Decking the Halls...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...'tis the season to be jolly...falalala la la la...and all that.

I've been spending a lot of time the past few days wondering what I should write about. I have tossed a few ideas around, but they haven't amounted to anything. I just can't seem to be inspired to write. Maybe because I've spent the last three days cleaning and decorating and doing laundry. I guess I can't be creative and orderly at the same time. Those two things must use different areas of the brain.

So, I will write about my Christmas decorating, boring as that will most likely be.

I love decorating for Christmas. I don't do anything as elaborate as I used to, mainly because I don't have the time. It used to be a week long all day production fancying up nearly every room of my house for the holidays. The first year after I started working, I spent so much time with my usual decorating that I didn't even have time to enjoy it all before Christmas was over and it was time to pack it all away again. So over the past years, I have drastically scaled back what I decorate so that I can finish most of it over Thanksgiving weekend. Each year, I ask the kids what they think are the most important decorating tasks, and that's what I do.

Of course, we put up the tree.Tony and I have vastly different ideas as to how to decorate the tree: He likes the big, old fashioned colored bulbs, and I like tiny little white lights. For many years, he insisted that our tree had to have colorful lights, so we compromised and used the tiny colored lights because I refused to put those gigantic bulbs on my Christmas tree. Finally, about 10 years ago, I decided, hey, why should HE always get to have what he wants on the tree, and I don't? So I told him we would trade off...one year our tree would be decked out in all the colors of the rainbow, the next year, the lights would be clear. But for some reason, for the past two years, our tree has been decked out in colored lights. The other day, without me even saying anything, he put on the clear lights. I've been playing around with my camera and trying to get some good "light" pictures, and this is the best I can do:




The other 2 things the kids always want me to do is decorate our staircase:




and decorate outside. We put wreaths with red bows on all the windows and wrap the porch railings in greenery and red bows. I am also in charge of the lights outside. I usually decorate with all white, red and green, but yesterday, I discovered that only one strand of my 15 strands of red lights worked, and only a few of my green strands worked. Probably because when Tony took them down after last Christmas, he just piled them all in a Rubbermaid tub and they were a tangled mess. By the time I untangled them, they didn't work. I wish I'd thought to take a picture of that mess. :( I didn't want to spend money on new lights, so after being rather pissy with my husband all afternoon, I decided to simply make do with what I had. Which was you guessed it...all-colorful. While Tony and the kids were gone last night, I lit up the outside, and the kids all love it. I admit, it turned out pretty nice, even though it's not how I usually do things. The kids love it, so I guess that's all that really matters, right?



I experimented with the night settings on my camera again...check out this cool shot! The lights look like music notes. Not sure how I achieved that look...



In addition to those few things the kids insist I decorate, I also do several other smaller things around the house.

My dining room table:




I know this is pretty boring, but...I only show it because the bright green crocheted cloth on the table was made for me many years ago by my Great Aunt Mary. I love it and always look forward to getting it out at Christmastime.

Also in the dining room:




The table by the front door:





The cloth on the table was also made by my Aunt Mary, although she didn't make it for me...it is older than I am. Again, I love it and look forward to getting it out every year. My Aunt Mary absolutely loved Christmas, so while I sadly miss spending Christmas with her, I feel she is with me in a small way.

Finally, one of my very favorite things about Christmas...my Christmas dishes. When Justin was a baby, my mom started buying me a 4-plate collection of Pfaltzgraph Holly Berry dessert plates. Each set had 4 plates, each depicting one of the "days of Christmas." After the first three years, once I had all of the 12 days of Christmas plates, she gave me other pieces...glasses, a serving plate, then, she gave me gift cards to Famous Barr...now Macy's, and I purchased a plate, dessert cups, and a candy dish. Every year, I wanted to buy the actual dishes that we could eat off of, but I never did. Then a few years ago, I was given a gift certificate to Macy's by my boss, and on Christmas Eve, I saw that Macy's had a set of 4 place settings on sale for really cheap. And my gift card was enough to buy two of them...so I now have 8 place settings. And I use them. I unpack them Thanksgiving weekend, run them through the dishwasher, and we eat dinner on them each night. And an added bonus...I am forced to clean out a cabinet in order to make room for them.

I'd show a picture, but my kids were making fun of me already for the things I have been taking pictures of. Taking pictures of dishes might be too much and they might go to Facebook and write about what a weirdo I am.

Besides just decorating this weekend, Rachel and I found a recipe to make homemade lipgloss. She is so excited to make it for her friends for Christmas. We also went through cookbooks and decided what Christmasy treats we are going to make. I love that one of my kids wants to cook and bake with me. I think I've created a cooking monster though, because she asks me pretty much every day what we are going to make.

