A Texan Christmas

I'm back! And I thought ya'll might enjoy a little taste of our family fun. Whoo! We had a great time (but this part was NOT one of my favorite family memories). Talk about EXTENDED family! What a group to behold!

Christmas Crafts

Feeling crafty?!? Need a cheap and easy Christmas present? I've got a great craft for you... A Bra Purse. Get the instructions here.

Not your cup of tea? How about a Potato Chip Bag Bracelet? Or SIM Card Earrings? Ever wondered how to make a Make a Toothbrush Bracelet? Come on. These are great!

Christmas Time...

That time of year is slowly creeping up and I'm sitting here on my day off, trying to think of all the things I still have to do and feeling guilty for being rushed. I know that half of the world (at least half of the continent) feels this way right now too. The guilt I feel stems from knowing that my perspective is all wrong and that Christmas is not really about sending out fuzzy cards and lengthy newsletters. Well, duh. I can quote you my Suzy Sunday School answer, okay? But most of us (especially us Southern chicks) can't help but feel a certain bit of Christmas "obligation" to our families and friends. On that note, yes - your cards will be in the mail by tomorrow and yes - you will enjoy them. (Or else...)

But as far as Christmas spirit, I've still been looking for it.

I didn't find it in the hustle and bustle of the city. Sure, it was fun to walk about and be amazed at all the Christmas lights and beautiful store windows and the giant Rockefeller tree, but what I also saw were crazy commercialization's and parents complaining about immense crowds and how these outings were more of a burden than fun. Yikes.

I didn't find it when Tim and I were trying to pose our Christmas picture with our cats. What I got from that experience was a scratched up hand, a missing-in-action cat, a hairy sweater and half of a family picture. (Where is Juno? Yes, exactly.)

But you know, I think I spotted some of that Christmas magic when I gave a library visit to a girl scout troop yesterday. It was a group of seven girls, all in the third grade. They met at the library and I had two Christmas stories to read to them and then I was going to show them around the library. Well, I read them "Willy and May: A Christmas Story" and "Santa Calls" - two of my new favorite picture books - and we spent the rest of the time talking about special people in our lives that we will get to see soon. We also talked about Santa. These girls all still believe in him and they told me about their Santa sightings! One girl told me about hearing reindeer on her rooftop, another told me about hearing Santa laugh, and they all told me about leaving him cookies and getting thank you notes from him. Their eyes sparkled and danced as they chatted eagerly about how they planned to catch him this year and where they were going to hide to try to get a glimpse of him. Now that's what I call Christmas!

So yes, even though Christmas can really give me the blues, I have seen it. And I WILL be ready for it, even if it kills me.

New York Christmas

I love Christmas in the city...

Today, Tim is taking me to do some more Christmas decoration sightseeing. I love seeing the windows all plump with holly and animated characters and dangling ornaments. This picture was taken Thursday night at Grand Central Terminal, when we went in to see a concert (Over the Rhine). This is the holiday light show in Grand Central. The stars twinkle and dance - it's just beautiful!

Thursday night, we also got to see the windows at Macys and see "Santaland." What a treat, cause I've always wanted to see the Macys Santa Claus! It was worth it. The windows in front of Macys were just spectacular. Seeing all of the lights and whatnot really puts you into a Christmas mood. We had a blast.

And then we went to the concert we had tickets for, "Over the Rhine," and it was an awesome show. If you're not familiar with this group, get acquainted! They have a fantastic new Christmas CD out called "Snow Angels." L.O.V.E. them! (Big thanks to Christie for getting me hooked on them!) The show was at Joe's Pub, which is this swanky little jazz club setting. We were right up on the front row, facing Linford on his piano. (Tim could literally reach out and grab Linford's long skinny foot!) What a great night. Look for pictures soon on my flickr page...