Bonfires and Fake Snow

This weekend started with some humor from my husband. "Question," he asked as I was scurrying to get ready for our first Friday night plans involving a date in months. "Have you ever heard of this thing called 'the weekend'?" "Hmmm...it sounds vaguely familiar...." I grinned. "Well supposedly it's something people have who work 40 hours a week - they get two days off," said TC. "That's crazy!"
 

If you don't laugh you'll cry. :) And if you don't make time, you'll waste time. So with 45 minutes to spare before a scheduled college and career event, we rushed downtown for the annual Christmas tree lighting. It was even better that we thought it would be! There was free hot chocolate, snow machines, dancing, live music, pictures with Santa, lights on the shops and around the square and face painting and a petting zoo for children. It was fantastic! FYI: If you are wondering what local things you can do this holiday season (and all year round) monthly, local parenting magazine have the best ideas...it's usually how we find out details about local shindigs. Yes, I am brave enough to pick up a parenting magazine...

After the lighting of the Christmas tree we hopped in the car and rushed over to help dad finish setting up for the college and career bonfire. We cooked hot dogs and roasted marhsmellows, played a few games and lost track of time. Only our numb fingers indicated how long we had been outside!

Thankful for experiencing a weekend again...

                                    

Merry Christmas

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas,

Make the Yule-tide gay,

From now on,
our troubles will be miles away.

Here we are as in olden days,

Happy golden days of yore.

Faithful friends who are dear to us

Gather near to us once more.

Through the years

We all will be together,

If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself A merry little Christmas now."

- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane

My favorite Christmas song to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas. We're on the road to Ohio to see TC's family. Christmas Eve was simply wonderful.

Flannanigans

Flannanigans (n.): Silly or excited behavior while wearing flannel.

"You've made this a Christmas to remember, Springtime feelin's in the middle of December... Oh! What a Christmas to remember." - Christmas to Remember sung by Dolly Parton

We made our way to Gatlinburg today after spending the night with the family in Chattanooga. In a flannel adorned, semi-caravan, we found our cabin nestled in the east end of Gatlinburg. The overcast sky and smoky, mist laden mountains welcomed us to a Christmas already unforgettable. Our three story cabin gives us breath-taking views of God's magnificent creativity. Housed inside is a dream come true. This side of the family has wanted to rent a cabin for Christmas for years. After our Disney World Christmas was such a huge success, another venture was soon to come.

We arrived to an undecorated nest, but not for long. Each of us fell into stride hanging lights and trimming the tree. We've never decorated all together (TN and AL family). Christmas aromas quickly filled the air, presents settled around the room and Christmas movies and music sounded from around. "There's a happy feeling nothing in the world can buy... It'll nearly be like a picture print by Currier and Ives, these wonderful things are the things we remember all through our lives!"

So thankful TC and I are healthy to enjoy this Christmas. So thankful he's creating this memory with me. So thankful for a family that embraces all Christmas truly means.

The Christmas Date Weekend

"You'll see a dixieland Santa Claus leading the band to a good old Creole beat. And golly what a spirit, you can only hear it down on Basin Street. Your cares will disappear when you hear 'Hallelujah, St. Nicholas is here' when it's Christmas time in New Orleans." Christmas in New Orleans by Louis Armstrong

Goodness what a wonderful weekend! TC and I went on our 4th annual Christmas date, our second as a married couple. This year, I planned our Christmas day-date to New Orleans, Louisiana. We wanted to go last year, but several events transpired keeping us from doing much beyond dinner and Christmas light-sight-seeing. Last year was just as special though; however, this year was simply, fabulous fun. I tried to keep our location a surprise, but keeping a surprise from TC is one of the most complicated tasks. He's sneaky and managed to guilt me into spilling the beans Friday.

 

We toured the French Quarter, listened to the jazz bands dotting Royal Street, visited antique shops, admired French influenced architecture, walked the Riverfront, enjoyed Cajun/Creole cuisine, observed human statues and tap-dancing artists, endured volunteering in a tumbling show, enjoyed the lights and Christmas decor, devoured beignets and cafe-au-lait from the famous Cafe Du Monde while esteeming the speed and maneuvering of the employees efforts in food preparation. All day was such an experience for the senses. Such a city of culture. We did not see all we could have, but as the sun set we headed out to "Celebration in the Oaks," a light display in City Park. The perfect festive finish.

