Archive for December, 2008
Dec
O Christmas Tree
We were considering a real tree this year. I love the way they smell. After trying to get the fake ones up and having the kids yanking the ornaments off and braking decorations as they came out of the boxes, I thought better of it(and I wondered all of those years why my mom was so choosy about which ornaments we were allowed to put on the tree…I wondered why some always got to be at the top).
I put the fake one up on my coffee table and put my dreams of a real tree back on the shelf until next year. I also had thought that I would get rid of any plastic ornaments I had left over from college…I had second thoughts about those too and ended up lining the bottom of the tree with them.
Several broken oranments and decorations later the garland is up, the halls are decked and the Christmas bedding is snug on the bed. Surprisingly enough, there isn’t an ounce of anxiety or frustration toward my kids for destroying decorations…I think I’m getting better at this mom thing. I guess it is all just part of the holidays.
Dec
Top Secret
So our ward had an ornament exchange this year. We were supposed to keep our activities on the down low. I actually was really good about not telling anyone in the group. But now that everything is over I can let the cat out. I figured this fun little activity would get me into the holiday spirit right on time. Oh wait, did I say, “little activity?” Restart, this fun activity has gotten me into the holiday spirit. It should be inexpensive and quick(I paid out the nose for the double-sided scrapbook paper because I had to buy it out of season online). Really the only cost besides hotglue is the paper you use.
It was so fun seeing everyone’s ornaments. People had some great ideas and took great care in making each one. In the end we each made 13.
I have had a few ask me how to make mine(In retrospect, this would have made a great 2nd or 6th grade art project. The teacher is still alive and well in me. What can I say?). If you are interested…I made a cone out of cardstock(For a pattern I used a circle and cut it into 4ths, using each 4th as a cone, then trimming the edges). I cut one inch strips of double-sided scrapbook paper . Then I made little cuts along the strip about 3/4″ up(In the “cutting Easter grass” fashion). I rolled the fringed side around a pencil and hot glued each one, overlaping, to the cone.
Dec
Making a List!
I love Christmas shopping! I really love the after Thanksgiving sales. I know everything is crazy and hectic, but it is fun to be out and about at 4:00 in the morning. I talked my good friend Amy into coming with me. We poured over ads the night before (It actually didn’t take too long). Amy and I modified our Christmas lists and checked them twice. Then we planned our routes and were secretly wishing for blueprints of the stores so we could get in and out as quickly as possible(Joking about using the ventilation system for easy access, made me think I must have been a Russian spy in another life). Lucky for us, Target actually passed out maps of the store and locations of big ticket items right before it opened. Who knew I would get all the electronic stuff I was after, but then have the Playdough gone before the store had been open for 5 minutes? I was blessed with the kindness of a stranger who knew I was looking for some and snagged the last one for me.
When everything was said and done we found some screaming deals, spent plenty of quality time outdoors chatting and then we had the luxury of trying to find my car. Usually, I pay attention to where I park, but I think I was preoccupied. I couldn’t set off my alarm to find it because I had accidentally left the lights on and killed the battery. Will was impressed considering the lights automatically turn off. He said I had managed to put it on a funky setting. Amy can tell you that I am not exactly the clearest thinker at 4:00 in the morning. Thank goodness Amy had a moment of genius, remembered where we parked and was successful in finding a nice guy to jump the car. I had so much fun! Shopping in San Diego is great. I didn’t see one mean or vindictive person. Everyone was very cheerful and kind!
Amy gets the steal of the day with an AWESOMELY, HUGE beach bag from Pier 1.