I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas weekend! I hope it was full of family, friends and food…lots of all three! But, now that Christmas is over and 2011 comes to an end, we have end of the year work to get done, and New Years resolutions to make and stick to for 2012!

New Years resolutions are tricky entities. We make New Years resoltuions because we want to make a change in our lives…we have the best of intentions for our New Years resolutions, but somehow our want to make a change becomes a burden or too difficult and we fall off our new wagon and back into our old ways. For 2012, let’s make a real change – let’s stick to it! The goal of the 2012 New Years resolution is to follow through – so make your resolution something you truly can do! Don’t set yourself up for failure. If you’ve never worked out before and you want to lose some weight, don’t make your resolution to hit the gym 5 days a week and go on a super-strict diet 7 days a week. Start with smaller steps, such as Cook healthy meals at least one more day a week and exercise at least one more day a week than before. This way, you’re able to accomplish your goal and you’ll be setting yourself up for easier success. If you like to stay active but you’re too busy to hit the gym, and too cold to go running outside, take the plunge and purchase that elliptical you’ve been looking to buy but never did!

This year, take the time to really think about your New Years resolution for 2012. Make a change in your life that you believe you really can make without feeling guilty. Make your New Years resolution right for you this year!

Do you ever see something in a store that reminds you of something from when you were a child? I feel like most of the time I do not remember much of my childhood (sorry mom, I know this makes you sad), but there are some items that will spark a memory, or at least trigger a past moment that makes me smile.

Recently I have had two moments just like these. Both of my moments made me think of my grandfather. When I was in the grocery store ice cream isle the other day, I saw black cherry ice cream. Usually impossible to find, it brought me right back to having ice cream with my grandfather on a hot, sunny day. Then when I was in line at the pharmacy I saw candy orange slices. I don’t like them, but they, too, remind me of my grandfather as they were his favorite candy.

When I brought these moments up to a friend of mine, she told me she always remembers seeing the clear plastic gumdrop trees during this time of year. They are these little Christmas tree servers that get decorated with gumdrops. Apparently, she remembers the gumdrop tree at parties when she was younger. I have never seen a gumdrop tree, but now that I learned about them, I wouldn’t mind having one.

Is anyone else in holiday shopping panic mode? As of today there are just 9—count them, NINE—shopping days left! I have just realized there are people I’ve forgotten to buy gifts for, gifts I somehow thought I purchased but did not, and I still need host/hostess gifts for holiday parties and some stocking stuffers. I would like to get all of these things online as I have limited time and the malls are crowded. And if they were all in one place online, that would be even better!

All this week on Live With Kelly, they are sharing great gift ideas on the Holiday Gift Giving Guide. A few of the products they showed are exactly what I need! On Tuesday they shared gift ideas for guys, you can see the entire video here. Two items really piqued my
interest; the Rip 60 Training System (shown at 0:25). And a Portable Grill (shown at 1:37). This isn’t the same grill as shown on Live With Kelly, but it’s the same price and has the side tables!

On Wednesday, they showed some great stocking stuffers. They showed a wine bottle cover that looks like a Sock Monkey! (see it at 5:20). They said it was $12 on the show, but Taylor Gifts has it for just $9.98. This is such a great hostess gift…I’m getting a couple to have on hand!

After ordering a few of these items, I’ll be almost done my shopping!

Then I have to start wrapping…

It is now less than 2 weeks away from Christmas. Have you purchased all of the gifts you need to buy this year? Has any person or item slipped your mind and you need ideas fast? Now is crunch-time! Make a list, check it twice, and be sure you don’t forget someone important to you. I have made my list below of some of my favorite stocking stuffer ideas. Check out this link for even more stocking stuffers

1.

Personalized Pendant Necklace

2.

Personalized Stainless Steel Charm Bracelet

3.

GPS Cup Holder

4.

Manicure Set

5.

Micro Touch Max

As I drive and walk around the city, I always look at the Christmas decorations. I Get it from my mom. I always loved driving around with her, looking at the lights people had put up on their homes for the holiday season. So far this year I have come across a few great Christmas decorations and I thought I might share my top five favorite Christmas decorations with you. In no particular order, you can find my list below.

1. Solar Powered Christmas Lights

2. Solar Christmas Path Trees

3. Outdoor Pre-Lit Reindeer

4. Polar Bear with Lights

5. Giant Lighted Poinsettia

The holidays are in full swing! There is only one more holiday shopping weekend left or 13 days total…but who is counting? I have only checked a few gifts off my shopping list and I need to kick it into high gear. I know what I am getting most people on my list, I just have to order it or go to the store to pick the items up.

