Day 638

Sayonara, 2011.  You were filled with a few big & bad events, sprinkled with some really good events, and loaded with everyday simple pleasures.  I'm an optimist and am looking forward to more good events (like weddings of close friends) and everyday simple pleasures (like chocolate and hugs).  Hope you have a great New Year's Eve and an even better 2012!

Sing it, Kelly! (I love the chorus.)

Day 637

Reading Tina Fey's "Bossypants" and loving it.  :)

Day 636

Enjoying my day off from work.  Staying out late, waking up late, getting stuff done, going to lunch with fun people ... I love it all!  Headed to the Butler game tonight with Dad, Ken, and Dan.  Should be fun!

Day 635

Heading over to the Bohney house to watch the IU game! Yay for super tight love hugs!

Day 634

After a terrible Tuesday (maybe not quite terrible, but there aren't too many words with T in my brain at 11:00 pm), I'm ready for a wildly wonderful Wednesday.  Yep.

Day 633

I went to Jungle Jim's today, yay!  I got SO MUCH wine and cheese - you'd all better attend my wine & cheese party that is TBA!  Today feels very much like a Sunday, which will make waking up to Tuesday that much better. :)

Day 632

Merry Christmas friends, family, and blog readers!

Day 631

I went to mass twice today (kids mass and midnight - 10:00! - mass) and they were both great!  I love having an opportunity to get dressed up.  It just makes me feel fancy; who wouldn't want that?

Day 630

Party tonight!  Looking forward to when we're all older and I can have an annual shindig, no worrying about the date, everyone just knows when it is and it's done. :oP

Day 629

You know when you've been uber productive, you finally sit down, and just exhale with a big ol' "ahhh..."?  Well, that's what I just did.  However, my mind is also reeling with all of the things I need to do before tomorrow's shindig and before Christmas.  My brain and body need to agree so I can fall right to sleep when I get there. :oP

P.S. Totally diggin' Fitz and the Tantrums.  You too?

Day 628

I have the sweeeetest loaner car right now.  It's a chocolate brown Jetta and it's fully loaded.  It was a nice little bonus on today's odd but overall good day.  I'm having a good hair day.  I wore a new shirt and was told it was a good color on me; always nice to hear.  I'm looking forward to time with friends and family and time to relax.  Ahh, it'll be lovely...
Oh, and I got to talk to/catch up with Becca for a long time, YAY!

Day 627

Each year, just when I feel like I'm at the end of my rope, the St. Roch Christmas Concert happens.  It just makes me stop and remember exactly what this Christmas is all about: friends, family, and Jesus.  It's SO easy to get caught up in the shopping, stress, and social calendar.  Thank goodness for Joey and our friends that give us a night of beautiful music! :)

Day 626

It's hard to believe that it's the week of Christmas.  It's chilly, but not freeeezing Indiana winter kind of cold.  Also, today went by so fast (yay!).  I went to lunch with Dave, and he had his first O'Charley's experience.  He discovered that it's true - the rolls are truly unsliceable, haha.  Looking forward to the St. Roch Christmas concert tomorrow night and whatever else is in store for me this week!

P.S. I did a mud mask tonight.  Does anyone swear by these, hate them, or have you ever done one?

Day 625

I'm so happy to report that the current weather in Indianapolis is somewhere around 50 degrees with sunshine.  This was fantastic for my outdoor mall shopping experience today.  Hooray!

Day 624

I came back from breakfast with Grandpa, (finally) finished watching "E.T." for the very first time, and fell asleep ... for awhile.  I didn't realize I was tired enough for a nap.  I guess the Christmas shopping will have to wait until tomorrow!  Excited to see Dave tonight at Starbucks; I predict a Rummy win in my future. :)

Day 623

Tonight, we all met up for white elephant #2 at Jim's apartment.  There were some pretty interesting gifts, including a Rubix cube, an IU snuggie, an Aldo gift card, and these discs with handles that help you with push ups.  (Yes, I tried a few but am still bad at even the girl push ups.)  Then, we played a long but funny round of Balderdash - Dan and I won, woo hoo!

Day 623

Will, Shauna, Dan, and I went to the Smiley Morning Show's adaptation of "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" tonight at Daddy Real's "The Place."  Yes, a very strange name for a restaurant, but it was nice.  We had more than a few bursts of laughter. :)  Excited to see them again and some other lovely friends tomorrow night at white elephant #2!

Day 622

I've been on a bit of a baking roll over the past few weeks...and I'm enjoying it.  The only problem is that I must test, test, and test again that the aforementioned baked good(s) are edible.  I need to start workin' on my fitness.  I'm seriously going to go jump on my elliptical for a little bit.  Here I go!

Day 621

Heard some really bad news after work, followed up by some really good news right before bed.  I decided to focus on the happy and pray for the bad to turn around.  Seems like a good theory to work with.

Day 620

I just love a good, productive day at work.  Let's hope I can continue the trend all week in between stuffing my face with cookies.  Today was the annual baking day for my momma and her little elves (A.K.A. Dad and Grandpa).  They ended with somewhere around 40 dozen cookies.  Yummy!

Day 619

I went shopping with 3 little girls under the age of 10 today.  We (in addition to my mom and Ginger) went to the mall, Christmas Tree Store, and Garden Ridge.  There are funny photos, and oh yes, we giggled. :)

Day 618

I did some Christmas shopping today AND wrapped said gifts, hooray!  Now, I'm off to get ready for RaeAnn and McKay's holiday shindig featuring my first (of 3) white elephant exchanges of the season.

Day 617

Went on a lovely little double date tonight with Cierra, Joe, and Dan.  We went to Pei Wei (an extension of P.F. Chang's) and it was really good!  You should try it sometime.  It's in Glendale by the Target, Macy's ... all of that good stuff.

