~~ They're leaving the nest, sew it's time for a trip - or two - or three...~~ D~'s bag ~9/22 ~~

[ljcrochet]

You need to make the office off limits. That would drive me nuts. I'm having an issue with one of my girls trying to take over my sewing area of my basement. And she is using my stuff- i haven't washed the fabric she bought at the craft store. I told her she had to practice first on scraps. One of the "hot" stores in my area are selling these flannel shirts with rock band emblems cut from a t-shirt on the back. She fell in love with it. Aside from the face they were too big for her, they were $70-90 a shirt. I looked at them and said we could make them for cheaper and better. We went to target, she picked out 2 different flannels and 2 different t-shirts, we also picked out a flannel / t-shirt for my nephew. I think we spent less than 15 on the stuff for my nephew's. I then saw another store selling them for boy's for $40 a shirt. Hopefully my SIL likes it and will let him wear it. I posted pictures of it on my PTR ( link is in my signature)

 

[Terkina]

I'm glad to hear you got the GCs to work. It sounds smart to test them a few days after getting them so you can get them exchanged if they don't work.

The curio cabinet sounds HUGE. I hope you find out what to do with it before Christmas so you don't have to store it in the living room over Christmas.

I'm so sorry to hear that you have to clean out the office so often to get your workout done.

I hope you have a great day in your sewing room.


It's almost 3pm here now and I still haven't heard from the company that import the wheel for the wheelchair. It's so frustrating waiting for an answer.
Later today Ulf and I are going to make roasted almonds. We are going to give it away as a Christmas gift for my parents, grandma and my fathers sister. We have done this for several years now and the gift is much appreciated.

 

[Texan]

Your new curio cabinet is HUGE D! I wish I could have seen your expression when the truck pulled up. I wouldn't know what all to put in there. I have a pretty small house.

I have a small corner of our bedroom where I try to exercise with my DVD's - I really need to clean that corner out. My SIL has a HUGE room that is just for exercising - I can only wish.

How has Allison been feeling? Is her energy back to normal? What kind of foods is she eating now? I think luggage is an excellent Christmas idea for her. Tyler got one from his aunt and uncle for graduation, 2 different sizes of really nice duffel bags, perfect for a guy. There are some nice sets at the outlet mall I have seen, like at the Samsonite store.

You will get a decorated tree this weekend - I am sure! I cannot wait to see pics.

Glad you got all the GC's entered D - and they all worked! My Target was not offering the $25.00 Disney ones either; it stated in their circular it was only the $50.00 ones.

Good luck in the sewing room - hope you have a wonderful weekend! Relax and enjoy yourself!

As always, hugs and prayers.

 

[FantasiaMagic]

Glad everything work out ok with the Disney GFs. I always worry when I buy any GF that it won't properly activate.

Wow!!! That cabinet is huge!! But it is nice that you were able to get it - it is very nice.
Have fun putting up the tree!

 

[ABCastillo]

I love Disney gift card deals!! Woohoo! I'm glad to hear that everything worked!

We finally got our tree up but since our youngest is now 1, I had to remove all the decorations from the lower third of the tree. Lol. So we have a half decorated tree. Oh well, the kids love it.

My next task is presents. And DD5 asked for a sewing machine. I'm trying to decide if I should give her my old brother or a toy one I found at Target (uses glue instead of needles I guess). Have your girls ever tried one of these toys?

 

[NJlauren]

I love Disney gift card deals!! Woohoo! I'm glad to hear that everything worked!

We finally got our tree up but since our youngest is now 1, I had to remove all the decorations from the lower third of the tree. Lol. So we have a half decorated tree. Oh well, the kids love it.

My next task is presents. And DD5 asked for a sewing machine. I'm trying to decide if I should give her my old brother or a toy one I found at Target (uses glue instead of needles I guess). Have your girls ever tried one of these toys?

I don't know if they still make anything like it but when I was little (maybe 7/8 so not as young as 5) they had a real singer for kids. It was all those safety features and you couldn't get to the needle of you tried but it did sew, not great but it did sew.

 

[DMGeurts]

If you have an animal shelter near you you might want to see if they need the washer and dryer. We had some industrial sized ones donated a few years ago but before that, we went through a set every 6 months.
Ha! That's my guest bedroom. My Mom's going to be here a week from tomorrow and right now I can't even get into the room. I've got some work to do this weekend to get it ready for her.

Good idea!!! We haven’t even had a chance to talk about them since they were delivered… So, hopefully we can figure out what we want to do with them… I have a feeling they will be stored until spring, then we will revisit. The most immediate thing we need to deal with is the China cabinet/Curio cabinet dilemma… I am starting to feel claustrophobic in my house – and I don’t like that.

Best of luck – I know the feeling!

