Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all! We're in Stillwater, OK. It's been a wonderful Christmas! Yesterday we had our traditional Peasant Soup for Christmas Eve dinner, followed by a Christmas Eve Musical Program where we had 25 musical numbers. It's nice to be in such a musical family. Anna sang both of her pieces (which I hope to post soon) and did an amazing job!

Santa came last night and we had a great morning of presents. It seems that most of the grandchildren are older now and therefore there wasn't a HUGE rush to open presents this year. Kind of odd. Anna got some Tinker Toys, a Princess Castle Alarm clock, new princess jammies, and a veggietales dvd set (3 dvds) and a larry-boy vehicle thingy. Tyler enjoyed his gifts ( a pda, a book "5 acres and independence", some shirts, & an ebelskiver pan). I received a white diamonds perfume set, a yogurt maker, Christmas dishes set, & some other nice things that I can't remember right now because it's 12:38am and I'm exhausted...I'm allergic to something here, I think it's mold, so I'm wheezing and don't have very much energy - but we love being here with family. Other highlights include my meeting my sweet little niece, Iliana. She is a DOLL! I will post pictures soon...I hope.

I watched The Snowman. It's about 27 minutes long, but really lovely - especially the song in the middle. Enjoy:

Bartlesville Trip

We've had a grand time here in Bartlesville. Tyler misses being here and even has some hopes of returning to live here in OK. Our future is so open right now - who knows where we'll end up?



We've been enjoying our time with the Pierce family! Yesterday was the Pierce Christmas Dinner. We played several games, including PIT & Apples to Apples Junior. I have pictures, but haven't had a chance to post them, yet. Today we celebrated Anna's 6th birthday. She had a ball with her cousins, especially Maddie, who is almost 4 years-old. I can tell that if we lived here in Bartlesville, that Anna & Maddie would be best friends. :o)



I sang in Tyler's ward today. I sang "A Long Time Ago" & "Come Unto Him". I think that many people enjoyed the songs. The ward clerk said he was going to request my records so we'd move here!



One thing I forgot to mention on our trip here to OK: we were eating at Denny's for breakfast. I didn't feel too pretty because my fever blisters were completely out of control at that point - but I still fixed my hair and put on make-up, anyhow. Upon arriving at Denny's, I headed for the restroom. Another woman was also heading in there and she was so complimentary of me, saying how beautiful my hair is and what a beautiful person I am. It was so surprising because I felt so unattractive with the huge (read: gigantic) fever blister on my lip - and here was this pretty woman telling me how pretty I am. I think that Heavenly Father compliments us through other people. I needed to hear it that day, let me tell you! :o)

Tomorrow morning we're heading down to Stillwater, which is 2 hours away from Bartlesville. It's almost Christmas Eve! I'm in charge of putting together a Christmas Eve musical schedule. We have so much musical talent in our family and there will be 27 (yes, 27) people at my Grandma's house on Christmas Eve, so I'm thinking it won't be a short musical program. Happy Christmas Eve Eve!

Safe in OK

We're here! We arrived in Bartlesville, OK, yesterday & currently we're visiting Tyler's family until monday. So far we've had a grand time! Tyler is already trying to figure out a way to move back to OK, since we would love to live near our family. However, on our drive to OK, we determined what we want to do for the next 5 years - and it didn't involve moving back to OK. :P We are happy to be here and hope the next 2 weeks won't go by too quickly for us.



I've been assisting my fabulous mil (mother-in-law) with some holiday baking and I have two fun holiday treat ideas to share. Make rice krispie treats but add 1 bag of red andes mints (the coarsely chopped kind) when you mix the rice krispies in with the melted marshmallows. I've never heard of peppermint rice krispie treats - but they are GOOD. Another idea from my mil, make chocolate cookies and then mix in one bag of regular andes mints (the coarsely chopped kind). Very tasty!

The internet connection here in B-ville is pretty slow and unpredictable, therefore I may not be posting very often, but I hope you're all enjoying the countdown to Christmas! I know I am!!!

Fever blisters

Yes, I have 2 fever blisters now and 1 canker sore. You can wish you were me, if you want. I'm pitiful, but we're leaving for our vacation tomorrow, so I'm hoping I'll wake up and the fever blisters will magically be GONE. One can only hope.

