A December to Remember ~ Highlights of 12/2010

There is a relatively new Christmas song that I heard several times during the past month and a half. It's called, "I Need A Silent Night" by Amy Grant. Part of the lyrics of that song, are "December comes, then disappears - faster and faster every year." I had very good intentions, I took a lot of pictures, and planned on blogging about this "most wonderful time of the year." Unfortunately, because of the hustle and bustle of the season, and my computer not cooperating throughout most of it, I didn't get it done. So...here are some highlights of our busy December.

The month started out very cold and snowy...and pretty much stayed that way. Now, I know we live in Minnesota, but this year has been extra specially cold and snowy...in fact, the snowiest December in record! The first Saturday of the month was quite busy, with my daughter Molly's first ever cheer leading competition during the day, and then our church's annual Christmas banquet that night. Coincidentally, both events were brought to you by the letter "C." Champlin's Candy Cane Classic Cheer Competition and A Candlelight Christmas.

Molly's cheer squad did very well, considering it was the first time for all 9 of the girls. It was fun to watch, but all the music was insanely loud.

Above, the girls nervously await their turn. The tallest blonde (behind the coach), is my daughter, Molly.

Below, is a video I took of their entire routine. Like I said, the music was very loud, so it's all distorted. My camera was not made for those kind of decibels.

The girls even ended up with a trophy! They got 4th place in their division. I won't tell you how many squads there WERE in that division, though. ;)

It was a very fun, but very long day for the girls and their mothers. I was extremely thankful to one of the other mothers for driving us down there, in the not-so-great driving conditions. I know she reads my blog now and then...so THANKS, Melissa!

After getting back to town, I had barely enough time to get home, change clothes and get ready for the Christmas banquet. I was hosting a table again this year, and Ray was going to have to meet me there, as he now works on weekends and would not have time to come home first. He actually beat me to church, and had to hide out in his dirty old work clothes for awhile, until I got there with a change of clothes for him.

Above, is the table I decorated. Thankfully, I'd gone the night before and decorated it, because I certainly didn't have time that day! I got the Santa doll from my Grandma Hazel, who used to have a huge doll collection, and also collected Santa's for awhile. I've had the larger doll, "Caroline" for quite a few years, and just added the little girl dolly to my collection. Every time I look at her, she reminds me of my friend, Jody's little girl, "K." I've always wanted to do a table with my dolls as the centerpiece, and it turned out pretty, even though it was a little hard to converse with people across the table from us over it. Here are several of the other beautifully decorated tables:

Above, is the Minnesota table. That's where "Tina and Lena," the evening's entertainment, sat. I'll tell you a little more about them, later.

Some were quite festive, like this "Feliz Navidad" table, and the whimsical tree one, below:

And others were very elegantly decorated:

There was even a motorcycle table!

As I said, "Tina and Lena" were the entertainment for the evening. They're two hilarious ladies, who know just exactly "how to speak Minnesotan" and have a whole lot of fun while entertaining others. As I said, they sat at the "Minnesota Table," which was decorated and hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Beach and their lovely daughter, Jennifer. One of the guests at the table was named Cliff. After the meal, Tina and Lena told us about their experience at the table. One of them got to sit "next to a Cliff," and the other one said it was wonderful to be able to sit across from "three Beaches." After that they walked around the room and introduced us to all the celebrities in the room. I was amazed at how many of them had come out to our humble little church's Christmas celebration! There was Senator Al Franken, (who apparently looks a lot like my husband), and "The Golden Girls" were there, just to name a few.

This is Lena, in the red hat, and Tina is back there with "Cliff," who was laughing so hard I though he was going to fall off of his chair! And of course, who could mistake the lovely "Golden Girls" in the photo on the right?

After that, they asked for some victims/volunteers to help them sing "Jingle Bells." They picked on poor Doug P. and Mike T. Oh, and with Mark C. as Big Ole/the horse. It was pretty funny!

We had a great time at the banquet with very good food, great friends and lots of laughter! Now I've got to come up with another idea for next year's table...

The following weekend, brought our family's adult, or "grown-up's" Christmas party. My sister, Sue and her significant other, Denny have been hosting this party for about 3 years now. It's nice to be able to relax and have fun without all the little kiddos running around, once in a while. We also eat yummy foods, do a gift exchange and sing Christmas Carols around the piano, while Sue provides the accompaniment.

