Things to do.

Because of Chad's new work schedule, he isn't going to be able to travel on Christmas like we have the past 4 married Christmases together. Traditionally, we have spent Thanksgiving with his family and Christmas with mine since they live farther away and we got more days off for the Christmas holiday. This year, we will be moving my family's Christmas to Chattanooga; I won;t be waking up at my parents house on Christmas for the first time in 28 years. I am both incredibly excited and a little sad; I am not usually a girl who likes change so this is an adjustment but it will be so nice to wake up in our own house - the one we lovingly take care of and call home - with the rest of my sweet family nearby. So, hurray for new traditions and honoring old ones too!

In the spirit of inviting my family into my home, I have started my to-do list prior to their arrival. With the hopes that I will actually get some of it all of it done, I am going to share it publically and let you in on my progress. Some of it I know I can't do until the day before (vaccuuming anyone?) but some I can do before and some are unfinished Christmas projects:

- clean off and set dining room table (after adding leaf to the middle to accomodate more sweet family!)
- finish mom's christmas project
- wrap Christmas presents (this isn't a chore...I LOVE this part!) (Edited to add: I do plan on taking pictures of all the cool stuff I made and sharing after Christmas. The suspense is killing me.)
- purchase/make 3 more presents (including a Dec. 26th birthday present for a bestie)
- clean up kitchen
- plan for and buy groceries for lots of fun family meals
- replace strand of lights on front porch decorations (thanks Dad B for making them work again!)
- sweep and vaccum floors
- clean bathrooms
- change sheets on all 3 guest beds (we will need them all! woohoo!)
- make one last Christmas decor project
- wash and return couch cover (this is a day before project...we should have taught the dog to just not get on the couch but well...eh...we like her too much)
- clean up craft room (this will obviously have to wait since I will be trashing it to finish projects)
- make giant batch of cinnamon rolls for all the neighbors (we are christening my friend K's new kitchen for this project! yippee for new double ovens...!)
- wash and put away clothes prior to company arriving
- figure out where another chair can go in the living room since we remove one for the Christmas tree and need the space for rears now that family is coming!
- acquire Wooby and Gwen's Christmas presents - a new long leash for Gwen so she can roam the backyard without chasing the neighborhood dogs and probably some cat grass for the Woobster. Gwen broke her leash and long leashes are cheaper than fences (which is on our "someday" house to-do list)


Surely this list will grow and shrink as the time goes on...I'll refer back and keep you updated (like you are really interested!)

Dad - stop reading! Christmas spoiler alert!

I am pretty convinced that my Dad does not read by blog but if he does - stop reading now!! I am about to disclose his/your Christmas present so stop reading now (if you even know that my blog exists!) :) Love you!!

So, with the hand made Christmas attempt - my Dad is super, duper hard to shop for. He doesn't really need anything and his only hobby is reading. He got a e-reader last year so I made him a cover for it (which ended up being a little big since I didn't actually have the object to work with when I made it - though it seems to be getting good use still). This year, mom said he needed a new belt but I didn't think I was THAT talented so I still wanted to make him something (mostly since I am making everyone else something and I didn't want to leave him out!).

So, I was trying to decide what to make him and I thought this: In case you don't know my dad, he does have a series of health problems that lead to him having both thin skin and thin blood. He is constantly bumping into things and ending up with a gusher that just won't stop bleeding - where you or I might not even bruise. Lightbulb!! I could make him a band-aid holder. I have one that is in my personal/camping first-aid kit that holds multiple sizes of bandaids and it is super convenient - surely I could make something like that! So I did!

This one is a little larger and holds lots of sizes of band-aids, including some mid-size gauze bads in the largest section there in the upper right. I even made a slot big enough for a small thing of antibacterial ointment - I just didn't have an extra/un-used one for show! This set he can keep in the little pack that rides around with him on this motorized scooter chair. There is a button on the backside so it folds closed and the elastic loop (hair elastic! shhh!) holds it closed.

This one is a smaller version and only really holds two sizes of band-aids. It folds closed in the middle and is perfect for pockets.

 

 I am pretty proud of this hand made gift and I hope it is useful for him! I used some fabric scraps in my stash and tried to pick the "manliest" of the bunch - though I realize dots don't exactly scream manly. I actually took pictures throughout the process so if anyone is interested, I could write a simple tutorial. 

