Happy New Year!

Rainy Day Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday Evening!
It was a cold, wet day. I love it.
My husband is off for the rest of the week.
He still has to work, but from home~~YaY!
Dinner last night was hamburgers.
Tonight's dinner was spaghetti.
The kitchen is all clean.
I am just washing Tony's work clothes for tomorrow.
I have to go to the market tomorrow, because when I went on Monday, the meat section was pretty much bare. They were recuperating from Christmas.
So tomorrow, I need to stock up on meat.
They are having a good sale.
New Years Day, I make Black Eyed Peas~~Not for luck, but for Tradition:) What do you make?

My Holiday Notebook is put away....My Home notebook is always out, it travels around the house though....LOL. Do you have a notebook? It keeps me organized, and I just like things written down. I know a lot of people don't like lists, but I happen to love them. I make lists for everything.

I really need to start working on my afghan again. I work on it, then put it down..this time I put it down a really LONG time. This cold, cozy weather, really makes me want to finish it. Maybe by summer...LOL.

I forgot to mention, I got two more seasons of Little House on the Prairie~~YaY!

I have a lot of Christmas photos I will be posting soon.
My sister in law asked me take a lot, so I took A LOT!!!
Have a great evening and stay warm:)

Tuesday!

It has been a bitter sweet last couple of days. My neighbors left yesterday for their new home in Colorado. I helped my friend pack, which was fun to spend time with her, but it was also sad knowing she was leaving. I grew very close to her and her daughter. Her daughter is the same age as my daughter, and they have known eachother since Kindergarten and got very close when they moved into our neighborhood. After they left, my daughter went into her room and cried, and I left her alone for a little bit, then went in her room and just held her as she cried. I remember when I moved away at 10 and left my best friend. Those feelings are real and hurt at any age.

It feels a little off this morning. I am so used to our morning coffee, or just our morning chit chats, running back and forth to each other's houses. It is a new season for them, and I guess for us as well. I took so many pictures the last 6 months, I am making a memory book, for my daughter and her daughter.

Today I also have to run to the market for a few things. My husband is not feeling well this morning, he started feeling sick last night. Hopefully the office will be slow today and he can come home early and rest.

My neighbors had a little fish, that the little girl whose name is Taylor, named Flipper. They could not take Flipper with them, so Taylor gave the fish to Alexis. I think it helps Alexis, having something of her friend.

Dinner last night was Turkey and Dumplings, tonight's dinner, I am not sure yet, but it won't be Turkey...LOL:)

Happy Birthday Jesus!!

Merry, Merry Christmas, from my home to yours!
May your day be blessed today and always!
XOXO

Merry Christmas Eve!!

New Pajamas!

It sure is going to be hard for them to fall asleep tonight:)

Thursday!

Good Evening!
Hope everyone is doing wonderful.
I worked really hard today preparing the home for Christmas!
The house is clean, the fridge is all ready for the new groceries tomorrow. Every room is neat and tidy.

The gifts are all wrapped.
I just took a shower.
I am ready for bed.
The coffee pot is all set for the morning's coffee.

For tomorrow, I will be going to the market and doing some baking. I didn't get the baking done today like I wanted too, but tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow the kids will get there new pajamas, and I doubt they will get any sleep...LOL. I will take a bunch a pictures of Christmas.
I am deciding on weather to make my Christmas casserole for Christmas breakfast or something different, I will let you know.

Have a wonderfully blessed and warm night!
It did not rain today..I miss the rain:)

Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday!

It is almost time......................

Are you ready???

Rainy Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday!

It is cold and rainy today, and I did have to venture out for a bit. We are all home now, where it is warm and safe and dry:)

Tonight we are having Pasta bake with garlic bread and salad.
Tomorrow, is a day that I plan on staying in and doing some cleaning to get the house all ready for Christmas.
Thursday, I will finish the grocery shopping for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners.

All the kids will get brand new pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve:)

We will also be making Jesus a birthday cake:)

Oh, I almost forgot, I took my Turkey out of the freezer to defrost~~If you are having Turkey, are you defrosting it yet? and also, don't forget to water your tree.

I also have my candles lit in the kitchen:)

(((Warm Hugs)))

"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time."

~Laura Ingalls Wilder~

Stay Warm!!!

Happy Monday!

Hello:) It is Monday, and it is almost Jesus's Birthday! I am so excited for Christmas. It feels like Christmas time too, with it cold and rainy outside and warm and cozy inside. Today we are staying in, and I have a little organizing project I want to get done today. Little by little I have been wrapping presents, so come Christmas, I won't be overwhelmed.

All the shopping is done, except for a few last minute groceries I will need for Christmas dinner!

I also can not believe how caught up on laundry I am ~~WOOHOO!

Dinner tonight, is going to be leftovers from last night, since I have a lot of the roast left.

