Holiday Countdown

In the Spirit of the Holidays, I added a countdown to Thanksgiving and Christmas. You can see them on my sidebar.

With the snow hitting today (first snow of the year!) I am really in the mood for Christmas! Karlie and I were singing Christmas songs on the way home from church! I wanted to start decorating for Christmas, but I won't until Thanksgiving.  I will deck the house out for Thanksgiving for now though.  I just love the family time, the food, the parades, and yes, even football on TV.  I told Jeff last year that it doesn't feel like Thanksgiving unless the football game is on.  Not that I watch it, but something about it playing in the background.  It must have always been on when we went to my Aunt and Uncle's house on Thanksgiving.

I'm watching the papers for sale items I can buy ahead of time and freeze or are canned for the Thanksgiving meal.  I already have some whipped topping on my grocery list for this week since it's on sale.  Figure I can start stocking up now so there's not a big budget crunch the week of. The good thing is after Thanksgiving we will have lots of leftovers to feast off of for at least a week!

I don't know about you, but I love the leftovers!  I love to make hot turkey sandwiches, with the gravy and mashed potatoes, stuffing and cranberry sauce.  I love cold turkey sandwiches with mayonnaise. And then a turkey casserole with the remainder of the leftovers mixed together and warmed up! YUM!

Well, only 17 days and some odd hours now! Can't wait!!!

Election Day-51 days to Christmas

I just want to say that I love keeping a count down to Christmas! It helps me stay focused getting prepared for the Holidays! I've been scoping out stores for sale items.  Rite Aide has some Holiday home decor 50% off! I didn't need any of it, but I thought that was awesome having Christmas stuff on sale BEFORE Christmas!

So, here I sit, laptop on lap, typing this blog post, watching the election results on Fox, Twittering and Blipping, praying Obama does not win the election.  I think the man is a terrorist in disguise.  I know Jeff thinks that's a bit of a strong statement, but it is how I feel.  He came out of nowhere and his background is scary, and honestly a bit unknown.  But, even if he does win, I know it's in God's hands.  God's Word says that He appoints the national leaders and sets them in place for His purpose, so if Obama does win, I know it's in God's hands I trust in Him! If McCain wins, that too is in God's hands.

I think I will post more AFTER the election.

Adios for now!

Halloween Fun eBook

Halloween is just a few short days away! Are you looking for some great, last minute ideas for your family? Check out this ebook filled with great recipes, crafts and family activities. The ebook is free but spending time with your kids is priceless!

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Holiday Spirit

As you can see, I updated my background to be more fitting with the fall and Thanksgiving season. I am part of 100 days to Christmas and so I will be showing my Holiday Spirit by changing my background periodically. I like changing my background anyway and this is a good excuse. Besides, it may help others get in the Spirit of the Holidays as well.

So, here we are 59 days to Christmas! I'm already wanting to bake pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread and other things that smell like the Holidays!

What is your favorite thing about the Holidays? Let's start a fun little meme by posting on your blog and linking back to mine what your ONE favorite thing is about the Holidays - it can be Thanksgiving or Christmas or a combo of both. We all know that spending time with family and friend is probably everyone's so let's not use that one. Tag your friends and family just to see what everyone says and maybe it will get you in the Holiday Spirit if you aren't already! Elaborate too...don't just use one word answers.

I'll start by saying my favorite thing (other than family and friends) is:

The smell. Yes, the smell. I love the smell of the spices used during the Holidays, the smell of the Christmas tree and the one thing that reminds me of my childhood Christmases is the smell of the "snow in a can". You know the kind used to make your windows look frosted around the edges. My mom must have used that because we lived in New Mexico and West Texas and didn't have snow. But, still today, that smell really reminds me of Christmas!

I tag Tishia, Kelly, Lisa, Briana.

Holiday Preparations

Yes, it IS that time of year...or pretty darn close! This year I decided to start my Holiday prep EARLY for a change!

This evening I had Jeff (the wonderful) bring in all my Christmas decorations in from the shed so we could inventory them.  I knew I had a lot of junk and some crappy, old stuff that needed to be pitched, and plus since we've been budgeting I needed to go through them to get a good grip on what I NEED and don't need this year.

Last year we bought about 5 sets of indoor/outdoor lights to decorate the porch and windows with. We discovered they all blew out!!! Jeff thinks the shed got hit with lightening because they all worked when we put them away last year. The only ones that work are the tree lights, and they were in a more insulated box with some white fluffy pillow stuffing.  So, I don't think we will use lights outside this year...boo.  I really love seeing the house all lit up and decorated at Christmas! I don't know, maybe I can squeeze a set or two out of the grocery budget.

In addition to that, I sat down with my mom and went over the Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas menus.  We celebrate all the Holiday's at our house because it's the biggest. We planned out what everyone was going to bring for each of the big meals.  Christmas Eve, we play a game that I named $10 Pick and Swap.  Some people call it a white elephant or pauper's Christmas, but we don't play with used gifts.  We each buy 5-$10 gifts, wrap them anonymously, and put them in a big pile in the middle of the floor.  We put numbers in a hat, everyone draws 5 numbers and as your number comes up you can either draw from the pile or steal from someone else.  We set rules like a gift can only be stolen 3 times because otherwise you could be there all night with a stealing back and forth deal going on. Anyway, we are having a Mexican bar that night! Yum.  Thanksgiving will be the traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, dinner rolls and pie! Christmas we will have ham, potatoes, salad, rolls, and some yummy Christmas desserts I have to find online yet! We are also having hot chocolate with ice cream! Have you ever had that??? It's the best!!!

I'm feeling somewhat prepared now for the Holidays and can't wait for them to start! I think I will decorate the house for Christmas on Thanksgiving.  This year if we get a tree that early, like last year, we will definitely have to make sure it gets lots of water. Last year our tree's needles were falling off bad really early.  We watered it but I don't think the water was getting into the trunk.  I think you're supposed to drill a hole in the bottom of the trunk so water can get up into the tree.

Anyway, hope your plans are going well! Happy Holidays!