Where will you be in 5 years from today?

Where will you be in 5 years from today?

There is this book floating around Starbucks, it is actually ONLY sold at starbucks right now. I have been to three stores looking for it after seeing a picture of it on flickr from a photographer.

The other day in the back of Mom's car, the book is there! She got it as a Christmas gift and I am hoping I can find one soon at store, because I want to do it.

It is a book/Journal that ask you questions, gives you examples and helps you form where you would like to be in the next 5 years. It encourages you to think big, to find balance, and to achieve your dreams.. to aim high. I will try and get some pictures of it and post them.

It has great quotes in it, the one on the cover is one of my favorites. I exchange quotes with Natalie from time to time, and I am going to try and post ones I like here once a week..

Here is the one on the cover:

"The greatest day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. The gift of life is yours - it is an amazing journey - and you get to determine the quality of it. Live the next five years on purpose. Now is the time. Imagine the possibilities. Go places, have adventures, make a real difference, do what you love. Follow your dreams, they know the way."

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas weekend.

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas weekend.

For Christmas I asked Keith for a Flip, which is a hand held video camera. It is very compact, and takes video up to an hour in time. The best part is that it has built in software, so you just have to plug the camera into a usb port (comes with a built in USB plug) and then upload from there. I am going to try and capture more video of D in this next year, and HAVE to get his laugh on tape because it is the cutest thing ever.

Here is a link to a video from Christmas Day. Were were over at Chris and Julie's for dinner and he is playing with the toy we gave to Lily (we have one at home as well).

Merry Christmas !!

Merry Christmas !!

I can not believe it is Christmas Eve. I am not sure where this year went, or how we got to the end of it so fast. As I get older I feel like time is speeding up. On the Eve of Christmas I still have a handful of things to do before I sit back and enjoy the holiday. I am excited to see Christmas through Darrian's eyes, and I am excited that as he gets older it is just going to be better. The then and now pictures to the left could not be any more different, but at the same time the same. Darrian is a gift, the best gift I have ever been given in my entire life. He makes me smile, and in a year that has been so hard.. he brings so much laughter to my life. It is not an understatement to say that he is my reason for smiling. He is still that smiling baby, he has always had a great outlook on life. Last night Ellen was on, and he loves to dance with her. and not just sway but REALLY dance. As a matter of fact if he is sitting down he HAS to stand up and really get into it. Last night he was pulling out all his moves, and Keith and I just had to sit back and crack up. He is a joy. I think Santa will be good to him this year, and Grandma. He has a charm about him that makes you want to give him more than he needs, and I think he might know it ;). We are looking forward to spending Christmas Eve and Christmas with family, and friends we consider family. We will miss those who can not celebrate with us, but hope where you are... your enjoying your Christmas too.
Hugs. and Merry Christmas from The Thornton's.

Christmas Decor in SF.

Christmas Decor in SF.

When I was younger Mom would take us to SF to see the Christmas Decor in the city, The windows at Macy's , the tree in Union Square. Working here this year it is fun to be surrounded by all the extravagant decor the City has to offer. I went up to the Palace Hotel which is right near my work to take some pictures of some really cool gingerbread creations . You can vote on these and the winner gets a check to give to their favorite charity. I was very impressed by all you can do with gingerbread.

It's begining to look a lot like Christmas..

It's begining to look a lot like Christmas..

Saturday we, grandma included took Darrian to see Santa. Waited in line for an hour. Got to Santa. D Screamed.. hated him. I was shocked because Darrian doesn't cry with many at all. He is pretty outgoing guy. He was not happy. I paid $17.00 for a screaming picture of Darrian with Santa.

From there we went to get a Christmas Tree, went home and started decorating. Darrian likes the tree, maybe a little too much. :) So we are all set, Shopping is pretty much done.. just waiting for Santa to come.

Picking out a tree..

He took it pretty seriously..

My table decor..

Tree with lights..

A fun day off..

A fun day off..

I was off last friday, so I used the time to run around, and to meet up with my Mom's group. We met at Superfranks in Pleasanton for play time. It is a really fun place during the week, on the weekend most of the "fun areas" are closed for private birthday parties. They have a area upstairs with a bunch of ride on toys for the kids, train tables, and small buildings to play dress up in. Darrian had a blast. He loves inneracting with other children. The great thing is that you just put him down and let him go, and they have nice comfy chairs for the parents and grandparents to sit and watch. They also have a gym downstairs that they just put big mats in, cars you can ride around, and balls.. D loved that. We enjoyed a nice lunch in their cafe with friends.. and then headed to target to get some stuff. That afternoon I decorated the house.

Finally, that night Grandma and I took Darrian to look at Christmas lights. D wore his pjs, we got hot chocolate, he had milk, and we drove around checking out all the lights. He lasted about 10 houses then was alseep. It was fun.

