Exceedingly Mundane

It’s always just the slightest bit of a letdown to me after Christmas is over. We had three nice celebrations this year, and a wonderful Christmas. We went to my in-laws, to my sister’s and were actually able to stay home on Christmas Eve this year, which is a rare treat. Normally we travel on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but we had a great day to ourselves on Christmas Eve. I made my traditional sticky buns for breakfast, then a ham and several side dishes for our big Christmas meal at home.

After it’s all over though, I always have mixed emotions. For one thing, the tree always looks so lonely and sad with no presents under it. I still love seeing the tree and all the decorations and lights, but some part of me always wants to go ahead and get things taken down and put up for the year. My mom always took down the tree before the New Year, so we never left ours up for Epiphany. I am that same way, so I’m trying to decide when to take it all down. I started this morning, picking up a few things, but I still have a ton left to do. Just taking apart and packing up my Snow Village is a job 🙂

So, how about you… did you have a wonderful Christmas at your house? When does your tree and decorations come down? Soon after Christmas, by New Years, by Epiphany, or sometime after that? Vote and let me know!

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Oh, and by the way, I’m trying out a new winter look on the blog – what do you think? Let me know if you have problems viewing anything 🙂 It’s sort of odd for me to be putting up this new look, considering it’s 76 degrees here right now. We spent most of our Christmas in short sleeves, as it’s been really warm here lately. Doesn’t feel like winter at all!

Have a great day!

We’re busy celebrating Christmas with family, so I won’t be posting much until after the holidays. I’ll try to post some after Christmas, and before New Years. I have one or two reading challenges that I am probably going to participate in for the upcoming year. But until then, I won’t be on the computer hardly at all. I wanted to stop and wish each and every one of you a very blessed, very joyous Christmas!

From our family to yours – Merry Christmas!!!

I finished the books I set out to read for the Winter Holiday Reading Challenge (original post here). I also read a book entitled “My Mother’s Wish: An American Christmas Carol”, which was very short and pretty decent, but was not my favorite of the books I read. My original three books I chose were more to my liking. I tend to like really sweet, really old-fashioned, easy books, especially at this hectic time of year.

The books I completed were:

1) Till Morning is Nigh by Leisha Kelly (part of the Wortham Family series of books I am reading)
2) A Cedar Cove Christmas by Debbie Macomber (part of the Cedar Cove series, fit in nicely after the 8th book I recently finished)
3) The Spirit of the Season by Dana Corbit (part of the Grace Chapel Inn series I am reading)

As you can see, these all fit in with current series that I am reading, so that was an added bonus for me. Irregardless, I really enjoy reading holiday books this time of year and am glad that I got a chance to participate in this challenge. I hope to do it again next year.

For the record, I’ve completed 85 books so far this year, for a total of 27,320 pages. I have started another book (“Sugar Cookie Murder” by Joanne Fluke, one of the Christmas offerings in a series of cozy mysteries that I am reading) and will probably finish it before the year is out. The really odd, anal side of me wishes that I wouldn’t read it or another book. I like round numbers, people. 85 is a round number, 86 or 87 is not, LOL! Anyway, I have so many more books to read, and I’m looking forward to turning the calendar to January and starting on a new goal for 2009. 🙂

Happy Reading!

I know everyone is busy, as are we. I thought a quick poll would be the best way to blog right about now! 🙂

Today’s Christmas-themed poll is always a favorite of mine. My tree and my Snow Village are some of my most favorite decorations, and I always love hearing about what other people have and how they decorate at their house. Everyone has their own traditions and reasons, and it’s always fun for me to read about them.

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Feel free to leave a comment about what you have at your house, if it’s the same every year, different every year or this year for a certain reason, or whatever. Or just vote and go about your business of being a Happy Elf this joyous Christmas season! 😀

Merry Christmas!

Beau is the coolest dog around!

Lest you think this was an easy photo to get, think again! Beau does not like anything on him. He tolerates a collar but that’s it. I’ve bought him bandannas and scarves and camouflage vests for hunting, and even some cute reindeer antlers for Christmas. He doesn’t like anything on his head or body. If he keeps it on two seconds, it’s a LONG time. 🙂 He tolerated Tim’s sunglasses for a second or two this weekend though, long enough for me to snap these! 😀

Today’s Christmas-themed “Question of the Day” is an easy one! It’s all about the presents or gifts under your tree. Do you wrap more presents using wrapping paper or do you use more gift bags? Do you try to wrap your presents as you go, or do you have one marathon wrapping session? Does your wrapping paper have a color theme or other theme? Or is it a mish-mash of colors, patterns and styles?

