Seeing Santa

We took Mason to see Santa Claus.  Mason was pretty indifferent to the whole situation.  I was secretly hoping that Mason would try to pull on Santa's beard, but that didn't happen.  Here are some pictures as well as what's going on in that little head of his, as made up by me.

 My socks are way more interesting.

 Oh what's over there?

 Okay, I guess I could act interested.

This is what my mom and dad were making such a big deal of?  I'm over it.

Well if I don't get a chance to get back on the blog on Christmas day, we want to wish everyone who drops by a Merry Christmas!

#30

The first thing I would like to say about this is that I was really looking forward to having paper whites in my house this Christmas.
The second thing I would like to say is that this couldn't have gone more wrong.
The weekend after Thanksgiving, I planted my paper white bulbs.  I had five bulbs and I split them among three containers.  This is what they looked like right after I planted them.

And here is what they look like today.

See how there is no difference?  Yeah, that's because they didn't grow.  Wop wop.  Although it is still a possibility, I would like to rule out me as a possible reason for why they didn't grow.  I planted them in three separate containers, two different ways, and had them in three different locations in the house.  You would think I could have gotten so much as a teeny root or shoot.  But no.  I think a good possibility could be that I bought these bulbs to plant last year.  I never got around to it, so I tried them this year.  I thought the bulbs would be fine since they were dormant, but maybe that's not a good theory?  Who knows.  In any case, I tried.  I failed, but I still tried.  Maybe in the future I'll have the urge to try again, but I think my desire to force paper whites has gone dormant for now.

Good Bye, Charlie Brown

First let me start by saying, sorry all those of you who get a real Christmas tree every year, I am in the fake tree camp. Second, as I mentioned here, our Christmas tree is from 1988.  Let's just say, it was pretty sparse.  It's seen better days.
But that all stops now.  WE GOT A NEW TREE!  I was just telling my husband that I think this is one of the few purchases that we are both thrilled with.  Often in our decision making, one of us ends up a little happier than the other, but with this purchase, we both love our decision.  The tree is lush, lightly flocked, and complete with a few fake pine cones for whimsy.  Here are a few pictures of it coming together.

It's prelit.  Love that fact.  Some of the lights are clear, some are frosted, and some...wait for it...twinkle!  I'm over the moon.  Who knew it would take something so simple?  Anyway.  Another thing I may not have shared on the old blog is that I love Christmas ornaments.  Or Christmas balls, to be more specific.  I have a zillion.  In many colors.  Although I am missing green, orange, and yellow (if they can be found), but I will get them too, in due time.  Each year, I devise a new color scheme, and this year I have chosen turquoise and tomato.  Okay, red, but I like the sound of tomato better. I did sprinkle in a few other favorite ornaments, but here is the finished product.

Wreath the Third

My friend Sara came over and we got our craft on and made...duh duh daaaa...a wreath!

All of the supplies except for the wreath form came from my stash, and I was very thankful that we were able to find some good colors!  It is funny how different types of projects require different types of color combinations.  And then sometimes I feel like I'm left with some odd choices.  But I digress...
I will say, for this wreath I used a form from a cheap fall wreath that was made of branches.  It definitely left our finished project looking a bit more rustic - you can see some of the original wreath sticking out (although you could probably remedy that by wrapping an additional layer of yarn), and it is not a perfectly uniform circle.  My personal choice is to use the wreath form made of green foam, but they all worked fine.

I am a little obsessed with these wreaths, but I'm pretty sure this was my last for the season.  Has anyone else made any wreaths?  Am I the only one?  Hmmm...probably.

December Goals

December is one of my favorite times of the year for two reasons.  First, Christmas.  I don't think I need to say much more about that.  And second, I find that December is the one time of year when I actually reflect on the past year.  I don't take a lot of time for reflection during my everyday life, but it seems like when the end of the year is approaching and a new year is about to begin, I just can't help myself.
And as I was thinking about this today, I realized that in order to make my December what I want it to be, there are a few things that I want to try to accomplish.  Cue the comeback of my goals list.  Again, it's not overwhelming, but hopefully it will be the little kick in the pants that I need to get ready for the holiday to come.
1. Bake Christmas cookies.  We have to have something to leave out for Santa, afterall.
2. Get a new Christmas tree.  The tree that I've had was purchased in 1988.  It's about time.
3. Hang stockings.  This means I need to do the final step and attach the tags.
4. Read 50 pages.  This might even mean I finish my book!
5. Finish the wedding gift for my nephew and his new wife.
6. Hem my pants.
7. Start Mason on cereal.  The doctor said he's ready.  It's me that's still getting used to the idea.
It's pretty short and sweet, and nothing too overwhelming, but it's just enough to make me feel like I've accomplished something and also to get ready for Christmas.  Wish me luck!