Wow, what a busy weekend and Monday we have had!
I don't know where to begin....we went to have Breakfast With Santa at the Museum of Science and History (MOSH) on Saturday. Last year's experience with Santa was nothing short of a nightmare, so we hoped that this one would fare batter. See for yourself:

We then enjoyed the museum's offerings for a few hours before heading home.

We spent the afternoon shopping, and it was exhausting, because the weather was horrible - rainy windy and cold, so it made getting in and out of the car with Daniel a huge pain and a huge time swallower.
The next morning the weather had cleared up and we were able to hit The Farmer's Market for the first time since the week before Thanksgiving. We were sorely lacking any fresh foods, and I was so excited to go back! We ended up with:
2 bags of spinach, broccoli, carrots, green and red bell peppers, Roma tomatoes, cabbage, turnips, pomegranates, pineapple, bananas, pears, blackberries, parsley, zucchini, mushrooms, lemons, and eggplant. Then my parents gave us a ton of oranges and tangerines off of their trees, so we are set! -We actually had an egg white scramble for dinner tonight with mushrooms, tomatoes, red bell pepper and capers with a little reduced fat cheese - awesome! I baked some hash browns also and had added peppers in that, so a dinner full of fresh flavors again was wonderful.
Sunday evening, Randall, Daniel and I decorated sugar cookies that I had baked off the night before. Daniel wasn't interested in the frosting, but her sure took to the sprinkles! I so enjoy doing little things like that as a family now, since the desire was lacking before, only from the lack of energy.


I wanted to use today to try to get Christmas goodie making done, and I almost succeeded - I got three batches of fudge done, and only want to make masrhmallows, which I will do in the next day or two, and then, I am truly done. I also worked on my ornament order, and got it done! Only took 2 hours to get all 15 painted once I got my organization down.
For those of you who wonder...I plan on giving 85%+ of what I made away. We took a trip to The Dollar Tree this weekend and I got my containers to pack up everything, and that was very exciting, because I like making homemade gifts a special experience, all the way to the package.
Buckets for cookies, smaller containers for candies,
and bags for smaller goody gifts!
All of the ornaments I pained:
What they look like hung up:

In the middle of the morning, I got a call from Randall as I usually do. He tells me that his boss had just come by, and mentioned their bonuses. This subject has been going around our house nearly as much as it had been going around his job.
The first year he worked there, he had only been there for three weeks before Christmas, so he was given a $25 gift card to Publix, which was much appreciated. The next year, they held a Christmas party and he got $150.00. The year after that, the owner forwent the party and dived up what she would have spent on one amongst the crew, so he got $200.00 cash for that, and $200.00 check for a bonus. Last year, he got $300.00 cash in place of the party, and a $600.00 bonus check.
This year, the company lost its biggest client this fall, and they had to let some people go, move some to part time, and its down to a staff of 15, when at one time, there was as many as 40 working there.
There was not a peep about getting anything, so we just decided to be grateful that he still had his 40 hours and let it go. He found out today..... he'll be getting $150.00 cash in place of the party, and.....
......a bonus of $1,000.00!!!! I thought I was going to have to be peeled off of the ceiling when he told me that! I flew high the rest of the day. Its going to be nice to have a little money in the bank for emergencies again. Its been a while!
Now, on to the equally as exciting news on the weight loss front. I have decided to get down and dirty with it again, and not play anymore. Three months hiatus was long enough. I am nearly done with my major projects for the season and there is no more excuses.
I got on the bike last night! I went 3.36 miles in 10 minutes, which was at least a start! I haven't been on it in nearly 2 months! I am going to be challenging myself and Randall on that bike and getting other activity in where I can. The more structured eating will resume and I am excited to get back to work and start feeling better again! I think this will also do wonders for my insomnia, too. I am so thrilled!
So, be expecting to hear better updates from here on out, for both of us!