Give Me Five Monday

This week's topic for Give Me Five Monday is:

"Give Me Five things about Christmas/Holiday cards: buying them, getting them ready, sending them, receiving them, displaying them, tips for recycling them, getting/sending 'family newsletters', traditions, pictures, etc."

1. Gosh the first thing I guess should be that I am awful about actually giving them out! I did really good there for a long time when the boy was younger and even after I had Princess, but once Spunky came along I kinda stopped sending them. So this year I have decided that I need to start sending them again. I am already behind in sending them out, but I want to take a picture of all of us in front of the tree to send with them soooo it may be another week! lol

Here are the cards I picked out to send this year:

2. I really really enjoy receiving Christmas cards from friends and family! I am like a little kid when it comes to getting mail anyway, but Christmas cards seem even more special too me! We have only gotten one so far this year and here it is, but the rest should arrive soon!

3. We ALWAYS hang the cards on the wall during the holidays as a way to display them. I try to save all the cards we have ever received, but that makes for a lot so here are the ones from last year! lol This is a picture of our cards hanging above our chalk board in the hallway so the kids and I can admire them as we come down the stairs!

4. I would really like to start a tradition in our family of sending a picture of us all in front of the current Christmas tree to send with the Christmas cards! I am going to start doing it this year and I hope to continue it every year. Problem is I do not want us all starched looking(I hate that) and so I am not sure how to dress everyone for the picture. I have not taken the picture for this year yet, but I will this week!! **Crossing my fingers**

5. I am stumped on this last one! lol Hummmmmm I like the idea of recycling them although I am not sure how to go about it. BeccA has a great way of recycling the cards you have already received you can read about it here on her blog I may have to give this idea a try next year! :)

For more Give Me Five Monday participants check out BeccA's Buzz!

Wrapped Emotions

The Prompt:

"During this holiday season this is what I wish for you. Whether you observe Christmas, Hanukkah, another religious holiday or simply the beauty and goodwill of the season, slow down and be fully in every moment. Perhaps in doing so, the vow will carry over into the New Year; perhaps you'll learn to do less and feel more. Let's try. For the remaining weeks of December this is your prompt. More specifically, do not plan any special project for Wrapped Emotions. No one needs one more project this time of year. Simply experience and enjoy your life this season and post to your blog as you will. Each week choose your favorite post or photo and link the URL here at Wrapped Emotions. I'll put up a new Mr. Linky each week (Week One, Two, Three and Four). We'll then visit one another and spread the love."

My favorite moment this week:

Yesterday we received our new baby from a friend of the family and he is the most wonderful thing! He is a tortoise shell kitten, 8months old and he has the most beautiful markings! This has been one of my most enjoyable moments this week, adopting him and taking these pictures of him!

**Oh and I forgot to put his name it is Marble Max the Wicked! lol Max for short! :)**

For more Wrapped emotions please click!

Christmas Tree Treasures

Morning Glory over at Seeds From My Garden is doing her Christmas Tree Treasures again for this holiday season, it sounded like so much fun I had to join in! Last year's Christmas Tree Treasures was all about the ornaments, for this year Morning Glory thought that we could post specific things about our tree instead.

So here are the questions(in bold) and my answers!

* The tree topper. Why do you use the one you have and what's special about it?

We have always used an Angel to go on top of our tree, but she was broken accidentally last year so we had to rethink things this year. We have a Santa decoration that we always put out that has a hole in the bottom so this year he is doubling as a tree topper! lol I am not sure how special he is just another one of the decorations, but he is Santa even if a Woodlands one so he rocks. :)

* The tree skirt. Do you use one? Is there something unusual about yours? Did you make it or was it a special gift from someone?

Yes we use a tree skirt just a basic red and white fuzzy one from Walmart. This is one of the things that I would like too make for Christmas. I am not sure how to go about it though or what to make it with etc etc....... I think tree skirts are so pretty and I am jealous of a few of my friends who have homemade ones! lol

* Your oldest tree ornament. When did you first use it and does it have a special significance?

