O Tannenbaum

The stockings are hung by the chimney. Well, actually, that's not quite true. The stockings are waiting to be hung by the chimney, and I'm not sure how much care will be taken. It depends on how cooperative those stockings will be. After spending the first week standing naked in the living room, the tree is finally decorated. (And, all the boxes have been put away!)  The shopping is almost finished. I still have four more shopping days! I am sad to say that not one Christmas card was sent out this year. I just couldn't seem to get into the mood. (Probably because this was not on my Project 52 list!)


Son and Sweetie Pie will be arriving on the 23rd, and our little family of six will all be together for Christmas.


This past weekend Hubby and I attended a wedding at the Franklin Conservatory in Columbus. I never knew there were so many varieties of poinsettias. I don't get out much. Everything was quite beautiful. So, as the year is winding down, here are some pictures from the Conservatory.


But first, here is a picture of our tree. I just discovered this little edit option, which can change your photo to look like a cartoon. Cool, huh? Please overlook all the pine needles on the carpet. 

Cartoon version

The real thing

 Now,back to the Conservatory...

A 25 foot poinsettia tree

There were some cool glass sculptures in the mix.

 And, there was a gingerbread house competition...except the first place award went to a train.

A closer view

I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Thank you so much for being my bloggy friends. I'm looking forward to spending the new year with you, and making new friends. I'll be working on my new Project 52 list. So far, I have one thing for next year...send out Christmas cards. Only 51 to go! See how easy it is? 

 

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To Keep You Entertained

I'm still helping hubby on the attic remodeling job. The past two days have been filled with insulation - icky, itching stuff - and drywall. Why is it that the super heavy stuff has to go on the ceiling??? Talk about back breaking work. Good thing I have a strong back. Hubby did promise me an appointment to get a massage when this job is over, and trust me, I will be making that appointment.


So, the other morning, we were making our rounds to Home Depot and Lowe's, the official homes-away-from-home during remodeling projects. We had left very early in the morning, and as I got into truck after we made our purchases, I saw my reflection in the truck window.


I said to hubby, "Can you tell I didn't do my hair this morning? It's a good thing I have short hair. And, while we're discussing my hair, can you tell that I didn't put on any make up?" 


"You look beautiful," he said without looking at me.


"Thank you, Sweetie, but you didn't even look at me."


"I don't have to yada yada yada.... Oh my goodness", he said, while looking down at his pants, "how long has my zipper been down?"  


"I don't know, I haven't looked at you either!"  


"Yeah, just like the time you let me go to church and you didn't notice that I hadn't combed my hair till half way through the service!"


Note to self: We must start looking at each other more often, especially, the older we get! If only to prevent embarrassing situations!!

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Lots of Singing and Rambling

That's a lame title, but titles are not my strong suit. Really, I may be doing more rambling than anything else. It seems, that's what I do best.


What to ramble about first. Decisions, decisions. OK. It's Project 52 Report Day. I'm quite confidant that I will not be crossing anything more off my list for this year. This will make it easier to come up with a list for next year. I'm thinking of a few new things, but you'll just have to wait until January to find out what they are! I hope you will join me (and Jennee and Karen) next year. You know what they say about having a buddy system, don'tcha? Remind me, because I've forgotten.


The second ramble is about my fun weekend. Hubby and I drove for six hours, all the way up to freezing cold Michigan, to go to a Gaither Christmas concert with Hubby's sister and her husband. We have never been, what's the word? - fans - of the Gaither's, but we were told that we would not be disappointed if we went to their concert. Guess what? They were right. We had great seats - only six rows back. We certainly got our money's worth, because the concert lasted 3 1/2 hours. Unfortunately, I did not take my camera. 


Let me see if I can find videos of my two favorite songs. Not only favorite songs from the concert, but my all-time favorite Christmas songs.  This will only take a moment. haha - who am I kidding? I hope to finish this before the night is over!


"Mary did you know?" This song give me chills, every time I hear it. Written and sung by Mark Lowry.



And, if you're still in the mood for goose bumps, listen to David Phelps sing "O, Holy Night"! I had never heard him sing before, but, let me just say this, every time he finished a song, you couldn't help but jump to your feet when he finished! A-May-Zing!!



You wanted to stand up and cheer when he finished, didn't you?? You just can't help it!  And, while I'm rambling, just ignore the fact that may signature thingie is in the wrong place. I can't get it to go where I want it to go.


