Stream of Consciousness

I think I'm about ready to leave. The van is pretty much packed and barring troubles in the night, we plan to leave at o'dark-thirty in the morning. I'm so excited! I get to go "home" for Christmas this year. Last year I didn't get to go since I was having a Christmas (Eve) baby. I got to spend Christmas Eve and Day in the hospital. Strange experience. I still need to write Abby's birth story. I intended to do so by her first birthday but that is not going to happen. I just have too much going on and I haven't taken the time to sit down and do it. I'm feeling a little bit sad as her first birthday approaches. I have felt this way with every baby. Right now I can still say, "A year ago I was pregnant with Abby." A couple more days and I can't say that anymore. I don't know why I care about that but I do. I'm a marker of time. It's been a month since... It's been a year since... It's been a decade since... I just had a filling replaced that was over 20 years old. That made me feel a bit old. I had a filling that was 20+ years! Whoa. While I'm in Oregon this next week I get to go out to dinner with a friend that I've had since I was 8. She and I have been friends for 29 years. I'll wait while you do the math... I'm so blessed to have a life-long friend like her. I never knew when we were kids what a rare friendship we had. I also get to see another life-long friend of mine. My sister, Junelle. She has been a part of my life for 35 years. I never knew what a blessing she was either when I was a kid. I'm glad I grew up! I will also get to see my brother, his wife, and girls, June's husband and boys, two grandmas, and an aunt and uncle. I'm wishing my other sister, Jaymarie, and her family could be there but they have already traveled to Oregon twice from Wisconsin this year so they are having Chirstmas there this year. I'll get to eat my mom's corn chowder (Christmas eve tradition), pies, peanut butter fudge, and almond roca. I'll get to stay up late playing games, talking, and laughing with people I know and love who know me and love me. People who share traditions and a history with me. People with whom I can pick up where I left off. People that don't need a lot of explanation to know where I'm coming from. People that I know. My people. I'm looking forward to my time in Oregon, can you tell? I got online to post that I'm leaving town and will be very busy with family and so I don't expect I'll be blogging. I don't know where all that rambling came from. Maybe just my Christmas spirit bubbling up now that I'm done rushing to get ready.

Have a very Merry Christmas and God bless us everyone.

Feeling Creative?

Need a little something to do? I'm at the point where I have so much to do that the only thing I want to do is to play around and make snowflakes. Give it a try. It's quite fun and makes no mess!!

Ta-da!

You like the new blog design? I've been anxiously awaiting the delivery of my new template. Susie at Bluebird Blogs has been keeping very busy doing wonderful work around the blogosphere and I just had to wait my turn. Waaaaa! But here it is and I'm so excited. And in time for Christmas too! Thanks a bunch, Susie, for putting up with all of my demands requests, I really appreciate it.

What Kind of Reader Am I?

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Literate Good Citizen You read to inform or entertain yourself, but you're not nerdy about it. You've read most major classics (in school) and you have a favorite genre or two.
Dedicated Reader
Book Snob
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

I found this quiz at The Common Room.

My baby bookworm

I love how she is sitting here.
I don't know why but it's just cute!

My turn's coming.....

My bloggy Christmas present (to myself) is almost here! :-)

Good Morning!

I made some Old-Fashioned Blueberry Muffins this morning. Grab a muffin and some hot chocolate and enjoy!



Recipe:

Old-Fashioned Blueberry Muffins

1/2 c. rolled oats
1/2 c. orange juice

1-1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg slightly beaten
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. oil

1-1/2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

2 Tbs. sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven 400*. Combine oats and orange juice. Set aside. Combine the flour, soda, sugar, egg, baking powder, salt, and oil. Mix well. Add oats mixture. Mix well. Stir in blueberries. Pour (drop) into greased or paper-lined muffin tins. Top with cinnamon/sugar mixture. Bake 16-20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 12. Enjoy!

Christmas Tour of Homes

Well, it's here, BooMama's Christmas Tour of Homes. Come in and I'll show you around a bit.

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Welcome to my 1400+ s.f. home with 6 people wedged into it. Well, okay, one of the people is only 11 months old but we still feel a bit wedged!

This is the view from my front yard. I took the pictures at night so it's a little glowy/blurry.
(click on the pictures to see a larger view of them)



I'm including this picture of my reindeer (along with the half-lit, ugh!, tree) in order to report that the cute, little, baby reindeer was stolen a couple of nights ago. The kids were so bummed. I was too.



This cute welcome sign is across the living room from the front door.



Here's the view of the living room from the front door. Again, it's nighttime and I was trying for some nice ambiance. I think I just got blurry and glowy (or is that glowey?)