Homemade Christmas.

A couple of years ago, I tried to do an exclusively homemade Christmas and I realized that it is more difficult than I anticipated. Most people already have an idea of what they would like (and C's family conveniently sends their wish list around!) And I can't make everything! This year, I am going to try to make as many gifts as I can and I am off to a good start! I will take pictures and gladly show you after the gift giving occasion has past! I am so excited to give the things I have made! And from what I hear, Chad is making some of his own gifts too so I can't wait to see what he does!

Thankful.

Quick report: We had a wonderful, low-key Thanksgiving with family today here in C-town. It was nice to not have to go far and to just enjoy the company of people we love. Came home and took a nap so I'm not quite tired but the nap was totally worth it! Got our Christmas tree put up and decorated today so we can finisht the rest of the house tomorrow. I LOVE our house when it is decorated for Christmas because everything looks so festive and happy - and I am always willing to keep it cleaner so hello holidays!

November Birchbox!!

It is November Birchbox time!!

I am still totally thrilled each month when I get my Birchbox, even when my husband tries to sneak it in the house without me knowing it came. He might not realize that I get an email when it ships so I know when to start looking for it!

 

I got a fun holiday gift giving guide and a coupon in this batch so that at least added to the fun value!

 

This month was a pretty decent haul though I will have to go in and edit some of my preferences (see why below).

 

This is everything that was in my box! There is a fun little "something for you" wrapper that is re-useable. Someone might see that at Christmas!

stila's all over liquid shimmer in a beautiful bronze/gold-ish color. I am excited about using this as a base for eyeshadow. Tried it on my hand and it is a really pretty color and not greasy at all even though it is a brush on, liquid.

Jouer's Fragrance Cornucopia - a roll on perfume oil. Gardenia, jasmine and honeysuckle scent - pretty strong - something I would use for a switchup on a night out! This really is a nice size to tuck in your bag for a day to night switch-e-roo.

Chuoa Chocolatier's honeycomb ChcoPod. I am excited that I got the honey flavor so that I can share with my guy that loves honey! This is the "lifestyle extra" for this month.

Curly Hair Solutions Curl Keeper was my hair product for this month...this is supposed to keep curls shiny, defineed, and frizz-free. In case you don't know me, I don't really have curly hair. This is where I finally went in and edited my "what is your hair like?" on my beauty profile and took out "curly" - though I know a certain curly-haired sister that will enjoy this!

And finally, this is ModelCo's Fibre (sic) Laskxtend mascara. It appears to be a full size product (at least it is the same size as all my other mascaras) which retails at $24 so this is a really awesome score. Best part is that it has a little mirror on one side for those touchups! Fun! (I had another picture of this one but I sort of liked the one with the cat photo-bomb in the back so this is what you get.)

 

So there! Birchbox delivery day STILL rocks (along with my sister).

Lazy.

I promise I really am going to blog again one of these days. I have been really busy with work (in fact, working every weekend this month except the one closest to Thanksgiving - and two of those are at camp all weekend). My Birchbox came on Wednesday so I will be posting pictures soon...and giving a life update. Check back! (This is for you Sis....)

Nov. 6th

The “winner” in today’s race – presidential specifically – doesn't really “win”. They earned the right to represent me, for better or worse. They have earned the right to be ridiculed, laughed at, made fun of, scoffed at, disagreed with, and made to look a fool. That doesn't sound like a winner to me. However, it is your choice how you treat this winner. You can choose to do those things or you can choose different. You can choose to respect our President – whoever he might be – to have healthy debate with those who do not agree, fight for what you believe in, and do your part to make America better. I suggest you do this – choose respect and continue to be involved in your communities, your churches, your schools. Be involved so that our children and their children will continue to live in a land that gets the right to choose respect.

I voted today. But I also vote every day. I vote with my heart, I vote with my actions, I vote with my wallet. I think author and speaker Shane Claiborne said it best when he said, “So, we may vote on November 6. But we will also vote today, and tomorrow, and the next day. We are convinced that change is not confined to one day every four years. Change happens every day. We vote with our lives. And we are convinced that voting for a new President may be little more than damage control. For Presidents and Caesars do not save the world. But there is a God who can…
Enough donkeys and elephants… long live the Lamb.”