Days 8, 7, and 6

I should have know there was no way I was going to post every day before Christmas. I still have not finished everything I wished to accomplish. So today we'll cover 8, 7, and 6....hopefully. They will be in seperate posts due to time constraints.

Day 8...for Thursday:

The snowman on the left signifies snow. You're supposed to have snow for christmas, right? Of course not everyone is (hello tropical climates) but Las Vegas did this year. I was amazed. I didn't feel so bad then about our frigid temps we've been getting. And we are certainly solidly embedded in this cold snap. I think it's been about a week and a half now, and there is no relief in sight. -22, -24 plus add some windchill on that to bring it down to -30 is about the norm right now. Makes me want to go out and shovel the sidewalk. Or maybe I'd rather not as you can tell when you walk past our house. Wonder when the bylaw officer is going to make a visit to our house with a special christmas present. Guess I should get on that. Maybe after breakfast....

The next 2 days of Christmas

Ok, we will cover day 10 and day 9 in this post.

The 10th day of Christmas

Every Christmas should have some type of christmas craft happening. I had a whole list of stuff that I wanted to accomplish. Unfortuneately, with a little one around, my grand plans have once again been thwarted. So I'm done to only a few christmas crafts. One did not turn out so well so we won't even address it. Another one that I'm currently working on has only been partially thwarted. This is a stocking that I'm cross stitching for the little one. It will not be done for this Christmas (go figure, I'm not a fast cross stitcher although I had thought that is was possible at one point to have it done for the 25th of december), but I will have it done for next christmas. The progress you see here is really only about 1/10th done. It will be cute when finished though. I will push through untill the end of December and see just how far I get done on it. I'm hoping to get the majority of it finished because I have another grand cross stitch project that I must start January 1.
The 9th day of Christmas
How abut a partridge in a Christms tree? I've come across some very cool woodland ornaments thanks to a very thrifty and resourceful shopper. This little bird is only one of the great ornaments brought home to my tree. What a great start to my woodland x-mas tree.
And, newsflash. The Muppets are making a comeback!!!! There is actually a new Muppets x-mas spcial debuting tonite on CTV!!!!! Me and my little one will be watching. Gotta introduce her to the important influences of childhood early in life!!!!!

The 12 Days of Christmas...or not

So I wanted to do a Christmassy post count down in the form of the 12 days of Christmas. I'm already behind. It's the 15th today, so that means I've missed 2 days. But my question is...does the 12th day of christmas land on christmas eve or christmas day? For my benefit because I have started late, the 12th day of christmas is going to be the actual christmas day. So let the countdown begin!

The 12th day of Christmas!

So here is our christmas tree. I finally got this sucker decorated on Saturday. It took me two days to finally get it done. Due mostly to a demanding little soul who just kept demanding my attention. That and I've got about a thousand other things on the go right now too. Whenever the little one has a sleep, I'm multi-tasking trying to get some things accomplished. Anyhow, our tree seems to move locations every year. This is a new spot for the tree and let me tell you, trying to accomodate the x-mas tree, ample seating, a infant swing, a playpen and an infant change area in one small room is tough. Think we got it accomplished though. I thought maybe I would try a woodland theme this year but don't think it really happened. I do have some nifty owls and cute snowmen on my tree though. And I had a great woodland star tree topper, but when I woke up Sunday morning it had been replaced with something else. I will let you all look and guess what is now topping our tree . If you look closely you will also see that the bottom decorations appear to also have been reorganized. We came home from a friends house last night and someone (or something) had been busy. I remember in the past I would only decorate the tree to about a foot above the bottom branches of the tree because of a certain family member. I will let you guess who that family member might be. I really thought she was beyond this, but hanging out under the tree seems to be her new favorite place. Anyhow, Christmas tree and decorating accomplished on the 12th day of christmas!