As you all know, I love looking and posting vintage photos on my blog, I also like reading about different times, and how housewives used to be, or how life used to be. Some of the things are a bit extreme, but the basic concept is there that I love. Men working out of the home, while women take care of the home. I am posting the 1950's article that I have posted in the past, I like it, and think it is fun to read:)

From a 1950's high school home economics textbook, teaching girls how to prepare for married life.

1. Have dinner ready: Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal on time.

This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him, and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospects of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed.

2. Prepare yourself: Take 15 minutes to rest so you will be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking.
He has just been with a lot of work- weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift.

3. Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives, gathering up school books, toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables.
Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift, too.

4. Prepare the children: Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces if they are small, comb their hair, and if necessary, change their clothes.
They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.

5. Minimize the noise: At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of washer, dryer, dishwasher or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet.
Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad to see him.

6. Things to avoid: Don't greet him with problems or complaints. Don't complain if he's late for dinner.
Count this as minor compared with what he might have gone through that day.

7. Make him comfortable: Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes.
Speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice. Allow him to relax and unwind.

8. Listen to him: You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first.

9. Make the evening his: Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment; instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his need to be home and relax.

10. The goal: Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can relax.

~~~~~~~~~

I hope everyone has a wonderful Monday. Stay warm and if you must go out, safe travels:)

I have mentioned this before, and I just love the idea. I light a candle in my kitchen, and every time I see it, I say a little prayer!

The reason why my candle is in my kitchen, is because, one: It's the room I am in mostly and two: it is out of reach from little hands:)
XO

Sunday!

Hello!

The news today says, it is going to be a super soaker Sunday, and that it is. It has really been coming down. It is supposed to last until Wednesday. I really love rainy days, especially when we can all be home, safe and dry!

Yesterday was a busy day, finished up the Christmas shopping. Went to the market, and Alexis and her neighbor friend had a birthday party to go to.

Last night for dinner, we had Semi-homemade pizza, it was easy and really good too.

Tonight we will be having a roast with all the fixings:)

For Christmas we will be having turkey, I already have my turkey from last month when they had a buy one get one free:)

I am going to do a little wrapping today too!

I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed Sunday! Stay warm and dry:)

Friday!~~Baking!

Happy Friday!
At 2:05 today, Christmas vacation officially starts here!
I have finished all of my Christmas cards, and my hand was about to fall off after I finished...LOL.
So, today I am going in the kitchen and do a little baking!

I love to take care of my family, everything that entails being a wife and mother... and I love these vintage pictures, so I added it here, because it fits my mood today:)

I am going to be making Pumpkin Bread....

Peppermint Bark..Yummy!

Sugar cookies, with red and green sugar on top....and I am also going to make my homemade dinner rolls:)

Dinner last night we had tacos, one of my husbands favorite meals. Tonight, I am making roasted chicken with all the fixings:)

I have Christmas music and candles lit. It is cold today about 56 degrees and it is also raining and supposed to keep raining all week, YaY!! Over the weekend we have to finish up our shopping for Christmas, and then the wrapping begins. I have wrapped a few things, but I have a lot to do.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday:)
XO

Little Cheddar Meatloaves, From Taste of Home!

This is what I am making for dinner:)

(Photo courtesy of TOH)

Here is the recipe:
2 ServingsPrep/Total Time: 30 min. Of course, I will be adjusting the recipe to feed a family of 5
Ingredients
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup quick-cooking oats
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1/2 pound lean ground beef

TOPPING:
4 teaspoons ketchup
4 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese
Directions
In a large bowl, combine the egg, oats, ketchup and onion. Crumble
beef over mixture and mix well. Coat four muffin cups with cooking
spray; fill three-fourths full with meat mixture. Spread ketchup
over loaves. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes.
Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer or until a meat
thermometer reads 160°. Let stand for 5 minutes before removing
from muffin cups. Yield: 2 servings.
Nutrition Facts: 2 meat loaves equals 343 calories, 16 g fat (7 g saturated fat), 190 mg cholesterol, 463 mg sodium, 18 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 30 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 3 lean meat, 2 fat, 1 starch.

