I am resolute

In the past I've made resolutions, but only stuck to them halfway. More of a convenience resolution than something I truly committed to. You know the kind - you keep the resolution when it is convenient for you.

So, keeping it real (& positive) & looking into the 2010 crystal ball, I foresee....

1. Spending a week with Mr. Potts somewhere tropical in celebration of his 35th birthday. My rock is getting OLD - Ha! Somewhere like this. Which I may never want to leave.

2. Continuing on my health makeover. When I look at pictures taken over the past year, it is really telling to me to see how much I've slimmed down. I'm really embarassed to post this first picture, but I have to face the fact: My God, my face was fat (as well as the rest of me)!

3. In keeping with my health makeover, I want to engage in at least 4 sweat sessions a week at the gym. I'm talking like a hoor in church sweating, not a pretty little glistening.

4. I think I'd like to try yoga or pilates. This may be a convenience resolution more so than one that I'll actually try. At least I'm honest.

5. I want to continue to expand my wardrobe to be a more mature version of me. One that tells people I'm serious & smart. You know, the kind of looks that Mad Men has promoted. Like this from the clothing menu.

I think these are enough to keep me busy through 2010. Any resolutions for you?

Happy New Year to you all!!

What I've learned...

As 2009 is coming to a close, I've been thinking about what I've learned this year and thought I'd share some of these with you.

I've come to realize that I am a comfort eater. I eat when stressed, upset, unhappy, happy (who doesn't like to celebrate a major accomplishment with a great meal & a bottle or four of wine?) and even tired.

From this, I've learned that I need to be aware of what I eat & the reason I'm eating. Truthfully looking at my eating habits with a sharp eye has made an impact on my weight. I'm fitting into pants I hadn't worn in quite a while.

I'm also seriously upset that I cleaned out my closets a few months prior to this realization & gave some wonderful clothes away.

I've learned that zipping up a pair of pants I haven't worn in over a year and having them fit is one of the best feelings in the world.

I've learned that I can indulge in the things I like, but keep the portion small. Like a bite or two. I've also learned that if I keep the things I really like (vanilla bean ice cream) in large sizes in my home, I'll probably end up eating more than one serving.

I learned who in my life I can trust with the important things. These people are few, which if I'm honest, it a good thing. There are things that I don't feel comfortable sharing with a whole crowd of people.

I've learned that some of my uber healthy meals are also super yummy! Not the holiday party food, though. Not at all!

I keep learning just how wonderful Mr. Potts is for me. He has amazed me with his strength and honesty. He's stepped up to the plate when I've broken down in tears & didn't know how to take another step.

I've learned that the love I feel for my munchkins far exceeds the love I thought I'd feel for them. I've also learned that my disgust for MOTY exceeds anything I thought possible.

I've learned that my relationship with my mom has shifted so that I am more of a caretaker. I've learned I'm ok with this shift.

I've learned that getting up at 4:40 in the morning sucks! But if I do it, I'm done with the gym all day!

I've learned that you shouldn't eat certain foods that make you gassy if you're going to work out first thing in the morning - yes, you, Mrs. "I cover the timer on the elliptical so you can't see I've been on it for way over the 30 minute maximum when people are waiting" Stinky Pants.

I've learned that a Fiber One bar late in the afternoon before you head to a super kick butt Cardio Sculpt class is a horrible idea.

I've met so many wonderful people through blogging & learned that I love it!

What have you learned this year?

Christmas Giveaway Winner!

I'm sorry to have been absent the last few days. Work has been absolutely nutso & the thought of turning on my laptop when I get home makes me want to pull my hair out. Which would be bad, since it has finally grown to a length I like.

With no further ado (or worries about my hair being patchy), the winner of my Christmas giveaway is Katie of The Perks!

Congratulations Katie! Please email me with your name & mailing information & I'll get your gift off to you as soon as possible.

Merry Christmas!