If you have toured several homes already, you may need to use the restroom. So, here ya go. My mom always put up Christmas lights in the bathroom so it doesn't seem right to me to leave mine unfestooned.



Okay. (Didja wash your hands?) Back to the living room to see the tree a little closer up. I bought a fake permanent tree last year when I was expecting a Christmas baby (She arrived Christmas eve). I didn't want the extra work of making sure the tree had water and having to clean up all the blessed needles that usually adorn my carpet. This year it's about getting my money's worth from last year's purchase!



Here's a close-up of an ornament that I made last week at a ladies night out with my daughters.



This is my nativity set. I love it. My sister, Junelle, got it for me. They are kids dressed up in costume. It's very cute.



My school dining room. The only decoration I have in here is my Christmas village. Behind me is my messy kitchen and there's no way I'm taking a picture of THAT!



Close-up of the Christmas village.



Last, but not least, don't forget to have a snack. Try out the candy-covered pretzels the kids and I made today. Careful, they're addictive!



Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed yourself. Be sure to check out the rest of the Christmas Tour Of Homes over at BooMama's.

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12/15/06 (9;45 a.m.) Updated to add:
I just made some Old-Fashioned Blueberry Muffins and hot chocolate if anyone wants to have some!

Is there a difference between .002 cents and .002 dollars?

Oh. My. Goodness. Go read this post and be prepared to bang your head on the nearest tree! Here's a preview:

His bill was for .002 DOLLARS per unit, which, understandably, upset him, as it changed his expected fees from 71 cents to 71 dollars. So he called to point out the difference to Verizon. Shifted from caller rep to caller rep, every one of whom demonstrated absolutely no understanding that there was any difference between the two numbers at all, he finally turned out his tape recorder and recorded his conversation with the floor manager and published it to his new blog. Even while quoting the rate of .002 CENTS to him, they kept insisting this was the same as .002 DOLLARS, and he was the one with the problem.

Read the rest here.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

All around my house.



Below is a snowflake ornament that I made Friday night at a Ladies Night Out at our church. My girls and I went Christmas caroling with a busload of other ladies from the church and then came back to the church for hot cider, hot chocolate, snacks and crafts. The snowflake is made with corsage pins and pearl-like beads poked into a cork center. It was very easy and turned out very nicely. Rebecca made one too, I should have taken a picture of hers too, but I'm too lazy to go and do it now!




Here is how Abby helps with the decorating:

God is ALWAYS at work

I came across a post today that I wanted to share. Sallie, at A Gracious Home, wrote a post (12/05) called Merry Christmas, Darling. It's a very encouraging story. Here's an excerpt:

"There is nothing like being single against one’s will to make you consider all kinds of important theological concepts - God’s sovereignty, God’s will, God’s goodness, etc. It then follows that some of the greatest lessons God has taught me about himself were born out of the anguish of my singleness. And I do mean anguish. I know some people skip through their single years without much thought about it, but I was one of the group that struggled mightily with being single and the possible implications in my life."

There's a great quote at the end by David Jeremiah (I don't know who David Jeremiah is but after an internet search I believe it is this guy.) Here's the quote:

"God is at work in response to our prayers, whether we see something happening or not. If we are truly praying, “Thy will be done,” forces are at work beyond our comprehension - and often, beyond our vision. But they are working just the same."

Go read her story. It's great.

Remember to check your smoke detectors

This video done by the NIST shows a VERY DRY Christmas tree on fire in a room. It takes a little over 30 seconds for the room to flashover. When buying a live tree, make sure it is FRESH AND WATERED DAILY.

Will Smith & Marriage

I know that my reading a magazine article about someone does not mean that I now KNOW that person but I'm still very impressed by the quotes I just read from Will Smith in (Dec '06) Reader's Digest. Here's what I read:

RD: You and Jada have been married nine years and, by all
accounts, are very happy. What's the key?
Smith: Communication. And divorce cannot be an option.

RD: Your first marriage ended in divorce.
Smith: That is probably the most painful loss of my life. I quit. I could have fixed it. It really was not that bad.

RD: Some would say there's no reason to stay if a marriage isn't good.
Smith: Once you say that, you've lost. With Jada, I stood up in front of God and my family and friends and said, "Till death do us part." So there are two possible outcomes: We are going to be together till death, or I am dead.

RD: But people do have problems in marriage.
Smith: Jada and I have problems; everybody has problems. People ask, "What happens if you made a mistake?" Well, you should be a little more careful before you stand up in front of God and you family and friends and say, "Till death do us part."

Wow. It's not that often that you find ANYONE with that kind of commitment to marriage.