Christmas Today...

Yesterday I posted about our Christmas traditions as a family while I was growing up. 

But Traditions change, people get married, move away & have babies, and new traditions evolve as new families are made! 

This Christmas my family is split across the Eastern side of the US between 3 different states.  The Parents are closing up their farm in NY, K is about to pop out a baby at any time in Florida, and J & I are staying in Mississippi.  This is the first year that there isn't anyone traveling. 

We all knew that this day would come eventually.  We each are starting our own branches of "our" family, and we each have our own family traditions to make.  I'm sure that there will be efforts made in the future for the family to all be together for Christmas.

As much as I will miss spending the holiday with my side of the family, I am so excited to start making traditions of our own.  The Mr. & I don't have any kids yet, so I realize that our traditions will begin to form even more as we have children, but this year, I am ecstatic just to get to have our own little Christmas, in our own little house. 

The only real tradition that we started this year was decorating for Christmas, and the biggest part of that was going to get a real Christmas tree.  We always had a real Christmas tree growing up, while the Mr. never had one.  Sure, it might be more cost effective to get a fake Christmas Tree, but Real Christmas trees are just so stinkin' pretty! 

We also started "stockings" for each other this year.  I made our stockings this year, and maybe next year I'll make some more stockings to match however I decide to decorate!

We'll be spending this evening with the Mr's family, and if I have my wish, the Mr & I would spend the rest of the evening watching Christmas movies until the wee hours of the morning, or however long we stayed awake for...but I can guarantee that's not going to happen as the Mr. doesn't like Christmas movies...*cough* scrouge *cough* cough*

Tomorrow morning our internal clocks will probably wake us up around 6:30.  If you ask me how our morning it go, I'll tell you that we'll open our stockings, then cook breakfast together, then open presents.  If you ask the MR. he'll tell you that we'll open our stockings, then our presents, then cook breakfast.  We'll see who wins.  If the Mr. had his way we would be taking down the Christmas tree and all the decorations tomorrow after all the presents were opened, so ya know.....

I have a feeling that I mistakenly started a "gift" tradition that I didn't intend to start.  My First Christmas with the Mr's Family I made a batch of cinnamon sticky buns to give to my now Father-in-law, and brother-in-law...And then it took them two years to get me to make them again.  Well, this year I came up with the brilliant idea to make them, and before they do their "2nd rise", freeze them and give them as gifts!  This way they can enjoy cinnamon rolls throughout the year without all the work that goes into them each time!  I'm pretty sure that this gift is going to stick around for a while, specially since my sweet nephew loves them so much that He almost bit his finger off trying to shove them in his mouth as fast as He could!

I don't know what next Christmas is going to look like for us.  2014 is going to bring about a lot of changes, changes that have been pretty scary and stressful to think about, but that's another story for another day.  I do know that I am going to savor every moment of Christmas this year because there will never be another one like it!

Merry Christmas Y'all! 

XoXo,     

Chrismas Morning {From the Pespective of H}

Happy Christmas Eve's Eve!!! 

I can't even believe that tomorrow is Christmas Eve!  The Mr & I have to work tomorrow from 9-1 (booo!) but I'm thankful that's it's only a 1/2 day!  Then we are headed to his parents for Christmas with his family. 

The Mr's family tradition is to "do Christmas" on Christmas eve.  The way I understand it (and if I'm wrong, he'll let me know after He reads this), they always opened their presents from family on Christmas Eve, and Christmas day was reserved for Stockings & "Santa's Presents".  And "Santa's Presents weren't wrapped either, they were just placed under the tree, which is so weird to me!

That is NOT how Christmas went down at our house.

Christmas Eve we always had a Christmas Eve Service at our Church.  Since the 3 of us girls are musically inclines, we were all involved in the program.  J would normally sing or do a number on the piano, K would normally sing, and normally I would play the piano, but I also dabbled a little bit with singing or miming/interpretative dance, but normally just a Piano Piece!

After the Christmas Eve service we would drive up "on the hill" to my Aunt's house and spend an hour or two visiting with them.

When we finally made it home we would just kind of lounge around.  When we were younger we would BEG my dad to let us open just one Christmas Present.  If we were allowed to open one, it would be a pair of new PJ's.  But, I can't remember that happening more than a handful of times.

My parents would make us go to bed, except J.  She was the oldest and she often got to stay up and help my mom wrap presents, who would save all of her wrapping until the evening of Christmas Eve.  

We were NOT one of those families who were allowed to get up at the crack of dawn and open presents.  In fact, we weren't allowed out of bed until 7:00.  Then, and only then, were we allowed to quietly go downstairs and open our stockings.  Being the youngest, it was usually up to me to wake up K (the middle), and the two of us would drag J out of bed.

At 8:00 we were finally allowed to go and try to get our parents out of bed.  They were of course awake, but they just liked to give us grief.  They (and by they, I mean my dad) tried to implement the rule that we had to all be dressed and have had eaten breakfast....but it was 3 against 2, and us girls normally won that battle.

Before we started opening presents my Dad would always open up His bible and read of the Christmas story to remind us all the most Precious Gift was the Gift of Jesus.

Around, 8:30-9:00 we would get to start opening gifts, and it was a one-by-one routine.  I would normally get to start (one perk of being the youngest), and then we went around in a circle opening one gift at a time.  And somehow, every year, without fail, K would always have 4-5 presents left at the end to open up when the rest of us were done.  It would take forever, but now that I am older, I understand why my parents did it this way!  It's SO much fun to get to see other's open the gifts that you so carefully thought out and planned!  If everyone was opening at the same time there is no way that you get to enjoy it! 

I don't remember ever believe in Santa.  The only Christmas that I even remember there being a "gift" from Santa was a gift that J received.  It was taped with masking tape and there were several different pieces of wrapping paper used to wrap it.  The label said "from santa", but we all knew that it was from my dad.

One of the most special things about Christmas day was our very last present.  Every year we each got a present that was just from my dad, and it was almost always guaranteed to be jewelry.  I was fairly young when this started, maybe around the age of 12?  But each of us looked forward to it every year.  Let me tell you what, my Dad has some pretty good taste in Jewelry!  Then one year, it just stopped.  We all pitched a fit, and my dad said, "It's not my responsibility to buy you jewelry, that's your husband's job."  Then I chimed in with something like, "Wait a second, I'm not married yet!".  So the tradition got to be continued on with me for a few more years.  The last piece of Jewelry that I received from my dad was the bracelet that I wore on my wedding day. 

When the last present was opened, the clean up began.  We normally tried to get all the wrapping paper in a large box as we were unwrapping,  but there was inevitably the wads of paper that got chucked randomly at each other during the unwrapping process.

At this point we were all pretty hungry, so somehow the tradition got started of everyone pitching in and making Christmas morning brunch.  It usually consisted of steak, eggs, & toast.  

When my Mom's parents were still alive, we would go and visit them Christmas afternoon.  Grandma P gave us an ornament every single year.  When my mom moved out on her own, she didn't have anything to decorate her tree with, so she started the tradition that we each got an ornament for Christmas so that when we started our own home we would have ornaments to decorate our tree with.  My Grandma P. joined in on this tradition as well. 

My Dad's Parents, Gramms & Gramps, spent their winters in Florida, so unless we happened to be in Florida for Christmas, which only happened a few times that I can remember, we would each spend some time on the phone with them!

Do you want to know what my absolute favorite part of Christmas was and still is?  Finding the perfect gift for each person on my list.  When I was in elementary school, my Sunday School Teacher would plan a trip for us to travel to the city and go to this massive dollar store.  I would agonize over each and every gift making sure that it was just the right gift. 

