The Griswold Party & A West Texas White Christmas...

We almost never have a white Christmas, but this year Mother Nature treated us to a big snow, making everything look like a Christmas card. Yipppeeee!

We trekked through the snow to the Griswold party and boy, were we ever glad we did. It was really a hoot and some of the costumes were hilarious. SD borrowed an ugly Christmas sweater from a relative and and she looked great. We only wore hats because I don't own any ugly Christmas sweaters & Mr. Snoots doesn't even own a sweater. Seriously.

As usual, I said I'd take lots of pictures, which I failed to do except for when we first got there and then when we were leaving the party. I know. But I always just get so wrapped up in talking with people that I just plain forget.

There were lots of men with squirrels pinned to the back of their sweaters, but the best part was the RV they had parked out in front of their house, proclaiming it to be cousin Eddie's travel trailer. They put up lighted palm trees & put out an old club chair and neon pink flamingos as well.

They had the entire roof of their house loaded with lights, just like the Griswold's house in the movie. I mean, this couple was really into it!

We stayed for a couple of hours, then left SD there to party on with her friends, with her friends promising to bring her home later. So, I received a call from SD around Midnight and had to venture out in the snow to fetch her ( but this seems to happen every year and I'm always happy to rescue my babies).

 
 






We were trying to remember when we last had a white Christmas, all of us certain that it had been many years ago. Our memories are obviously failing us. The last White Christmas was in 2009.......

Well, Merry Christmas To Me & To You All...

This morning I received *the call* from the doctor who did my colonoscopy. The nurse told me everything was perfect and they want to see me again in 5 years. Woot! Woot! Always good to know, right? I have mild Diverticulitis, which is not a big deal if I increase the fiber in my life. So. Can. Do.




So, I think I'm all ready for Christmas and the *in-laws* on the 27th. I'm so excited I can hardly wait! It's going to be like an extra Christmas for me. Yeehaaaaaw!




Our son hasn't been looking very hard for a job and I suspect that he just wants to come home while his cousins are here. If he gets a job now, that wouldn't be possible, but I understand and I'm okay with that.

On the 22nd is the Debutante Presentation at The Petroleum Club ( which we declined this year). Mr. Snoots usually agrees to attend for the sole purpose of lingering over the bottomless bowl of fried quail, while I'm usually at the smoked salmon buffet. It's always the best party in town at Christmas, but I decided to decline the day after my bone grafts for tooth implants, which might have been a bit hasty. I hate missing those festivities. Seriously.

SD will be home Friday, which is the day we are to attend the Clark Griswold party at a friend's home in the evening. What fun that promises to be! The last party they had was a *Disco Down* Christmas party, dressed in full 1970's garb, with literally hundreds of people in attendance. What a hoot this couple is! I'm taking the digital camera this year and getting pictures. It's all just too good to pass up, really. I know. I'm shameless when it comes to obtaining blog fodder.




In addition to this, it looks to be smooth sailing from here, on in to the New Year. It makes me feel so blessed. I'm so thankful for every single thing in my life.


Merry Christmas To All...

Christmas Tree Bling... And A Colonoscopy Cocktail!

Yes, I've lost my mind ever since I figured out I could fill in all the gaping holes in the tree with Christmas bling! Duh. So, I went to Michaels Arts & Crafts again today and bought some more of that bling for 70% off, which might actually be closer to what this stuff is worth. 





Unfortunately, they barely had anything left. In the last two days the place has literally been cleaned out. Wah. Still, I was able to snatch up some great deals, although not as many as I'd hoped for. You see, once I develop a *bug* for something I want it all then, but I didn't properly estimate the amount I needed, as if I could have. I also wanted more ribbon for the tree but it was all gone as well. Note to self: Next time just go ahead and buy all of the ribbon and all of the bling the first time you go to Michael's.



Luckily, I'm loving the results and I'm wondering why I've never tried this before? Can we spell *R-U-T*? Oh yes we can! But, that spell has now been lifted. Yippeee!

So, I tweaked the tree when I got home, before Mr. Snoots could see that I'd done anything new (sometimes he does take notice). I also did ribbon on the two rather pathetic front porch trees, which makes them look far more presentable and festive. 

All of the presents are wrapped, the goodies for friends & family are in their assigned bags & adorned with more bling, and may the holiday festivities begin! Oh. Wait. We declined all of the parties because of my bone grafts. However, we didn't decline one particular party, so we're going.

