Auld Lang Syne

I love the song Auld Lang Syne we sing when the clock strikes midnight on New Years Eve. Remembering the old long days...remembering the good memories of family & friends that are no longer with us.

I love how we kiss each other to celebrate the ending of the old year and the beginning of the new.

I love grazing the appetizer tables.....mmmm...I will over indulge tonight! Because I can. My diet doesn't start till midnight! Don't judge me!

Ok...I love New Years Eve!!!

To ALL my blogging pals....I wish you all a Happy Healthy Prosperous 2009!!!!

Mirror mirror look away

Awhile back I posted about my weight and so many of you gave me words of encouragement and advice that I took to heart. If interested you can go here to read it. Anyway, a quick update.

I didn't do all that great during the holidays. Oh, the hor'derves were in abundance and the pastries, cakes and cookies were just screaming for me to eat them. I obliged and stuffed my mouth till I felt like I was going to bust! I don't even have a sweet tooth...maybe my taste buds are changing though because I couldn't get enough! Even chocolate...I usually only eat chocolate once a month...um, yeah....but lately I can't get enough of the creamy dark kind.

Two more parties to attend this year; tomorrow night we will go to my friend Michelle's for awhile then to my mothers as we do every year to bring in 2009. Yes, I will graze the food table at both parties and yes, I will have a few glasses of wine and I will enjoy every. single. bite. & sip!!!

Then when 2008 comes to an end at 11:59 pm and 2009 rings in at midnight my free eating will come to an end. John & I have made a pact to not eat out as much. I think that is where I have gained the majority of my weight 'cause I tend to order the most fattening thing on the menu!

Somehow I did manage to lose 3 1/2 pounds since the post last month and keep it off despite all the snacking. I only have 6 1/2 pounds to go to reach my goal. Those cute jeans are patiently waiting for my hips to fit back into them.

I have been working out hard on my Wii Fit which I absolutely LOVE!!! This break I've been hitting the gym with John. It has been real refreshing to work out hard like that and to spend time with him.

Till then I don't dare look in the mirror!

Made with love part 2

It was a wonderful morning that was just full of love! We shared all the handmade gifts we spent hours making for each other. I love each and every gift! Best of all my girls made them! It was a very moving spiritual Christmas!

I'll start with the gifts that Meg made since she is my oldest.

Meg made her daddy this awesome very cozy blanket. She choose Razorback colors since John is a huge Razorback football fan! She even put his initials on the blanket. He was so excited because he has never had anything with JH on it. JH is what he uses at work when he talks to the pilots. He really loves this blanket!

Meg took a sewing class last semester and has perfected her skill in sewing. She made me this lovely tote bag for work. I will use this to carry my yarn & needles in to work. I love to crochet during my lunch break. She has a very good eye for matching fabrics. I will be so proud when I show it off!!

Here is the tote bag that Megan made for Tori. She made it sturdy enough to where Tori can carry several books to school in it. The pocket is just adorable! She made my mother one as well but I don't have a photo of it.


Tori made us all some amazing Art work! For John & I she had her boyfriends Dad cut pieces of wood into 2 inch thick circles. The wood came from an old tree that was cut down from her house in Conway. She painted on some water color paper and then put them on the wood block.

This is called the "Prayer"

This is "Nature" or "The tree of Life"

This one is "Meditation"

on the back of each one she wrote a scripture that correlates to the painting on the front.

I hung them up in my foyer.

This is another gift from Tori. She took the most beautiful mulberry paper and printed some of her photography and framed it. She has made me several of these in the past. All with the glass frames. I proudly hung it with the rest in my mudroom.

Tori made this Art for Meg. The framed one is watercolors. It is very detailed. It cracks me up but it is so Meg! Tori knows her well. The other one is a mixed media collage.

These are buttons that Tori made for Meg. The darkest one is a clock...I think that's my favorite. Meg plans on sewing something for herself and add a button as an embellishment.

We did get one present that wasn't made by hand....but it meant just as much to us! The girls bought us this TOMS DVD and gift card to go online and order a pair of shoes. For every TOMS shoe you buy they give a pair to a child in need. I love TOMS shoes!!! We watched the DVD which was filmed during the shoe drop in Argentina. We cried....and felt like running to the store and buying 10 pairs. Since the company started in 2006 they have already given over 60,000 pairs of shoes to people in third world countries. Some of these people have never owned a pair of shoes in their life!! It was a gift that gave back.
I am so VERY proud of my girls. They are extremely gifted woman!! I will cherish all my gifts forever. I have to come up with what I'm going to make next year!!

