Merry Christmas!

Just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. Darling Hubby, Bug and I will be heading out to visit family tomorrow and I'm trying to get some last minute things done before hitting the hay tonight...like bake those cookies for Santa and dye my hair...I hope everyone has safe travels, enjoys spending time with their tolerated loved ones, and gets what they asked for from good ol' Saint Nick!

Oh, here's a quick quiz to tide you over until I return with a barrage of pictures from our holiday.

You Should Have a Blue Christmas Tree

For you, the holidays represent a time of calm, understanding, and peace. You avoid family fights, and you don't get too stressed out - even when things are crazy! You like to make Christmas about making everyone's life a little bit better. You don't get caught up in greed or commercialism. You're too sincere for that. Your blue tree would look great with: Lots of silver tinsel You should spend Christmas Eve watching: It's a Wonderful Life What you should bake for Santa: Chocolate chip cookies

What Color Christmas Tree Should You Have?

Sounds about right, 'cept I don't watch It's a Wonderful life and I'm making chocolate peanut butter chip cookies for Santa. Mmmmm....yummy!

A Doozy of a Giveaway!

What girl wouldn't want something sparkling and shiny peaking out of her stocking on Christmas morning? Well, if you head on over to Bloggy Giveaways, Shannon is giving away a doozy of a Christmas present to one lucky person. In association with Helzberg Diamonds you could be the winner of a Radiant Cut Green Amethyst Pendant. What do you have to do to enter? Well, head on over to the Helzberg Diamonds site and poke around. See something that catches your eye? Then pop in to visit Shannon at Bloggy Giveaways and leave a comment telling her what you liked. She'll enter your name to win the pendant. Spread the word in your own blog, too. It's that simple!

You know what? On second thought...don't do any of that stuff. You'll mess up my chances to win!

Holiday Hoopla!

I wasn't specifically tagged by anyone for this, but since Christmas is my favorite holiday, I thought I'd join in the fun.

Rules
1. List 12 random things about yourself that have to do with Christmas

2. Please refer to it as a 'hoopla' and not the dreaded 'm'-word (which, for you bloggy newbies, is meme)

3. You have to specifically tag people when you're done. None of this "if you're reading this, consider yourself tagged" stuff is allowed...then nobody ends up actually doing it. The number of people who you tag is really up to you -- but the more, the merrier to get this 'hoopla' circulating through the blogosphere.

4. Please try and do it as quickly as possible. The Christmas season will be over before we know it and I'd like to get as many people involved as possible.

Let the randomness begin!

1. My parents planted a pine tree in the front of my house when I was born. Every year we'd hang lights on that tree to help Rudolph find his way to my house. I could reach the top of it at one point. Now it's so tall I can't see the top of it when looking out the front door anymore.

2. One of my greatest Christmas memories was watching the Santa Bear cartoon on Christmas Eve before going to bed. I decided that I really wanted a stuffed Santa Bear that year and so I left a note with the hot chocolate (Santa needed something to warm him up) and cookies asking Santa if he had an extra one would he leave it for me. The next morning there was a Santa Bear under the tree with a note from Santa saying he found an extra on in the sleight. I very much believed in Santa that year.

3. My mom used to tell me that if there was something I wanted for Christmas and she bought it, we had to leave it for Santa's elves to come pick up so he could bring it for me on Christmas Eve. One year she bought me a brown teddy bear and we left it out on the dryer in the back room for the elves to come pick up. A little while later I checked on the dryer and the bear was gone. I really thought elves picked it up. Turns out, mom tossed it into the dryer hoping I wouldn't check for it.

4. My parents would only set up the Christmas tree the week before Christmas and take it down the week after. Now I set up my tree the day after Thanksgiving and leave it up until New Years.

5. I'm looking forward to those handmade ornaments Bug will bring home from school. I still have most of the ornaments I made in school, even thought they are not on my tree.

