Fah-Ra-Ra-Ra-Ra..No it's Ra-Ra-Ra-Ra-Ra...

I love Christmas! I love everything that has to do with the season.

I would like to express my excitement because I FOUND MY CAMERA CORD! It was a personal goal to find it and you’ll never guess where it was! In my electronics cord drawer in my office! (My A.K.A. should be OCD…) I was actually surprised that it was there because if I would have remembered I put that stuff away already, I wouldn’t have been complaining about looking for it… Isn’t that the way it always goes?

After finding the cord, I was able to upload all the pictures from the camera! Now that the entire house is unpacked and the Christmas decorations are up, I need a few other hobbies to pursue.

First is another blog titled “Carl’s Travels”. It’s currently on delay until I can get the photos from the last 2 years in order but I’m excited to see how it turns out. It’s going to be an online tribute to our life. He’s also lived in some interesting places. You’ll be able to see the hotels, extended stay motels, ranches and houses he’s lived in!

Second hobby is my obsession with decorating cakes. I’ve been needing to polish my baking skills.

The first cake I decorated this year was dry, but charming.



The second was bought from Wal-Mart but redecorated by yours truly.



Carl’s cake should have seriously had a blog post of it’s very own. Keeping it short: I started it, 10 minutes into baking the power went out (Happens periodically due to Hurricane Ike…STILL…blah) so I tried to “bake it on the stove” which burnt some of the cake in a circle….Cute cake, but a horror story still….



And now…The one I made yesterday…



The B on the top is for Brauning! I've always wondered how difficult it would be to decorate a "wedding" cake. It was a lot of fun! The hardest part was trying to find a calligraphy B that I liked. I doodled for a really long time while the cake chilled. Vanilla cake with Cream Cheese Frosting! Next to tackle...filling! I bet it's gonna be messy.....

If you look to the right you will see that I have a section titled “…Holiday Paraphernalia...”. Please check out those links to get your Christmas party pants on and start dancing around! (Or put your mouse over the hyperlink(s) below, put on a pair of glittery red shoes, click your heels three times, and left click your mouse until a new window pops up!)

Way cute cards from Elephant Juice Designs by Laura.
This will take you to the most talented little lady in the midwest! Her cards are gorgeous and I know that a few of you will fall in love with the damask cards she blogged about yesterday.

Fred Flare for stocking stuffers!
Compliments of Miss Toni, as she surfed the net for stocking stuffers, she passed along this link to uber fantastic gifts under 10 dollars! The “Bacon Band-aids” are in my online shopping cart! They're sooo funny. Who doesn't love a little bacon on their boo-boo?

Wrapping paper is my vice....
You can’t have Christmas without perfectly wrapped packages! I am IN LOVE with a few of the more simple prints. Please take in consideration that these are “countertop rolls”. Department stores use them. If you’re anything like me and like your packages to have a similar look to them, this is the way to go. Savings are here since you buy in such bulk.

Lagniappe...Cloth gift bags! My grandma used to make these...
My Grandmother Schmidt used to put a good lot of our Christmas gifts in cloth bags. Helps eliminate cost (not to mention pesky paper, messy scotch tape, not to mention those paper cuts…OUCH!) and the helps environment! Check these out for a GREEN Christmas… (I have few of these bags but I'm such a sucker for bows!)

Very fun stuff!

Now that I found my camera, some pictures to share with you:

As I explained, I LOVE GIFTS! Wrapping with big bows made from wired ribbon is my favorite. I also like to buy Christmas ornaments and use those as gift tags. I still have all the ones from our house with Sue, Mitch and Carl's names on them, so they're perfect to re-use time and time again!

Here are some pictures of the tree and gifts from last year. The house in New Mexico had this geat little niche to showcase the Tree. Plus, this photo shows a cever way to use a plate hanger as decoration. In this picture you can see the pate hanger onthe wall with presents hung right up there! It's such a festive decoration too!







Lighted Christmas Trees are my favorite! Here is our Tree where it's roots will be for at least 5 years! I just don't think there could be a more perfect place for it!



P.S My camera died in th move and is a month behind on the date I SWEAR this tree wasn't up 10/13/2008! LOL!

(The windows are still bare while I look for some drapery fabric I love enough to buy 46 feet of! YIKES!)Thanks for all your input for the window and tal wall dilemma..Thaomee suggested something like this wich everyone else wholeheartedly agreed to.... Her is the sample picture she sent me. We are thinking about the crowm molding all the way to the top but not so much the brown frames aroundthe windows. I think the vertical lines are nice but do you think they elongate the room too much? Thanks girls, let me know what your thoughts are!

Fee Fie Foh Fum, Can you catch the Grinch's thumb?!

Ding-ding-ding-ding!

We have a winner! LOL. I actually always win the Grinch war but ...don't we all love to rhyme? It can be rather fun!

After Carl finished the platform, strung the lights and moved the tree to the corner... He also crawled under the tree and put the tree skirt on too...I took over and twirled some ribbon, fluffed my bow and trimmed the tree. (Hee-hee, I too take over this portion of the tree, 'cause arrogantly enough...."No one can do it better than me, Me, ME!." LOL! I can't wait to see your pictures!)

Here is the wreath after plumping.

I promise better pics to come after I find that danged cord for my digital camera. It spanks my cell phone's camera ten fold with 7.0 megapixel vs. puny 1.3. (I love ya, Samsung i760!!!)

