I’ve got a number of photos to share from our Thanksgivving weekend, but first I wanted to share some funny photos of Jafta’s favorite Thanksgiving tradition: having a pie thrown in his face. This was something he first asked me to do when he was 5 years old. I have no idea where the idea came from . . . he just saw some pies and knew they would be more awesome in his face. He begged, and to the cheering screams of his entire family, I obliged. Every Thanksgiving since, he has remembered this . . .

The video footage of the brawls at Walmart last night . . . I cannot even. While people are going shopping in droves, I’m hiding out home in a panic, hoping that no emergency could possibly force me into a store today.  (Or this month.) I am truly hoping that I can avoid going to the mall altogether from now until Christmas. I hate the crowds. That being said, there are some stellar online deals happening right now, and I did take advantage of some sales from the comfort of my living room . . .

Originally published in OC Family Magazine. Looking at the world through a lens of gratitude is not easy -- many adults have not even mastered it. But instilling the practice of being thankful in our children is important because thankfulness is a habit that will benefit them throughout their life; people who focus on gratitude tend to report more contentment and also tend to cope better with life's challenges. There are several tips for teaching your children the art of being grateful, but the . . .

Gift Ideas For Mom/Sister/Wife/Friend 1. Sky Cocktail Ring 2. Gap Two-Tone Leather Clutch 3. Flower Vases 4. Vera Bradley Grand Traveler 5. Luxe Slippers 6. Gluten Free Cookie/Brownie Gift Pack 7. Gluten Free Artisinal Bread 8. DreamTime Calming Crescent Shoulder Wrap 9. Carry On, Warrior by Glennon Melton 1. Madewell Pavé Arrowstack Necklace 2. Gap Robe  3. Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist 4.  A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet by Sophie Hudson 5. Donsuemor Madelines 6. Caleta . . .

We’ve actually had our Christmas tree up for a week already. I posted about it on facebook and managed to apparently ruin Thanksgiving and Christmas simultaneously. It seemed like half of the people who commented were full of rage that someone could dare to put up a tree before Thanksgiving. The horror! And the other half were mortified that I dared to admit that I wasn’t really thrilled about hanging some of the eyesore ornaments that had made their way home from school. First of all . . . I . . .

I did a juice cleanse last week with Nekter, a local juice bar. I’ve been to this juice bar a few times – I’m actually a big fan of fresh veggie juice and they’ve got a great acai bowl as well. I tried one of their 5-day cleanses in January. I’d recently watched the movie Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead in which a severely overweight man with a chronic disease goes on a juice fast and basically heals himself.  (If you haven’t seen it, you should. It’s eye-opening.) I had a great experience with . . .