Today marks the last day of 2009. It marks the end of a year, and a decade. I am not feeling either sad or happy about the end of 2009. Overall it was an okay year, not the best, but certainly not the worst in my books. In fact, its heading out on a good note. I always tend to look forward, though...
...things like this snowman appear. When I look at this, which is now melted and gone, I instantly smile. Its been awesome having my sister Sharon and her kids home for Christmas. Saturday, Sharon and I spent the afternoon together doing one of my favorite things...grabbing lunch at the pub. A perfect afternoon to close out the holiday season. ...
The seven grandkids. Post present opening. Not the best picture of them, but I dont think we would have been able to get a good one, no matter how hard we tried! They were too occupied with each other and their new toys! I dont blame them! Its been a great Christmas. I've thoroughly enjoyed having the family together. Merry Christmas to All! ...
All the presents are wrapped and under the tree. Also under the tree are a few gifts I've received already from friends. I especially like the fuzzy polar bear my friend Robin gave to the bean. Not to me, remember, to the bean! I cant wait to show the bean! Each year as I wrap each of the gifts, I get a bit more excited about giving the...
The Wagner family, sans Geno, arrived this afternoon for the holidays. We were all very excited to see them. They were very excited to be here. The two younger kids, Erika and Zachary, went straight to the tree and saw all the gifts that Grandma had already wrapped and put under the tree. Erika found her gifts. Zachary, too. Zachary blurted at dinner that he knows what he...
*Heritage Place subdivision, Romeoville, IL On my way home tonight I took a gander thru the neighborhood at everyone's lights. There are more houses decorated than not. What is it about christmas lights that makes one smile? I love christmas lights. I love the magic they bring. I love the comforting feeling they bring to a neighborhood. I love the way they light up neighborhoods. I am...
*Kris Kringle Market, Daley Plaza, ChicagoThis is the second year that I've made it to the Kris Kringle Market in Chicago. This market has vendors come in from all over the world - mostly Germany, Poland and the Ukraine - selling traditional european food and trinkets. The glass blown vases and ornaments are the best. Unique and colorful and beautiful. I cannot leave there without consuming...
*PEHS Concert Band, Holiday ConcertTonight was my niece's holiday concert. It was a nice 50 minutes of holiday music. The only thing I would have changed up in the program would be more band time, and not so much choir time. All the students did a great job, so talented! Here's Megan playing... ...
Today I received a thank you note from my brother-in-law Geno. He is currently deployed overseas in the Middle East. I had sent him some homemade granola to help spice up the grub served in the mess hall, in addition, give him a taste of home. It was a great surprise to see this today amongst a dental bill, many christmas advertisements and a christmas card. I opened it immediately. He's a...
Today I spent the afternoon shopping with my dearest friend Rich. He and I wandered around downtown Naperville for a while, checking out Barnes and Noble, Williams-Sonoma, Gap and finally took a break at Starbucks. I normally love the hustle and bustle of christmas shopping, however today when I walked into Barnes and Noble I saw the many many people I felt the urge to leave right away. As...
Its Friday night, 14 days before Christmas. I decided I needed to freshen up my holiday music mix. While Deck the Halls is on the tube, with hot tea in hand and sitting by christmas tree light only, I surfed iTunes for an eclectic mix of holiday songs. I found I continually went to the classics, especially performed by those greats who defined a whole genre of music. Frank...
This photo is from tonight. I missed Tuesday because there has been so much happening in life. But that doesnt mean I didnt think about the holidays. I actually came up with the perfect gift for my 7 year old nephew, Zachary. I sent a text to my sister with the idea, which warranted a call back from her with the first words out of her mouth,...
My christmas present arrived today! Since its just me, no boyfriend or husband, I buy myself a little something each year. This year I found the perfect gift! Its a mama + me necklace. I will wear this everyday! I love it so! My brother called me Sunday to discuss gifts for my mother + step-father. We talked about a necklace my mother has of people charms ... one...
The front door wreath. The one shipped from Michigan, Christmas Farms. I love the look of the boxwood. It doesnt need any decorations to help it look like Christmas. Plus its perfect against the red. House isnt decorated until the wreath is up. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Dad's surgery was a success. I talked to him today, he sounded good, though I think he was ready to go home. I think...
I purchased these retro bottle brush trees a couple weeks before Thanksgiving and they have been living on my dresser, bringing Christmas magic to my dreams. This afternoon I met my mother and step-father at Wal-Mart to do some shopping. Nothing special. However, Mom needed 'Santa' wrapping paper. It dawned on me then that I will need to have 'Santa' paper. Each day I am reminded that...
Thursday night I did something creative to release my mind from the days events. Nothing unusual happened other than a few new changes for some of the department and conflict of auras with someone. I came straight home from work, cleaned up the kitchen and pulled out the chocolate candy to be molded using my grandmother's candy molds. The end result is a...
Each year I usually do my best to give to someone who needs it more than my family or I do. This year at work, the Giving Trees were for the local organization called Little Friends. They work with mentally challenged adults. When I saw that this was our organization I immediately grabbed two cards. I have a special place in my heart...
**christmas card from me to my maternal grandparents, circa 1980 I found this the other night when I was going through the bag of photos from my grandmother's house. Its a handmade card (as if you couldnt see that!) I had made for my grandmother. At Christmas in 1980, I was nine years old. Apparently I was learning how to spell ... notice how I spelled 'christmas'? ...