Sights of the Season

More Journal Your Christmas pages. I’m getting caught up slowly, but looking forward to getting more pages done once my holiday break begins on Thursday afternoon. That’s how I want to spend my free time ~ scrapbooking!

Journaling reads:

There are many things that signal the oncoming holiday season for me. One of them is the "changing of the guard" (so to speak) at Starbucks – when the Red Cups are introduced. That's when you know all the yummy holiday drinks are out and it's time to sneak a trip to Starbucks when you are Christmas shopping.One of the other signs of the season for us is when our neighbor farmer puts up his hay "Snowmen" in the pasture. We watch impatiently after Thanksgiving and it's always so much fun to drive by and see they are finally there! Poinsettias are also a big sign for me that Christmas is here. This year, I ordered a huge one from a fundraiser at South Forsyth. I was so excited to get it and love looking at the bright colors.

Journaling reads:

One of my most precious Christmas decorations is this Christmas tree. My Great-Grandmother Achord made this in her post-stroke program one year. I love it because it was made by her and it's one of the few things I have of hers. I have replaced many of the "bulbs" over the years and the girls know that it is a strictly "eyes, not fingers" type of decoration. I pack it lovingly away each January and can't wait to pull it out of the packaging each December. To me, that's one of the ways I know Christmas is really here – when my tree is lit for the first time.

You can see more of my JYC pages on Flickr

Holiday Baking

I hadn't really planned to bake this year. Not much, anyway. But it seemed the closer Christmas came, the more I had the urge to bake. I finally did some baking on the 16th and then again on the 18th.

Once I got started it was hard to quit! I made oatmeal-craisin cookies, chocolate chip cookies, banana bread, chocolate meringue cookies, reindeer bark, spiced nuts, and eggnog cookies…

For someone who wasn't going to bake, I sure did make a lot!

But, everyone enjoys the cookies and the girls and I enjoy the baking process. It was fun to have their help in the kitchen this year. They are still not interested enough for hours of baking, but they enjoy helping out on a cookie recipe or two.

You can see more of my JYC pages on Flickr

20 Christmas Questions

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Gift bags as long as I can get away with it.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial. Goes much better with my allergies.

3. When do you put up the tree? The weekend after Thanksgiving if we are home. If not, the very next week.

4. When do you take the tree down? January 6. The Feast of the Epiphany.

5. Favorite gift received as a child? The sapphire ring my mom and dad gave me one year. I felt very grown up and special.

6. Hardest person to buy for? Mom & step-Dad. They are like me. They already have everything they want (or they just go buy it) so it is hard to get them something new.

7. Easiest person to buy for? Little Princess right now. Barbie all the way and she is a happy girl.

8. Mail or email Christmas cards? mailed traditional cards.

9. Favorite Christmas Movie? The Santa Clause series has become a tradition in our house in the last few years. I don’t really have a favorite myself, but I love watching the girls watch these.

10. When do you start shopping for Christmas? August/September – after I recover from Back-to-School shopping.

11. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? re-gifted? probably. but I will never admit it if you ask.

12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Pizelles. Brings back memories of making them with my grandma and mom.

13. Lights on the tree (colored or clear)? clear all the way; although the girls have snuck a few colored light decorations in the house lately.

14. Favorite Christmas song? It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Harry Connick, Jr. – he can sing for me any time.) I also love Oh Holy Night.

15. Travel at Christmas or stay home? home

16. Angel, star or ribbon on top of tree? Angel – it’s actually a Boyds Bears angel bear. I used to collect them. I have all sorts of Boyds Christmas critters scattered around the house.

17. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? In the morning – the kids wake us up at some ungodly hour and we try to pretend to be awake while they open presents. I always try to sneak a nap later in the day.

18. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The cheesy holiday movies that Lifetime and the other chick cable stations try to pass off as specials.

19. What do you want for Christmas this year? Time to do whatever I want.

20. Traditional colors (red and green) or other colors? Traditional, but in deep shades.

Want to play along? Post your answers in the comments or on your own blog and link back here and/or include your blog link in a comment.

Capturing the Holidays

More Journal Your Christmas pages…

Having SuperMan housebound really slowed our entire family’s pace down this past weekend. I was actually able to scrapbook and knit!

Here are some more pages I finished:

JYC2010 - Page 009

More to come.

You can see the 2009 and the other 2010 pages on my JYC page on the blog.

a Christmas Manifesto

I’m starting (finally) my 2010 Christmas album.

As last year, I’m following along with Shimelle’s Journal Your Christmas class. Loving the prompts and finding that I really do have new things to write about this year, even though the prompts are pretty much the same as last year.