Christmas Pagent!

Visiting Kevin after they sang:)

I made little Jingle Bell necklaces for the girls:)

This right before I took them to school:)

Happy Wednesday!

Tuesday Night!

Well, I know I said I would post more today, but I am tired:) It was a wonderfully busy day. The dishes are done, the coffee machine is set for the morning. ....and I am ready for bed.
So I wish everyone a warm and cozy night.
See you in the morning!

Oh, dinner, was roasted chicken, fried rice, steamed veggies, and a salad. Also, I bought a pack of macaroni and cheese balls from Trader Joes, and made those too~~~~~~The kids LOVED them:)
Nighty night!

Good Morning!

Good Morning!
In my post last night, I said morning comes quick, and it sure did.
In just a little bit I will be taking the kids to school.
I have clothes in the dryer, and one in the wash~~I am ahead of myself on laundry, YaY! THAT, does not happen very often...LOL.
I have a nice cup of Egg Nog coffee, and I am about to get dressed. More posts to come today, have a great morning!!
CHEERS!

Monday!

Hello:)

It is Monday evening and dinner is done, kitchen is clean. We had Pork chops, steamed veggies, augratin potatoes, and a salad.

I also did a few loads of laundry

I really need to scrub my kitchen floor:)



...OH, and I am behind, so behind, on baking Christmas cookies. I have decided that this week, I will get all the ingredients I need, and bake, bake, bake...LOL:)
I finally found some Christmas cards that I really like, so I will be doing those this week also:) I love getting Christmas cards from family and friends, I hang them up so I can see them.

It is supposed to start getting cold, this week, and some rain too, YaY!! I love winter clothes, well, I just love clothes~~~pretty clothes, feminine clothes, girly-girl clothes. I think I am about to go on my *I LOVE BEING A GIRL POST*...LOL. No, I will do that another day, but as my profile says, there is nothing more satisfying to me, then being a wife and mother:)
Have a wonderful, warm and safe evening:)
Morning comes quick in this household.
...and so does my coffee...LOL
XO

Blessed Sunday!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Sunday!
It was very warm in Southern California today, around 80 degrees. The forecast shows that the following week, will cool off and we will have some rain~YaY!!!
For dinner we had baby pork ribs, homemade macaroni and cheese, corn and a fresh green salad, with lots of avocado:)

Monday is almost here, and I am having such a wonderful time preparing for Jesus's Birthday:) Alexis can't wait to make his birthday cake!

It is getting late, and I have a few things to do before bed. See you in the morning with a hot cup of coffee...XO

Busy Saturday!

Hello!

Hope everyone is enjoying there Saturday!
We had a very busy day shopping. It is now almost 5:00 and I am about to start dinner, trip-tip, mashed potatoes, steamed asparagus and salad.
Have a glorious evening:)
XO

It is Friday!!

The weekend is here~~YaY!!! I have been up since 4:30 this morning. Why? I don't know...LOL. I enjoy the early morning hours after a good nights sleep. Tomorrow, Kevin and I are going to do some Christmas shopping, I am excited about that. My dear friend is coming over to watch my children. Kevin and I have rarely ever been out alone, so this will be an adventure. We have a pretty good idea of the things we want to get...hopefully we will be able to find everything we want to get:)

For dinner I took out some ground beef. I am still pondering on what I am going to make with it for dinner. It is a bit colder today then it has been, but the forecast for this weekend says it is going to be warm, really warm..I will say it again, that is just not right...LOL.

One of my dear friend's moving day is coming really fast, and I teared up today thinking about them no longer here close to me. The house is going to be different without her daughter flying through my front door everyday, or the mom coming over and us having a good long talk about anything. I will so miss them!!

Well, I will be picking up the girls in about an hour, and soon Kevin will be home. I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday, stay safe and warm(((Hugs)))

Thursday:)

Happy Thursday! Had a fun filled afternoon. I went to the market, and then I went to Michael's for some more stocking stuffers, found a lot of cute things. Then Little Kevin and I went to Alexis's school and had lunch with her:) Little Kevin was so excited to see everyone. Every one knows him at her school...LOL..It is really cute, he sure got a lot of hugs!

I am roasting a chicken tonight, we will have rice, asparagus and a nice green salad to go with.

I worked on my bedroom last night and decluttered my armoire like I had mentioned. I hung all the pictures on the wall, and then straightened out my bookshelf, everything is coming along so nice. This Saturday Kevin and I are going to do some Christmas shopping, which I am very excited about:)

Happy Thursday!

Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday!

It was a bit chilly this morning, but not for long, it is in the 70's today and by the weekend it is supposed to be even warmer. That is just not right. How I long for cold winter days:)

I already made dinner for tonight. I made a spaghetti bake. It is all made and ready to go in the oven for dinner. We will have that with salad.

We are going to do a little Christmas shopping this weekend, I know what I want to get Alexis, but I can't post it, because my family reads my blog...and I don't want her to find out. I will let you know though after Christmas. Little Kevin is easy to buy for, he wants all toys...LOL. Now Tony, he is more difficult.....I asked if he wants anything special, and he said the normal teenage answer.."MONEY" LOL.

