I know this cactus doesn’t look like much but I’m bragging on it because Glen got it as a start from my brother-in-law a couple of Christmas seasons back and not only has tended it into growing to a good size but it bloomed this year!  Okay, one bloom, but that bloom represents a whole bunch of tender loving care.

Today, our beat the blues assignment is to cook something new and I am making a Tom Gai Thai soup in my crock pot.  Definitely stretching into an exotic area for me but it is smelling really good.  I plan to serve this Garlic Naan on the side.  I’d like to serve this on the side for every meal actually.  : )  This is so good and so easy! If you are a naan bread fan like me, treat yourself to this easy and fast to prepare   bread from Trader Joes. It keeps great in your freezer and you just pull out what you need as you go.

I signed up for BirchBox and my first box came last week.  I think this might be fun.  It’s basically a service that sends you samples of a variety of different cosmetics/nutrition items every month to try and if you like them, you can go on their website and buy the full size. The monthly cost is $10. In this first box we got lip gloss, an energy drink, Ageless perfume, tape to keep your clothes in place, face cream from Benefit and a hair shine oil. I liked the perfume enough that I plan to get some.

I don’t have a picture yet of my next favorite thing but its January and we have hummingbirds here for the winter.  It looks like we have three of them actually and they might even be wintering in our rhododendron bush. We put a feeder up after we noticed them buzzing around the Christmas lights one day and they love it!  They are constantly sucking it down and we’re enjoying their company.

I’ve loved this nice long holiday weekend.  Got a lot done and had a lot of fun — nice balance.  Somehow it seems like there is still a lot to get done — how’s that work anyways?  Is it ever possible to be “all caught up”?

Lastly, a warm hello to the new friends I’m making off the Blogaholic Network site.  I’m really getting to see some cool new blogs and “meet” some creative new friends with lots to share.