You could also have titled this post, "I ate too much and drank too many mimosas. THAT is why I needed a 3 hour nap this afternoon."

Hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed your time with your loved ones.

Our Tree Topper

We searched high.

We searched low.

We couldn't find a tree topper that we loved. We could have gone with an ok one that we could live with, but we didn't want that for our first tree.

We wanted one that would be our for years to come.

One that we'd look up at, smile and say, "Remember when we found that?"

On a mission today to find table place mats & napkins for our new table, we found it.

The only one in the store. Sold out online.

Our new tree topper.

Happy Christmas Eve to you all.

A view of our home

Happy Wednesday lovelies! Don't forget that you have a few days left to enter my final Christmas Giveaway!

Aren't you so glad that Christmas is almost here? I'm so excited for my niece & nephew to open their presents. They're going to be so excited about it all.

Yesterday Christmas came a little early again for Mr. Potts & me. Our new table was delivered! We were both sad that it wasn't here in time for our party, but oh so happy that it is here for Christmas!!

Being as excited as I am (which is just normal for me - I am easily amused & stay pretty happy) I wanted to show you a few pictures. I realized I haven't taken any of our home, so I decided that I must share some with you as well.

The first thing you'll see when you come to our home - our front door. We both loved this wreath & knew it would be perfect!
Our entry way table (color in the downstairs is Melted Butter).

A close up of our little tree.
The view from our kitchen counter looking over the table into the living room. The wine stopper is a yellow lab with a cute Christmas headpiece (a little bone).
Front view of our new table - LOVE IT!!
The platter on the table now. We bought it for ourselves last year in celebration of 2008.
Pepe Cat thought the table was interesting & wanted to check it out.

I hope that your Wednesday will be wonderful and that you do not have any shopping left to do!

Raindrops on Roses & Whiskers on Kittens....

As promised, a few pictures from our party. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who didn't take many pictures.

Mr. Potts & me - I wore the sweater I picked up from Banana last week (40% off!).

Inside our home, with our pretty tree all lit up (and a table full of food!).

Our bartender had everyone clamoring for drinks. Take a guess who got this drink - perhaps the hostess??

As mentioned yesterday, there is one final giveaway in my Christmas Giveaway series. As the title suggests, this will be a giveaway of my favorite things. I promise, you won't be disappointed.

What's in store for you? How about a sneak peak.

Hope in a Jar is my favorite moisturizer for a reason. It keeps my skin from flaking & keeps it feeling supple when I'm up in the cold (COLD, COLD, COLD) New England weather.

A small size of this (.5 oz) is just one part of this giveaway.


I've raved about Moroccan Oil (as have other bloggers I know) & I knew I'd have to include a small bottle of this in my favorite things for Christmas.

There is more to be included in this.

Now, how to enter & earn entries?

One Entry: Comment on this post. Perhaps let me know what you're most hoping for for Christmas.

Additional Entries (one entry per item):

• Let me know you're a follower (or become one if you aren't already)
  
• Blog about this on your blog
  
• For each person you refer, you'll get an additional entry (make sure they tell you sent them)
  

I'll close the giveaway on Christmas (this Friday) & announce the winner on Monday, December 28th.

Happy Tuesday!!

Monday, Monday

I am singing U2's Bloody Sunday in my head right now, only the lyrics truly are, "Monday, Bloody Monday." I sing this in my head in exasperation with people I work with who wait until the last minute to complete things & then expect me to sweep in with my sparkly pink tutu on, shake my wand over their head, sprinkle a little fairy dust on their computers & *poof* make everything better. Like magic.

I wish. Or maybe I TRULY wish that people would *poof* disappear. Like magic.

So - enough with my little rant.

We had a wonderful weekend. The party was a HUGE success. We had tons of people, loads of yummy food, a bartender pouring yummy drinks (very cleverly named, too) and a good time had by all.

I'd share pictures with you, but I didn't take any (I know - I was the hostess with the mostest & was taking care of my guests). I'll have to snag some from friends. Promise!

