christmas tree with a little flair

i wish i could take credit for how awesome my christmas tree looked this year BUT i can't.... better homes and gardens december 2010 issue showed me this unique idea of adding branch's/sticks to my tree. we decided to not get a real tree this year and use the old fake tree i bought when i lived in my first apartment- it did look pretty small with the high ceilings in the new house...so adding the branch's/sticks took our small tree to a different level.

great finds....

french hen barn had their first holiday barn sale and i had to go... and its a good think i got there when they opened! look at all the great finds i brought home with me! within 5 mins i had a pile behind the counter and could have bought so much more. i even had to make a trip to the atm and come back.
while shopping i ran into my friends happy hopefuls and salutations- i can't wait to see what they bought. can't wait for the next sale- i won't miss it!

Thursdays... my day off

I say that Thursdays are my day off.... but really its my work from home day. The greatest parts of this day is that it truly is my day off from the real world. I don't have to get up and shower and face the crazy/busy world- I can put my sweats on and boot my computer up... and I am working by 7am- this is one whole hour before I usually get to work. I'm finding that I have less distractions and I'm more productive when I am working from home. My cube at work has tons of papers and flies everywhere- at home I have what I need to do for the day. When I get to work  (about 8am depending on traffic) I catch up with my co-workers and even go get coffee.. I am at my desk working by 8:30. We work in what is called an open office atmosphere- taking and making phone calls is really distracting with the noise- my day off... I can make calls and not be distracted.

BUT the absolute best part of my day off is that I don't have to get in my car and drive anywhere- when I leave work in the evening it can take me on average 1.5 hours to get home. I am tired, hungry and cranky- but not on my day off!

I believe that everyone should have at least one day off from this crazy/busy corporate world.