My husband is three hours away from his Bachelors degree. Yes, a measly three hours. How did this happen? Well, he chose an impossible task for a senior project that he never finished, so he receive an incomplete. Through a computing error, he inadvertently received his degree, so we thought that his professor knowing his capabilities had given him a passing grade. This apparently was not the case, and he was asked to return his degree. So, 2008 will be the year he finally receives his degree.

Thankfully because of our recent move we will not need a private student loan to fund this endeavor but will be able to pay for it ourselves. He might have to take an extra class or two since it has been a while since he started the degree program.

Even though he has a good job without a degree, his pay will skyrocket with a degree, which is a huge incentive to finish. Plus it’ll just be a source of accomplishment knowing he finished his degree program.

This coming year I’m resolving to live a healthier lifestyle. This means eating better, exercising more, and just being more active in general. After checking into gym memberships and deciding that I will never go even if I had one, I’ve been thinking about setting up a home gym instead. We might have room for a treadmill, an elliptical, and maybe a few weights. Our home gym will need a TV because I will definitely need something to keep me occupied while working out.

I’m going to make a motivational shirt like the ones used on the Biggest Loser where it simply states why you want to lose weight. Mine will be two words: ‘For Raegan.’ Every reason I have for wanting to lose weight always comes back to her. If I want do it for myself hopefully having a visual reminder of what I want to lose weight will help.

My fitness revolution begins New Years Day as it would be crazy to try to begin it before the holidays as there is just too much going on to add a new routine to the mix.

Just in time for Christmas, here in the South we are finally getting a little colder weather. It has been very warm this past week, but last night a cold front moved through and brought much cooler temperatures. I think I prefer the warm weather even though I complain about it, too. This cold weather makes me want to find a cheap hotel Las Vegas and come back home in a few days when this cold front will probably have passed.

During the winter, I make good use to Hot Hands. They are packets that you shake and use to warm your hands. Hunters use them a lot while out in the woods. They last for about 10 hours but are really good for me because it seems I can never get my hands or my feet warm enough in the cold weather. Hot Hands come in a pack of four and cost around $2. They really help me make it through days like today when there’s a sudden drop in temperature. It helps make the cold weather more bearable that’s for sure.

With Christmas fast approaching, so are the cutoff dates for ordering products to have them delivered by December 24th. Whether it’s fleece jackets, wrist watches, or something else, Amazon has a wide selection of gifts to choose from. I’ve done more online shopping this year than ever before. Amazon has been a great resource to find gifts. The cutoff dates to order gifts is fast approaching. Here is a rundown of the dates:

Monday, December 17th – Free Super Saver Shipping (on qualified orders over $25)
Tuesday, December 18th – Standard Shipping
Wednesday, December 19th – Two-Day Shipping (Free with Amazon Prime, Last full day to order)
Thursday, December 20th – Two-Day Shipping (Free with Amazon Prime, Order as late as 3pm PT, but varies by item)
Friday, December 21st – One-Day Shipping ($3.99 per item with Amazon Prime, Last full day to order)
Saturday, December 22nd – Two-Day Shipping ($3.99 per item with Amazon Prime; Order as late as 3pm PT, but varies by item)

When all else fails, an Amazon gift card can be given and immediately sent by email to the recipient.

Christmas shopping is a necessary evil in December. It seems no matter how much I try to prepare beforehand I still have to do some shopping in December. I would much rather travel around town getting life insurance quotes than fighting the crowd at the stores.

I’m almost done with my Christmas shopping but still have a few things to pick up. The crowd just seems to get worse each day that brings us closer to Christmas. I guess people become more panic stricken knowing that time is running out to find those gifts.

My husband once told me early in our marriage that a watch was a terrible gift to give someone. He went on to explain that it was a way for them watch the minutes, days slip past them or something like that. Basically that they will contemplate on the time that is passing and long to be somewhere else. I know, I thought it was odd, too.

After being late for a work a couple of times has changed his mind about the whole giving a watch as a gift. A watch can be very useful and thoughtful gift. My favorite watch is Swatch. Some nicer watches like a Timex or Hublot watch would also make a great gift.

So, a watch can be a nice gift even if my husband disagrees. A watch is functional and fashionable and not necessarily a bad gift.

Bah Humbug! Now you can go Scrooge yourself thanks to the Scrooge Yourself website. Simply upload a photo of your or someone else’s face and then be amazed (maybe too strong of a word) at the transformation.

Your uploaded face will appear on Scrooge. Then be entertained as Scrooge dances around the computer screen. Good for at least one laugh.

I actually did some holiday baking last night. This year I want to make goodie tins for family and friends. One item I want to include is dipped pretzels, but since I have never attempted to do this, I experimented some last night. I also had on hand some Reynolds parchment paper which I’ve been itching to try. I will also use it later this week when I bake cookies, which will mean less clean up for me.

I did enjoy using the parchment paper instead of wax paper. It was just so much easier to work with because it stayed in place and didn’t curl up. It was a breeze to work with and worked really well. For the dipped pretzels, all I need was the parchment paper, pretzels, white chocolate, a microwavable bowl(not pictured), a spoon(not pictured), and two forks.

I broke off a few pieces of the white chocolate and placed in the bowl. I set the microwave for 90 seconds and then checked the progress. I then placed it in there for another 30-45 seconds, stirring the chocolate to get it smooth. I then placed the pretzels in the bowl, using the fork to flip them over and then to hoist them out of the bowl.

I then placed the coated pretzels onto the parchment paper and waited for the coating to harden. Once some time had passed, it was very easy to lift the pretzels off the parchment paper.

I will be using the cookie swap tips from Reynolds soon enough as I have a cookie swap coming up soon. Who knows, I might be inspired enough to host one next year.

Christmas Vacation is one of my favorite holiday movies. Even after seeing it at least a dozen times (if not more) it still makes me laugh. I think I would rather have a nice vacation to like the Outer Banks of North Carolina instead of having all of my in-laws gather at my house for the holidays. You got to love Sparky though for trying to have a nice, traditional Christmas.

Every time I see a huge Christmas lights display, I think of the movie. In fact, last night I was a sign of a service that would put up your Christmas lights for you. That would take all the Griswold right out of those huge Christmas lights display if you didn’t put them up yourself.

If I haven’t bought the movie then I will need to get it this year. I’ve already seen the movie once at Thanksgiving, but I need to see it at least one more time before Christmas.

I didn’t catch their show at the Ren Fest. Next time I will have to since anyone who can make clean fun is something I want to know!