Songs of The Season: I Need A Silent Night.

Being a full time working mom and wife is hard.  It's tiring, and leaves you with little time (and energy) for yourself.  My days start early and end late.  The alarm sounds at 6:04am (no, I don't know what the random :04 is about, but that's what time it goes off), and I'm lucky to be in bed before 11:00pm most nights. 

We get up, get breakfast put together, get a groggy little girl up, dressed, teeth brushed, makeup on, diapers changed, grab all of our crap, and we're out the door.  I put in my eight hours, swing by and pick G up from the nanny's house, rush home, start dinner, clean up after dinner, pack lunches, scoop litter boxes, get G bathed and in bed, and usually by about 9:00pm, I can relax for a few minutes before completely zonking out on the couch only to awake an hour or more later and realize I still have to shower.  Oy vey.  As if a regular work week isn't draining enough, when you add the holidays into the mix, it's like a double whammy. 

I've heard today's song of the season dozens of times.  I've liked it since the first time I heard it, because I can relate.  This year, I Need A Silent Night seemed to take on a different meaning.  With all the hustle and bustle of every day life, and the added impact of the Christmas season, I just need a break.  And chances are, you're probably nodding your head in agreement because you need a break too.  December tends to get shorter every year.  College football season starts, then Halloween, Thanksgiving, and before you know it's the day after Christmas and you find yourself standing in a living room full of Christmas remnants wondering where the month went.  It happens every year...but seemingly quicker and more aggressively with each Christmas that comes and goes. 

Personally, I'm trying to make this year different by focusing on what's important -- family, good health, love, and most importantly the birth of our Savior.  If my mind and heart are in the right place, I'm sure my body will follow ... and maybe then, I'll get my silent night. 


Happy Christmas!

'Tis the Season for Cooking.

As I mentioned in my Black Eyed Peas post last week, I love to cook! And, as a mom and a wife who works outside the home, sometimes it's hard to find time to try something new. That being said, I'm always on the prowl for quick, easy recipes. And today, I stumbled upon a site that I think might aid in my search for new and simple dinner ideas - Woman's Day! Under their general Food & Recipe page, you'll find sub categories like Quick Recipes, Healthy Recipes, Dessert Recipes, and Holiday Recipes, as well as some helpful tips that might be useful in your kitchen. Another tool they offer is Month of Menus. In that section, they offer menus and shopping lists for months past (dating back to 2007), the current month, and the month to come. It not only offers main course suggestions, but side dishes as well. It's pretty much a no-thinking situation for busy moms like me and you! And I don't know about you, but the less thinking I have to do about dinner...the better.

I have bookmarked a handful of their Quick Recipes that I'm looking forward to trying. If you try any of them, be sure to let me know which ones were your favorite. I'll be posting my faves soon! Stay tuned.

**The picture is Ravioli with Sauteed Butternut Squash and Thyme!

To Bag or Not to Bag?

Gift-bagging is the easy, error-free alternative to wrapping. There's no tape involved, no paper, no boxes...just a bag and a gift - and possibly some tissue paper. You don't have to worry about the 2 year old trying to steal the scissors, or getting tape stuck in her hair. And there's no ribbon for the cat to inevitably eat. You just open the bag, toss in the gift, and then neatly arrange some tissue paper so that it doesn't look like it's been sitting in your gift-wrapping bin since last Christmas. Easy as pie, right? Mmmm, pie - no wait, wrong blog! Sorry. Back to the topic at hand....this weekend, I learned there's more to it than just a bag and a gift...and some tissue paper. There are three key rules to successful gift-bagging.

1. Don't buy a cheap bag. I'm the queen of thrifty, but there's a huge difference between inexpensive and cheap. Remember that!

2. Make sure the bag is big enough for the gift you're trying to cram in it. Once again, cheap isn't a good idea.

3. And finally, make sure that the gift you're bagging, isn't too heavy for the bag. This is the ultimate reason not to go cheap. Picture it - the gift is in the bag, the tissue paper is primped, everything looks great. You pick it up, and as you're walking out the door, the handles snap, the top of the bag rips, the entire package hits the ground, and now your tissue paper has crumpled, and the gift has toppled on to the floor. And now you're back at square one. Fail.

Keep these rules in mind as the Holidays are upon us, and we will soon find ourselves asking the age-old question - to bag or not to bag?