The Help

I had heard a lot of great things about the book The Help by Kathryn Stockett so I put my name on the hold list at the library. I was number 451 on the list!!! Kay took pity on me and bought it for me Christmas. I have to tell you, I'm loving it (about 1/3 done). I can't stop reading it and thus getting nothing done around here. Add this one to your list! xo, Brie

Year in Review

Does anyone else love seeing these as much as I do? This is the best I've found so far... they always make me cry!

Yahoo!'s 2009 Year in Review @ Yahoo! Video

Who's ready for 2010? bring it :)
xo, Brie

A disjointed post about all the happenings

I want to wish all my faithful readers (mom and Keely) a very Merry Christmas (just kidding, I really do mean all 10 of you and you know who you are)! Company will begin arriving sometime this afternoon and I can hardly wait to see everyone.

I've got a lot done around here the last couple of days - just when I thought I was drowning in my to do list there it is, the light at the end of the tunnel! (Greatest site ever by the way - thank you to the blogger who showed me it, exactly which blog is escaping me, but please know you have made life easier for me and I thank you xo)

So here are some things I've crossed off the list:

I finished this book

I loved it! It's not exactly an easy read, you need concentration but I found it well worth it and would like to give a shout out to the librarian who took pity on me and allowed to renew for a 3rd time (you're only allowed 2 renewals). I love memoirs and this is a good one!

I cooked up all my shrimp for shrimp cocktail and have it chillin in the fridge. This is the best cocktail sauce ever by the way... available seasonally (as in now) at my home away from home, Costco!

I've made this, these and even this! Not too shabby, right?!

I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas, from the bottom of my heart... so I'll leave you with this holiday favorite. I'm sorry, it's just not Christmas without New Kids on the Block :)



Who do you feel more embarrassed for in this video? Jordan when he tears off his leather jacket or Joey Joe when he does that booty dance? Discuss amongst yourselves :) xo, Brie

Signs of Christmas

My favorite Christmas cactus

Decorated sugar cookies

By the way, would anyone like to clean my kitchen table?

and you know dasher, dancer, prancer, and vixon... comet and cupid and donner and blitzen... but do you recall, the most famous reindeer of all????

Rudolph the red nosed minivan!!! Love him, love him! xo, Brie

Final Tallies

Snow appears to have finally stopped and our totals are about a foot. Thankfully all activities have been canceled and today I'm wrapping and making Christmas cookies. xo, Brie

Hour 7

It has been snowing steadily for seven straight hours! No sign of letting up - the pics aren't looking too different at this point but we are up to 8 inches. The Cape is supposed to really get a ton tomorrow. I am going to wrap a few gifts and call it a night! I am very thankful for our electricity and heat in working order! Sweet dreams xo

Brie

Hour 5

Approximately 6 inches fluffy, sparkly, powdery snow! xo, Brie

2 hours into the storm

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow :) xo, Brie

Preparing for the Big Snow Storm

The timing of the big blizzard of 09 is kind of sucky. I have packages to mail, food shopping to do, and a minivan to decorate like Rudolph (if the darn thing ever arrives!)

I did make it to Costco this morning and my advice to you is stay away.... stay far far away! It was a nuthouse and a lot of the crowd appeared to be very hungry and even willing to create complete Costco gridlock in the name of 1/6 of a hot dog wrapped in a Pillsbury crescent roll! It was a lot of fun, I could feel my blood pressure rising. My thoughts were unChristmaslike.

We're home now and just in time. Snow is starting....

At least I will be forced in tonight and might even start wrapping some gifts! Stay warm!! xo, Brie

39 Candles

My sweet boys presented me with this today

Would anyone like to take a stab at my age? :)

Complete with a crossword puzzle on the back!

The fact that they took of the liberty of filling in 1 across is making me think they don't think I am very good crossword puzzles!

Stealing this quote from LifeisGood on Twitter b/c this is how I plan on spending the day :)

Dance like the photo's not tagged, love like you've never been unfriended, tweet like nobody's following

Have a good one! xoxo Brie

Ebay Tuesday

What was more fun than playing My Dog Has Fleas? Nothing, that's what! My dog has fleas... playing is a breeze!! xo, Brie

The Griswold Family Christmas Tree

We went to pick out our Christmas tree this weekend. We had trouble agreeing on the perfect tree. We finally found this one, I thought it bordered on the huge side but everyone else really liked it. Majority ruled.

Here she is all decorated. It's huge, I'm guessing about 9.5 feet. I almost fell off the ladder putting the angel up. Good times, good times.... It does look great all lit up though. I can't figure out how to take it's picture correctly without the flash.

you get the idea, right? I sure hope that there is no squirrel living in it! Show me your tree! xo, Brie

Field Trip to Gingerbread Land

Long time, no blog. These last couple of weeks have been NUTS. Take many Keeks and Brie shows, add one part class room mother, two parts Christmas shopping and decorating and a million basketball practices and what you get is one crazy over extended lady!

Our local arboretum hosts an annual gingerbread making contest and it's quite the hot spot to visit this time of year! Ms. C and her Daisy troop went last Thursday and they loved it. There are rules to enter. I don't know what they are but they vary by category - I think everything has to be edible. There are several categories: individual, family, special needs, school/troops etc etc. Ms. C's troop leader said they will enter one next year - can't wait to see that :)

We only had to remind the girls "no touching" about 267 times. I also figured out the secret of how to get a cute and normal looking picture of my C. Candid shots!! If she knows you're taking the photo - it's all over!!



Here is a great example of why you do not say "smile"

Check out some of our favorites - there sure are some creative people in NJ!! Here are some of the "individual" exhibits.

If C could have stuffed this one in her pocket and walked out undetected, she would have. This was her favorite and got her vote. She kept commenting how adorable the dog was that was drinking his mother's milk - wasn't touching that topic at the Daisy event with a 10 ft pole.

I liked this one a lot - here is the backside of the diner....




Here is the flip side with Santas serving up the reindeer! Very cute!




Here is what I suspect will be the winner - this entire thing is edible. There were noodles and cookie dough parts and hours upon hours of awesome crafty work! I honestly thought it was decoration and not an exhibit.

This is last year's winner with Cinderella's castle

Here are some Family Entries we liked

Candy Land!

as Froot Loop lovers - this one was appreciated

This one behind C (again I prompted her to say cheese) is a dog and dog house made entirely of doggie treatsWe like Santa climbing up the side on this one plus the dollhouse like furnishings complete with a ceiling fan

Last but not least some clever girl scout troop entries......

brownie vest complete with badges! This one sparked a great conversation that went something like "why doesn't my vest have any patches" and my response "because your mother with a sewing business has been too busy to sew any on but promises to do so soon"

this is a friendship garden done by a 6th grade troop

this one was my favorite! Done by a kindergarten daisy troop, each girl decorated their own gingerbread girl and they are roasting mini marshmallows on pretzel sticks!

Hope you enjoyed the tour :) xo, Brie

Holiday Snacking

I can't stop eating Trader Joe's 1000 layer crackers and wanted to tell you to pick some up next time you're there. My mother had them over Thanksgiving and they are beyond good! They are a cross between a cracker and a flaky biscuit. Each cracker comes individually wrapped which in this case is very very good because it slows me from eating the entire box in less than 5 minutes. Go get some :) xo, Brie

Ebay Tuesday

Quite possibly one of my favorite toys ever in the history of ever. I would have gone for it but I can't stand jacked up shipping charges. I was particularly enamored with Big Bird's nest and Oscar's trash can :) xo, Brie

Menu Planning Monday

Have you tried this yet? I've been trying to continue with it, makes life SO much easier to have everything planned out and ingredients on hand. I have a great habit of losing the piece of paper I write the menu out on and that kind of defeats the whole purpose :) If I put it here, I won't lose it! So here we go....

Mon - spaghetti and meatballs
Tue - white chicken enchiladas
Wed - stuffed shells
Thur - steak and seafood risotto
Fri -penne a la betsy

Sat - going out

Sun - French Onion Soup

Mon - tacos

Tues - chili

Wed - hot dogs

Thur - chicken pot pie

Let me know if you do this too! xo, Brie

Happy Thanksgiving!

In addition to being thankful for my family, friends, and their health... I am also a little thankful for this. Ch-ch-ch- Chia :) Seriously, how great does this little cat look? I have never enjoyed this level of chia pet success!

Wishing you and your a Happy Thanksgiving!!! Safe travels, xo, Brie

Three Little Birds

I do believe we've got a bird theme in full effect this week!
This morning, out of nowhere (or so I thought), Ms. C starts singing this song as she is getting ready for school. I am not a huge reggae fan but this particular song I have always loved. I'm floored that she is singing it and she directs me to Noggin and tells me she loves the song and the video because it has baby animals with their moms in it. I'm going to have to agree... this is the cutest thing ever. Just bought it on itunes!




Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!!! I be offline for a few days as we eat turkey for me and a turkey for you. Let's eat turkey in a brown shoe :) xoxox, Brie

I'm now swimming in Birdy Skirts

A bird in the hand AND one in the bush - that's a first (cringing at the thought of hits I'll get for that phraseology but I'm throwing caution to the wind). Of course the one I originally ordered is here and the other is one was shipped today. When it rains it pours! Now I need some cute boots b/c I've got some serious fun cooked up for me and tweety skirt ;) Ok, so I take it back.... Boden doesn't lie when he cries. Sorry! xo, Brie

Dear Boden

I ordered this skirt a few weeks ago. You called to say I put in my cc number wrong online. I believe I may have because I am stupid like that sometimes. I gave you the number again over the phone and you said we were all set. I run to the mailbox every day in anticipation for this skirt because I've already planned some good times for me and her. A few of those good times are already in the past tense. Boden lies, when he cries.



Ok, I just ordered another one and have called our original order a wash. Please arrive promptly. xo, Brie



PS want 15% off and free shipping? Here you go! F832

Green Thumb Pride

I now know how proud a farmer must feel when his crops are thriving. The timing is right, the temperature is perfect, the placement of sunlight is a triumph.

I proudly present.............





CHIA KITTEN!




As you can see after careful soaking and application of the chia seeds (including some in his water hole and also on his head). The first beautiful signs of life have appeared in NJ. Every time Ms. C walks by this she can't help but remark how cute it is. I am bursting with pride, I am, I am! xo, Brie

Ebay Tuesday

My love for mermaids started right around when these hit the scene! xo, Brie

In case you missed it

Glee's diva-off was crazy delicious - one of the singers is a boy! Unreal... wish I had the real video footage but for now enjoy the audio of 2 incredible talents. xo, Brie

Reading to do list

This book has been recommended to me by a few good friends. It is now in my possession and I will be starting it tonight - can't wait! xo, Brie

Picture Book Recommendations

I have been on a major library kick since last year. It continues to blow my mind daily that you can request a book and borrow it for FREE - even brand new, hot off the press publications. Best part of all is you RETURN the book so you don't have loads and loads of books making a tower of terror in the corner of your bedroom. I realize this concept is not new but humor me as I am in awe of such a fantastic system! It really is a beautiful thing :)

Ms. C loves herself a good book and it is part of our nightly routine. 4 books is the number we read each night and the max of how many I take out a time for her. I can only keep track of so much! I am going to tell you a few of our all time favorites, so add these to you list if you haven't read them already!

Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberly

Great book, with a fun colorful cut out illustrations that build and then destruct the infamous monster under the bed. All of my kids LOVED this book.

Be Nice to Spiders by Margaret Bloy Graham

This was one of my favorites when I was little. My mom ordered it from one of those weekly reader pamphlets and it's great. I recently bought a copy for myself on ebay.

Today I Feel Silly by Jamie Lee Curtis

Today I feel silly, mom says it the heat, I put rouge on the cat and gloves on my feet. I think I might be able to recite this whole book by heart :)

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

Who doesn't love a great story about someone who "dares" to be different? I think this book led me to love Fall Out Boy because I got the 'Under the Cork Tree' reference right away from this book.

The Funny Little Woman by Arlene Mosel

This is an oldie but goodie but we only recently found it thanks to Aunt Mary Payne! Tee Hee's and the wicked Oni, we love it!

I'll be adding to these lists soon as well as some awesome reads for the 9-13 age set. What's your favorite picture book? xo, Brie

PS Happy Birthday to a Whale of a Dad - My Dad! xo

Ebay Tuesday

Someone gave me the bobbing drinking bird for my birthday. The liquid moves within the body to create a constant motion seesaw effect that doesn't not require batteries. I remember being a little more than amazed by this phenomenon. Surprisingly affordable on ebay!

Here is a way more than you bargained for explanation. Miles Sullivan, my hat is off to you!




xo, Brie

2 things....

First - HAPPY HALLOWEEN !!!!

second - don't forget

I am beside myself excited for that extra hour of sleep :) Have fun tonight, save me your heath and twix bars! xo, Brie