My oldest ornament is not only one, but two and they came from my childhood. They are my Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog ornaments, I think my mom got them from Avon. I remember hanging them on the tree and telling my little sister "No I wanna hang those two"! They were always my favorite ones growing up and so when I moved out on my own and had my own children mom gave them to me!

* What goes on your tree first? Is there one particular ornament that you traditionally hang first? What's the story behind that.

We do not really have an order to the way we set up. Well as I type that I guess we do. lol We hang the lights first and push them back into the tree so the wire does not show. Then the tree topper this year is Santa, my kids really really want a Star next year! After that goes the ornaments followed by the garland and any last minutes adjustments or additions!


* Your favorite ornament that each of your children made when they were young.

This is my favorite from the boy he made it in Kindergarten! :) It is weird for me to think that he made this so long ago, he is now in the 5th grade. He is growing up so fast!

This my favorite one from Princess she made it in Kindergarten last year! :) I love the way her snowman turned out she is so artistic and loves to do crafts!

This is my favorite one from Spunkmeister she made it in Pre-K last year! :) This is my first Christmas decoration made by her at school and I love the way they used her hand prints to make the tree!
This has been really great to actually sit back and think about and enjoy the tree and the things on it and what they mean too me instead of just putting it up and going on with my life! This was a lot of fun thanks for putting this prompt up on your site Morning Glory! :)

and last but not least our Christmas decorations and tree:

For more Christmas Tree Treasures visit Seeds From My Garden!

Cleaning up for Christmas!

I have not participated in a Tackle it Tuesday in a few weeks so I figured it was about time to jump back on into it! There has been so much going on the last few weeks I have actually tackled several projects and I am not sure which one to put up! lol

We moved into our current house the beginning of July this year and I had pretty much everything unpacked except this corner of the living room! So in order to put the Christmas tree up this last weekend I knew I had to clean it up!

Here is the before:

Here is the during:

And finally the after, wow there is a piano back there! lol

And with the Christmas tree!

Find out more about Tackle It Tuesday here.

In the Christmas Spirit!

I was visiting my friend Carrie over at Chocolate the Other white meat today and saw that she had a post full of cute little Christmas quizzes! I enjoyed looking at hers so much I had to take some to put here on my blog! So in the Christmas spirit and in the spirit of fun here are some Christmas quizzes! :) lol

Your Elf Name Is...

Flakey Fruit Cake

What's Your Elf Name?

You Are a Snowman

Friendly and fun, you enjoy bringing holiday cheer to everyone you know!

What Christmas Ornament Are You?

What The Holidays Mean to You

For you, the holidays are about celebration. You enjoy all the fun and fellowship that the holidays bring. You celebrate the holidays in an over the top style. If something is cute, you'll buy it. People end up with a lot of gifts from you - and your house is like a holiday wonderland, full of decorations. During the holidays, you feel magical. You love all of the decorations and how happy people are. You like to sit back and take it all in. You think the holidays should be decadent and indulgent. You never mind gaining a few holiday pounds... it's worth it! Your favorite holiday memories strongly evoke your senses. You are vividly aware of all the tastes, smells, and sounds of the holidays.

What Do the Holidays Mean to You?

Your Holiday Personality is Hyper

Any holiday activity is well suited to you - as long as you keep moving. Shop everywhere and anywhere. Create your own holiday cards. Make everyone on a your list a custom stocking of goodies!

How Should You Spend the Holidays?

You Are Dancer

Carefree and fun, you always find reasons to do a happy dance. Why You're Naughty: That dark stint you had as Santa's private dancer. Why You're Nice: You're friendly. Very friendly.

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

You Were Naughty This Year

You Were 65% Naughty, 35% Nice You may not have been good this year... But you sure had a really good time. And nothing from Santa could top that!

Were You a Naughty Girl or Nice Girl this Year?

Give Me Five Monday!

This is my first Give Me Five Monday and this week's topic is one of my favorite's so I am glad to have started participating just in time for this list! I found BeccA's Buzz while looking at some of the blogs I like to visit often and I was excited to come across this fun new blog and a new meme all at the same time! Thanks BeccA! :)

This week's topic for Give Me Five Monday is:

"Give Me Five things you like and/or dislike about Christmas trees (putting them up or fond memories, favorite ornaments or tree toppers, etc.)"