Here’s my answers – I try to wrap most of my presents, and I use an assortment of paper. Not the expensive stuff, or something with a nice coordinating theme. I buy a lot of paper from Walmart and Target the day-after Christmas and put it up for the next year. It’s whatever colors or patterns or paper catch my eye. It’s a total riot of color under my tree, not well-coordinated at all 😀 I try to wrap as I go, but I usually end up having at least one marathon wrapping session. I like to put on a Christmas movie and wrap while watching one of my favorite classics. Tim will help if I ask him – he’s good about doing the paper, then I do the bows, tags, etc. He won’t volunteer but he will help if I ask 🙂 I usually end up putting a couple of things in gift bags, but I try not to overdo it on the bags. I think it’s more fun to unwrap something on Christmas morning, rather than just opening the top of a bag and finding the present under a layer of tissue paper.

Oh, and for the record, I have only wrapped one present so far this year. I hope to get started today. The weather is dreary (raining and sleeting, we were supposed to get snow flurries, but so far, nada) and it’s a good day to stay inside and try to wrap some presents.

How about you? Do you have a well-coordinated tree as far as the presents and gifts go? Are there a lot of bags under your tree? Are you up late on Christmas Eve, still trying to wrap everything and get it under the tree, or do you have yours wrapped a couple of weeks (or months?!) ahead of time? Leave me a comment and let me know!

I haven’t had much time to blog lately, and I don’t see that changing until after the holidays. How about you, are you crazy busy too? I’ve got a couple of Question of the Day’s coming up, and maybe a poll, but that’s the extent of it 🙂

We’re staying busy with the holiday season and birthdays. We went Saturday to my in-laws for our niece’s fifteenth birthday. When on earth did that child get to be 15? Seems like yesterday she was just 3 or 4, and climbing on my back all the time 🙂 Brittany got a digital camera and was so excited about it – me, too! I love having another budding photographer in the family!

I’ve thought for years that Brittany needs to go to vet school when she is older. The girl loves animals and they love her. Every animal I’ve ever seen around her just flocks to her 🙂

Brittany with Beau and Roscoe

Tim got a chance to test out the gun he got for his birthday, and then take Beau squirrel hunting. The dog was in sheer heaven. No squirrels, but they had a blast together in the woods!

Tim sighting his new gun

I took a couple of scenic shots that I really liked:

I love being out in the country at sunset and after dark. We just don’t see sunsets in the suburbs like this, nor do we see as many stars in a pitch black sky 🙂

Hope you all had a great weekend, and will have a wonderful week coming up. Enjoy the Christmas season!

I’m going to fall back on an old favorite, doing memes. I did a lot of memes when I first started blogging, but I don’t do them very often now. I think I got burned out! I’ve seen this one at Annie‘s blog, as well as several other blogs, so I thought I’d swipe it and play today. Feel free to keep it going at your blog if you’d like!

1.Wrapping paper or gift bags? Mostly wrapping paper, I like for people to have things to open at the holidays. I do fall back on gift bags if it’s an odd size or last minute thing. Very few though

2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial. And pre-lit now (post here when we bought it two years ago, Tim hates stringing the lights!)

3. When do you put up the tree? After Thanksgiving and Tim’s birthday

4. When do you take the tree down? After Christmas but before New Years

5. Do you like eggnog? Yes, but Tim doesn’t, so I rarely buy any

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Hello. I can’t remember my childhood. I have no idea!

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, and I’ve blogged about it before – it’s olive wood and my mother-in-law bought it for us in the Holy Land. A family treasure, to be sure

8. Hardest person to buy for? a tie between my dad and father-in-law

9. Easiest person to buy for? probably my mother-in-law or sister Gail

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I joke with Tim about the year he bought me a vacuum cleaner…. (oh, and I have blogged about that too. It seems I’ve already blogged about everything imaginable here, huh?!)

