Christmas Portrait

What does your Christmas look like?

Is there a beautifully decorated tree with presents underneath?

Is there food as far as you can see and cider to keep you warm?

Do the husbands hold the babies...

and laughter fill the air?

Does someone play Santa Claus to  pass out all the presents?

Do you leave your favorite pink scarf laying...lying...whatever on the piano bench....I mean do all the cousins play together nicely...

Until something goes awry...

and then chaos springs forth and all control is gone...

and at the center of it all seems to be your husband?

Does everyone calm down and you take your family portrait?

or do you get tired of taking pictures and hand the camera over?

Or at the end are you just tired of it all?

Do you feel like your Christmas blog post is stretching on into enternity...so you'll have mercy and end it here?

We had a very merry, chaotic, whirlwind, tiring Christmas week filled with family, food, laughter, and best of all memories...oh and lots of driving. We are so blessed to have so many people that love us and that we call family. We hope that everyone had a safe and Merry Christmas and that 2010 will maybe just slow down a little bit....

Live from Louisville

It was Skyline time and I ate a disgusting amount of it...but it's the Holidays...and I'm just getting warmed up.

Insert Clever Christmas Post Here

This is going to be all over the place this morning so just forgive me. I am trying to cram a few things in so that you are not getting Christmas posts in the middle of March. We are headed to Louisville today and I am not prepared. I have a few last minute gifts to buy which if push comes to shove I can procrastinate until we get to Louisville {I wrote this two days ago and nothing has changed...so I will be finishing up in Louisville}. Do you like how I did that...how I am so stressed about not having enough time but in the same sentence can figure out how I can procrastinate a little longer {and I did}?

I have managed to get a few things accomplished. The Christmas cards I had been waiting on finally came in and they went in the mail this week. Would you like to see? Even though most of the people who read this will probably be getting their own....or should I say have gotten their own.

There it is my little labor of love...it's nothing fancy but it pretty well describes the nature of our family {no animals were harmed during the making of this card although they almost were...some dogs {Curby} didn't feel the need to sit still under the Christmas tree...although that may have had something to do with the light on my camera that terrified her.}

I was still waiting on my labels to come in last week and in the meantime had to come up with something else to give to co-workers. My sister asked the other day if I had my grandmother's fudge recipe and BINGO...I knew what I could make. Do you remember that Friend's episode where Phoebe tries to figure out her grandmother's super secrect cookie recipe? I felt like I was in that episode because no one in the family had the recipe. Everyone remembered a few ingredients and we were left to Google to try to figure out the rest...and do you know what I found? The Fantasy Fudge recipe from the back of the Marshmallow Creme jar...go figure her cookie recipe was the one straight off the Nestle Tollhouse bag {just like Phoebe's} so I guess I should have known. I spent two nights trying to make enough to feed an army give to our co-workers and if I never see fudge again I am ok with that...sweets were never really my weakness anyway...probably because my dad  never rarely let us have any.

 

It wasn't the prettiest fudge anyone has ever seen but hey...I thought the containers were cute and we all know the right accessories can really help out...not to mention how can you go wrong with butter,sugar, and chocolate? I am going to end this here...since I have been trying to post this for two days and Blogger keeps having issues. I'll be back with a few more Christmas posts never fear...they could get interesting.

A Little Tip

Did your dad ever offer a "tip" to a waiter/waitress in the form of "don't grow corn in the winter"? Mine did and it was extemely embarrassing...I mean obviously he would leave a regular tip but that was his favorite line when the subject up tipping came up. Anyway, along the same lines of don't grow corn in the winter I have a little tid-bit to share. I ain't no Martha Stewart so this is not something I came up with on my own...a co-worker of Brandon's actually shared it with me this week and I tested it out last night. I don't know how many people out there have stainless steel sinks but we do in our lovely pre-fab townhouse. Lately, I have noticed that it is not a shiny or pretty as it once was probably because I don't spend a lot of time trying to keep it spic and span...I mean its sanitary and all but I am not spit shining the thing. Brandon's co-worker told me that she uses toilet bowl cleaner to clean her stainless sink

Like this kind of toilet bowl cleaner...have you ever heard of such a thing...I haven't but then again I don't get out much...at least not in the cleaning arena. She said it works great too if you have mats in the bottom of your sink to bleach them out {we both use the with bleach cleaner}. I couldn't resist trying it out last night as I was cleaning up my fudgy mess {more on that later} and you know what...it worked like a charm...seriously my sink was *gleaming*...so now you know...toilet bowl cleaner for your stainless steel sink...I haven't tried this out on the fridge yet but that will be next cause that thing is a pain to keep clean...and then who knows the sky is the limit...this could end up being like vinegar...the do all cleaner...except my clothes will probably look like I got in a fight with a bottle of bleach.

While You Wait

We're down to crunch time around our house.Although, I am having to wait on everything. I'm waiting on Christmas cards to come in, waiting on labels to come in, waiting on the knowledge of making a bow so I can finally put something on my front door, waiting on inspiration to strike me so I know what gifts to buy....it just hasn't happened this year. So I am trying to power on through and my sister may be getting a gift card this year.