Below, my niece, Rachel unwraps the first of the lady's gifts. It's a memory foam pillow!

This may come in handy for Rachel, as she goes through the next few months, while she tries to stay comfortable, awaiting the arrival of a very precious gift next summer!

The gift exchange is always a lot of fun, and one of the silliest fad-type toys I saw this year were "Sing-a-ma-jigs," below. Funny little creatures that sing, and harmonize with each other.

After the women were done exchanging gifts, it was the guys' turn.

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These are my parents, all dress in red.

Nate B. ended up with the size 2x hoodie that Ray bought from his company store. It was a bit big. That's because Ray wanted to make sure that if no one else wanted it, he could keep it and it would fit him. I heard Nate made a "side deal" with my brother Dan, who had opted out of the gift exchange this year. Oh well, as long as somebody gets to wear it.

My sister, Connie was about to hit a milestone this year too! Although she doesn't look it, she was heading right straight up over the hill that we call, "The Big 5-0!"

To make it a bit less painful, we threw her a "Hawaii 5-0" birthday party on the 17th of the month. That way, we could pretend we were on some tropical island...at least until we walked back outside, into the snow and cold...

Here's the cake I decorated for her.

Connie's actual birthday would not be for another 4 days, but our sister Patty, who passed away from breast cancer in 2003, would have turned 50 a year ago on December 17th. Connie, who shared EVERYTHING with Patty throughout their childhood, wanted to share this birthday with her too. Happy Birthday, Connie and Patty!

While shopping for a gift for her, my daughter and I came across this "Gumby" DVD. We used to watch this old cartoon as kids, and it made me laugh, so I bought it for her. We wrapped it up, along with a gift certificate at a nail salon.

Fast forward with me, just a few days....and we're almost to Christmas already!

Below, is my grandson, Christian, with his reindeer antlers on.

Since his mother, Jessica had to work the weekend of Christmas, she let him open a few presents on "Christmas Eve Eve." He got a Paper Jamz guitar that he loves to "rock out" with.

We decided to let Molly open our "family gift" early, so we could all play with it that day. She opened our new red Wii game console!

The red Wii came with the new Mario Brothers game too...which is fun, I guess...but I've never tried it. Jessica generously got us a few more games to go with it, too.

Molly got "America's Next Top Model, which she absolutely loves, I got "Wheel of Fortune" and Ray got "Who wants to be a Millionaire?" We've had a lot of fun with both of ours, too.

Later that night, after our candlelight service at church, we all piled in the van and headed to my parents' house, which is a little over an hour away from ours.

Above, Christian got some Nerf guns from the cousin that picked his name.

My sister-in-law, Lori, holding her granddaughter, Lauren.

Shelby, taking "close-up" pictures of her cousin, Molly.

It was a very Merry night, indeed. Then, on Christmas Day, I hadn't really planned on a big meal, since Ray's daughter's and their husband's were coming the following weekend, and I was feeling a bit under the weather. My son Joel was planning on coming for supper though, and since we had to eat something, I put a beef roast with potatoes and carrots into the crock pot...and crawled back into bed. However...I forgot to turn the stupid thing ON! Thankfully, Jessica noticed this when she came home from work, and transferred it into a roaster and put it in the oven. Whew! Christmas was saved once again!

While we waited for the roast to be done, we played with our new Wii. Above, is daughter, Molly and son, Joel. Grandson, Christian got a new game for his Wii too.

Molly got to open one more gift, which was a game that included a second Wii-mote. Now we're all set.

We ended the night with a surprise FREE concert, by an up-and-coming new artist who goes by the name of C.J. Ditto! You may want to keep an eye out for him in the near future.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

Every year about this time, family members ask me what I would like for Christmas. I've actually never been much about GETTING Christmas gifts...so it's usually difficult to come up with an answer to that question. However, I've been thinking about a few things that I wouldn't mind having...just in case someone REALLY wanted to buy me a gift this year. Oh, and if you happen to run into my husband, you may want to direct him to my blog for ideas. Hint, hint...

Here is my "wish list."

