Advent ideas

Every year, I run into the same problem with Advent–what do I get? I try to strive for an average of $1 per gift. When the boys were little, matchbox cars were great. I've also purchased small Lego kits and split them apart to make it last longer (i.e. the person for one day, and the vehicle or other part the next). Now that the boys are older, cars don't really work and they already have tons of Legos. Last year, I started doing coupons that I made. This year, we came up with more ideas for the coupons because they were the biggest hit last year.

I've included some below in case you need ideas too. I have more designs and ideas too (like bake cookies, and Christmas Light Night). If you would like the word document, I can send them to you. If you have ideas to share, I'd love to hear them.
 

I Fought the Elf and the Elf Won

Having just served the boys breakfast and still a bit sleepy-eyed, I had yet to have breakfast myself, when Trent asked nicely if we could pleeeease get an elf.  "Mom,"he said sadly "everyone else has them."

But, we do Advent. We've always do Advent. The boys get a small gift every December day leading up to Christmas, which can get expensive I might add. 

So, what did I do? Did I tell him, "no, dear, you already get Advent"? No, I caved. I couldn't look at that sweet face that was asking so nicely, and tell him no. 

Now, I'm stuck with coming up with Advent ideas for 24 days as well as fun things to do with an Elf each night. Perhaps the elf will wake up one morning to an empty bottle of wine.

Photo Card

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Book Review: Chasing Fireflies

In the past year, I’ve read more than 26 books that I specifically remember. In addition, I read a number of chick lit, vampire thrillers, and unpublished manuscripts. Of all of those, Chasing Fireflies is one of my favorites.

The author, Charles Martin does a skillful job of interweaving several mysteries within the story while keeping the reader engaged. The story leads you through a range of emotions and keeps you guessing until the very end. However, I wouldn’t call it a thriller.

It’s marketed as a book of discovery, and that is certainly the case. But, it is so much more. After I finished reading the book, I reflected on the characters, their actions and the “what-ifs” long after I had finished reading the book. For me, that is a mark of a good book, and makes it one of the best I’ve read this past year.

The Happiness Project

Rubin focuses on love in February - how fitting (and cornily cute). She talks about the research that shows that marital bliss drops dramatically with babies and teenagers. Nothing new there although she adds some funny stories for us to chuckle about.

We are out of that stage since our boys are 9 and 7. We’re in the calm before the storm phase and living it up.

She talks about fighting right and all of the typical things you learn in communication and psych classes in college. Never say “you never” or “you always”. Blah, blah.

But, one thing that struck me as fascinating is that she came upon research that shows that time spent with women is the most reliable indicator of a person not being lonely. This holds true for both women and men. Time spent with men doesn’t make a difference.

I was so blown away by that nugget that I had to share with my husband.

His response after some clarifying questions?

“That’s awesome! So, you’re going to spend more time with your girlfriends, and I’m going to spend more time with your girlfriends! You get Fridays, I get Saturdays...”

Seriously! Men! I don’t know why I was so surprised. At least we had a good laugh before starting our day, and apparently, I get Fridays.

"The Happiness Project"

Okay, it isn’t all that bad. It’s an easy read and the author is surprisingly candid with a great self-effacing humor. One of the first things she tackles is clutter. I hate clutter myself, although you wouldn’t know it if you dropped by my house for an unexpected visit.

She sites all sorts of research backing up her data. I love research! She quotes all kinds of people. I love quotes too!! Reducing clutter is under the overall umbrella of increasing energy. She has the typical “go to sleep earlier” and “exercise better”, but the clutter was the one I found most interesting. According to Rubin, one study that she found said that reducing clutter can cut down the average amount of housework by 40 percent. What? Sign me up for that!

I cleaned out my dresser drawers and closet. It took a couple of hours, but I ended up with a HUGE black trash bag full of clothes for Goodwill and an almost equally huge pile of clothes for a garage sale that I keep saying I’m going to have.

A few weeks ago, the boys and I went through their playroom and culled toys that were broken or deemed “too babyish”. We came up with a couple of trash bags and a couple of moving boxes worth of stuff. The moving boxes have been sitting up in the loft waiting for us to have a free Saturday (yeah, right!).

So, with Thanksgiving company looming around the corner, we are having a garage sale this weekend! Woo-hoo!

It probably won’t have everything in the sale that needs to go in it, but hey, it’s a start.

And, for the record, it did make me happier!

Book Club entry

This month we have to read “The Happiness Project.” As you can probably guess, I’m less than enthused.

I’ve never been big on self-help books. They always seem to take 300 pages and a month of my time when I could’ve summed up the whole damn book in a paragraph. I like brevity when I’m reading; especially when I’m reading a book where I want to get the solution.

But, here we are. My book club voted and the majority rules. I promised that no matter what, that I would read the book that the club chooses.

I’m sure that a happiness project sounds like something I should be happy about, but I’m not. I’m not bitter, I’m not sad, I’m already happy. Why do I need to read 296 pages about another lady blathering on about trying to be happier? Sounds like trying to walk through mud with flip-flops and getting sprayed up the back with that fecal-smelling mud.

I’m already happy. I’m thankful every single day for my life, my husband, my boys, my family, my friends, and all of the things we have. I’m not sure how much happier this is going to make me, but I’ll give it a shot. There’s always room for improvement, right?

The author has divided her book into 12 parts. She will focus on improving her life in 12 areas - one for each month. I don’t have 12 months, I have 2 1/2 weeks to read this book, so whatever.

So, to break up the monotony of reading this book, I’m going to share with my two readers. Lucky you.