Christmas T-minus 12 days till Christmas... oy.

Gosh. Every year it sneaks up on me. This year more than any other before. I started to think of everything I have to do, get a tree, decorate, make stockings, final gifts, wrapping, taking Darrian to see santa... do you see where I am going with this? I feel like I am in a mad rush to beat the holiday, and by the time I get there I hope I have everything done. Honestly, I haven't even gotten my head around the fact that Christmas is 12 days away. I miss the days when your a kid and you don't have to do anything but wait for the day to arrive, okay maybe finish up some last minute homework, but not run around like crazy with a to-do list that never ends. Hopefully I will get everything done, and be able to sit back and enjoy.. and let it sink in before it is over and the new year is here.

Hope you all are ready and gearing up for the holiday!

This past weekend Grandma and I took Darrian to the Children's Discovery Museum. I have heard great things about this hands on place, and have been wanting to check it out. I wish it was closer because Darrian had a wonderful time. I had heard the Mom's talk about the water table at this place, and how the kids get wet. So me being the responsible Mom packed a change of shirt, and sweater for Darrian. They have little aprons the kids can wear so really how bad can it be? Um, I knew I was under prepared when the Mom next to us changed her kid into swim trunks, and water shoes. Then another comes with rain boots. Needless to say Darrian was soaked!! Shirt, pants, socks, shoes.. all of it. He played for about a half an hour or more having a blast so it was worth it. We thought the gift shop would sell outfits, seeing this as a money making chance... no go. They were nice enough to give us free passes to come back and check everything out. We had to go to Valley Fair to get Darrian a outfit and some socks.

A new way to get books..

Since I started working in the city, and had a 45 minute BART ride, I have been reading up a storm. I read about a book a week. Which would mean researching a book, buying it, and doing it over a week later. The cost add up, so I was looking for alternatives. I tried the local library which had NO newer books, and the few they did have had waiting list 20 people long. Someone suggested renting books. I googled and found www.bookswim.com , it works like Netflix where you can have x number of books out at a time, and pay a rental fee once a month. So far it has worked really well shipping two books back, holding onto one to read in the meantime.

So far I have read (that I can remember right now):

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen --everyone should read this book it is REALLY good.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Babyproof By Emily Giffin

Change of heart by Jodi Picoult

The Measure of a Man by Sydney Poitier

Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

The Four Spirits by Sena Jeter Naslund

Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult

..Darrian and Daddy..

Darrian and Daddy have a very special relationship. Darrian for sure loves his daddy, it is really cute, Darrian will give me kisses...but whenEVER Keith picks him up or goes near him he gets a kiss. He loves to play with Daddy, and especially loves when Daddy throws him in the air and catches him. (grandma doesn't love this). I took some pictures of Daddy and his Little Man.

Bath Time fun..

It has been a while since I took D's picture taking the bath. He LOVES the bath. Honestly will cry if we try to take him out, even if it is cold, and he is a prune.. he doesn't want to leave. Last night I gave him mash potato's and he decided to use it as hair conditioner, which landed him in the bath. He loved it, hope he didn't make the connection food in hair= bath. Then we are in trouble.

I am sure he will thank me for this someday! but it is so cute not to!

Thanksgiving weekend Recap!

Hope you all had a wonderful Turkey day. We had a great weekend/day. I made the stuffing, ham, macaroni and cheese, pumpkin bars, brownies, and warmed the turkey. K cooked a bit and Devyn brought her well known greens. Mom supplied drinks, turkey,and appetizers. It is this group effort that really makes it easy on us. Natalie came into town with her sister, nephew, and her sister's fiance. They braved a VERY long car ride from LA to surprise their Mom with Thanksgiving dinner.

Friday Natalie, my friend Katie, and I door busted at 5:00 am. Hitting up lots of stores, and many sales. I got most of my items on my list and I am almost done shopping. It is a light year, but I was glad to grab some deals. Saturday I took Darrian to the park to play, then headed home and went to Berkeley with Natalie and Family. Berkeley is the same, lots of people watching, lots of things to look at.. and more shopping to be done. Sunday Natalie headed home, and we headed to Chris and Julie to see them and the girls who were fresh in from their trip to FL. It was a perfect ending to a long weekend. I took some pictures, not as many as I normally do.

The Ever growing Ms. Lily.

Place we went to in Berkeley on College Ave.

Natalie's Mom, Nat, and Her Mom's BF






Nat's nephew Tomas.. I still remember this kid when he was a baby! It is crazy to think he is almost 13!

Can't stop on College and not get Zachary's

The Family

and of course the cutest kid ever at the park :)

Playing with the musical instruments.