The 11th day of Christmas

People, it gets dark here at 4:3o pm. Not one of my most favorite characteristics of December! I much prefer long days. I needed to get out of the house the other night, so hubby, baby and I decided to drive around (and go to MEC because according to the hubby, x-mas isn't x-mas unless you make an x-mas stop at MEC). It was a cold night, so we made the executive decision to drive through Hawrelak Park and experience Bright Nights, which is a lighted x-mas display put on by the city. You do have to pay to drive through the park and be festive and I forked out the 20$ for our 'carload'. We really should have had our car full of the maximum amount of people that could possibly fit in the car as I didn't realize they charged 'by the carload', so 20$ for two people and an infant is quite steep I thought. But we were there anyhow and I figured let's just go. Besides, I had emptied out my pantry of canned and dried goods that I figured I would never use to donate to the food bank and I certainly wasn't taking that bag of stuff back home. The displays were nice. Very bright and festive. This one of the candles and pointsettia was one of the best. But what was even better was the house that hubby took me to afterwards. Talk about your Christmas lights!!!!! This house is

spectacular! And this picture doesn't even show the backyard or all the trees surrounding the yard. I'm very much appreciative of all efforts to put christmas lights out, but man, this house is decked out. Have you ever seen lit up pink flamingoes? This house has it. How about an evergreen tree transformed into a palm tree? This house has it. Cinderella's carriage and horses? This house has it. Strands of lit up hibiscus flowers? This house has it. And still manages to make it all feel so Christmassy. And that's the 11th day of Christmas.

Last night our little family went to the Festival of Trees. What a neat place. It was held in a big conference center downtown, and talk about a christmas atmosphere. And so many Christmas trees! It's a competition where companies sponser a person to decorate a christmas tree. There were glitzy trees, sports themed trees, mod trees, old fashioned trees...and there was a fabulous gingerbread house and decorated christmas cake competition as well!!! I did not know this. Look out people, I will be entering both or at least one of those competitions next year! I can make a cake or a gingerbread house!!!!

Anyhow, thought I'd post a pic or two of some of the fabulous trees we saw. I'm so in love with the 'woodland' theme tree this year. Unfortuneately finding ornaments in this theme appears to be more difficult than I had imagined!! There were so many 'glizy' trees. I loved them. And gigantic ornaments. So pretty. Perhaps I just like shiny and glitter.
This was the first of our christmas outings. Monday, being the first day of December, is officially the day I can start putting up christmas decorations! Hopefully tomorrow we can get our lights up on our house. Lots of people on our street already have their lights up and turned on at night. A little early, but one must think 'safety' here and be doing lights before the really cold weather and snow hits. I'm hoping we can be safety concious and do the same.

Oooh, a new post...for the two people that read my blog. As one would say..."WHOOT!!!!" The picture above is just a reminder of the nice warm (short) fall weather we had. Back when I could still take the doggers for a walk. I really do enjoy fall. I love the colours and the smells in the air. (I actually like the smell of cranberries ripening....most people would say they smell like stinky feet...but there is such an 'earthy' smell to them...totally reminds me of fall). And having the dogs always encouraged me to get out to T-Park, because, of course, T-Park is one of their favorite places and going for a walk is always the highlight of their day. Now the highlight of their day is being curled up on the floor by my feet. Eventually once the baby gets a couple weeks older, I'll be taking them back out to the park...for short walks anyhow. Cold weather does not encourage me to get out.
So, anyone excited about Christmas yet?????? Anyone interested in decorating for Christmas yet????? I am. But according to the Christmas guru (a friend of a neighbor friend) official decorating for Christmas cannot start until Dec.1. Of course not all people listen to this.....as shown by a couple of houses on my street...but I will. Although I'm itching to put up a wreath on my door that I found a Superstore for cheap. It's real and it needs some decoration on it, but it's a real wreath! Had a real one last year and loved it! So as a new and official re-start to the blog, be on the look out for christmas celebration pictures!!

Do you think these two pups are laughing at me? I think so. This was two weekends ago on the coldest day of the week (all temps for about 1.5 weeks before this were above 0 degrees...this day happened to be -18, feels like -24 with windchill day. The day after this? 0 degrees!!!!), a sunday to be precise on the St.Patrick's day run. I let a friend talk me into running 10 km this day in the fresh snow and the freezing temps. The pups and hubby came along to offer encouragement and cheer. I think the pups thought it was all funny. Well, as I stood at the starting line, I didn't think it was so funny. But about 2km into the race I was warm. Yes, running (with some walking) 10k pooped me out. But I did survive. Thanks to everyone who supported me (pups and hubby), and the patient and strong gal that ran with me. YAH!

Some birthday wishes...

It appears that birthdays are sprouting up everywhere.

