Merry Christmas to all ....

We have family coming up early tomorrow to start our Christmas Eve traditions ... so with being sick this past week, I know this will be the last "liesurely" time I have to check in and wish all of you a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS. 

I'm already starting to think ahead at the possiblities that 2010 will hold for my family and I ... and am feeling extremely greatful and hopeful ... for all the things that we've been blessed with this difficult 2009 and all the things that God and life have in store for us in 2010.

Embrace the craziness ... you can't escape it.  Let it happen, and enjoy the moment!  See you after the chaos is over!

Anyone else feeling the Christmas Crunch?

Man ... does it suck.  I feel like I've got 100 things to do and definitely not enough time to do them in.  Besides all that, an unexpected Saturday entertaining family (which I love and am thankful to see them ... but ack!).  It seems that I keep pushing everything to the back burner thinking that I'll somehow find the time ... but secretly - secretly I know that this is what always happens to me when I get overwhelmed.  Suddenly the most silliest of things get done before what needs to get done. 

Do you do that too?  (Please tell me that you do!)

Today I honestly couldn't tell you what I did other than load & empty the dishwasher, clean pots, scrub the sink, make macaroons (then eat one too many cause they were so darn tasty ... and btw ... really easy to make - followed the recipe from allrecipes.com), did laundry (still have the whites to do), made a fabric flower pin from this tutorial at WiseCraft's blog and made dinner.  After that I sat down to eat dinner with the hubby and vegged out as we watched Sing-Off (I think that's it?) on NBC and wrote down the sizes of particular fabrics I need to get started cutting for a quilt and did a Suduko puzzle.

Totally motivating, isn't it?  I'm hoping tomorrow is better ... and that I have more energy than I did today.  Going to bed now (12:15am isn't late, is it?) and waking up early tomorrow to make these guys ... Stroofilies (for lack of proper spelling - it's how I spell them!)  They're an Italian thing ... basically small dough balls, fried then coated with honey and rainbow sprinkles.  SO yummy. 

After that, clean up - go with the hubby for his haircut and then hit the mall to finish up some last minute shopping!  Planning on finishing wrapping everything that night.  Well - that's the plan.  We'll see if it works!

I'm so wishing that I could be pulling out my sewing machine and get started on the quilt & some other quick projects - but it's too cumbersome to take everything out for 1 or 2 days before company visits. 

Oh ... and since we're confessing here ... I've totally dropped the ball on my Journal Your Christmas/December Daily/Holidays in Hand album.  This year though, I've made it farther than ever ... I actually put together an album!  I've also tried to keep track of what happened on what day - but we'll see if it ever winds up coming to fruition.

I hear my bed calling ... Hopefully all of you are finding your way out of the chaos that the season creates and into some peace & quiet.  Good luck!  I'll be here sporadically as I can ... and maybe even to post some pictures of what I make!

Finally decorated

I feel like I'm behind the proverbial 8-ball this year ... and not sure why.  Today I finally got everything decorated.  If there's anything left, it's just minor odds & ends that I forgot about and will put out when I find out about them!

I have realized something though ... I hate putting ornaments on the tree.  Just find it to be such a hassle ... but love the final look of the tree.  Go figure, right?  I had to guilt the hubby into helping me finish it up today ... whatever works, right?

Here's the finished product:

I have to remember to put the tree "skirt" on tomorrow.  I just remembered that I used some brown ultra suede fabric that I had ... Let me tell you - it's difficult to work around a train track!  Everything is just too bulky and goes too near the tracks.

We're fortunate that my father-in-law is an  avid Lionel train collector/lover - and has been for years and years.  The train peeking out from behind the tree there ... he made that for my husband when he was little.  After we got married, he got my initial added onto the "train line" on the side.  So loving and adorable.  Here's a better picture of the train from a few years ago at our old apartment. 

My husband still doesn't understand why I switched out the accent colors of our tree ... in our apartment I kept the purple that I had when I was single - it went with the brown couch and accents we had in the living room.  In the house ... the purple kinda clashes with the blue walls, know what I mean?  Poor guy ... he just shakes his head while I carry on.