To this day, I start thinking and planning my Christmas gifts in the spring.  I'm not even exaggerating a little bit.  I almost get stressed out until I can come up with the perfect gift for everyone on my list.  I'm close to being obsessive about it!  This year my Brother-in-law (The Mr's Sister's Husband) caused me the most stress.  Some things have gotten a little easier for me.  For example, I usually can get my sisters the same thing, and it always works out really well!  Some things have stayed equally challenging...aka, my parents, especially my dad.  J, K, & I usually end up banding together and getting them a "together" gift.  And Some things have gotten way harder.  Now I have a husband to figure out.  Not only do I have to figure out a Christmas gift for him, it's now MY responsibility to come up with gift for each member of His family.  My brother-in-law & father-in-law have to be the hardest people to come up with a gift for.  I am not a "gift carder".  I don't mind getting a gift card, in fact, I LOVE getting gift cards.  But I generally REFUSE to give people, especially family members.  I feel like they are really impersonal, and Christmas presents are something that should be thought out, unique and personal! 

What are your family's Christmas traditions?  What's your favorite part of Christmas?

xoxo              

FIVE on FRIDAY

1.  Do you realize that there are only FIVE days until Christmas???!?!?!?!?  Where has December Gone????  If you want to be technical, it's really only 4 1/2 days, not that I'm anxious or anything!  I so tried to give the MR. one of his Christmas gifts last night.  We were both pretty stressed out, and I thought it would help, because I just KNOW how much we is going to LOVE it...but He wouldn't let me.  I swear, this waiting to be finally able to give him his gifts is WAY harder on me than it is on him!

2. The only Christmas baking I have done his year is Red Velvet Cake pops.  They are DELICIOUS!

 

I really need to make some more, but I only have brown melting chocolate left, and that is NOT christmasy!  I also need to make a batch of fudge, but that is about all the Christmas baking that is getting done this year at the N house.

 

3.  Tomorrow is my Company Christmas party.  I'm hosting it at my house as we only have 1 employee.  I'll be feeding a total of 9 people (The Mr & I...Our Employee, his wife & 3 kiddo's, and my parent-in-laws), aaaaaand I have enough food planned to feed an army. 

 

Appetizers:

Bacon Cheddar Pinwheels

Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Crack Dip

Honey Teriyaki Hot Wings

Fire Crackers

 

Dinner:

Mac & Cheese

Green Bean Casserole

Sweet Potato Casserole

Ranch Mushrooms

Garlic Cheesy Bread

Honey Ham

 

Dessert:

Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce

Chocolate Oreo Cupcake Cups

 

 

Did I mention that everything is homemade, from scratch, and the only thing that I have made is the Cheesecake.  Thankfully the only work I'm doing tomorrow is staying home and cooking, the Mr is working the office for me tomorrow.  Gosh I love that man!

 

4. My MR. is a serious butt.  He knows that I'm DYING for him to finally know what these amazing gifts that I got him are, but he just acts like He doesn't care.  I even wrote an entire post taunting him, but to no avail!  But FINALLY today...I was asking him if He wanted to open a present today (of course I wasn't going to actually let him), and he was all acting like he couldn't care less... when I accused him of just acting like he didn't care to drive me crazy he FINALLY admitted that He in fact was DYING to know what they were but didn't want to give me the satisfaction of knowing that.  Yup...He's a butt & I don't feel guilt about busting him out for it either!   

 

5. I am really looking forward to having Christmas Day off with my Love.  It's very rare that we get a weekday off, so I am going to enjoy every minute of it!  We are having Christmas with my sister's family on Sunday, Christmas with my Husband's family on Christmas Eve (their family tradition is to exchange gifts on Christmas eve), and then our First Christmas HOME on Christmas Day!  I'm sure that we will go and see family at some point on Christmas Day, but  Christmas Morning is all ours.  Sleeping in, Opening Presents, Cooking a Late Breakfast together....  Although this is our 3rd Christmas together, it's almost still like our First Married Christmas.  Our First Christmas we were engaged and spent it at my sister's house with my entire family that had come into town.  Our 2nd Christmas, we were married, and flew to Florida to spend Christmas with my family.  The Mr & I cheated that year and gave each other our Christmas gifts 2 weeks early.  Whoops!  They didn't even get wrapped!  I managed to sneak a few gifts to Florida for the Mr to open though!  But this year...this is our "first" Christmas.  There is a Christmas Tree, and some small decorations, and there are even wrapped Christmas presents and stocking to stuff!  I'm SOOOOOOO excited!

 

 

  



Because I just can't keep it secret anymore....

Dear My Mr...

