the smell of love

...for my yearly valentine's flowers.  the husband is not the bringing-home-surprise-flowers-all-the-time type {bc, frankly, i get sad when they die}, but once a year he patiently stands in line with the other men at the flower shop and buys me some holiday pretties.  they look so cheery in our kitchen, and they make me feel like i'm in a sappy commercial each time i stop to smell them.  which, this week, will be an innapropriate number of times.  #justbeinghonest 

pre christmas miracles

..for our own little charlie brown-esque christmas.  last week, i got home from work and found our little rosemary tree all set up and ready to live out her christmas destiny.  a few lights, garlands and ornaments (shout outs to santa gnome and the stanley cup) later, she was looking much more festive.  couple this with the onslaught of holiday films (and i use the term "film" loosely when referring to abc family's "the mistle tones") i've been watching and the fact that as of today, 99% of our gifts are wrapped and ready for delivery, and i am set to go for xmas.  bring it, santa.

amy is thankful

from the public photos section on my harddrive, and an example of a photo i was hoping to take after completing #7 below

...that my blog doesn't get its feelings hurt too easily.  sorry for not posting lately.  it's not you bloggy, it's me.  in the spirit of the holiday for which this blog is named arriving on thursday, here are 20 random things i am thankful for.  one for each day of november.

1.  we're doing our second annual double thanksgiving foodapalooza this year.  my stretchy pants and i are all set.
2.  at thanksgiving #1, we get to meet my cousin's sweet new baby Abby.  and by meet, i mean swoon over and cover with kisses.
3.  the husband is making ice cream for both our families to garnish aforementioned foodapalooza.
4.  i'm hopeful there will be some (famous) carrots at thanksgiving #2.  mmm.
5.  i'm subbing a ton of yoga classes this week, which pay peanuts but ensure that i'm only sitting around for 23/24 hours each day of vacation.
6.  i had a woman *follow me over from another yoga class i subbed to take my regular class*  i wanted to hug her.
7.  i took a horrid photography class a couple of weeks ago.  the thankful part was that groupon refunded my money and sent a sincere sounding apology email.
8.  i'm keeping the new camera i bought for the class, although so far i've only taken one (blurry) picture. {update:  i decided to return the camera after all... but thankful for costco's great customer service}.
9.  my school district gives this entire week off for the holiday.  more naps for me.
10. the husband took the entire week off, as well.  no worries, his video games don't interrupt my naps.
11. yesterday i stayed in my pjs until 2:30pm.
12. tonight we went out to dinner before yoga.  in retrospect, maaaaybe a 4x4 from in n out wasn't my best choice.
13. last month, my book club read The Flight of Gemma Hardy, which i enjoyed.  the best part was that the cute scottish author called into our meeting and we were able to chat with her and ask our questions.  i geeked out.
14. downton abbey is back on in january.  lady mary and cousin mathew!  woot!
15. for the first time in forever, i've actually started some of my christmas shopping already.  i'm usually a christmas eve shopper, so this is huge for me.
16. this is our first married thanksgiving and married christmas.  <3
17. i have a ton of pinterest diys pinned to attempt over christmas break. 
18. google reader. 
19. i found the dust pan and brush that i thought had been lost in our move this summer.  thankful not so much for finding it, but for finding it before i resigned myself to buying another one.
20. i took our leftover halloween candy into work a few weeks ago and left it in the teacher's lounge.  gone before lunch.

hoping to post at least once more this week, but might be lost in a pumpkin pie haze.  most importantly, i'm thankful for my family and friends.  <3    

golden girls and boys

...for the oldies who watch from outside their leisure world condos each memorial day morning at the laguna hills 5k.  their flag waving, cheeriness and general wrinkly adorableness make the gasping for air pleasant jog walking so much more fun.  i hope i'm that cute when i'm 90. 

love blooms

...for strong willed valentine's day flowers.  these little guys have held on for over a week now.  obvs. the card is my favorite part :)

i choo choose you

...for the valentine's day love from my students today.  these cards, boxes of chocolate, big balloon and pink pencils made me take a moment to remember how cool they are.  individually.  most days.

what are you doing, new years, new years, eve?

should be renamed 'random clues i've never heard of' crosswords

...for a rockin' nye 2011:
brain teasers
ice skating and not face planting (and learning how to skate backwards in 2012)
numb fingers
five wing visits in eight days
losing track of what day of the week it is while on vacation
another week before school starts
going to bed well before midnight
celebrating my forever man's fun thirty one

and looking forward to nye 2012 when i can celebrate the new year as a mrs.

big shoes

...that i can hang my oversized stocking by the chimney front door with care, with hopes that st. nicholas soon will be here.  and cross my fingers that i'm on the nice list this year.  santa could easily get a puppy in there, right?

giving santa a run for his money

                                                                                                                                                                             

...for stylish reindeer.  well played, rudolph.  show those other eight how it's done.

secret santas

...that i could help pack some holiday gift baskets and make some (completely random) donations of my own yesterday.  nerd alert, but baby wipes really are an all purpose tool. 

thanks and giving

...for two thanksgivings this year.  even though none of my immediate family came to tday #1, i'm thankful for aunts, uncles, cousins and wine.  and tday #2 was full of new family, wedding talk, more eating, and old photos full of fun hair and outfits.  the day after thanksgiving, i'm thankful for yoga, pjs, charlie brown holiday specials, and turkey leftovers.  i'm a lucky girl, indeed.     

i want candy

...that i made my fiance hide all of our halloween candy in the garage until this afternoon.

if i had a nickel for every time i've overswept



...for the last few days of halloween decorations.  i've never lived in an area so full of holiday lovers.  look out, santa.  the pumpkins are giving you a run for your money.   

arrrrrrr!

...for the S.S. Ahoy Matey that lives a few streets over.  i sleep better at night, knowing he's there shooting cannons across the street at whatever dragon lives inside the castle.  because rogue dragons just won't do at all on the mean streets of OC.      

drive by snapping

...that our neighbors take halloween so seriously, and that i find myself stalking other streets on friday nights.