Christmas in Review.

The Christmas season kicked off with a girls Christmas shopping day in Rogers, AR, and that day started with avisit to P.F. Chang's. My first ever.

Christmas eve rolled around with a load of snow, a big snowball fight, and some very rough football!

This is the view from my Mother-in-law's front door. It was a wonderful Christmas.

On Christmas day we headed to Cap's grandmother's house about an hour from his Mom's. In the back seat with me is our niece. We girls were loaded under all the presents and food and quilts, as you can see. The lucky boys were chillin in the front seat with all the leg room.


This picture was taken right before my nap. I'm a car sleeper or a car sicker. There's no in between for me.

Christmas!

I love Christmas. I love it every year. I love to buy gifts and I love to wrap them. I especially love to give them. I always endeavor to find just the right gift for the person that I shop for. It's not about marking a name off a list for me. For me, it's about knowing my loved ones so well that I can spot their gift months in advance. The problem is keeping my mouth shut about it. That's always the problem. When I was a little girl about 5 years old, I think, my dad woke me up in the middle of the night to take me potty (not that I had any bed-wetting problems). I sat on the potty with my eyes half closed and said with my sleepy excitement "Daddy, we got you some shirts for Father's Day today." I think he said something along the lines of "You're not supposed to tell me, Amy Lynn." I'm pretty sure he was holding back a chuckle as he said it though, if I know my dad.
With my Mom, it's different. I always want to get her, not just something she would like but, that one thing she's been wishing for, for months. So she's usually involved in picking out her gift. Now and then it's a big surprise, but mostly we've discussed it. This year is one of those surprise years, I'd tell you what I got her, but she doesn't get to open it for a couple of more weeks. So I'll have to torture myself a bit longer and not even tell you! Believe me, it's very hard. She's been in England since just before Thanksgiving but comes home in January! I can't wait to see the thousands of pictures she must have taken.

Missing Camera

I've had all my clothes chosen for the last couple of weeks, some of them I hadn't worn for the first little while because I was unsure if they would work with the outside temperature, and if I needed to exchange an item I didn't want to have already worn it. As it is, I have 3 dressy blouses, 1 long sleeved top, a turtleneck, a blazer, and a hoodie. I've set aside two pair of jeans and a pair of black dress slacks. I've been sticking to one pair of black shoes (the ballet flats) and I've worn my tennis shoes once. Yesterday I was required to wear all black or black and white so I had to wear a shirt that wasn't on my list of approved items, but it wasn't my pleasure, I did wear my pearls though, and that was my pleasure.
I have lost my camera... since Thanksgiving I guess. It's been about that long that I've been looking for it and I used it to take pics and videos on Thanksgiving. I have been hoping to take some pictures of the outfits that I will be wearing in the coming months but until I find my camera...
I worked my last day at the chocolate store yesterday, it was fun but I'm glad to have my time to myself again. Just in time to celebrate Christmas at a leisurely pace.
Monday night I finished up my gift wrapping and was thinking about how in just a few days my step-son will be opening these gifts! It was that moment that I really felt the Christmas spirit! I love to gift shop and have a wonderful time doing that but this year I didn't have that warm and rosy glow that Christmas usually sparks. I've got it now. I think it's the gift wrapping, I just love to do that.

Photos are coming, I promise!

I've been down with a wicked (inner) ear infection for the last 3 days and was close to chopping it off! I took loads of Echinacia & Goldenseal though (and still am) and that has made a big difference in my life! I have been able to go to work each day, after long nights of thinking I'll never get out of bed again! Today was the 3rd, and best, day so far. I took off my bed sheets and threw them in the washer right before this happened and I haven't yet put the fresh set on! I've been sleeping in a quilt and now that will have to be washed too. I was so out of energy that when I thought of making my bed, I just crawled into my quilt instead. Lazy bones.
So, when I finally make my bed, I'll also take some pictures of my clothing.

It's a Work in Progress

So, I guess things don't just happen over night then? I was really hoping to slash through my closet and dump a bunch of junk. I found out that I am much more attached to a lot of my clothes than I realized... so I've made one pass and I took out about 35 items (of my own thank you). I'll make another pass in a week or so and see what shakes down. In the mean time I am evaluating another option. The option of putting all this extra in a tote for the next year, surely by then my current pieces will be thread bare. So I'll go shopping in my own closet for a few more items to replace my Raggedy-Ann blouses. The idea here is that it's rather dumb to ditch your clothes and then have to buy 3 or even 5 more shirts in a year. Does it sound like I'm making excuses? It feels like it sounds like I am.

Cap chose about 35 of his own shirts and pants (mostly shirts) to send off too. We have two huge shopping bags full of clothes. Our closet looks a little better. Only a little.

