She's about to... 64... It's Christmas time!

New room ladies!

Linda Kay, is that your house? That is a beautiful picture.....

I second that! Beautiful picture.

Wish it was, just one I found on google!

I wish my hearth looked half that pretty, LK. What a beautiful scene!

My SIL left again late this afternoon to spend the night at my MIL's. She and I were couch potatoes this morning while we listened to the rain falling and watched TV. I know she woke me up from napping more than once with her snoring or maybe it was mine....lol Our little Yorkie is worn out from so much attention and the cats can't figure out what's going on. Max is usually so mild-mannered but he freaked out last night when I let him in.

SIL flies home Sunday and am looking forward to having our Christmas dinner tomorrow afternoon!

Were having a Christmas dinner as well, as my son is coming in with his girlfriend and Grandkids. Were going to have ham...

Thanks, LK: :)

Froot - glad you're enjoying your time with your SIL. Sounds like someone easy to be around.

Happ - funny about your nieces and nephews. I'd love to hear some stories, as I'm sure mine have some unflattering AND funny ones about me. Like how my brothers got me drunk on champagne at my law school graduation reception. O mom was so p.o.'d. Unfortunately for me they even videotaped the thing, which I have no memory of, and I could never bring myself to watch it. Enough years have passed tho', that I think it would probably be funny to me now. :)

Enjoying the sun streaming into my bedroom on me - I have my prized geraniums hanging from colored ribbons down from the ceiling so they get the light. I loved having them bloom indoors last year with even less sun exposure. Can't wait till January blooms. :D

Have a great day everyone. Thanks for being there.

A.

I think we will get the Christmas lights up on my house tomorrow.. finally! LOL

We use artificial trees also.. no scent but found the solution! Walmart sells scented wax squares like those scentscee things but only $2.00 for a package of 6 squares. The scent from one square lasts about a day. They have several pine type scents. The best one we have found is called Fresh Frasier Fir. It is GREAT and smells like you have a real tree in your house. You don't have to buy one of the heaters they sell for them either. Just get one of the cheap $5 cup/candle warmers and use a glass cup or votive candle holder to melt the wax cube in.... if you don't want to use that... we even resorted to using the heat plate of our coffee maker when we did not have anything else! LOL The larger or wider the opening, the more the scent of the wax is released. It needs to be tall enough so it does not get too hot to touch to easily pick up and empty for changing the wax.

Yesterday mom was using a scent called sugar cookie something and when I walked in the house I would have SWORN she just took cookies out of the oven! It smelled WONDERFUL!!! I also love the warm vanilla creme and moms favorite is a lilac flowers.... there are so many. We really enjoy being able to change scents daily according to our mood. Mom buys me a different scent almost every time we shop Walmart! One square scents almost my whole house.

They have soooo many different choices... I am sure everyone can find something they would like. They would make great gifts too.

I keep a pretty disposable plastic cup nearby to pour the old wax into ... when it is full.. just drop in the trash and find another... there are always some in my cabinet somewhere!

Oh A, that video would probably be so funny now....never had brothers but I could see how that could be a test...rofl.

Told my Mom once after I had become a step-mom to a 15 year old boy, that I sure wished I could apologize to my Dad (step-Dad, he died when I was 19), Mom's reply was "oh you weren't that bad"......yeah right...rofl. Poor Dad, no kids of his own, marries a woman with a 5year old and 12 year old girls. Talk about a living night mare.....rofl. We surely do change as we age.

OY Vey...I found you all.. I'm so behind with DG right now. Love reading everyone's funny stories though. Keeps me somewhat centered. I am so blessed and I know it. I only hope that somehow I manage to spread a little of it around to my friends that aren't as fortunate. For Christmas I want a Star Trek transporter so I can hop in anytime and go to whoever needs me the most. Dumb idea I know. That's what happens when I eat too much sugar. :))

I can see we have all been busy today with our holiday preparations! Not me - tied one on last night at the neighbors' house where we were invited to help them trim the tree. Had a migraine all day until the sun went down. Weird, but the light hurts my head so I feel much better now. Court was a peach and kept checking on me all day. Sure hope I'm not up all night! If I am, I'll post again later, say 3 a.m.

Tammi we are familiar with those wax squares - I bought Court the glass jar frasier fir candle a couple of weeks ago and it is pretty nice. Over powering after an hour or so. I have had those candle wax warmers, but got "creative" recently and using old candle wax in a tin can warming on my coffee mug warmer from my old office supply box. :D

Whatever works. Enjoy your holiday week. Neener, I'll be expecting you for breakfast.

A.

The tomboy in me always wanted a baby brother.....never happened and was stuck with a much older sis who was forever painting on eyebrows since she'd shaved hers off, and they never grew back til the day she died. Happ, you should get those videos out and play them for old time sake and have a good laugh!

I still have a few Scentsy bars from my B-day but will look at generics at Wally World. Never knew about them, Tammie. The only thing we have close to a Christmas scent going on now is an aerosol can of Apple Cinnamon spray.

LOL @ Manda, not at the headache though. When I lived in CA I invited folks from my office to come over and decorate my tree. It was so much fun! Admission was one wrapped ornament to share with one of our fellow co-workers. Each package was numbered as it came in the door, and we drew numbers at the end of the night. I still have my ornaments and think of the friends that gave them to me each year when I decorate our tree. A couple of folks after all these years still send Christmas cards :)

If you get that fancy dancy machine for Christmas, Neener, can I borrow it? Or better yet, beam it down. I'd love nothing better than meeting the ladies here I haven't had a chance to yet or revisit the ones I have. I am so blessed having all of you in my life!

Oh Neener that is not a dumb idea but a great idea....except with that how would we ever sleep or have any excuses...rofl.

I have been so lucky no horrible headaches, or hang overs no matter how over I have done it. Mixing liquors never bothered me either. It is/was a killer for a couple of good friends tho...especially on ski trips.

Fruity, none of my bad things were caught on tape...rofl. Thank goodness that was before video cameras, you had to have real pictures or a movie camera...rofl. I had a friend whose sister plucked all her eyebrows and eyelashes, they actually have a name for that disorder now. I use to love to watch her put on her eyebrows.

One time I just knew I was going to be picked up by the lake police for underage drinking....and I wasn't drinking, not that time anyway. We all went to the lake one summer evening, must of been 5 or more cars of kids, playing radios, and just goofing off. There was plenty of beer but I didnt drink beer. A friend and I had a 1/2 gal of chocolate milk and chocolate chip cookies we had bought but no glasses. So we rinsed out two beer bottles and poured chocolate milk in them. A while later here comes two cars which we assume are friends....NOT....they were the lake police. Do you have any idea how hard it is to convience two police officers in the dark that the beer bottles you are holding are chocolate milk...roflm....I finally pleaded with one to come over to the car head lights....his response was to make the other police officer to come over and they just cracked up. Well back in those days they just took your beer, not like today, course they didn't get it all because one of the old cars the trunk had been hit, and the kid told them he would be thrilled if the police could open it...rofl, it was loaded with beer, but the police didn't try, you have to remember in the late 60's the trunks of those cars could hold an entire living room set they were so big. Once they police had loaded up what beer they found and were driving away, over the load speaker of the patrol cars, they told us thanks for the contribution to their annual picnic...rofl... Talk about summers with not a care in the world. Think I was smarter than my friends I didn't want high school to end, I think I had figured out it wouldn,t be all fun and games.

LOL joyce, how funny! gosh, I remember one christmas my mom was out drinking and left me and my brother and sister home alone, I was like 15, brother 14, sister was 8, she spent thenight at a friends, while brother and I had a party, older boys, and they brought beer, added aftershave to and passed it around, ugh. anyway, everyone got out before mom came home and we thought we were all good, until she went to get something out of the old freezer, and found some quarts of bluish green coors exploded all over the place. I also remember filling the clear bottle of anice licquor with water as I drank from it. She had a full bar under the sink. anyway, left home at 16, so that all ended for me there..


my family I have here is totally different..I came home from work saturday to a tree standing in the corner, Joe had gone and bought it and set it up, girls came over Sunday and decorated it, put out lights outside and now we are all christmas ready.. sort of..

college girl loves candles and oils and things like that, there are always things burning around here, we have to check each room before we go to bed or leave the house.. the deal is , joe buys the tree, girls decorate, and I take it all down and put it in boxes, son packs it all downstairs for me.. Christmas morning .. son comes over very early and makes coffee, turns on the tree lights, gets me up, and helps me get things ready, then he texts the girls ( who spend the night here) to get up, then they go and get their daddy up and away we go.. now these kids are all grown, but on christmas morning, they are all 5, 9, and 12 LOL .. ( only because they do not have spouses and babies) Karin, my 40 yr old single mom, comes over with my 18 yr old GS a little later, and then over to Mike and Paulas. It is fun, and it works for us. We miss Pauline, and we will miss Duke Dog this year, but we will laff at the pictures from Christmas past of him in the middle of it all with his old man red sweater and a bow on his head.

the finished tree..