How am I celebrating? I'm having a colonoscopy on Wednesday. Please, don't be jealous. Frankly, I couldn't weasel out of it any longer and our insurance deductible of $5,000.00 was already met, so it's the perfect time, right? During the holidays while I still have missing teeth? Nothing makes you want to party more than a colonoscopy and missing teeth, let me tell you! I even bought a party hat for the occasion. I think it might even be a *fascinator*, but it surely looks like a hat that one of the Whos would wear in "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas". Actually, we're going to a Clark Griswold Christmas party on the 23rd, so I bought 2 of them for SD & myself, then one like Clark's for Mr. Snoots. It ought to be great fun as long as the colonoscopy turns out alright, or even if it doesn't. At this point, I don't care who sees the gaping Grand Canyon holes in my mouth. I need contact with people. In fact, I'm craving it.



Anyway, I finished the outside lights as well, with the help of Mr. Snooty this year. He kept asking why I never let him help , so I finally told him, as gently as I could. He always just wants to throw them up, helter skelter, and I want them hung right. So, this year he was as patient as a Zen master. I kid you not. The Magic of Christmas never ceases to amaze me. I'll give you a thrilling glimpse of those outside decorations after I have my colon invaded. Mkay?




Our painter still hasn't gotten around to painting the front door (or any of the other three doors) but I pleaded with him to get it painted before Christmas or I'll do it myself. I'm not sure why he looked horrified. He knows I've painted it the last 3 times and it looked perfect. He said he'd have to take the door off the hinges to paint it and I said, "I. Don't. Think. So. I never had to." That is totally ridiculous and I won't allow it.


As it turns out, Mr. Snoots told him to work outside today since it was up in the 60's. Not my choice, but apparently there were priorities I was unaware of, like building a shed over the new water well pump before it freezes again. Okay, I can can deal with that. Then I walked into SD's the guest room and saw this mess, nearly swallowing my tongue. It was just fine before but evidently Mr. Snoots felt as if something that wasn't broken, needed to be fixed. Mr. D-I-Y-er himself. Whatever. It still looks like this as I write. Evidently, none of this is within my control so I give up. For now. Check with me after my *procedure*.






Our sons bathroom no longer has a leak but it's all still a mess. I tried to get the room cleaned up today but there is a lot to be done & difficult to do alone with a bad back. Yes, I put my back out during my decorating frenzy.



Furthermore, I don't care to have a worker in the house when I'm preparing for the colonoscopy. Is that unreasonable? I. DON'T. THINK. SO. Jeez, I want my privacy.



How am I ever going to find time to do the counter top if the painter never leaves????? Hello! And what about those new windows we were supposed to get this year, with a compensation refund from the government? So. Didn't. Happen. Mr. Snoots wants Mr. Molasses to do it, so we might be moving by the year 2014, maybe later. That is, if I'm still alive by then. 


The louvered closet doors are still gritty and missing paint in spots, but apparently that's not an immediate concern to anyone but me. This is just one of four bedrooms, people. Okay, perhaps we'll be ready to move by 2015. I might shoot myself before then. (Just kidding.)


Actually, I'm truly thankful for everything I have this year so I vow to quit whining. Your. Welcome.


Merry Christmas!

The Holidays Always Remind Me Of How Forgetful I've Become...

After tying my poor brain into knots trying to remember how I rigged up all the outside lighted garlands and wreaths last year, I've had to step away and take a breath. Am I now going to have to leave myself notes so that I can remember how I performed simple tasks the year before? This is just so pathetic. I'm not that old! Really, I'm not!



Yesterday I went to my Butler's Pantry (all the drawers and cabinets have dead bolt locks and are lined in pacific cloth) to get out my sterling and silver plated ornaments and all of the boxes were empty. Huh? Ohhhh, that's right! I had some brainiac idea about them last year. Since I couldn't remember what genius idea that was, I started searching. I finally found them in another locked drawer, in plastic freezer bags with 3M protective strips. Apparently, last year I decided they were better off in baggies. I wish I'd remembered to remind myself. Or. Leave. A. Note. For. Myself.



There is also another box (God knows where) that contains my most favorite ornaments, many of which were my in-laws' vintage ornaments, among others. Evidently, I decided I needed to put them someplace so safe no one would ever find them. Not even me. I've searched everywhere and am tired of searching (it's been 3 weeks since I started looking). I give up, which means I should find them sometime around Christmas, or after. Or maybe never.



