Snapshot from Along the Broken Road: January 2012

A photo of me:

Not the typical photo you expect, but certainly an accurate one. In the process of growing out my hair for the first time in more than fifteen years!

1) Candle scents this month:
Christmas Wreath. Holiday Sage. Christmas at the Beach. Cherries on Snow. Holiday Bayberry. Sparkling Snow (one of my favorites!). Gingerbread. Holiday Garland. Red Berry & Cedar (another favorite!). Christmas Cookie. North Pole. White Christmas. Hazelnut Coffee. Christmas Cupcake. Balsam & Cedar. Holiday Spirit. Winterberries. Mulling Spices. Mistletoe. Boo-Nilla. Hazelnut Coffee.

2) What I am reading this month:
Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel Garcia Marquez).

3) Top three songs I was drawn to:
"Just a Kiss," by Lady Antebellum. "Crazy Girl," Eli Young Band. "Hold On," Michael Buble.

4) Movies I saw:
Home Alone - Just *had* to watch this one again, because it amuses me so much. Ever After - I hadn't seen this one in *forever*. Fever Pitch - Needed a Red Sox fix! The Family Stone - I'd never seen this one before, and so many people had mentioned loving it; I wanted to but there was just *so* *much* negativity in it that overshadowed any of the funnier or happier parts.

5) Favorite tv moments of the month:
Parenthood - "Just Smile": This show just gets me right here. ::pats heart:: They nailed real emotion yet again. All those things we feel in our real lives. I love that, big time. Grey's - "Suddenly": Intense, intense, intense. This was a super sad episode, but it was early-Grey's-good! Fringe - "Back to Where You've Never Been" and "Enemy of My Enemy": This was an excellent show that just got even better in these two episodes. I did not want them to end, I was so sucked in! The Firm: I started watching this mid-season start up. It hooked me right from the series premier.

6) Something yummy I made: 
The Brown Sugar Glazed Pork came out to perfection this time. I seriously wanted to soak up every last drop of that sauce. I don't know what made it so super tasty this time around, but *seriously*.

7) Restaurants where I ate:
Ling's. Harry's Seafood and Grill. Kringle. Sleepy Hollow. Bonefish Grill.

8) Five things I am loving this month:
1. Shark Steamer Mop. I *finally* don't dread mopping! (This is huge. Monumental-type huge.) 2. Our realtor. Above and beyond my expectations. (Of course, the last one set the bar so low, ants were stepping over it with ease, but that has nothing to do with the price of tea in China.) 3. The bank who is handling our mortgage application. So helpful. So happy to explain things in terms real people can understand. So on top of things. So *not* the nightmare I was warned about when it comes to banks and mortgages. 4. That the Christmas tree stays up until January 6. I like to squeeze out every last drop of Christmas. 5. My stash of Christmas candy!

9) A goal I had for this month:
Find a house already OMG! (We did!!!) (OMG!)

10) This month I looked forward to:
Getting our house purchase made an official done deal so I could finally share the news. After the pitfalls and road blocks and close calls, I started to get superstitious about telling anyone, just to have it fall through yet again. (Not by any fault of our own, but issues with banks' crazy delusions about short sales, inadequate real estate agents and sellers who are a little bit off their nut.)

11) Something I want to remember about this month:
Knowing that we had the right house this time. It was a long eighteen months coming and this one was *not* settling. It felt right.

12) A photo I took this month:

After deciding to participate in a daily photo challenge, I have a ton of photos from January, but I (inexplicably) liked this one. I still don't know why...