On our way home, we entertained ourselves with singing along to the radio. Never a dull moment. We also discovered we could describe ourselves as "Adventurous homebodies." We love travelling, adventure  and experiencing something new, but we always love being at our home.

We spent Sunday morning in worship and fellowship at our church. On Sunday evening we joined with my precious dad in Christmas shopping. Afterwards, dad had us over for a wrapping party for all unwrapped gifts where we were greeted with, quite possibly, the best hot chocolate I have ever had. Christmas movies filled the background. Mom is already in TN where our tender, Tennessee Christmas is waiting for us. It's my mother's birthday today, so "Happy Birthday, Mom!" I'll sing my song to you in person tomorrow.

No. 4, 6, and 15 were a complete joy

        



Cafe Du Monde



Maybe the best shrimp and grits ever



The radio song that greeted us on our arrival downtown; a very warm New Orleans welcome. (It felt like a movie - a soundtrack pre-selected and perfectly timed)

A few things have been laid on my heart recently. Excited to share them in January.



Fairhope

"I gaze out the window, this cold winters' night, at all of the twinkling lights..." Miss You Most (At Christmastime) by Mariah Carey

2. Go Christmas light looking. Check

10. Find a live nativity. Check

11. Go carolling/Listen to carollers. Check

I've come to love date night being in the middle of the week - not to say we don't go out on the weekends, because we do - but it's a nice break during the mundane the week often brings. Remember my surprise from last week? It did not go so well. Good thing I said to "find" a live nativity on my list or else I may have been unsuccessful. I realize this is not a fair "check," but considering the efforts...) I "found" a farm across the bay that does "Christmas on the Farm" and on Wednesdays has a live nativity and lights. This is how it went:

We laughed so hard because I had made the biggest to-do about it being a surprise. Oh well...it makes it an even sweeter memory. Praying the family feels better soon! We decided to go look at lights and drive to Fairhope. Fairhope is one of the most quaint, adorable, and beautiful cities around. We walked on the Fairhope Pier where my father proposed to my mother over 27 years ago. Once we got into town, we discovered how festive the town is at Christmas! The streets were lined with very well-lighted trees and store fronts decorated for window-shoppers. I had no complaints. A perfect mid-week-plan interruption. Life is made up of those. Thank goodness.



Christmas Around the Corner

LOVE HIM

Much to my co-workers dismay (well...if they heard me), I joined in with a group carolling at work. My work celebrates Christmas for an entire week highlighting different Christmas activities each day. I thought the Carolling MUST was not going to happen - an unexpected check!

Baking

"I sure do like those Christmas cookies, sugar. I sure do like those Christmas cookies, babe. The ones that look like Santa Claus, Christmas trees, bells, and stars. I sure do like those Christmas cookies, babe." Christmas Cookies by George Strait

No. 8. Attend a Christmas party. Check

No. 13. Attend a Christmas play/show. Check

No. 19. Bake cookies. Check

First and foremost, there is nothing glamorous about the way I cook. And unlike the fabulous and addictive cooking shows on t.v., I leave a grand mess after baking. But alas, Monday evening I was invited to my first ever Christmas cookie swap party...Loads of fun! Because of being out of town this weekend, I had to quickly throw a recipe together (again, mom is full of great ideas - she gets full credit for this one). She suggested using 1 cup of peppermint baking chips and 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of two of the latter in a common chocolate chip cookie recipe. Brilliant and festive.  The cookies seemed to have been well-liked!  I have the recipe at the bottom of the blog if you are interested. At the party, each attendee fixed a goody-bag and then munched on the remaining snacks. We also played Fishbowl, which I highly recommend playing next time you are in a large group.

I love attending other hostess' parties as much as I enjoy being a hostess. For all of the Martha's  in the world, there is something valuable about being able to appreciate and enjoy the thoughtfulness and creativity of others. A hostess gives the gift of hospitality and it should always be received gratefully and joyfully. It's not a competition - it's a gift. And I'm thankful for the effort hostesses put into their plans, especially this time of year.

