Another Good Christmas

I'm back. We returned home late this afternoon from an eight day trip to Modesto and Tahoe over the week of Christmas. I'd like to go into further detail, but to be honest, I'm plum tuckered out. The kids are down for the night and I am lounging in my cozy evening wear (nice pair of sweat-type pants and slippers) and I am thinking that my own bedtime is fast approaching. I do plan to tell of our adventures in the snow and Christmas 2008, but for now I'll give a few snippets to whet your appetite!

........fabulous dvd's, snow cream, sledding, unexpected family connections, and toilets.....

Do I have your attention??? I know you're only coming back to hear how 'toilets' fit into the Christmas scheme of things, aren't you?

'Til then....

Beware of the Doghouse

My brother is a wise man. Recently he posted this video on his Facebook as a warning to his fellow man so they would shop with discernment this Christmas season when it comes to getting their wives a gift. I thought it was appropriate and would be appreciated by my reader(s) as well.

Enjoy!

Christmas Song Trivia- part 2

Here is the second part of the song trivia. If you missed the first part then scroll down to yesterday's post for the explanation.

11. Obese personification fabricated of compressed mounds of minute crystals. *Frosty the Snowman* Caterina

12. Natal celebration devoid of color. *White Christmas* Sarah

13. In awe of the nocturnal time span characterized by religiosity. *O Holy Night* Sarah

14. Geographic state of fantasy during the season of mother nature's dormancy. *Winter Wonderland* Sarah

15. The first person nominative plural of a triumvirate of far eastern heads of state. *We Three Kings* Sarah

16. Tintinnabulation of vacillating pendulums in inverted, metallic, resonant cups. *Silver Bells* Sarah

17. In a distant location the existence of an improvised unit of newborn children's slumber furniture. *Away in the Manger* Caterina

18. Proceed forth declaring upon a specific geological alpine formation. *Go Tell it on the Mountain* Sarah

19. Jovial Yuletide desired for the second person singular or plural by us. *We Wish You A Merry Christmas* Sarah

Christmas Song Trivia

A couple weeks ago I was at church for the ladies bible study. Although it was more of a Christmas social gathering than it was a bible study that day. Among the goodies and chatting with friends, we played a game, it was called Christmas Synonyms. We all had a list of 19 Christmas songs but the catch was instead of having the name of the song there was a descriptive sentence. We had to translate the statements back into recognizable English and therefore we'd get the song title. We had fun comparing ideas and figuring out the correct title. Sometimes we were completely stumped but a few times we actually got it right!

Since I'm in a blogging slump (I blame it on Nablopomo of last month!) I have decided to share this fun little quiz with you. Let's see how well you can do!!! Once a correct guess has been made, I will add in the answer after the clue along with the person who guessed it. To make it last longer, I'll put the answer in black, so if you see someones name after the clue then you'll know it's been answered correctly but still able to play along. If you want to see the answer then select the blank space between the * and the text will appear.

I'm going to break this up between two days since I have so many songs. I'll give the answer to the first one to give you an idea of how it works. So here is the first set! Let's see how well you can do!!!

1. Listen, the celestial messengers produce harmonious sounds. *Hark the Herald Angels Sing* sample

2. Nocturnal timespan of unbroken quietness. *Silent Night* Sarah

3. An emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good given to the terrestrial sphere. *Joy to the World* Sarah

4. Embellish the interior passageways. *Deck the Halls* Caterina

5. Exalted heavenly beings to whom hearkened. *Angels We Have Heard on High* Sarah

6. Twelve o'clock on a clement night witnesses its arrival. *It Came Upon A Midnight Clear* Sarah

7. The Christmas preceding all others. *The First Noel* Sarah

8. Small municipality in Judea southeast of Jerusalem. *O Little Town of Bethleham* Sarah

9. Diminutive masculine master of skin-covered percussionistic cylinder. *Little Drummer Boy* Sarah

10. Omnipotent Supreme Being who elicits respite to ecstatic distinguished males. *God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen* Sarah

How Lovely Are Your Branches

A couple weeks ago we busted out the fake Christmas tree and set it up. A fake tree just makes sense for our family since we tend to be gone over Christmas and having a real tree just isn't safe. So last year we broke down and bought a fake pre-lit tree. In another year or so it will have paid for itself. And it doesn't look too bad either!

