As my loyal readers can tell you, my baby girl Jasmine has had a bit of an identity crisis since she was a puppy. People have always compared her to a deer, and well, sometimes she gets confused. Last year we sent out a Christmas card with her next to her favorite thing in the apartment. A stuffed deer that she would lay next to, cuddle with, and drag around the apartment. (being an antique collectible deer we put a stop to the dragging right away.) I added antlers to her in this photo but even without them, the likeness is undeniable.
This year, Jasmine is a little bit older, and I thought maybe just maybe this would be the right time to introduce her to some of her "family" members. She was very excited and super well behaved and while I didn't get any amazing photos, I did capture a couple of cute moments.
I will be making an official resolution post later, but thought this was important enough for you to all know...
While making your new year's resolutions list be sure to include "Prepare For Zombies" at the top.
In fact, make "Put together a bug out bag" at the VERY top of your list.
Don't know what that means? Well then come read my guest post over at Untypically Jia's blog.
I've put together a very simple introduction to zombie survival and bug out bags that will prove to be quite useful when the dead start to walk the Earth.
Oh how I have missed participating in Shutter Love Tuesday. I have just been way too busy and have been neglecting my blog and my photography. Enough is enough! I was excited when I realized this was a theme I could participate in, without having to go out of my way to do so.
The theme is Christmas Present or Past. Well, this is the photo we used for our Christmas card this year which makes it present, plus there are gifts in the photo so they also apply to the Christmas present theme.
Everyone always says that my puppy Jasmine looks like a baby deer. I couldn't resist the urge to give everyone a side by side comparison. I hope you enjoy the photo as much as our friends and family did.
Please stop by the Trendy Treehouse and vote for my photo!
Merry Christmas to all of my readers, my friends, and my family.
I'd also like to give a quiick shout out to my secret Santa Danny. I hope you enjoyed your gift!
Was Santa good to you this year? What was your favorite holiday gift?
After seeing the batch that my mother in law and niece put together for my niece's class, I had fully intended on putting together a quick tutorial on how to make these ornaments. Alas, I have come down with the flu and there was no way I was going to be able to make them in a timely fashion, let alone document the process.
I was really bummed, because they are so cute and so easy to make and so much fun to work on even with the younger little kids and I really wanted to share them with you. They not only make cute ornaments for the tree, they are great to put out on your holiday table to use as garnish and stirrers for coffee and hot cocoa.
So, imagine my surprise when I logged on today and say that Mommy D's Kitchen had just posted a fabulous tutorial with awesome pictures. I am taking the lazy route today and sending you over there to see her creative creations.
What a great idea! I am always upset when I miss one of my favorite holiday specials. That's not going to happen this year!
Click HERE for a list of all of the holiday programming. As more of the schedule is released the site will be updated.
I wish I had though to put together a Christmas TV Schedule list ! I'm totally adding this to my control journal so I don't forget about it.
I've already watched Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas this year. I can't wait for the "A Christmas Story" marathon, and/or A Charlie Brown Christmas.
I hate going to a holiday dinner/gathering empty handed. I am always looking for cute little things to bring with me.
This year I'll be bringing my Wilton Cake Decorating Basics finale cake to dinner but since everyone won't have the time to make a fancy cake like that, I thought I'd look for something for my readers to take along.
I found a super quick and yummy treat idea over at Organized Christmas. This website has been amazing to me this year and I am so glad I found it. Ignore the part that says Christmas because it's also got things for Halloween and Thanksgiving, the holidays that lead up to Christmas. Stay tuned next year when I attempt to follow their plan from August through New Year's Day.
What's great about that link is that they not only provide the ideas, they also give directions and free printable tags.
Thanksgiving Blessing Mix Recipe
Ingredients:
2 cups Bugles brand corn snacks
2 cups small pretzels
1 cup candy corn
1 cup dried fruit bits or raisins
1 cup peanuts or sunflower seeds
1 cup M&Ms-brand chocolate candy
16 Hershey's-brand chocolate kisses free printable blessing mix gift tags or bag toppers. Directions:
In a large bowl, gently mix all ingredients except Hershey's Kisses.