One more little ramble. My blogging/visiting schedule may be a little sporadic, in case you hadn't already noticed. Hubby has me working again, hither and yon, guttering, dry walling, and sanding,(YUCK!!!) among other things. He just does not think that blogging has a higher (dang, I just lost the word....oh, found it) priority than making money for things like food, shelter, and heat.


Till next time!  
(Insert signature here) 

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Project 52 - Part 2

Last week I gave you some perfectly logical excuses explanations on why I have not crossed out the top 11 items on my list. Today, I'll continue with the last 12. Of course, the only reason that I know I have not reached these goals is because I made a list in the first place. Note to self - rethink this goal making list thing for next year! I'm only kidding Karen and Jennee! I have actually started to mull a few things over and over in this little brain of mine.


Okay! Now, on the the excuses explanations!


19. Invite friends over for dinner once a month. This one is a little embarrassing...it turns out I don't have any friends to invite. I know I could invite you, and you would come, I just didn't think you would want to travel that far for one measly meal. Let's make plans for next year! I do have a somewhat good reason for this one. Hubby did a lot of traveling back and forth, so by the time he got home for the weekends, things were just too hectic and he was too tired, and, it just didn't work out. I did invite one couple, but what worked for us didn't work for them, and vice versa, and we never did get together. But I at least made an effort.


20. Take a cooking class. Once again, I made an effort, if you consider cutting the advertisement out of the paper and looking at it for, say, six months, an effort. There were several classes that looked enticing, but it all came down to scheduling and that peskiest of pests - money. 


22. Exercise 3 times a week. What possessed me to make that a goal? Oh yeah, I made this list out in January, and I wanted to lose 30 pounds. Turns out, I lost the weight without exercise. How sweet is that??  I've been exercising for 40 years. I'm kinda tired of it. 


23. Find 365 "Do Not Fear" verses in the Bible. This is a work in progress, and I hope to have it finished by the year's end. I heard someone say that there were that many verses, and I instantly visualized a little calendar with a verse for every day. I'm clever like that. So, I decided I would see how many I could find. I did the Evelyn Woods speed reading technique of running my finger down each page of the Bible. If I saw the words "do not fear" or something close, I wrote it down. I did not find 365 verses, but I am working on copying the verses down that I did find. And, I will share those in a week or two.


24. Get through an entire P90X workout. Again, I don't know what possessed me to even want to get through an entire workout. (Other than those 30 pounds.) I have a faint memory of doing a few of those workouts, and it seems I came close to getting through at least half of a workout. If you are curious about my effort, reading this may put your mind at ease, or give you a good laugh. (You'll notice I made it all the way to January 17!)


29. Make get-well cards and send them out. I made one get-well for my little Sweetie Pie when she was sick, does that count?


35. Drink more water. We all know what the result of this one is. Run, run as fast as you can, unless running also causes a problem, then just walk as quickly as you can with your legs squeezing together. This is not easy, but it can be done. 


36. Organize atonement notes. I think I'll just save this one for next year.


49. Save money for new clothes in a smaller size. Actually, I have saved a little money for this one. I'm just waiting until I reach my goal before I spend it.


51. Make a decision and buy something I like. This one may never be crossed off. Mainly because I can never make a decision. It is because I am so multi-faceted and like so many different things that I can never decide which particular thing I might like best. Or, that I might like something so much that I would actually buy it. But this is what usually happens - I see something that I really really like, but, it happens to be too expensive. So, I settle for something I kinda like but can afford. Do I want something to be bright or subdued, traditional or eclectic, new and shiny or shabby chic? (Actually, I would go shabby chic, but Hubby thinks all that stuff is junk. He likes new and shiny.) 


52. Print off old blogs. This is another one that is a work in progress. I have quite a ways to go to completion. For some reason, my printer won't print off the pictures in  my blogs. 


So, there's the run-down of how my goal list is failing  coming along. I did get a lot of cleaning and organizing done this past year, and Hubby is very thankful for that! 


I'm already starting my new list. I can think of about 20 things already! Even if you're not a goal oriented type of person,(I'm not!) consider joining me and Jennee and Karen in 2012. It's been fun. And, it has helped me see that, even though I didn't accomplish everything on my list, I have, in fact, accomplished several things which would have been forgotten, if they had not been on my list. 

