Gingerbread House

Last year I started the tradition of Wes and I making a gingerbread house. Last year we went to Whole Foods & they already had the houses constructed, we just did the decorating. This year, I bought a kit and we also constructed the house. It was lots of fun! Here are some pics!

Worst Case Scenario

Okay, so I got that book...The WORST-CASE SCENARIO Survival Handbook: Holidays. Some of it is funny. So since I can't come up with much to post these days, I'll try to remember to post some daily tips from this.

So here is today's... and for the record I'm not recommending these tactics, simply passing them along...

HOW TO SILENCE A GROUP OF CAROLERS

* Turn out the lights: As soon as you hear or see the carolers coming down the street, douse the lights. A dark house may deter them from stopping, since they'll think noone is home. Turning out the lights belatedly- after they've arrived at your door- will send a strong message, but carolers are frequently determined!

*Turn up your music: W/out opening your door, play CDs at high volume. Speed metal and 1970s rock are likely to be in a different key then the carolers, who will be unable to stay in tune, become discouraged & depart. If you're listening to Christmas music, shut it off immediately , or they may be encouraged to sing along.

*Answer the door in a robe or towel: Embarressed the carolers may simply leave. Nudity (even partial) may offend them & make them unable to sing.

*Answer the door holding a telephone: Shout, "I can't hear you! There are carolers singing!" into the moutpiece until the carolers move on.

*Bribe them: Tell them you'd like to make a small donation & that you enjoy their singing from a distance.

*Request songs they won't know: The song repertoire is generally quite shallow. Good choices to stump the carolers include "Adam Lay Ybouden," "Riu Chiu," and "The Zither Carol."

*Send them to someone else: Say, "My friend over there really loves carols," as you point to another house.

Cookies & Cookies & More Cookies, OH MY!

So my mom, sister & I hosted our very first cookie exchange. It was loads of fun and we all ended up with TONS of cookies. Here's a picture of the table of cookies!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

I always love my parent's home at Christmas. Here are 2 of my favorite things...the tree & the mantel! The pics aren't great ones b/c I didn't do good lighting, but you get the idea!

3 YEARS, 6 MONTHS & 20 DAYS

Okay, those of you who know me well know the following:

1. I go to bed early...yes, I'm old beyond my years. But in my defense, I also leave my house by 6:15 every morning...so I get up early!

2. I truly am content and satisfied with being single. Okay...now this doesn't mean that my hopes & dreams involve being single forever, but God has granted me contentment and joy in my life!

Okay...now you are really asking yourself...what has that got to do with 3 years, 6 months & 20 days. Well I'm getting there...don't worry.

So last night, I'm driving home late (okay, well 10pm-past my usual bedtime) after having a wonderful dinner with The Cherry Family and then watching the kiddos while they did some Christmas shopping. Did I mention I absolutely love them all? And those kiddos continually steal my heart, especially in funny moments that involve a bath, a #2 messy diaper & running naked through the house. Okay, Lynna...so I owe you a story that I forgot to tell you last night!

Anyway...yes, those that know me are not at all suprised nor annoyed that I'm rambling & talking in circles, delaying the punch line. So, I'm driving home listening to The River and they have the John Tesh show on at nights. Anyway, according to John Tesh (or something he saw published) the average amount of time it takes for a man to propose is 3 years, 6 months & 20 days. Right then & there I realized, AHAA....that's it...that's my problem. You mean I've got to date a guy that long only to get him to ask me to then continue dating him for the rest of his life?! And, yes, I'm joking for the most part...but seriously....that's quite a large average...think about those poor girls who had to wait for 6 years to help equate to this 3 year average! WOW!

Mardel's Here I Come!

Okay...if you've never been to a Mardel's Christian Store then you have NOT lived a full and complete life yet! But, do not fear...your chance has finally arrived. The Mardel's in Cedar Park has FINALLY arrived! These outdo any other christian bookstore by a landslide in both selection & price. They are owned by the same company as Hobby Lobby. I grew up with one in OK and was very spoiled then. But that time has come again...I am so very happy about it. My mom & I will be hitting it 7am on Friday! It's in the 1890 Ranch Shopping Center on 1431 just off of 183A.

They have everything from children's book, fiction, bible, dvds, cds, and TONS of educational resources for both school teachers and bible school teachers!

My sales pitch is over...trust me...you will NOT regret going!

Home Slice

It's been a very long time since I blogged so here it goes...

Shelley and I have decided to hit some Austin food spots that either neither of us have been to and/or one of has and wants to take the other. The rule is no chains...just good ole' Austin. So Shelley picked me up from work yesterday for lunch and we first went to Home Slice Pizza.

It's located just south of the river off of Congress. Okay, so there's pizza and there is PIZZA! This might be the best pizza I've ever had, but regardless it definately ranks up there on the list. It's so good that there is always a line of people waiting for it to open. It opens at 11:30, but Shelley assured me we needed to get there early...so we did and we weren't the first...by 11:15 there was a huge line. In addition to the great pizza, it's small inside, so if you want to sit at a table, arrive early! Anyway...really yummy.

And then we topped it off with cupcakes from a trailer! Yes....a trailer! It's called Hey Cupcake and is out of a trailer just down the road from Home Slice on Congress.

I would recommend eating the Michael Jackson cupcake...chocolate on the bottom, white on the top!!! Cracked me up...but it was really good. But might I recommend taking off the cupcake wrapper first? I swear you couldn't tell it had one, it was the craziest thing...needless to say, I was glad it was just my sister and not a man I'm trying to impress!

I'll try to be good and blog about the places Shell & I go but I give 2 thumps up to Home Slice & Hey Cupcake!