Family Traditions – Thoughts Along Life's Highway

Remember the song from The Sound of Music?

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens;

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens;

Brown paper packages tied up with strings;

These are a few of my favorite things.

Well, here are a few of my favorite things (this week)

See's Candies
Have you tried their chocolate? It's a west-coast thing and I would've never known about it except that my mom introduced me to them last winter. (which is weird because she is as far east as you can get, but that's another story) ANYWAY, they are good. I mean, REALLY good. I am a chocolate snob. I don't eat "regular" chocolates, unless there is a chocolate emergency, of course. But the chocolates at See's are to-die-for.
I actually ordered myself a box a couple of months ago. I have it stashed on a shelf in my office and when I am having a bad day, I enjoy a piece (no one knows the box is there- it's my secret treasure – and that is why it has lasted so long. If the kids or the hubby knew it was there they would've gobbled it up already)

They have this thing called a Scotchmallow.

YUM. It's got a base layer of caramel, homemade honey marshmallow on top of that and then it is enrobed in dark chocolate. All I can say is when I die, I hope there are unlimited scotchmallows in heaven. Because there should be.
the MyBook Adaptable Planner
This is the coolest idea. I saw one that a friend had a couple years ago and I have been wanting one ever since. I finally found out where the planner came from in September (I'm lame, I know) and ordered one. Actually, I ordered four.

They have a small size (4×6) that is perfect for slipping into your purse or tote and you can put all sorts of decorations in the photo sleeves. I got one of these for my mom and I'm going to decorate it with pictures of the grandkids for her.

The larger size (6×8) is good if you need more space to write. I am going to use one of those as a journal next year. I've already started decorating it. Once I get it finished, I'll post some pictures so you can see what it looks like.
The Couch to 5k Running Plan
Well, I don't actually love this yet. I love the idea of it, though. And, I'm seriously thinking I'm going to give it a whirl. What do I have to lose? I have always wanted to be a runner (something about the sweating part always got in the way, though) and maybe this will help me achieve my goals. I'll have to keep you posted on this one.
My digital camera
We treated ourselves to a new camera last year as our Christmas gift (there wasn't really anything my husband I wanted or needed so we got that instead of a bunch of other stuff) I LOVE IT. It's a Pentax DSLR and I just love the crispness of the pictures and the vibrancy of the colors. I carry it everywhere and I'm always snapping pictures (like this one) of the family and day-to-day happenings.

My camera makes me happy.
Friday Night Mexican
This has become a standard tradition in our house. Mom's too tired to cook, everyone is fried, so off we go to the local Mexican joint (we frequent several around here) and indulge in copious amounts of queso dip, fajitas, tacos, quesadillas and margaritas (for Mom & Dad, of course)
It's a great wind-down to the week and it's so nice to not have a messy kitchen to clean up afterward.