You need to make the office off limits. That would drive me nuts. I'm having an issue with one of my girls trying to take over my sewing area of my basement. And she is using my stuff- i haven't washed the fabric she bought at the craft store. I told her she had to practice first on scraps. One of the "hot" stores in my area are selling these flannel shirts with rock band emblems cut from a t-shirt on the back. She fell in love with it. Aside from the face they were too big for her, they were $70-90 a shirt. I looked at them and said we could make them for cheaper and better. We went to target, she picked out 2 different flannels and 2 different t-shirts, we also picked out a flannel / t-shirt for my nephew. I think we spent less than 15 on the stuff for my nephew's. I then saw another store selling them for boy's for $40 a shirt. Hopefully my SIL likes it and will let him wear it. I posted pictures of it on my PTR ( link is in my signature)

I wish I could… Since our house is so small – I am just as guilty as everyone else. However, when I put stuff in here – I am always aware that I need space to work out – so I never infringe on that… but the rest of my family just sees “space” and they see it as fair game… Even though I tell them otherwise.

I saw your photo of this on FB yesterday – it turned out great!!! I can’t believe they are selling those shirts for so much though – that’s crazy!!! Great idea to put it together yourself! I”ll stop by your PTR today so I can see it closer.

I'm glad to hear you got the GCs to work. It sounds smart to test them a few days after getting them so you can get them exchanged if they don't work.

The curio cabinet sounds HUGE. I hope you find out what to do with it before Christmas so you don't have to store it in the living room over Christmas.

I'm so sorry to hear that you have to clean out the office so often to get your workout done.

I hope you have a great day in your sewing room.


It's almost 3pm here now and I still haven't heard from the company that import the wheel for the wheelchair. It's so frustrating waiting for an answer.
Later today Ulf and I are going to make roasted almonds. We are going to give it away as a Christmas gift for my parents, grandma and my fathers sister. We have done this for several years now and the gift is much appreciated.

Me too – it’s such a relief to almost have Allison’s trip paid off… Then it’s on to V’s… No rest for the weary. LOL Plus I have Allison’s airfare to Europe to pay for somewhere in there too…

It is HUGE – and it’s quite awkward in our living room… Considering our living room is quite casual – and this curio cabinet is museum quality and very formal looking…. It just really takes over our space. So, I am not sure how long it will reside here? I’ll give it a good trial though.

Thanks – I did! I was even able to squeeze in a nap. Which was nice – haven’t done that all week!

Bummer – I sure hope you hear something soon.

Mmmm…. Those sound delicious!!!

Your new curio cabinet is HUGE D! I wish I could have seen your expression when the truck pulled up. I wouldn't know what all to put in there. I have a pretty small house.

I have a small corner of our bedroom where I try to exercise with my DVD's - I really need to clean that corner out. My SIL has a HUGE room that is just for exercising - I can only wish.

How has Allison been feeling? Is her energy back to normal? What kind of foods is she eating now? I think luggage is an excellent Christmas idea for her. Tyler got one from his aunt and uncle for graduation, 2 different sizes of really nice duffel bags, perfect for a guy. There are some nice sets at the outlet mall I have seen, like at the Samsonite store.
You will get a decorated tree this weekend - I am sure! I cannot wait to see pics.
Glad you got all the GC's entered D - and they all worked! My Target was not offering the $25.00 Disney ones either; it stated in their circular it was only the $50.00 ones.
Good luck in the sewing room - hope you have a wonderful weekend! Relax and enjoy yourself!

As always, hugs and prayers.

Hahaha… You should have seen the girls and I… It was funny, because we could hear it coming up the road… And V looked out the bay window and started to say a few choice words – not bad ones, but not suitable for typing either – LOL – so then we all got up to look and I think we all had very worried faces on. And then when they came out to the end of the trailer with the cabinet… Pretty sure we all fainted. It was a sight, for sure.

My room to exercise in would be a LOT bigger if there wasn’t so much in it right now. The girls and I had it completely cleaned out a few weeks ago – but then we had to move all of Josh’s Pheasants Forever boxes in here, so there went that. Sigh. I told him they need to be GONE and soon – now that we have all of this big furniture, we really don’t have to space to store these huge items for his PF chapter either.

She’s been feeling OK – still dealing with some stuff… Not sure what her energy has been like? She has been working a lot. She’s not been following any type of eating style or diet, unfortunately – and I fear it will catch up with her very soon. But, like Josh, there is only so much I can do… So, I just do the best I can and try not to worry about everyone else. Now that she is driving – she is able to eat out more and that’s not always good either… but I remember going through that stage shortly after I got my license too… It’s easy and convenient and cheap when only paying for one person.

I am also thinking some sort of luggage for Allison – I just haven’t decided what yet? I may need to hit the VB outlet? The problem is that she likes all of the patterns that I really detest – LOL, so buying it for her is difficult.