Debra that sounds waaaay too orderly. :)

But I'm glad you have something that works. I don't mind the quiet - really! I am also remembering my dear Max who snuffed water up her nose on this day last year and collapsed her poor lung during the much maligned annual bath. It's been a long year, but I have the Memory Garden in her honor and the company of Snoopy, my second string dog.

Bless you and yours and thank you for your kindnesses throughout this year.
xoxo

These are the days we remember all who have touched out lives. Hopefully we remember the fun times and can smile, altho we miss them dearly.

Your Christmases sound really nice. What ages are the kiddo's?

I will be ready for Christmas hopefully when Christmas hits...rofl. My first Christmas will be Wednesday so I have to get ready tonight for that Christmas, I sure don't want to rush into anything...rofl. I am meeting friends Wednesday after work and we exchange presents. That is always fun. Then Friday at work I have small gifts for the people I work with and we will have a luncheon. I have presents for a couple of the women that I am really close to but don't tell anyone. But one of the presents I just ordered at lunch and have to go pick it up before Friday. Like I said I am ready by the time they hit, which thank goodness isn't all at once.

Grandson Rory is 7, Granddaughter Kailey is 12, step grandson Nicholas is 14, and step granddaughter MaryAnne is 5. Then there is another Grandson due in March.

Hope you have a good time at your parties.

Debra, love your tree!

Such fun ages for children at Christmas time! You are so blessed to have them. Hooray!
I love parties at work. I hope you have a good time at yours , Joyce.

I thank God everyday for mine , and truly feel blessed to have you all in my life as well.

Thanks for the picture, Debra - all old fashioned and pretty. On another thread I was just saying that I wish I had a "Joe" around like Joeswife, Debra. :)

I am likewise so happy to have found you all here. My life has not been the same . . . and that's a good thing!!!

Happy happy, joy joy.
xox
A.

Only two days to go before Santa starts his long journey from the North Pole. Have you seen the little girl on TV advertising the Hallmark ornament that counts down days, minutes, and seconds? Kids at Christmas are full of wonder and anticipation.

A couple of hubby's gifts won't be delivered til next week. Geez the things he comes up with 'way beyond the last minute'. Whatever makes him happy works for me.

Love your tree, Debra, and Joe is the perpetual sweetheart! Your daughters are so pretty and look so much like you. The three of you could pass for sisters instead of Mother and daughters :)

Love ya all!

Ready or not, Santa Claus comes tonight!

LK, Your younger grandkids are at the perfect age to really enjoy Santa but suspect the older ones already know the "secret is out"...lol And the anticipation of having a new grandson in the Spring must be so exciting!

My MIL turned 80 yesterday and her Anniversary would have been today. Bless her heart she's still able to live alone after scaring the soup out of us with two falls last Winter when we thought she was doomed for a nursing home. She still uses a walker but it's obvious how much strength she's gained from doing her exercises and isn't nearly as "shaky" as she used to be. She had had her hair done before we had Christmas dinner last Saturday and looked so pretty! When she called today, she said "This is a stupid question but it's been so long since I made potato salad, I can't remember what all to put in it." I didn't think that was a stupid question at all since I don't always add the same ingredients. I'm just glad she's cooking again instead of heating up a TV dinner or a bowl of soup or beans. So I went down the list of ingredients I have added to mine, and said she had all of them on hand. Hubby eats every kind of potato known to man except Potato Salad. Is that weird or what? Anyway, it's been a while since one of our neighbors hosted a picnic and asked me to make a batch of potato salad so I've been buying it in tubs at the grocery store when I have a hankering for it.

I just hope if and when I turn 80 I'll even know what a potato is!

Merry Christmas, Everyone! You're all special Friends and I love the heck out of ya :)