Currently {December}

Reading: I started my annual reading of Rosamunde Pilcher's Winter Solstice. I never get tired of reading it!  

Watching: I watched the first episode of The Great Holiday Baking Show,

and while Mary Berry is still awesome, I agree with most of the reviews: it's a poor quality rehash of the original. It feels like they just grabbed 6 random people off the street and asked:

• Have you ever baked a cake or cookies from scratch?
• Can you turn on an oven?
• Can you leave for England tomorrow?

Knitting:  A doll sweater and hat for my niece for Christmas. And a hat for a family member. After I finish those, I plan to make my niece another Tulip Sweater. She is 9 so this will likely be her last one. 

Anticipating:  Lots of family and holiday fun! My parents are coming in for the weekend to attend our Christmas musical. Then just a few days later we'll hit the road to visit my father-in-law for a few days, then on to visit my parents, my sister and her family.

Ten on Tuesday

Joining Carole for Ten on Tuesday: 10 Best Things I Did in November

1. Celebrated my birthday with my husband
2. Had 3 fabulous Thanksgiving dinners - one at work, one we ate out and one I cooked.
3. Started de-cluttering our house. I filled 9 trash bags (tall kitchen sized)!
4. Got a head start on the holidays: Christmas photos cards were ordered, letter was written, labels are printed so we are ready to sign then assemble.
5. Rehearsed for our choir presentation with my husband.
6. Knitted a cute doll sweater for my niece for Christmas.
7. Blogged every day in  November
8. Read a couple of really good books - The Lake House and At The Water's Edge.
9. Did the majority of my Christmas shopping online
10. Made a plan/list for December to make sure I get everything done, which will hopefully help reduce the level of holiday stress.

NaBloPoMo #30: What a Ride!

First for NaBloPoMo: I managed to blog every day and while some days I struggled with what to write about or only posted a photo, I enjoyed exploring my creative side. While I doubt I'll keep blogging every day, I am going to try and do so on a more regular basis. I enjoy having a record to look back on of the events in my life and things I've made.

Second for the UNC Football Team: Back on September 3rd,  they lost to USC and were unranked. They have since reeled off 11 straight wins (the last against our in-state rivals), are ranked #8, have the opportunity to play the nation's #1 team in the ACC championship game next week, and a possible prestigious bowl game still on the horizon. Usually at this time of year, fans are more excited about basketball, than football, so what a ride it's been!

NaBloPoMo #29: Two More Weeks

We sang the first song from our choir musical at church this morning and other than a young man nearly passing out (he made the mistake of locking his knees) it went well. Thankfully, we have several doctors and nurses in our congregation who kindly rushed out to make sure he was ok.

NaBloPoMo #28: Saturday Morning Sky

NaBloPoMo #27: Friday Links

*Friday links are a selection of some of my favorite posts, recipes, articles, and photos from this week.

• Yesterday we had Thanksgiving dinner at the Washington Duke Inn (our annual tradition) and as usual it was amazing. Here are a few photos:

View as we walked down the hall to the banquet room:

Line to get it in - it moved quickly.

Yummy food:

Dessert!

Standing near the pie table:

• Yesterday afternoon we watched the Carolina Panthers beat the Dallas Cowboys, so the hype surrounding their undefeated season continues.  Here is a funny video of the quarterback Cam Newton mic'ed up.

• My husband read this entire book yesterday! I got it from the library and was 3/4 through it, when he borrowed it. Since it read it so quickly, I didn't mind.

NaBloPoMo #26: Giving Thanks

For the many blessings in my life.