Keeping it Wonderful

There'll be parties for hosting

Marshmallows for toasting

And caroling out in the snow

There'll be scary ghost stories

And tales of the glories of the

Christmases long, long ago

December is always a crazy busy month... or so they say.

 I think we can make it as crazy as we want  or we can pace ourselves, choose what we really really want to engage in and enjoy each moment without over doing it. 

What do you think? 

It's the most wonderful time of the year

There'll be much mistltoeing

And hearts will be glowing

When love ones are near

It's the most wonderful time of the year

Being a small business owner, I have made some concessions to the 

Christmas Craze as my livelihood depends on this time of year. 

I put up Christmas decor WAY before my birthday, 

which if you know me if almost unheard of! 

And I've been advertising specials and whatnot 

on my Facebook pages and offering all sorts of things.

 Its fun but it's also tiring.

I want to just be in the moment of the season and keep focused on the 

WHY of the season.... 

The REASON for the season...

 Christ's birth.

It's not about angels without remembering the angels who proclaimed His birth.

It's not about lights unless you recognize Jesus as the Light of the World. 

It's not about gifts unless you count the greatest gift of all, God's Son to save the world. 

And it's not about the tree unless you remember the most sacred tree of all, the cross upon which Christ was crucified.

As you prepare for the "Most Wonderful Time of the Year" I hope you remember the 

WHY of the Wonder. 

Wishing you a most Merry, Holy, Blessed Christmas.

it's beginning to look like.... Christmas???

The other day I put up a "couple of" Christmas decorations.

Yes, you read that right.

This December baby is thinking 'bout Christmas BEFORE her birthday!
 What can I say? I must be mellowing.

Actually, what happened was this: our church sponsored a Ladies Night Out Craft Fair last week but I was sick and missed it so the craft kit was sent home to me via my sweetie. So, one day last week with nothing else to do I got my craft on. The blocks were all of the Christmas variety and I chose Joy, partly because that seems to be my focus these days, but also, (full disclosure) it was the shortest of words to choose from!! I'm just not the craftiest person. I think it looks like a lot of fun until I burn myself with the glue gun and end up with crooked bling and glue gobs in my hair and my fingers singed and stuck together. Honestly, me and crafts have a way of doing battle. I've tossed away more crafts than I care to admit, because they turned out so sad looking!

But, somehow I pulled it off. I got these 3 little blocks painted, and glued and the end result is something I felt good enough about to post on facebook. That's saying something.  I set the blocks up on my little entry table and felt pleased with it.

Then, as I was putting my crafts away, I found a string of Christmas lights tucked into a box and I thought, Hmm. I love lights! We'd just this past week turned our outside lights on and I thought having some lights in the house would just feel nice. I planted them carefully inside a stained glass vase we have and viola! Soft, pretty lights! Feels so cozy and inviting,

Today, with an uninvited internet shut down, and a house to myself, I decided to dig the rest of the decorations out of storage. My first intent was to just have them on hand because we've talked about actually getting a tree this year, thinking perhaps the grandsons would be able to help us decorate. But realistically I don't know when or how that will take place since it wasn't thought out with more advance notice. Perhaps next year.

The last few years we've improvised on trees. Meaning, we've had some unusual things in their place. As I was dragging the box of decorations into the house, my eyes fell on the plant stand hibernating in our greenhouse and, no pun intended, but I had a sudden epiphany! The end result is....

So there you go.... 2 days before my birthday and I have my Christmas on! I'm even thinking I might go shopping for some Christmas themed clothing... but I'll have to draw the line at Ugly Sweaters. I might be mellowing but I still have standards.

December Baby

Sunday. Coffee in front of a crackling fire. Music (not Christmas) playing softly on the iPod. Blanket tucked around my legs, a cat balanced precariously between my lap and the arm of my chair, hoping to overtake the position my laptop occupies. The house is quiet; hubby just left for early church. And I am staying home this morning, hoping to recoup what I lost during the night: a solid nights rest!

Maybe the frigid temps of the past several days have caught up with me. Walking around all tensed up in an effort to keep warm, wreaks havoc on the muscles. Accidently-on-purpose ingesting some foods with suspect gluten in them (darn those tempting holiday treats!)  certainly adds to the problem for it does not take much (gluten) to inflame my body and bring on a dreaded fibro-like attack. So this morning I sit in my chair by the fire and try to just rest and relax. I cannot let these aches get the best of me. For this, this Sunday marks the one week countdown to my birthday and I intend to celebrate ALL WEEK LONG.

I told my friend a few weeks ago as we began planning for my birthday party, that truly I am not 'turning' 55. Rather I celebrate reaching the end of my 55th year. Think about it. When we reach our first birthday, we are celebrating our very first year of living outside of mama's womb. Each year we are living out the birthday number that is to come. So in that aspect, I have been living out my 55th year since my birthday last year! I know, I know, that's just too deep to comprehend this early in the morning. We'll need more coffee.


So, yes, I am beginning the celebrating of my upcoming day, today! Why not? Why not have more than one day to be joyous, to play, to have fun? We do the whole countdown to Christmas and build anticipation with each snip of the construction paper chain, each opening of the Advent Calendar window. Blame it on being a December baby, who sometimes felt cheated out of the focal point of her birthday by a jolly fat man in a red suit, but I really want to have some fun with my birthday this year. Hence, the celebrating beginning today, the birthday party at the end of this week and then, next Sunday, special plans on my special day, with my special man.

I have a date with my sister for this afternoon. She is treating me (and herself, truth be told) to a production of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" playing at a local theater. We are excited. I have a fond recollection of this play, as eons ago, when I was a youth group leader, I cajoled 20 some teens and pre-teens, along with a handful of adults from our congregation to put on this same play for our church one Christmas. It was a crazy huge undertaking and I shake my head with wonder at the thought. There I was, this 30-something mother, with 20% organizational skills, and 80% spunk, pulling off a most ambitious production! But, pull it off, we did and it will be fun to sit in the audience and watch this play now. I am curious to see just how much of it I will remember!

Other plans for this week include some SELF PAMPERING. A hair appointment, shopping for something to wear to my party, a massage, maybe a mani-pedi, and certainly at least a couple of coffee dates with some sweet friends are all marked on my calendar for this week.

Yep,I will be living it up!

Fresh

there's something about freshness, be it a crisp fresh piece of paper, a fresh aromatic cup of good coffee, a fresh clean t-shirt, the fresh smell of pine, jasmine, or vanilla. Just the word "fresh" is perfect for the images and sounds it conjures up. And with a fresh new season approaching it was time for a fresh look here on the blog.

We had our first snow Monday! I was snuggled deep under the covers, hanging on to every drop of sleep and warmth when my husband whispered into the tangled mess of my hair  "It snowed". I am like a kid about snowfall... as long as I no longer have to drive school bus in it! I sipped my coffee, tucked into in my robe and slippers and watched those mesmerizing flakes furiously swirling down for the time it lasted.

Which wasn't very long and by the time I'd layered up to walk, it was turning to rain. Ah, but it was so pretty while it lasted.

So, welcome Winter.....  what??? I know, I know, it's still Autumn technically and you know me!! I hate it when we RUSH the seasons. But something happens in my brain when December rolls around. It's my birthday month, for one thing and being a December baby (brat that I am) this month makes me feel a little territorial. Those of us who share this month with Christmas know what I'm talking about. And no matter what age I turn, every birthday deserves a fresh approach!