It's certainly not fun watching myself lose my mind. In fact, it's rather painful. Yes, this is when a sense of humor really helps.



However, I am finally, at long last, mostly ready for Christmas. Today the housekeeper came, so I made good use of her being here. This year, she is having to work hard for the amount I pay her per week, not to mention that Christmas bonus. Still, I worked way harder than she did, I assure you. Well, maybe. We might have been more neck 'n neck, really.



Today, I've been at it since 7:00 AM and I've managed to make some serious progress. The outside lighted garlands are up, as are the front door wreath and the lighted wreath on the dining room window. (No, it still isn't lighting up because I hung the garlands backwards & don't want to take them down and do them right.) I cleaned out a lot of the stacks of *stuff* I've been accumulating everywhere and managed to send the housekeeper home with a huge load of *stuff* I just decided wasn't worth keeping. She was absolutely thrilled. I even managed to find a few stocking stuffers for her kids, leftover(and never used) from days gone by. The tree is finally finished, although lacking some of my favorite ornaments.



The Santa Claus collection and the snow globe collection are done as well. I even went so far as to go ahead and set the table for Christmas Eve dinner, although that might be a bit risky, given our mischievous cat, Trouble. I have no doubts that she'll be up on the table checking everything out and trying to get rubs off the crystal stemware. I'll probably have to put those back in the china cabinet until Christmas Eve.




Unfortunately, I still don't have the canned Chow-Chow or the canned hot sauce wrapped up, bagged with bows, and ready to go. That's a huge part of getting ready for Christmas for me. I also don't have our 80 Christmas cards ready to send out yet, but I'm close. The envelopes are stuffed with the picture/cards and the back flap embossed with our name and return address. I just need to run to Office Depot for mailing labels and then to the post office for Christmas stamps.


I also haven't done any shopping for our big dinner, but it's a bit too soon for that anyway. Besides, I can surely bribe one of the young adult offspring to go for me. Sweet.



I've gotten the kids Shrines rooms freshened up and cleared of my clutter. They always appreciate that. I had all my scrap-booking *stuff* spread out in The Daughter's room (still with no progress... I'm so the expert procrastinator!) as well as Christmas storage boxes. In The Son's room, I had my ironing board, the pile of wrinkled laundry, and a few boxes, which have now magically disappeared (for the holidays, anyway).



And, what am I doing? Uh-Huh. I'm talking to my friends, on my blog. I needed a break and this is it folks. I'm taking my break with you all. Frankly, This is absolutely the best place to unwind and relax...It's beginning to look a lot more like Christmas now.



I think I've at long last come to the conclusion that I should learn to live with less *stuff*. Life could be so simple and I keep complicating things with all this chaotic clutter ....

I'm Not Busy... Really I'm Not

So, I'm still not finished with decorating for Christmas and I just received a huge load of sterling silver that I have to identify and list in my shop, for a friend. I get exhausted just looking at the pile. However, I spent the weekend identifying like 65% of it, which is good. That gives me a good start to getting it listed and sold, which are both very time consuming.


I spent the better part of today cleaning & polishing items, printing out receipts & shipping labels, wrapping said items for shipping, boxing them up & that whole routine and sent out notices with tracking numbers.(Did I mention I pack items for guerrilla warfare?) Then I went to post office to mail everything and stood in line for more than 20 minutes. Grrrr!  USPS fired retired my long time post office workers (we're talking 20+ years here... all 3 of them). That's your government at work, folks! Now they have a couple of Doh! heads working there who can't decide whether they should scratch their watches or wind their butts.


Then I had this profound epiphany. I scraped up a memory from the bottom of my brain that told me I could ship from home for no extra charges. What? How could I have forgotten this? Let's just blame it on menopause, shall we?


With the click of my mouse I can schedule a free pick-up from my home, by my postal carrier. I mean, is this a great country, or what? So, tomorrow they will be picking up the other packages I have going out. This is just so kewl. It saves me time and money, even if they are charging me the customer more than ever.