This weekend, I enjoyed working a craft show with my sister and mother. I enjoyed my church's Christmas program Sunday evening, and I enjoyed marking off the last few gifts needed to complete my Christmas shopping. I cannot believe Christmas is almost here!

Last, but certainly not least, I want to welcome my dear friend, Debbie, to the blogging world. If you get a chance, stop by and read her most-delightful, first post on Fireflies and Folding Laundry. 

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups of self-rising flour

2 sticks of butter (softened)

3/4 cup of sugar

3/4 cup of brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup of peppermint baking chips

1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Combine flour, butter, eggs, sugar, and brown sugar (I used a mixer prior to adding the chocolate chips

and peppermint chips) and mix

3. Add in peppermint and chocolate chips, mixing with large spoon

4. On ungreased pan, using round tablespoon, scoop dough onto pan about 2 inches apart (I fit about 12 dough balls onto a pan)

5. Bake 9-11 minutes or until golden brown

6. Allow cookies to cool on wire rack

Makes about 5 dozen cookies

Shopping

"City sidewalks busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style. In the air there's a feeling of Christmas. Children laughing, people passing, meeting smile after smile. And on ev'ry street corner you'll hear, Silver bells, silver bells, it's Christmas time in the city. Ring-a-ling, hear them sing. Soon it will be Christmas day. Strings of street lights, even stop lights, blink a bright red and green, as the shoppers rush home with their treasures..."
- Silver Bells composed by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans

No. 3. Christmas shopping for the perfect gifts. Check

TC and I had our mostly weekly, Wednesday night date last night. He got to pick shopping or surprise. We went shopping. Before you judge to quickly, our shopping stops consisted of Bass Pro Shop and Academy Sports and Outdoors and he was warned our surprise involved a little bit of a drive and being outside for about one hour. It was cold last night, hence the shopping selection (and the promise of fulfilling the surprise date next Wednesday). I'm glad he picked it though. Christmas is only 16 days away and we still have a few presents to buy. On the plus side, we know everything we are getting for everyone , it's just a matter of finding it.

Bass Pro Shop is the best at Christmas. I appreciate their festiveness. Not too mention, I've gone to Bass Pro Shop every Christmas for years (it might be a tradition?!) With a cup of hot chocolate in hand we mosied around...and unfortunately left presentless. But our visit was very worth it. It's cabin themed decor got me VERY excited about our Christmas trip to Gatlinburg with the family. We will be spending Christmas Eve in the Smokies, a dream come true. If you know how much a love Tennessee and the mountains, you know how giddy I am just writing this.

I love Christmas. I love TC.

Hosting

"There'll  be parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting..." It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Andy Williams

No. 7: Host a Christmas Party. Check.

I hosted a party for my two classes last night. I found a few inexpensive, yet very festive ways to celebrate! Naturally, we had a Christmas movie on and games to play...a given if it involves me. Two things we did that I loved and will do again were decorating ornaments and toasting marshmallows. Each little station served as added entertainment.

The ornaments did not cost much- about 14 in each pack for about $2.50. I used soft ribbon (the kind girls use for hair ribbon) and tied a strand onto each ornament. Using metallic pens such as these or another brand, guest can draw whatever they want. I feel anyone would love leaving with a little gift they had a hand in making! Mom let us borrow her fire pit. We sat it outside, laid out the smores and let the guests do the rest!

Two clever little treats I made for dessert were Snow Buddies and Christmas Light Krispies. A new twist to an old classic - Rice Kripsy treat recipe made with store brand fruity pebbles - thus the Christmas Light description. (The puppy chow recipe, so I've heard, has been nicknamed "snowman poop", but something about that...). I'm sure someone before me has come up with these very same names, but I have to say I skipped and squealed when I thought of the them. Adding a notecard with the title was a fun way to share the creativity.



I love hosting. I get it from my mother (I feel I say that a lot...I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...and by the way, I never would have made this party in time except for my mother's help!). TC and I love having people over to our home and look forward to the ability to do it even more in the upcoming years. So much ahead! Now..what's next on the list...