Although it appears they are mixed up a bit… or maybe I am wrong? Does anyone know if she rearranges the prompts from year to year?

Here’s my first page:

Journaling:

This year, my Christmas manifesto is this:

Don’t over do.

Keep it simple.

Do what feels right.

Slow down.

Enjoy things.

Stress less.

Relax more.

People, not things.

Do the things you want to do.

Let the rest go.

I’m hoping to find a way to focus on what is really important about the season – Christ’s birth and the celebration of our Savior – and not so much on the shopping and to-do lists.

And here is Day 2:

The Journaling:

This year has been crazy with weather. An unseasonably warm fall which fell right into an unseasonably cold winter. It was as if we only had a few days of "fall" and then temperatures plummeted. After Thanksgiving, we had a rainy Friday which began the downward spiral of temps. This week, the first of December, has been bitterly cold. Temperatures are in the 20's at night and barely out of the 30's in the daytime. Rob is working outside this year and it makes for very uncomfortable working conditions. With my weight loss, I've been freezing as well, even keeping a space heater by my desk to warm me while I work (in the heated house!)The girls are hoping for snow this winter. I figure if we're going to freeze, we might as well get snow!

And Day 3:

Journaling:

I addressed and sent 50 Christmas cards this year. That is about double what I have been doing in past years. I included all the folks from church, UpStreet, and a few new friends we've made in the past year. It was fun to send cards to folks we haven't sent to before, along with the usual cards to family. I didn't get them out the week of Thanksgiving, which is my goal every year, but they were out by the 10th, which was fine for me.

More pages to come.

Finally Finished: Journal Your Christmas

I finally sat down this weekend and finished the Journal Your Christmas album I’d started in December. I really enjoyed the project, I just got bogged down in holiday activities and finishing took a back seat to holiday fun. But, it is finished and I am pleased with my results. I’ll definitely be back next year for another round – now that I know what to expect, I’ll be better prepared, I hope.

Here are some of the most recently finished pages. You can see the rest in the JYC album – the link to which is located to the right of this posting.

Technorati Tags: Journal Your Christmas,December Daily,Scrapbooking,Christmas pictures

Snow – Southern Style

Those of you who live in more Northern climes (WLN!) will probably laugh at my excitement over the piddly little snowfall we had tonight. I have to agree, it’s pretty sad. But when it rarely snows and hardly ever sticks, we Southerners tend to take our snowfall with great glee.

It had been sleeting all day – pretty steadily since around 3PM. My brother (who lives in the Pacific Northwest) had gotten four inches of snow last night and my girls were green with envy. So when the sleet started to accumulate, they were excited. (as was Sydney)

Sydney was the funniest, though. She tried to eat the ice.

Buster was hiding on his bed in the house, hoping we had forgotten he was there. He hates the cold and hates the wet even worse.

The girls were already asleep when the snow started. I had to sneak out to take pictures.

Even though it isn’t much, it sure is pretty.

IMGP1900_edited-1

and now, off to bed. Busy day tomorrow.

More Journal Your Christmas Pages

I’ve gotten a few more pages done today. Hoping to do some more tomorrow…

this will be the facing page for the one above:

Technorati Tags: Journal Your Christmas,digital scrapbooking,scrapbooking,christmas memories,christmas traditions

Sleep, Glorious Sleep

One of my favorite things about the holidays is not having to get up early – well, except for Christmas morning when the kids come bounding into the room at some ungodly hour, bouncing off the walls and onto the bed, insisting that we get up! get up! Santa’s come! get up!

Other than that exception, it is SO NICE to be able to sleep late. This year, especially, since I have not been feeling that well. Generally speaking, though, I am part bear and love to hibernate in the winter (heck, I love to sleep year round!).

There is nothing nicer than nestling down in the warm, soft covers knowing that you don’t have to go anywhere or do anything until you want to. The days leading up to Christmas are certainly not that way, but those precious days after Christmas are my favorites. Lazing around with only the things you want to being the things you have to do. Chores can wait, cooking? who is cooking? leftovers, baby. But the bestest part is the napping and sleeping in.

When the girls were smaller, they didn’t sleep past 6 AM or so. Actually, until last year, that was the case. However, now they are sleeping (gasp!) until 7:30 or 8:00 (isn’t it sad that I am excited and consider that sleeping “late?”). And the best part is that their dad usually gets up with them (part of why he is my SuperMan) and lets me sleep even later. (sigh)

I’m not looking forward to getting up at 5AM next week, but I’m sure enjoying my lazy days this week.