Today I shipped out an antique Sheffield silver plate cream and sugar set with their own silver plated carriage. In addition to that, I also shipped out a lovely sterling silver compote and a vintage Lenox porcelain low bowl









I also shipped out daughter's application forms for law school. It took two boxes and around $20.00 to ship. Guess I won't wait so long the next time. Please say a prayer for me that she gets accepted at University of Texas Law School. Because if she doesn't, she going East Coast on me and I just don't think I could bear having her that far away again. I so badly want her home, here in Texas. She took two more practice tests of the LSAT and did better, with a 169 and a 170, but I think it might take a bit more than that. You know. Like perfect.


Fortunately, there is so much more to her than test scores. I think they should know that. Things like how stubborn and hard-headed she is. Or how she loves to argue (and she's good at it). Her wit and sarcasm are as sharp as a freshly honed knife. Or how people are just naturally drawn to her. When she was three years old, she rode in the tube behind our boat, all the way across Lake Buchanan (about 30 minutes) and still refused to get out. If you don't have these qualities, then you don't have what it takes to be a lawyer, right? Right? Well, I think so.


Lately, I've been selling more from my shop than ever. I guess that should be puzzling, but somehow it isn't. I just wasn't quite prepared to be so busy! Last night I fell into bed and never once woke up until I'd gotten eight hours. I think that might be a record for me....

I'm So Excited About Getting Started... I Just Love Christmas!

Christmas is truly my favorite holiday. I love the decorations, the music, buying gifts. I honestly love everything about Christmas.



So yesterday, when I was at the market (yet again) my eyes fell on these two adorable rosemary plants and I knew immediately that I wanted them for the front entrance.



Although they are plain right now, I plan to add little white lights and big red plaid bows, in addition to the other lights on a garland that will grace the front door.



I also have this wonderful 1950's trio of choir boys. We inherited these from my in-laws when they passed away, so they are very special to me. They were made by the Artistic Latex Form Company, New York.



The one in the middle even has a music box inside and it plays Jingle Bells. They are so sweet and they live in a closet for all but 1 month out of each year. Somehow, putting them out on the front porch every year makes me feel as if the in-laws are here. I still really miss them, but these choir boys temporarily make me feel as if they are still with us. I know they are old and outdated vintage but I love them.



I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I do...

The Race To The Holidays Begins This Week.... Here's A Great Way To Make Your Own Gorgeous Wreath

Every year I have the best laid plans for getting ready for the holidays early. I seldom have everything ready on time, but it's not because I don't try. I procrastinate too much I suppose. It's kind of like the Scarlet O'Hara Syndrome. You know. I'll worry about it tomorrow.

So, last night I was kind of looking around the internet and found the coolest wreath to make. The blog is called Thrifty Decor Chick and it is a totally wonderful blog. She is so clever it blows my mind!

Everyone complains about the size of my wreath on the front door every year. Since I'm sick of hearing the complaints, I'm going to replace that one with a new one that is a bit smaller. The big one cost me like $275.00 and I've really loved it. I hate to let it go but I really have gotten tired of the complaining. What's wrong with having to squeeze through the front door because of an over-sized wreath? Okay, fine. I understand, really. I'm seriously not going to get rid of the big one because our next home might need a big wreath. If not, I'll get rid of it then.

So, I found a totally gorgeous recipe for making a wreath, on the one decorating blog mentioned above. I have faith that with the use of my trusty glue gun and following her excellent instructions, I should be able to pull this off. However, I would like to ask all of you to please tell me if it looks bad. No one ever seems to want to tell me when something doesn't look good or right, so I'd really like to have a little feedback here, okay? Sometimes I just can't tell...

I'm going to go finish it now, take a picture, and post this. I MEAN IT WHEN I SAY I WANT THE TRUTH, PEOPLE!! HONESTLY, IF IT'S REALLY BAD THEN YOU NEED TO TELL ME. So, I'm going to cease yelling and put my trust in you, my blog friends. I truly expect you to tell me the truth and I have faith that you will. Don't let me down.

Well, I haven't quite gotten it finished but it's at least to the point where I could take a picture to show you. I thought three long sleeves (54 total ball ornaments) of unbreakable balls would be enough, but it seems I need yet another sleeve to finish.

I also intend to fill in all the gaps with small gold balls and maybe a few green tucked in here and there, but I might just stick with the gold. You can still see the wire hanger, so there is still work to be done.

Basically, all you do is reshape a wire hanger into a round or oval shape and use the hanger wire as your thread to *string* the Christmas ornaments. Then you have to use a hot glue gun to secure them into place. Easy. Peasy. Lemon. Squeezy.