Countdown to Christmas

Don's one of those people who get irritated when people put up Christmas decorations early...so our compromise is the first of December. In my anticipation I have already wrapped some gifts:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I gotta say...my parents ROCK. They just DO.

It's like a family tradition. My dad always happens to be working in the US till right around Christmas, and whatever my mom can't find in Canada, he picks up down there. In 1991 it was a Super Nintendo...we were the first kids on the block to have one! This year, he found IT. Yes, the ONE thing I've been looking for since August...the ONE thing Antonio says he wants...my dad found Flo's V8 Cafe in the first toy store he went into!!! Wahhooooooooooooooooo!!!

We broke in the fireplace and our new fireplace tools. And set off the smoke alarm too! I guess it's a pretty efficient way when all else fails to figure out if the flue is OPEN or CLOSED!

Baked some gingerbread cookies last week, and some PB cookies for Don yesterday...getting into the holiday baking mode now! We've almost finished our shopping but still have to put things together, get them wrapped and send them off.

Antonio's pinkeye is better but now he's got the 24-hour flu. At least, I HOPE it's only 24 hours!!! It breaks my heart to see him sick. I had him with me all day and once he had his Gravol he thought he was all better and wanted food, but I couldn't give him any...I couldn't even eat anything myself, I just felt too guilty!!! And of course, he was totally uninterested in the Pedialyte. Hope he's himself again tomorrow morning!


Made a couple more LO's recently, just for fun. One for a KC challenge, one for a personal challenge...I think the main reason I picked up some of those BG LilyKate papers last summer was because I wanted to force myself to come up with a way to use papers that appear impossible to incorporate into any LO. Because I knew that once I figured out that way, the results would probably be surprisingly stunning.

I think my new favourite scrapbook product line is My Mind's Eye. Holy freaking wow the Bohemia and Signature series...and the new Magnolia line Scrapbooking Cafe just got in...this stuff was totally made for me!!! But then again...who can ever pick a favourite?!

I can't believe I'm still talking about this....

I decided after last week's choir practice that I'm giving up going early. I'm leaving to get there on time and relying on the power of prayer alone to find me a parking space.

So Antonio caught something from a kid at his daycare this week. Antonio actually doesn't get sick all that often, as kids go. But we got to spend Wednesday night in the walk-in clinic. Then on Thursday Don woke up with the same thing...so he went to the clinic straight from work, then I got to pick him up, and by the time we filled his prescription and I dropped them off, it was 7:18. Choir starts at 7:30. I took a deep breath, prayed to God to find me a parking space, and not only did I make every green light along the road to church, but lo and behold, right across the street from the church was an empty space on the edge of the street I could drive right into. Okay. I guess God wants me to stay in choir!!!

Tones is already feeling better...Don says he is too, but still sounds hoarse. I'm feeling fine. Just tired.

Antonio likes to watch this super adorable show on Treehouse called Wonder Pets, and they sing this cute little song...yet every time I hear it I can't help thinking it sounds a lot like "Underpants, Underpants, we're on our way..." don't mind me. I'm sleepy and my mind is grasping for silly stuff!

Warning: Petty Venting Ahead

I'm soooo sorry, I just have to get this off my chest, as whiney and ridiculous as it probably sounds. But something needs to be done about the parking situation at choir practice. I shouldn't have to leave an hour early for somewhere a 10-minute drive away only to circle the block for 20 minutes in downtown Ottawa. By the time I actually find a space I've been cursing out loud to myself to the point where I've ruined my voice and any sense of spirituality I hoped to bring in with me. I try to be the person who can see the humour in everything, who doesn't let petty things irritate me, let alone ruin my whole evening...but parking is waaaaaay up there. I WANT to be in the choir. It has always been a source of inspiration in the past and a service to God in a way I feel I'm suited to...but Thursday nights have been more stress than inspiration, and in my extra busy schedule I'd be lying to say the thought of dropping it altogether hasn't crossed my mind. Lord forgive me that I let something like this stop me from enjoying something I have always loved in the past. But I know I'm not the only one in the choir who feels this way.

In lighter news, I have discovered a serendipitous new way to use my Xyron 150. I was in the middle of trying to put my Cosmo Cricket chipboard letters through it, and I guess Xyron doesn't like chipboard too much, because the adhesive paper tore in the process, and when I tried to pull it through, it tore right across, so that only the clear stuff was coming through. At first I thought I'd broken it, but then I realized the roll of adhesive paper underneath could now be unwrapped the same way as regular tape. So I just opened it out and stuck all my letters on it directly. It worked just as well, and in fact, wastes a lot less adhesive because you can position your letters closer together and don't have to tear any excess off at the end. Cool!!!

I haven't been called for any casual shifts this weekend and am relieved. I need this break. Don's out getting more blinds to put up in our windows...I don't know if I can count on one hand the amount of times he's had to return blinds over the past 24 hours for some reason or another. But he's like me...once he starts something, he's not going to let anything stop him from finishing it! Helpful hint: expect everything you buy from big home renovation stores to have at least one missing piece or pieces that don't work they way the instructions say they're supposed to.

I've realized also that scrapping on a DT is quite different from regular scrapping. You're still always trying to do your best work, but now there are more specific rules about what you can and have to use in your pages. And all of a sudden, I can't just say "whatever" when my printer decides to put streaks through everything...it's off the the photo console at Wal-Mart! No more dollar-store rhinestones, no matter how cool I think they'd look on my LSS page...if she doesn't carry it, I can't use it. Except for ribbon...whew! And one of the biggest differences is I feel like I'm spending so much more time scrapping, and can't post anything. Here I've included my Guest DT pages as I've already posted them over at KC, but I don't know when it'll be safe to post my Scrapbooking Cafe pages. I don't even know if they're up in the store yet, so I'm not going to post them until I know for sure it's ok...she hasn't said we couldn't post them elsewhere, but it would be the courteous thing to wait till they've had their stint in the store first. I even threw in an old LO at the top to break up the space. And because it seemed to go well with the topic.