Tuesday, November 30, 2010

joyful, joyful we adore thee


grrr.  lost my post!  highly ironic, considering it's content!

so, THIS came to me in the night time, via email.  impeccable timing - never is it random, eh?  it has lead to some major thoughts pinging in my head.  mmmm.  thinking.  but I will take a pause to enjoy the coffee that my dear husband just walked into the house with.


I'm at home today - have a full physical booked with my dr.  fun.  super, duper fun!  so I've been finishing my christmas decorating.  the boys are assuming that there is candy in this advent calendar, but I actually hid my mini nativity pieces in it.  this is to coincide with the advent calendar I'll be doing with the kids this year:  THIS ONE!  lewis does good work and although he's not even sure how to explain the "christmas hens" sticker, I think it will be a good combination of teaching and celebration this advent season.



so, on the joy thing.  I need more joy.  joy in the anticipation of the season.  joy in slowing down and taking some deep breaths of cold air.  joy in giving.  joy in hospitality.  joy in belonging.  this season, as busy as it can get, needs to be reclaimed.  redone.  renewed.  so I am committing to one hundred joys.  [hashtag it on twitter #100joys]  I am also committing to a daily read through our devotional "reclaiming christmas".  one for my kids directly and two for me [and for my kids indirectly!!].  what can you commit to this advent season?

and I've asked it before, as it's becoming my focus question for this season, but what can you give to the King?  [y'all know that you are allowed to leave comments, right?  it's okay.  you can do it.  lol]

Monday, November 29, 2010

blister in the sun

well christmas exploded at our house.  we have people coming over on thursday night for a par-tay, so it needed to happen sooner than later!  with that and club tonight, I've been a busy girl!  I actually feel like I have my craft space set up in a way that I like.  or maybe more importantly, where I can find everything!  and I found my books.  and now they are nicely sitting on shelves.  I feel like this.  I like unpacking.  and sorting.  and throwing things in the trash.  and I like that christmas matches my house.  RED!  still have a tree to decorate, but that can happen tomorrow.

it was some kind of busy this past weekend - three birthday parties, a little football game, a soccer game, a sleepover and church.  phew.  it was busy, but it all got done.  this week and subsequently the weekend, are just as busy.  oh well, there isn't much I can do about it - I guess it's just a case of holding on for dear life and enjoying the ride.

and this quote from my lovely tv watching tonight is fairly appropriate:  "keep your wits sharp, your heart open and your gun loaded" [hetty from ncis: la]

ha!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

o come, o come emmanuel

on the eve of the night before the first sunday of advent, I've been trying to decide what to do to celebrate advent.  I really find that the christmas season, for as long as it is, is so bloomin' short.  I find it difficult to get into the spirit of the season - for me, I'm usually feeling it not until christmas eve, and then it's too late!  so this year, in an attempt  to put christ back into christmas, I am going to actively work at promoting advent in our house.  the four sundays leading up to christmas are going to be times to spend teaching the boys about giving.  not too sure what that's going to look like quite yet, since this sunday [tomorrow!] is grey cup sunday - I leave the house at 8am and won't see the kids again until after 9pm.  however, I could spend some time on monday.  busy is our current reality, so there isn't any purpose in fighting it.  but I can defer.  and reprioritize.  in the same vein, our church has created a daily devotional for the advent season.  if you go to the links on the right, there is one called "next".  then click on "our community" and there is a pdf file called "reclaiming christmas devotional 2010".  it's a great devotional for advent --- okay, not biased at all, considering I wrote two of the devotions.

so, to begin a celebration of sorts, a newish version of this old hymn:

Thursday, November 25, 2010

something greater

so I follow a few blogs.  no surprise.  really, I quote people ALL the time!  I found this post yesterday and I think I listened to this song five or six times.  you know when things happen at specific times for specific reasons?  I mean lots of times that happens, only occasionally we're aware of them happening.  yesterday, finding this song, was in some sort of perfect vortex of time and space.  I needed it right then.