Anyway, back to decorating....

After the tree was set up and lights all working (although they did go out for a while, but my man fixed it!) I got out the other boxes of Christmas decorations. The kids love these boxes and hoover around me as I pull things out. They are quick to snatch up the ornaments and tend to have the tree decorated by the time I finish pulling things out.

I had even more fun this year decorating the tree. Last year my mom gave me some silver beaded garland that she didn't use anymore, so now I had one last thing to add to our tree! I love the silver garland, it just adds the right touch to our tree. The kids even helped me put it up. See....



Well, I guess we got a little carried away, didn't we?!

Because the Winters Here are Frigid

This will be my third winter in Southern California since moving from Michigan a couple years ago. And I think I've finally acclimated. How do I know, you ask??? The temps are in the mid 60's and I'm cold. That's how I know!

I remember being in Michigan and knowing when we had acclimated to the cold winters there. Ryan had gotten home from work and we were all heading to the gym for a quick workout before coming home and having dinner. I was wearing some lightweight workout pants and t-shirt with a sweatshirt on top. The temperature was about 40 degrees and at the most I felt a little chilly.

Yesterday the temps were in the mid 60's and I wore pants, long sleeved mock turtle neck shirt and a cozy lightweight fleece jacket. At night I'm bundling up and layering my socks to keep my toes warm. And I think I need to add an extra blanket to the bed. However, I'm still wearing my sandals. I'm a southern California girl, what can I say!

God Rest Ye Politically Correct Gentlemen

It's the Christmas season!!! This means I can pull out my favorite Christmas cd's (ok, so I only have two, so out they come!). One of the cd's I have is Harry Conick Jr.'s When My Heart Finds Christmas, and the other is by Mannheim Steamroller (pictured at right).

The other day I was looking at the back cover of the Mannheim Steamroller cd and I noticed an interesting little tid bit of information. To one side there was a little write up about the song God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. I thought it was interesting and decided to share it. This is what it said;

God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen: This Yuletide phrase is ofen printed- and sung- with this punctuation and the pause it implies. But that's not the way the charming old carol has it. Properly, it's "God rest ye merry, gentlemen." The phrase "rest ye merry", which is older than Shakespeare, who used it in Romeo and Juliet, dates to the beginning of the 15th century. Incidently, the Old English word for 'merry' did not mean gay and lively, but merely pleasant or agreeable. By the 14th century, however, it had acquired its present meaning.

Hows that for a lesson on political correctness? Again, there is nothing new under the sun.

Merry Christmas! Ahem, or should I say, may you have an agreeable holiday season? Nah. Merry Christmas!!!

The Self-Cut May Be Free, But It's Soooo Not Worth it

I may have brought it upon myself. I'm not sure. I remember talking with a friend about this very situation but I said something like "Yea, but none of my kids have ever done that. Yet." Somehow I don't think the 'yet' was good enough to save me from what happened last night.

It was time for dinner so we rounded up the kids to the table. Where was Isabel? Oh, there she is. Come on Isabel, time to eat! She sits down and we all proceed to hold hands to pray before we eat. That is when I saw it and let out a loud gasp!

I was speechless. Ryan looked at me and asked me what was wrong. I could not say a word (I think instant stress or surprises do that to me). All I could do was look at Isabel and then will Ryan to follow my eyes to her head. How could he not see? How is it that he doesn't notice the gaping hack job of a hair do that Isabel is now sporting?

My emotions ranged from laughter (we all fought it during prayer!), to 'oh well, it'll grow' attitude, to anger. How could she do that? She just got her hair cut, like, three weeks ago??! It was so stinkin' cute too! Now look at it, it's terrible! The ugly inside me waged to get out, and I was a grump for the next hour and a half. But my baby, so sweet and so cute, is now sporting a I-did-my-own-hair-cut cut!!!! It's just not right.

