Nerd Alert

I'm nerdy... let's just get that out of the way right now. I love browsing through the gadgets & gizmos at Bed Bath & Beyond and other kitchen stores. You never know what you might find and there are so many quirky things out there. Well, you will never believe what I found today. My new friend... Brown Sugar Bear. I will never have hard brown sugar again! Do you know how happy that makes me?!?! I get so frustrated when I'm baking and I go to take out the brown sugar and its just a brick. Now, I've tried putting a piece of bread in there, but I just end of with hard as a brick bread and hard as a brick brown sugar. So... I'm hoping that Brown Sugar Bear is the trick! Not only does it do that, listen to what else it can do...

~keeps cakes & cookies moist

~keeps raisins, coconut and other dried fruits fresh

~keeps licorice fresh

~keeps spices dry

~keeps salt dry

~keeps crakcers & chips crispy

All of that for a $3.99 Brown Sugar Bear. It's a good day folks... a good day.

P.S. I know what you are thinking... "did Dawn really just do a blog post 3 days in a row"?! Yes... Yes I did. That's how I roll.

Artwork from Ethiopia

I've been meaning to show you all this picture for ummm like 6 months now. So, today is the day. Here's the picture that we bought while in Ethiopia. I'm SO happy that we bought this canvas. It's a picture of the road to the U.S. Embassy. So, we thought it was meaningful & beautiful. We absolutely love it and I think it will be a great gift to give Jaxson one day.

Thankful

As usual, I'm behind on the blogging, so I'll catch up soon. But, seeing as Thanksgiving is this week, I thought it would be appropriate to do a post about what I'm thankful for.

1. I'm thankful for the 28 years that I had with my Grandpa. He is the strongest man I know and I am so proud of him. He will be deeply missed, but we carry him with us.

2. I'm thankful to have my other 3 grandparents alive and apart of my life.

3. I'm thankful for 2009. What an AWESOME year!! Jaxson has brought us more joy than we could have ever imagined. Ever.

4. I'm thankful for all of our friends & family. They have been such a great support system to us when we've needed it the most.

5. I'm thankful for the roof over my head. I often complain about how small our house is and how we need to get a new one. Then, I think of our time in Ethiopia. Do I really need a new house? No. So, I'm thankful for my itty bitty 1100 sq ft home that is packed full of toys and stuff and lots of love.

6. I'm thankful for my super comfy pajama pants that I'm currently wearing. Hey... not gonna lie... somedays I can't wait to get home from work and slip them right on. It's the simple things in life...

7. I'm thankful for my health, Tim's health and Jaxson's health. Cancer sucks. Too many people that I love and care for have strugged or are currently struggling with it.

8. I'm thankful for my husband. I knew that I hit the jackpot with Tim. He's wonderful, but once Jaxson came along, a whole new side of Tim came out that I didn't know. He amazes me everyday with his patience, love and compassion. He is the BEST dad. The look in his eyes when he looks at Jaxson melts my heart. The way he talks about Jaxson... melts my heart.

I'm blessed.

Birthday Boy!

Today was the little man's 1st Birthday! We spent the day just hanging out as a family, it was really nice and very much needed. My grandpa is not doing well, so stress & emotion levels have been very high. So... here are some pictures from our day...