The Christmas festivities are in full force over here at the Zimmermann household. We’re surrounded by family … and lots of delicious food. Cooked with butter. And sugar. And more butter. And more sugar! Just the way we like it.

Before turning in for the night, I spent some time rearranging our presents and making room for Santa and his gifts. Hmmmmmm … as I started to reposition the packages, I started to notice a trend. They all looked a little like this:

Fortunately, Santa still had the boys on the “nice” list and left a nice pile o’ loot for the kiddos.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

So happy I chose to ignore that nagging voice in the back of my head.  The one constantly reminding me of my endless to do list.  The one peppering me with reminders of all the things I should be doing with my time instead.  Yep, I buried that pesky little voice for a day and in lieu of laundry, a clean house, work emails and holiday planning, I chose to focus on my boys and took them (and my dad) to the Aquarium of the Pacific for a Funday Sunday.

You see, earlier this weekend my cousin sent me a really great passage about ways to live your life without regrets. One of the most common regrets was wishing one hadn’t worked so hard and missed out on his/her children’s youth and his/her partner’s companionship. It made me realize how much – and why – I want to focus on being here for my family, creating memories with them. I vow not to look back on these years and regret such a thing. All too often the day-to-day grind consumes me and leaves me saying, “Not today. Not now. In a minute.” Waaaaaay more than I care to admit. So with that in mind, I blew off my responsibilities today and just had fun with my kids.*

*Someone please remind me of this when December 24th rolls around and I am completely unprepared for Christmas.

An amazing bottle of champagne arrived in the mail this week. Attached to the bubbly, and addressed to me, was a sweet note of thanks for capturing their family in a recent photo session.  Seriously?!  Sooooooooo uncalled for and honestly, an over-the-top sentiment.   I am completely undeserving of such a gift.  But my heart swells as I count my blessings for having such thoughtful and generous people in my life.

Along with my delight comes self-reflection.  Receiving an unexpected and perfect (perfect in the sense that this giver knows I am not one to shy away from my bubbly!)  gift brought me such joy and brightened my entire week.  What a great feeling.  So why don’t I go out of my way to do this more with the people that do kind and thoughtful things for me?  As we near our entry into 2012, I think “do a better job of showing my appreciation” is going to make an appearance near the top of my list of resolutions.

Now one question remains for you wine/champagne connoisseurs out there:   Do I drink this vintage now?  Or save it?  And for how long? Do some legwork for me … and perhaps I will share.  As a sign of my appreciation.

Enjoy your weekend, everybody.  It’s Friday!

An Incredible Way to Show Thanks

Earlier this week, I wasn’t exactly in a happy place. A little freak accident left me with this bad boy:

I will admit I was pretty depressed for a while. Not only did it hurt like crazy but I was super bummed about the mark it would likely leave behind.

It wasn’t long before I snapped out of it though. After all, things could be so much worse. What’s a little scar on my forehead when I have an incredible husband, a loving family (immediate and extended) and supportive friends (near and far). And last but not least, I have these little guys who cheer me up every day. It wouldn’t be right to stay depressed when my glass is so completely full.