Made with Love

John & I asked the girls what 1 big item they really wanted this Christmas. Meg wanted a camera since hers broke while she was in Costa Rica. Tori wanted a scanner/printer because she was using her sisters and wanted her own. So Christmas was easy....the shopping aspect of it anyway. John went to Sams and got those presents early December. Me, my job was much more labor intensive. I made every thing else by hand! I didn't start until the first week of December either because I was so busy with other things. It was actually pretty stress free this year!!

John did help me pick out all the material and yarn. So he did help with the handmade gifts..sort of.

These half Aprons were made out of a vintage pillow case! I found the cases at a flea market this summer and paid $1.50 for them.

I made these full aprons with fabric that I got 1/2 off at Hobby Lobby and than the lady through in an extra yard because she was talking so much! So I got a good deal on this material.
The girls seem to like them.

To go along with the Aprons...I made them both a scrapbook cookbook that has family recipes in it. I added my Mothers Chicken Noodle Soup and my Dads favorite quick meal, Sausage Pepper Hoggies. John put in his Red Beans & Rice.

They both really loved this gift!! On each page I wrote a little story about the recipe. For example....my Chicken Spaghetti recipe. I told Meg how when she was little she would always say, "More, more when I made this dish and how she couldn't get enough of it even though it is extremely spicy with jalapenos. Tori was a different story....I wrote in hers how I use to make a separate dish without the jalapenos just for her because she couldn't stand anything spicy. I enjoyed making these gifts! Yes, I cried when I made them with all the memories that were coming to mind.


I crocheted these warm Shawl Wraps. The colors are beautiful! This photo doesn't really do them justice.

I crocheted all these Hats. There were actually 3 more that didn't make it into the picture. The top 2 are made out of Bamboo yarn and are super soft. They are Rasta Tams so they are bigger than normal(people with dreads wear them....my girls hair is so curly it's like dreads!) The other hats are made with Eco Friendly yarn. The yarn is actually spun from post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. It's combined with acrylic and is soft. Pretty cool, huh?!

Meg wearing her hat....this color is called "Mulberry Mist".

Tori in hers...this color is called "Peachy".

This was me Christmas morning while we were waiting for John to come down stairs. I'm crocheting a beanie hat. Reeses by my side as always.



I plan on opening a booth this spring down at the River Market with my mother and daughter's. I am going to crochet my hats & shawls to sell. My mom makes beautiful scarves out of silk and other fabrics. Meg will sew some purses and diaper bags and Tori will do her necklaces and buttons and some Art work.

Tomorrow I'm going to post the homemade gifts the girls made us! They are very talented girls!!

Waffle House Videos

*silence music to the right*
Every year on Christmas Eve....usually around midnight....John & I take the girls and we go eat at Waffle House. We always have such a great time sitting in that booth. This year we took some videos playing around....the girls of course had to mention my blog and I of course have to share it with you all because it's silly! They even mentioned some of you by name!! I didn't have anything to drink by the way....my girls make me laugh hard and when I'm tired I giggle even more. Tori took over 100 pictures of us while we were there and I plan on posting some funny ones in a few days. I wasn't going to blog today but both girls are in the shower so I have some time (hopefully I'll have some hot water, too).....we are going to get ready and hit the sales today! For those of you who sew, crochet or just craft for that matter, JoAnns is having a HUGE sale today! We are there!

Merry Christmas Friends

Merry Christmas Friends!!I've been busy finishing up some crocheting. I've baked a lemon meringue pie, pumpkin pie bars and made sunflower brittle. I am already worn out! I have to get ready for church service and Christmas Eve party at my mother's house with my family. We have to leave in a little over an hour and I haven't even gotten in the shower yet! Yikes....I am pushing it! I forgot to make dinner also! Who forgets that? Um, me...well, there are leftovers in the fridge if anyone is hungry!

I wanted to thank you all for your friendship! You all mean more to me than words can express! I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

21 years and counting

Today John and I celebrate 21 years of marriage! Honestly, I can't believe it has been this long! It seems like just a few years ago we were walking hand in hand down the halls of Jacksonville High.

(photo above taken May of 1987)

Here we are today....both daughters in college....empty-nesters! Celebrating 21 years of a marriage that most people didn't think would ever last!

John & I have gotten even closer since the girls have moved out. I think we lean on each other more now that it is just the two of us. Is it possible to fall deeper in love with someone after so many years? Because I feel I have fallen more in love with him over the last few months!

I'm looking forward to a romantic dinner by candlelight tonight at Bene Vita....a few glasses of wine and conversation with my love.