Yes. It has happened. Isabel cut her hair. After seven years of raising children I learn that I am not immune to a child finding a pair of scissors and going to town on their perfectly coiffed hair. But as I thought earlier, it will grow. And my revenge is that I can blog about it and post pictures! Ha!

before, when all was cute and right in the world


after

November Movie Review

1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - I was looking forward to seeing this, but wasn't sure if I'd like it as well as I enjoyed the others. I did enjoy it, but it wasn't as good as the first Indy movies. That's ok, I suppose. It had the action with an interesting story with a bit of love stuff thrown in, but not too much. The one thing I didn't like was the silly cg stuff. It didn't look real AT ALL and just made it seem hokey. Cg is great and all, but if not used right then its just overkill and silly. There should be a limit to how much is used, or at the very least it should be supervised and thrown out if necessary. In this, throw it out. Anyway, overall the movie was fun and it was great to see Indy again!

2. 84 Charing Cross Road - I'm a sucker for most things Anthony Hopkins. So when I saw this movie with a young Hopkins on the cover, I snatched it up. I didn't care that it was made in the mid 80's or that movies made during that time to appeal much to me, but I nabbed it anyway. It had SIR Anthony Hopkins in it, do I need another reason??! This was a fun movie that I enjoyed very much, despite the 80's feel to it. It begins in 1949 as a female write in New York is looking for old English novels but can't find them in the US. So she writes to Hopkins who works in a book shop in England. They converse over the course of two decades as he fulfills her list of wanted books and she continues to request more. She makes a guenine friendship with Hopkins as well as with several others in the book shop. I enjoyed how the movie was told in the perspective of them writing letters to each other. At one point she almost makes it over for a visit, but ut doesn't work out. I think I know how they must have felt to not have been able to finally meet each other. I found myself empathising with them because that is how I would feel if I was about to meet a blog friend and it falling through. Actually, I was thinking a lot about the people I've met because of my blog and how I think of them as real friends even though we have never met. I think that may be a large reason why I was engaged in the movie as much as I was. Anyway, I liked the movie and would reccomend it to any of my bloggies (but they have to like Sir Hopkins as well!)

3. Grace Is Gone - This was a sad movie. If you have a family member serving in Iraq then I don't suggest you see this one, not right now anyway. It's about a man who learns that his wife was killed while serving in Iraq and how he is unable to tell his two daughters. In his inability to tell his girls, he takes them on an impromptu road trip. I can't say that the movie was particulary enjoyable, but it was interesting to watch this man and how he struggled to deal with the reality of his wife's death. If you're the type that likes sad tear-jerkers then this is for you. If not, then go rent a nice Christmas flick for the family.....It's a Wonderful Life is one of my favs!

So Long, Farwell Nablopomo!

Today is the last day of November. You do realize what this means, don't you? The last day of my posting for Nablopomo!!! But for me it means that I don't have to rack my brain for a post everyday.

What was that?? Did I just hear a sigh a relief from my reader(s)??!

Well, that actually that might have been from me! But really it hasn't been that bad. I've enjoyed posting a few things. I think my favorite was writing down the story of Ryan and I. It's nice to have it preserved within my blog, and one of these days I'll get it printed out. I did intend to write more things but I ran out of creative juice. I meant to write about our wedding and the births of each of the kids. Maybe next year. But for now all I can think of is saying good bye to November and having to post every day. In my head is a song that sounds a little like this....

Christmas Movie Trivia

And so begins the Christmas season! It is now ok to see decorations around town and on neighbors houses. It is now ok to hear Christmas music in stores and on the radio. And it is also the time to bust out our favorite Christmas movies!!!

I've compiled a short list of traditional Christmas movies, with a few new(ish) ones thrown in just for fun. Each movie is represented with quote. So how good is your Christmas movie knowledge?? Read the quotes and take a guess in the comment section. When a correct guess has been made, I will add in the answer along with the name of the person who answered it after each quote. (and no cheating!!! please.)

Have fun, and may I be among the first to wish you a Merry Christmas!