Alexis's room looks really nice, now that it is more organized. I will be picking up the girls from school today in a little while, and then soon after Kevin will be home. My favorite part of the day:) This week seems to be going by very fast. One of my dear friends has just told me she is moving out of state, it makes me sad to think about this, I adore her and her children, and it will be sad not seeing them every day. They live in the neighborhood. It seems so many people have come and gone from my neighborhood.

We took a drive last night and everyone's houses looked so pretty all lit up. I like the white lights, very simple, but very pretty.

I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday:)

Happy Tuesday!

Wash on Monday,
Iron on Tuesday
Mend on Wednesday
Churn on Thursday
Clean on Friday
Bake on Saturday
Rest on Sunday

I just love this little list:)

I got a lot done organizing my daughter's room yesterday. Did not get much laundry done though, so I will work on that today. The downstairs, is clean and straightened, it is the upstairs I want to work on. My daughter's room is pretty much done. I really want to work on my bedroom. I have so many pictures it looks a bit cluttered, so I want to reorganize all the pictures. Not sure where I can put them all, they are lovely family photos, so I want them out, but not all bunched in one place. They are all a top my armoire and it looks a bit too much.

It is chilly this morning, but the sun is out. It is supposed to warm up to about 70 today.

For dinner, I have leftover pork from Sunday, so I want to do something with that before it goes bad. Last night we had T-Bone steaks, baked potatoes, green beans and a salad:) So tonight, I will come up with something with the pork:)

I have read this on a few blogs, and other places too, and I think it is such a sweet and great idea. Light a candle, I light them in my kitchen. Little Kevin can't get to them there, and also that is the room I am in the most. Every time you notice the candle say a little pray:) Isn't that just an awesome idea??

Have a great Tuesday, and light a candle:)))

Cooking in the Kitchen:) Monday!

I hope everyone had a nice weekend:) As I was doing some cooking in the kitchen I snapped some pictures.

I made bruschetta as an appetizer. I got some french bread and cut it into little breads and then put them in the oven, after they were golden brown, I rubbed garlic on them and lightly brushed them with oil. I cut up tomatoes, minced some garlic, salt and pepper, and added oil. This is how my grandma always did it. You put the tomato mixture on the little breads , it is really good. We always called the Tomato mixture, Italian Salsa:)

I bought some Eggplant the other day, and as a side to my dinner, I breaded it and fried it. This is how it looked...


On the weekends I make big breakfasts. This was one of the breakfasts, Eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and biscuits and gravy.

This was Sunday's dinner. I cooked the Pork Roast in the crock pot all day, with potatoes and carrots, Brussels sprouts and a nice green salad:) I also made gravy to put over the meat and potatoes.

Last night, it started to rain...and then it started to thunder and lightening. I loved it. Here in Cali, you don't get a lot of thunder and lightening, not like we did in Georgia. It is a chilly morning today too, but it has stopped raining. My plans for Monday, is to do a little bit of laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, and doing a little straightening in my daughter's room. Dinner tonight will be T-Bone steaks, I got a really great deal on them at the Albertson's.

Have a wonderful Monday!!!

Happy Sunday!

It has been a busy weekend, a lovely weekend with everyone home. It started to rain a little bit tonight too, love it! Every year around this time, I post this list I found. I printed it out many years ago and have it in my Holiday Notebook:) I hope you like it too!

101 Easy Ways To Decorate Your Home For Christmas

Christmas is coming and you've got a million things to do! We're here to help. We have 101 Easy Ways to Decorate for Christmas. These ideas are all quite simple, but they'll will give you lots of quick, easy, inexpensive ways to add some Christmas cheer to your home.

1. Create a charming display of teddy bears dressed for the season. Gather together three or more teddy bears and arrange them on a table or on the floor in a corner. Dress the bears with touques, scarves and mittens. Place candy canes in their hands or tie bows around their necks. You can even wrap up some small, empty boxes with Christmas wrapping paper to place in the bears' hands.

2. Make simply bows from Christmas print ribbon and pin them to your curtains.

3. Display a collection of nativity scenes from different cultures.

4. Hang a collection of Christmas stocking on your mantle, a shelf or the wall (even if you don't stuff them). The more the merrier.

5. Revisit your childhood. Cut snowflakes from white paper and hang them in all of your windows.

6. Use red and green 3-dimensional fabric paints to trace simple Christmas patterns (like stars, bells, Santas, stockings, etc.) on a white tablecloth. Click here to print out our basic Christmas shapes.

7. Buy a clear plastic shower curtain. Use a hot glue gun to attach Christmas decorations to the outside of the curtain. Don't use breakable ornaments - instead, try small wooden or plastic ornaments (remove any hooks), bows, garland, etc.

8. Dress up your house plants - hang small Christmas ornaments on them.

