just saying good morning!

 

I let the dogs out...then back in, on this frosty gorgeous morning...

Sunny, all Christmassy and comfy...

We are expecting snow here in the northeast, at least 6 inches, maybe more.  It's starting in a few hours, radar shows it creeping towards us.  I have a list of food items to buy for our Christmas party on Saturday, don't want to wait until tomorrow because of the snow, so we're going out and about in half hour.   I am also picking up an order of coffee from the local roaster...such a kind man, he bagged the coffee up in smaller bags for gift giving.  (And, I'm wondering:  a reader from Long Island ordered coffee from Crow City Roasters...how was it?  Did you like it, love it?  I've been wondering!)

Last night I ended up staying home, Paul and the kids went out to clean, as it was mostly outdoor work...moving chairs,  ect., and I decided not to go out and fall on the ice.  So all by myself with the tree all sparkly and the fake fireplace roaring, wrapping some presents, not too shabby.  We had a do-it-yourself dinner kind of night...the girls had a late lunch (they made barbecue chicken sandwiches from the rotisserie chicken I had bought the day before...they had homemade pizza, Paul and I had chicken and shredded cabbage with olive oil and lime juice, lots of salt and pepper, mmm....)...so I made burgers for Paul and I, when they were mostly done, I got the baggie of chopped tomatoes, peppers, and onions left over from the girls' lunch, and threw them in the frying pan, sautéed a bit, mmm.  Then those girls got home, and had eight o'clock pancakes.  Those are just regular pancakes that you eat at eight o'clock.   They smelled so good...I had some 2 grams of sugar yogurt with peanut butter, and five Hershey kisses. But, I also had a handful of chocolate covered almonds...if you go to Costco, do NOT buy the large-0 container of them, or you will be sorry.  You'll be sorry when they're all gone in record time, and that your self control went down the drain when you tasted their milk chocolatey fresh crunchy almond goodness. 

So it's the calm before the storm...outside looks gloomy, dismal forebodings.  Weather radar does take the surprise out of winter, back in the old days I'd have ten, twelve, fourteen, kids in the big van, the 15 passenger van, and oops, snowstorm!  I had a few times driving that thing even up a small hill, and rrrrrrmmm, slipping and sliding and wow, almost went off the road.  That van is but a memory now, Paul sold the Chevy Express to some African Christians who answered our ad, to use for their church, for $2,000...it only had 80-somethingthousand miles on it.  He also gave them some venison, they were really nice guys.  They could possibly have turned around and sold it for ten thousand dollars, but oh well.

Anyway.  See how the tangents are plentiful today?  I'm scatterbrained this morning.  I have to get up and get ready, Kathryn is coming to pick us up...Miss Sonja K. is done for the semester, yay!!!!  And I like to go with Kathryn, because as anyone who ever had two small children knows, it's challenging to bring them bye-bye all by yourself.  Add in cold weather, and that nowadays you don't put coats on in carseats, you have to unbuckle them and put their coats on..and if you have a Rhys, you have to find where she threw her socks when she took them off, same with the cute little boots.  I usually get her out, bundle her up, and wrap her in a blanket, while Kathryn gets Achilles. She's due in eleven weeks, so it will get funner, is that a word?

I have to stay strong today, in case my kids get any of their good ideas, like let's get Chinese!, or Starbucks!   It gets so expensive so fast.  I took the three girls to Chipotle last week, four meals:  $45.  ouch.   Starbucks though, my weakness...I like an Americano with blonde roast espresso and heavy cream...SO GOOD.  No flavors or syrups or sugar, just coffee.   It's around four dollars, but then the girls get a gingerbread latte brown sugar and foam or mocha or something, and WHAT?! SEVEN DOLLARS?!  (My kids have a running joke, to imitate me, they will just yell, "SEVEN DOLLARS?!  It has nothing to do with a Starbucks coffee, it must've been my reaction to something a long time ago, and they laugh their heads off, aren't they so funny?)  I've been drinking my morning coffee black, trying to get some weight off...harrumph.  It's not bad though...my Chameleon whole bean coffee, two pound bag from Marshalls:  $3.99.  It's pretty decent, and oh, so cheap.  There were only a few bags there, wonder if there's any left..

Why do I like to wait until the very last second to get up and hurry and get ready?  I won't do that today.  I'll give myself some time.  I've washed dishes and put things away and cleaned off the stove top, and puttered around a bit before I sat in my comfy chair...but there are still some things to do...so off I go...have a really good day!!!