Well – the tree is up and the lights are on… But that’s it. It’s soooo short! Like – we put it in the stand, then on top of all 3 risers of my stair stepper and we still have about 12” before we touch the ceiling… It looks ridiculous…. But we will make it work and hopefully make it look ok. It will be festive for sure.

Yes – it’s a relief to have all of the GCs done and it will be a HUGE relief to have Allison’s trip paid off too… It won’t be long and I’ll be booking V’s trip, as well. For her – I am planning to either do a R/O discount, or (she doesn’t know it yet) but she may end up staying at SoG for her trip too? I will see how it goes with Allison in a few weeks – and if it’s not that bad, we may end up there again.

Thanks- I just need to work on Lara’s stocking this weekend – I must get it done. V promised to help me – and I hope she does. It sounds like a small project – but as I found out a few years ago – it’s quite an undertaking, since I can never do anything half-way.

Thank you Carol – same to you… I keep meaning to get to my email – just so you know, but it’s been difficult… After this weekend – things settle down a bit in my life, so I hope to have time this coming week.

Glad everything work out ok with the Disney GFs. I always worry when I buy any GF that it won't properly activate.

Wow!!! That cabinet is huge!! But it is nice that you were able to get it - it is very nice.
Have fun putting up the tree!

Yes – I do too… Which is why I always check them.

It is huge – and it is very nice… It’s a beautiful piece of furniture – more beautiful than anything I own, so it looks a little out of place here… but I’ll try it out and give it a good home for a while… At this point, I am just not sure it will stay here?

Thanks – it’s up, and the lights are on, but it isn’t decorated. We have to wait for it to fall a little – hopefully it did that during the night and we can decorate this morning, since I actually have both girls here for a few hours…

I love Disney gift card deals!! Woohoo! I'm glad to hear that everything worked!

We finally got our tree up but since our youngest is now 1, I had to remove all the decorations from the lower third of the tree. Lol. So we have a half decorated tree. Oh well, the kids love it.

My next task is presents. And DD5 asked for a sewing machine. I'm trying to decide if I should give her my old brother or a toy one I found at Target (uses glue instead of needles I guess). Have your girls ever tried one of these toys?

Yes – me too! I always enter them with a lot of uncertainty – I always think they aren’t going to work… So I am relieved when they do. This is the first time I have used the Disney GC website to combine GCs – so I am a little nervous about that... but I know many people who have done it without an issue.

Hmmm… That sewing machine sounds interesting. We did get V a kids sewing machine one year and it was pretty worthless – IMO… Josh found it at Goodwill as a gag gift really cheap – that was the year we got her the real sewing machine too… The kids sewing machine – I don’t think – will go through much, if anything? But something like that may be a great machine for her to start on… Even better though – I’ve heard of many of my vintage sewing machine friends using their hand crank machines to teach younger kids on… That way – they have to control the speed with their hands, and I am told it works out very well. So, if you wanted something a little more heavy duty without the worry of her hurting herself with the power, I honestly vote for hand crank.

Congrats on getting your tree up too… I am hoping that Cooper is OK with the ornaments?

I don't know if they still make anything like it but when I was little (maybe 7/8 so not as young as 5) they had a real singer for kids. It was all those safety features and you couldn't get to the needle of you tried but it did sew, not great but it did sew.

I have one too – from Victoria, she’s never used it though – so I am not sure what the safety features are like? If any?

**************************************************************************

So, I worked out yesterday morning – as usual.

Then it was upstairs to work for the remainder of the day.

I was even able to squeeze in a short 30 min nap… I really wanted it to be a longer nap – but that didn’t happen. Oh well.

BFF came over to help me look at the living room to see if there was anything else we could do to make it less overbearing. We did come up with one possible idea… Moving the China cabinet into the dining room and turning the table the other direction… Which means taking down my mantel… Buuut… Then we could move the sofa/love seat a little further apart, and put the mantel up in the living room… It’s an option. I am not sure if I like it yet or not, as it will make our dining area much smaller. We just need a new house… Believe it or not – I was actually looking yesterday. LOL I just want something – in this area – that’s a little more functional. But in the same respect – this is where our memories are. It’s hard.

Anyways… Josh came home from work – we had a quick dinner, and then he brought the tree in, and put the lights on. With the tree in the stand AND on top of my stair stepper platform – we still have a good 12” before we touch the ceiling, and considering that the bottom tree branches don’t start until my thighs – this tree looks so comical – I am not sure there is any way we can pull this off? But we will do the best we can – and next year – we will have a bigger tree, whether it’s real or fake is yet to be determined. We let it fall during the night – and hopefully it’s fallen enough so that we can decorate it this morning before the girls leave for work/babysitting. That’s the plan anyways.