your doubt will turn to knowing
your faith with turn to showing
and you will find your life
in something greater {m. thompson}

as much as it would be easy to believe that the world is random, I just can't believe that.  nothing is random.  everything is connected.  people.  events.  relationships.  a passing wave.  communities.  strangers.  there are reasons greater than my knowledge as to why I know you and why you know me.  I am toying with the idea that I have forgotten this.  taken advantage of it even.  chosen not to connect.  or reconnect.  not listened to my gut when I know I should have.  I'm veering a bit.  regardless, connection and meaning and purpose come from something greater.  something better.  and although I struggle with trusting myself and God in those moments of doubt and pain, I hear this song.  not the day before, not a day too late, but right in that correct, unrandom [just made up that word!] moment.  just being shown the sign again that I am not alone.  not random.  not unworthy.  another sign of grace.  another sign that God is calling my name.

and now I found this - Jeremiah 29:11b-14

"...I'll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. "When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen.  "When you come looking for me, you'll find me. "Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed." 

promises made to a different people in a different time, yet still relevant to me.  right here.  right now.  another sign.  I have a strong feeling that it's my time to start paying attention.  I have been asleep for far too long.  because these signs have always been there.  I just haven't been awake to see them.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

sing for me

and so it begins.  just a few more days left in november.  a few more days until the start of advent.  I want to celebrate advent with my kids this year, but I don't have anything formulated in my head yet.  I know I just have a few days to pull it together, but I am thinking that it may be an opportunity to mark a change in our traditions.  perhaps I need to scout out a wreath and some pillar candles - an easy fix that is a bit more sturdy than a traditional wreath.  that and a bible for each of the boys.  mmmmm.  see my head is moving.  I have great plans to set up christmas next week some time, but perhaps I will do it this weekend [between all the birthday parties, sleep overs and grey cup games!].

what do you do for advent?  how do you bring the real meaning of christmas home to your kids?

do I want to model a super hectic, super crazed, gift-based season?  no.  but that's what happens.  when really my focus needs to be "what can I bring to the king?".  I guess I have an opportunity to change it.  to redeem it for my kids.  to make it old-school.  things to ponder...

Monday, November 22, 2010

12:59 lullaby

generally I like mondays.  they are "get back into the swing of things" kinds of days.  today, not so much.  I am thinking it's a combination of super cold weather, a full moon and the damn riders making it to the grey cup, but what a start!

first, I am so incredibly thankful that john decided to make space in the garage for my wee car.  seriously, he texted me on saturday and I just about sat there and cried.  I hate my car [only in the winter!] when it's minus 30 and it takes half way to school just to get some heat happening.  it's a little tin bucket on wheels.  it's great for manoeuvring into little spaces [like my garage!!] and great for shifting down when you feel the slide happen under your tires, but it does not love the cold.  and my lovely husband cleared a big enough space for the wee wave to fit.  okay, so on the first try I couldn't open my doors, but he fixed that too!  so really, it never occurred to me, going from house to garage to car that it was MINUS 30 something outside.  yeah.  me in mittens, a vest and a sweater heading off down the henday to school.  S-M-A-R-T.  I think it was actually -35 with the windchill this morning [that's -31F, my american friends].  good, good times.  needless to say, we don't stay home from school on days like today.  oh no friends, we make our kids go to school, only we don't let them go outside to play.  that's right.  indoor recess.  all three of them.  sigh.  yeah, you see where this is going, right?  that and I was "in the office/teaching" all day.  good, good times.  LOL  now combine cold temperatures with the tail end of a full moon and we've got fun.  yeah, I may have torn a strip off a kid today.  no tolerance for crap.

wow.  that was a long "first".  and then there is football.  so john and I get to go to the grey cup on sunday.  the biggest party in canada.  the biggest football game in canada.  I've never been.  so we added on tickets to our season tickets this year, since edmonton is hosting.  I am super excited, but not so excited about my choices to cheer for.  they guys from the east or the guys who wear the wrong green.  and watermelons on their heads.  shit.  but it is suppose to warm up before sunday.  I can sit in the stands and drink hot chocolate if it's -5.  shucks, I may even enjoy some football at that temperature!  we're hoping to take the boys to the parade on saturday - hopefully we can make that happen.  being the mom of boys, with a sports-loving husband really means I'd better like sports too, because I'm going to be going along for the ride...I might as well enjoy it!

how was your monday??