Woot! Lookit that cake! I got a special commission for this cake. It celebrates a milestone birthday. Hopefully I did some justice for the special day. Unfortuneately she won't be able to indulge in it as she would have to come to Edmonton....I don't think it would travel well to Vancouver. So we here will enjoy it for the birthday girl instead. A chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream filling and chocolate fondant icing on top. The cake is kind of supposed to represent a basket of flowers. It was fun to make. I was groovin to tunes from the '80s while decorating it. I also had a little bit of help in the kitchen in the form of a yellow lab and a chocolate lab....they were supervising.

Who did I give this card to? Anyone? I can't remember! So I'm posting it anyways! Partly because I can't find anything else to post and partly because I'm celebrating the start of a new month! March is one month closer to spring. How much happiness is that!

And that's all I have to say for today.

Orchid show...

So 'S' and I went to the orchid show at the local college here on Friday evening. Seeing as she was the only one even remotely interested in going with me, little did she know, she really had no choice. If you really want to see some spectacular flowers and plants, an orchid show is something you really must attend. It's such an amazing species of plant. There is not much foliage to an orchid, but it bursts out in such amazing flowers, it's really quite neat. Anyhow, at this show there is a retailer area where one can race over to purchase an orchid after being inspired by the other half of the show, the actual display and competition portion. I myself had already decided before even entering the building that I would try to find myself an interesting orchid to bring home. This is the third time I've visited the show, and both other times I was dying to purchase. Unfortuneately my time and energy at the time was more devoted to getting myself through university and not spending time and energy on a plant. This time however, I didn't let these barricades stand in my way....neither did 'S'! She bought one too! We both bought small plants, with the hopes that we would be able to encourage growth from them. Mine came with three flowers so I'm already a step ahead of the game I figure. Plus I've got a Phaleinopsis (sp????) flowering for the second time in a row in my front window at home, so maybe I've got a little bit of luck on my hands too! Anyhow, I recommend if anyone hears of a show in their area...GO! It's well worth it! Yes, apparently there is one in Calgary in the fall....and one in Vancouver coming up in March I think. And just for the record...my red amarylis is flowering...AGAIN! And it has two flowers coming up! I swear that thing has a life of it's own. I actually wanted to repot it because the pot it's in is cracked and it's got babies (more like teenagers actually at this point) growing like mad in the same pot. But apparently I'll be waiting for it to finish flowering first! I'd like to think that this is an omen for spring....but maybe I'll just not jinx things and put that thought aside for now....

Basement renos are beginning to move along. The framing is done and the wall on the main level of the house between the living room and the kitchen is.....gone. Sure is different! Electrician and plumber coming in this week and supposedly the drywallers are aiming for a Thursday start! Pretty exciting!

One picture uploaded to blogger; ah-ah-ah-ahhhhhhh. Ok, for a couple of days now I've been trying to post some stuff and I swear blogger is seeing its demise in my eyes. Maybe it's because my pictures are too big, but that has never been a problem before, not sure why it should start now. Anyhow, as ya'll know and were a part of, these are pages I made for B's christmas album. Although you've all seen them (with the exception of mom), I'm posting them again! Here is one starring myself (yes I should probably crop the photos! All the pages revolve around Christmas at Dad's last year. I thought they turned out rather good. So much so that I'd like to create and 8x8 album for myself in the future! All pages shown are 8x8.

OK, I made an effort and cropped the pics. These are of kitty cat. He lives in the barn, chases mice, chipmunks, whatever. Every farm needs a kitty cat and every kitty cat needs a hug once in awhile. I'm happy to oblige of course. In case you can't really see, the flower says 'adore' on it.

Not much else going on up here. We had a bit of snow last night, got to drive home in it...Yay. But the temps are at least warmer than they were. We're above -10 and apparently going to be above 0 on Friday. We'll see how the weather channel decides to change that on us by the time we get to Friday. It would be nice, but snow melting during the day and freezing again during the night just does not appeal to me.

Soooo I've actually got some scrappin stuff saved up for more posts in the coming days. Go figure!! So chow for now. Updated blog ....Woooo!

Sucker, is it ever COLD outside!

Ok all. Winter has truly hit. It is blizzarding and windy, snowy, cold, frigid, freezing, windchilly, and just darn winter out! Just wanted to let everyone know that we're set for -30 degree temps for the next week. Those people in a warm climate...count yourself lucky.

