Feelin' Hot, Hot, Hot!

Note to self: make sure you read ALL of the print on a page when trying a recipe for Rachael Ray's Spicy Hot Pot with Noodles. If you do, you'll make sure to note the paragraph off to the side where it says they are "crazy-spicy." Grr...

The Greatest Little Spirit

Ringing in the New Year today is filled with sadness for me. One of the greatest little spirits I have had the privilege to have in my life, our cat Darla, passed away yesterday after putting up a great fight. After going up to see my family for Christmas and visiting for a few days, my sister and I slowly watched her cat's physical state decline. December 26th was filled with bursts of tears as my little sissy and I watched Darla walk a few steps and then lay down for a few minutes, repeating the process every ten minutes. It was so incredibly painful because that just wasn't our sassy little Darla. I left knowing that Darla would only have a few days left. My husband and I went to the Parker in Palm Springs with me on edge, just waiting for a phone call. After a wonderful breakfast at Norma's yesterday, I received that dreaded call. Our Darla was gone.


I haven't felt pain like this in such a long time. I am actually already dreading going up to my parent's house because it will be so painful to not have her greet me at the door. I loved that little spirit SO much. In honor of her, I am going to remember to be a bit sassy in 2010 and to always take the time to appreciate all of the things I love. Darla, I loved you so much. I know you're waiting for me now on the other side. I miss you, precious.

Darla
1993-2009

Winter Whirlwind

Wow! Where has the time gone? This month has just kinda escaped me. Between planning and running an assembly, work, decorating our house, projects, and the first two dinners we've had at our house, time has pretty much escaped me. In fact, I cannot believe that tomorrow will be Christmas. Every year, I try to savor the days leading up to Christmas, and this year I feel that I have done a much better job than last year. I am so excited to see my love ones open up their gifts.

For now, I'll play catch up with some cute birthday pictures. Here's how I spent my b-day on the first of December this year:


Can your birthday get any better than having it here? I had an absolute blast, and my husband surprised me by buying us season passes this year as our Christmas gifts. I couldn't think of a better present.

The next day, I went back to work to see that my kids had planned a surprise party for me complete with streamers and posters of Edward Cullen:




And to top it off, my hubby had a surprise party for me at our favorite wine store which hadn't even re-opened yet (they had been undergoing some revisions) that weekend! Overall, it was one of the best birthdays I'd had in years!

Grateful

I'm up in the high desert in California, sitting with my family and enjoying a few moments of quiet before we start preparing Thanksgiving dinner. I just wanted to take the time to thank all of the readers who stop by my little blog and post comments. When I am sitting stressed out at work, thinking I have taken too much on, your comments always make me smile. I am also grateful for:
- A husband who is so incredibly supportive and helpful
- A new house to start building my family in
- Family and friends who always cheer me up and make me smile
- My new espresso machine which I will use to make my very own caramel macchiatos
- My students this year, whose Bill of Rights videos have made me laugh tears of joy
- The Peppermint Mocha creamer I will be adding to my coffee Saturday morning
- And all of you bloggers whose post inspire and make me smile

May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with lots of yummy foods and laughter.

Where's the Love?

Whoa, Hanson flashback there. So my ASB students took one of our video cameras with them to the movie theater this weekend when they went and saw New Moon together. They wanted to interview people before and after the show. While together, they went to one of those build-a-bear workshops and got me this bear:

Complete with New Moon-esque t-shirt. It says, "We love you Mrs. Charron," and then all of their names.

So in gratitude, I decided to make them a little treat. Take a little of this:

Add some candy corn, and you get this:

I just about died when they said, "We don't want to eat them; they're too cute!"

Shopping Moratorium- Fin

Well, I didn't quite make it to my promise to not purchase any new clothing for three months. I ended up buying a few items at J Crew on Veteran's Day with a gift certificate I had, and then that spurred me to order two more things online with a 20% off coupon. And then things really ended when I went to the Coach outlet and bought this bag:

Funny thing is, I might end up returning this bag. Though I had a coupon for 20% off at the Coach Outlet, I ended up paying as much as I wanted for this bag which is up on Ebay right now:

I've wanted the second bag for a much longer time, but now I can't make up my mind. I think the first bag is a bit more timeless and will last through the seasons longer. But I LOVE the hardware on the second bag. What do you think?

Happy Happy, JOy JOy

Hey all,

I have been meaning to post a little update about my brand new home, but with all of the work we have been doing to it, and work itself, I've only had the energy to keep up reading all of your lovely blogs. So here is me posing in front of the house the day we got the keys:


It seems so different already since those two huge cypress trees are gone now (the hubby wanted to chop those down immediately). We were fortunate to buy a home that was completely remodeled inside, so we didn't have to do any interior work. We have painted the master bedroom and living room already though (I will post pics this weekend). It's so odd, pulling up every day when I come home from work...it still feels like a dream.

I have major plans for this weekend: finishing up a bookcase, re-painting a lingerie stand, working on a frame for our chalkboard...and having some of this:

Our Tobin James wine shipment arrived, and it could not have come at a better time. The hubby and I consider ourselves to be wine snobs somewhat, and Tobin is one of our favorites. They are usually solid wines to rely upon and are so reasonably priced. In fact, Nick proposed at the Tobin vineyard up in Paso Robles. In our latest shipment, there is a 2007 Silver Reserve Syrah that I cannot wait to crack open! Here is to tomorrow being Friday!