9. Tie a red ribbon around a tall, slim drinking glass. Fill the glass with candy canes and display on a shelf or side table.

10. Fill a small glass bowl or decorative Christmas bowl with small cones and display on end tables, shelves, buffet tables, etc.

11. Purchase plain green or red place mats and attach Christmas ribbons, bows or small wooden ornaments with a hot glue gun.

12. For quick ornaments, hang Christmas cookie cutters with ribbon. Hang them on your tree or in a window.

13. Decorate plain red, white, green or gold candles with 3-dimensional fabric paint. Draw stars, bells, angels, snowmen, etc. If you make a mistake, let the paint dry and peal it off, then start again.

14. Create a cookie wreath centerpiece for your table. Just arrange Christmas cookies in a wreath shape right on the table cloth. No need to attach them to anything 'cause everyone will want to nibble at them. If you like, place a pillar candle on a small plate in the center of the wreath.

15. Pile a collection of Christmas books on a side table.

16. Purchase an inexpensive mail box. Spray paint it red or green. Use craft paints to add simple Christmas shapes (use our patterns), or attach store-bought ornaments with a hot glue gun (make sure your ornaments will be able to stand up to the elements).

17. If you have a large, bare outside wall, try this simple idea. Cut a Christmas silhouette from a piece of plywood (a silhouette of Santa, a snowman, etc works well). Using screws, attach your silhouette to a short post that you can drive into the ground. You'll want the silhouette to stand right a ground level several feet away from the wall. Position a spot light on the other side of the silhouette so that it will shine on the silhouette and project a large shadow on the wall. We've seen this done with a silhouette of Joseph leading Mary who is sitting on a donkey. It's beautiful.

18. Wrap indoor Christmas lights around a railing or banister. Secure periodically with tape. Be careful to tape down the electrical cord so that no one trips over it.

19. Add color to a room with vases of red and white flowers. Use roses, carnations, mums, daisies, etc. Or, float the flowers in large crystal or glass bowls.

20. Wrap an assortment of medium to large sized boxes with Christmas wrap. Attach ribbons and/or bows. Pile the boxes in a corner from floor to ceiling.

21. Sew scraps of Christmas print fabric into a patchwork tablecloth. Simply cut your fabric into square pieces and stitch together. Hem the entire cloth. Sew ribbon the edges, if you like. Make smaller cloths to cover end tables, night tables, TV trays, shelving, etc.

22. Cover an end table or a shelf with white paper. Arrange cut evergreen boughs on to cover the table top. Place tall tapered candles in glass candleholders here and there on the table top. Before lighting candles, be sure that the greenery is not close enough to catch fire.

23. Use pliers to bend coat hangers into a simple wire-frame tree shape. Wrap a string of outdoor Christmas light around the frame, attaching with electrical tape or duct tape. Stick the decoration in a flower bed or on your front lawn.

24. Hang mistletoe everywhere. Use false or fresh mistletoe.

25. Wrap your doors in Christmas wrapping paper and attach large bows make from fabric or purchased at your local craft store.

26. String a ribbon from one end of a wall to another. Attach the ribbon to the wall (at each corner) with thumbtacks. Clip Christmas cards to the ribbon with clothespins. If the ribbon is too long, the weight of the cards will pull it off the wall, so tack it here and there with more thumbtacks.

37. Purchase a large glass plate. Paint the underside of the plate with gold craft paint. Dry. Place the plate on a table and fill with several white or off-white pillar candles of varying sizes.

28. Make basic sugar cookies or gingerbread cookies. Before baking, make a hole toward the top of each cookie using a straw. Bake and cool. String a ribbon through each cookie and hang them on your Christmas tree.

29. String popcorn, cranberries, cereal, beads, etc. and hang the garlands everywhere.

30. Make some old-fashioned tree decorations. Wrap nuts with aluminum foil; use a needle and thread to stitch a thread through the foil for hanging. Glue ribbon to pine cones for hanging. String popcorn streamers. Make paper chains. Cut snowflakes from white paper.

46. Add a few drops of food coloring to white glue. Put the glue into a squeeze bottle or icing piping bag. Draw simple Christmas star outlines on waxed paper. Pipe glue onto the paper, following your drawn outlines. Dry. Peel glue ornaments off of the waxed paper and hang in windows with thread or ribbon.

32. Cut pictures out of old Christmas cards and create a collage by gluing them onto a piece of poster board. You can frame the poster board if you like or simply hang it on the wall.

33. Wrap a lampshade with translucent Christmas tissue paper. Put the paper on the outside of the lamp shape, overlapping the edges just a little and tape the edges down on the inside. Be careful that the tissue paper doesn't come too close to the light bulb or it may catch fire.

34. Replace your fish tank background mural with a piece of Christmas wrapping paper or a collage made out of pictures cut from Christmas cards.

35. Twist garland or popcorn strings around railings or banisters and secure here and there with tape.

36. Using a glue gun, glue candy canes, side-by-side (standing on end with their hooks at the top) to the outside of a terra cotta pot. Tie a red ribbon around the pot. Place a small poinsettia inside the pot or fill the pot with wrapped candy.