As for my wardrobe, I have only settled on 3 tops. I can't decide what the fourth should be and if I should have at least 2 long-sleeved or sweater type shirts. Ya know, cause we're heading into winter here and looking at degrees below zero at some points. Might get chilly under my coat right? Help me! Shoes too, I have no idea what to do about them. I've been wearing out a pair of "ballet" flats for the fall but I don't think they'll do for winter. So what will. I have a couple pair of boots but they have heels and I don't think they'd be great either. So, 1 sneakers, 1 church shoes, and what about the everyday stuff? Keep the ballet flats? Use my old worn out Mary-Jane's? I can't think of another option.

As soon as I settle on the other two shirts I'll post some pictures of my choices.

A Day of Thanksgiving

Tonight I'm preparing some Thanksgiving food in advance. I have plenty of time to be ready, I just want to see how it does in the freezer for a day or so. Cap and I have decided to buy a deep freezer for our Christmas gift and one thing I'd like to do with it is start making up some meals that can be frozen and then popped into the oven. That's what really got me to thinking about making my Thanksgiving dishes a little early.
I'm making sweet potatoes,

and cranberry sauce, I'll probably make some cranberry muffins too, but I want to use the left over cranberry sauce for that. I did last year and they turned out delicious, we'll see if I have the same luck this year, huh?



This is my mom's famous chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal cookies recipe but I dipped them in chocolate. Here they are, All ready to go!



I have so much to be thankful for, not just this Thanksgiving but everyday. I'd like to tell you a little bit about that.
The first thing I am so grateful for is God. Always, always, God. I'm thankful for what He is, for what He does, for the wonderful blessings that He pours out on each of us and our families. I give my thanks and gratitude from the very bottom of my heart. God has kept us supplied with wonderful Christian friends, a great church with a fantastic pastor, bibles that teach us how to love one another, and by that a marriage that I am honored to be half of.
Second on my list is, my family. From my husband & step-son to my mom, and right down to each and every little niece and nephew! I am so glad to be a part of my family and my husband's family. I believe there is something to be treasured inside each person and it usually isn't hard to figure out what that special thing is! I love you, my family. I am also thankful for all the new babies born into our family this year. A combined total of 9 new babies in 2010 for my side and my captain's side! Perfect and precious. I could even list all of their names with out having to think about it!
The next category that I am giving thanks for is our home. Our nice warm beds, the running water, and a good roof over our heads. God has blessed us with a beautiful home that we are so honored to live in. Every day I look around and am so grateful for each little nook and cranny, not to mention all the extras. We are so thankful for this home and for the neighbor God has blessed us with who knows how to keep our cars in running condition!
Last and not least is our country, our freedom, our safety, and our bounty. Thank you God for this sweet land of liberty.

There are many other people and things that we are blessed to have in our lives. I hesitate to continue my list because I'm starting to feel braggadocios! I'm so honored to have been given so much in life and I thank God for all of it. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Please comment and tell me what you're thankful for this year.

PS Check back to find out more about my clothing project - for lack of something better to call it!

My Sacrifice?

Is it really much of a sacrifice though? We'll have to see.

The night of the women's rally at church, that I blogged about here, I had a thought. I thought about all the clothes hanging in my closet that I never wear, I thought about all the clothes that I do wear, and about the clothes that so many don't have.

Our nation is one of great affluence and excess, we all know. The problem is that we do nothing about our indulgence, even when we hear or read of the poverty that many nations face. So I decided to make a change in my life, To challenge myself for 1 year. I will chose a few items of clothing (the exact number hasn't yet been settled upon) and wear only those clothes for the next year.
I think I will start with 5 tops, 3 pants, 1 skirt, 1 dress shoe, one tennis shoe, 1 seasonal for daily wear, 7 undies, 1 pj set, 1 hoodie, 1 winter coat, 1 scarf, 1 set of gloves, my wedding ring, and no other jewelry. This still is so much more than minimum. I will keep 5 (or 10?) other tops that I already own and donate the rest of my clothing to Project Rescue or some other local organization. Things will come up I am sure, that will require some thought and decision. I am sure there will be Christmas gifts or birthday gifts that will be clothing. I will have to give some thought to what to do about that, before it happens. I want this to be a sacrifice, I want to feel it. After 6 months I may re-evaluate and give up more items (go down to 3 shirts from 5 or something). We'll wait and see. For the season change I might exchange one pair of jeans for a pair of shorts, I can't decide if that should be allowed or not.
It's time to start picking my clothes and bagging up the rest.
I want to start this Thanksgiving Day, it seems appropriate. The captain has said he'd like to do it with me. Obviously uniforms for work have to be excluded, I don't wear one but my Captain America does. I'll post pics of the items I decide to wear for the next 12 months, just for the fun of it.