Place 1/3 to 1/2 cup Thanksgiving Blessing Mix in small cellophane treat bags. Add one Hershey's Kiss to each bag. Close bag with chenille stem or twist-tie.
Print 4 copies of the Thanksgiving Blessings Mix printable gift tag or or bag toppers, or hand-write your own tags with the wording below.
Cut out tags, and attach one to each bag.
Makes 16 Blessing Mix gift bags.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanksgiving Blessing Mix
Bugles: Shaped like a cornucopia or Horn of Plenty, a symbol of our nation's abundance.
Pretzels: Arms folded in prayer, a freedom sought by those who founded our country. Candy corn: Sacrifices of the Pilgrims' first winter. Food was so scarce that settlers survived on just a few kernels of corn a day.
Nuts or seeds: Promise of a a future harvest, one we will reap only if seeds are planted and tended with diligence.
Dried fruits: Harvest gifts of our bountiful land.
M&Ms: Memories of those who came before us to guide us to a blessed future.
Hershey's Kiss: The love of family and friends that sweetens our lives.
What are you bringing to the Thanksgiving Table this year?
That's right friends, it's that time of year! Halloween is less than a week away which means there is less than 2 months till Christmas. I am Christian so most of the plans will revolve around Christmas but please, don't let that discourage you if you celebrate a different Winter holiday. Basically everything I will be sharing with you here can be adapted to fit your needs.
This will be my first year using any of these formal tactics so some of us will be learning together. I would love to hear some feedback and your experiences and advice along the way. If you have a different version of something I suggest, please share! If you've used what I'm suggesting and it didn't work for you, or it worked amazing, tell us about it!
I'm going to start easy today. Today is all about STARTING your holiday planner.
I will be using a combination of forms found over at FlyLady.net and OrganizedChristmas.com
I already have a control journal so I'll just be adding my pages to a dedicated section of my binder. If you don't already have one, grab yourself a three ring binder. All of the pages I will be using or talking about are completely free to download and print.
So your first mission for today is to head over to FlyLady.net and check out the Holiday Control Journal. Print out only the pages that you find useful, there's no need to waste paper or ink on things you won't read or use. I personally printed out the following pages:
Get The House Ready To Cruise Through The Holidays (it's a page on Crisis Cleaning, very useful)
Holiday Gift List (to Purchase)
Family Traditions
Catalog Orders Checklist
(I also printed out the Packing List to keep in my control journal year round)
Your next mission is to head over to OrganizedChristmas.com and take a look at all of the options they have for Christmas planners. Try not to get overwhelmed with how much they have to offer. Just take a few minutes and see what they have. You can always go back and print out more pages later if you want to.
I printed the following pages:
Christmas Countdown 2010 calendar (it goes from Oct 24th-Dec 4th after that it's about celebrating not preparing)
Gift Closet Inventory
(I also printed out the Birthdays and Anniversaries page for my main control journal)
Next, if you have twitter, follow @ChristmasCntdwn b/c they will give you daily tasks to help you get your home ready for the holidays.
That's it for now. I don't want to overwhelm myself, or you with too many tasks. As flylady says, I can do anything in 15 minutes. (Much more than that and I lose interest)
When you're done putting your holiday planner together, take a picture and post it in the comments. I'd love to see it!
I tried to find the words to express just how much my mother means to me, just how strong of a woman she is and every time I just got all choked up. I stared at this screen for over half an hour trying to figure out what to write. There are no words.My mother and I may not always get along, we may not always see eye to eye and yes of course sometimes we drive each other crazy, BUT, she is an amazing woman. The world is a better place because she's in it. She has battled cancer numerous times, including lung cancer, and is in fact battling it again right now. She has had several heart complications including a major heart attack, she's diabetic and struggles with that... and yet, she's still here. She's still fighting, she's still smiling and just yesterday she said "There are people who have it worse than me." She has taught me what it's like to be strong. She has taught me that being strong doesn't mean you can't be afraid. She has taught me to put my faith in God, to wake up every day and face the world no matter what lies ahead of you. She has taught me the meaning of love. If I can be half the woman she is, I will be very successful in life. She is my mother, she is my friend.
Enjoy some photos. Unfortunately I don't have many on this computer.
