Preparations

We're elbow-deep in preparations for our Thanksgiving feast and celebration over at Aunt L & Uncle J's. There's rumor of a backyard football game after dinner that I'm really looking forward to. That and my run this morning should help burn off some of the extra calories.

Here's an overview of our calorie contributions for the day: southern smashed potatoes, homemade artisan bread {from this book}, honey butter made with Big Bear's pure honey from our family in GA, and a little take-home treat for all of our guests; cranberry-apple jam {recipe courtesy of my favorite canning blog, Food In Jars}.

A little eco-note on the cran-apple jam jars; cloth is recovered from a Goodwill shirt find and the tags are cut from leftover letterpress scraps from the invitations for my brother's wedding last month. Our little way to thank mother earth today.

Also on my "I'm thankful for" list this year:

Cars that work in crashes

Jobs that survive the economy

Families that love & laugh together

Friends through sun, rain and sometimes pain

Baby butts and sloppy kid kisses {can't get enough}

Tickle fights

After-dinner dance fever to Cotton-eyed Joe & Can't Get Next to You

Having everything we need

Turkey Day!

We're looking forward to Turkey Day over at the Smith household. I was thinking about coming up with a few fun decorating ideas to add to the festivities when, lo and behold, Martha popped into my in-box in a serendipitous moment of crafty-esp. Get the tutorial here.

Birthday Celebration x 2

Note to self: When (if?) you have another child, have him or her in May. Or June or July. Or any other month in the year outside of October and November. JB & MK have birthdays exactly one week apart. This is only a problem for me because I have to cram all of my creative energy into two short weeks. I'd much rather have weeks and weeks to plan one party. Thankfully, I have the support of some pretty great blogs for fun ideas (see the Wedding & Entertaining blogroll at the right).

Oh, Baby...

I've got baby envy. And it's bad.
Last month at my brother's wedding the bridemaid that stood next to me was ready to give birth at any moment. MK was enthralled with her belly {"Mommy! What's IN HER BELLY?!" Why is it so big?} and I was jealous....

UGH! Jealous of what?! Jealous of feeling like you're hiding a tractor-trailer in your abdomen? Jealous of swollen feet shoved into high-heels? Jealous of waves of nauseousness every time the baby feels a need to stretch a little? Well, uh... yeah, actually.

I've got it bad.

And now I'm feeding this craziness {utter insanity!} by perusing the inspiration boards over at Serena & Lily.

To do list:
1. Get a baby
2. Get a couple extra {thousand} bucks to build nursery of dreams

My sane self is having a heart-attack right now.

Hope

"Bonfire," painting by Lisa Congdon.