right now...

right now i am:

::thinking how fun it will be for my little girl to be a flower girl in just 2 weeks.
::enjoying a new to me iphone. thanks to the new 4s coming out, i get his old one. i love it!, especially when compared to my dinosaur phone.
::enjoying the lights of our christmas tree. i love this time of year.
::preparing for a cookie exchange and norwex party at a friend's house tonight. (have you tried norwex? thoughts?)
::treasuring these days at home with my sweet family.
::thanking God for good health.
::listening to norah jones on pandora. what an amazing voice she has!
::thinking i should run today, but it's 32 degrees and windy. looks like a treadmill kind-of-day to me.

random update

• we're still loving all things pumpkin here. i made these last night for church, and they were a hit. highly recommend!

• looking forward to reading this book as a family every night for advent this year. i've heard so many good things about it!

• the tree isn't up yet, but i am slowly getting some things out. i think we're going to have a real tree for the first time this year. our 6 foot tree looked so funny in this house last year because of the high vaulted ceilings. it made our tree look like a little charlie brown tree. pretty funny. so, whatever tree we get will have to be pretty tall to fit the space.                                               
• i found this idea on pinterest last week. it was super easy. i just covered a plain bulletin board with a painter's drop cloth from lowe's (you could use any fabric), then used a staple gun to secure it, and added upholstery tacks. they aren't spaced perfectly, but i still like it. it's been a great place to keep some of the ever-changing art work from the kids.

i've been slacking on getting my runs in. i'm such a fair weather runner, but i wasn't always that way. in 1999, somehow i survived training for my first marathon in the winter. my friend kelly and i trained dec-may. we ran in all kinds of conditions, and we would often finish our runs with frozen eyelashes. i'm cold just thinking about it.
i'm a wimp now. it's time to break out the treadmill.
as much as i dislike that thing, i'm thankful to have one.

in other news, i caved and joined pinterest. i love it! i am amazed at the endless supply of ideas. some people are just so creative! i especially love getting ideas for recipes, decorating, and fun things to do with the kids. someday when we get to remodel our kitchen, i will be prepared with lots of ideas. you can follow me here, if you're interested.

i really want to put up the christmas tree! i love everything about christmas (well, except the crabby customers and extreme consumerism), but i'm making myself wait until after thanksgiving.
counting down the days until i get to see my sister. it's been a year, which is much.too.long!

wow. can you believe it's almost thanksgiving?!

i'm spending the evening cooking and baking tonight to prepare for a family thanksgiving tomorrow.
i'm making these rolls. i love this recipe! yeast rolls can be tricky, but this recipe is no-fail.

also making this pumpkin pie. it has become a tradition. it's not a typical pumpkin pie, which is probably why i like it so much. anything with cream cheese has to be good. right?!

today i am thankful for:

• my boy that turns 11 tomorrow. 
• a gloomy day spent inside a warm house doing school with my girls.
• honeycrisp apples - definitely my favorite! (i need to make apple crisp sometime)
• my sister and nephew coming back to visit for thanksgiving (can't wait!)

• the new kittens - so fun to see the kids so excited, especially after losing our dog Maggie this year.