Okay, ending this with what I am thankful for:

I am thankful that we got to spend Thanksgiving with Tony's family, who we don't see nearly often enough.

This should be the first thing on my list...I am oh so thankful that Justin got a JOB! His first one. He is going to a Little Caesar's guy...standing out on the sidewalk in front of Little Caesars in a silly costume waving at people. He is excited!

I am thankful that after the tough year that we have had that I was able to spend the weekend "decking the halls" and putting smiles on my kids faces.

I am thankful that on this Sunday night, my house is clean and laundry is caught up.

I am thankful that both Tony and I have a job to go to tomorrow.

And finally, I am thankful that my kids, who know how tough times have been for us lately and don't often get many of the material things they want, are still able to be excited by a Christmas decorated house. Their joy in something so simple truly brings peace to my heart.

My new obsessions

First of all, I know I haven't written for awhile. I just haven't had the time. It seems like every day, I think of something I could come here and write, but life has been crazy and I fall onto the couch or my bed each night in a zombie-like state, barely even able to think a coherent thought, much less write one. I felt like such an idiot a couple of days ago...on Thursday morning, Justin asked me about something that he said we had talked about the night before, and I didn't remember it. Not one little nugget of the conversation. He rolled his eyes, looked at me like I was an alien, and said "Mmmmm-ooo-mmm!!! You were on the couch watching Survivor and I said (blah blah blah) and you said (blah blah blah). You don't remember that???" No I didn't remember that. I told him that if it's dark and he sees me on the couch, he can pretty much count on me not remembering something we talk about, because by the time I am on the couch, I am done.

Sooooo...all that to say that I have been tired. Too tired to write, and that rarely happens.

But, I have once again been 'nagged' to write here. Thankfully. So I am writing. This post is going to be about a couple of different random things.

I titled this my new obsessions and I will tell you why.

First of all, I have written here before about watching sunrises from my kitchen window. And wow, there have been some incredible ones lately. I have taken lots of pictures of them, and every time I do, I wonder if any of my neighbors see me on my deck with a camera pointed at what seems to be their house and wonder what the heck I am doing. But, I can't stop. Every day, I now find myself looking to see what the sunrise looks like rather than randomly glancing out the window and noticing it. Somedays, it's cloudy and I can't even see the sun, but on other days, I am privileged to witness this:









As I watched this sunrise last Thursday morning I wondered to myself what better way can there be to start a day than watching such beauty unfold from your kitchen window?

I am also becoming obsessed with sunsets. I watch sunrises from my kitchen window, and sunsets from my front porch. Yesterday evening, Rachel was outside with a few of her friends, and she had my cell phone. I went out on the porch to ask her to give it back to me, and as I walked out the front door, I stopped in my tracks. These pictures are not even close to how beautiful the sunset was, but here they are anyway:





Of course, I'd much rather be watching a sunset with my toes buried in some warm sand, but since this blog is about appreciating what I have...I am appreciating what I have.

Now, onto my second new obsession. Just as pretty, but better because it's edible!



Those are homemade marshmallows, and oh my...that's all I can really say...OH MY!

I've made them twice now. The first batch never even made it out of the pan, cut into cubes and rolled into powedered sugar because the kids and Tony kept digging them out of the pan and eating them with a fork. Of course I didn't do that...oh no, not me! But by the next day, they were gone. This week I made them again, and they were even better the second time. And I did manage cut them into chunks and coat them with sugar...and I also managed to have several cups of hot chocolate with 2 of these yummy confections floating on top.

Just in case you're not totally sick of reading about marshmallows, I will go on some more about them.

I think it's no secret that I love to cook and bake. I have my tried and true simple stuff, and also some not so simple stuff that I like to dig my hands into. Sometimes, I want to make something that makes a big mess and requires lots of chopping, etc. Sometimes, I have the urge to make something I've never made before, just to try it for fun. A few years ago, I made homemade chocolate cupcakes with homemade buttercream frosting. I'd made plenty of cakes from a box, and I'd made homemade frosting only once or twice, when I made my grandmother's carrot cake. Sometimes, while these "experiments" turn out great, I end up realizing that it was more trouble than it is worth. Like the chocolate cupcakes. They were good, but didn't taste a whole lot different than Duncan Hines.

However, sometimes, I hit upon something that the homemade version is so much better than the not homemade version, that I have a hard time using the not homemade version any more. For instance, homemade frosting. I don't think I've used canned frosting since that first time I made buttercream. Homemade frosting is so easy, and so much tastier than the canned stuff. I used to always make sure I had a good supply of frosting in my pantry, and now, I make sure I always have ingredients on hand for homemade.