Think I've nabbbed em all...

Ok, had some computer issues...I may have solved the majority of them. And without having to reboot my whole and entire computer. I still think that I will be attempting some more work... not that I'm knowledgeable about computers or anything.
So, here's my latest observation. Was at the grocery store the other day, and noticed that the grocery carts in this store now have coffee cup holders on them. Is this society truly ruled by coffee breaks and coffee? Let's see.... a Tim Hortons, Starbucks, and Second Cup, all within 1 km of each other.5 minutes away, another Second Cup, a Starbucks within the Safeway store and a Fresh Start deli place which for sure serves coffee. All the coffee stores have drive thrus, all the gas stations have a coffee bar. And now, after you've gone through the coffee drive thru, you can go grocery shopping without the risk of spilling your coffee! Just for the record, the lady in front of me at the grocery store check out line did have a coffee, but did not use the coffee cup holder. She preferred to balance it precariously in the child seat basket in the front of the cart.

I heard the bells on Christmas Day...

Well, actually I didn't. It was pretty quiet here today with just me and the hubby and two rambunctious doggers and a ninja cat. Someone brought up the word ninja to me today...and I can't get it out of my head. I like that word. "Ninja!"

So someone (not I ) was up at 0530 this morning. Not sure why. But because that person was up, the doggers and the cat had to get up as well. I ignored them all! And slept in until 0700. Good enough! All the Christmas lights were on when I got up, the fireplace was a-roaring, and my stocking was stuffed!!! Presents were also around the tree. How exciting! And there was a plate of pancakes waiting for me. How much better does it get???? Anyhow, after the eating of the pancakes, we pretty much dived into the present opening. Seeing as we don't have kids, christmas morning kind of revolved around the pets. They all opened their presents first (go figure!) and we watched the doggers play and destroy their new toys (sigh). So enough was enough after that, we gave them each a new bone to chew on and they settled down in the living room and left us to get the rest of the work done. So I must say thank-you to everyone who sent presents. We got some awsome and neat stuff and are much appreciative. So now all the excitement is over and we did a quick clean up of the house (ok, it actually took most of the afternoon and a bit into the evening) to prepare ourselves for the boxing day breaky we're hosting tomorrow.

So here are the doggers opening a 'dirty rotten kitty'. Kona has floppy toy radar. She knew what was in the packages the moment we picked them out from under the tree. There is no doubt about it, Kona loves her floppy 'hit me in the head' toys!

Last day before Christmas...

It's 1030 pm and it's time for bed. To me the greatest part of Christmas is Christmas Eve evening. It is when the best anticipation occurs. You know the next day is going to be Christmas and it's only one sleep away. The Christmas lights and Christmas tree are magical, and the presents under the tree are just dying to be opened. It's the first visits with family (if you're all together), knowing that there are more days to visit still to come. To me it's the true beginning of the Christmas season. Anticipation and magic reign at this time of year. I type this on my way to bed. Two tired dogs and a husband falling asleep on the floor. Still a couple of things to do on my 'christmas to do' list, but after today all the deadlines, and must do's are over. The end of the year draws near, and the time to turn over a new leaf approaches. So....

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a great night! (may those who can.....SLEEP IN!!!!)

2nd day before Christmas...

