The Christmas Chronicles

This is a very sweet 8 part radio program. It is a very animated story of Christmas, and starting with the 2nd episode, it is transfixing! (the first episode is a modern-day guy telling about how he found this big green book, and in it is the story of Christmas.)  I think children of all ages would LOVE listening to this this season! I've been listening to it all morning, and just love it! You can hear it on Classical89.org until January 2nd.

http://www.classical89.org/programs/christmaschronicles/episodes/

The planets must be alligned.... or the world is ending...

People. I have ALL my Christmas shopping and wrapping... did you catch that... WRAPPING... all finished!

I'm not trying to rub it in, mind you. It is just that I am so flabbergasted (great word, had to use it!) that I simply cannot contain my enthusiasm and disbelief.

So, I figure either I am finally "getting it" and have graduated to a more mature status, OR...

The world is ending.

(which I tend to believe is more likely than that I might be "getting it". And, I read today there is a total lunar eclipse tonight, which lends validity to the second hypothesis. Which makes me a little nervous, and detracts from my joy at having accomplished the impossible.)

Still, if I die, I'll die having finished all my Christmas stuff! So, I win!!!!!

What am I in for???

I reeeeaaaalllly have a hankering to crochet these:

I just bought the pattern online at Etsy (the online shopping community I ADORE!) and I'm ready to go pick out my yarn and start crocheting.

The only problem is....

I "fake" crochet. That is to say, I remember a basic stitch my grandma taught me years ago when I was like 9,  and I make up other stitches I sort-of remember, and I get by ok.

However, I have NO idea how to read a crocheting pattern.

So, was my $5.50 a waste of money? Well.... that remains to be seen.

I'll let you know how it goes.

I need some good words of wisdom from Yoda about now.

This is a somewhat difficult post to write. For all you Young Women leaders, or Primary Teachers, or Sunday School teachers, or even parents of teens, you will totally know what I am talking about. But, I just have to get it off my chest.

Yesterday in church, I went out during Sacrament Meeting to get a drink because this dang cold won't leave me alone. My stomach sank the minute I stepped out into the hallway, though. Several..well, MOST... of the youth in our ward were sitting around chatting. Were they getting anything from the speakers? No. Granted, they were high council speakers, but I felt their messages were really good. In fact, especially good. In fact, I was thinking that the youth of the ward would probably really be benefitting from these talks about the time I had my coughing fit. That is when I discovered they weren't benefitting from the talks at all. They weren't even hearing them.

Now, some of those youth may possibly even read this post. To you, I say, I love you!!!! You have no idea how much prayer and thought I put into my lessons when I taught you. You can't know how often I thought how I could best help you be the best person you could be, how I could help you avoid some of the obstacles I encountered through some not so great choices when I was younger. How I cried when I found out I wasn't going to be teaching you anymore. And how I hoped you would have heard something I taught you and kept it, and learned from it.

Maybe you did.

But I wonder, did you perhaps miss something that could have really helped you in your life? Was the Lord waiting to answer one of your prayers and you weren't there to hear it? I'm not trying to judge, believe me! I am purely speaking with love because I HAVE missed those whisperings of the Spirit. I HAVE missed hearing things I needed to hear. It only made my path harder.

Well. I know this is probably pointless. It is just a frustrated attempt to understand why I, and many other teachers, spend so much time trying to teach the right things when it seems it falls on dead ears. I was just disappointed in the future leaders of our church yesterday. 

And perhaps in myself, because I maybe could have done a better job of teaching you in the first place.

I love my new couches!

This is what my front room looks like today:

And this:

And this:

(And thanks to our home teacher, Seth, for all his muscles and help! And to my Bro-in-law for lending us his truck! And to my  hubby for forking out the dough! And to me for having good taste to know what would look good in our red livingroom! And to Ashley furniture for "covering up" your blunder in delaying our shipment by expediting it!)

Merry (early) Christmas to me....

Getting my new couch and love seat today!

Can't wait.

Hubby is there right now picking it up.

(I'm a little bit excited!)

Annual call from "Elfie"...

My son has an elf. She is the elf for our whole extended family, incidentally, and she calls every year around this time to check up on the kids.

Last year I thought the secret was out. My son came in and said after talking to Elfie: "Mom... Elfie sounds a lot like Grandma, doesn't she?"