Sunday, November 21, 2010

down by the riverside

I think I have a future blogger in my house.  ty came home with a journal on friday - something he can just work on, at his own pace at home.  yeah.  it's almost half full...all the things we did this weekend.  although I have to tell him how to spell most of the words, I don't help with the actual sentences or the illustrations.  nate never did this - never showed this much interest.  I LOVE THIS!!

 {I was build lego}

 {we are watching tv}

 {I went to a space science center}

{nate went to a soccer game}

the illustrations crack me up.  there are some SERIOUS hands on those soccer players.  and the eyes rock!!  he takes his journal and pencil everywhere.  the first two entries [not pictured!] were written in the car on the way home on friday after school.  the whole thing just warms my heart!

love you, ty-ty!
xoxo

Friday, November 19, 2010

uncloudy day

so tonight has been "camp-out" night.  the kids have a ton of blankets and pillows all over the floor and they are having a treehouse marathon.  well, one is asleep already, so poor ty doesn't count!  I had promised them earlier this week, so we'll see how they sleep tonight.  me, on the other hand, I am literally falling asleep as I write.  totally and utterly exhausted.  but report cards are done and out.  sigh.

okay, maybe profoundness will hit me tomorrow...off to bed, kids!
xoxo

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

hey jude

so today was an icky eating day.  except for tonight.  I discovered a new favourite.  okay, so I didn't really discover it today, but tonight, after my icky eating, I ate something clean.  lovely.  yummy.  I had bought some organic blue corn tortilla chips last week and tonight I had them with salsa and my new sour cream.  okay.  I've been eating fat-free sour cream for...well, forever.  so, in an effort to eat food that is better for me, I bought some locally made sour cream and yogert this week.  this stuff ROCKS!  it's not thinned out, runny crap.  it's yummy!  and only 60 cal for 2 tbsp.  give me this any day.



and I looked these guys up and they are my people.  yes, immigrated to Canada from Holland.  I like that.  plus, I can read all the ingredients on the label [okay, not the french part, but you get the idea!].  I like that too.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

hard day's night

okay, so I figured out what I did with my computer.  I apparently double downloaded something and I currently have two profiles.  my old one and my new one.  my old one has all my playlists.  and email folders.  my new one, the one I spent hours getting set up to my specifications - no playlists and no email folders.  grrr.  double grrr.  LOL

I seem to take the hard route all the time.  macs are suppose to be easy.  well, apparently, they are too easy for me so I make it complicated.  I think I do this more often than I care to recognize.  and I guess my relationship with my computer is a metaphor for my life.  am I really that sad and predictable?  yep.  absolutely.  ha!  it's all come down to this - a split external drive and a trash can and never enough space on the hard drive to function at full speed.  totally sounds like me.  lots of apps, not enough memory.  I could go on.

in other news, I registered for the hypo half yesterday.  yes, I am walking a half marathon at the end of february.  in edmonton.  I must be smoking something.  holy wowzers.  did 4k last night with our class and I'm heading to my mom & dad's tomorrow after school to do 3-4k on the treadmill.  so far so good.  okay, so it would help if the halloween chocolate would go away. a bit too tempting.  I can't just have one piece.  it yells at me to come back for more.  damn it.  other than the tuesday night indiscretions, my whole "clean eating" endeavour is going pretty well.  not perfect, but not awful either.  it's feeling better.  other than the full on sugar cravings.  oh well, a bit of a work in progress.  I am not giving up.

Monday, November 15, 2010

when you say nothing at all

just wanted to post this link tonight.  it kinda encompasses my thoughts today.  I wasn't going to blog at all today, yesterday still lingers in my heart and I feel weary - in a good way.  so I'm going to just shut up now.  and you...you go read THIS.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

redemption song

redemption.  what is that?  one definition I found said this:  "deliverance; rescue".

