A Picture Paints a Thousand Words...

So, sometimes the hard stuff instead of the fun. For some reason, I haven't been in a creative frame of mind recently, though I have been working hard. This time, though, the medium is me! Somehow, the New Year's Resolution seems to be sticking, and I am so much the better for it!

You see, unsurprisingly, somewhere between

http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiunruh/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

and two of these in two years,

I became

Or, as my toddler loves to say- "Look at that CHUBBY BUNNY!!!!"

Sigh.

Perhaps it was all of the

(via http://jeromes.dk)

that I consumed to "keep my energy" up while nursing my little Vikings.

Who knows.

In any case, I found myself in a bad way.

Then, one day, the skies opened up (as did the calender), and I saw THIS little beauty at Modcloth.com:

http://www.modcloth.com/store/ModCloth/Womens/Swimwear/Some+Like+it+Hot+Bathing+Suit

My oh my, look at that gorgeous bit of crepe and wishes.

Six months to swimsuit season, and I would need two firemen and a shoehorn to get into this, not to mention smelling salts when husband sees the $200 price tag.

Trust me, it would NOT be pretty.

But, with new resolve,  a few

via http://smoothieoperator.net

for breakfast,

and a LOT of

This lady is my heroine- and she is right- this stuff is ADDICTIVE!

I am back on track. Minus four pounds in 2 weeks, thank you very much!

Better than that is the ENERGY! I am feeling so much better, which is the point, isn't it?

And only 5 months left. Now about that $200 price tag???

And yet another- Recessionista does the 12 days of Giveaway!

Recessionista, who is featured in the below post for Simply Modern Mom, is also having a giveaway (the 12 days of Giveaway!!! Woo hoo!

Good Luck, and keep rockin' the Holidays!

One more giveaway- from Simply Modern Mom!

I stumbled upon this one late- and I missed out on some great giveaways! There is still time, though- SMM is giving away gifts from such great sites as Recessionista and Liliash. Check out the remaining giveaways here!

A funny song for a moody day.

It is cold and gray here in orange cone land, and I am feeling a bit off today. Not quite cranky, but getting there fast. Some days my little guys just can't resist landing smack dab in the middle of Santa's Naughty List- and believe me, they get a running start.

When I lived at home (and even long after I moved away), my late Dad, who had a rather dry sense of humor, had a sure fine response when one of us had worked ourselves in to an epic snit around the Holidays. He would raise his eyebrows, point his finger to the sky in a "Eureka!" move, and declare (in a truly ironic tone, of course) - "Tis the Season to be Jolly!".  It seldom failed to shortcircuit a bad mood. I use it on my own family now- especially when one of us is particularly cranky. It never fails to make me smile...I miss him.

As I was struggling to keep LTR (aka, Mr. Two), in Time Out this afternoon, I decided to take a moment of "Mommy Time" to have a breather and comb through my "Daily Inspirations" folder. It was a good thing, because it made my day. scrumdilly-do! is a fun crafty kids site that has a million and one awesome ideas, and today it gave me this little gem. You can catch the "professional" version here on her website. I like this one, which is live. Something about the paddy clapping live just made me smile.

Kristin Andreassen & Megan Downes - Crayola Doesn't Make a Color for your Eyes

Here is the URL if you can't get the player to work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Exw7QAqP9Q

Now, off to wrestle LTR into a much needed nap. Tis the Season, you know.