The 52 Week Money Challenge – you game?

52week

I am officially participating in the 52 week money challenge.  Anyone else in?  I’m on week three now and still going strong. (Ha!)  All you have to do is get a jar, print out this chart, and add the indicated amount of money to the jar each week.

Week one: one dollar, week 3: three dollars, and so on.  At the end of the  year you’ll have $1378 in your jar!!!  That’s at least one trans-atlantic plane ticket!

And while you’re looking around the house for large empty jars, put one aside for this other fun idea: A Year of Fun & Good Times.

Every time something especially funny happens throughout the year, write it on a little piece of paper and stick it in the jar.  You could write happy memories, funny stories, or other things you don’t want to forget.  On New Year’s Eve, open the jar up and read about all the great things that happened to you this year.

Stockingless

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Well, I’m guessing your stockings are no longer hung by the chimney with care since Christmas has been over for about a month now.  I usually post about what I’d like to find in my stocking BEFORE Christmas, but this year I’m writing about my stocking wishes after the fact.

Actually, in Italy, we do the stocking thing on the night of January 5th, not December 24th.  So I’m not all that late for the Italian holiday, which, fyi, is known as the Befana.

I made my stocking list on Pinterest this year and think that it’s a fabulous way to keep track of these kinds of presents.  Why?  A) You have a picture that gives you an immediate visual and 2) You have a link that (usually) takes you to a site where you can buy that item or at least find out more about it.  If you’re playing Santa for someone and they have a list like this, it makes your “job” so much easier!  Plus, Santa’s helpers can leave comments like, “I heard through the Elf grapevine that this stocking stuffer has already been accounted for.”  (Disclaimer: I’m currently rather obsessed with Pinterest, so my opinion here may be slightly biased)

 

Summer Vacation 2012

Here are the pictures from our trip to Greenville, SC & Tybee Island.  Carrie & Oak came to visit us at Mom & Dad’s new place in Greenville.  They brought a ton of awesome summer sausage, artisan beer, cheese and fancy mustard with them too, which we totally pigged out on for days!  After exploring Greenville for a week we drove over to Savannah and had a family reunion on Tybee Island, GA.  Ben flew in from California, Phoebe came down from New Jersey and Seth met us there since he was living nearby.  A week on the beach!

Among the  most memorable highlights were an amazing impersonation of Tiny Tim performed by Dad (please see video), paddle boarding in the ocean, boondoggling, daily pool games in our very own kitchen, hours and hours on the beach, and plenty of family bonding.  Read on for pictures and anecdotes!

THE Ultimate Stocking: 2011

It’s that time of year again!

Ultimate Stocking time, of course. This is a tradition I started in 2003 (can you believe it?!) and it’s still going strong (at least in my heart). The Ultimate Stocking is a space for you to share with the world what you hope to get in your stocking this year.  Just leave your list in a comment below and rest assured that your prayers will be answered (mine always have!)

I was reading over previous years’ stuffings and discovered I almost always hope for the same thing, so I’m going to try and mix it up a little this year.

Santa, if you’re listening, here’s what I’m hoping for:

  • A magnetized pin box
  • A roller cutter like one of these
  • Sewing chalk (for marking lines and tracing patterns)
  • An attachable light for my kindle (All the best places to read seem to be dark corners…)
  • The broken part on sewing machine (Since you’re all-knowing, I guess you can figure this out, it’s the thing that makes the thread turn.  I’m improvising with a chopstick right now)
  • A gift certificate to Ancestry.com World (just a few  months)
  • A  yard stick that has the metric system on it too
  • Tickets (anywhere, to anything, surprise me)
  • Something to make my jewelry not tarnish anymore (maybe a jewelry box would help too…)
  • Gift certificate to shoe and/or clothing store
  • Magnetized notepad for the fridgerator
  • A purse hook (this one’s really tacky, but this is the idea)
  • One of Aunt Cindy’s pecan pies
  • A jar of Aunt Carmel’s homemade sweet pickles
  • Seeds for next year’s garden
  • Little pinzer hair clamps
  • Pedicure gift certificate
  • Sewing lesson (how to read patterns/take measurements…)
  • Homemade Christmas tree ornaments
  • Christmas music
  • A bottle of Opi nail polish
  • Fresh White Musk body spray (Lori Bennett gave me some a couple of years ago and it’s lasted forever without getting that nasty old perfume smell.  I love it!)

As usual, everyone who shares their stocking hopes will be entered in a contest to win a fabulous MoltenChocolate prize!  Merry Christmas!

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