1. "If you're really Santa Claus, you can get it for me. And if you can't, you're only a nice man with a white beard like mother says. " Miracle on 34th Street - Caterina

2. "Can we take a direct flight back to reality, or do we have to change planes in Denver?" The Santa Clause - Caterina

3. "Now, come on, get your clothes on, and we'll stroll up to my car and get... Oh, I'm sorry. I'll stroll. You fly." It's a Wonderful Life - Lani

4. "Yeah, you know something... Vermont should be beautiful this time of year, with all that snow." White Christmas - Lani

5. "Aunt Clara had for years labored under the delusion that I was not only perpetually 4 years old, but also a girl." A Christmas Story - Angela

6. "Bah! Humbug!" Christmas Carol - Caterina (although she had guessed Scrooge, but really that's pretty much the same thing *wink*)

7. "Oh, that uh, that there's an RV. Yeah, yeah, I borrowed it off a buddy of mine. He took my house, I took the RV. It's a good looking vehicle, ain't it?" National Lampoons Christmas Vacation - Angela

8. "The thing about trains... it doesn't matter where they're going. What matters is deciding to get on. " The Polar Express - Angela

9. "I passed through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, and then I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel." Elf - Maggie

10. "I must stop this whole thing! Why, for fifty-three years I've put up with it now. I must stop Christmas from coming... but how?" How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Maggie

Black Friday is Black Indeed

I'm not a big Black Friday shopper. In fact I have NEVER gotten up before the sun to partake in the super deals. Only once have I even gone into the stores on the day after Thanksgiving. And even then it was later in the morning. I've never been a crowd type person and I will avoid it when I can. So Black Friday is an easy one for me.

But after reading this story, I now have more reason to stay in safety of my nice warm bed while others are out literally busting down the doors all for the sake of saving a few bucks! It's so not worth it.

A Day of Thanks and Feasting!

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope all my reader(s) are surrounded by family and friends and have a great day!

Ok, I'm off to start the Thanksgiving day feast preparations!

No Laughing Matter

This Thanksgiving, make sure all appliances are in working order. Oh, and it might be a good idea to have a home safety inspection. You just never know when a disaster may occur, and we wouldn't want anything to spoil our day of thanks and feasting. Now would we?

Alternative Dish

We have selected our menu items for our Thanksgiving feast. And we have been to the store. Now all we gotta do is wait for Thursday! Our table will be boasting a small turkey, bbq tri-tip, rolls, mashed potatoes, stuffing, two kinds of grilled veggies (asparagus and zucchini, I believe), cranberry sauce (as my sister in law would say, in the shape of a can), green rice, and pumpkin and apple pie, with vanilla ice cream and cool whip to top it off with!

Now, maybe you just read my list and are wondering what in the world 'green rice' is. Well, let me tell ya....it's my green bean casserole alternative. Would you like the recipe?

Green Rice

1 stick of butter
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 chopped med green pepper
2 cups minute rice - cooked
1 can cheddar cheese soup
2 pkgs chopped frozen brocoli - cooked
2 cans cream of mushroom soup

Saute onion, celery and green pepper in butter. Add rice, brocoli and cheddar cheese soup. Salt and pepper to taste. Then add cream of mushroom soup. Put in ungreased cassarole dish, sprinkle with parmasean cheese. Bake 350 til hot and bubbly.

*I usually skip the baking part and just use my crock pot instead, on the low setting.
**If you want the dish to look truly green, then add green food coloring to the water when cooking the rice. I usually skip that part too, the green rice kinda freaks me out.

If you try this recipe, let me know! I'd love to hear how you like (or dislike) it.

You Know the Boy is Gettin Better When....

...you have to tell the boy to;

1) settle down!

2) be quiet!

3) leave your sister alone!

4) stop running!

Yes, Caleb is feeling better. He's not 100%, but he's certainly much much better than he was yesterday. He did come into our room at about 2 this morning, but it was just to tell us that his throat hurt (so no hot shower treatment was need - thank you Jesus!!!).

Now all we have to do is survive this week as the kids are out of school! I think we can manage that.

You Know the Boy is Sick When....

I stayed home from church today (gasp!). But I had good reason. Caleb was not well. Actually, he seemed pretty ok to me, but Ryan told me he should stay home. So I stayed behind with Caleb as Ryan and the girls headed to church.

