Silver Bells er Balls...

I was humming "Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas" all night as I decorated the tree... I decided on all white lights with silver balls and silver beaded garland... it came out sweet!

I sat at the top of the stairs with the lights off just to watch the tree - a favorite childhood memory of mine. I love this time of year...

The cat didn't look as happy with the tree... I think he is plotting his attack and some day soon we will come home and find the tree ripped to shreds...

It's OPEN It's OPEN!!!

Finally after much anticipation they opened up Mountain High - our local ski resort. They only have 4 runs open right now but the new equipment they installed over the summer has made a tremendous difference. They were able (due to good temperature) make 12 inches of snow. It's so soft and fluffy! Usually this early in the season the coverage is very light and there is a lot of ice and obstacles - not this year. I have gone night skiing two days this week and plan on getting up there this Saturday also.

What a blast! Lisa and I are heading up to Mammoth next weekend for a fun brother and sister ski extravaganza! Hopefully they get a dump of snow before we arrive...

ahh - can you smell it? Winter is here....

Kwanza Bush? Family Shrub? Holiday Plant?

No stupid it's a Christmas tree - emphasis on the Christ... Anyhoo - Shel and I got ours at Lowe's last night - isn't she pretty! And when I went downstairs this morning the whole house smelled like delicious pine... mmm I need to decorate it now... Big Lots here I come! I think I want to do somthing classy like all white lights and silver bells...

Turkey Day!

So both of my thanksgiving celebrations came out great! I decided to set the table this year to free up space on the buffet line and we cut a few dishes from the menu which worked out super! Everyone ate till they were full and we had very little left over... well except for my disastrous stuffing. The stuffing that was inside the bird was moist and delicious but the residual that was in the pan with juices was dry and tasteless...

I was happy with the Turkey - it was very moist and delicious... Shel is going to make turkey soup out of it... sounds yummy!

Everyone said they had a good time - (there was no fighting or death) so I will chalk it up to another successful celebration - I was Happy...

Funny thing - this Sunday Pastor Rob was talking about living a life of Thanksgiving and the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness comes from happenings like a successful dinner or visiting with friends and family, where joy comes from the Lord - I really had to chew on that for a while to soak it in. Even though my family drove me crazy over the holidays and I put on a happy face for the time spent - I have true joy because of what Christ has done for me on the cross... hard to remember sometimes when we have so much going on... But I will try to be more joyful and moderately happy for the rest of this season.

SUPACLEAN!!!

The holiday crunch is really getting to me - I have two thanksgiving celebrations coming up at my house this week - one for my church group (11 people) and the big one for the family (16 people). And with the busy week I have had, the house has fallen into total disarray. It was driving me nuts! NUTS I TELL YOU!

So last night i scrubbed the house from top to bottom. I even patched, filled, and painted the holes in the wall from where I moved that sconce 6 months ago. I did an extra good job on the floors and the yard.

I had to replace the cushions on my swing in the yard because one of them was torn and the stuffing was oozing out and turning brown from the dust in the air. I found these replacements at Lowes for $12 - what a deal! The more I look at them, the more I see why they were only $12. They are ugly as sin... too late now I guess, I tore off the tags that say do not remove.

I think the house is in good shape now, well except for those cushions...

Pretty Kitty!

Mimi sent me this delightful kitten...

Old...

So I was on the train this morning and overheard this old couple fighting in Spanish about being on the right train - they had to be in their late 70's or 80's. I leaned over and explained that they were on the train to Orange County and how they could catch the correct train to LA. It dawned on me as they hobbled down the stairs to connect to the proper train that it really must suck being old. Your skin turns to leather, your hair falls out and you cant see, hear, or understand anything around you. Some day I'm sure I will read this and think "what a little jerk" but I really don't care - many people in thier 50's and 60's look like crap. I want to look like Barb when I grow up - she is still rockin -