I think homemade marshmallows may be one of those things that turn me into a homemade food snob. Not really, but really...they are that good. They aren't hard to make at all, just a bit time consuming and messy. Very messy. But worth the time and the mess. Thankfully, one batch makes a ton of marshmallows. I can't wait to try them out on 'smores. Maybe tonight I will make a fire and we'll try it out.

Onto the next random thing...my co worker Megan gave me a new winter coat! Well, not new, but gently used. I love it! I have always admired this coat of hers, and she brought it to work the other day, telling me that she was tired of it as she'd had it for several years, she bought a new coat and was going to donate it to Goodwill. But then she remembered how much I have always liked it, so she decided to give it me instead. Is this me or is this me???




And that fun, twisty scarf I wrote about a few weeks ago? I'm almost finished with it! I have only about half a skein of yarn left to go. I love how it turned out, and it looks so cute with that pink coat.

Gosh, between homemade marshmallows and a fun coat, I might actually be looking forward to winter!

(Did I really just say that???)

Finally, I've had some proud mom moments lately. Lauren tried out for the high school basketball team last week, and after some setbacks and disappointments, she made the freshman team rather than the JV team. She was hoping to make JV, and she is definately good enough to make JV, but she didn't for several reasons. It has been a bit hard for her because two girls that she has played with on other teams for years did make the JV team. I know it has to sting, but she is handling herself and the situation so well, truly making the best of it, and I am so proud of her.

Weeks ago, I said that everytime I posted here I was going to write out a list of all the things I am thankful for that day, and I haven't done that. So that's how I'm going to end today's post.

I am thankful that my husband is home after a looonnnnggg week of being out of town.

I am thankful that so far, we have had some beautiful weather that hasn't been too cold yet.

I am thankful for the awesome friends that my kids have whose parents treat them like family.

I am thankful that we are going to be able to spend Thanksgiving with Tony's family this year.

I am thankful that my work load has lightened a bit.

I am thankful that while the past months (heck, the past 2 years!) have been hard on our family, we are hanging in there and doing the best we can

I started off this day in pity party mode. No, I'm not going to write why because it's dumb and not important.

Remember my flowers from a few weeks ago? Last night, they still looked great. Rachel even said something to me that they were still pretty after such a long time. This morning, not so much, and they look like this now:




Which was perfect for how I was feeling this morning. A bit, or more than a bit, wilted. I should have known it was coming...the past weeks and months have been so full and busy and crazy, and with a few days of down time now, and nothing huge and pressing looming on the horizon, I guess you could say I sort of "crashed." I have been doing my very best to not be whiny and stay positive and that all almost went out the proverbial window this morning, and I wanted to curl up in bed and waste the day away. Thank goodness I don't have that heavenly bed that I posted about yesterday or I would have done just that.

Anyway, I'm not going to go into all that because that would totally defeat the purpose of this blog.

Instead of curling up and wallowing, I made homemade marshmallows. I have always wanted to do that but was sort of chicken about it. Yesterday, I made a batch of hot chocolate mix, and I thought today would be a good day to try out the marshmallow recipe. I have no idea how they turned out because the pan has to sit for 12 hours before you cut them, but I am hoping that this mess:



is worth it.

I am in LOVE

Of all the sights and experiences I had in Washington DC, at the top of the best of the best list...

The bed at the hotel.

OMG...I didn't want to get out of it. The sheets were so so soft...probably a million thread count. Or at least a higher thread count than the sheets I normally sleep on. There was a down pillow top on the mattress...layers of sheets and sandwiched in between the sheets, a thin down blanket...topping it all, a puffy down comforter.

And the pillows. OH. MY. The pillows...piles of the best pillows. That I didn't have to share with anyone.

We turned the a/c down in the room so we could really burrow under all that beautiful bedding and not sweat our butts off.

Forget the sights of DC...I could have happily spent my days languishing in that bed.

Oh, and the best part?? It was all white! I dream of someday having a bed piled with white sheets blankets comforters and pillows. Obviously, that's not going to happen anytime soon considering I have 4 kids and a black beast of a dog that sneaks onto my bed every time I'm not looking. And every time my husband lets him.

But back to that bed.

I want it. All of it. Apparently, I am not the only one either. There was a mini catalog in the room...and in the catalog was all the bedding for sale. For $3500, you can purchase the whole shebang...mattress, box springs, all the bedding, and pillows. It's a good thing I don't have a spare $3500, or it would be MINE. LOL

I haven't bought new sheets or a new bedspread in years. And my pillows...eh. Walmart pillows are no comparison. I have never given much thought to my bed before. But now...

Here's a picture:



I wonder if I can possibly convince my husband that all of my sleep issues would magically disappear if only I had this bed!