Five things Friday

I'm too tired to launch into a fully blown post, so here are a few things for today:

1. I'm excited for the weekend! We have my nephew's birthday party tomorrow, I'm running a race on Sunday morning (a 12K), I'm baking cookies with the kids in the afternoon, & then we're having our annual holiday get together with friends in the evening. We're keeping it simple (and inexpensive!) this year. We typically order food, but this year I'm making salad, appetizers, & a couple of varieties of homemade pizza. Plus wine & the cookies, we should be all set.
2. Inspired by Sluggy, I've been trying to work a few deals at Rite Aid. My goal was to earn the holiday bonus ($10 UP after spending $75), & not to buy anything we didn't already need. I didn't do a great job of tracking, but I do know that I spent a total of $47.01 at Rite Aid. I'm $7 away from the reward, & I have $7 of UPs to use, so that's a wash. I'm also going to be getting a $10 UP from the promo, & a $9 rebate from the purchase of a "try me free" mascara. I attempted to buy things that we needed, and had UP awards. Overall, I feel like I was pretty successful, considering I started from scratch on the UP awards. What did I buy?
• $2.92 - cold medicine for the kids. We were out - this was a need.
• $7.67 - Soap. Again, we were out.
• $4.66 - Dry shampoo. Bought it to have on hand, as I still have about half of my current bottle. I use this a lot after running, when I can't squeeze in washing my hair. (I always shower. ;-))
• $14.77 - A giving tree gift - a fabulous glittery nail polish set.
• $9.80 - The free mascara
• $7.19 - A new blush. I earned a $5 UP, so $2.19. I'm about 1/2 way through my existing blush, so this was a stock up item.
3. I'm making one of my favorite salads (using what I had on hand!) for a work potluck today. It's fresh spinach, grated Parmesan cheese, toasted hazelnuts (chopped), thinly sliced pears, craisins, & raspberry vinaigrette. Yum!
4. I realized that I missed my best friend's birthday last month. Not really, I did call, but it was the day were were flying back from Hawaii. She loves to exchange gifts, & although I've cut out birthday gift exchanges with ALL adults in my family, like I said, she enjoys it, so I respect that. We're meeting up on Sunday, so I need to get a gift. SO not looking forward to shopping today amid all of the craziness.
5. M is back from his travels (until next week!) & it's just so much easier to have a hand in the morning to help with the kiddos while I get ready for work. I also just miss him when he's gone.

In honor of the season, here's me with N, picking out a Christmas tree 5ish years ago. What a sweet Santa he was! :-)

I'm looking forward to having a glass of wine with M tonight, possibly taking the kids out to see some Christmas lights, & heating up an easy dinner from the freezer. So grateful for an easy meal after a week like this!

What are your plans for the weekend? Anything fun on the agenda?