Anna has very thick, unmanagable hair. I have been experimenting with different kinds of shampoos and conditioners, but nothing seems to work too well. I don't have thick, unmanagable hair, so I don't know what to buy to help her. She has tangles EVERYDAY. It breaks my heart to see her cry when I have to brush her hair (which is daily). Please give me your suggestions on what would help her.

Well, my PDA is on the fritz. I'm in the market for a new palm pilot. I saw that wal-mart had some online, but not in the store. Is it a silly question to ask where palm pilots are sold? Are they only available online??

We're leaving tomorrow. We're getting everything gathered. We're planning to drive halfway and spend the night at a hotel, then finish the next day. I'm still pretty sick, Tyler doesn't feel very well now, but Anna is feeling okay (thankfully).

We went carolling tonight with Melody & her family. It was great fun, except my voice is hoarse. In fact, I think I'm losing my voice. I just hope that I will have it for this Sunday - when I sing in Tyler's home ward.

12 days of Christmas - survey style (Thanks Dane)

One holiday movie I recently watched:
Bishop's Wife (classic)

Last two holiday websites I visited:
eBay.com
amazon.com

Three favorite items of clothing:
Cabin socks
Black turtleneck shirt
My new lounge pants with the word "CHEEKY" over the bum...

Four favorite things to eat:
Sugar Cookies
Coconut Pound Cake
Peasant Soup
Holiday mashed potatoes

Five things I ate yesterday:
Sugar Cookies
Coconut Pound Cake
Meatloaf
Chicken breast
Broccoli

Six things I need to do today:
Make of list of things to pack
Clean the house
Do dishes
Vacuum
Pack

Seven gifts I’d like to receive:
a PDA that WORKS! (mine isn't working *sniff*)
Sees Candy (Scotchmallow)
Kitchen utensils
Anna Netrebko cds (I don't have any!)
Curling iron (I know, it's crazy that I don't have one!)
Cloth napkins
a small vacuum (to vacuum the stairs!)

Eight ingredients my kitchen shouldn’t be without during the holidays:
Marshmallow creme (for fudge)
Butter
Sugar (all kinds)
Flour
Sprinkles (because of their nutritional value)
Chocolate chips
Coconut
Eggs

Nine Christmas songs I like to hear:
Marsmallow world (Johnny Mathis)
Baby, it's cold outside
Silent Night (mannheim steamroller)
Sleigh Ride
I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day
The Nutcraker (the whole cd, but especially Pas de Deux)
I saw three ships
I'll be home for Christmas
Fum Fum Fum

Ten memorable Christmas gifts:
Our Savior
anything from Tyler (he buys great gifts)
pearl ring that was my Grandmother's
Barbie house when I was young (it was 3 floors and had an elevator on the side! Awesome)
Scriptures
Kitchenaid beaters
Green sweater
Pavarotti cd
Red goblets
my two front teeth

Eleven favorite Christmas traditions:
Singing together on Christmas eve
Carolling
Delivering treats
Playing games as a family
Peasant Soup
Decorating the tree
Watching the tree with no other lights on in the house
Watching the snow fall (if we get any - which we DO in Ohio!)
Reading the Christmas story while Anna moves the pieces in her Little People nativity
Reading the Tall Book of Christmas
Watching holiday movies (It's a wonderful life, Bishop's Wife, White Christmas, Charlie Brown Christmas & Garfield's Christmas)

Twelve fun childhood Christmas memories:
Everything above plus getting Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve.

Update

Well, I went to church this morning. I felt good that it was where I was supposed to be. I didn't want to miss church because I need that weekly dose of feeling the Spirit. And feel it, I did. I'm so grateful for the gospel. It brings me such happiness. It brings me peace. It guides me through this mortal probation. Without it - I would be lost. After church Tyler & Bob gave me a blessing. I love to hear the words "Your Heavenly Father loves you". It makes me cry everytime - because I know that it's true. The blessing said I would recover from this sickness in a timely manner. My main concern is that I'm going to be singing in Tyler's home ward in OK next Sunday and I want to be ABLE to sing, unlike today in church. :P Now I'm planning to take a nap and wake up whenever my body is ready to do so. (sound nice, Jana?)