All cried out

I woke up this morning and did my usual stretching before I get out of the bed; strolled down the stairs to get my coffee and sat down at the kitchen table to meditate for awhile. As I sat there listening to my many clocks tick away I got this overwhelming urge to just cry. It got the better of me and I just let it all come out; like someone had turned on a sprinkler the tears just streamed down my face. Why did I feel like crying you might ask? Well, there are actually many reasons.

a) This is the first year both my girls are out of the house. I miss them being in their bedrooms, messing up the kitchen, piles of laundry spewing out of the laundry room. I miss them calling me and asking me whats for dinner tonight? I miss them writing on the Wal-Mart list....they always had a gazillion things they wanted....food and non-food items! I just miss having children in this home. This is the first year with adults and it feels so weird. I'm just thankful to have my girls fairly close by. I'm thankful that they are healthy and that I have the most amazing relationship with the both of them!

b) This is the 3rd Christmas without my Dad. He passed in September of 06' and I miss him so very much!! On Christmas Eve we always have a big gathering at Dad & Mom's house. He loved to give presents and we loved to give him goofy ones. I once gave him this shirt that said something like "I'm just an Old Fart" he loved that shirt (mom hated it) and he wore that thing until it was thin and had holes in it!! Dad always acted goofy with the grandchildren. He always took my hand and danced with me on Christmas Eve and New Years also. I miss dancing with him! I miss seeing him and my mom dance together! They use to win dance contest all the time. They were awesome swing dancers!!!

c) My brother, Herbie. He has been gone 16 years. I still miss him everyday!! Herbie was a personal shopper at Bloomingdales in New York City. He shopped for Cindy Lauper and Brooke Shields and do you remember Mag from the old Palmolive commercials? well, he shopped for her too, just to name a few. He was a very good looking man....he looked just like George Micheal! Really, people use to mistake him for George. He was an amazing person....he always loved you no matter what. The summer I was 15 I lived in New York with him and was treated like a princess. I had so many clothes and shoes bought for me that year it was insane. Herbie wanted me to fulfill my dream of being a model so I was taken on a photo shoot and went to Ford Modeling Agency where I was told to come back next year when I turned 16. They loved my look but said I was still a bit to young. Well, the next year I got pregnant with Meg so my dream went out the window. I remember Herbie telling me it was OK that I was probably meant to just be a mom! :) He loved me no matter what!

So I think I am all cried out now. My eyes are all puffy and I have a red nose from blowing my nose so much. I guess it's perfect for the season though and now John will call me Rudolph all day!

Great day...& recipe you asked for!!!

It has been a very productive day for me! I finished all my sewing that I had been putting off. So those presents are finished! I just have to wrap them!

I crocheted John a brown beanie. I was going to wait and give it to him on Christmas morning but I was too excited to wait. It only took me 1 1/2 hours to make it!!I think he looks too cute! In the winter John always has on a beanie!!



I made Meg & Tori and their roommates a little plate of goodies. I bought Christmas plates from Cracker Barrel. I made homemade Hot Cocoa mix and put mini marshmallows in a little bag to go with the cocoa. I made white chocolate covered marshmallows with chocolate drizzle on them. Chocolate covered pretzels with candies and then added 3 peppermint sticks to the plate.

I just have to finish wrapping the other 5 and they will be ready for me to give to the girls tomorrow. Oh, and Nick, Tori's boyfriend....I made him one too!!

I only have 2 more things to make and I will be done with Christmas gifts!! I have enjoyed making all the gifts this year!!

and here it is for those of you who asked for the recipe...mmmm, enjoy. I'm making these for the Christmas Eve fellowship at church.

PUMPKIN PIE BARS

1 1/2 plus 1 tablespoon all -purpose flour, divided
1 cup finely chopped nuts
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
1 (15 oz.) can Pumpkin
1 (14oz.) Sweetened Condensed milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375. In medium bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, nuts, sugars and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Add butter; mix until crumbly. Reserve 1 1/4 cups mixture. Press remaining mixture firmly on bottom of ungreased 13x9 baking pan.

In large bowl, combine pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, remaining 1 tsp. cinnamon, allspice and salt; mix well. Por evenly over crust.

Mix reserved crumbs with remaining 1 tablespoon flour. Sprinkle over pumpkin mixture. Bake 30-35 minutes or until set. Cool 10 minutes. Cut into bars. Serve warm. Store leftovers in fridge.

Makes 2 dozen bars

Behold the Woman

"Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater.
If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she'll give
you a home. If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal. If you
give her a smile, she'll give you her heart. She multiplies and
enlarges what is given to her. So, if you give her any crap, be ready to
receive a ton of shit.