I just found a verse in Isaiah that jumped out at me.  God is talking to Israel, via Isaiah but today, perhaps today He's talking to me.  this is Isaiah 43:1b-4 [from the message]:
"Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you. I've called your name. You're mine. When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you. When you're in rough waters, you will not go down. When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead end— Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That's how much you mean to me! That's how much I love you! I'd sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you..."
redemption.  grace.  love.  maybe it's time to take my eyes off my unworthiness.  my inadequacies.  my imperfections.  this is a promise that is so rich, so pure, so deep that I have to give up.  I have to cave.  I talk a lot about grace. but there is a big part of me that struggles to get my head around that kind of love.  I struggle to accept that I'm worthy.  and then I see this  "...I'd sell off the world to get you back, trade the creation just for you..." and in this moment I feel more shamed that I can't accept grace than in the life I've lead up to this point.  so I think, no I know, that I need to surrender.  I need to give up the fight.  I need to process this - work through my head right now.  I wasn't sure how this post would develop.  and now I don't know how to end it.  I usually think through my head when I blog and now, as I blog, I need to do the reverse.  think about what I've written.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

waiting on an angel

so john and I are in jasper for the weekend.  it's his birthday on monday and I thought it'd be nice to get away, just the two of us.  we left after work yesterday and leave tomorrow morning.  so today we've just been hanging out, checking out the shops, getting coffee...that kind of fun stuff.  we're going for dinner tonight.  there may be wine involved.  this afternoon, I went for a walk by myself - with the running shoes, so it was a "for real" walk.  did about 4.5k.  I am suppose to do 7k this weekend, so if I add in the distance john and I walked this morning, I should be okay.  and hey, we have to walk to go for dinner this evening too, so I will be well over the 7k mark.  good times.


okay, and this lovely picture I took this morning.  john has been growing a moustache in support of "movember".  although he isn't raising money, he decided he'd grow one for moral support.  well the big joke in our house is that he looks like sgt. doakes from dexter.  and I think he looks like terrance howard from hustle & flow!  regardless, I'm glad this is a one month thing.  I am not too fond it!!


which one do you vote for??


Thursday, November 11, 2010

crazy

total procrastination.

I have a list a mile long of things that need to get done today.
1.  report card prep - they are due on wednesday.  I haven't started.  I know what needs to be written.  I know what I'm going to write.  yet I have nothing.  nada.  a stack of paper in my bag that really needs to find its way out.

2.  house cleaning.  my house is gross.  it's report card season.  see #1.  I have no good excuse, other than typically my house is shiny clean when I have real work to do.

3.  a walk.  my legs are sore.  yes, I'm complaining.

4.  laundry & packing.  should have thrown a load in this morning.  blah.

5.  grocery shopping.  legitimately, this one can wait until sunday.  so I'll let it.

6.  reading.  I have three books on the go right now and I should be reading instead of blogging.  never mind.  in all honesty, I should be reading instead of random internet surfing in starbucks.

bottom line, I am a bad procrastinator.  and I am awful at getting myself motivated.  kinda a double whammy.  procrastination without a clean house to show for it!!

okay, okay.  I'll get off my butt and get home and start the laundry and clean.  then I will have no excuse tonight to look at my report card stuff.

*sigh*

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

when the night feels my song

did a 3k tonight...30 lovely minutes of running and walking on the old treadmill.  it's good to be back in the race.  and it's good to be walking again.  and it was a good eating day too.  I totally stayed away from the chocolate and totally overdid it on the coffee!  HA!

and the remembrance day ceremony was a success.  I am lucky to work with such wonderful, flexible, supportive teachers.  seriously.  it's good to be in the room with soldiers currently serving and veterans who have served.  I had the honour of meeting a WW2 veteran today - a man who still had his joy.  it was a blessing to meet him.

and tomorrow, I am going to transcend coffee.  it's a bit of a coffee haven - with a whole lot of coffee love! I've had coffee everyday for the last few hundred days.  and in that time [okay, maybe a thousand days!] I have enjoyed good coffee, mediocre coffee, sludge [sorry, denny's!] and the absolute best cup of coffee I've ever had.  that would be the two days in a row, just a month ago, that I had an americano at seattle coffee works.  hands down the best coffee I've ever had [redundant, I know!].  well, transcend is the best I can find here in town.  SWEET!!

and then on friday after work, John and I are off to Jasper for the weekend.  alone.  no kids.  no laundry.  no floors that need to be washed.  nothing.  it's all good!