Most of you that know me well, know that I have collected almost each and every VeggieTales DVD, and I really do like to get my veggies. There are a few though, that I do not have yet. The very newest addition to the VeggieTales collection, is "It's a Meaningful life, " based on the popular classic Holiday movie, "It's a Wonderful Life," of course. I'd love to see that one. Another recently added story, is "Sweetpea Beauty," the story of the Princess and the Pea, and how our inner beauty is much more important than our outer appearance. I have not seen that one yet either. I DO have the screener of "Abe and the Amazing Promise, however, I don't have the DVD with all the extras. Other Classics missing from my collection, are Larry Boy and the Fib from Outer space, and Larry Boy and the Rumor Weed. I DO have them, in a 3 disc set, but would like to find them separately in their own cases. I know, I'm weird like that.

Here's an item I'd love to have in my kitchen. Since we live in an old farmhouse, with cupboards up to the ceiling, it's nice to have a step stool to reach the high ones. I have fond memories of one of these sitting in the corner of my grandma's kitchen back in the '60's. My mother always had something similar for the younger kids that were too big for a high chair, but too small for an adult chair to sit on at the table, too. Besides, it would totally match my red apple-themed retro kitchen:

Cosco Red Retro Step Stool (around $50), on sale at Pamida this Sat. and Sun. only for $39.

One thing I do NOT like about my country kitchen, is the fact that there is not enough cupboard space. I'd love to have one of these to put my canned food and dry goods in.

It would also match the microwave cart we have now.

This pantry is made by Ameriwood, and usually retails for around $99. However, it happens to also be on sale at Pamida this week, for $74.99

I have recently become a lover of "Crocs." You know, those ugly, ubiquitous, rubber clogs? Yes, those. After walking around the Minnesota State Fair for several hours on Labor Day this year, I had developed a painful blister on one foot. Since I really didn't want to walk around anymore with my shoe rubbing on it, when we stumbled across a Crocs display, I asked my husband if he'd buy me a pair. Because he loves me, (and he didn't want to listen to me complain about my blister the rest of the day), he agreed. I put them on, and instantly understood why everyone from infants to old people (like me), love to wear them. They are VERY comfortable. The only problem is...the style that I have is full of little holes...which is not exactly conducive to Minnesota winters...your feet tend to get a bit chilly and wet when the snow comes through the holes. However...I would LOVE to have a pair of Crocs winter boots! Then my feet would stay toasty- warm and dry...and comfortable. Here they are in "Espresso," which is the color I would prefer:

Crocs Crocband Winter Boot, in size 11 (They run small) Available at Crocs.com for $69.99

That's about all I can think of at the moment. I'll continue to update this post if anything else comes to mind between now and Christmas. In the meantime...have a Blessed and Safe Holiday Season!

Wordless Wednesday # 1 ~ Weather Warning!

A HUGE BLIZZARD...

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...IS COMING YOUR WAY!

Hungry??

Winter in Minnesota ~ Through the Eyes of A Child

On my way to Bible Study at our church this morning, with my 6 year old grandson in tow, I was reminded to try to see things from a more positive perspective. We had gotten light rain, mixed with snow, (or as my mother would call it, "schnizzle"), for the better part of the day yesterday, which had turned to snow overnight. By morning, there was probably around 5 inches on the ground. The roads had not yet been plowed, but the school bus had made it through, along with a few other vehicles. After clearing the snow off of the van, Christian and I were making our way to church, (late...but making our way). Now, having lived in the state of Minnesota all my life, I've driven in "poor winter driving conditions" every winter for more than half of it...but I do NOT enjoy it. It makes me very nervous, especially on our little dirt road out here, which can get rather slick at times. Anyway, I'm driving rather slowly and carefully this morning, with both hands on the wheel...and grumbling to myself, (as usual), things like, "I HATE this!" And from the back seat, I hear, "Isn't it BEE-U-Ful, Grandma?" "Yes, Christian. You're right. It IS BEAUTIFUL!"

(The line of over-grown, snow-flocked Christmas trees that border the land that we rent. The property actually WAS a Christmas tree farm at one time.)