6. When I got married my mom gave me the big box of Christmas ornaments that we had collected over the years. I'm talking those old glass balls, and bags of tinsel, strings of lights (those big bulbed ones and the little ones, too). I finally went through it all last year and tossed a bunch of stuff that was broken or I just wouldn't (or shouldn't because it was a fire hazard) use. I still feel guilty about that. I did keep a few things like the glass Christmas tree topper my parents had for years, but never used...

7. I love getting Christmas cards in the mail every year and string them above my mantel with a string tied between 2 wall sconces and mini clothes pins from my baby shower.

8. I mail out as many cards as possible, but if I'll see you before Christmas, prepare to have a hand delivered card. I'm kind of a cheapskate.

9. On of my favorite Christmas presents was when I was 3 years old. I got a Fisher Price Little People House. I played with that thing for hours. Now I've recently passed it down, along with my Farm and Merry-go-round to Bug. I hope he enjoys the hours of fun I had with that house.

10. I grew up with a wood burning fireplace, but my parents always said it was difficult for Santa to get out of the fireplace since it basically locked from the outside. We used to leave our front door unlocked so Santa could get in easier. We lived out in the country where there was no one around and Dad locked the door as soon as Mom had me in bed, but still. Since we, too, have a fireplace that latches from the outside and don't want to teach that leaving our door unlocked is ok, we created a Magic Key to leave for Santa. We are going to give it to Bug this year and every year we will put it outside by the front door so Santa can let himself in.

11. My favorite holiday treat is Hot Chocolate. I recently found an awesome recipe for Hot Chocolate that I modified for my taste. I'm thinking a cup sounds mighty good with lunch on this cold snowy day.

12. I hate coming up with a list of things that I want for Christmas, even though it makes it easier on those who want to buy for me. I always feel greedy by asking for things that I normally wouldn't buy for myself. And Darling Hubby is so hard to buy for. I don't like to buy things from his list because I feel like I didn't put any effort or thought into it. I always feel like I have to top the gift from last year...but I know that's just silly and I really don't try to do that anymore. I've never been able to top the $300 Lego Star Destroyer I bought him in 2003.

I'm tagging Annie and Shell, since they are blogger newbies and need to have a bit of Hoopla to really get them initiated to the blogging world.

The Dreaded 8 Things Meme!

My friend Lori over at Fairytales and Margarita's tagged me to do the 8 things meme...so here goes. I really hate trying to come up with a certain number of things. It always makes me brain hurt! So, fear not, there will be things left blank!

Oh, and I don't know why there are only 7 things on the 8 things meme...maybe 7 got hungry...you know, 7 ate 9...I always did have a punny sense of humor.

8 Things I Am Passionate About

1. My family
2. crafts (scrapbooking, crocheting, quilting, etc)
   
3. reading
4. tv
5. writing
6. photography
7. food
8. role-playing
   

8 Things I Want To Do Before I Die

1. Watch Logan grow up, get married and have a family of his own.
2. See the pyramids in Egypt
3. Visit the Titanic wreckage (although I know this will never happen)
4. Meet Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Jensen Ackels or Jared Padalecki...any one of the 4 would do.
5. Travel out west
6. Write a novel
7. Learn to drive
   
8. Win the lottery (which would be a miracle since I don't play!)
   

8 Things I Say Often

1. Get your finger out of your nose
2. Get that out of your mouth
   
3. I love you
4. Sweet dreams
5. Get down from there
6. You can play the computer when mommy is finished
7. Turn the tv off
8. Oh, for the love of Pete
   

8 Books I Have Read Recently

1. Honest Illusions by Nora Roberts
2. All the Harry Potter books (1-7 in order from start to finish)
3. Bogeyman by Gayle Wilson
4. Grave Intent by Deborah LeBlanc
5. Copy Cat by Erica Spindler
6. Revenant by Carolyn Haines
7. Boo Humbug by Rene Gutteridge
8. The MacGregor Brides by Nora Roberts
   

8 Songs I Could Listen To Over And Over

1. Wizards in Winter by TSO
2. Carol of the Bells
3. Weird Al's I'll Sue Ya (mainly because Bug ALWAYS wants to listen to this in the car)
4. Any of the songs on the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtracks
8. 
   

