I <3 Christmas

I love Christmas. But not for the presents. Presents are stressful. Both the stress of buying them and the guilt of receiving them (really, I'm not that great...) (Although I'm thankful that I'm able to get 15 of my friends to agree to have a White Elephant / Pot Luck party in lieu of buying each other gifts, and that my co-workers and I are buying shoes for a homeless shelter & soup kitchen in lieu of gifts for each other.)

No, I love Christmas for the decorations. Specifically the ones that light up. Especially Christmas trees and anything else that is illuminated.

Tree:


Ornaments:







Balcony:

tonight's sunset

This picture may have been cooler if I had gotten home 15 minutes earlier. But it's still pretty cool.

RIP Gretchen

Gretchen
Originally uploaded by notmargaret

my betta has passed on from this world. I could tell he was going to die soon - he stopped eating and just kind of hung out at the bottom of his tank. I kept waiting to find him floating. But today I noticed the hadn't moved at all. Even though he was still at the bottom of the tank. So I guess fish don't always float when they die??

Anyway, I won't be getting another fish. They are thankless pets. Sorry.

eyelashes

eyelashes
Originally uploaded by notmargaret

getting ready for Halloween. would it be weird if I started wearing these eyelashes for non-costume purposes? like to work, or perhaps for a festive evening out with friends?

jack-o-lanterns

my pumpkin is on the left, Rob's is on the right. mine was kind of 3-sided, so I gave it two faces.



scary face



funny face

my husband is a giant

Just look at how tiny our niece looks in his giant mitts. Granted she is a preemie, but still.

Yes! Michigan!

photos from my trip to Traverse City, MI

Jack loves van rides


Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes .... pretty steep!


Cherry Republic .... pretty much everything is made with cherries


Long Lake


Long Lake


Loren & Jack


Another beach .... somewhere


and yet another beach ... somewhere else

beach

I went to the beach yesterday ... can you tell I've finally learned my lesson after years of burning instead of tanning?