For the next couple of miles on our little Christmas tree-lined road, I try a bit harder to appreciate the beauty that our Creator has set before us on this day...and as I reach the highway, I realize that God had just given me a Christmas card, to drive through, on my way to town this morning...and that I should accept it, and thank Him for it. Thank you, Lord, for the beauty that you set before me, each and every day...no matter the season. Help me to see it and appreciate it... through the eyes of a child. Amen

Wii Just Dance 2 ~ What a Party!!

Recently, I was chosen to be a House Party host for the new Wii game, "Just Dance 2" by Ubisoft. I was to invite mothers and daughters, to come and dance to 4o+ dance tunes, and see who had the best dance moves. Well...since I don't have a very big living room, and my friend, Lisa, (of Our Seven QTPies fame) does, and was planning a couple of parties, (a Pillsbury Crescent Roll one and one featuring some pre-school toys) as well, we decided to combine them. She also wanted to host a "Thirty-One Gifts" party for our friend, Anna, who is now a consultant for that company, so we invited all of our friends to her house, on a Sunday afternoon and called it a MEGA party! Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate very well. It was snowing, and raining and the roads were very icy around here that day, but we opted to go ahead and have the party anyway.

Fortunately, four of Lisa's 7 children, are teenagers and all of them happened to be home that day. Another friend came with her 2 girls, so along with my 13yr old, Molly, we had plenty of teens to try out "Just Dance 2!" It worked out really well, too. We had Anna do her "Thirty-One" party first, and then sent the little ones in the next room to play with the pre-school toys, and Lisa fed us hors d' oeuvres, made with Pillsbury Crescent Rolls.

As far as the "Just Dance 2" part of the party? It was a HUGE hit! It was a little hard to get into at first, but it didn't take them long to catch on to how it was done.

That's my Molly, in the blue and orange. She was really getting into these dances, and seemed to be having a lot of fun. The other two in the above picture, are siblings, Hope and Cody. They were dancing to songs like, "Walk like an Egyptian" by the Bangles and WHAM's "Wake me up before you go go."

If you could see the above photo on the left, up close...Molly looks pretty funny. While she was dancing, her hair flew in front of her face, and it looks a bit like a mustache! The pic on the right is Cody, Molly and Allison.

After awhile, Cody and Hope's older brother, Devon got in on the action too. I was not surprised that the girls enjoyed this game, I WAS surprised and thrilled to hear the two boys' comments, while they were dancing. I'm not sure how many times I heard things like, "This game is AWESOME!" All the kids were really into it.

So, since we only had 4 Wii-motes, they weren't going to give them up to parental units without a fight. The kids were having so much fun, no one wanted to take them away, anyway. Toward the end of the party, one mother DID get brave though. Pam got up and started dancing with the kids, even though she didn't have a Wii-mote in her hand! Go, Pam!

I honestly think that if there had been more teens at this party, they would have done the same thing. They really did have a blast. In fact, When my daughter and I were ready to leave, we had a hard time getting them all to STOP dancing, so we could take our game home! And before we even left the house, BOTH boys had commented about how awesome "Just Dance 2" is, on their facebook status!

I had received a complimentary copy of "Just Dance 2," as a thank you gift for hosting this Dance Party, and writing an honest review of the product on my blog. To my surprise and delight, they also sent along a bonus copy of "Just Dance Kids!" I told Lisa she could keep the bonus game, for allowing me to have the party at her house, thinking that her younger children would enjoy it. Well, since her older kids didn't want to quit dancing when we were ready to go, they opened that one up, and were pleasantly surprised that "Just Dance Kids" is NOT JUST FOR KIDS, either! It has certain songs for younger children, some for the older ones, and songs that the whole family can dance to together. Lisa has also been using it to work out with lately, and said it was so much fun, she didn't even think about the fact that she was exercising! All in all, I would have to give both of these products two great big "THUMBS UP" and would highly recommend them for the teen or younger child in YOUR life, for a great Christmas gift! Ubisoft's "Just Dance 2" and "Just Dance Kids" are available from GameStop.com and if you live in my area, I've got a few coupons for $5 off an free shipping, if you order them from there by 12/10/10.

Now, just by watching my video below, you can help me get into the running to win a $1000 shopping spree from Game Stop! It's actually pretty funny, my friend's little grandson came into the room and after watching the big kids dancing, decided to join in: