cute, cute, CUTE thrifted clothes !!

I couldn't help myself: Brooke sent me an outfit she picked up at a thrift store, I put it on and felt so COMFORTABLE and so CUTE in it that I just had to do a quick "fashion post".


What do you think?
Skirt: Old Navy; Top: The Gap

My daughter is a SENSIBLE SHOPPER!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

"The poetry of the earth is never dead" - John Keats

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. ~John Muir








Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. ~Kahlil Gibran





In wilderness I sense the miracle of life, and behind it our scientific accomplishments fade to trivia. ~Charles A. Lindbergh, Life, 22 December 1967








The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man. ~Author Unknown








(all pictures are from this past weekend's hike in GOLDSTRIKE CANYON, Nevada ... from Hoover Dam down to the Colorado River. Amazing hot springs on the way down!)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

too early??? ... I think not!

So, I have some exciting news:

It's GIVEAWAYtime again!

I was going to wait and do this really, really fun giveaway in November ... just as the air gets cool (for those of us above the equator), the leaves fall and branches are bare (if you don't live in the desert where there aren't many indigineous trees) 

and you can't help but be excited about holidays.

But a few things happened:

1. Azure (age 15) consistently asks if we can please start decorating for Christmas

2. I had insomnia - waking up at 2:30 am the other night and finished reading the said {GIVEAWAY} (YAY FOR GIVEAWAYS!)

3. Miss Marva (in the book) actually decorates for Christmas in October ... so why shouldn't I?  And if I'm going to decorate, I might as well offer the giveaway now too!  

(you see, my thinking is very logical!)

Please don't judge me negatively. 

I know I have Christmas-itis.

I know I've passed it down to my kids.

Can't help it.

Don't want to help it.

(I'm sure I inherited it from my mother ... THANKS MOM!)

So, without further ado... Next week I'll draw one lucky winner of Jason Wright's new book:

The 13th Day of Christmas

The 13th Day of Christmas is a tender story of unlikely friends, 9-year-old Charlee and elderly Miss Marva.  Their minds and hearts connect, creating a bond that eventually draws Charlee's family closer to each other.  (This book brought lots of smiles, and enough tears that I had to get out of my sleepless spot in my bed to grab an entire box of kleenex.)

Anyway, as Christmas draws near, Charlee is treated to lots of little surprises culminating in the most precious gift nearly a year later on December 26th.  

Jason Wright is the author of several novels, my favorite being 

Christmas Jars

because it was actually life-changing for me and for my family.

Although not as life-changing as Christmas Jars, reading The 13th Day of Christmas has entertained and inspired me.

December 26th will never be the same.

FOR THE GIVEAWAY:

Just leave a comment below to be entered.

FOR ADDITIONAL ENTRIES:

Blog about this giveaway, and leave me a comment linking me to your post

Facebook about this giveaway and let me know you did it

Tweet about this giveaway (an entry for each day you tweet it)

Email your friends and family about the giveaway (an entry for each person you email about it)

That's it ... I'm excited to have you read this.

And remember:

IT'S NEVER TOO EARLY TO READ ABOUT (and decorate for) CHRISTMAS!