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Friday Report

This will have to be a super-quickie. First off, if you wouldn't mind, one more time to vote for Jennee here.
She's made it to the finalists.


I will be singing in my concert tonight. Thank you all for the prayers.


I'm off to help hubby on a job today. We are remodeling an attic. Doesn't that sound like fun! We're putting in the floor today, and part of the knee-wall. He's ready to go, so I must go to.


Happy weekend!

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Project 52

Well, here it is, another Monday, and a rainy Monday at that. It is time, once again to report on my goal failure or success. While scanning my list, it seemed I was doing pretty good because I have a lot of things crossed off. So, while patting myself on the back, I wrote down the few things that I haven't accomplished, to get a better look at them. You probably didn't know that I was talented enough to pull something like that off. Oh ye of little faith!


Well, surprise, surprise, I've barely accomplished a little over half of my goals! This is not good. Not good at all! 


So, if it doesn't bore you out of your gourd (that word has been on my mind lately, thank you Mrsurpole and Theme Thursday!), I will give you a list of my excuses logical explanations on why there are still so many uncrossed items.


1. Lose 30 pounds (we will ignore the "by March" part!) Technically, I'm very close, but I haven't been on the scales since before Thanksgiving...that's all I have to say about that! Comprende?

3. Manage my time better - So, I have been sitting at the computer for almost two hours this morning, and I'm just now getting around to blogging. Sigh. Stupid Spider Solitaire. 'Nuff said about that.


4. Improve my blog - This is a hard one. I'm hoping my content has improved :) but there are also some things I wanted to do to my blog, but for some unexplained reason (spider solitaire) I never seem to get around to getting it done.


6. Start card ministry - I guess it's not too late to get that started, but I haven't even made Christmas cards yet!


8. Finish NC photo scrapbook - It would be very helpful if I actually printed off the photos I want to use.


9. Finish my Vacation Out West scrapbook - (Same reason for #8 - and I should have said START my Vacation Out West scrapbook - not saying that I did start it.)


12. Be better at leaving comments - Actually, I think I have done better on this one, so I'm going to cross this one off. Hold on while I do the crossy-off line.


14. Be more compassionate toward others - This is a hard one to measure. Can you ever reach a point when you say "I am compassionate enough" ?


15. Read the Bible daily - Why is this one such a hard one to do? If I don't start out first thing in the morning, it never usually doesn't get done. I always go in spurts. Sometimes every day for a while, then, I get busy, and.... sigh. 


16. Become more informed on politics - I think I've improved on being informed.(Luckily, I didn't say "Remember".) However, I felt a little stupid when someone asked the question,"Name a country that starts with the letter "u"? Hmmm, what country starts with "u"? Thinking, thinking. Uganda! Oh, let's try, United States of America! USA! USA! (DUH! On second thought, I felt A LOT stupid! Fist to the forehead.) So, that alone, disqualifies #16 from being crossed out. 


17. Learn more about the history of our country - The country called "United States of America"! I have ordered a book called "Being George Washington" which I can't wait to read.


18. Get Passport - I did get the application for my passport, but I haven't filled it out, because I'm not even sure where it is at the moment.


Well, this concludes the excuses logical reasons I have failed to cross these off my list. Stay tuned for next week's edition as I conclude my list!

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It's My Birthday and I'll Eat if I Want To

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I had to make a crucial decision. As usual, crucial decisions revolve around the food I intend to eat. And, to make it even more crucial, it was revolving around my birthday. I'm a little behind in telling about my birthday, but since I have the whole month to celebrate, I guess I still have some time!


Hubby, Amazing Daughter, and I decided (against our better judgement) to start Round 2 of the HCG Diet. We knew November would be a tough month, but we decided to go for it. I decided to wait and celebrate my birthday with Amazing Daughter, (I got her permission first. I didn't want WW3 to start!) in December. 


We've had a much harder time staying focused this time around. I don't know if it's because of the gloomy weather, the chilly weather, or what, but it has been challenging. Typically, we start getting ready for hibernation by eating everything in sight, as soon as the weather starts getting cooler. After the daily discussions on whether we should continue the diet or just wait and start again in the spring, Hubby announced, on my birthday, that he was going to just try to maintain, and start again in the spring. (Since my birthday is in early November, you see how long he lasted!) Jennee and I were still straddling the fence on what to do.