*********************************************************************************

January trip update…

I’ve been messing with the ADRs again… I’ve added a few, changed days on a few… Now we have…

Tusker House breakfast
The Wave breakfast
Crystal Palace breakfast
Be Our Guest lunch
50’s Prime Time dinner
Kona breakfast
Beaches and Cream snack/dessert
Liberty Tree Tavern lunch

Lots of breakfasts in there…

On one of our off days – I am hoping to make it over to AKL and have Mara one day for lunch/dinner – I think Allison would really like it. I am also hoping to make it over to French Quarter – which ever day we go to Disney Springs, and possibly have lunch/dinner there too? On our off days – aside from doing DS, I would really like to do a bit more resort exploring… I love doing that.

*******************************************************************************

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!!! Prayers and good thoughts go out to all of you!

D~

 

[huggybuff]

With the tree in the stand AND on top of my stair stepper platform – we still have a good 12” before we touch the ceiling, and considering that the bottom tree branches don’t start until my thighs – this tree looks so comical – I am not sure there is any way we can pull this off?

I can't wait to see a picture of this! I think you'll just have to fill out the bottom with really tall presents at this point.

Wow, D~, you really made it rain with the gift cards! Awesome job. That's what I asked for from my parents for Christmas this year, although I doubt they jumped on the Target deal. They're last minute shoppers.

That cabinet is ginormous! Can you imagine all the collections you'd have to have to fill it? Although I bet my DVDs would give it a run for its money.

That ADR list is looking familiar to me...I ate at most of those this last trip. I finally started my TR too. So far I'm only through Day 2 though.

Have fun decorating your mini-tree!!!

 

[FantasiaMagic]

That is great you finally got the tree in the house and standing! Have fun decorating it. That's always been a fun tradition my family and I have.

January trip update…

Lots of breakfasts in there…

I love breakfast food lol. I love doing breakfast at Disney, I plan on booking more for my next trip. Kona was just that good it inspired me to do so lol.

I would really like to do a bit more resort exploring… I love doing that.

Me too! It's just so much fun!

 

[Terkina]

So, I worked out yesterday morning – as usual.
Sounds like you got a lot done yesterday. How great that you got a nap as well

How exciting looking for a new house even if it's just looking.

I can't believe you are getting the Christmas tree up all ready. I don't have a Christmas tree at home. It's just not enough room. My parents are decorating their tree in the evening on the 23rd. I haven't decided yet if I'm going over to their house to help them out. They don't need the help, I just think it might be nice to get in Christmas mood by decorating the tree.

Tomorrow it's Saint Lucy day. It's not celebrated that much in Norway, but in Sweden it's a really big thing. Last year Ulf and I had a Saint Lucy geocaching event together with some geocaching friends at their house. Where we invited all geocachers to come and celebrate Saint Lucy with us. Today Ulf and I went to our friends house to bake Lussekatter. It's wheat buns with saffron in them and you decorate them with raisin. We are also serving Gløgg (I think you might call it mulled in english) and soda to those who don't like Gløgg. The event was a big success last year and we are hoping it will be a success again this year.

Below is a picture of Lussekatter

 

[Wood Nymph]

Glad you got all the GC's entered D - and they all worked! My Target was not offering the $25.00 Disney ones either; it stated in their circular it was only the $50.00 ones.

It's nice to know that we are not the only part of the country with the higher $50 offer. I even took a picture to prove it.

it’s a relief to have all of the GCs done and it will be a HUGE relief to have Allison’s trip paid off too… It won’t be long and I’ll be booking V’s trip, as well. For her – I am planning to either do a R/O discount, or (she doesn’t know it yet) but she may end up staying at SoG for her trip too? I will see how it goes with Allison in a few weeks – and if it’s not that bad, we may end up there again.

I paid off our June trip with the Disney gift cards yesterday. Then I bought groceries with the free Target cards today. I love this deal.

SoG does look nice. I can't wait to hear if it worked out well for your trip with Allison.

It sounds like the china cabinet needs to find a different home. How would Josh feel about giving it away to someone else?

On our off days – aside from doing DS, I would really like to do a bit more resort exploring… I love doing that.

 

[DMGeurts]

I can't wait to see a picture of this! I think you'll just have to fill out the bottom with really tall presents at this point.

Wow, D~, you really made it rain with the gift cards! Awesome job. That's what I asked for from my parents for Christmas this year, although I doubt they jumped on the Target deal. They're last minute shoppers.

That cabinet is ginormous! Can you imagine all the collections you'd have to have to fill it? Although I bet my DVDs would give it a run for its money.

That ADR list is looking familiar to me...I ate at most of those this last trip. I finally started my TR too. So far I'm only through Day 2 though.

Have fun decorating your mini-tree!!!

Hahaha… YES!!! That’s the plan – as soon as I have some really big presents to put under there.