Speaking of holidays, I wasn't sure if everyone loathes shipping holiday packages as much as I do.....

Now that I am registered with a personal account, I am able to order mailing supplies (Some at NO CHARGE) order stamps and schedule a carrier pickup! You can even print mailing labels, pay for the postage online, slap it on a box and have them pick it up from your house! Check it out!

Buy stamps.

Order mailing/shipping supplies.

Create a shipping label.

Schedule a package pickup.

Sign in and get started!

Now... about jean poolage (When your legs are too short and you have to either wear heels all the time OR let your jeans drag on the ground while wearing flip-flops or flats.) Tonya came up with a GREAT idea! We'll call it Double S...for Shorty Swap! LOL! Instead of waiting in long lines to mail off a pair of jeans, we could us USPS to our benefit! Oooooh, Tonya, we coud be like:

So...if you're short and proud, where do YOU shop?!

They can be bit pricey but I learned that the Buckle has some great jeans for Double S girls. Silver Jeans, BKE and Lucky have the inseam sizes so Jean poolage can be greatly kept at a minimum. Can't wait to hear where you get your jeans. This could be a great excuse to go shopping for clothes. Breathing is also a fabulous reason to go shopping for clothes...

So I have given up hope on No Yeast breads. Another batch of hard-as-a-rock crunch bars came out of my oven yesterday. Does anyone have a good homemade yeast free bread recipe? I mean, making things from scratch will usually save some dinero but I can buy 1o Telera Rolls at Wal-Mart for $2.00 and the yeast there is at least the same amount if not more. Granted, nothing tastes sweeter than homemade bread but I just don't look that great covered in flour.

Needless to say, I used the aforementioned Telera Rolls as bread bowls for our "Corned Beef and Cabbage Chowder". I have never made a bread bowl for soups or appetizers at home before and you know what? I am SOLD on the idea forever! All it took was a small serrated knife and a little patience. I just cut circle in the top of the roll and then dug it out in one piece. I then hollowed it out and popped it in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes. Nice and toasty!!! Carl gave it rave reviews and even had a second Chowder-in-a-bread-bowl! It made my happy.

It is rather pretty if you see it in person, I promise... Today, I will make it my personal goal to fnd that stupid cord for tranferring pictures from my digital camera.... Hurumph.

OH YEAH. One last thing. I figured this out yesterday when unpacking our Christmas decorations... I suppose I'm a Nativity collector. I bought this pretty glittery ceremic set before Carl and I got together in 2005.

I got this carved wood set from Carl's mom afer we were married in 2006.

Last year she bought me this beautiful hand crafted Willow Tree set!

Nativity scenes are just so wonderful! I never really thought about how many I had before. You can never see too many births of Jesus... We are so very lucky to have him. (YAY!)

(FYI: From http://www.nativitysets.com/)

How To Arrange A Nativity Set

Each figure in a nativity scene has meaning, and the manner in which they are arranged will contribute to the significance and visual appeal of an outdoor nativity scene. The following guidelines will help you to arrange a meaningful and accurate nativity set.

Nativity sets vary greatly in size and number of pieces, but there are still general rules that can be followed when arranging a nativity scene. Your goal should be to display a nativity scene that is as respectful and accurate as possible. Each figure has meaning, and a proper arrangement will add great depth and significance to a Christmas display.

The Central FiguresA standard nativity set has seven pieces, but nativity scenes can always be enhanced with new figures. Secondary nativity figures are best positioned as onlookers outside the circle of main characters mentioned in the Biblical nativity stories of Matthew and Luke.

The central position in any nativity scene should be occupied by the Christ child. He is the reason for the display. Your nativity set should include a stable and manger. Place the manger at the center of the stable. A nativity tradition is to not place the baby Jesus in the manger until Christmas morning, but it is not necessary to follow this practice.

The nativity figure closest to Christ should be His mother, the Virgin Mary. A common practice is to place the figure of Mary on one side of the Christ child and His father Joseph on the other. However, some nativity icons actually display Joseph at a distance from the manger, looking away from Christ with an old man representing Satan at his side. The purpose of this is to give place in the nativity scene to the role of doubt in human faith.

Spacing and Secondary Figures Location will have some bearing on the spacing of nativity figures. An outdoor nativity set will obviously offer more space than an indoor nativity set, but if you are displaying high quality figurines you may wish to keep the scene inside.

Consider the nativity stories in the Bible when positioning secondary nativity figures. Place your nativity figures in concentric circles to emphasize their meaning and increase visibility.

If you have nativity pieces representing shepherds or the three wise men, these can be placed in the first circle. If you have both, placing the shepherds closer than the three Magi would be in keeping with the Biblical accounts, which indicate that the shepherds visited the Christ child before the three kings. In some outdoor nativity sets, a shepherd boy is used as a stand-in for shepherds.

The commonest secondary figures besides these are angels and animals. An ideal position for nativity angels is above your outdoor nativity set. If this is impossible, they may be placed within the stable behind the holy family.

The animals commonly used in nativity sets outdoors are sheep, oxen, and camels. The purpose of these figures is to remind you of the humbleness of Christ's birth, or in the case of the camels, the long journey of the Magi. The best way to incorporate nativity animals into an outdoor scene is to place them next to appropriate characters: sheep with the shepherds, camels with the three wisemen.