A few of my "new favorite" Christmas things....

Well, the Christmas season is in full swing. Here are a few of my new faves I've recently discovered. (Note: I'm doing my first ever blogger give-away so be sure to read this post in its entirety!!)

1) Chick-fil-a's New Holiday Peppermint Chocolate Chip Shake. It is seriously SOOOO good! Words can't describe its deliciousness, so stop by the amazing Chick-fil-a BEFORE January 3rd and try one!!

2. The YMCA. Our family joined last Monday and we are LOVING IT!! I sorta (ok--definitely) fell off of my workout wagon and have gained even more pounds when I was so determined to be disciplined and finally get in shape. Now that we are settled, Murray and I were feeling the MAJOR need to get back on the wagon and give it another try. I cannot describe how cool our local Y is. It used to be a country club and it has all this super cool stuff in it! Subway, Cardio media room (where you watch movies while you workout), plus all the fitness classes are included in the membership....it's just great! I found an awesome new friend and accountability partner who braved a spin class with me on Friday (we're both still sore). We are meeting in the morning for another workout (my 4th one so far. Thanks, Cynthia!). Already, it's helped me not eat as much, I said "no" to a second warm krispy kreme donut the other day b/c I didn't want to cancel out my workout (hopefully the first donut didn't cancel it out!)....a few days ago and I would've maybe even had 3 donuts!!! (I realize my #1 new fave is a yummy shake!! When you split one four ways, hopefully, it's not too bad either!) Sweets in moderation, right????

3. Ringtones! I've never used a ringtone before and since we just got new cell phones, I figured it was time! I selected holiday songs. One song for my mainstream callers and one special holiday song for when Murray calls. George Strait's "Jingle Bell Rock" is my mainstream ringtone. This sounds so silly, but I seriously LOVE when my cell phone rings now! If you know my number, give me a call sometime!!!

4) Real Simple decorating.... This month's issue of Real Simple had 35 super simple decorating ideas. Since I fall in the "decoratively challenged" category of women this article was of particular interest to me. I found these ADORABLE (and super simple and cheap!!) candy cups. Faith and I made 6 of them in less than 10 minutes. If you don't read RS here's how you make them... Select a few different glasses (I used ones I already had and bought the green ones at Joann's for less than a dollar ea.), fill each glass 3/4 full with sugar (another thing I already had), fill the glasses the rest of the way with mini marshmallows (I bought a giant bag at Walmart for a dollar). Select different colored candy sticks and place in cup (Cracker Barrel sells theirs for 10 sticks/$1). So for less than $5 you get a super cute decoration....my new favorite holiday decor this year!!

5) Holiday table runners! Our dining room table was in desperate need of a table runner. But our budget is pretty tight right now so I decided to make one with some fabric I already had (and a little bit of new fabric from Joann's). I really enjoyed making it and I really like how it turned out. I enjoyed making it so much that I wanted to make another one. So, here's my blogger giveaway....

I will make a holiday table runner for the first person who can guess the special holiday ringtone (song and artist) I selected for Murray when he calls. (Kim--you can't guess b/c I already told you!). I'll let you pick the theme of your table runner (Santas, snowmen, candy canes, etc.) and get it in the mail to you by the end of this week. (one guess per person)

Merry Christmas!!