Thanks! I asked for GCs too – but I don’t think I will get them from anyone. We’ll see.

It know – it’s huge!!! We were able to get the shelves in it last night – I think I will be able to get my entire doll collection on the bottom shelf… I am pretty sure I will be able to get every collection I own into this thing. LOL Hopefully I can make it look nice in the process? Hahaha – when we cleaned out our entertainment center the other night – I am just guessing, but I bet we have over a thousand DVDs… It’s quite crazy – I didn’t realize we had so many… It’s time I go through them and get rid of some of them that we’ll never watch again… Keeping the Disney ones for sure… but it’s time to whiddle the pile down a bit.

Awesome!!! I looked for it yesterday… Is it in your PTR? I didn’t look there.

Thanks!!! It’s all decorated and I LOVE it! I’ll have pictures below!

That is great you finally got the tree in the house and standing! Have fun decorating it. That's always been a fun tradition my family and I have.


I love breakfast food lol. I love doing breakfast at Disney, I plan on booking more for my next trip. Kona was just that good it inspired me to do so lol.

Me too! It's just so much fun!

Hahaha… Well it’s a step in the right direction anyways. LOL The girls and I were able to decorate it yesterday morning, and I am so happy with it! For our first attempt at a “professionally decorated tree” – I think we did good.

Me too!!! Well – actually – I love all food… but I am super excited about all of our breakfasts – except for Tusker House… Oh well!

So, I worked out yesterday morning – as usual.
Sounds like you got a lot done yesterday. How great that you got a nap as well

How exciting looking for a new house even if it's just looking.

I can't believe you are getting the Christmas tree up all ready. I don't have a Christmas tree at home. It's just not enough room. My parents are decorating their tree in the evening on the 23rd. I haven't decided yet if I'm going over to their house to help them out. They don't need the help, I just think it might be nice to get in Christmas mood by decorating the tree.

Tomorrow it's Saint Lucy day. It's not celebrated that much in Norway, but in Sweden it's a really big thing. Last year Ulf and I had a Saint Lucy geocaching event together with some geocaching friends at their house. Where we invited all geocachers to come and celebrate Saint Lucy with us. Today Ulf and I went to our friends house to bake Lussekatter. It's wheat buns with saffron in them and you decorate them with raisin. We are also serving Gløgg (I think you might call it mulled in english) and soda to those who don't like Gløgg. The event was a big success last year and we are hoping it will be a success again this year.

Below is a picture of Lussekatter

I did get a lot done! Thankfully!

Hahaha – thankfully there are no new houses to tempt me to move yet… Some day there might be?

Usually we put our tree up on Thanksgiving weekend – so this is really late in the season for us. I am kind of sad, because it turned out so nice, we won’t get to enjoy it for long. Oh well – now we have practice for next year.

I’ve actually heard of this, thanks to my years of American Girl doll collecting… Kirstin was their Swedish doll, who happened to reside in MN – and although I don’t have much of her collection, I did learn a lot about the Swedish traditions from reading those books. Here, we call those St. Lucia buns… So, almost the same name. I’ve never actually had them though. I hope you had fun and enjoyed your day today!

It's nice to know that we are not the only part of the country with the higher $50 offer. I even took a picture to prove it.

I paid off our June trip with the Disney gift cards yesterday. Then I bought groceries with the free Target cards today. I love this deal.

SoG does look nice. I can't wait to hear if it worked out well for your trip with Allison.

It sounds like the china cabinet needs to find a different home. How would Josh feel about giving it away to someone else?

We also had the $50 offer, so I believe you. But I am glad you were able to pay off your trip – and get free groceries on top of that! That’s awesome!

I am anxious to find out if we enjoy it there… I think it will be OK – the rooms are spacious and the mirrors in the bathrooms are huge – so we should be just fine. LOL

Well, we got the shelves in it last night – and it isn’t too terrible. I am going to load it up today and see how I feel about it… The part that I like – is that I think ALL of my collections can fit in there… So everything would be contained in one place. It may work out after all? I”ll give it a bit of time.

**********************************************************************************

Well, yesterday was kind of a crazy day for me!

I had business stuff to attend to in the morning, so I was a little distracted. As soon as I was done with that – the girls were already knee deep in “tree stuff”…

Oh we had so much fun decorating the tree…

I started off with the topper – I had made the bow for it the other night – my first real attempt at a bow in years… and previous attempts were few, so I was pretty impressed with myself and how the topper turned out.

Once I was done with the topper… The girls and I started to “bury” ornaments in the tree – working our way out. At about half-way, I added the ribbon… The girls didn’t like the ribbon I chose- but I trumped them, I HAD to have dots somewhere on the tree.

