Frosty doesn't have to worry about melting here!

Anybody else in the NW feel like they are living in an ice box right now? This week has brought an arctic blast of snow and ice, and the weatherman says there is only more to come! Currently it's 18 degrees outside, and I don't care to challenge that metric as I am cuddled with a blanky in front of the wood stove.

Tonight Sam and I went to Winco to get a few groceries. Oh my word, was it crowded. The lines were enormously long, most baskets heaping with food. Since there was such madness, we decided to make the trip worth our while and get a few more groceries to get us through the next few snowy days. Jenni's reserves = cheese, milk, eggs, rice, almonds, bananas, bread, and meat. Sam's reserves = beer and water. Shared reserves = lots o' canned soup.

It's interesting what kind of events brings new learning opportunities. While I like things that smell fresh, we've discovered there is a limit to the amount of freshness we can handle. Let's just say that we're going to try sprinkling the walkway with salt next time rather than kitty litter. Meow.

Have yourself a "Fluffy" Merry Christmas

Can you believe it's almost Christmas!?! Even more amazing, this week will officially mark the 7th month of my pregnancy finished!!!

Baby Nora is definately becoming bigger as her movements are now becoming noticeable on the outside. One of the latest ammusements of our family is to sit and watch my dancing belly. I have yet to see an actual hand or foot print yet, but I keep waiting!

Since so many of you have been wanting to see "fluffy Jenni", I included a picture of my happy belly. I had to have this picture taken next to our wood stove which Sam and I have grown to love this past month. While we do have heating in the house, we've decided to opt for the price of free wood (thanks Mom and Dad!). In addition, it provides an amazingly cozy atmosphere for our house. Not to mention, I think Sam likes the compliments on his manly fires - I'm expecting a second man-hair to appear on his chest any day now.

Today I spent some time putting up Christmas decorations. I was rocking out to Christmas music, drinking apple cider, had the fire going while making the house festive - does it get better than that?

This is our Christmas tree this year. A bit easier than a 6 foot tree, and one I can carry by myself! The other cool thing about this tree is it's a live tree that we can plant outside afterwards. I did discover, however, that our ornament are truly meant for a much larger tree. Next year...