We indulged in:

Buffalo Chicken Dip
Stuffed Jalapenos wrapped in Bacon
Holiday Roasted Nuts
Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Spread
Roasted Turkey with Sweet & Spicy Mustard
Sausage Balls

All yummy in the tummy! If you're interested in any of the recipes, please let me know & I'll be happy to share them.

My week is sure to be crazy, so please forgive the limited commenting.

I have a giveaway coming up this week that will be the final one for 2009.

Happy Monday????

Fabulous Friday!

Happy Friday Everyone! It's here - another edition of Fabulous Friday! A highlight of all things fabulous that I've stumbled across over the course of this week (in no particular order, of course!) or even fond memories I have stored in my brain.

Since I know you're all eagerly awaiting this, the winner of yesterday's third Christmas Giveaway is d.a.r. of Just Another Day in Paradise!

d.a.r. was one of the first bloggers I began following when I started my blog. I loved reading her successes while her husband was away (thank you d.a.r.'s Hubby!) and I'll admit, being the emotional person that I am, I may have shed a tear (or 25+) when she wrote about her hubby coming home. And she loves shells & cheese - just like me!

d.a.r., please email me & send me your address so that I can get things mailed off to you.

I truly love Marie Claire, so much so, that I picked 3 additional winners to receive a year's subscription.

Brown Girl, Brown Eyed Girl & Kiwi s & Cocktails Ashley, please email me so I can get your subscription started!

Fabulous Friday kicks off with this sweater I found at Banana Republic & snagged for 40% off. Love it! I was freezing cold in Maine & all I could think of was staying warm. This fit the bill.
Cashmere sweaters at 40% off. Yes please!! Sweater for Mr. Potts - yep, you guessed it, 40% off.

You guys, I'm home, but exhausted. I'm finally warming up after freezing all week. I've got some prep work to do for our party tomorrow night. I'll make sure to share the snacks in a later post.

You'll forgive me if this is a short Fabulous Friday?
Happy Friday!

8 Degrees

I'm not a cold weather type of girl. I much prefer warm weather when the sun hits your face and spreads a glow of happiness.

I'm not the type of girl who gets giddy thinking about skiing or snow-related sports. Put me on a boat in warm water and I'm happy.

Knowing this, I still happily accepted a job a little over two years ago that would regularly have me in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Maine, where currently the temperature is 8 degrees. With wind chill pushing that down to twelve below zero. Where the high today is forecast for 10-15 degrees. With wind chill pushing that down to around zero.

Hmmmm....irony much?

Either way, it is Thursday. This means time for the third giveaway in my month of Christmas giveaway series.

How it works? Today only you have a chance to win simply by commenting on this post. I'll "draw" (because we all know most of us use random.org).

Today, since it's so cold, this is for everyone who luxuriates in the idea of being cozy & comfy - you know, doing things you can do indoors.

What do you have a chance to win?

First up: a year subscription to Marie Claire. Fabulous magazine which gives us a glimpse of the pretties, but also hair inspiration, makeup must haves & real life stories which will inspire you.


Part two? Even more reason to cozy up - a $25 Barnes & Noble Gift Card. Looking for the next big book? Find it here. Looking to peruse a new cookbook? Find it here.

To enter simply comment on this post today, perhaps sharing whether you're a cold weather or warm weather type of girl & what you like to do in said weather.

Happy Thursday everyone! Almost Friday & Friday I'm on my way home.

Where in the World Wednesday

What a whirlwind Wednesday (if I were an alliteration expert, I'd be tooting my own horn right about now)! My week has been crazy busy here in Northern New England.

It's Wednesday and that means it's time for Classy in Philadelphia's feature, Where In The World Wednesday!The idea of WITWW is to post a picture of you in someplace in the world...it doesn't have to be somewhere foreign or tropical. Just a picture of you somewhere that you consider traveling.