37. Tape a doily to the outside of a glass canister or clean glass mayonnaise jar. Spray the outside of the container with artificial snow. Dry. Remove the doily. Fill the container with cookies, candy, ornaments, etc.

38. Remove your favorite pictures from their frames. Wrap the frames with Christmas wrap and replace the pictures.

39. Make a gingerbread house. They make wonderful centerpieces or decorations for any table top.

40. Use scraps of Christmas print fabric to create quick sachets. Place two pieces of fabric right sides together. Pin a paper pattern of a Christmas shape to the fabric (use our basic patterns). Cut the shape out of both layers of fabric. Stitch the fabric layers together all along the edge, leaving a one inch gap. Turn the sachet right side out. Fill the sachet with potpourri. Hand stitch the gap closed. Place your sachets in a basket by the front door so you can hand them to departing guests (meanwhile, they'll fill your entryway with wonderful scent).

41. Use a child's Christmas pop-up book as a centerpiece. Just open the book up to a desirable picture and place the open book in the center of your table.

42. Hang a large December wall calendar on your wall. Count down the days to Christmas by gluing a brightly-colored bow on each passing day.

43. Tie five or six cinnamon sticks into a bundle using red ribbon. Create a bunch of these bundles and display them in a bowl or on a plate. Or, tuck bundles into nooks and crannies on shelves and table. They add a nice scent to your room.

44. Pull out your old toy trains. Run the track around the perimeter of the Christmas tree.

45. Paint the inside of a glass white to simulate milk. Display the glass along with a plate full of cookies and a hand-written Santa's wish list. It looks great if you take a bite or two out of one cookies.

46. For easy Christmas tableware, tie red, green, or gold ribbons to the stems of wine glasses or the handles of cutlery.

47. To make a decorative cookie plate, glue cinnamon sticks and whole cloves to the edges of a large plate.

48. Cut pictures from Christmas cards and Christmas wrap. Decoupage the pictures to the inside of a serving tray. Be sure to cover the entire surface of the tray. Once all the pictures are in place, cover the entire inside surface of the tray with one or two more layers of decoupage medium.

49. Screw small hooks into the ceiling and hang indoor Christmas lights from them.

50. Print your favorite cookie recipe on Christmas stationary (or print it on a white piece of paper and have it photo copied onto Christmas stationary). Roll each recipe up like a scroll. Tie the scroll with ribbon. Place the scrolls in a basked by your front door so you can give them to departing guests. You could also bake up a batch of cookies. Wrap each cookie separately in plastic wrap and attach one cookie to each scroll with ribbon (string the ribbon through a hole in the plastic wrap).

51. To add a lot of color to a room quickly, use red or green towels, blankets or even scraps of fabric as throws for your chairs, couch, tables, etc. Large pieces of polar fleece make great, cuddly throws.

52. Display colored glass ball ornaments or even beads in bowls instead of hanging them on your tree.

53. Wash and dry half a dozen small jars (it's better if they're all different sizes and shapes). Fill each jar 2/3 full of water and add a couple of drops of red or green food coloring to each jar. Stir. Place one sprig of evergreen in each jar and display the jars in a group on a table or line them up in a row on a shelf or window sill.

54. Use children's bath crayons (for coloring in the bathtub) to draw Christmas decorations on your mirrors and windows.

55. Spray paint the outside of large, clean coffee cans with gold, red or green paint and use them as cookie canisters. Once painted, you can decorate further by using decoupage medium to glue Christmas card cutouts to the cans, or use a hot glue gun to attach small plastic or wooden ornaments, tinsel, garland, whole spices etc.

56. Using a small brush, paint the tips of pine cones with gold craft paint. Place on a rack or piece of waxed paper to dry. Display cones in bowls or vases or attach a ribbon and hang them on your tree.

57. Spruce up plain red or green bath towels with Christmas ribbon attached using a hot glue gun or ironed on with fusible web.

58. Create an easy wall hanging using a piece of sheet music for a Christmas carol. Cut a piece of red poster board a few inches larger than the sheet music and glue the music to the center of the poster board. Use a hot glue gun to glue a small sprig of artificial holly to the top right-hand corner of the sheet music.

59. Create an inexpensive set of Christmas glassware. Purchase a set of glasses or mugs and paint holly leaves and berries on the outside of each glass or mug using red and green glass paint.

60. Dress up your dinner table: cover the table with a plain red, green or white tablecloth and sprinkle with red, green or gold cut-outs from your party decorations store. Or, make your own cuts out with specially shaped hole punches and solid colored wrapping paper.

61. Turn an old blanket chest into a treasure chest. Place the chest on the floor against a wall and open the lid (prop the lid up securely if it's prone to closing by itself). Line the inside of the chest with fiber fill to create the illusion of snow. Drape strings of beads and white indoor Christmas lights over the chest. Fill the chest with wrapped presents or wrapped empty boxes. Sprinkle with gold-wrapped chocolate coins.

62. Create personalized gingerbread men as place cards for your dining table. Use colored icing to decorate each gingerbread man with a guest's hair color and usual clothing. Using icing to print each person's name across the chest of the gingerbread man.

