My best year .... yet

the urge to redecorate

2012-01-16T14:43:00.000-05:00

It never fails. January arrives and the holiday decorations come down and I get the urge to redecorate. I don't know if it's the lack of glitz, glitter and lights after I pack away the holiday things or if it has more to do with the dark gloominess that can be January. Or maybe it's just a good excuse to do something that I love so much! Whatever the cause - I'm caught in the midst of it all.

My wonderful hubby finished painting our new guest room (one of the exciting parts of being empty nesters ... a room that begs to be redone). It was a very vibrant smurf-like blue that was so very far from my decorating style. It is now a lovely shade off camel (or beige as my daughter likes to say) that just begs to be decorated.

I fell in love with a comforter set one afternoon while browsing at Kohl's. I came upon a 30% off coupon a couple of weeks ago and treated myself to a January decorating treat! It's just my style and hubby likes it also!

I'm in the midst of creating a craft area in our original guest room and trying to organize it so that it looks neat and orderly and still functional for me. Here's the first step - fun pink boxes that I found at Walmart!

Finally - what is better to break up the dark gloomy days of January than to add some Valentine touches! My beautiful daughter came over yesterday afternoon and we made these adorable wreaths. Fast easy and oh so fun!

I can't wait to hear if any of you find yourself with the urge to decorate in January!

Jammies, a blanket and the couch

2012-01-12T13:39:00.000-05:00

I have a miserable cold. You know the one that seems to settle into your head and chest and take up residence (I know ... we're all picturing those cold medicine commercials). Maybe it's some strange version of seven dwarfs living there ... sneezy, stuffy, congestion, cough, achy, fever and chills. I feel like all I've done is move from bed to the couch and from day time medicine to night time formula.

I've put my to do list on hold for a few days and can't wait to feel better to get started. Hubby and I start 2012 as brand new empty nesters which gives us a bedroom to redecorate. There are two gallons of paint sitting in the middle of the room just waiting on us to get started. I have a partially finished new craft area in the old guest room and a brand new cabinet/table to add. I'm hoping to be ready to share pictures by the weekend.

But now it's time for another dose of medicine, another glass of tea and maybe a little nap.

Christmas arrives

2011-12-25T05:15:00.000-05:00

One of the downfalls of my job is that a hospital emergency department never closes. That means that I have to work every third holiday and this year one of those happened to be Christmas eve for me. I think that this is one of my least favorite holidays to be at work ... my husband's family celebrates together on this day and I have to leave the fun to go to work. It also means that I miss the candlelight church service which I adore so much.

Around 10 pm the phone rang and I answered it with my normal "emergency room" and heard my daughters voice on the other end asking if I was busy. I said I had a few minutes and she said she was at her boyfriend's family's and they were singing Christmas carols around the piano. She said that she missed standing with me at church with our candles lit and that she was putting the phone on speaker. Within seconds the sounds of "Silent Night" being sung by she and his family came through the phone and all I could do was sit at my desk with a slight lump in my throat and tears burning behind my eyes. They sang two stanzas and she came back on the phone and said "Merry Christmas Eve Mom" and that she would see me for brunch in several hours.

I sat quietly for another minute or so and then the sounds of an emergency department filled the air again. However the notes of that song echoed in my heart all night.

Who forgot to remind Mother Nature ....

2011-12-22T23:33:00.000-05:00

I don't know who forgot to remind Mother Nature that Christmas is in three days. It's after 11 pm and the temperature outdoors is a balmy 42 degrees. No dreaming of a White Christmas, no sleigh bells ringing, no baby it's cold outside; none of those cliche holiday songs that I so love. Santa better make sure he has an umbrella and his reindeer are wearing their slickers!

My daughter came over this evening and we made Christmas candy and some cookies. We have several tins of cream cheese mints, chocolate fudge and Christmas bark in the refrigerator. Large containers of cookies sit waiting on the counter (we only sampled ~~a few~~ several each).