Mr. Potts & I were in New Orleans for his first trip there (look how long my hair was!) and I took him to the Rivershack to enjoy some Abita beer, fried pickles (best ever!) & great bar stools!

I had told him about how wonderful the place is (really, it is such a dive, but is such great fun) & he loved it! Especially the bar stools.


New Orleans was (and always is) wonderful & he fell in love with the city. This made me incredibly happy since I love the city as well.

A view of our tree

When we decorated our tree on Saturday we put up ornaments that have never been used before.

When Mr. Potts and I were first married, we spent the first Christmas with his family. I've mentioned before that his Meme (Grandmother) is now mine.

When she asked what we'd like for Christmas I asked for a set of ornaments. Specifically, The Twelve Days of Christmas. I had in mind the Crate and Barrel 12 Days of Christmas ornament collection.

I'm so glad that is not what she chose.

Instead, she found The 12 Days of Christmas that put those I had picked out to shame.

When I opened the box on Saturday, my sweet niece oohed & ahhed. "Aunt Mrs. Potts!!! They're beoootifuuullllll!"

My precious nephew echoed the sentiment, "Boootifuuullll!"

Of course, they had to supervise where these went. I tried to capture some of the detail to share with you. I hope you can see them (I think the "5" showed up the best).

12 Pipers Piping

9 Ladies Dancing

8 Maids a Milking

7 Swans a Swimming

FIIIIIVVVEEEEE Golden RINNGGGGSSSS!

A few other faves on the tree.

Precious nephew loved the car.
One of my faves - the pretty kissy fishy! Without flash/with flash.


What are some of your favorite ornaments on your tree?

Weekend Recap OR The Tale of the Christmas Tree Decorating, Cookie Making (we forgot about the hot chocolate drinking) Weekend Extravaganza

This past weekend was such a joyful one. It completely filled my heart with love and joy. Which, if we ask ourselves a question, isn't that what we should feel during this time of the year?

My sweet niece and nephew came over with Mama on Saturday early afternoon. I had already been baking some cookies so they'd be cool for icing.

What fun we had! Stockings, snowmen, stars, trees & bells. All iced and sprinkled with abandon. My niece was so proud of her creations & wanted Mr. Potts to eat them all! Isn't her stocking wonderful?
My nephew would eat them as he iced them. No worries - we didn't plan to share the ones he made with anyone!
We finally decorated our tree after we were finished (for the moment) with the cookies and after eating a bit of beef stew. My niece would direct the placement of the ornaments on the higher branches & took care of the lower branches herself.

My nephew was enamored with a particular ornament of Mr. Potts - a "Grill Master" ornament - so cute!I only did a few minor adjustments & only when she wasn't looking!

They were so proud of their tree. They both told me that our tree was going to be the most beautiful tree ever.

You see, this tree is really as much their tree as it is mine & Mr. Potts'. I wouldn't have it any other way. They are so very excited that Christmas is here & I am so very happy that I am able to do so much for them. I know that our cookie making & Christmas tree decorating will be a yearly tradition.

I think I may have mentioned before that Mr. Potts & I are NOTORIOUS for not being able to keep surprises.

For those of you who may be new to this blog, I have to wait until just a few days before birthdays & Christmas to do any actual shopping because I get so excited about presents & giving them. I love watching as people open gifts I give them, simply because I put so much love into it & I love seeing their expressions.

Mr. Potts once gave me my big birthday present 4 days before my birthday! This year, he topped even his own record.

Christmas came last night for the Potts' household - specifically me (which if truth be told is really the only way it could really come early, seeing as Mr. Potts' present currently number 2 - 2 pairs of socks - sigh - I'm so far behind).

For those of you who aren't familiar with my traveling, I'm gone quite frequently for work. It looks like this may be picking up even more in 2010 (hopefully this will play to my advantage in my Christmas shopping for Mr. Potts next week while I'm gone). I also read a ton of books while I'm gone. Usually at least two.