Once the ribbon was on… Then we continued with some of our bigger and better ornaments… I have some ornaments on there that my maternal grandmother made, and were on her tree every year while I was growing up (she has 67 grandchildren, and we all received 5 ornaments from her tree… Not sure what everyone else chose – but I wanted some of the ones I knew she made)… So, those are on there… I wanted some special ones from the girls too – but that ornament box is still buried downstairs, I’ll try to get to it later today so I can add some.

But – our finished tree… I am so very happy with how it turned out! For our first attempt – I think it’s pretty great. It’s still short… It’s on top of all 3 risers of my stair stepper box, plus the tree stand on top of that, so the bottom branches start at my thighs – LOL – and they haven’t fully dropped yet… But considering that – I think our decorating job is pretty fabulous.

I also made a decorator mesh ribbon garland to go on top of our bay window… I am not completely done with this, I still have ornaments to add to it where I bunched it together – but I ran out of ornament hanger wire yesterday. I used the garland that I used to use to wrap my open staircase in the old house… I sure miss that staircase so much this time of year… If I ever move – an open staircase will be a requirement. Then I put a bow in the center… (and yes, someday I hope to get rid of our popcorn ceilings…)

Then, I set up my paternal grandparent’s nativity in the bay window…. I don’t have a manger for it – I am hoping that someday I can talk Josh into making one for me… until then – I just set them up.

This morning, I plan to make another garland to go over the new curio cabinet, and I also plan to fill it up… So – it should be a productive morning.

Last night, Josh and I went out and did a little bit of Christmas shopping… We got a few things for the girls – nothing exciting, and I found a few things for Josh – I am DONE, DONE, DONE with him! Usually, he is the hard one to buy for.

Then we went out to Outback Steakhouse for dinner, since both girls were gone last night (Allison worked and V was babysitting) – we decided to celebrate our Anniversary one day early… So we had a nice steak dinner, and enjoyed ourselves.

So, today is our 18th wedding Anniversary… As we get older – we are getting better about taking time to celebrate. But as we get older – we also have more money… In the past – we often had to choose whether we were going to celebrate our Anniversary, or spend that $$ on the girls for gifts – and we always chose the girls. So, it’s only been in recent years that we’ve really been able to afford to celebrate in a nice way…

I was planning to go running today – but as of now, it’s pouring rain and I don’t feel like it. We’ll see how the weather goes as the day progresses….

This afternoon – Victoria and I plan to start/finish Lara’s Christmas stocking… I’ve been procrastinating on this project big time…

That’s about all for today. I am just relieved to have the tree up and the house mostly decorated for the holidays.

I hope you all have a magnificent Sunday! Prayers and good thoughts go out to all of you!

D~

 

[ljcrochet]

Happy anniversary!

Your tree looks great.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Your tree is gorgeous. i love what you did with the bows and ribbons. The windows look good, too. And your Navity set is beautiful. You were lucky to receive that set.

So, today is our 18th wedding Anniversary… As we get older – we are getting better about taking time to celebrate. But as we get older – we also have more money… In the past – we often had to choose whether we were going to celebrate our Anniversary, or spend that $$ on the girls for gifts – and we always chose the girls. So, it’s only been in recent years that we’ve really been able to afford to celebrate in a nice way…

Congratulations. I love that you posted your wedding picture. You both look very happy.

I never thought about how a December wedding would affect the finances at Christmas time. I'm glad you have reached the point that you can properly celebrate your anniversary now.

 

[Clio]

Your tree is beautiful. You're welcome to decorate mine fianytime you want. My tree is short, too. It doesn't have any of my good ornaments on it. I was afraid the kittens would destroy them and right now the tree skirt is in a pile under it.
Happy anniversary.
I still have some Christmas shopping to do, along with my mom's birthday present. Her birthday's Wednesday.
This weekend we had pictures with Santa at our store. It was a lot of fun. Santa had a good visit.
Today I have to go out and find a tv stand for the tv I bought on Thanksgiving.
That cabinet is huge. Hopefully you get used to it. Seeing that semi pull up must have been something else. I hope you get the office cleaned up. I have a room like that. It's my daughter's old bedroom/my sewing room.
That a good day.
Liz

 

[huggybuff]

What a lovely tree! I love the dotted ribbon. Glad you overruled the girls on that one, hehe. I love the garland too!

I looked for it yesterday… Is it in your PTR? I didn’t look there.

Yeah, I'm just doing it in the same thread. I'll post day 3 today.

Happy Anniversary!!!

 

[FantasiaMagic]

Happy Anniversary! Your wedding photo is beautiful.
The tree looks spectacular. I am not kidding when I say this, it looks like professionals did it.
Enjoy the rest of your day!

 

[Texan]

You have gone all artsy and craftsy on us D! You get the Martha Stewart Christmas decorating award. You have made your tree and window beautiful; I do not have one ounce of craft in me; I have to buy everything pre-made. I really love your tree; and I know your nativity means so much; so simple and beautiful as well.

