at the moment

Good morning!  How was your weekend?  Will and Tommy went to see "Rise of the Guardians" on Saturday afternoon, which they both really enjoyed.  Yesterday, we watched (with mouths hanging open and hearts in throats) as the Redskins narrowly squeaked past the Ravens in a crazy overtime win.  Then I made an amazing dinner, but more on that in a few.

Today I thought I'd give you a little glimpse of some of the things I'm loving at the moment.

in my basket

As you can see, my project basket is full of homemade gifts in varying stages of done-ness.  Here's a closer look at what I'm working on:

Tommy's nesting squares blanket is almost done! 

Choo-choo train fabric waiting to be made into matching Christmas pajamas for Big T and AB.

A pretty bundle of fabric to be made into.....ahhh, sorry, can't spill the beans on this one since the recipient is reading!

Soon-to-be mittens waiting in the wings.

Hats coming along.

Hopefully all of these projects will end up in the hands of their recipients before, or on (ok, or just after) December 25.   Every spare moment is spent with needles in hand, knitting a row here and there.  Pretty soon it'll be time to dust off my great-grandmother's sewing machine.  Maybe this will be the year I'll spend less time seam-ripping and more time actually sewing.  Yeah...probably not.  But I will get those sewing projects done, no matter how many times I have to start over.

on the table

Last night for dinner, I made one of my favorite things:  Chicken Stew with Rosemary-Garlic Dumplings.  It's a little time intensive but trust me when I say that it's definitely worth the effort.  Naturally, I found this recipe through SouleMama and have loved it ever since.  Go here to see the recipe.  It's really good as is, but if you happen to have a couple lonely potatoes and carrots laying around, we think it's extra good with those thrown in.  Just add them with the onions and celery.  Lucky for me, there's enough left over for lunch today and hopefully tomorrow, too.  

on my nightstand

 - A big stack of books that's largely being ignored in favor of working on the above projects (with the exception of my daily reading from the Bible and Simple Abundance). 

- Constant Comment tea in a Christmas mug.

- A new "Gin and Rosewater" candle that I picked up on Small Business Saturday when I was home for Thanksgiving.

- Hershey's chocolate bar.  Duh.  (Every girl should have a chocolate bar on her nightstand...unless of course you're like Carrie...and then you should have a small stack of lemon squares.)

in the mail

The newest issue of taproot came last week!  Love. It.

with the kids

Annabel discovered her brother's goggles early one morning and has been bringing them to me to put on her ever since.  This photo isn't the greatest, but she's still adorable.

 My new strategy for keeping them happy and occupied while I cook dinner on nights when Will's working late.  It works really well until Annabel starts throwing all the crayons on the floor and Tommy starts yelling at her to stop.

at the gym

Somehow, Dani talked me into training for a 5k, 10k, half marathon and triathlon with her.  We just ran a 5k on Thansgiving morning, but I decided to start on day one of this new training plan she sent to me a couple weeks ago.  I've never been a long distance runner, much preferring the quick sprint from home to first (and hopefully the rest of the way around) of my many years of softball.  But since I started training for the Turkey Trot a few months ago, a funny thing has happened. I've actually started to like running. Exercise has become my time away from life.  Tommy's at school, Will's at work, Annabel has a great time playing in the kids area (when I ask her if she had fun she furiously nods her head), and I can either tune out with my music or tune in to my own thoughts without it.  I need that time, and I so look forward to it. Not to mention the fact that my gym time keeps all of those chocolate bars in check.  Ahem.

So there you have it...a little bit of what I'm loving at the moment.  I'm off to enjoy my Monday, which is sure to be a good one with my coloring, goggle wearing kids, my leftover chicken stew, plenty of knitting, and an hour at the gym.  Wishing you a lovely day, friends!