Last night Mr. Potts and I were watching tv when a Kindle commercial came on. At the end of the commercial I told Mr. Potts, "I really want to get a Kindle."

Upstairs he went to change into comfy clothes, or so I thought. Just a few seconds later he came back downstairs with his hand behind his back and then told me that Christmas was here a little early this year!

YES! HE DID!!

I can't tell you how thrilled I am with this! I love books. I always will, but I have to say, when you're traveling & trying to tote around two 400+ page books, your luggage gets heavy. Never mind the looks people give you when you're trying to lift said luggage into the airplane overhead.

I promise I won't start on the men that watch you do this & don't even bother to offer any help. Not this post at least!

Needless to say, I have already downloaded several books for my week long trip this week.

What a weekend!! Christmas tree & cookie decorating! A Kindle! Memories made with my family.

Christmas came early indeed.

Happy Happy Joy Joy!!

I get the googly ooglies when an award is given to me! I mean seriously, happy grinning, full teeth showing happy smile!!

As Jenny DB would say, I've got some Blog Bling!!

The crazy part of this is, I was awarded the Happy 101 award by several different bloggers that I adore: MCW, Landlocked Mermaid, Whitney, Brittany and Brittany! What really touched me is the fact that they all singled me out as being someone special and someone happy. I like to think that I am!
This award suggests that I offer 10 things that make me happy and then pass on to 10 more happy peeps.

And so....here we go!

1. Mr. Potts. He is supportive, humors me in my silliness (see post about our upcoming holiday party and my award winning ditty) (and truth be told, he's just as silly as I am), adores my munchkins as much as I do...honestly the list goes on & on.
2. My munchkins. I can't say enough about them. The picture below is from yesterday - post to follow later.
3. Curling up with my favorite blanket on a cold day, snuggling up with Mr. Potts on our new furniture (squeal!) and enjoying a lazy day.

4. Cozy, yummy things. Warm, fuzzy sweaters, gloves that keep my fingers warms, fun socks that keep my toes warm (are you noticing a trend towards warm here?).

5. Christmas music. I can listen to this year round. Chris Botti has a fabulous Christmas CD & Ave Maria moves me to tears no matter when I listen to it. Charlie Brown Christmas? Yes, please, play it again!!

6. A good bottle of wine (Mas Donis is a fave) along with a wonderful meal to enjoy it with.

7. When my hair, makeup & clothes all work together at the same time making me look as fabulous on the outside as I feel on the inside!

8. Feeling fabulous about myself. I've lost 18lbs now. I fit into clothes & don't feel like I'm being sawed in half each time I take a breath.

9. LOST is starting soon!!! February 2nd, to be exact!!!

10. I've been surprised how much I've loved blogging. I never thought that I would make the connections I've made.

So, to pass this on, I'm choosing my 10 newest followers. I can't wait to get to know you!

KatherineAnne - Medical School Mrs.
Gwen - Confessions of a Control Freak
Margen - Simply*Southern
Taylor - Raleigh Caroline
NCF - Naturally Caffeinated Family
Lil' Woman - Little Woman, Little Home
Jen - Jen, I couldn't find your blog. If I'm completely missing it, please let me know!
The Caretaker - The Life of a PTSD's Spouse
Carrie - Laugh, Love, Eat Icecream - Yes, Please!
A.S.A.P. - UBER cute name - As Southern As Possible - LOVE IT!!

If you're a new follower, let me know, say hi - I'd love to learn more about you too!

Fabulous Friday

Happy Friday Everyone! It's here - another edition of Fabulous Friday! A highlight of all things fabulous that I've stumbled across over the course of this week (in no particular order, of course!) or even fond memories I have stored in my brain.

Since I know you're all eagerly awaiting this, the winner of yesterday's second Christmas Giveaway is Lindsey of Learning to be a Wife! Lindsey has to be one of the sweetest people I've "met" through blogging & I am so happy that I did!!