Caleb was playing with his cars and tracks and generally being his normal little self, with a slight cough. No big deal. He'd watch a little tv then go back to playing and being silly. But then he stopped and just hung out on the couch near me as I perused the blogs and dinked around on Facebook. He said his throat hurt. I gave him some medicine.

Then, after lunch, he didn't want to play. He just wanted to lay down on the couch. I asked him if he'd like to lay down in his room and take a little nap? No, he just wanted to stay where he was. Within ten minutes he was asleep.

This tells me that my boy is not well. The other tell-tale sign is when he doesn't care about missing out on Awana. And when hearing that his friends missed him, doesn't phase him.

Poor guy! It's heart breaking to see my boy not well.

Caleb seems to get croupy when he gets even a small cold. It's just what happens to him when he gets a cold. It must be a result of when he was a baby and had RSV and then asthma (which he has since grown out of, thank you Jesus!). So, now we just know to use the vaporize/humidifier thingy at night. And we've also learned that hot steamy showers that envelope bathrooms are good for croup (as well as chilly night air, but the showers are easier to do and doesn't require us to go anywhere).

So tonight my sad little boy is asleep and breathing in some steamy air. But I won't be surprised if he comes into our room in the middle of the night with the sound of a walrus in his chest.

The good thing is that he doesn't have school this week, so he won't be missing any school days. Not this time at least.

Dear Lord, please heal my boy and help him to get good rest tonight. Amen

T-Y-P-I-N-G

I remember taking a typing class my freshman year in high school. The classroom had about six long tables, three on each side of the room, with an isle down the center of the class. On each table there were three or four typewriters.

Mr. Phillips was my teacher. And he was a stickler for not looking at your fingers while typing! Ho boy, don't let him catch you looking down at the keys instead of at the book as you type! No sir. If caught, Mr. Phillips would take a half sheet of paper and tape it just above the top line of the keys so that when you were typing it would cover your hands and keep you from seeing the keys. Fortunately, I was never caught. Caught being the operative word, because I was certainly guilty of peeking.

Funny that I learned to type on a typewriter, isn't it? Wait, I'm dating myself here. Moving on!

I consider myself to type pretty fast. And I was curious as to exactly how fast I am. So I went over to TypingTest.com to find out. Now I don't feel so confident. My highest was 58 wpm (with a 98% accuracy). I know I could have a higher number if I would stop going back to correct my mistakes. Oh, and there is also that nasty little habit of peeking at the keys. Mr. Phillips would not be pleased.

So what's your WPM? Does Mr. Phillips need to come over with his little piece of paper to help you along?

It Was a God Day (and no, that's not a type-o)

My day started at about 4:30 this morning. A call from a friend who was at the ER with her daughter, she needed me. I'm not known for being an early riser. Not in the slightest. In fact, I balk at any occasion that gets me out of bed before I'm ready. But there is something about being needed by a friend and being used by the Lord that made this day good.

It wasn't an easy day, but it was good.

So as I sit here (sipping some Oh My Chai!, just got some the other day!) I am tired and ready for bed, and it's only a little after 8:00! Who knew a night person could be sleepy so soon after the sun goes down?! But I think I'll read for a little bit, then go to bed. However, I won't stay up too late, for one never knows if they'll be called upon in the middle of the night.

So don't stay up too late....I'm just sayin'.

All for Love

In junior and senior high, at church, my youth pastor had this saying when talking about teenage girls and their one reason why they did silly or non-intelligent things because of a boy they liked, it went like this....'because I love him!'. It was always said in a fun, humorous way, and always in a tone like a teenage girl would use - whiny. But I have found another use for the phrase, and I use it to describe why I have done things that I said I'd never do when I was a parent. Here are a few occasions that I excuse myself for all because I love my kids.......

* buy character clothes or shoes - Caleb has a a couple sets of superhero pj's, a few Cars t-shirts, and is on his second pair of cartoon shoes (right now he's sporting Spiderman, his hero of choice).










* allow, or buy, my girls clothes in any shade of pink - I'm not a pink girl myself and the thought of donning my children in it kind of repulsed me, now their closet fairly radiates the hue.











* have my girls wear silly pigtails that stick out of the side of their head - it's so stinkin' cute, I just can't help myself!















And I don't regret any of it. Not one bitty bit!