I was going to be all tech-savvy and attempt making a little collage with our other bits & pieces of stuff here ... but the computer I'm on doesn't have Picasa loaded and quite frankly, I should've been in bed an hour ago!  Maybe tomorrow?

Thanksgiving Recap and December plan ...

Thanksgiving is over, Black Friday is done and here I am.  Right now I'm on the couch waiting to start dinner for the hubby and figured it's a good time to catch up here while I watch some DVR that's backed up because of the holidays.

So ... here's what's been going on: 

The paper wreath project.  I told you it was huge ... it's measuring 12" deep and just about 24" across.  Truly, after I made it, I loved it ... but the one phrase that kept coming out of my mouth was "it's so huge!"  So, my advice to you ... go with the 1o" base ... or smaller - though I haven't tried anything smaller yet ... but I plan to.  

There were only 2 options for where to hang it ... over our couch in the den (high enough so my clumsy but loveable husband doesn't whack it with his arms when he stretches) or on the wall of our stairwell where no one will see it except myself and my husband ... and those select few who wind up in our upstairs. 

My sister and I settled on hanging in the den above the couch.  Thankfully the wall is big enough that it doesn't look out of place.  I do have to find some other things (frames?) to hang beside it so it's not just floating there on its own.  Here are some quick pictures I took of it (excuse the mess & poor lighting :)  ).

Onto Thanksgiving ... we co-hosted, as I mentioned.  My mother-in-law wasn't feeling well, so we were down 1 ... but still had a great day.  Dinner was fantastic if I do say so myself!  I must say, between my father and I, we're pretty damn good at timing everything.  We had some family favorite appetizers early (quick quiche, mini hot dogs, pseudo-antipasto and stuffed mushrooms) and they were devoured relatively quickly.  Dinner was pretty traditional as well - but we added a chateaubriand into the mix as well being that we had so many and everyone usually takes leftovers home.  It was mouthwatering.   It was one of the best pieces of meat I've had.  Homemade stuffing, mashed potatoes, carmelized onions, string beans, broccoli and sweet potaotes.  Probably other stuff that I'm missing, but all of it was delicious.

The fun part ... the table setting:  (the sizing options aren't cooperating with me)

And all of this ... brings us to the one day I don't mind shopping all year ... Black Friday!  Anyone else with me on this?  There's something to be said for not sleeping, leaving the house at 3:15am to get coffee before hitting the first store at 4am.  Yes ... yes, I did.  (We actually - it's a sisterly adventure every year.)  We're smart enough to know not to go for the crazy $200 computers or things like that, but we get some pretty good deals on things (like $49 for a slide scanner ... $59 for a $125 floor steamer). 

How did you guys make out?  Did you even go out on Black Friday?

Yesterday I sorted through the bags and made final decisions about what to keep and what to return (yes, there are some things to return!).  This week I'll do my returns and pick up the missing Christmas gifts I need. 

My husband and father in law will be putting up our Lionel train (my father in law is an avid train collector and it's a nice tradition to have - especially after we have kids) around the tree in the next day or two, so that's when the majority of our decorating will get done.  I still have to write out Christmas cards ... and I must admit that I'm behind this year - they're usually in the mail ON December 1st ... I'm such a slacker ;)

Christmas is coming ...

Not that I'm trying to rush it or anything ... but it's definitely on its way.  My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving ... so there's no way you can make me rush the coming days by to get to the Christmas season!  I was amazed yesterday when I went to the grocery store that Christmas candy was out already!  (Ugh ... commercialism!)  But ... it's the way of the world I guess.

Anyway ... the ONE thing that I usually take care of before Thanksgiving for Christmas time is scheduling a dinner and date to go see the tree at Rockefeller Center.  Ever since my grandmother died in 2001, it's been a way to keep her love of Christmas and especially the Rockefeller Center Tree with me every year.  It doesn't matter how many times I've seen it, it still amazes me.  The sheer size and grandness of it all.  


We missed it last year.  I missed it.  With everything that had been going on in our lives, I just couldn't make myself go.  Now, it's a year later and I'm wondering if the Christmas Spirit will be in me this year.  I know that the others love this tradition and understood when we dropped out last year.  Hopefully I won't disappoint them - or myself this year.  We'll have to wait and see.