1. I LOVE the smells of Christmas the cold winter air, the baking of cookies, the eggnog and evergreen! Each one of those smells brings back so many memories of my childhood and Christmas's past!

2. Another thing I love about Christmas is all the decorations new and old, the ones made by my children are the very best!

3. I love the Christmas lights that are put up on the houses and the ones that decorate the tree! It is neat to watch them twinkle and it is even better to turn off all the other lights in the house and just sit and watch the tree sparkle! Every year we drive around the neighborhoods to see what people have decorated their houses with this year and to check out all the neat lights! We do not have our lights up on the house yet, but I hope to talk someone into helping me do that this weekend! :)

4. Crowds while Christmas shopping are something that drives me nuts! My anxiety ridden self cannot handle being in large, noisy, pushy crowds. I find that the Christmas holidays are worse than any other time of the year for this at least while shopping. lol

5. The commercialism is something that bugs me about Christmas. I do not like the fact that we all fall right into that trap of buying everything we can to have most of it remain untouched and or re gifted or given to charity. This year I am trying my best to only get each child a certain amount of gifts and to make sure those gifts will actually be played with and not just sit on a shelf!

For more Give Me Five Monday participants check out BeccA's Buzz!

Lucubration

The Prompt:
This week's Wrapped Emotion is about lucubration which is the "lucubration \loo-kyoo-BRAY-shun; loo-kuh-\ (noun) - 1. The act of studying by candlelight; nocturnal study; meditation. 2 : That which is composed by night; that which is produced by meditation in retirement; hence (loosely) any literary composition." In this project we are going to focus on the "The act of studying by candlelight; nocturnal study; meditation. That which is composed by night; that which is produced by meditation in retirement." part of it!

"Whether you celebrate Christmas or another religious holiday or no religious holiday at all, you will have to agree that this time of year lends itself to good will, blessings, giving, loving...experiencing miracles small and large...go now and inhale the beauty and gifts of the season. Then one night find your sacred space within your home, light a candle...a hundred candles if you choose...and practice lucubration.Finally, share your experience with us in whatever creative manner inspires your soul. Don't worry. If you truly slow down and inhale deeply, you will be inspired."

My project:
I am really not very creatively inclined, but I have always enjoyed writing in my own way and making neat pictures out of it! So I pulled out my colored pencils and markers, lit a good 8 candles and went on my way to discovery! This week I have just drawn what came to mind at the moment and went with my feelings.
For more Wrapped emotions please click!

PhotoHunt: Red

The theme for this week's PhotoHunt is the color Red! Sooo I had everyone in the family grab something red and throw it in a pile on the floor and I took a picture! lol

For more photos and this weeks PhotoHunt check out www.tnchick.com/

PhotoHunt

NaBloPoFinished

Well today is the last day of NaBloPoMo and I am having mixed emotions about it ending! It has been really hard for me to post everyday as the challenge says even though I usually post everyday anyway! I find it kind of odd since I have to do it that makes it harder to want to do it and I find that this leaks into every area of my life. If it is something that I have to do than I procrastinate a whole lot more than with something I think of or want to get done. I am really trying to change this about myself so that things do not seem so overwhelming.

For example I have started going through all the things in my house and getting rid of all the possessions that we never use or look at that just take up space. I have donated so much stuff in the last few days it is unreal and I am so excited about how much clutter is gone from my living room and garage! I do not want my kids to grow up being all about the material things and so I feel I need to do this purge to show myself and them it is ok to just have the things you need with of course a few wants!

It is kind of funny with my kids watching me they have decided that they really do not want many of their toys anymore, that they really do not play much with them with the exceptions of a few things like the littlest pets shop stuff! They really only play dress up, read, make crafts and draw, play with the legos and the board games we have so I am thinking I will let them join in on the purge. It will be interesting to see the things they are willing to get rid of and I LOVE the fact that they are so willing to give to another child in need because we always donate the toys and such!

Fun with photoshop!