Healthy Tipping Point

What began as a bit of a joke in 2012 is now officially an HTP tradition – it’s the Scary Santa / Sweet Santa Contest.

Ho, ho, ho!  It’s that time of the year again.  Wear your holiday best and smile your sweetest smiles!  Or… Wipe the sweat off your brow as you hold on tight to screaming babies and thrashing toddlers!  A visit to Santa could go either way…

 

You can see the 2012 Sweet entries here and the 2012 Scary entries here. And you can see the 2013 Sweet entries on this post and the 2013 Scary entries right here.

Here’s how it works:  You email me a photograph of your kiddo with Santa.  My e-mail is caitlinjboyle@gmail.com.  Deadline is December 21.  Write either Scary Santa or Sweet Santa in the subject line so I can easily organize the emails.  Include your kiddo’s name (or first initial or pseudonym, whichever you prefer) and, if you want, a brief description of the encounter.  Know that, by emailing me, I will put the kid’s picture on the Interwebs for everyone to see; therefore, don’t email me photos of your super cute niece or your hysterically screaming nephew unless you’re their legal guardian.

 

I will compile all the pictures into a post, choose 5 finalists for each category, and readers will vote on the best Sweet or Scary picture.  The winner will get a TBD prize, as well as blog fame and glory.  Woo hoo!

The Scary Santa photos are judged based on the following categories: the overall creepiness of Santa; Santa’s own freaked out/exhaustion face; and the oh-so-dramatic expression on the kiddo’s face.  And let’s not take Scary Santa pictures TOO seriously – I’m sure Scary Santa pics aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s kind of a childhood right of passage, isn’t it?  Trust me – I have my own Scary Santa pictures, and the 1985-version of me looks pretty damn funny as I scream in (poor, poor) Santa’s face.

 

The Sweet Santa pictures are judged based on the cuteness of the kiddo; the realism of Santa (bonus points for real beards!); and tender expressions of true holiday joy/Santa belief.

 

Happy Holidays!  May all your visits to Santa be super sweet.  <3 <3 <3

This post is sponsored by Celestial Seasonings.

There is so much awesomeness packed into this post that I don’t know where to start.  Obviously, tea-infused cupcakes would be a good place, but let’s talk about this cupcake stand for just a moment.

Would you believe that this stand is actually a charger, two upside-down plates, and two plastic cups all glued together?  Yup.

I love the look of rustic DIY cupcake stands that use colorful china plates and teacups, but this shiny silver + beveled glass look is very holiday-ish. And *much* cheaper than buying a real cupcake stand.

 

Okay… onto those cupcakes.

 

Celestial Seasonings has a variety of special holiday teas, but my favorite is Candy Cane Lane, a blend of decaffeinated green tea with “cool peppermint, creamy vanilla and a dash of cinnamon.”

These cupcakes are infused with Candy Cane Lane tea, both in the actual cupcake itself and in the rich buttercream icing.  Serve up the cupcakes with some hot cups of the actual tea, and I promise your holiday guests will go nuts!

Click through for the recipe.

[click to continue…]

I bet you were hoping for a baby photo. So was I!  Hah.  Will you be satisfied with a breakfast photo?

 

Yeah… Me neither.

Regardless, we are having a fabulous Friday over here. I love how quiet the day after Thanksgiving is!  We’ve been lounging around, eating our weight in Rice Krispy Treats, and going for walks.

Lunch:

The sad thing about not hosting Thanksgiving on Thursday (we did it at my Dad’s on Monday) is that we have no delicious leftovers.  Boo.

Here’s one thing that we did NOT do this Black Friday – go crazy shopping.  We are not big Black Friday people (I think I’ve done it once?), and all of our Christmas shopping is done already, anyway.  I did make a pit stop into Target this afternoon because  I needed to return some clothes (I’ll admit – I was slightly terrified to walk in and totally relieved to see the crowds had dissipated). 

 

My one purchase on Black Friday?  These awesome lacing beads for kiddos – I’ve been looking for something like this for Henry, and for $3, I couldn’t say no (they were in the $ bin section). 

We spent the afternoon making necklaces for the dogs!

While my one Black Friday purchase was fun, you know what’s even better?  Small Business Saturday. <3 <3 <3 As a small business owner, I cannot say thank you enough to the people who choose to support our business throughout the year and especially during the holiday season. 

 

Need gift ideas for Small Business Saturday?

 

Give gift card for a massage or haircut at a small business salon.

Buy a gift card for a locally-owned restaurant.