Sweet Celebration

Last Sunday John & I hosted a Dessert Party in our home! Along with the sweets we had coffee, mulled cider, Christmas Punch ( I got recipe from Sandy Toes) & wine! We had a lot of fun and will be doing it again next year! I took some photos of all the delicious desserts!

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake squares....I made these and they were...ok.

Stuffed Pancakes....my sister, Kim made these and they were really good! They were almost crepe like and so delicious!

Lemon Cranberry Coffeecake.....this was pretty good. Next time I make it I will drench the cake in a lemon sauce. It was too dry for my taste.

Pumpkin Pie Bars.....I need to share this recipe for all you pumpkin fans. I made these and I think they are my new favorite pumpkin dessert!

Banana Cupcakes with Cinnamon Honey frosting! Tori made these and of course they are organic and healthy! But, oh my they were delicious!!! She made up the frosting and it was so good! I'm so proud of her!

Mini Strawberry Napoleons....my niece, Kayla made these. Oh yummo! These melted in your mouth.

Chocolate English Toffee Trifle that my mom made! This is a must dessert that the grandkids always beg her to make!!!

S'mores Brownies.....Meg made these! I was so proud of her! They came out SO good!! Meg is a huge chocoholic so I knew she would make something like this. Both my girls are awesome cooks and bakers!

My friend, Dala made a basket full of different goodies! Her toffee and brittle were wonderful. John's favorite are the peanut butter balls she makes!

We had many other desserts. Robbie made a Chocolate Chip pie, Aubrey made chocolate haystacks, Holly made sugar cookies. We had Candied Pecans and lemon squares, snickerdoodles and much more! It was an enjoyable evening of fellowship and sugar highs!!!

I have...

I have...

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied(I'm happy with what we have)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung Karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing (in New York with my Dad in the 80's)
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a Soup Kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Seen the Lincoln Memorial in person
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job (TCBY, I was 4 months pregnant too)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Totally copied a post from someone else's blog to your own (this one)

I saw this on many blogs and I couldn't resist the urge to do it myself! Take it - Post it- I want to see what you've done!

It's About the Cross

No school again today!!!

Enjoy this video....God Bless!

Ice, Ice Baby

Well, we have our first Ice Storm of the year. It started freezing drizzle yesterday afternoon around 3:30 pm. Just in time for me to get on my big yellow school bus and drive the children home. That was a very stressful hour for me! The drizzle froze as soon as it hit the windshield. Then I had to drive 25 minutes home....the bridges were already getting bad but other than that it was just people being cautious and it took me 45 minutes to finally pull into my driveway! School is closed today because there is over a 1/4 inch of ice on the ground and it's only 26 degrees out. The high will be 33 today. So I will be taken advantage of this time and getting some of my Christmas presents made!!! Here is the ice from my back porch....I took this this morning at 6 am.

As I sit here and type this I can't help but think of my sister's in New Hampshire and all the other residence up in New England. They were hit with a major, horrible ice storm late last week. My baby sister, Barbara Jean had a pine tree crash down from the weight of the ice into her kitchen. Although it has ruined the kitchen and broke so many valuable precious items....we are all thankful the tree didn't fall on top of the children's bedrooms!!! Both my sister's, Kelly & Barbara Jean are both without water and electricity. They do have wood stoves that are keeping the homes fairly warm. They refuse to go to a shelter because of the looters lurking around! Hopefully soon they will get their electricity back on!!!

You've been Tagged

I found this tag over at "This is the Day...PS 118:24", and thought I'd play along.
Here goes:

8 TV Shows I Watch:
1. Dexter
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. CSI (the original, in Las Vegas) and CSI Miami
4. Pushing Daises
5. Big Love
6. Californication
7. Two and a half Men
8. The New Adventures of Old Christine



8 Things That Happened Yesterday:
1. Woke up
2. Coughed until my head felt like it would explode
3. took a tub
4. made some homemade Christmas presents
5. took a short nap
6. crocheted
7. coughed some more
8. Blogged.....and somehow messed the font up....I blame it on the cocktail of Meds I was on!

8 Favorite Places to Eat:
1. Bene Vita
2. Cracker Barrel
3. El Canaveral
4. Waffle House
5. Flying Fish
6. Olive Garden
7. Sonny Williams
8. Boscos

8 Things I am Looking Forward to:
1. My 21st wedding anniversary
2. Spending time with my girls over the holidays
3. Christmas Dinner at my Moms
4. Finishing the homemade gifts
5. Getting back into my cute jeans
6. Sewing a new skirt for myself!
7. My dessert Party on Sunday!
8. Cleaning the spare bedroom and getting the furniture in there....crazy but I really am looking forward to this!