You try and act all not nosey and all, and it's just killing me to keep these secrets from you.  Seriously, you're about to get the friggin' hook.up for Christmas this year, and I'm DYING for you to finally be able to open your presents.  I've been hiding some of these for over SIX MONTHS. 

So, to help me not go CrAzY with keep them a secret, I've put together some clues, that you'll never in a million years be able to figure out, because there is nothing that I got you that is anything that you'll ever in a million guess.

You already know what the one is--because you asked for it months ago...

Are you ready????

Gift 1: It's something you will potentially use every day.  I foresee it potentially being annoying though. However, I named myself a freakin' genius when I thought of it, because it's that amazingly perfect for you.

Gift 2: It's not something you'll use every day, but I'm really hoping that you'll get lots of use out of it once you figure it out.  It's ridiculously practical, and some people might not think it's an extremely special Christmas Present.  I had it custom made and every time you use it you will definitely think of me.  Oh, and I promise, you'll NEVER guess what is it.

Gift 3: IS a beard trimmer.  But you already knew that.

 
Gift 4.  Ok, so on this one, I went a little overboard.  It was completely unnecessary, but it's Christmas, and you always spoil me for Christmas, so I thought that this year you could use a little extra spoiling.  You'll be able to do SO much with it though, and it's really going to come in handy!  It's not practical, but it's not too extravagant and I know that you are just going to LOVE it, just maybe not as much as Gift #1.... 

Stocking Stuffer #1:  I'm not sure how much you'll use this, in fact I might end up using it more than you will. 

Stocking Stuffer #2:  I KNOW that I promised you that this year I would follow your mom's tradition and get you socks, undies & undershirts for Christmas, but I had already spent too much, so I'm hoping that this will make up for it.

Stocking Stuffer #3: Mary had a little lamb, little lam, Little Lamb.  Mary had a little lamb whose fleece was white as snow.....

Stocking Stuffer #4: So you can enjoy Justin Moore again....

Stocking Stuffer #5: Is something that you really need, but I think I bought the wrong kind, so I hope that you'll still like it because it's not something that I can take back.  

Stocking Stuffer #6: I feel like this one is becoming a Christmas Tradition....

 So My love.  There you have it.  A list of hints for your to ponder for the next week.  I'm hoping that this Christmas will be the Christmas that you start to like Christmas just a little bit, and then maybe...just maybe you'll end up loving Christmas as much as I do! 

I love you, A Whole Awful Lot....

And I even Like You A Whole Awful Lot too. 

XoXo,

Your Mrs.

Stocking Stuffers | Influenster Jolly Voxbox {Review}

SEVERAL months ago I signed up with influenster...then completely forgot about them, until I got this e-mail asking me to participate in a survey to see if I was eligible to receive their Jolly Voxbox to review.  Ummm.....YES PLEASE!

Well, I was selected to receive their box, and it came in the mail on Monday!  I was SO excited to come home and see it sitting in my mailbox just WAITING for me to open it! 

**Note:  I received this products complimentary rom Influenster Voxbox in exchange for my review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own **


Ok...lets get started, shall we?

Skinny Cow Divine Filled Chocolates....

This was my first time trying a skinny cow item...and I must say, they were pretty amazing.  Like seriously!  The Milk chocolate was so creamy, and the peanut butter had more of a caramel consistency to it.  They were .... divine!  The best part about them, you got to eat ALL THREE pieces for 130 calories. 

Now, just to play devil's advocate, I will say this:  If they had not been sent to me to review I would not buy them from the store.  BUT, I'm also an oddity.  The ingredient label doesn't pass my standards....It has soy which I avoid at all costs, and TONS of sugar.  I will give them the fact that they just use corn syrup and not high fructose corn syrup, and they also use palm oil which I also believe isn't good for you! 

So...with that being said....if you aren't a crazy person that reads ingredient with a magnifying glass, then I just know that you will REALLY enjoy these & they would make GREAT stocking stuffers!!!!But, if you are trying to eat a clean diet and avoid processed foods, then avoid these like the plague! 

Moving Along....