Day 616

Fresh. Baked. Cookies.  Don't you wish you were here?

P.S. See that photo?  It's one of my favorites from the whooooole year. :)

Day 615

After a day or two of being a bum after work, it feels SO good to get things DONE.  Tonight, I made birthday brownies for one of my new co-workers, did all of my dishes, am working on my laundry, and will *fingers crossed* get at least one photo blog post done tonight.  

Hope you're all kickin' ass and takin' names this week ... or at least being productive in your own way at home. :)

Day 614

Wearing jeans to work instantly makes my day better.  Things are looking up for the rest of the week since I'll be wearing them each day!   I had a piece of Cheesecake Factory Red Velvet Cheesecake today ... whoa, momma, that was tasty.  Try some if you haven't already.  The lady that brought it in got it at Sam's Club (for a lot less than normal!).

Day 613

I made a pie, and it was yummy.  The end. :)

Day 612

I looove watching "Bridesmaids."  It cracks me up every single time!

Day 611

I made dinner, wahoo!  Honey Sauced Chicken with egg noodles and then some Corn & Potato Chowder for my lunch this week.

Day 610

I made two new friends tonight while at the City Market for the Mustache Movember Party with Dan.  I ordered a Pic Nic crepe from 3 Days in Paris (via zip line - awesome!).  A yummy chocolate + raspberry one was given to me, though.  When I zip lined a message to the stand, they brought the correct one up to me (chicken, bbq sauce, cilantro, jack cheese, red onions) AND a voucher for a free crepe for my next visit.  WOW, three for one!  I'm so happy it's the weekend. :)

Day 609

I am jammin' to Mariah Carey's "Merry Christmas" album.  It totally gets me in the mood for Christmas. :)

Day 608

Is it bad that I don't want to take my Uggs off to go to bed?  It's really gross to even think about outside shoes in my bed, but man they keep my feet cozy and warm!  I suppose that's why I have a pair of cozy socks. :)

Day 607

Supper Club tonight at Scotty's Downtown!

Day 606

My house is decorated for Christmas - hooray!  Too bad I won't have time to have a party so people can actually see it.

Day 605

Thanksgiving in Ohio!

Day 604

Last night, Dan and I had the opportunity to sit in the super awesome VIP section at the Vogue for Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band concert.  I really liked it, but Dan, he loved it!  I had fun sitting with a few friends from church (my connection to the band) and trying to figure out what the heck Josh (Rev. Peyton) was saying/singing.  :oP

Then, this afternoon, Dan and I headed over to Good Morning Mama's Cafe in Broad Ripple.  Wow oh wow the Mexican breakfast tacos are tasty!  It was the perfect amount of food for me.  Plus, the whole restaurant is brightly decorated with a heavy 1950s vibe.  I'm sure that made me like it even more.  :)

Day 603

I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere this weekend!

Day 602

Happy Thanksgiving to my fabulous family, fantastic friends, and awesome acquaintances!  Hope your day is filled with love, laughter, and yummy food. :)

Day 601

I'm making a (hopefully super awesome) Blackberry Cheesecake for tomorrow's Thanksgiving festivities!  Yay!  I'm was SO happy to leave work today.  I get to stay up as late as I want with no major responsibilities tomorrow!  Woo hoo! :)

I heard this version of Maroon 5's "Misery" while at The Cheesecake Factory last week.  I found it online for you to enjoy. :)

Day 600!

Woo hoo, another milestone!  Six hundred days of blogging!

In preparation for Thanksgiving, I decided it was time to share more baking goodness with you...my 3 readers.

Here's what I've got for you: lasagna!  I made one tonight for tomorrow night's dinner (but didn't bake it yet).  I can't include a link to the recipe, because I don't like any of them enough.  I am one that appreciates a good meat to pasta to cheese ratio.  I think I've pretty much perfected it (for my taste buds at least).  If you'd like to have the details, just leave me a comment and I'll get them to you.

Basically, it includes the following yummy ingredients: italian sausage, lasagna noodles, fresh garlic, parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, freshly ground salt, freshly ground pepper, freshly ground italian herbs/spices, eggs, cottage cheese, a jar of pasta sauce, and love.  Haha, of course I had to say something cheesy!

Photos are from when I made the Pioneer Woman's "Best Lasagna Ever."  I liked it, and it's what I basically use for my own version.  The only big changes are using a jar of sauce instead of making my own (I ended up with too much sauce + time to make it and simmer) and using only sausage (sausage + beef = too much meat).  Needless to say, I'm excited to eat this bad boy tomorrow night!

Day 599

Thanksgiving...a time to give thanks.  It's been a roller coaster kind of year, but I've ended up in a positive place. :)  Some people moved out of my life, and some new ones have been introduced.  I always struggle with this part, since I want to be friends with everyone forever.  Who doesn't want to be surrounded by awesome people?  Well, life just doesn't work that way.

I left a job, started another, left that job, started another, and am sticking to this one.  I'm happy to wake up in the morning and not dread work.  Happy to have a wonderful family and friends that rock my socks off. Also, pretty happy about this lovely little slice of Chocolate Raspberry Truffle cheesecake sitting in front of me.  Nom!  There are a ton of other things I could add to the list, but really, the people in your life are what matter most!

P.S. Happy Birthday, Joey!

Day 598

Check out my Pinterest board for a bajillion good quotes: http://pinterest.com/breezyg03/words/.

Attempting to gather my thoughts into a list of things I'm most thankful for this year.  What are you most thankful for this year?

A few of my favorite quotes found on Pinterest: