool stuff.  

Glimpses from a lovely art exhibit that a few of us from the office visited over yesterday’s lunch hour.  Everything was created from objects that the artist fished out of rivers.  It’s amazing how people can see things so differently.  Some people would look at these found objects as trash.  This woman looked at these…

Hello, friend.

Our kitties don’t like Hello Kitties.  This is as close as Murphy has gotten to my slippers.  Violet hasn’t even gotten close enough for me to frame a photo.  But look who Murphy does like. A whole bunch. We’re all hunkered down watching Work of Art on Bravo.  Which reminds me. I’m super stoked because…

The gap between Halloween and Thanksgiving is so weird.  Above? Signs of fall from my driveway. (A lovely gradient, no?) Below? Signs of spring at my office.  On the way home from work? Signs of winter. Full-on Christmas decorations lit up two different houses whose halls were un-decked this morning. 70 degrees today, 50 tomorrow….

When bad after-Christmas sales happen to good people. I’m sorry, but I thought this deserved its own post. I saw this yard on the way home from Illinois this morning. The photo simply does not do this justice. Although the photo has allowed me the opportunity to play “guess which ones don’t belong” now that…

What was originally intended to be a train trip this weekend turned out to be a road trip in the car instead. Destination: Normal, Illinois to see Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey. I’d decided against the train at the last minute because I had no idea about the area where I was being dumped out. What a…

In honor of the 42nd anniversary of Sesame Street’s television debut.  A darling remake of a darling song. Appropriately, this is on my agenda for this weekend. And a train ride to take me there.  Adventure!

Look who the postman brought to our front door today. Hello, Kitty and Chococat! “Why?” you might ask. Honestly, because I can’t help myself.  For 19 years I’ve been raising boys.  Buying boy clothes. Boy toys. Boy sports equipment. Boy haircuts. And the other kids in my family?  Oh, please. More boys. I can’t even live…

I have no problem admitting that this big, empty chair made me totally giddy today. I’m (ahem) years old and the number of years my kids haven’t believed in Santa far outnumbers the years they did, but this still feels magical to me. Seeing little kids waiting in line to see Santa is probably the…

“That nothing is static or fixed, that all is fleeting and impermanent, is the first mark of existence…Everything—every tree, every blade of grass, all the animals, insects, human beings, buildings, the animate and the inanimate—is always changing, moment to moment.” – Pema Chodron An interesting lesson was learned today as a result of what I…

…53 days until Christmas! And guess what?  I already have a few gifts out of the way.  This is HUGE for me. I’m typically a last minute shopping kind of girl.  This is the best time of year.  Got my Thanksgiving menu planned, working on Christmas plans.  Bring on the holidays, baby!

Today is the coolest day! For starters, it’s Binary Day — 11/1/11 (Next Binary Day: 11/11/11. (Drew’s birthday!) Next Binary Day: the year 2100) Today is also: – El dia de los muertos  (or Day of the Dead for those of us who didn’t fare so well in high school Spanish) and – Hello Kitty’s birthday…