Buy a child’s gift at a small toy store, even if it costs a bit more than it does online.

Hit up the farmer’s market for a ton of unique gift ideas, like handcrafted soaps, local honey, and more.

Hire a local cleaning service and tip the maid herself extremely well.

Gift a grandparent a session with a local photographer for a family picture.

Buy beautiful jewelry or another handmade gift from a designer on Etsy.

On that note, my blog friend Jasmine (who owns a small jewelry business) is offering you all 20% any purchase on her website —> use the coupon code HTP20.  Jasmine is an awesome woman with a compelling story behind her business, and if you’re planning on purchasing some pretty jewels this season, consider her wares!

 

Just for Fun…

 

I thought I’d round out this post with the “Four Survey” that’s been going around the blog world.  These are so fun to read!

 

Four names that people call me other than my real name:

1. CJ (my initials)
2. Mommy
3. Katie
4. CaitlinHTP

Four jobs I’ve had:

1. Cashier at a Publix supermarket
2. Bartender
3. Project planner at an urban planning company
4. Sexual assault peer educator

Four movies I’ve watched more than once:

1. All the Thomas the Train movies
2. The Girl Next Door
3. Elf
4. Titanic

Four books I’d recommend:

1. The Handmaid’s Tale
2. Beloved
3. Little Bee
4. NutureShock

Four places I’ve lived

1. Miami, Florida
2. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
3. Orlando, Florida
4. Charlotte, NC

Four places I’ve visited:

1. Prague, Czech Republic
2. Napa Valley, California
3. London, England
4. Augsburg, Germany

Four places I’d rather be right now:

1. In the hospital holding my second child, which was delivered after a seamlessly, painless, and relatively fast labor.  Hah!
2. A tropical island with a giant pina colada in my hand
3. Getting a massage
4. In my bed

Four things I prefer not to eat:

1. Spinach that is kind of going off (EWW – the smell!!!)
2. Meat
3. Nut butter on oatmeal
4. Vegetables, but I do anyway.

Four of my favorite foods:

1. Yogurt
2. Watermelon
3. Mashed potatoes
4. Wine

Four TV shows I watch:

1. The Walking Dead
2. Game of Thrones
3. Parenthood
4. Homeland

Four things I’m looking forward to this year:

1. Spring weather
2. Adjusting to life with two children
3. Doing triathlons in the summer
4. Maybe going on a cruise?

Four things I’m always saying:

1. Maggie, stop barking.
2. Is that a good choice or a bad choice?
3. Do you want a tea?
4. I’m sleepy.

Four people I tag to answer these questions:

1. You
2. You
3. You
4. and You! 

It’s the biggest foodie day of the year, but this is the only thing that I’ve made…

My friend Brandi is going through an intense Rice Krispy Treat obsession, and her constant texts about the gooey treats finally got to me.  I had so much fun making (and eating) these!  The secret to amazing RKTs is to use extra butter and extra marshmallows (duh). 

We are technically not ‘celebrating’ Thanksgiving today – we moved our celebration up to this past Monday because I was worried that I’d be in labor/with a newborn/in the hospital/too uncomfortable to move.  And here I am, on Thanksgiving Thursday – still pregnant!  But I’m still glad we moved the meal up because I felt really crummy yesterday afternoon and feel like I could go from normal to laboring any second now…

 

Luckily, my symptoms held off long enough so our morning plans were not interrupted!  We took Henry to see his first movie yesterday morning.  It was so much fun.

We saw Penguins of Madagascar – Henry knows the characters and was pretty impressed by the “big TV.” My only advice for taking a toddler to the movies?  Arrive 15 minutes late so you skip ALL the previews.  Henry knows what commercial breaks are but preview after preview after preview was pretty hard for him to sit through.  He kept turning to me and asking, “WHERE ARE THE PENGIUNS!?”  Hah.

 

By the time we got home, I wasn’t feeling too hot.  Kristien made me this yummy salad and cheesy toast and I ate it in bed.

My new thing is cheddar cheese on buttered toast – so odd but so good.

My MIL came over in the afternoon, and I managed to rally to go out with the Husband on one last date night – we had an incredible dinner and saw ANOTHER movie!  Two movies in one day – pretty awesome.  We saw the new Hunger Games… I thought it was well done but suuuuuper slow.

 

So – that’s our holiday.  A lot of waiting around, a lot of relaxing, and a lot of Rice Krispy treats.  Not a bad way to spend Thanksgiving…

Happy Thanksgiving from the HTP Family to yours.  <3 <3 <3