NYC New York Color HD Color Trio Eye Shadow

 
 I'm not a girly girl.  I don't wear perfect makeup every day, and lately it's just been foundation, mascara and some tinted chapstick.  I do enjoy wearing makeup and I love when I have the time to do everything, lately it's just been all I can do to get to work on time.  Wen I do have the time to wear full makeup, I tend to sway towards the neutral color palettes, and sometimes throw in a few pinks, so the NYC HD Color Eye Shadow was right up my alley!  The colors went on smoothly and blended well together!  The Highlight really brightened up my eyes as well!  The best part is that it retails for around $2.99!!!  You really can't beat that!

Next on the list...

Rimmell London New Show off Lip Lacquer:

I'm always game to try a new lipstick.  I feel like everybody looks better with a little color on their lips! 

The color (Aurora) was a little brighter than what I would normally wear.  My MR doesn't really care for bright lipsick.  He prefers the softer, more subtly pinks....but I actually really ended up liking it!  It not "tacky" like some lipsticks can be, and so far it hasn't dried my lips out!  I put a top coat of Burt's Bees Chapstick on, but that's only because my lips are ridiculously chapped as you can see in the instagram video of me putting the lip stick on!  I would definitely buy this lipstick for myself, but probably in a color that wasn't so loud!

On to the next one, on to the next one .....

Puffs PLUS lotion | Puffs Ultra Soft & Strong to go tissue pack

My Mom ALWAYS used to carry a little pack of tissues in her purse.  Me...not so much.  Actually, we don't usually even buy tissues until one of us gets a cold, and even then we'll just use TP. 

I had a REALLY bad cold this past spring, and rubbed my nose RAW with some cheap, janky tissues.  So I made a special trip to the store JUST to get some soft tissues.  Let me tell you what. Puffs PLUS lotion is where its at!

These little to go tissue packs are so cute!  I just  love the chic design!  I'm kind of excited to add this to my purse!

And Last but not least....

Ducklings Mini Rolls:

Who just doesn't love a good roll of duck tape???  Then make it better by adding cute designs???  I'm sold!

I used these Mini Rolls of ducktape last summer when I ran in the 5K Mud run!  We needed a CUTE way to tape our shoes to our feet so that they didn't pull off when we ran through the mud holes.  Regular ducktape just wasn't going to cut it!  Not only where we able to keep our shoes securely on our feet, but we were able to look CUTE doing it! 

A common theme that kept running through my head as I was reviewing all of these was that every single item would make GREAT stocking stuffers this year for Christmas!  They are all around $5 or less, so it's an inexpensive way to fill those stockings up with some useful items! 

Getting Back on Track....

It's been a rough couple of weeks y'all!  Ever since getting bronchitis on my trip home I haven't been able to get it together!  Let's do a little recap....

I flew home November 26-30th..., Where I got "the crud"...

December 1st, we got our First Christmas Tree!

December 2nd:I stayed home from work....Sick.
December 3rd: I went home early from work....sick.  That evening I put the lights on my Christmas tree....I may or may not have had to google how to string lights...

December 4th: I went to the Dr, found out I barely missed out on phenomena, but still landed myself with bronchitis.  The Mr. sent me home to sleep after my Dr. Appt.  I also worked on decorating my Christmas tree....

 

And the Mr. hit bambi's mom....

 

 

 



December 5th: Was a normal day.
December 6th: We had the "great ice storm" of 2013, and we were SO slow at work that the MR. let me go home early....oh yea, and it was my birthday!  The Mr. woke me up with this beauty!

December 7th: I had a birthday breakfast date with my favorite father-in-law, (we let the MR. go too!) and we had planned to open the scrap yard, but it was SO cold & miserable, that when the lock on our gate was frozen shut, we called it a day and went home.  Then we packed out bags and the MR. took me on my annual birthday trip to our favorite B&B!  The weekend was complete with movies, a steak dinner, a hot tub, and some wine! 

 

 

December 8th: We headed back towards home, did some grocery shopping, met my in-laws for lunch, then spent the afternoon with them & helped my Mother-in-law get her Christmas Decorations out!  When we finally made it home, I got busy sewing my tree skirt & got my nativity set up!