Christmas party

Today was a big build-up to a Christmas party at Sarah's house this evening. I baked over a hundred sugar cookies (literally) with a cool cookie press that Amy loaned me. I made shrimp dip, meatballs, & mint hot chocolate. Plus Tyler made homemade salt water taffy - that was fun. I've never made candy before - besides divinity and fudge. The party was fun - we played scene it!, how well do you know your spouse, and a white elephant game - I got a lovely orange leaf platter - perfect for me, eh? I thought so. Tyler ended up with a gift that I brought - but he really wanted what he brought, which was stolen from him at the very end! Pretty funny. I still don't feel well - my nose is red & chapped. I think I have a virus...I feel terrible...I don't want to share it with everyone at church tomorrow but I don't think I should have gone to a party tonight if I'm not planning to go to church tomorrow...sounds like man-made guilt, right Melisa? I don't want others to come to church and spread the "wealth" (read: sickness), so why should I do it?? What would you do?

It's time to trim the tree!

Don't send a lame Holiday eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Not healthy

Today had its ups & downs. The downs are: I still have a sore throat (3rd day in a row, grrrr!) and then I thought I'd use my coupon for a haircut (expired today) for $6.99 (can't beat that price!). So, I go into the salon and there are 3 people ahead of me - all men, which don't take very long - so I don't mind waiting. I noticed that one of the three employees was working pretty slowly and didn't appear to know exactly what she was doing. Since I am particular with my hair (who isn't?) I am hoping and even praying that someone else will be cutting my hair. Yeah, well, she did. All throughout the haircut I am dreading the end result. Halfway through the haircut she had to ask her fellow co-worker for "help" with my hair. *sigh* I was pretty upset because I didn't think it turned out well and I'm about to go home & visit family - so I wanted it to look nice. Aggravated, I dropped by Meijer on the way home to buy some veggies. Somehow a 2 liter of rootbeer and a half gallon of vanilla ice cream found its way into my cart. I came home and had a rootbeer float. Then I felt bad that I'd had one, since they're not at all healthy. Then I thought I'd weigh myself - which is never a good idea when it's halfway through the weighing week, after you've just had a RBF, and with all of your clothes on...yeah, I was up, like, 10 pounds from monday. Not a self-esteem boosting moment. From then on I found myself just unhappy and it was almost like I couldn't do anything to end it. *heavy sigh*

An UP was: After Anna came home from school, we went over to Rachel's house and she & her husband, Ryan, taught me how to make ebelskivers, which was fun, but of course not very healthy. Then I made a nice dinner of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, cheese soufleé, and mixed veggies. It was tasty - but again, not too healthy. When I put my jeans on today - they were a little snug. I feel like crying because I worked hard to lose those 20 pounds and I feel like I can't do anything to stop some of them from coming back on, especially this time of year. It's very depressing. I have great plans of beginning a very healthy diet when we return from OK - but it will be difficult to begin that while we're staying with family - and the truth is, I don't want to have to worry about it while I'm on "vacation". I just want to eat whatever I want and not gain anything - is that too much to ask???

The story of stuff

Very interesting link: http://www.storyofstuff.com/ (Thanks Joey!)

Well it's been a while since I posted. I tend to be very perfectionistic and somehow tell myself that I have to do things PERFECTLY (sound familiar anyone?), for example: posting on my blog everyday. I used to keep a written journal and I wrote in it everyday for 10 years. 10 YEARS, people! I'm trying to not hold myself to such standards in areas that aren't important. I keep a regular journal, that will suffice.

Everyone seems a bit *blah* in my house today. I have a really bad sore throat, which doesn't help. Plus we've been struggling with some recent difficult (read: obstinate) behavior by our daughter and we're trying to figure out how to address it. She's becoming VERY independent and wants everything to be her way. Of course this cannot be the case in all situations, therefore we have struggles, fits, and crying tantrums. We're currently reading a book that Kathey let us borrow. It's called Rewards For Kids. It talks about how you should use rewards versus punishments to teach your children good behavior. I think it makes some very valid points. Tyler & I read the first chapter last night and we have 2 pages of notes from it. We have 2 more chapters to read before making some charts (yes, we love charts in our house - Tyler's an engineer, don't forget).

It's almost over. My Christmas break. What happened to my 7 weeks of vacation? I only have 5 more days until we leave for Oklahoma. We'll be gone for 2 1/2 weeks and by the time we return, I'll only have 2 days before winter quarter begins. That's it. Just 2 days. I'm trying to fit in all the scrapbooking (that I had planned on doing for the past 4 weeks) in the next 5 days. *sigh* I was able to scrapbook for one hour today -which was pretty productive. Right now I'm working on my own scrapbook - of my life up until I married Tyler. The current page I'm on is my senior year of high school, so I'm rolling along. What are your plans for the Christmas break?

