My Kind of Day

Ringing the bells for the Salvation Army.

Daniel's got antlers with bells on them over his Santa hat for

an extra-special effect!

My latest cookbook finds from the library.
I can't wait to look at them!

Today was a low-key day, the kind of day I like. In fact, I'd call it my kind of day.

What did we do today that makes it so special? Well, for one, we braved the elements for over an hour ringing the bells for the Salvation Army at County Market. People were so generous, they really made it seem worthwhile and the time flew by. It was c-c-cold, only about 5 degrees above zero, but we rang the bells, sang Christmas songs and had a great time doing it. Daniel and I got into the spirit of the event by donning our Santa hats as well. The girls were too cool for that but they tolerated our exuberance.

I did a little grocery shopping and warmed up a bit after our bell ringing and then we all went out to dinner at Culvers including my dear husband who joined us. Now, I know Culvers is not gourmet food but we enjoyed our butterburgers anyway. ;)

After that Mike and the girls headed home and Daniel and I made a stop at the library where we lingered for almost an hour, looking at and picking out books. I don't know what it is, but I love hanging out in a library almost better than any other place. It's like I'm in a time warp there, completely unaware of my surroundings and the passage of time. What books so enchanted me? Well...

I was inspired by my blog friend Shelley's post earlier today showing all her lovely library books focusing on healthy cooking and eating. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then Shelley should be flattered indeed because I was motivated to order a few of the titles she took out from the library that you see in my stack. I can't wait to peruse them and pick out a few new recipes to try. Thanks Shelley!

So, now we're all home, the girls just finished watching a movie that they picked up from a separate trip to the library and it's time to call it a night. I lose my internet at 10:45 so if I've got any blogging to do, it has to be done before then.

I don't know if I confessed this on my blog before, but I used to have a real problem logging off the computer for the night. I'd read a whole host of blogs, check up on the happenings on facebook, read the news, check out my eBay auctions, etc. Anyway, time would get away from me and I was staying up too late. Sooo, I reset my router to "turn off" the internet at 10:45pm. The thing is, I used to be able to override this time device and I did it all the time, kind of defeating the whole idea. Since then, my computer had a virus and my computer guru fixed it. When he did, I lost my easy access to controlling the router and voila! No more changing the router access "just this once..." That means it shuts down at 10:45 and I get to bed at a more reasonable hour.

Hope your day was just a good as my low-key day. The perfect kind of day...