After running around Saturday trying to tie up some loose gift ends we stopped by my in-laws' house for the annual gingerbread house assembly...or in this year's case the gingerbread train assembly. Every year, my mother in-law invites Brandon's younger cousins over to put together a gingerbread house (or train) which will become the centerpiece for the Christmas table. So while I am waiting on everything to arrive, here are some pictures from Saturday. I hope you are ready for picture overload because I am still trying to figure out how to work this thing and you know what they say... practice makes perfect...well at least that is what my grandmother used to tell me about my piano lessons...but I was never really into all that practice stuff...so I am making up for it now. I'm sorry grandmommy for all those times you told me to practice and I didn't because I was more concerned with getting outside to ride my horse...I realize now the error of my ways...not to mention I can't play the piano worth a flip.

Their brother didn't make it to the party...he was way more interested in the tree...and then that wore him out...please no comments on the fact that my husband is holding a baby...the answer is still no.

He woke up just in time to help them finish...andtry as we might we could not get him to eat any icing...he didn't realize what he was missing.

I'm not really sure he knew what to think about the whole event.

Ta Da...here is the finished product...I think it turned out so cute...maybe in a hundred years or so our children will get in on the tradition.

I Crack Myself Up

Wow is it already Friday...how did this happen? Now, I am just another week behind. At least I managed to get some Christmas card photos taken this week and they are cracking me up....sweet little dogs put up with a crazy mommy....oh our poor future children....there is no telling what I can come up with for them.

Curby wouldn't cooperate and she almost missed out on being on the Christmas card. So since there was only one usable picture of her...you'll just have to wait and see. Happy Friday!

Its Begining to Look...

A little like Christmas around here...

.

...minus the saggy sweat pants of course...we picked up our tree this past weekend with the in-laws on our annual trip to the Boy Scout Tree lot...I never had a real tree growing up and now that we have had several real ones  there may be no going back.

Everyone pitched in and the Christmas tree for the most part is complete...I just don't have a picture of it complete...I would love to also say that I was so filled with the Christmas spirit that I decorated into the wee hours of the morning until everything was complete and Christmas was alive and well in our house...however as of this morning my kitchen table looked like this...

I feel like we should play I spy and everyone can tell me how many pumpkins are still on my kitchen table...whoever made up the phrase slow as Christmas wasn't living my life...I need it to slow down a little more.

Up to Speed

Ok I am going to try really hard this time to stick with the little blog of mine. Work is finally slowing down and with football season officially over I may actually have some free time here and there.

Since Nashville, not a whole lot and a whole lot of stuff has gone on...Its been a whirlwind few weeks with a bunch of stuff all the time...nothing big just lots of little stuff. I feel like I have done so much yet accomplished nothing at the same time. We had a great Thanksgiving with Brandon's family and was I ever thankful for the break from 6:30am alarms. I can't believe we are only weeks away from Christmas.

Which leads me to my next point....I am WAY behind. I think last year by October I was done with our Christmas cards...this year...I don't even have a picture to use yet...Wait it was the 2nd week of November...not October...I just checked the Christmas card box...still waaay behind. Not only do I not have Christmas cards anywhere near where they should be, everytime I drive through my neighborhood it looks like Santa could drop from the sky at any minute....seriously people...I just took down the trick or treat sign from my front door on Monday.Can I have a few days to adjust Holidays? I did manage to get the vintage Barbie tree up and it's begining to look a little more like Christmas despite the Thanksgiving centerpiece still on the kitchen table.

And finally, for the most important announcement...I have a new camera...all those hints finally paid off and Santa and the Birthday fairy came early...

Its the Nikon d5000 and I cannot tell you how I agonized over this and a Canon...but I chose this...mostly because it is super user friendly {besides the fact I don't know how to use it} and it was on sale before Thanksgiving meaning...no 5am at BestBuy slugging it out for the Canon. So far, I love it! Like I said I have no idea what I am doing and am way out of my league but that was kind of the point and hopefully I will take some classes at the first of the year to help me along. I really don't think I could of made a bad decision...now for some pictures...it may be overload so I am sorry.

This is me with my new camera testing out what the fisheye button does...its a horrible picture but it documents one of the forst pictures I took.

This is Gan {Brandon's grandmother} and she makes THE BEST Chicken n' Dumplings from complete scratch...I was super disappointed to miss out on the first part of the process because it needs to be documented...she doesn't work with a recipe...which is a necessity for me. I told her I am going to need to come over and that she is going to have to dump her handfuls of flour into a measuring cup so we can get this on paper.

Here are some Tiger Walk pictures from the big Alabama vs. Auburn Game. Brandon took these since all of my pictures from Tiger Walk are of people's backs...I'm not exactly 6' tall.

And finally, here are some pictures of our only current Christmas decoration...the Barbie tree...it's not done...because apparently I did the art mesh wrong and will need to fix it after the hour I have already spent on it...and it needs a little more color...no seriously...

I know that this picture is a little dark...but words cannot express the feeling that came over me when I was able to turn the lights OFF and take a picture...I am sure a little photoshop could brighten it up...but I am just trying to get something posted.

If I never have a daughter at least I will have my Barbie tree....

I think that about catches everyone up to this week...I'll leave you with a picture of little Max who apparently thought our house was too cold last night and felt the need to find somewhere warm.