Christmastime

"It's Christmastime again, another year has come and gone..." - With Bells On sung by Dolly Parton

Happy December 1st! 25 days until Christmas! It's hard to believe it's here again. As I've said, Christmas is my all time favorite. Without a doubt, I know each December post will be filled with reasons why...but today it seems appropriate to release my and TC's Christmas MUST-DO list! We've been working on it here and there in much anticipation. Last year was called "the year we missed Christmas." Long story, but in short sickness stole all of the fun.

So here's our plans where they are now....more to come!

1. Decorate the tree... we did this a little early :)

2. Go Christmas light looking

3. Christmas shopping for the perfect gifts

4. Wrapping party

5. Christmas movie marathon with hot chocolate

6. Go on our annual Christmas date - place TBA

7. Host a Christmas party

8. Attend a Christmas party

9. Send Christmas cards

10. Find a live nativity

11. Go carolling/Listen to carollers

12. Find snow and make snowman and snow angel

13. Attend a Christmas play/show

14. Bake any of our family's traditional Christmas recipes

15. Find a huge, festive, Christmas light display (I have a place in mind)

16. Watch "Elf"

17. Go to a Christmas parade

18. Read a Christmas book

19. Bake cookies

20. Build a gingerbread house

Our goal is to be intentional about enjoying this Christmas season no matter what we do! Everyone enjoy making your own list!

Tannenbaum

Again, Christmas decorating in my family traditionally begins in November. Thanksgiving break begins tomorrow for both Trent and me, so we decided to use yesterday afternoon as an opportunity to decorate. My sister and her husband will be in town starting Thursday, so I will be spending most of this weekend enjoying their company, out and about in the hustle and bustle. We do not have a ton of decorations so it did not take us long.

We like our little tree. It's the same tree I had in college - TC helped me decorate then too (little dating lovebirds). We filled it with lots of ornaments, mostly of our "1st Christmas Together" ornaments and all of the ornaments my mother collected for me over the years. Each year, we each picked out our favorite ornament (usually from Hallmark), and each family vacation we each got an ornament (After all, it is tradition!). Mom gathered all of my ornaments last year and gave them to me this year. It was a lot of fun reminiscing, telling TC the story behind each one. TC's mom collected ornaments for him too, but we haven't gotten them yet! Once we do, it will be his turn to share next Christmas.

Our little place does not have much room for too much decorating, but it really does looks so quaint with the tree...Makes us smile...

Tradition

It's been 17 entire days since my last post. I have not had any computer besides my stationary work computer which is of no use to me after work hours. I'm huge on only using work hours for work related things. Guilt gets to me otherwise. TC has a laptop I could have used, but honestly after typing on it for 5 minutes, even the most patient of persons wants to throw it out of a window. Obviously, I do not acclimate well to "new" ways of doing things. So Pinterest and Blogging have suffered despite the ever pressing desire to do both. Typing, I feel proud I have not let it become a quickly lost art!

Crazy enough, 17 days have passed, yet little exciting news has occurred. I've worked several arts and craft shows with mom - which by the way, she sells the cutest shabby-chic magnetic memo boards and crosses. Honestly, you just have to see them. I'll be getting them on Facebook soon (and hopefully an on-line store). I've been trying to stay present with Thanksgiving holiday as best I can, but Thanksgiving and Christmas have always run together. Some of the reasons being the following: our extended family lives out of town, so because of their visiting for Thanksgiving we just had to have everything decorated because we literally go ALL out (since they do not visit for Christmas, they had to see it at Thanksgiving - make sense?); in the past we left super early for Christmas, so to enjoy our decorations, we had to decorate early. While these things do not necessarily occur now, it's become tradition. Enjoying the Season of Christmas is just incredibly joyful and exciting. Oh...and then there's Black Friday, the ever-so-important Christmas shopping day. It's hard to focus on "Fall-ish" things when you HAVE to plan for Christmas presents! Not to mention EVERYWHERE is officially decorated! It's so exciting! So...I confess...I've already listened to Christmas music this entire week, downloaded a Black Friday app, planned every Christmas present, organized 1 Christmas party, watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and made plans for how to spend the next few weeks with TC enjoying the Christmas season. I can't help it. Christmas is in my genes. And if you've ever met my mother (or my entire family for that matter), you would understand. As everyone in my family says, "It's Tradition."