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? It’s A Wonderful Life to watch on Christmas Eve, and The Bishop’s Wife while wrapping presents 🙂

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? After Thanksgiving and Tim’s birthday, usually around the first of December. I’d start earlier, but I don’t get any suggestions or ideas until I beg for them. It’s like pulling teeth on both sides of the family!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Nope.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Goodness, all of it! I miss my mom’s divinity, and I do love fudge, but I don’t turn down any sweets or “special” food 🙂

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear

17. Favorite Christmas song? I couldn’t pick one, but I tend to like more traditional hymns like O Come All Ye Faithful, Silent Night, Joy to the World, O Holy Night, etc. I’m really enjoying the new Faith Hill Christmas CD this year, very traditional and she has a great voice

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Both. Always. We travel to Tim’s parents, my sisters and rarely stay home. This year, for only the second time in our marriage, we’ll be home on Christmas Eve and able to spend time at our house. I am unbelievably excited about that 🙂

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Yes, thanks to the Rudolf song!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We’ll open 3 times this year, the Saturday before Christmas (Tim’s side), Christmas Eve (just us and Beau) and Christmas Day (at my sister’s)

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? The materialism and overdone-ness at the season. We’re all such consumers and it’s about buy, buy, buy. The crowds and the traffic bug me too.

23. What I love most about Christmas? being with family, celebrating the birth of our Lord

If you visit here much, you’ve probably read a reference or two to the fact that Tim is working from home full-time. We both love it, especially me! It’s been such a blessing to have him here, and for us to be able to spend so much time together. We converted one of our spare bedrooms years ago into a computer room/scrapbook room. Since we run our own website (Hambones.org), we have several computers back there already. When he started working from home part-time, he worked some in the den and kitchen, but that is hard on your back to sit for long periods of time at a non-computer chair/desk. Then, he moved to the computer room/office and we got me a laptop to use in the den and kitchen (where I spend most of my time anyway!). We have a computer desk and chair, but the chair is probably 11 or 12 years old and not ergonomic in any way.

Tim has been having problems with his upper back and shoulders for nearly two weeks now. Yesterday, he got up and decided to go to the doctor to get it x-rayed and checked out. But, by lunchtime, he talked himself out of going, saying it was starting to feel better. He’s been using a heating pad, and we have been applying those heat patches to his back a couple of times a day. FYI – Tim is not a guy who gets sick or has physical problems. He’s as healthy as an ox. When he gets a headache, he doesn’t even like to take a Tylenol. He prefers to just “tough it out”. 🙂

Anyway, I suggested that maybe it was time to look at getting a) a new computer chair for him to sit in all day and maybe b) a new mattress for our bed. Our mattress is 9 or 10 years old – does anyone know if that’s about the lifespan of a mattress/box springs?

So, last night, we went and got Tim a new chair. He picked it out, and then when we got it home, I was told that I was going to be putting it together!

Tada - instead of Tim "Tool Time", we have Stacy Tool Time...

Concentrating (I normally stick my tongue in the side of my mouth when I concentrate!)

Posing

So, now Tim has a nice new chair to sit in all day. And at night, he works nights sometimes too, like last night. Poor thing. I’m so proud of him, he works so hard to support us and give us a comfortable, happy life 🙂

P.S. Tim said to add that he “loves a woman who can build a chair!!” 🙄

It seems that the only thing I post about lately is either a Question of the Day or a poll, but hey, they’re fun and I enjoy doing them! I really enjoyed reading everyone’s answers on last week’s Thanksgiving polls. We had a really good Thanksgiving. My dad stayed with us for four days, and then we celebrated Tim’s birthday over the weekend. Needless to say, we’ve been really busy.

I took a lot of photos over Thanksgiving and have posted some on my Flickr account. Family shots 😀

So, since Christmas is just a couple of weeks away, and I have yet to buy the first present, I thought I’d at least try to get my decorations up. I got my Snow Village put up on Friday, and Sunday night, I worked on the tree. We still have the outside decorations and lights to do, but I’m not sure they’re going to get done this year. Tim does those, most of them on a ladder, and he’s feeling quite a bit of pain in his back and shoulder. He’s not sure if he pulled a muscle or has a pinched nerve (I personally think he swings a golf club entirely too much, LOL!), but it hurts from his neck down to his shoulders and upper back. So, the outside lights might not get up for a while, if at all 🙁

While I was getting ready to put up our tree (yes, it’s artificial), I had to move furniture. It made me wonder – does anyone else have to move things around to put up a Christmas tree? So, that’s today’s Question of the Day — do you have to move furniture or other stuff to make room for your tree, or any of your Christmas decorations? Leave me a comment and let me know!