Awards and Memes

Angela and Coffee Bean tagged me awhile back.
And Pick up your award too.

Seven things I did before:

1. Jazzercise.

2. A travelling hair business on my bicycle.

3. Make good pie crust.

4. Play hookie from school

5. Watched TV.

6. Once a Month Cleaning

7. Shop at Nordstroms

Seven things I do now:

1. Blog.

2. Drive and buy gas.

3. cook food and eat it.

4. Take digital pictures.

5. Blog.

6. Read good books.

7. Think about mt next blog post.

Seven things I would like to do:

1. Write something really great, and publish it.

2. Be more patient.

3. Missions trips, lots of them!

4. See the girls graduate from college and be married and happy.

5. Relax.

6. Manage money better.

7. Spend less and create more.

Seven things that attract me to my husband:

1. He prays for us.

2. He is faithful.

3. He makes me laugh and the kids too and he tells the same dumb jokes over and over.

4. He is mine.

5. He is a great kisser.

6. He likes to dance around in the kitchen with me.

7. He helps me, a lot, he is great at "hunny do"

Seven favorite foods:

1. Big salads with all kinds of stuff thrown in! (ditto)

2. ginger cookies

3. Grandma's food all of it.

4. Homemade from scratch anything. Pie cookies, cakes, casseroles, stews, soups....

5. chocolate.

6. English tea with cream and stevia

7. chocolate rum/bourbon balls.

Seven things I say most often:

1. I'll be off the computer in a couple minutes.

2. Not now.

3. In a minute.

4. Can't you wait? I'm blogging.

5. Where are you?

6. Where did all the chocolate go?
7. Whose been messing up my kitchen?

Nine people I am tagging:
Kris
Amy
CBW
BHE
Britt
Peach
Grandma J
Becky
Flea
and anyone else who justs wants too!


and pick up your awards.

Clean As A Whistle!

We cleaned house today. Major clean. Pa helped. The whole place is spotless even the JUNK drawer! Do not however be unduly impressed. I am on steroids. If I could live on steroids I could conquer the world. Well at the very least my house would be clean.
The next thing is to bake those killer ginger cookies that Noble Pig posted, I LUV ginger cookies!
Maybe I'll relax. I can relax, it usually requires some kind of a drug. OK Debbie you so nailed me.
These days I am amped to the gills and when I wean off I am going to be tired.
It was however great to listen to Christmas music and have a very productive day.
Anybody know how to make candles?

Now I Can Relax!

We went to the post office today. I was going to photograph the pile of parcels that were going to be a small little happy just for the youngest grandchildren. It actually was pretty contained. Our pastor brought back beautiful hand made ornaments from Turkey and we decided to get each of our adult children one of those. So we ended up with a pretty big production in terms of the postal service. I also wrote a few Christmas cards, just a few.

I would like to send you, my bloggie buddies a little handwritten card, no obligation to return the gesture. I promise no hokie generic letter, I'll save that for a blog post! Bwahaha. Actually I am rekindling some of the more old fashioned Christmas joys and would just like to include you in the cheer. Some of you that have little ones may get an additional happy. Karen over at Rocking Pony, I would so love to send a little greeting to your precious children!

I'm completely finished with shopping. We are having a few presents can't avoid them all together because the girls were not raised that way. They have had some difficult news regarding their mother, sister and brother; so a little fun is on the menu. They will have great stockings this year. I would like to be getting their stocking stuffers!

Now the baking can start. I'm hoping to have a few girlfriends over with their daughters and have a hot cocoa and cookie gab fest. We are also hoping to bring our single mom's little boy, ( our little adopted family) over to make home made dough ornaments. He is 9 and we thought he would enjoy that. Definitely will be a photo moment.

Sunday is the Carols by Candlelight service an incredible musical production by a local church that just makes my Christmas every year. It's a spectacularly beautiful production with both traditional and contemporary music. the grand finale of this amazing choir of several hundred people is Handles Messiah the Alleluia chorus which always brings me to tears with it's magnificence.

It was just awesome to be home today. I am still so short of breath and wheezing like a whistle but this too will pass. I'm so content and enjoying the preparations because I am not allowing it to get out of hand. Everything so far has been fun, and that is the way Christmas should be.

Christmas cards and greetings!

I have big news. I resigned from my job today. I had really prayed last night for the Lord to give me direction and it was crystal clear. I may already have another job lined up to start in January.
They gave me two weeks pay without working; pretty sweet! Considering I need a rest and to literally catch my breath....

Let's just say I am so grateful, I HATED that job! I am a nurse. Now I know that sales is not for me. My gift is mercy, not money.

This means I have time to bake, write, and I feel better already!

Our family has decided to give a gift to honor Jesus this year and we are all praying about what it should be. Please go see Coffee Beans post today!

I would love to send each one of you on my blog roll a Christmas greeting. If you would like to receive it send me your address; kdmcgivney@bellsouth.net

Tomorrow I am cooking for a party and will post the fixins.

When Insomnia Strikes....

She is kissing me.