Ok, Hubby and I did the unthinkable last night. We went to the new Wal-Mart stoopidstore (I hate wal-mart!) on the southside at 1030 pm! Apparently this store is open 24 hours, so like the sillies we are, we thought we'd check it out late in the evening, on the last Saturday before Christmas. Hubby's reason? "I like to see the kerfuffle!" And of course I'm just along for the ride, and to possibly get a couple of last minute stocking stuffers. So we get to the store and the parking lot is PACKED!!! Yup, 1030 at night. We get inside the store and the line-up are HUGE! At 1030 at night. We look at each other and set out the challenge. 25 minutes, we both seperate and go hunting for respective stocking stuffers, meet at the front door at 1100. So off we go. After a couple of unsuspecting run-ins to each other (I ran like a freak pushing my mini buggy each time I saw him, it was funny), I made it into a fairly short line at the self-checkouts. Short line means about 10 people in front of me. Sat there for about 10 minutes as the same lady tried to check herself through the self-check out. I began rolling my eyes, then saw an opening in the line beside me for a closer self-check out and dashed into it before anyone looked! Only 4 people in front of me now! "What the heck????" That fourth person in line was feeding the self-checkout with all their loose change??!!?? They started digging through their pockets and her purse to get all their loose change. Which I guess would be fine if you continuously fed it in...but these people would pop in a nickel, then watch for the total to register on the computer screen. Then pop in another nickel. Oh lordy! They kind of smiled to the people in front of me and said "We like to use up our change!" All I could think was, people, you just don't get it, do you. Regardless, I got through the checkout in about 15 minutes. I saw hubby waiting for me at the doorway....empty handed. He promptly pointed out his deserted cart in a line up of about 100 people long. He said "Forget this noise! And abandoned his cart with my stocking stuffers in it. As disappointed as I was, I had to laugh. He just doesn't know the art of looking for the shortest line up. And apparently the other 100 people in that line don't know either!

So that was the trip to the ginormous store where you can do all your shopping in on trip. Honestly? I won't be heading back there anytime soon.

4th day before Christmas...

Ok folks. I guess it's no secret that we currently have another dogger in the household at the minute. We've taken in a foster dog. Her previous home (which was a good home) had her getting picked on by the other dogs. So she gets to stay at our house for awhile and hang with Kona. Of course Kona loves having a playmate...but she is also a jealous dog. If you want to pet Polly (foster dogger), you'd better also want to pet Kona. Kind of goes the other way around too. And because they are both under the age of 2 (Polly is 2 and a bit I think, Kona 1 year and 2 months), they still possess alot of energy. So being greeted at the door when I come home from work is quite the exhuberate experience. We've had some trials and tribulations with Polly in the house. She's not trained in anyway (didn't even know what 'sit' meant!), and she's used to being outside, so inside is new for her...and something she has grown to like very quickly (I would too if the temps outside were -25 degrees C, like they have been!). Unfortuneately for me, my clothes, my furniture, and my floors, being inside has caused her to shed the winter coat she once had. My vaccuum cleaner is getting a very constant workout. There are Polly balls and Polly bunnies everywhere. Polly is quite gentle and is very loving. She's really like a big teddy

bear, which is much different than Kona. Kona is sleek and pretty. Polly is soft and cuddly. Polly likes to give kisses, Kona likes to lay beside you and cuddle up. Crazy dogs. Polly is also alot bigger than Kona and together they're like two big galluts running rampant through the house. It is a kerfuffle when everyone wakes up in the morning (at 0530); between the two dogs and the cat there can be some ruckus. So much for ever being able to sleep in again!

Alright! So! This is the last weekend before Christmas. Anyone feeling the anticipation yet? I am. That is my favorite part! What are my plans for this important weekend? I may just brave the crowds tomorrow. Apparently this is going to be one of the busiest weekends before Christmas EVER! Everyone must have excess money burning holes in their pockets. Or perhaps they are just lookey-loos who need just one last poke around to make sure all bases are covered. Or maybe people are lemmings....if everyone else is supposedly shopping, then I better be too@! Or are they procrastinators? Just leave it all till the last minute. Or maybe they just like to feel the crowds closing in on them, the slow moving traffic jams, and the frustrations of there being nothing christmasy left to buy. But perhaps Miss Polly has a better solution to the last weekend before Christmas....

5th day before Christmas...

Ok, since my pictures of my christmas tree are not behaving I will post something else.Ok, don't ask me how I did it, I just did it. Here is my christmas tree and the picture is NOT SIDEWAYS!! Joy to the world baby!

I'm quite happy with my tree this year. I bought some new ornaments from the Bay during a 40% off sale. Just simple red and green ornaments...but BIG ornaments. So my tree theme this year is sparkly red, green ornaments with gold tinsel and white crotcheted snowflakes (courtesy of grandma!) Tres elegant. And hubby suggested I put it in our very rarely used dining room, used mostly to store bikes during the spring/summer/fall, so that everyone driving by and walking by could see it when it is lit up. I drove past the house the other day with the outside lights on and the tree lights on. Very Christmassy. I like it! So I also bought a wreath for the door this year as well. Went with the real wreath and decorated it with some cheapy ornaments....but I think it turned out quite nicely. I didn't do too much else for decorations in the house. Put out some stuff on the fireplace mantel, but that was about it. Had intentions of doing more and never really got that far. So much planned, very little got done!

