You gotta love her...

 

Happy New Year everyone!

Be safe!

Peace & Love,
~L

O Christmas Tree...

I just LOVED my tree this year. Wish it was real but it's pretty for a fake one! I used all red, silver and white decorations. This is the first year that I didn't put up any of our old ornaments that we've had forever. I love the way it turned out!

 

 

 

 

Now I wish I had a little fairy to take it down and put it all away!!

Gotta busy day of shopping and preparation for our big progressive New Years Dinner. Last year it was so fun! This year I'm in charge of dinner for 20 with my neighbor Pam who does not cook! Yikes! :)

Have a fab day, my friends. Tell me what you are doing to ring in the New Year!!

If you're in the givin' mood...

If you have some giving to do before the year is through, it's not too late to make a year-end tax-deductible donation to AUTISM SPEAKS.

With your support, Autism Speaks can continue to:

Fund research into the causes of autism, more effective treatments, and better diagnostic procedures.

Advocate for insurance reform to help families cope with autism's financial demands.

Provide services and resources for families living with autism now.

Raise awareness of autism.

I have a badge in my sidebar for you to donate through. It's quick, it's easy and it's for a wicked good cause!

Thank you if you have already made your gift this year.

Natey thanks you!
♥♥♥

A few quotes..

on positive attitudes:

Instead of complaining that the rosebush is full of thorns, be happy that the thornbush has roses.
-- German Proverb

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
-- Herm Albright

Now I'm going to go create stuff today before I go loopy!! Yeah!

xoxo,
~L

'twas the night...

...before Christmas! Our family made it here safely yesterday. I am grateful that Kirk's parents and his brother all made the scary trek down from Washington to be with us for Christmas. The roads are a dangerous place to be! I had an accident on Monday and my heart rate still hasn't gotten back to normal! I wasn't hurt so all is well. My car is a bit broken but that can be fixed.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas.

 

I know that I have posted this before but it's worth repeating...

Deep down inside we know
that the best gifts
don't come from catalogs
or shopping malls
They don't come in brightly-colored packages
or fancy envelopes
and they're not sitting under a tree somewhere...
The best gifts come from the heart.
They come when we look at each other
REALLY look at each other
and say 'You mean a lot to me'
or 'I'm so glad you're a part of my life'
A gift like that will never go out of style
or be forgotten
or be returned for a different size.
A gift like that can change the world...

Ron Atchison
The Mayor of Inspiration Peak

Peace and Love to you,
~L

Five more days...

'til Christmas! My inlaws arrive Tuesday so I'll spend this weekend tying up last minute stuff and shopping for lots of FOOD! I love having Christmas at home because I love to cook for my family. Share your favorite holiday recipes with me!!

Nate and Cristina made a Gingerbread house the other day. Nate was really into it and had to lick every single little piece of candy before he stuck it on the house!

 

 

I finally got into Christmas music. It took a while this year! I put some of my faves on my playlist. What are your favorite Christmas songs?
Peace,
~L

Five Faves Friday...

It's been a while since I have posted some faves!

I'll try to make this an all Christmas edition.

I can't seem to find many good movies out on rental lately. If you have any suggestions, PLEASE tell me! I rented the movie This Christmas last weekend and although the movie was so so, the soundtrack was great. Very soulful and upbeat with some songs from Chris Brown. I downloaded it from iTunes.

I used to slave for hours making our traditional Christmas morning cinnamon rolls from scratch. A couple of years ago, I just did not have the time or energy so I bought Rhodes frozen cinnamon rolls. Well, I didn't tell anyone and they didn't know the difference! There are a bunch of recipes on their website that you can make with all of their dough! Hello? That is the way to go, my friends! I still slave over my sugar cookies but they are worth it!

I found some free Christmas digital overlays on the web at My Craftivity. You can download them here. They are so pretty!

Another fave this Christmas is that in spite of how poor the economy is, the spirit of giving and doing for one another seems to me to be stronger than ever this year. I love to see this. It is so heartwarming. What are your favorite charities to support at Christmastime, or anytime?

My last fave is the best of all, the gift of a brand new baby! The greatest gift of all. My dear friend Sara gave birth to a little baby boy Monday evening. His name is Hudson Scott and he weighed 6 lbs 12 oz! Sara sent me a picture from her phone:



The picture is a bit grainy but you can still tell that he is the most precious little thing. I hope to meet him and hold him and smell his tiny head on Sunday.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend of partying, baking, last-minute shopping, wrapping or just chillin'!

Love and Peace to you!
~L

Happy Friday Morning!!

At least one of my boys is happy today! The other two woke up on the wrong side of the bed and have all week! This has been a rough week with the older guys. I'm hoping they'll kick the bad attitude since they are home for TWO WEEKS! Oh well, at least I don't have the 5:30 am alarm wake up!

 

 

 

 

I'll be back a little later with my Five Faves list!! Need more coffee!

xoxoxo

Lobsterfest!

For our Christmas gift this year, my dad overnighted lobsters from Boston! We ate them last night. So so so YUMMY! Lobster is my favorite food and I haven't had it in so long. Thank you Daddy!

 

 

 

 

Nick loved the lobster, Joe hated it and Nate didn't know what to think!! He did want to take those rubber bands off of the claws while they were still alive. Um, not a good idea, Nate!

Lots of snow falling in Idaho! Loving it because I am home in my sweats all comfy.

One week 'til Christmas!

Peace,
~L

A few holiday season highlights...

I got lots of baking done on Saturday. Made my yummy, melt in your mouth, sugar cookies!

 

We've got lots of snow on the ground which I love but it is soooooo cold!!

 

The girls in the neighborhood came to my house to sing carols last night. Loved it! They are so awesome!

 

 

My daddy overnighted lobsters for us for dinner tonight all the way from Boston!! I can't wait to eat them! I will post pics tomorrow!

Love and Peace,
~L

Focus on the JOY!

I'm done wasting my December being stressed and worried! I'm cutting the crap and focusing on the good stuff, the stuff that brings me joy. Thank you for the comments and emails with your words of encouragement!

The next two weeks (TWO WEEKS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!! AAAAH! :0D) I'm going to have FUN!

Quote for today:
Where is it written that we should be so serious all the time? The God who made giraffes, a baby's fingernails, a puppy's tail, a crooknecked squash, the bobwhite's call, and a young girl's giggle, has a sense of humor. Make no mistake about that.


Catherine Marshall (Adapted)
American Author

Love to you!
~L

Hello my friends...

I'm just here trying to keep myself busy and to keep from worrying. Special K is out of town doing the job interview thing today. It is a great job and I pray that he gets it but the situation is a double-edged sword. If he gets the job it means packing up our life here and moving. The thought of that makes me cringe with fear. I have no idea how I could handle that but I guess I would handle it the same way I've handled it the last five times. Be strong, pray, breathe. We'll see...

Today's Quote

I gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which I must stop and look fear in the face...I say to myself, I've lived through this and can take the next thing that comes along.

-Eleanor Roosevelt

xo,
~L

I'm still here!!

I've gotten caught up in the craziness of the holiday season and I've neglected my blog! Last night we had our Bunko Christmas party and it was a hoot!! My friend Melanie had the Eagle firefighters (who made a beautiful calendar for 2009!) show up to meet and greet and sign our calendars! It was so fun. We also did our white elephant gift exchange and there were some doozies! Some I can't mention here, LoL!

 

 

And a funny face from Nate to make you smile!

 

Quote for today:

If we listened to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair. We'd never have a friendship. We'd never go into business, because we'd be cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.

Ray Bradbury
American Author


Lotsa love to you today!!

~L