She's a walker, folks

Update on the Cuties

For those of you who come here to see the kids... you need look no further!

Cocktail of the Month: Amaretto Sour

I had something really fun up my sleeve for January's cocktail, but it will have to wait until February. (More about that in February.) For this month, we'll just have an old standby and favorite of my husband's:

THE AMARETTO SOUR

2 oz sour mix (store-bought or homemade)

1 oz amaretto liqueur

Shake with ice in your shaker and strain into glass. Take a sip and marvel that a liqueur made from apricot pits tastes like almonds.

Kindness

Sometimes it is hard to know where to start when you have a good, long story to tell, but this part of the story begins and ends with kindness, thoughtfulness, and serious gratitude for those who bring joy into the lives of others.

My friend Laura got me the sweetest Christmas surprise. While she was visiting her parents in WA, she called me for advice about what to get her scrapbook-loving sister-in-law for Christmas. She had a few questions about Stacy Julian’s books. Strange, I thought, since I had given her one of Stacy’s books a few years earlier, and Laura and I speak often about the influence that Stacy’s method of scrapbooking and general enthusiasm for life have had on my own scrapbooking (and life). But I didn’t dwell on that during our phonecall; I gave Laura my earnest recommendation for another one of Stacy’s books. Little did I know what she was up to!


She is so sneaky! As it turns out, Laura’s parents live only minutes from Stacy Julian, and so Laura thought it would be fun to see if Stacy would be willing to sign something for me. I love that Laura had this idea and then had the gumption to just contact Stacy out of the blue; and I love that Stacy was so gracious to Laura, inviting a perfect stranger into her home during such a busy time of year. So kind and open-hearted.

When Laura got back to Kansas, she came up to our house practically right away and said “I did something kinda out of character!” And then the story unfolded, with giggling, hugs, a few tears, and SO MUCH JOY between the two of us.


Stacy sent along some beautiful papers and other scrap goodies, a spunky little book, and an autographed mousepad. Again, so kind.


But here’s what I love most. That my friend thought to do something like this for me. That she stepped outside of her comfort zone and it was worth it. That she knew how much the items themselves would mean to me, being the Stacy Julian fan & BPS/LOM geek that I am. [I realize my non-scrapping friends are probably scratching their heads right about now.]

The point is:

I do, indeed.

And that, my friends, is what I thought was the end of this little chapter on how good friends, scrapbooking, and joie de vivre are all interconnected. But not quite. You can click here to read Stacy's side of the story. It just goes to show you, yet again:

“Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from
themselves.” (James M Barrie.)

I’m fairly certain there is a lot of sunshine bouncing around inside the Julian home. I know for sure that Laura’s is full of it. Thank you, dear friend.

New Year's Mojo

Here's my cheery binder for a class I am taking over at BPS called "My Wellness Journey." The instructor, Lisa Cohen, is seriously inspiring. Aside from her many encouraging and fresh ideas about wellness (whole body health, what to eat, etc), she is also a Girls on the Run coach and apparently has the same china pattern that I have.

And here's what I've been working on in another seriously fun class, "The Challenge of Me," also at BPS.

Snippet #4

I got out of the shower this afternoon and was walking across the room with my towel on. Jillson says to me, "Mom! You look per-flect!" "Thanks, honey," I said, and she sighed and added: "You look like yourself again!" I guess she didn't like the sweaty running gear I was wearing for most of the day before I got around to showering.