The gifts are wrapped and I'm going to brave the crowds tomorrow morning for a last minute stocking stuffer for my hubby. Not sure why I've waited so long but I'll be out there with the throngs of people shopping for just one more thing or trying to cram all their shopping into a last minute marathon adventure.

Now if Mother Nature could just have her memory jogged a bit and bring on that Christmas music weather!

My unexpected blessing today

2011-12-10T23:44:00.000-05:00

I received an unexpected gift and blessing today. I happened to be on facebook just as a co-worker posted that she had two tickets to a Gaither Homecoming Christmas concert that was taking place in two hours and she was sick and couldn't use them. I hesitated as I was supposed to be going to a party at a friends house ... and one of my friends had talked to another co-worker to trade shifts with me so I could go to the party. My mom loved the Gaither Homecoming programs and concerts and we attended a couple together and watched all of them at one time or another together.

I've found myself missing my mom so much this month, even more than the last Christmas and finding that the smallest thing makes me think of her and cry. So after fifteen minutes of debate I decided to take the offer of tickets and go enjoy the concert. Just as I was typing my message, I got one from the co-worker telling me she was dropping them off to go and have fun. So I quickly told my hubby the change in plans and we changed our clothes.

We got there just as the first group was singing and found our seats in the darkened arena. The music was wonderful and I found myself wrapped in warm loving memories of my mom. A few old video clips were used and those just added to the memories and of course a few tears. As they started singing White Christmas they showed one of the old video clips and then allowed the clip with Jake Hess to finish the song. Jake Hess was my mom's favorite member of the Homecoming groups and it felt like such a hug and a wink from my mom. I sat in the dark with tears streaming down my cheeks and my heart a bit lighter.

I'm sure my co-worker will ever realize just how much she gave me tonight and how she was used in this "God moment" but I am so very very grateful!

Words for living

2011-12-08T13:13:00.000-05:00

I wanted to take a quick moment and share a wonderful giveaway that Tyndale has going on. Now through December 24th you have an opportunity to win great prizes and something free for just signing up.

I personally have a Life Application Bible and love it. My son received one as a graduation gift at church and I fell in love with it myself and went to purchase one soon after. Here are the details of the giveaway that Tyndale has going on and if you are one of the lucky winners you not only can enjoy this Bible yourself but you could share the others AND get a free download of the Book of Luke (which coincidentally has the beautiful Christmas story in it!)

Here are the giveaway details:
Starting on November 29^th until December 24^th at the New Living Translation Facebook page we're giving away lots of great prizes and something free for you just for singing up.
By visiting the giveaway entry page (located on the NLT Facebook page, the link is under the profile picture) and entering your name and e-mail address you'll be entered to win the following prizes:

One random person each day will win a Life Application Study Bible Family Pack (Guys Life Application Study Bible hc, Girls Life Application Study Bible hc, Student's Life Application Study Bible hc, Life Application Study Bible hc, Life Application Study Bible Large Print hc).
One Random person each week will win an Apple iPad 2!

Everyone that signs up gets a free download copy of the Life Application Bible Study – Book of Luke!

Good luck to all ... I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you!

Secret Santa

2011-12-05T00:33:00.000-05:00

I took part in a Secret Santa exchange on the Country Sampler Forum for the third time this year. I have so much fun shopping, wrapping and anticipating my partner getting her package. I think that I may enjoy that even more than receiving my gift in the mail. Don't get me wrong though ... I also so enjoy my gift arriving and opening it up to see what treasures await me.

My gift arrived on Friday. I waited on my hubby to get home from work because I think he enjoys seeing what is in the package (even though I'm not sure he understands why I go through so much trouble for someone I've never met in person) and then opened the box. Inside was a beautiful box wrapped in plaid paper with this scrumptious scarf as a bow! (an idea I will probably "steal" for my own holiday wrapping purposes).

I have no idea how my Secret Santa squeezed so many items in this box. Here's what I received ...

I was so excited with everything and find that it has amped up my holiday mood! If you get a chance to take part in a Secret Santa exchange I highly recommend it!