An anniversary near Christmas must have been hard down the road; so glad ya'll are able to take time for yourselves and go out and celebrate now.

Your ADR's are making me hungry; count me in as a breakfast food lover as well. I have to have my breakfast; even if its just a bar or protein drink. My day doesn't start right without it. So many people skip breakfast, I don't get it. Breakfast on vacations are even better.

You will have a good span of time in between your Allison and Victoria trips to plan and save. How many days are you and Allison going to USO? Does Victoria want to go there as well on her trip?

Thank you for sharing pics of your Christmas tree and spreading the cheer! Have a beautiful Sunday!

 

[DMGeurts]

Happy anniversary!

Your tree looks great.

Thank you!!! We had a great day and the girls and I had so much fun doing the tree… Although – it’s going to be awful when it has to come down.

Your tree is gorgeous. i love what you did with the bows and ribbons. The windows look good, too. And your Navity set is beautiful. You were lucky to receive that set.

Congratulations. I love that you posted your wedding picture. You both look very happy.

I never thought about how a December wedding would affect the finances at Christmas time. I'm glad you have reached the point that you can properly celebrate your anniversary now.

Thank you – we had so much fun decorating it! It makes me just want to sit in my living room all day and stare at it… And now I have other project ideas going – it’s a vicious circle. Maybe I’ll get them done in time to decorate next year? LOL

Thanks! It was a beautiful day – I loved having a Christmas wedding – and I think I would do it again? It was just difficult when we were young and broke. It’s kind of fun now though.

Your tree is beautiful. You're welcome to decorate mine fianytime you want. My tree is short, too. It doesn't have any of my good ornaments on it. I was afraid the kittens would destroy them and right now the tree skirt is in a pile under it.
Happy anniversary.
I still have some Christmas shopping to do, along with my mom's birthday present. Her birthday's Wednesday.
This weekend we had pictures with Santa at our store. It was a lot of fun. Santa had a good visit.
Today I have to go out and find a tv stand for the tv I bought on Thanksgiving.
That cabinet is huge. Hopefully you get used to it. Seeing that semi pull up must have been something else. I hope you get the office cleaned up. I have a room like that. It's my daughter's old bedroom/my sewing room.
That a good day.
Liz

Thanks! That would be fun! The girls and I had so much fun decorating it – but I am kind of glad we ended up with a shorter tree this year – it gives me time to go out and buy more ornaments for next year’s tree on clearance this year – seeing as we barely had enough for this tree. And it’s going to be awful trying to take it down. LOL

Thanks you! We had a nice day.

Happy birthday to your mom – I hope she has a nice day.

I b et that is a lot of fun to watch!

I hope you find a TV stand that you like.

Yes – I have better pictures of the curio to post today – since I was able to get everything moved into it yesterday morning. That was a crazy task!

Thanks Liz – same to you!

What a lovely tree! I love the dotted ribbon. Glad you overruled the girls on that one, hehe. I love the garland too!



Yeah, I'm just doing it in the same thread. I'll post day 3 today.

Happy Anniversary!!!

Thanks! We had so much fun decorating… We have to stop by Michaels again tonight – Victoria needs some drawing stuff… If they have any more dotted ribbon on sale – I might grab some more for next year – I would have liked to use it in some of the garland too.

OK – I’ll try to hop over there today. Thanks!

Thanks! We had a very nice day!

Happy Anniversary! Your wedding photo is beautiful.
The tree looks spectacular. I am not kidding when I say this, it looks like professionals did it.
Enjoy the rest of your day!

Thanks! I really loved my wedding dress a lot… I remember when I’d ordered it – I’d debated on adding more fabric to the train, as it was, I think I added a yard? I can’t remember now… but anyways – it was quite long and difficult to deal with – so I am glad I didn’t add anymore. LOL

Thanks! We had so much fun decorating it! Thank God for Pinterest – I wouldn’t have had a clue of where to start. LOL

Thank you!!! Same to you!

You have gone all artsy and craftsy on us D! You get the Martha Stewart Christmas decorating award. You have made your tree and window beautiful; I do not have one ounce of craft in me; I have to buy everything pre-made. I really love your tree; and I know your nativity means so much; so simple and beautiful as well.

An anniversary near Christmas must have been hard down the road; so glad ya'll are able to take time for yourselves and go out and celebrate now.

Your ADR's are making me hungry; count me in as a breakfast food lover as well. I have to have my breakfast; even if its just a bar or protein drink. My day doesn't start right without it. So many people skip breakfast, I don't get it. Breakfast on vacations are even better.

You will have a good span of time in between your Allison and Victoria trips to plan and save. How many days are you and Allison going to USO? Does Victoria want to go there as well on her trip?

