**a very merry**

CHRISTMAS TO YOU!!














Bless you and your family.

peace.

**love this song**

and could she be any cuter??




saw this on lindsay teague moreno's blog and had to share.


peace.

**love it!!**

**poor thing**

**now that's what i'm talkin' about**

woot! woot!










































meanwhile... in the kitchen i have been really busy preparing sweets for my goodie boxes that the kids and i are going to give as gifts.

























































i have since made chocolate crinkles, molasses snaps, peanut butter balls, and no-bake cookies. today i am going to tackle scotchies and a cake balls. i found the cutest christmas decorated chinese to-go boxes to put the goodies in. yum!


bailey was supposed to have her christmas choir concert on wednesday and thursday but it got postponed until january due to the weather. kind of a bummer since it is special because after at least 5 years of choir it is her last one. i am really anxious to see it. i definately have to get there early to get good seats so i can get good pictures. i always have to take pictures of all three of the girls so i have to have good angles. now that i know what settings on my camera to use for the crappy lighting in the gym i don't have to worry about that. =)

cj had his first wrestling meet last week in salem at McKay high school. there was one scheduled this week at McNary high school in salem but it was cancelled because of the weather. those meets are crazy! there are at least 8 schools there, 3 huge mats, and 2 matches going on each mat. the kids didn't stick to one mat either. they would go to whatever mat was open when their weight class was up. talk about chaos! i got a few good pictures of his matches.





































i got the cutest dept. 56 xmas cats while i was in california visiting danea. we were at Lisa'a Tea Room and in the waiting area there is the neatest gift shop. i have only seen dept. 56 items online so i was thrilled to see them in person. these cats just screamed to come home with me and be displayed next to the funky arrangement that i made. what'cha think? aren't they the cutest?






























danea also took me to an AMAZING christmas store. i have never seen so many xmas ornaments in one place. there were some high-end artificial trees there that i couldn't believe weren't real. each tree was done in a theme or a color combination. i purchased funky ornaments from the circus-themed tree. i shipped them home and next year i will get a small tree to put on my kitchen bistro-style table and use just those ornaments. i love them! this year i have THIS on that table:













i have to hand it to the nursery. they can grow some phenomenal poinsettias. this baby is huge. my mom got ones like this that are white, pink, and marbled. i was too late and got red only. but boy is it pretty.


.......and it's still snowing.


peace.

**bummer**

my kids (and me to tell the truth) are totally bummed that we didn't wake up to a view of nothing but white. but no, we got rain. usual oregon, no wait...JUST ALBANY, rain. WTF?? i guess our "snowed-in" was short lived.

keep your fingers crossed we will still get that winter storm that has been predicted for the last 4 days. a sea of white is what i'm lookin' for.


peace.

**so true, so scary**

peace.

**i was tagged**

it's nice to know you Carol. i just adore your daughter Jamie. anne and jamie are the best....and they make a beautiful couple.






I was tagged by CAROL at http://carolskitchentabletalk.blogspot.com/
Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

1. i have to check on-line sites in order in the morning. msnbc, my email, my bank, my blog, pioneer woman's blog, and then the blogs on my blog-list.
2. for at least the past 5 years i have done at least 90% of my shopping on-line. i hate going to stores to shop. if i could shop for groceries on-line i would.
3. my house is almost always picked up and clean. but my office/scraproom is a nightmare. the area around my computer is terrible and i am amazed that i can sit here and be comfortable.
4. i hate to drive.
5. i always have to have noise in the background. a radio or the tv, even if i am in the other room or not watching it. i sleep with the tv on, too.
6. i find it hard to throw magazines out. i have piles of them in my office. i love to look at them but rarely read all the articles. i am a "picture-reader".

i seriously don't have anyone to tag that will do it or that hasn't been tagged a million times over. i hate to list them if it isn't going to go anywhere. i will give it a shot but don't expect much. lol

http://zeedoda.blogspot.com/

http://splendidmissm.blogspot.com/

http://creativekate.typepad.com/my_weblog/

that's all i got.

peace.

**everything except the tree**

i finally finished decorating the house for xmas. except the tree. i am leaving for california at noon today and i don't trust that it will get watered while i am away so we are waiting until i get back. here's what i have so far.













i got the trees and the frames from Pottery Barn 5 years ago and i guard them with my life. i have a large 3-wick round white candle that goes with the set as well. these are in the same room as the tree.




















these pillar candles are part of the set and are on the dining room table that is attached to the living room where the tree will be. the lights on the tree really pick up the crystals on these and make them really pretty.













same room

these next pictures are all from my family room























































this one is my favorite decoration of all this year. it just makes me happy. the colors and the whimsy...plus, i made it. little 'ole me. had a vision and there it is.






















i am off to finish packing (i know, last minute). i am so excited to spend a week with Captain Cripple!! (please don't send hate mail or shoot daggers from your eyes. she named herself that after an incident in the airport. we still laugh about it. matter of fact she made a layout of it and i had it hanging in the shop. i think i was Deputy Dumb-Down or something. we have a twisted sense of humor when we are together.)

















and these two....i am going to miss like crazy!