I am thankful for Stuffing and for gravy....

AND FOR ALUMINUM FOIL HATS that keep mom and ann from cheating in eucher!


and for a few great days at the cabin with the fam :)

for "the stupid face" that makes me laugh every time

for knowing that life will always surprise me - ORGANIC BATTER BLASTER - pancake batter in a can!

for stealing someone elses sweet shoes

for a husband who loves squirrels. Meet Theodore.

for the lovely day at the cider mill wandering out in the corn fields picking these stalks with Crys, Emily & Dan...and especially for finding a great way to recycle them as Thanksgiving decor!

For our "woodland harvest" friends :) Meet Humphrey...

Winston....

and George.

for the italian plums mom bought me that we got to eat on top of heart shaped waffles!

for the smell of coffee

for great freebies (near the dumpster) that can be recycled for great use! shoe rack!!!

for delicious candy cane lane tea :)

for finding the cool organic idea of using rice as a vase filler which made my soaps look soooo much nicer in their glass canister

for the delicious apple spice waffles with pecans that we found and really enjoyed one sunday together :) and for mom making sunday breakfasts a big deal so that it became a tradition in my family now too

for the ability to go for long walks in the middle of the day at the parks to watch the seasons change ....cozy.

SpOoKsViLLE

Dan and I have been in such a festive mood lately! We were so excited for Autumn and the *HoLiDaYs* to start that we made a list of festive activities we wanted to make sure to fit in our free time!

1. Visit a cider mill and eat way too many yummy cinnamon & sugar donuts and cider!

2. Buy lots of apples and make pot after pot of chunky homemade applesauce

3. Watch ancient episodes of Are You Afraid Of The Dark on YouTube on Sunday nights.

4. Sit in a graveyard with a mug of hot tea and a book of scary stories and read to each other.

5. Carve pumpkins - white ones!

6. Go for a long bike ride/walk through pretty colored trees

So, so far we have done all of those things except the one in the graveyard which we plan to do on Halloween weekend :)

Last weekend we bought a faux pumpkin from Michael's (for 60% off!) and I monogrammed it for us in spooky letters - Daniel's brilliant idea. And, since our apartment has NOOOO storage space I had no decorations here except a few I brought with me for Christmas when we moved in. So, I went to the dollar store and found these really awesome glittered black skulls, a skeleton, a corny chandelier and place mats for the kitchen... and some spiders from Tar-jay. I snagged some gnarly looking branches when I went on a walk in the woods and with the help of a few of my salvation army candlesticks and a few black candles around the house, I turned our tiny apartment into a frighteningly festive space!

UPDATES!

My good friend Emily was telling me about her favorite fruit - the passion fruit. She had them in Cambodia on a trip with her school. I was super excited to try them after her talk and so I went to the store and bought one for Dan and I to share. I thought id share what they looked like inside so you could see how strange it was! It was super sweet and tart at the same time - very yummy!

My quirky little gift to M2 for her birthday coming up!

At the apple orchard with Daniel, M2 & D2. We enjoyed wayyyyyy to much cider and donuts!! :)

Latest fun with the TA! Fixing the transmission - we did it ourselves! Big job!

this buggers heavy!This is where she came from - that's the pressure plate, i learned.

:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTjMp2pmvH8

Gratitude, Love, Inspiration

Deep inside I harbor an undying spirit of hope and enthusiasm for the experience of life. I am at my most fulfilled when I am sharing that spirit and connecting it to other people's. I love the experience of seeing other's enthusiasm and spirit for life enliven and watching their tiny flame grow bigger and brighter. I am very grateful to have attracted a few profoundly passionate people in my life who have helped my own flame blaze. Here is someone I just came across who I am moved by and would love to share with you.

NICK VUJICIC
(please click above)