Thank you for sharing pics of your Christmas tree and spreading the cheer! Have a beautiful Sunday!

Hahahaha…. Believe me – I had NO idea what I was doing… I saved a bunch of different trees that I liked on Pinterest – and they I tried to recreate them. It wasn’t easy… believe it or not – the topper was the easiest part. LOL The take down is going to be awful though – trying to get all of those ornaments out when the tree is dried and prickly… YIKES! I am not looking forward to that. LOL

It was hard back then, but it’s not so bad now… The worst of it is trying to carve time out during the holidays to celebrate.

That is true! Well, because we are military – we will have 3 day tickets… but we are only planning to be there for one day and only doing the HP section of both parks. Victoria doesn’t have plans to go to U/S, her “extra” thing that she wants to do is MNSSHP… So, that’s the plan for her. We’ve done the party twice in the past and both times, we had a lot of fun – so we are very much looking forward to it.

I do sometimes skip breakfast – especially at home, I try not to, but sometimes it just happens. But I love breakfast food and I will eat it at any time of the day.

I am glad you all enjoyed seeing my tree – it was so much fun putting it up! I think that next year – I may have 2 trees. One big and beautiful one in the living room and one sentimental one in the kitchen/dining room. We’ll see? LOL

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I had a nice day yesterday… I started off with emptying out my China cabinet – dusting everything that was in there (which wasn’t bad) but dusting everything that was outside of it was difficult… I have a few collections going. Before Josh and I met – I collected porcelain dolls – one specific series and that’s all (however, when Allison was little, she broke one – so it’s no longer a complete set)… Then through out the years – every Christmas, my in-laws give me a Snow Baby… So, I have 18 of those… And Josh used to get me a Snow Bunny every year for Valentine’s Day – but I told him to stop a few years ago, because I was just getting too many of everything. Then – I also have my sentimental items… Photos of my mom/parents/brother… Rufus items… Needless to say – I FILLED that curio easily, and it looks way too crowded for my taste. Sad to say – all of that was in my MUCH smaller China cabinet – but it didn’t look as bad because the windows are beveled on the edges. LOL

So, the curio – so you can see how huge it is…

And a close up – of all my “stuff”…

Then when I was finished with that – I unpacked my Grandmother’s China… I Pinterested that too, because I have NO idea how to display China in a China cabinet… I still don’t feel like it’s “right” – but it’s good enough for the moment. I texted a photo to my cousin who gave it to me, and he said he had some great display tips – but never sent them to me… So, that’ leads me to think that I need to display it better… LOL

Then I showered and got ready… Allison and Josh went out Christmas shopping… V and I stayed home and wrapped presents while we watched Christmas movies… It was nice.

Josh and Allison brought home makings for Lasagna, so they made lasagna for dinner – that was nice of them.

And we were lazy for the rest of the night.

Today – I’ll do my usual, working out in the morning.

Then I will be working all day.

I have an appointment this afternoon – so I will be done working at lunch time.

I have to drop a few packages off at the PO when I go to town>

V and I plan to stop at Michael’s this afternoon – she would like to look at some drawing stuff. I may see if they have any more dotted ribbon for next year’s decorating… I think I have a problem?

I found a wall hanging quilt that I would like to try to make for above my sofa at Christmas time… I ordered the pattern and the fabric to make it last night… Not sure what in the world I was thinking? LOL I don’t quilt.

That’s about all for today! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

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Oh – January trip update… I think it was Debora who told me that I should call the Towncar company I am using? Since I didn’t pay for my reservation when I made it and I didn’t receive an email confirmation… Well, I emailed them, and sure enough – my reservation went through, but I didn’t get a confirmation. So, glad I did – because I would have made a 2nd reservations and been charged twice and had two cars waiting for me at the airport. So, I need to call them this week to pay for it… but while I was on their website – I saw that they are having a January special – so I asked for that to be applied to my reservation – which they did happily… So, now it’s cheaper.

We are getting close! I will begin making my FPs for our trip this week… Since I am not staying at a Disney resort – I only have the 30 day window, and I will have to log in for each park day to do these… I have looked recently – and there seems to be stuff available this time of year – so I am hopeful that we will be able to get some decent ones. I’ll keep you all updated on this.

Oh – and HAPPY DANCE – our trip is now paid in full!!!! It’s always a relief to have that taken care of… And thanks to the Disney GC promotion last week – I even have an extra $100 bumper in the food budget. So, I can’t complain about that. I had our food budget at a pretty high estimate anyways – so I think we will have some really full bellies that week and hopefully enough left over to put a deposit on V’s trip, while I am at it.

Anyways – have a great day all! Prayers and good thoughts go out to all of you!!!

D~

 

[Wood Nymph]

Your collection looks very nice in the new cabinet. We have a clock like that. I bet you are glad that you have that job finished.