Well, I don't know if he's onto her or if he just really wants to believe that she exists, but he love his phone call with "Elfie" yesterday.

However, I have a bone to pick with Elfie. My son asked her what Santa's favorite cookie was, and she said Chocolate Chip. Then, he asked her what her favorite cookie was so we could have some waiting for her as well. She couldn't have said Chocolate Chip, or sugar cookies... noooooo, not Elfie. Apparently, Elfie like coconut macaroons with macadamia nuts.

Thanks Elfie. Thanks for putting me through a lot more work to keep up the illusion! Thanks a bunch!
(Love ya, though!!!!!)

You mean, Santa is the UPS guy???

Yes. Christmas was ruined this year by the UPS guy.
I'm sure he didn't mean to, it wasn't really his fault.
In fact, he was probably mortified when my son opened the door last night when he rang the bell.
You see, the UPS man was delivering a very large box. A box intended for my son's main Christmas present.
The one we were going to send him on a scavenger hunt to find, and it would be all set up in the family room, ready to play.
The Guitar Hero complete band set.
Ya.
Well, the problem with this particular delivery was that... well... the box it came in had "Guitar Hero Complete Band Set" plastered all over it, with pictures and flames and... well... it was pretty obvious.
My son came running downstairs crying.
"Mom... I feel so horrible. I just found out what I'm getting for Christmas!!!!" (Waaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!)
I didn't believe him. How could he be correct? Who sends the actual packaging right through the mail without putting it in a separate plain brown box? Who does that? NO ONE!!!!
Except the moron I ordered the gift from on Ebay. Ya... HE sends the regular box.... just as it is... with an address sticker slapped on the front. I'm surprised the postal guy could even find it! So I guess it's really the Ebay guy's fault.
This was the gift I had told my son to write a letter to Santa for.
The letter he hadn't gotten around to writing yet.
I don't know if he's put two and two together yet, but he's a pretty smart kid. It won't be long.

Thanks EBAY guy.... for ruining Christmas!!!!!!!!! (I think the Ebay guy needs a wife. A woman would never have sent the box that way... at Christmas time... as it was clearly intended as a gift! A WOMAN would never have dashed a poor 9 year old's dillusions of jolly fat men in red suits breaking into people's homes to spread a little good cheer and eat cookies!!!!)

I'm just a little angry. Can you tell?

Mice, sore throats, and dieting at Christmas time...

These are a few of my least favorite things! (Just so you know!)

Quick recap of the weekend goings-on:
-Had a family party for my side of the family at our house on Sunday. Hubby was VERY sick and stayed in bed the whole time, but the party was fun.
-We discovered the "hidden" food source for all the mice in our home. I couldn't figure out where they were eating, because they weren't getting into any of the cupboards, thankfully. Then, we found it. The giant bag of grain someone had given us and we had stashed in the dark recesses of our laundry room. Yep... the bag moved of its own accord. It had a big neon sign above it that said "Taylor bed and breakfast, come and stay!" Needless to say, we had a mouse appocalypse on Sunday night as we set trap after trap after trap for the little buggers coming back to the big grain-bag party. The killings have finally tapered off... but I KNOW there is one holding out somewhere in the floorboards, just waiting for me to let my guard down! I'll get you my pretty... and your little friends too!!!!!
- My  hubby shared his sore throat with me and now I have a full-blown freakishly horrible cold. Couldn't sleep last night. Pretty miserable. Yuck.
-I've been watching what I eat for the past few weeks, and... well, let's just say... dieting during the holidays is pretty crummy!!!!

My Christmas list this year

-1 night with no homework for the kid so that means no homework for me.
-1 warm serving of gingerbread drizzled with rum sauce, hot rolls, and christmas cookies.
-1 head massage
-My whole house to be cleaned for me, just once.
-A soak in a jetted tub with bubbles.
-For my Relief Society activity (which I am in charge of) to NOT come the same weekend as the Sunday I teach Relief Society, and the same day as my family Christmas party which is being held at my house.
-1 piece of decadent dark chocolate
-To see the new Harry Potter movie
-Warm snuggly jammies with feet.
The mouse to be dead once and for all!!!!!

Television debut for this apron...

Monday at noon on chanel 2, my darling little apron will be appearing! Yee Haw!!! (Thanks Loralee!) I love it so much, I think I'd better go buy some more fabric and make myself one!!!