OK, I really need to start expanding my music selections...

8 Things That Attract Me To My Best Friends

1. Honesty
2. Sense of Humor
3. Dedication
4. How much we have in common
5. Support
6. Caring
7. Willingness to listen
8. 
   

8 People Who Should Totally Do This Meme

1. Annie
2. Rachelle
3. Corey
4. Shannon
5. Megan
6. Meghan
8. 
   

Wow, I was able to come up with more things than I thought I would. Those of you I tagged better get crackin'! I want to see those answers! Oh, and even if I didn't tag you and you want to join in on the fun, feel free!

Bug's First Snow Fun of 2007

We had our first big snow of the year recently and after much shoveling and snow blowing, Bug and I headed out for some fun. The weather was nice with blue skies and decently warm temps. Our goal was to create a masterpiece Snowman.

We bundled up in our warm clothes and headed out. As we were getting dressed, Bug said, "This is so exciting." The first thing Bug does is run right into the snow where he gets "stuck."

With some help out from mommy, we go about building our snowman. Well, I should say I built a snowman. Bug had much more fun wading through the knee-deep (to him anyway) snow than actually helping. He was keeping our dog Max highly entertained by throwing snow at him. Max loves that.

When I completed my snow boy, as he turned out to be only 3 feet tall, I grabbed my camera and snapped some pictures of Bug with him. At first, he had to say ''hi snowman'' to him.

Then he tossed some snow at him. Then he gave him a hug.

Overall, it was a great day outside in the white goodness. Bug had a good time and slept very well for his nap. Coming inside was a fight, but I promised he could go back out tomorrow with daddy. More snow is coming Saturday night into Sunday so there will be many more days to play.

Oh, we read the book The Snow Family at nap time. If you've never read it, you should. It's one of my winter favorites. We may have to go out and build snow parents for our snow boy, or at least a snow dog he can romp with. Who knows What Snowmen Do at Night. Guess we'll know in the morning.

And one of my favorite quotes (and Bug’s too) from The Snow Family:

"... and a kiss on every carrot nose…just like that."

Food For Friday - 12/10-12/21

Going shopping tonight. Here's my menu for the next 2 weeks.

Monday - Craft Night - Rose is cooking
Tuesday - Cabbage Rolls
Wednesday - Tuna Mac Wiggle
Thursday - Game night - dinner to be determined later
Friday - Stuffed Shells with salad

Monday - Craft Night -Sadaf is cooking
Tuesday - Tacos
Wednesday - Pork Roast in Crockpot with veggies and potatoes
Thursday - Chicken Paprika
Friday - Cordon Blue and Fries

Christmas Update

So Christmas is coming along nicely. Most of the presents have been bought and wrapped. The Christmas card picture has been taken and has been sent to be printed and most of the cards have been addressed. I'm just waiting for the photos to arrive so I can mail them out. I still need to buy a couple more things for Darling Hubby's stocking and I should be all set. Now I just need to figure out what to buy...any ideas? I still need to buy something for my Secret Santa gift for my little baby board. I've got some ideas. I just need to make them become a reality.

Today Bug got a letter in the mall from Santa. I believe it came from Grandma R. I'll have to show it to Bug when he wakes up from his nap. Speaking of naps, he actually went down pretty easily today, Maybe we are getting back on track. I don't want to jinx myself. I'm sure having just said that, tomorrow will be a nap day from hell for both kids.

OK, I must have just jinxed myself. I think I hear Bug waking up from his nap. Its been about an hour, so I can’t complain, Plus it's almost time for Baby Girl to wake up for her bottle before she needs home.

Oh, here's the picture I promised of the Santa's magic key for Bug. I blurred out the personalization on the top part. What do you think?

Mommy Has Left The Building!

Have you ever just wanted to change your name? I'm not talking about changing your birth name your parents saddled you with, I'm talking about the name you are given the day a new life enters your world... "mommy." I can't even count the number of times I've heard, "Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mooommmy!" in the past day and a half...(I'm sure Rachelle, if you are reading this, you can relate) and it's not like Bug even wants anything. I think he's just trying to get on my nerves...grrr!