Now, a few days before this announcement was made, Jennee asked me if we were doing anything on my birthday, because she was being asked to work that evening. I said, "Go ahead and work. I'll just wait and we can celebrate our birthdays together, if it's alright with you!!" Add a big smiley face here.


I had already cheated the day before when I celebrated my birthday with my mom, sister, and sister-in-law. We made plans to go to this very lovely "tea room" for lunch. They make a wonderful strawberry pretzel dessert, which is our main reason for going there. 


We are usually pretty frugal when we go out, but on this day, we all went a little crazy. We started off by ordering these multi-berry scones, with ...arrrgggg...brain fart.... some kind of -shire cream. I KNEW I waited too long to blog about this! All I can think of is herefordshire - herefords are cows, so I'm quite sure that isn't it! Or, Wilshire, no that's not it!  Now, I've gone and ruined the whole, very elegant, English mood. I'm counting on my English friends to set the record straight. Anyway, it was quite delicious,and I felt it was my duty to eat every last scoop of  _______-sire cream!

This was my meal: Spinach and red pepper quiche, lemon tea bread, and strawberry pretzel salad.

Usually, we all end up ordering the same thing, but this time, we branched out and we all ordered something different.

Chicken Salad

Potato Soup and Cornbread

Creamed Chicken and Noodle

This was the setting:

 After we were stuffed to the brim, we asked the waitress to take our picture. 

My Sis, Sis-in-law, Me, My Mom

So,the following day, Hubby makes his announcement, and I decide "Why fight it?" and go off the diet, too. Then, the flickering light bulb turns on, and I declare, "OH, well, we can go out for my birthday after all!" Yipee! I said that part silently. The only problem was that Amazing Daughter was now working until 7:30; I had to call Son to alert him to the change in plans, and hope he could hold out for a late supper. And, Hubby was running late in getting back from a job. After all was said and done, we managed to meet at our favorite Mexican restaurant at 8:00.

 I didn't have cake, but I did have this:

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That's My Girl!

Do you like award shows? I admit that I am not that big of fan of them, unless, of course, I know someone who is up for an award.


Take Josh Krajcik, for example. 

The guy on X-Factor. I know he says he's from Columbus, Ohio, but the dirty little secret is that he is in fact, from Wooster, Ohio. Amazing Daughter has been singing his praises for the past 10 years, wishing that he would get the recognition he deserves. Well, it seems, his time has come. And, if you haven't heard him sing, consider this a special Thanksgiving treat - calorie free!


And, speaking of Amazing Daughter, she is also up for an award. Check out Karen's blog. You can vote for her under "Favorite Singles Blog" - Jennee Thompson. Voting is open until November 25, so hope on over and give her a vote!

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Here Comes Santa Claus

I know it's not Thanksgiving yet, but, Santa did arrive in our town this weekend.


I don't know why he has to come so early, but he does. I guess it is because Thanksgiving is a little earlier in the month than usual - even though it is still the fourth week of November.


Well, if you remember, I came down with laryngitis on Tuesday, and was hoping for a miracle cure before Friday, in order to be able to sing in the community chorus. I did not receive a miracle, but thank you for the prayers. Hubby and I went downtown anyway, to support my fellow choristers. The weather was pleasant, so it made for a nice evening.


I have a few pictures, but I warn you, they aren't very good. I know the problem was my camera, and not the photographer. It was dark, and I couldn't see the settings, and, well, they are just bad. But, I'm hoping it will give you a little flavor of what the evening was like. And, I guess I won't have to worry about anyone stealing my pictures. lol

The horse drawn wagon. I would have tried for
a better picture, but the horses turned the corner
and were heading straight for me. I decided it would
be better if I got out of the way.

Hubby and I missed the actual arrival of the Jolly Guy,
but he's usually on top of the building to the left, and
he rides down the big ladders on the fire truck.
I guess it's too early for the reindeer.

Oh, but speaking of reindeer, we do have a "petting area" for an authentic reindeer. I correct my previous statement: I guess it's too early for flying reindeer. I would've tried to get a picture, but I'm pretty sure it would have just looked like a big dark blob.

Our Choral Union.
I would have been standing in
that empty space right under the clock.

My voice is slowly getting back to normal. It should be good to go for our December 2 concert.

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