Christmas Eve Family Dinner

The Menu:

• apricot meatballs
• honey baked ham
• roast beef
• Bruce Lee wingettes
• macaroni & cheese
• green beans
• deviled eggs
• shrimp salad
• herb & parmesan monkey bread
• garden salad

      Dessert

• red velvet cake
• a variety of cookies
• a punch bowl of egg nog & vanilla bean icecream

      Beverages

• a variety of sodas
• Moscato wine
• Rum egg nog
• lemon iced tea
• and a special holiday punch (made with Pinnacle Vodka, Triple Sec, cranberry juice, orange juice and a little lemon juice)

And presents under the tree:

(And that's only half the gifts. More arrived after I took this picture)

Christmas Cards

I love sending and receiving Christmas cards.

It's Christmas Day

From my home to yours,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!       

Christmas Vacation

Today at exactly 4:30 p.m., I began my Christmas vacation.  I am off until the new year. Whoohoo!

I was so excited. The only thing on my mind on the drive home was slipping into my pjs, pouring a glass of wine, turning on some Christmas music and relaxing on the sofa watching the Christmas tree spin around.  {Sigh} All I managed to do once home was put on my pjs. The shower made me a bit too relaxed. So much so that I am laying in bed, under the covers, knowing that soon and very soon I will be in dreamland.

Guess my origianal plans are on hold for another evening. Maybe tomorrow.

Exhausted

Sunday I spent the entire day baking cookies.  This morning when I got out of bed, I could barely stand up. My body was so sore and my feet hurted terribly.

I made 9 different kinds of cookies:

• oatmeal raisin
• chocolate chip
• butter pecans
• almond/cinnamon
• gingerbread
• cream cheese
• peanut butter
• egg nog
• oreal balls

 I started around 8:00 in the morning. When I finally laid down, it was midnight.

I'm glad I only do this kind of baking once a year. 

I probably could have finished earlier, but my Baltimore Ravens were playing the Indiannapolis Colts (by the way, they kicked the Colts butt), but I kept taking breaks to keep up with the game.

Anyway, since I've come home from work today, I have just been relaxing with my feet up. 

Hope I feel better in the morning.

So Many Hats

I started collecting Christmas hats about 5 years ago. I wear a different one every day in December.  I'm up to about 19 hats now.

This is the latest hat.  One of my co-workers surprised me with it a few days ago.  Can't wait to wear it for "Purple Friday", representing our Baltimore Raven's football team.  Now if I can find some Raven's socks.......

All A Glow

As I sit here at the lap top, I hear the timers go off in each room throughout my little palace. It's the Christmas lights coming on....

A Visit to 34th Street

Last night some friends and I decided to go into the city and see the lights on Baltimore's 34th Street.

Decorting

I have been decorating my little palace for the holidays since Thursday.  Everything is looking so festive.  Can't wait to officially turn on the lights (Dec. 1st).

Making Plans

Good Morning all. That was a long sleep I took, huh. LOL.

I've been spending a lot of time with family and friends. I love being with them.

Yesterday I started taking down my fall decorations. Since I will be spending Thanksgiving elsewhere, there was no need to keep them up. This worked out perfectly as I am able to get a head start rearranging furniture and making space for the Christmas Decorations.

This week is a three day work week for me. Yipee. I'm so excited the holidays are here. I just love this time.

My plans for the week are to finish clearing space for decorating. Hang up lights outside while the weather is fairly nice. Pull out the many totes of decorations. Get Christmas cards signed and address so they are ready to go out in the mail December 1st. For the third year I am participating in the Christmas card exchange over at Magical Holiday Home. Cards will be going to England, Australia, Switzerland (to name a few), as well as across the United States. I want to make sure that my friends across the waters get my card in time for Christmas.

I think this year I am going to put up my Christmas tree when I get home from visiting family Thanksgiving. My best friend since high school told me yesterday that she and her daughters put up theirs yesterday. Black Friday I will be hitting the stores. I'm in desperate need of a new vacuum cleaner. Also I need to pick up all my baking ingredients. Then return home and continue decorating.

Also, I have some new ideas I want to try. One idea I got from Dollar Tree (which as you all know by now is my favorite place to shop) is making hurricane holders using a tall glass vase, a glass tapered candleholder and an 8" white pillar candle. I can't wait to show you. I think I may make a set for one if my besties who loves Christmas as much as I do.

Well gotta go, I'm meeting friends in a few to watch our Ravens play the Bengals. Gooooo Ravens!!!

Look Who's Back!

Yes - yes, it's me.  Haven't been here since earlier this year.  Well I'm back and ready not only for the changing of the season, but the upcoming holidays.  But it's nearly 11:00 and way past my bedtime.  I'll come back tomorrow to share what my plans and goals will be as I plan for what I hope to be another joyful Christmas with my family and friends.

Good Night!

Progress on Christmas Notebook

Man o man, I've been having the time getting my pictures to download to my blog.  I recently updated my internet explorer (to IE 9 Beta) and things were going a litle kooky and looking funny.  Finally, things are working again.

During the month of January (into February), I spent a lot of time working on my Christmas notebook.  I printed out all new pages from Organized Christmas. Started making lists - gifts ideas, food, shopping lists, etc.  Even changed the look of my book.  I had some red felt fabric left over from the advent I made for a niece and used it to cover my notebook.  It's not quite finished though as I am stuck on how to dress it up.  Someone suggested adding snowflakes.  Good idea.  I hope to have it completed before February Rudy Day. 

To personalize my notebook even more I used a free program  (HP Photo Creations) to make divider pages, using a combination of personal photos and clipart. I really love using this program and have been playing around with it for days.   Here's what my divider pages look like:

Calendar:  Here I keep important event dates (birthdays, anniversaries, wrapping parties etc.), Rudy Day activities, the Christmas Countdown and my 25 Days to Christmas activities sheet.

Holiday Grand Plan:  A countdown to getting the home ready for the holidays - cleaning room by room

Crafts:  list of to-do craft projects and craft ideas/instructions

Budget:  An outline of my spending expenses for gifts, decorations, party supplies and an envelope for keeping all receipts in one place.

Decorations:  Inventory sheets, Room by Room decorating plans, decorating ideas

Gifts:  Master gift list, stocking stuffer ideas, "My" wish list, Gift closet inventory sheet, Online/catalog orders and Master shopping list

Recipes:  Appetizers, Entrees, Side Dishes, Desserts, Beverages - Keep copies of all your old (and new) favorite recipes here.  Better than searching through all those cookbooks.

Party Planning:  Guest Lists, Menus, Party ideas, and grocery lists are kept in this section.

Addresses:  Your loved ones' inforamation are at the ready in this section when it's time to mail out those Christmas cards and party invitations.  Personalized address labels and postage stamps are kept in this section too.

Summary:  Giving thought of the holidays, before and after, using the Family Values and Holiday Debriefing worksheets.

Movies/Music:  Have a collection of favorite movie classics or starting a collection?  Keep track of them with a handy list.

Miscellaenous:  keep extra forms at the ready, or for jotting down notes/random thoughts

That's about it.  Hope you like what you've seen.