It's far from perfect, but it turned out pretty well I think!

 

December 9th: When I just get to a point where I can fully function again.....I woke up at 3:30 am puking my guts out.  Just lovely.  I tried to go into work after lunch, but when I had to pull over and puke again, the MR. just told me to home.

TODAY:  I am at work, and I am alive.  I'm not puking, I don't have a fever, and I have just a tiny baby cough to deal with....and piles and piles of paper work to get through!  I just need to get some of my energy back! 

We haven't been to the gym since I left to go home to NY.  I haven't been packing the Mr's lunches, and my meal planning has gone out the window. Blah, Blah, Blah!  I've just been so tired lately that it's hard to get anything accomplished!

The Agenda for the rest of the week:

Make the MR. Red Beans & Rice, which isn't on my meal plan...
Sew our Stockings.
Wrap some Christmas Presents.
Think about doing some Christmas Baking.
GO to the gym.
My Sister's Choir has their Concert on Saturday evening.  My Dearest M-I-L is going to go with me while the Mr & my Favorite F-I-L go see the new Madea movie.

We'll see how much of that I actually get crossed off, and how much gets added and not finished!

I hope that y'all are doing well & staying warm, and hopefully I'll be getting back on track and back into routine!    

The MR - 1/The Mrs -0 & Some Christmas Decorations!

So, if y'all haven't figured it out by now -- I 'm not a big fan of Doctor's.  I tend to avoid them like a plague.

But this once, I'm glad I listened to my husband when He insisted that I go in.

The Diagnosis?

Bronchitis
Sinusitis

AND ALMOST FREAKING PNEUMONIA.

They gave me a shot in my hiney, wrote me a script for antiobiotics & Mucinex and told me to go home and sleep.

I'm fairly certain I can hear all my good bacteria being killed off as we speak.  Pass the Probiotics please???!!!

I do however feel a TON better today.  I'll let the Mr win this round.  Still coughing, & I'm still tired, but it isn't a struggle to breath, and the rattling sound in my chest has subsided! 

The MR. was an angel last night and fixed dinner.  His Chili was pretty good too!

I Finished decorating my Christmas tree, and hung the rest of my meager Christmas Decorations.  I seriously need to work on my Christmas Decoration Supply... It's ridiculous! 

Our First Christmas Tree!
And the MR's First REAL Christmas Tree!

I had to google how to string lights on a Christmas Tree!

 

Attempt 1 with Lace & Burlap = FAIL

Attempt 2 with Lace & Burlap = Success! 

My Star needs a few more lights in it!

 The Finished Tree!
  I just need to cut of the Stub Sticking out the top of my star, and I rearranged that ribbon a little better!
 

 I'm hopefully going to sew my tree skirt tonight.  I have the idea of what I want in my head, so we'll see if I can get to come to fruition.  I'm also going to try my hand a making some burlap stockings this year.

I have a secret to tell you....My MR. doesn't like Christmas!  How horribly sad is that?  He doesn't know WHY he doesn't like it, he just doesn't like it!  I think that he enjoys trying to think of gifts and his attempts to surprise me, and I know that he likes the plunder of the Christmas baking that goes on.  But as far as the rest of Christmas goes...He's a scrooge.  Yup.  I said it.  SO...I try to make this painless for him!  I'm trying to keep my decorating "rustic", "country", and somewhat "manly"...He doesn't like a lot of the Santa/snowman/mythical Christmas decorating that goes on...so I chose not to decorate or buy any decorations that He won't like.  However, my nativity scene is here to stay...If I can just get him to finish the table that He's building for me to put in on! 

This is our "first Christmas home" together.  Our First year together was Christmas of 2011, and we spent that at my sisters.  Our First Married Christmas was 2012, and we spent that at my OTHER sister's in Florida.  We opened out presents to each other several weeks before Christmas, and I didn't decorate.  This Christmas we are staying home.  This Christmas I am Decorating.  And this year our presents are safely hidden from each other!  This Christmas we are going to start making our own family traditions.  So while it's not our first Christmas, it's still our FIRST Christmas.

What Christmas Traditions have you started with your family?