For today....

Outside my window...dark and snowy....pretty, pretty, pretty.

I am thankful...for sooo much right now....despite some really difficult times, I have some amazing people in my life and am sooo fortunate :)

In the kitchen...Abigail continues to bake endlessly.....whenever we are at home for longer than a couple of hours, she bakes.

I am wearing...black pants, top.
I am creating...JYC album, Advent calendar ready for the weekend (the kids are so excited)  Snowflakes and owls out of tubes that J kindly gave me :) 

I am looking forward to...meeting new people this Friday :)

I am learning....how to ask (and accept) help (and this is VERY new to me and something I have always found very difficult)...how amazing my circle of friends are.  How you can never have too many friends.  How welcoming new friends in to your circle is such a GOOD feeling :) How being with friends who accept you as you are - who allow you to speak your mind - who KNOW you....is soooo WONDERFUL :)

Around the house...We have been sick and miserable and grouchy and lazy and at home a lot over the last week but that has given us time to rest, to 'be' to craft, relax, bake, play, think....my friends B and S kindly came over and got the furnace in the garage going for me.  I want to put out a few Christmas decorations but it's getting around to it....

I am pondering...life and all it has taught me in the last few years - and how good it is and how RICH it feels and how blessed I feel and how wonderful it all is :)  and how all the BAD stuff really does make you so much stronger and really does show you that you can make it through anything that life throws at you - and I think that is what life is all about :)  THAT is what we are here for.  To learn :)  And life is good :)

A favorite quote for today..."Friends are the family we choose for ourselves".

One of my favorite things...how much Susannah loves to read :)

A few plans for the rest of the week...Thursday we celebrate our dear friend A's 18th birthday with an evening out!!!  Woot woot!!  :)  Friday I am off to meet a new group of friends down in  Churchill Square :)  Soooo looking forward to that :)  Saturday we have the Festival of Trees followed by our first Christmas party of the season - and Sunday we have the Christmas Gathering at the garden centre :)  - the following week things get REALLY crazy!!