A serious note to begin with. Yesterday a co-worker of mine learned that she has colon cancer & that it has spread to her liver. She has a 20 year old son who is currently in remission from cancer. If you all could lift her up in your prayers I'd greatly appreciate it.

Now on to the fabulously positive!

Our Annual Holiday Party is coming up next Saturday. I'm trying to figure out in advance what I want to wear. Some people will dress up, we'll have some in jeans & dressy tops & some may wear dresses. As hostess (hostess with the mostest - HA!) I like to dress up, but not go overboard so that our guests won't feel under-dressed.

I'm thinking of this little sweater dress with some tights. Easy, comfortable & comfy! Thoughts?
Whatever I wear for our party, I'll be sure to get my nails done. Most likely with Essie Wild Thing (yes, the same one that Lindsey is getting). The more I look at the color, the more I love it.
Don't you all get excited when you get tagged for an award? I love it. It's that little rush of "Yes! They like me!" I mean, for serious, doesn't it just make you feel GOOD when you scroll down and see your name? I always get the BIGGEST grin on my face! Both MCW & Landlocked Mermaid tagged me with the Happy 101 Award! I'll be sure to share this with you all tomorrow.

We received most of our furniture. We're missing the table & buffet, which I'm not happy about as we were told the table was in. And I REALLY wanted the table to be in for our party & for Christmas.

We did however receive the new living room furniture. I need to take some new pictures since when I took these, we didn't have any new lights for the room. Because of the lack of lighting, the couch looks slightly green. It isn't, just photographed that way.

The first view encompasses the "Captain's Chair" & the new sofa & coffee table.

Close up of the Captain's chair with my favorite throw on the back.

Pardon Hayden's hairy rear end in the picture, she wouldn't move.

I had to take a picture of our tree. We had to put off decorating it until this weekend (so the munchkins can help us) but we strung the extra lights on it. Isn't it pretty?What has made your week fabulous?
Happy Friday!!

Cook Book Swap & 2nd Christmas Giveaway!

As you know, I've had cookbooks on the brain. I'm getting ready for our annual holiday party and have been pulling recipes. I've broken out my Southern Living Christmas cookbook, the Kentucky Holiday Cookbook, my Cooking Light cookbooks as well as my collection of recipes.

When Brown Eyed Girl and I decided to co-host a cookbook swap, we were both excited to share our love of cookbooks. Below you'll find the swap pairings. We do have a group of three, which I'll detail more in an email.

Landlocked Mermaid with Susannah
Maryann with Michelle
The Caretaker with Lexiloo and Mrs. Potts
Brittany Ann with Zentmrs
b.e.g. with Lacey

Some things you may want to ask your partner when you email them could include:

• What do you typically like to cook?
• What kind of cookbook do you wish you have?
• Do you enjoy the "celebrity" cookbooks or are you hoping for one that is more of a general cookbook?
• If you could travel anywhere & spend a week taking cooking lessons where would it be? (Ok, that one was for me, but hey!, a girl can dream, right?)

Just a reminder, we ask that cookbooks be mailed by the 21st of December.

Both b.e.g. and I hope that you'll enjoy getting to know your partner as well as check out their blogs! Ladies, I'll send you an email with your swap partner's email address a little later today. Thank you all for signing up!

************ Christmas Giveaway ***************

Part Deaux of my Christmas Giveaways is for all you alligators (or crocodiles - whichever you identify best with) out there suffering from dry skin & dry hands.

I'm calling this one, See Ya Later, Alligator! That was a special little shout out to my precious nephew who always says that when we're done talking on the phone.

So many of us get dry skin during the winter months and the holidays are no time for flaky skin or cracked, ragged cuticles. Mrs. Potts to the rescue!

The first part of this gift to one of you will include the Boots Amazon Forest Brazil Nut and Vanilla Body Butter. I mentioned this last week in my Fabulous Friday & having used it all week realized that I really need to share this with you. It smells so good I could eat it & it does wonders for my skin, keeping it soft & moisturized without being greasy.

