The Excitement goes on.....

Wow can you believe that this year is close to an end??
There are only 66 more days left in 2007!!!

They say all good things come to an end but in this case all good things are celebrated in the end. At the end of each year we are priveleged with Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and of course New Year's Eve. Talk about ending the year with a bang for the last three months.

In October we get to welcome cooler weather (some do-not here in Florida...lol), the color changes of nature, the wonderous aura of celebrations to come, and we get to spend the last day dressing up like anything or anyone we want to and hand out treats to the neighborhood children.

Carrying on the fun rolls in November. We get to celebrate All Saints Day on the first and some of us get an extra hour of sleep when daylight savings time ends on November 4th. The celebrations don't stop there in November. There is Veterans Day on the 11th and every year on the fourth Thursday of the month we get to celebrate Thanksgiving. How special to celebrate the coming together of the pilgrims and indians and giving thanks for all that we have. The meals are so lavish that dieters cringe at the very thought of the menu's...hehe After we have enjoyed being together with our families one more day creeps into November..BLACK FRIDAY. Oh yes the biggest shopping day of the year. For some of us bargain hunters we call it the Biggest Bargain day of the year.

If that isn't enough to satisfy your celebratory psyche, it all gets topped off with December. For some parts of the country/nation you get to welcome in some snow (and then have to shovel some snow). Visual unification is formed as your town is blanketed in all white by the cold, sparkling snow. And then at night when the holiday lights are lit, what a SPECTACULAR sight. For others Hanukkah begins sundown on the 4th. Our kids are let out for Winter Break and then our budgets are simply put to the test with finalizing all of our purchases for Christmas. Christmas Eve is tradition for listening to christmas music all day and night, midnight mass, tucking in the anxious children, welcoming Santa and saying good bye to Magic elves. Plus taking one final look at the well stocked Christmas Tree and Stockings before our kids wake up and getting maybe 3 hours of sleep...lol!! Christmas morning. Wow how can one describe that feeling. The spirit of the season has finally come together and all those hours of wrapping gifts gone in five minutes!!! Yet we are so happy that it doesn't phase us because we do it again year after year!! We celebrate with our entire family for the rest of the day and laugh the night away. Then the day after is RED day. Retailers scramble as their sale prices are dropped even lower and people return unwanted gifts. "It's the thought that counts, but what was that gift about?". And if that wasn't enough in comes New Year's Eve. Time to say goodbye to our trials and triumphs and look forward to a new year of challenges and surprises. We make resolutions to better our lives toast to them at midnight.

I can't believe all the changes good and bad that have faced me and my boys this year. We look forward to a great 2008!!!!

2008's Taking the Plunge Challenges

As a single mom of three baseball players I have little time left for myself. So I am taking on the challenge of placing myself on the calendar of activities!!! I have been so busy working and keeping up with the boys that I have lost track of my personal goals for the past 9 years!!! I will not let that go to year 10. This is going to be my year, one way or another!!!!

Possible Goals this year:

SEWING LESSONS
CRAFTING PROJECT CLASSES
DANCE CLASSES (I have missed taking dance lessons)
GETTING BACK INTO SHAPE (through exercise and healthier eating)
GET AND STAY AS FULLY ORGANIZED AS I AM CAPABLE OF
LEARN SPANISH (using CD programs from library)
GET APPLYING FOR COLLEGE

I know these seem like ALOT but these are just possible options for now.

If I was to complete just 2 or 3 it would definitely be a HUGE step forward in this process!!

Tested, Tasted, Rated!!

Testing Tasting Rating......



As 2007's Great Pumpkin,Turkey, and Rudy Days come to an end, I have been given the honors to run 2008's recipe challenges. Each month a recipe to make will be chosen to accomodate each Great Pumpkin, Turkey, and Rudy Days. Anyone participating will be able to join us in the MHH forums and rate what we ate!!! How exciting is that? I look forward to looking up new recipe trials and experimenting with my friends from all over the world.