Ooh! We were just visited by someone bringing Christmas goodies! What fun!

Festival of the Sun

The Sun used to rise every day
It chased away the dark and cold of the night
The rising of the Sun was as constant as the North Star
On occasion, I woke early to view this glorious event
I marveled at its magnificence in cresting the horizon
Its glow warmed my face; its beauty warmed my heart
Its influence was magical, bringing out a myriad of colors in the sky
Its power, warmth, beauty, and influence continued all day long
It provided light to the path in front of me
There was not a day that I didn’t rely on the Sun
It sustained me, though I rarely acknowledged my dependence on it
Then, the unthinkable happened: the Sun did not rise
The first day was mostly awkward
I got by with my artificial light and warm clothes
As time passed, the days became colder; the nights frigid
More than physical, my emotions grew dark and cold
And now, today is the annual Sun festival
The day in which we recognize it for what it is
It is the enabler of all that is good in life
I had become numb to my new reality
Almost forgetting the happiness of my life before
But on this day, my mind is called into reflection
I remember the blessed life that I enjoyed before
My sadness is now more acute
However, my mind and heart are filled with prophetic inspiration
This solar eclipse, this nuclear winter, will have an end
The Sun will rise again! Joy will return!
These days of darkness will only make the future even brighter
For now I am more aware of how much I need you
You inspire me; you sustain me; you make my life complete

Tyler wrote this for me when we were separated while he was in Air Force training. :o)

Christmas letters

It's that time of year - where one or two or three days are needed to finish up all the Christmas letters to mail them out to friends and family. I've already received 2 Christmas letters (Thanks Misti & Kristina!) so now I really need to hurry it up & get them out. I did hit a snag tonight - the black ink cartridge ran out of ink. :o( So I'll resume them tomorrow.

I went on-base to see a doctor about my hip & foot pain. My hip pain is a derived from my foot pain. They signed me up for some physical therapy which I will begin tomorrow. I'm excited to see what I will learn from it.

I baked some sugar cookies today using my friend's cookie press - it was really fun. I wish all cookies could be that easy! We went carolling tonight with 2 other families. Anna kept wanting to sing JINGLE BELLS. I think that's because it's one of the few Christmas songs that she knows from memory! :o)

Gingerbread houses

Funny quotes from Anna:
"I need to tell you someping" (said at least three times a day)
"rip cream" (whip cream)
"Dora the destroyer" (Dora the explorer

My family has several Christmas traditions. I grew up making an array of Christmas goodies and delivering them to several people we knew. On Christmas eve we always sang Christmas songs. With all the holiday decorations and activities that we did - we didn't make gingerbread houses. This year I thought my little family would try it out. Tonight we went to Kacey & Amy's house to make gingerbread houses and play carcassonne. (They're the couple who taught us to play). We had a blast and the kids especially enjoyed the sampling of the candy. Look on the sidebar for pictures.

Church was wonderful. Last Sunday we were all sick so we didn't get to go. I can honestly tell you that my week was more difficult because I didn't have the upliftment that I gain from attending church. I missed it and needed it. It's just one more reason to be where I want to be - at church. The older I become, the more I recognize how much strength my testimony of Jesus Christ gives me. I am so blessed to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life.

Last night we played games with Glittersmama and her family. It was way fun, but we tend to get carried away in how LONG we play games...lending to a late bedtime (after 1am...) and then today Glittersmama accompanied me for prelude. I sang "A Long Time Ago." It went really well - I love that song. Then I sang a duet with Drew, "Sleep, Little Lamb." That went really well, too. Up to now I have had this hesitancy to sing in church very often, because I didn't want others to think I was self-promoting myself since I'm the one who schedules the special musical numbers. However, recently I felt the Spirit reprimand me for not sharing my musical talent in church because of what I feared others might think. So, beginning next year I will be singing more often.

I knew the Mons came, too

To prove what Philip said, the Mons were there at our snowball fight. Here's proof!

Non-Crappy Starring You! eCards on JibJab

Danny Boy

If you're a muppet fan or are part-irish, you'll enjoy this:



I didn't accomplish too many things today - but it seemed like I was non-stop busy. I went grocery shopping, baked a red velvet cake, made mashed potatotes, did laundry, met Angela for our quarterly pedicure (once every 3 months) which was really nice, then took the potatoes and the cake to our ward Christmas social. It was really nice. I enjoy talking to other people in the ward. However, I find myself becoming a little more reserved, not necessarily seeking out people (like I used to do) but rather waiting for others to talk to me. Anyhow, it was nice.