Take pictures in the dark.
Pretend you are asleep and aim and hope. See those concentration wrinkles? I am trying to take pictures in the dark and not bother the cat.

The cat decided to lick my face.
she sleeps on my shoulder.
I'm thinking she needs a new bed buddy since I can't shake my asthma off and cats are a big no-no. I look at her and tell her, "You are very cute, very sweet, and oh so lovable; but you are no curly black haired standard poodle.

After photographing us we took pictures of my little tree. Some of the pictures were of my nostrils. I mean really you could look up there and see brains or maybe something else worse than that.







































This is my cute little tree. I thought you might be able to see the time on the clock. 3:30am and not the bed that I should be in, sleeping away, but I had a shot of steroids and my eyes are big headlights.
I love the little birdies, partridge in a pear tree or baby quail. I think they look like little quail. Everything on this tree is miniature, it's a cutie about the size of a table lamp and I love it in my room, so cozy.










Then in the mail today was something new. Something I never knew before. some of you are this smart I am sure! But not me. I didn't know this.

The 12 Days of Christmas explained!

What in the World do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the Partridge in a Pear Tree have to do with Christmas? Today I found out.

From 1558 until 1829 Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly.

Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning and the hidden meaning known only to the members of their church.

Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality, which the children could remember.

The partridge in the pear tree was Jesus Christ.

The two turtledoves were the Old and New Testaments.

Three French hens, stood for faith, hope and love.

The four calling birds the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

The five gold rings recalled the Torah of the law, the first five books of the Bible written by Moses.

The six geese a laying stood for the six days of creation.

Seven swans a swimming represented the seven fold gifts of the Holy Spirit:
Prophesy, serving, teaching, exhortation, contribution, leadership, and mercy.

The eight maids a milking were the eight beatitudes.

Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit:
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.

The ten lords a leaping were the Ten Commandments.

The eleven pipers piping were the eleven faithful disciples.

The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles Creed.

So there is your history lesson for the day.

Tonight I intend to sleep. This riddle is now solved. This information was printed in my father's bulletin at his Lutheran church and their source not given so I do not have a reference to quote.
I am assuming the facts are correct, it makes sense.

Celebrating

Be sure you go over to Brenda's Living with Rad and read her "Giving Away Fruit" post it is not missable. How is that for good grammer?
Along the same lines. There are many good things we can do for Jesus birthday. I really like the idea of giving Him a gift since he is the birthday child. There are lots of ways to do this.
Samaritans Purse gives shoebox gifts to children. They also have a catalog and you can buy a poor family a dozen chicks, or a pig. You can provide milk for a month to a child and many many other projects. Gospel for Asia also does this. How about a hundred dollars to buy a missionary a bicycle?
Or warm clothing for people who are in the freezing cold. My favorite though in honor of Andrew, Debbie's son and Katie another one of our friends daughters is to buy a wheelchair. Joni and Friends ministry literally goes places where they pick people up off of the GROUND to be in a sitting and upright position for the first time in their lives. That is life changing. When is the last time you spent money that had that kind of power? Changing people's lives. You don't have to give the full amount either you can give your gift and ask that it applied towards the item you want to give.

Think about it. when is the last time you even remembered all the hullabaloo over Christmas gifts? Do you think the recipient of a wheelchair or a pig to help their family of a child that got a coat? Do you think they can ever forget?

Happy Birthday Dear Jesus Happy birthday to you!!

Certifiably Nuts

NOBODY



NOBODY

Decorates a tree,...






And then buys a new one and switches it out. Unless you are Karen Deborah. It's even better than that. This tree looks real, like a Noble Fir. The color and the branches look very natural, it almost feels natural. I don't know if you can tell from the photos, but there is a HUGE difference between my Charlie Brown tree and this one.

This is the new tree. The lights are off so you can see the tree. The other tree picture was with lights on so be fair. Just check out this amazing tree!

I also went to a great deal of trouble to get it. There was only one left in all of Jackson MS. I know because I checked all the stores here and online. There was one tree on display and the sales people had told me I couldn't buy it. I decided to go to the manager. I told him, "I WANT TO BUY this tree. I don't care if you have a box. I don't care if you don't warranty it. I really want to buy this tree!" I also told him that I had checked the Internet and every store in MS. He looked at me and said, "OK you can have it." GOOD MAN! GREAT MAN! Now that is customer service. Yippeeee!!! OMG now I have to pay for this. Well alright then.

It really wasn't a difficult chore to switch them. Piglet helped me to scoot the little tree very gently out of it's spot. I then put the grande, tres magnificat Noble Fir in place, and then just started moving the ornaments. It didn't take long.
Next, what to do with the Charlie Brown tree? Well, I had an idea. In the south everybody comes in the back door. Your front porch can be decorated to the 9's and look fantabolous; but maybe no one will use the front door. It can happen.
I set up the tree near the back door. It makes the back entrance look very inviting and cozy! We are set up like the Griswolds! We have the decoration thing going on here!

OK so now you know, I set up the tree twice; and yes, I am unique.



Onward to the outdoors.