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

pollywog in a bog

if you're wondering, I'm in the b section tonight [and last] - the barenaked ladies.

so today was good.  and bad.  and now good again.  this whole "no sugar" thing is so incredibly good for me, but so incredibly difficult!  I held my ground all day and ate smart all day and really felt great.  I did a workout with my students this afternoon [HOLY AB WORK!].  then I picked up the kids and made dinner.  and this is where I went wrong.  I was right pissed at them and ate my stress.  ice cream.  then halloween candy.  which just spiralled into all sorts of cranky and nasty.  grrr.  the moral of the story:  when eat smart food and keep the sugar out I am a better, smarter, kinder person.  so after having a mini breakdown of stupidity, I drank some water, made a phone call, made some oatmeal and have just been sitting [and writing!].

and tomorrow will be super crazy, so my snacks are packed and I ma ready to go.  remembrance day ceremony at school tomorrow [my gig], appointment to see my counsellor tomorrow, go get ty in st albert, go for a run at my mom's...kinda glad thursday is a holiday.  and although I should be spending the weekend writing report cards, I get to spend it in Jasper with John.  good times.

good thing tomorrow is a new day.  fresh with no mistakes in it.  I like those kind of mercies - new every morning.

Monday, November 08, 2010

7 8 9

I should have written "7 ate 9".  that would be more fun!

so day one-ish of better eating.  overall good.  not perfect, but good.  I ate an apple today.  and carrots.  and a salad.  and a veggie burger.  and then I walked 4k in my first walking class tonight.  and I feel good.  there was also a gingersnap cookie this afternoon, but hey not perfect.

the whole re-training for a half marathon kind of scares me.  half marathons are brutal.  and amazing all at once.  I have a hard time training and managing my eating so that there is a balance between feeding my body and compensating for the huge amount of exercise - especially near the end.  oh well.  it's a good move and I'll might even manage two halves in 2011 for a total of one whole!!  I did that in 2009.  I could do a repeat performance.  I have a goal this time - a steady 9 minute kilometre.  that would put a finish time of around 3:15.  that would be happy.  I guess I'm not making a "work into it" plan but a full-on huge plan!  17 weeks until the hypo half.

okay, so really a boring day.  I have nothing else!  gonna go watch me some ace of cakes.  mmmmm.  cake.  mmmmm.  duff.  hehehe!

Sunday, November 07, 2010

double agent

this was my view this morning - via the ol' hipstimatic.  it was good music this morning.  a crisp sound, excellent vocals, kick-ass guitar.  most importantly, some really great worship.  I like when my fingers on the piano are an extension of my worship.


and these pictures are of the boys last weekend - they just make me smile.  they didn't make me smile tonight.  the boys, not the pictures.  I wanted to string them up by their fingernails tonight, but that's a whole different story!!  let's put it this way.  daylight savings time is great for me, bad for my kids.  their clocks are so off.  sigh.
\


okay, so none of my playlists moved over - all my music did, but not my playlists.  still a mystery.  so I have some music playing - artists starting with the letter s.  well a version of "o come, o come emmanuel" just came on.  I love that hymn and this version of it is really good.  sugarland.  and now some "ballroom blitz"!  so random.

so tomorrow I start a new walking class.  a half-marathon training class.  EEEEEKKKK!  I haven't done a half marathon in over a year.  and I've never trained in the winter before.  so I guess I'd better find all the winter gear even though there's not a speck of snow on the ground yet and it got up to 16 degrees at one point last week.  cold feet are never good.

and I started reading a book called "the eat clean diet" by tosca reno.  it was recommended to me and it totally aligns with my desire to cut out crap from my diet [no fake sugar, no high fructose corn syrup, no booze].  anyways, I've not read much yet, but it did motivate me to buy some groceries and actually cook for my family this week.  I've been on hiatus since thanksgiving.  it's time to start taking care of business in the kitchen.  I think I'm going to make a big pot of chilli tomorrow for supper.  yummo!

so whatcha all up to? [I had to switch the music out of the s section and into the a section...grrr!!]