63. Paint a terra cotta flower pot gold using craft paint. Let paint dry. Glue on plastic or glass "gems". Let glue dry. Pipe white glue in a circle around the perimeter of each "gem". While the glue is still wet, sprinkle on gold sparkles. Let glue dry. Fill pots with flowers, nuts or candy.

64. Create an eclectic centerpiece using a large glass plate. Place a collection of containers on the plate. Use small bowls, vases, candle holders, flower pots, clean ash trays, etc. Fill each container with a different type of nut or candy.

65. Purchase inexpensive plain lampshades for your lamps. Use a hot glue gun to attach fabric bows (in Christmas prints) to the shades.

66. Trim door frames, window frames and the edges of mirrors with Christmas garland (secure with tape).

67. Place 1/2 cup of whole cloves on a plate. Apply white glue to the outside of a small terra cotta flower pot. Roll the pot in the cloves so that the outside of the pot is completely covered with cloves. You may have to press more cloves onto the pot in places. Let the glue dry. Tie a red ribbon around the outside of the pot - knot the ribbon. Tie three cinnamon sticks into the ribbon (knot the ribbon around the sticks). Tie the ends of the ribbon into a bow. Use the pot as a flower pot or fill it with potpourri.

68. Decorate with mittens, gloves, touques and scarves. String jute cord from one end of a room to another and clip knit items to the cord with clothespins.

69. Purchase small bells from your craft store. Tie each bell to a piece of ribbon between 6" and 18" in length. Gather all of the ribbons together and knot together at the top. Drape the bells over a door knob so that they ring when someone enters or exits.

70. Poinsettias are a beautiful way to add Christmas color to a room. But don't just stop at one. Create a stunning display using at least six plants - all different sizes. Group them together, larger plants in the back. Tie a large gold fabric ribbon around the whole group of pots. Sprinkle the plants with gold glitter.

71. Wrap a large empty coffee can in Christmas wrapping paper (leave the top open). Place and the floor, add some water and fill with evergreen branches. This looks wonderful on its own, or you can hang ornaments from the branches.

72. Replace your usual curtain valence with a large piece of Christmas print fabric, draped over your curtain rod.

73. Tie bows around door knobs.

74. Create an easy wreath. Tear Christmas print fabric into strips (or use ribbon, instead). Wrap a styrofoam wreath with the fabric or ribbon. Hang the wreath as is, or hot glue Christmas picks, ornaments, nuts, candies, etc. to it.

75. Wrap a table in Christmas wrapping paper.

76. Purchase cork place mats or coasters, Christmas print stamps and red/green/gold stamp pads. Then, stamp shapes onto your coasters and place mats. You can even stamp shapes onto your table cloths and napkins.

77. Cut pictures of people and objects from Christmas cards. Glue each object to a magnet sheet. Cut the pictures out of the magnet sheet. Stick the magnets to your fridge. Visitors can arrange your magnets into scenes.

78. Put some color into your bathroom. Display red and green glycerin soaps, bath gels and oils.

79. Use florist wire to wire Christmas picks to railings, banisters and door knobs.

80. Make a snowman. Better yet, make a whole snow family or even a whole snow village!

81. Wrap your front door in plain white paper and decorate with a large bow. Place red and green pens by the front door and have guest sign the door as they leave your home.

82. Cut pictures from Christmas cards and pin them to your curtains or bedspread.

83. Purchase inexpensive white bathroom accessories (soap dish, toothbrush holder, garbage can, etc.). Paint holly leaves and red berries on the accessories using craft paints. Or, use a hot glue gun to attach bows, sequins, beads, buttons, etc.

84. Create an red and green display in your kitchen using a collection standard food items. Jars of olives, sun dried tomatoes, pickles, red peppers, cans with red or green labels.

85. Quick wreath: Use a glue gun to attach nuts or wrapped candies to a styrofoam wreath. Attach a large red ribbon.

86. Paint nuts gold with craft paint (use a variety of nuts of different shape). Line a large bowl or basket with Christmas greenery (artificial or real), fill the bowl wit oranges, apples and the gold nuts. Add a large red bow.

87. Display a large collection of photos from Christmases past. This makes a sensational conversation piece. Use a collection of odd frames or create frames using colored cardboard or craft foam. Instead of displaying each picture individually, you can create a collage. Use a large piece of red craft foam. Cut photos into interesting shapes (just cut around what's important in the photos). Glue the photos to the foam, overlapping them and leaving a 1" - 2" border of red foam showing. Cut holly leaves from green craft foam. Glue three leaves to each corner of the red foam frame. Cut small circles from left-over red foam (these are the holly berries). Glue them next to the holly leaves.

88. Make a Christmas bedspread. Trim the edges of a large piece of red polar fleece with pinking shears. Stitch a collection of mittens to one side of the fleece.

89. Put a Christmas screen saver on your computer.

90. Paint Christmas stars or bells on the outside of your bathtub or on your shower curtain using washable children's soap crayons.

91. Place a plate full of wrapped Christmas baking by the front door as parting gifts for guests.