I was still in need of a good stocking stuffer for the ladies on my list, both friends and family. I think stocking stuffers are a gift that you can get a bunch of and give to multiple people. They don’t always have to be unique gifts. And I found it! Salon Express This is the best new As Seen on TV item! You can make all kinds of great designs on your nails at home. Having this done at the nail salon would cost a fortune…but you can create your own designs over and over at home.

I think I’ll be getting the men personalized drink mugs. And that should just about do it for the stocking stuffers.
What are your stocking stuffer ideas?

As I was awaiting my brother’s arrival to my apartment to pick up the mattress and box spring I stored for him, I took the rare opportunity to do one of my favorite things: wake up early, get some things together and the dishwasher running, and get back into bed while the dishwasher did the work and watched TV in my cozy warm bed on a chilly morning. Coffee would have been nice, but not nice enough to make myself. Anyway, while I was watching TV something fun caught my eye…an air hockey table.

I am not sure what it was about the air hockey table that made me smile, but it did. I don’t even remember what the commercial was for. It got me thinking about playing air hockey. When I was little my brother and I had an air hockey table and we used to play it all the time. I distinctly remember it always being fun, but everyone’s fingers were always getting beat up and it hurt. It also got me thinking of the other games I used to play. We used to play pool at my friend’s house on her dad’s pool table and I was terrible…by far the worst pool player ever. And even as I grew older I was still a horrible pool player. But, even at that I always wanted my own pool table.

I love easy and relaxing mornings that get me thinking about good times from when I was young. Maybe I should buy a pool table and an air hockey table when I buy my own house.

I realized the other day that over the past 2 months I must have blogged about pumpkin chocolate chip cookies at least 3 times. I came across this recipe on Kelly’s blog and it has been a hit for me ever since I baked them the first time.

These cookies are amazing…hands down just great cookies. When I made them the first time I was nervous because the consistency of the cookies turned out to be cake-like instead of chewy, so I wasn’t sure how my audience would receive them. When the 5 dozen cookies were gone in just a few days and people kept asking me for more, I know this was a recipe to keep and definitely repeat. I even made a batch of these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for Thanksgiving and I divided up the large amount between me and 2 of my friends. I figured with the amount of cookies one batch makes, all 3 of our families could enjoy some for the holiday. This past Sunday I made them again for an upcoming party.

With all of this being said, I am not sure if I ever provided you with the recipe for these cookies! Here is the recipe. My recommendations are as follows: Use half semi-sweet chocolate chips and half milk chocolate chips, use more than 2 cups (no one ever complains about having too many chocolate chips in their cookies), make sure you use sheet liners, and be sure when you put them in a container to put wax paper in between the layers so they don’t stick together. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

My plan for this weekend: Get as much done as humanly possible 2 in two days plus some of Friday night. I am taking this weekend as an opportunity to be as productive as I can in holiday shopping and getting my apartment organized.

I have a lot to do and not a lot of time. So instead of spreading it all out over the next few weeks, I am going to try to squeeze it all in 2 days. I have errands including returning items purchased online that do not fit and picking up shoes I had re-healed at the cobbler. I also have to make it to at least one store so I can check my mom, and hopefully a few others, off my To Buy For list. I also made a promise to spend some time with a friend on Saturday, and I am hoping to fit in some errands while I am with her–because what says “hanging out” better than running my errands together? Lastly, but most importantly, I am finally cleaning out my closet and drawers.

It has been cold outside for well over a month, and I have not yet changed my drawers from summer clothes to winter clothes…it’s time. Also, it is a fact that I have too many clothes. I have clothes that I haven’t worn in several years. It’s time to clean it all up. It is the season to give, and I think I could make several families very happy with the amount of clothes I can donate. I have already prepared for my massive cleaning. Aside from trash bags to pack up my clothes to donate, I have purchased more thin hangers so I can free up space in my drawers and hang most everything. The goal is to finish this task on Friday…it will be an exciting start to the weekend!

As of yesterday I found myself in holiday shopping mode! I am not sure what registered for me to make the switch, but suddenly, I felt the need to purchase every gift I need this season. I made a list of the rest of the people I need to shop for, and I began to think about what to do from there.

I love shopping for presents. I love purchasing a gift for someone that I know is perfect and that they will love. I hate when I cannot think of a perfect gift. I do not like to give someone something that they won’t remember. Sometimes it’s just not so easy to come up with the perfect gift. For example, a group of us are participating in a Secret Santa gift exchange. I was actually really excited for my pick! I like this person, and I know he is very appreciative of anything ever given to him. But especially because he is so nice and appreciative, I want to be sure to get him something extra special…but I don’t even know where to begin. This is why I am thankful for the Gift Finder I can go to it and search for great items that he might like based on his likes.

So, while I am on my shopping mission to finish purchasing every gift I need, I will definitely be using a Gift Finder for assistance on the tricky people in my life. Happy shopping!