Saturday, November 06, 2010

bad boys

no song titles.  nothing.  all I can say is that all my music had better transfer over from my time capsule.  I am the proud owner of a completely rusted, dead macbook.  yes, you heard it.  it gave a little sigh of a last breath this morning only to stop breathing all together.  turns out, when I had a mishap with some hot chocolate last fall, the damage was way deeper than just a mucked up disc drive.  there was dried up hot chocolate all up inside my lovely.  so yes, death by hot chocolate.

so, I went to the apple store tonight, picked up my dead mac and came home with a new macbook.  the same one I had, only newer.  and although I am thrououly struggling to get everything transfered over from my backup files, I am hopeful that it will all be well.

then, as I bought a peppermint hot chocolate to commemorate the passing of my companion, I had a thought on the brands I love and support and get generally mocked for.

starbucks and apple.  why do I love these brands?  it's more than just the product - and yes I adore their products.  it's also the experience.  both starbucks and apple have created an experience for their customers.  an experience that is relational and connective.  and cool.  there is a language that each employs.  and a culture.  when I stand in the apple store in my hometown, it is identical to the apple store in vegas.  and in vancouver.  and the people are equally as enjoyable to talk to.  they call me by my name and don't treat me like I'm stupid.  this is good customer service and excellent branding.  starbucks has, in essence, done the same thing.  a triple grande non-fat gingerbread latte is the same here as it is everywhere else.  and when I order a coffee in edmonton and reload the card I bought in pike place, I can have a conversation with the barrista and a laugh and just enjoy the connection.

so why can't we do this with church?  poor branding is killing us.

Thursday, November 04, 2010

unarmed

holy depressing post yesterday, batman.  today - more sick, less funk.  ha!  okay, maybe it's the same funk with just a less pms and a less negative perspective.  and today, I tried to spend some time thinking and thanking for the things that I am grateful for.  I'll list a few:

1|  good friends who keep me accountable - physically, emotionally, spiritually.
2|  phenomenal colleagues who keep me humble
3|  insightful conversations with my husband - the unplanned, well timed kind
4|  my health.  it's a cold.  perspective is necessary here.
5|  grace.  when I feel unworthy, it's there.  when I need it, it's there.  when I am proud, it's there.
6|  ty and hubba bubba bubble gum.  he's been working hard on blowing "for real" bubbles and he finally has it.  LOVE!
7|  and a few quiet minutes where the house is clean, the boys are fed and I can just sit and reflect.

I could go on.  really I could.  but my short break is just that - short...
xoxo

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

aim snap fall

what happens when you have nothing.  no motivation.  no resolve.  nothing.  I am barely able to be nice at this point.  and yes, my body is fighting a full on cold.  and my head hasn't really been in the game for a couple of weeks now.  but usually I can talk myself out of the fog.  having a hard time getting out of this funk.  I feel really blah.

and honestly, I feel really judgmental.  which, in all honesty, comes from pride.  like somehow I have a tiny corner of my world figured out.  ha.  that's a joke.  I feel like in as much as I am in need of some serious grace, I am having a hard time giving it.  I am not gracious to my co-workers.  I am not even that gracious to my family.  I am in a place of pride.  arrogance.  which really is an off place for me, not because I'm capable of it, but just out of sheer irony.  I feel like I pendulum between a place of self-loathing [also pride driven] to a place of arrogance [totally pride driven].  like I live ty's new motto, "no one is the boss of me except me."  which translates to I know best.  okay.  BIG FAT LIE.  I'm not doing a great job with my life.  I am down right sucky at that.  so instead of dealing with my shit, I judge others while I'm stuffing my face with candy.  so hypocritical.  on so many levels.  yet, I am not ready/able/willing to get my sorry butt out of the driver's seat.  I am so worried about what God will ask of me if I give him control.  yet I know he is just asking me to trust.  give up.  give in.  let go.  give up my burden and find rest.  but oh no.  I think I know best.  pride.  I am hurtful and unkind to others and to myself.  and I am miserable, feeling unworthy.  alone.

and yet through all of it, there is grace.  and arms holding on to me for dear life.  and me just praying that he doesn't let go, even though I am totally fighting.

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

sweet talk



yes.  it's that time again.  red, lovely cups from starbucks.  christmas got unpacked and showed up this morning.  mmmmm.  the first gingerbread latte of the season.  super lovely.

day two of the sixty day challenge.  I HATE HALLOWEEN CANDY!!!  it's my nemesis.  it says, "look at me!  I'm so small!  you can eat 15 000 of me...hahahaha!!!!"  no really.  small candy screams this at me all the time.  and apparently I'm not smart enough to look at it and say [loudly], "LIAR!!".  damn you candy.  okay, so a bad start to the challenge.  tomorrow can be different, right?  grrrr.  maybe today I aim for 9 hrs of sleep tonight and another bottle of water.  THAT would redeem my day.