8 Things on my Wish List:
1. Pay off our debt
2. get my new car....still haven't found the one I want! I've been looking for 2 years!
3. My kids health & happiness
4. Another trip to Key West with John
5. A family trip to the beach again this summer!! We had a blast last year!
6. A maid for a day! Do all the heavy cleaning for me! Clean out and organize the closets!!
7. Add to my fabric and yarn stash....it has been depleted over the past few months and that drives me crazy!
8. Lose this stubborn weight and fit back into my cute jeans!!!!!!!

8 People I Tag:
Oh, if you're reading this, and want to play along, or are desperate for some blog fodder, take it and run with it. It'll be fun...

OK I'M REPOSTING THIS BECAUSE THE LAST ONE WAS MESSED UP!! MAYBE IT'S THE MEDICINE...WHO KNOWS! HOPE THIS ONE IS READABLE!
I went to the doctor yesterday morning because I haven't been able to kick this cough and headache and I just felt lethargic! Well, I have a very nasty Upper Respiratory Infection and was getting Laryngitis. Nurse Karen gave me a shot in the buttocks to kick start my recovery. I went to Walgreen's and picked up my very expensive medication.....$75 worth of medication (that's my co-pay)

I was so embarrassed because I couldn't stop hacking the entire time the pharmacist was counseling me on the medication. So I have been taking my antibiotic, a medicine called Allerx and the very expensive cough syrup, Tussionex-----that makes you feel all floaty and relaxed-----and best of all it STOPS the cough!!!! It is so worth the $35 for a 10 day supply!! I stayed home today since I'm on 2 meds that say don't drive or operate heavy machinery. Um, yea, that means don't drive the school bus! Darn! A day off from the bus and the classroom!

What's a girl to do?

Seeing that I slept almost all day yesterday and all night.....I was feeling pretty good by 10 am and even better by 1 pm! So I was able to finish 4 of my homemade gifts that I'm making the girls for Christmas. I want to share them with you but they read my blog....so I can't show until after Christmas! Oh and I sat on my butt all day making them so I wasn't doing anything strenuous.

The Spirit of Christmas really hit me today while I was making the gifts. I decided to take some photos and show you all some of my favorite decorations. This is our new 9 foot tree. I really like it 'cause it's slim around the bottom. It fits perfect here in the foyer. Our old tree was about a foot wider and stuck out to much.


My favorite ornaments are the ones the girls made growing up. Here is an angel that Megan made in the 2nd grade. She still draws faces like this.

This was done by Toria in the 4th grade. She had her cursive handwriting down packed!


Megan mad this ornament out of wrapping paper when she was in the 1st grade. You can see the paper candy cane in the background....both girls made one of these in kindergarten.

This lovely snowman was made by both the girls out of a sock they stole from their daddy. His face is starting to fade....that makes me sad. The bead ornament was made by Tori.



This card and present was made by Toria in the 1st grade. It was really emotional this year putting out all these homemade gifts the girls made us growing up. I cried like a baby all day Saturday as I was decorating.

Here are some of the Santa's John inherited when his Grandpa passed away. His grandparents collected Santa's. We proudly display them every year.

Here's the tree at night.

My mantle. Every year I do my mantel different. This year I didn't wrap lights around the garland or put my silver beads around it. I wish I would have!


Some more of the antique Santa's. Those two black ones(the color has worn) are cast iron...very heavy! I love the sleeping Santa's....they are actually piggy banks!

The little Santa in the middle has blue eyes....he is a little creepy.

This is one of my favorite pieces!!! Let me tell you the story behind this arrangement. I was in Michael's a few years back. It was right at the end of December. I heard over the loud speaker...."Attention Michael's customers for the next 30 minutes all Christmas Merchandise including florals are 90% off!" Holy Cow....me and every other woman ran to the front and started grabbing up stuff. This arrangement was originally....$379.00! I got it for $38!! I was a happy camper! They do this every year....you just have to be there at the right time!

I'm feeling relieved with all that I have accomplished today! I'm in the Christmas Spirit and can't wait to spend time with my daughter's and John (he will be on vacation from work) This Christmas we decided to buy the girls one expensive item they really needed or wanted. The girls came up with the idea of doing mostly homemade gifts for each other. I'm super excited about that!
I'm excited to be celebrating Jesus' birth and I have such awe and worship in my heart for Him!

I'm feeling so much better and I am thankful to God for answering my prayers on that!

My house is all ready for my Dessert Party on Sunday!!! All I have left to do is buy the ingredients to make cider, punch and the CHEESECAKE!! Oh and a few....ok....many bottles of wine!!!!