I took the doggers for a walk last night to look at all the christmas lights in our neighborhood. Man does this little development go nuts on the light. We live on the street that has a blue and white theme (go figure, hey... a huge long street and everyone's lights are blue and white...well next year I'll be changing that up a little. I bought red lights at Costco this year! Gotta add a little spice to our street!). So many houses are decorated. And those big blow up figures (santas, snowment, toy soldiers) are very popular as well. What a great time of year to go dog walking...or just people walking for that matter! I've decided that the most magical time of the year is Christmas Eve, going for a walk in a neighborhood full of Christmas spirit and Christmas lights at night. The anticipation of Christmas day is at it's highest at this point, put together with lights and snow and christmas trees lit up in people's windows...you can't beat it! So this year I'm planning to take the doggers (and perhaps the husband!) on a Christmas eve walk. That will be the beginning of the Christmas festivities for us!

7th day before Christmas...

My computer sucks. I'm trying to post pictures of my christmas tree and all pictures are posting sideways! What the heck?????!!?? Who wants to look at a sideways picture if it's not meant to be sideways? Any suggestions? ANY????? Lame photo shopping computer programs. They all suck.

10th day before Christmas...

Alright people....10 days left before Christmas....and how much have you accomplished??? It seems like new projects and missions are coming out of the woodwork everyday for me. How come so hectic before Christmas? It is a deadline? Apparently I'm treating it like a deadline. So I went out on a spree today. Visited alot of places in a short period of time (before 1300 in the afternoon!) and on basically the second last weekend before the grand holiday. Almost got everyone bought for. Am narrowing it down to the nitty gritty here and am quite proud of myself. I actually started before Dec. 1 and am quite pleased that I did so cause otherwise there would be people NOT getting presents and that would have been disappointing. Anyhoo....
My lovely christmas tree is up and so are about half the decorations. Will be finishing that off this weekend. I put the tree in our dining room this year (the room that stores our bikes in the spring/summer and really doesn't get any other action any other time). Mainly to keep the pets from knocking it down. I decided that I was bored with all the old decorations so bought some new ones this year to spice it up and change it up a bit. Hopefully will get a picture posted before the weekend disappears. I also decided on a natural (REAL) wreath this year. I'm extremely pleased with my decision. Threw a couple of decorations on it and hung it on the front door. Lovely! Will throw up a picture of that as well, seeing as the only family that will get to see it is us and one other sister!
Doggers are doing good. Polly is finally settling in. Has been a bit of a challenge having those two brats around. Jingles is currently sitting in front of the big window and watching them play in the backyard. I wonder just what the heck she's thinking. Hmmmm, her ears just went flat...oops, shes now decided that's enough watching doggers play and is heading for the stairs. Oh the life of this cat. I bought her Christmas dinner today...chicken and liver. Hope she likes it. Hope I didn't make a mistake.....if you know what I mean!
Last thought for the day....if you ever feel like you want tranquility and peace, sit down and drink a cup of eggnog latte in a greenhouse. There is something about visiting the greenhouse that is calming and inspiring! I love it!
Challenge for this weekend: finish christmas decorating and get those bloody decoration boxes back downstairs where I can't see them!!!!

Ok, so I had good intentions to blog every week with a challenge....and once again I am unable to commit to my plan. But I plan on continuing to try. Which is too bad because I was hot-scrappin there for about a week. Gettin stuff scrapped, made a couple of cards....which I still haven't sent out....but perhaps this weekend I'll get on the bandwagon.
This weekend I'm dedicating it to starting all those christmas projects that I have saddled myself with. Got lots to do and gettin on to little time to do it in! Perhaps also will put some outdoor christmas lights up. Yes, I know it is only November, but there appears to be a slew of people in my neighborhood that are getting in on some Christmas action. Besides, it snowed a flurry today and this may mean that the real snow could be on its way. So best to get lights up outside before the danger aspect of it becomes more dangerous (?!?!?!). Anyhow.....that's all for now folks!! Ok, let's just sum up before I take off...

Weekend challenge: christmas and christmas projects! Let's get the party started!