Everyday Life - Week 48, 49 & 50

Oh my, I am so horrible at updating these things on a weekly basis. Can't believe I only have two more weeks of this "everyday life" posting. Hope I can at least keep up until the end of the year. :) November has quickly come and gone and now we are in the better half of December already! Eugene is finishing up his finals (he ends on Tuesday, woo hoo!!) and we're slowly preparing for our move at the end of this month! I'm super excited for Eugene to finish finals and to finally spend some good quality time with my husband again! He's going to be working full-time hours during his break, but at least he wont have to stay up late studying anymore! YAY!

These past few weeks have been fun with lots of grocery shopping at trader Joes, trying new recipes, organizing and re-organizing, laundry, etc. The usual. I'm starting to set goals for myself for the new year and I'm excited to share them with you as this year comes to a close... but for now, here's a quick update of the last few weeks!

I made chili a few weeks ago (sorta-ish out of scratch) and it was really fun! There were sooooo many ingredients and spices, and it turned out fantastic! I'm gonna try to make it again in a few weeks and I'll post a recipe, too! :) Look at all those spices!

Some days, Eugene gets to come home early from class and I have enough motivation to actually whip up some lunch. This was one of those days. :) We had tuna melt and tomato basil soup. Yum!

Our church visited Vintage Newport senior center to sing carols and pass out Christmas cards. It was such a blessing being able to spend time with the residents there! Here's our dashing caroling crew.

This is my favorite picture from the day. Doesn't this just melt your heart?!

The decorations at South Coast plaza are pretty breathtaking during this season. :) I couldnt' get the whole tree because it was SO HUGE but here's the tip of it at least.

Lots of kitchen cleaning this month! Here are some of my spices stashed up in the corner while I sanitize the stove area.

An impromtu-oh-my-the-bananas-are-getting-so-brown banana bread. Healthiest recipe ever, too! Just flour, eggs, baking powder, a dab of butter, banana and brown sugar. No diabetes for us!

Experimenting with goodies I found at Trader Joes. This dish was SO good and made my husband very, very happy!

Too bad yellow curry is so unphotogenic! Boo..

Lunch prepping for Eugene. Whatever doesn't fit in the tupperware = dinner for me! Yay!

At work, we had a little baby booming season this year so we had a lunch with all the babies last week. It was so fun! and hipster (we met at Whole Foods in Fashion Island, aka home of the hipsters.)

A beautiful day at the beach with my sister. Those furry bushes are so pretty to me.

My cousin Sam got married last weekend. As you can see, their wedding was beautiful. :)

My silly family (minus our middle child.) <3

A dashing photo of my parents. I'm blessed, for sure!

Picking flowers during cocktail hour. 

This is basically what our lives look like at the moment.

Can't wait for Eugene to be done this Tuesday!!!
Movie-nights, date-nights, sleeping in, coffee shop trips and packing for our move.

Exciting times ahead. Celebrations to come soon!

Have a joyful week, everyone!

love,

sharon

Give thanks -- time to read, sisters, fellowship, the power of prayer, meeting new people, trader Joes and their infinite supply of goodies, cheap produce at TJ, perfectly ripe avocados, a job that always challenges me to learn something new, anticipation for what's ahead!