It's the most wonderful time of the year

With the snow and Tyler being done with his quarter, I'm quite content. After scriptures and putting Anna to bed, Tyler & I played a game of Carcassonne (I won, by the way) and made some coconut pound cake (Tyler's favorite holiday treat) and we're about to watch the last disc of the 2nd season of THE OFFICE, courtesy of Glittersmama, who has hooked me on it. I enjoy Dwight's character the most. :o) This is most definitely the most wonderful time of the year.

Apparantly, Philip & Lauren visited us last weekend...perhaps we drank too much rootbeer because I don't remember our snowball fight. Go sasquatch.

I want to recommend to all my faithful readers some of my Christmas favorites:

Favorite Christmas book: THE TALL BOOK OF CHRISTMAS, a book that my Mom grew up reading at Christmastime. It's a compilation of stories and poems. My favorite one is Granny Glittens and her amazing mittens.

Favorite Christmas music: Mannheim Steamroller

Favorite Christmas song: I heard the bells on Christmas day

Favorite Christmas treat: Sugar cookies (they are heavenly - recipe is posted on the sidebar)

Tell me your favorites!

Woefulgrump Rascalnose

What's your GRINCH NAME?

Today is December 5th - and so we all put our boots outside on the porch. Saint Nicholas paid us a visit and left little toys & candy for us. Anna was so excited. (who wouldn't be?) This is a tradition that neither Tyler nor I grew up with - but I like that it happens early in December and I enjoy talking about Saint Nicholas and his life of service. It helps that it snowed today - which helps us feel that Christmas is near. Here are some pictures:

Too late

Lately I've been staying up waaaaaaay too late. I need to go to bed earlier, but since I don't have a lot that I need to do in the morning, I am compensating for my late bedtime by sleeping in. This isn't good and must be changed, but as you can see by the time I'm writing this that it hasn't been corrected as of yet.

Enrichment meeting was wonderful. I have some great friends here in OH. There was a program that talked about our ancestors and their belief in Christ's birth. It really made me want to revisit my interest in genealogy.

Funk

Today was kinda "eh". We're all still mending from the weekend sickness...I have zero desire &/or energy to do chores, I just want to play games or hang out. Perhaps that is what normal people do. I consider myself very driven. I feel like I need to accomplish 100+ things per day - you know, make every moment COUNT. Today was more relaxed and I'm wondering if I work myself too hard...do you ever get in a funk? You know, when nothing seems to go right and you're feeling funky...that's how I feel today. How do you get out a funk? Is there a way??? Do share. I have plenty of things to be happy about, so I'm not sure why I'm feeling kinda down. :o/

Wingman failure

Mons family

Whenever you find a true friend - you should hold onto them. You should keep in touch with them regardless of how far away they are. The Mons are true friends of our family. I posted some pictures of us on the sidebar - enjoy!

They showed up around 11:30pm friday night and we stayed up until at least 1 am chatting...then up again around 9am, when I made mickey mouse shaped pancakes for breakfast. Tyler & Brad took the kids (all 4 of them - what men we have!) to the Air Force Museum while Melisa & I made peasant soup (recipe is on the right sidebar) & rolls while chatting it up like there was no tomorrow. Then after lunch the adults played settlers while the kids played. It was a grand day - one that we didn't want to end. In fact, we tried to not let it end, by staying up until 2am. Nevermind that the Mons had to leave at 6am - we were living it up (as much as is possible for us mormons) and it was grand. I miss them already. This morning Anna was crying because she said they only came for one day. Poor baby, I feel her pain.

This morning Tyler awoke to Anna saying that there was an emergency - she had thrown up in the bathroom. Tyler, the wonderful man that he is, cleaned it all up by himself, bathed Anna, started a load in the wash, and put Anna back to bed. (Did I mention how wonderful he is??) When we woke up this morning - Tyler was feeling nauseated and I didn't feel well, either. So we didn't make it to church, unfortunately. Hopefully we'll feel better soon. I am grateful, however, that we are sick now instead of when I was in school. :o)

Anna lost her other front tooth today - therefore the Christmas song "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" will apply to my baby this year...