This body butter is an amazing thing on it's own, but if you're like me, you tote lotion around everywhere. What better place to keep some than in your bag? Computer bag, hand bag, diaper bag - entirely up to you!

The second piece of this gift is Burt's Bees Therapeutic Hand Creme. I've always adored Burt's Bees & what a great way to share that!
The last piece of this gift will be a color from Essie. I love Essie nail polishes & there is nothing better than a brilliant burgundy for the holidays & parties! Essie Wild Thing is described as a ferociously sparkling wine. Sounds yummy!!
As before, simply leave a comment on this post & you'll be entered for the giveaway.
Happy Thursday!!

Paying it Forward

While circling my local Target parking lot the other day searching for a parking spot. I saw someone leaving right at the end of the aisle (is that even the right word?) and waited patiently with my turn signal on so that I could pull in once they left.

The person leaving backed out and as I was pulling up to park someone swooped in & parked there. I was outraged. Furious. Lucky for her there was another car leaving a little further up the aisle. But seriously, I was ready to roll down my window & let her have it.

The she stepped out of the car & threw her hands up & and shrugged.

I think I may have seen red and white dots. Which also could have been the Target sign looming ahead of me. Either way, I was hot!

I did what any other normal female on a mission to get in, get her lunch & get out would do. I steamed about it. I ended up walking in behind the girl and visualizing tripping her on the way in.

I thought about how ugly people get at the holidays. Cutting lines, stealing parking spots, being rude, being impatient, not sharing a kind word.

Then I slowed down and asked myself this question.

If I hate how people act am I any better by getting mad about someone taking my space. Sure, it's annoying, but in the grand scheme, how important is it really? Would I have found another space? Indeed, and I did.

Might I have had to walk a little further to go inside? Sure, but would it kill me?

I thought back to Whitney's post on Good Will Grace and realized that this was a small way I could pay it forward. Instead of telling this girl to "have a nice day" (in the most un-nice way) I could let it go & move on.

When a woman cut in line the other day, I graciously stepped aside.

When an older woman takes longer to unload her groceries than Moses did parting the Red Sea, I smile at her & offer to help.

Am I paying it forward in the way that Whitney wrote about? Maybe not.

Am I paying it forward in my own way. Most definitely.

So my question to you, how are you paying it forward? Think about this question this holiday season the next time you start to get irritated with how self-centered people can be.

Holiday Party Time

Our annual holiday party is coming up on the 19th. This will be our third holiday party and we're really excited about it. I thought the evite I put together was just too cute not to share. I used the picture above and the text below.

We have one of our friends come in who loves to tend bar and he always puts together the best drink list. We put out a huge spread of food and simply ask that people show up to have a great time.

Last year our party was a Post Holiday, Holiday Party (since we had just gotten married in November) with a Bad Gift Exchange where everyone had to bring the worst gift they'd gotten for Christmas. There were some very bad gifts indeed.

I'll share the planned menu with you later this week, so if you have any ideas for great appetizers that you serve at parties, please feel free to share!

With no further ado, our Holiday Party Evite!

Twas the week before Christmas and all through the house,
The creatures were stirring, including the spouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
All hope was abandoned, they were covered in pet hair.

Once children everywhere were tucked into bed,
The Potts decided, twas time to break bread.
The wedding was past, the first year they'd conquered,
They picked a perfect night, for all to get schnockered.

She broke out her pen, to try and be witty,

With good times on the brain, she broke out this ditty.

The Potts', yes it’s true,

They survived their first year,

What better way to celebrate,

Than a house filled with cheer.

We'll be tasting and dipping,

And definitely sipping!

Put your drinking caps on,

You know it's sure to be fun

With Preston a'pourin

A whole lot of rum.

We hope you'll join us as we celebrate our third annual holiday celebration!