Five Facts Friday

Happy weekend!

I’m sitting by my roaring fireplace with my Christmas tree lit, wrapped up in a warm blanket, hanging out with my little family. Not too shabby for a cozy Friday night at home!

Like my new yogi Santa ornament?

I’m hopping on the “Five Facts Friday” bandwagon tonight and sharing some random stuff from happenings of the week, so here we go:

#1 — In honor of the passing of the great Nelson Mandela, here are a couple of quotes from him that I love:

“Education is the most powerful weapon, which we can use to change the world.”

“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward.”

“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

#2 — I can’t get enough of this soup. I think I’ve made it once a week for the past month! The combo of lentils + tomatoes + spinach = an awesome, nutrient-packed soup… and soup is exactly what I’ve been craving with the cold weather that the Bay Area has been getting!

#3 — Some course material from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition arrived last night. It made it seem very official that I’ll be starting school there in January, and I’m excited! [More on that here.]

#4 — You may not be able to tell from my grainy iPhone shots from the second tier of seating, but earlier this week I got to see Beyonce in concert. My hubby got me tickets for my birthday because I had mentioned wanting to see her live sometime, and as expected, she rocked it! Seriously, that woman is fabulous.

#5 — My dad has been an athletic director and football coach my whole life for a school in Jersey called St. Peter’s Prep, and tonight his team played at the NY Giants stadium for the state title. Since I obviously couldn’t make it, I listened to it online. Unfortunately their quarterback got injured during the first half of the game, and they wound up losing by a touchdown.

The school posted the above picture via 1994 on their Facebook last night. It cracks me up because I was a mascot cheerleader for the team when I was young… and there I am, the only little girl in the photo, hanging out in front of my dad holding my pom poms after they won the state title. My uncle is actually the kid kneeling next to me on the left. My dad looks so young, and it’s so funny to think back to this day almost 20 years ago!

Well friends, that’s all for now. Hope that you have a wonderful weekend!!