92. Remove your mugs from their cup hooks and hang Christmas ornaments in their place. You can do the same thing with spoon racks or key racks.

93. Shred colored paper and use it to line a basket. Fill the basket with red and green scented votive candles.

94. Make a fresh flower garland using red carnations. You'll need a few dozen carnations. Cut the stems off just below the bud. String a length of double thread on a needle (make the thread as long as the garland you want to make). String the buds together by pushing the needle through the bud and out the top of the flower. Tie the ends of the garland together, if you wish. This garland should be stored in the fridge.

95. Decorate with giant cookies. Mix up your favorite sugar cookie or gingerbread cookie recipe. Roll out the dough. Instead of cutting into small cookies, cut out one tree shaped cookie using a knife. Don't bother using a pattern. A hand-cut shape has more charm. Transfer to a cookie sheet and bake. Cool. Cover with icing made of confectioner's sugar, green food coloring and water (no butter). While the icing is still wet, decorate your tree with peppermint candies, M & M's, jujubes, etc. Let the icing set. Your giant cookie can be displayed on a plate or you can wrap up a box in colored foil wrap and glue your cookie to the front of the box with dollops of icing. The box can be displayed lying down or standing on end.

96. Make simple Christmas puppets. Cut Santas, angels, snowmen, etc. from old Christmas cards. Paint craft stick red or green. Attach one cut-out to each stick using tape. The kids can play with these or, you can display them in a vase or a bowl. Just fill the vase or bowl with beads, nuts, candies, etc. and stick the puppets' sticks into the bowl.

97. Wrap your plant pots in red or green foil wrap. You don't even have to remove the plants first.

98. Create a display by your front door with unused boots. Assemble a group of boots and fill them with wrapped gifts or empty boxes.

99. Purchase an inexpensive glass vase (or better yet, three or four vases). "Paint" the vase with white glue and roll in red or green sparkles. Use the vase to display a large collection of white or red carnations.

100. To create an easy Christmas card display, purchase a large red bow that has a vertical ribbon attached. Hang the bow and ribbon and pin Christmas cards to the ribbon, starting near the top.

101. Paint fruit such as apples and pears with egg white and roll in gold sparkles. Air dry on a rack and display in a basket along with nuts.

Friday!!! YaY, It's Friday:)

It is so hard to get a picture of the beauty of the tree with a camera, this picture of the tree, just does not do it justice, with the lights all aglow. Do you see the little elf in the tree, it moves all around the house, it is in a different spot every day. Have you heard about the elf on a shelf? It is cute, the little elf spies on the children to let Santa know how good they are:)

Another pic, trying to capture the lights....

This little needlepoint, I made when I was 19 years old, oh so long ago:)

I am having coffee this morning wit this creamer. In the stores by me they haven't had the selection of Holiday creamer like they have had in the past. This one is really good though.

I got these veggies at the .99 cent store yesterday:)

My table, decorated for Christmas. The nutcracker you see is from my stepdaughter... It is very special to me.

I also picked some pretty napkins to use on Christmas. I am going to fold them and put pretty bows around them for the table.

This is also in my dining room, I decorated with a poinsettia, my snow globe train set and my little bakery house....

Kevin was up north for 4 days and came home last night, so I am very happy to have him home. It was an even busier morning this morning. For all the 4th graders at Alexis's school who had a perfect homework record, was served a special breakfast this morning before school, so I had her little neighbor friend and Alexis and Little Kevin to take early to school, plus it was violin day, so we had two violins, their music notebooks, back packs, plus it was game day, so we had a board game..and on top of that it was also the teacher's birthday so we had gifts to carry also. It took two trips to the classroom to get everything there...LOL.

It was chilly this morning, but it is supposed to warm up to about 69 degrees today. I took out some ground beef for dinner, I will make hamburgers in mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, salad, and I will do something with the veggies I just got.

My neighbor friend is going away for the weekend, so her daughter will be our houseguest for the weekend, she is such a sweet girl and we love having her. I am not sure what the plans are for this weekend, but with everyone home, I am sure it will be a nice weekend!

Happy Friday!

Thursday:)

Hello!

Very busy this morning! For breakfast the kids had donuts and breakfast pockets. I took Alexis to school, then I took Tony to school. I then went to the .99 Cent store, I got a lot of stocking stuffers, I also got myself a Christmas apron. Then off to Walmart, where I got Little Kevin his new pair of jammies for Christmas, Spongebob, they are cute. I bought some silly bands for the stockings too. Kevin has been up North all week, and is coming home today, YaY!! Tonight, we will have spaghetti. I also bought some white lights to put outside a long my bushes, I just adore white lights, they always look so pretty, to me! It has warmed up a lot today, it is 74 degrees today. Oh, I forgot to take a picture of my tree again, ahhhhhhhh. I will write myself a note to remind me...LOL.. Now, it is time to get to my household duties:)Have a happy Thursday...XO