You know, I really can't shouldn't complain. I do really love that he calls me mommy now and that he has really picked up on talking. I remember that I was pretty upset until about six months ago when he first started saying mommy. Until then I was Baba, Bobo or pretty much just "hey you." Now he talks up a storm and repeats everything (better watch what you say) but sometimes I think he just talks and talks just to hear his own voice.

Anyone else out there in blogland feel the same way?

Testing out the Toy, Part II

All is quiet in my house now. Bug is finally sleeping. It’s almost time for Baby Girl to wake up. But for now I have a quiet few minutes. Does anyone else feel like this week should nearly be over already instead of just beginning? It is most definitely a Monday, but it feels like it should be Thursday.

We did get some nasty weather last night, but it wasn't so bad that things had to close. Just a few delays. I did have one heck of a time trying to clear ice from the front walk. No matter what I did, I just couldn’t get the ice to go away.

I ended up just putting down salt in the hope it would start melting some. Darling Hubby said it was freezing rain this morning on his way to work, so it may gave been refreezing as I was working. Who knows?

Oh, so I finished the magic key we will leave out for Santa. It came out very nicely. I really hope Bug appreciates it when he is older. I'll post a couple pictures of it later on when I get the chance.

Well it is nearly time to wake Baby Girl. I’d also better get my things ready to take with me for craft night. It's my turn to cook. Don't want to forget the spaghetti or the sauce. I'm hoping to finish my quilt tonight. If I do, I'll post some pictures of it tomorrow.

A New Toy and Some Random Thoughts

I'm currently sitting on my Couch testing out new toy. Now don't think perverted thoughts. Saturday Darling Hubby bought me a Fly Fusion pen, It cost a decent amount, but it will be useful for my role-playing game and for my blog as well. I can now write on special notebook paper and upload my thoughts directly to the computer without having to type them all again. Now I can blog while in my warm living room and not worry about waking up Baby Girl. So far, it seems to work.

Today Darling Hubby and I watched “Hogfather” that we recorded last week. It was a movie about how Death becomes the Hogfather (aka Santa), It was a really good movie. After that I worked on making the Magic key we will be leaving out for Santa on Christmas Eve. I painted a wooden door knob fob, like one you would find in a hotel (a do not disturb sign, so to speak) and will attach a key (an ornament key painted gold with yellow gemstones on it so it looks magical) to it later, We plan to "mail" it to Bug, like Santa mailed it to him and give it to him Christmas Eve. It’s something that we can use every year and then give to him later when he has a family of his own. Yes, we have a fireplace, but it’s one that locks from the outside so we though that this would work out rather than trying to explain how Santa gets out of our wood stove.

After that Darling hubby set our oven on fire. Nothing serious, just-a small fire. Apparently, when I baked my pumpkin Cheesecake the other day butter spilled out of it and mingled with the other pan drippings in the bottom out of my oven and were ignited by the heat element, We know the smoke detector works and I'm thankful we didn't have to use the fire extinguisher. A little splash of water did the trick, At least our pizza didn't taste funny and the house doesn't small bad. The dogs have determined that they very much dislike the smoke alarm and Bug could really care less. He didn't even leave the computer to come see what was going on.

I'm waiting to see what the Weather brings for tomorrow. The great Northeast is expecting a snowstorm. We are only supposed to get 3 or so inches of snow, but we may be getting some freezing rain, sleet and ice. Travel may be pretty treacherous in the morning. Depending on if the college is open or closed, that will tell if I'll be watching Baby Girl. I just hope the evening travel is better. I want to go to craft night and finish my quilt.

Well, I'm going to finish this up and upload it. Hopefully my new toy is worth the money we paid for it.

**************

And just a note…the Fly Pen worked pretty well. It has a little trouble with reading some of my letters, but now I know what to work on and I’ll be blogging and recording notes for our game easily in no time!