TBB ASKS: HOLIDAY EDITION

Join in the fun here!

1.  Candy Canes? Yes or No

Yes I like them but don't eat them too often anymore. 

2.  Christmas morning early riser or sleep in? 

Early riser but nothing much going on in the mornings anymore. However I've been told that Adam, Gabby and the baby will be sleeping here on Christmas Eve so this year should be different. 

3.  Did you shop on Black Friday? Yes or No

Yes but only online. I don't go out on Black Friday. 

4.  Christmas Tree Up in November? Yes or No

Yes but I haven't decorated it yet! It will get done eventually. 

5.  Do you get Holiday ideas from Pinterest? Yes or No

I love Pinterest and I look at idea all the time but haven't actually used any for Christmas yet. 

6.  Christmas Glam or Ugly Sweater?

I guess I would have to say neither. 

7.  Stocking Stuffers: Wrapped or Unwrapped?

Haven't done stocking stuffers in years but they were always unwrapped. 

8.  Traditional or Modern Christmas Songs?

Definitely a mixture of both. 

9.  Fruitcake? Yes or No

No but I do have a recipe for one that is pretty good. Haven't made it in years. 

10. Is Your Christmas Shopping Finished? Yes or No

Almost, just a few more items to order when I get the lists. 

11. Is there snow in December where you live? 

No snow at our house but we can see the snow topped mountains from our backyard. 

12. Classic Show: A Charlie Brown Christmas or Rudolph?

Rudolph

CHRISTMAS RULES:

HO! HO! NO!

Usually I don't get sick until after Christmas. It's a bummer being sick now. I should have my tree up. The house should be decorated. I should have Christmas cards in the mail.

It started two weeks ago. On Tuesday night I had a mild soar throat and in the morning it was in my lungs. I didn't go to bowling that Wednesday and have had way to many pajama days! 

One thing you should know is that when you have a chronic illness you don't want people to know it. I wasn't contagious. So I did Mark's turkey dinner and the kids didn't have a clue how sick I was. 

I even made my side dishes for Thanksgiving dinner at Adam & Gabby's and survived the day without anyone knowing. The last thing you want to be is different or have people feel sorry for you. 

I finally broke down and got into my doctor's office for steroids and antibiotics but that was just the other day. When I don't feel well the last thing I want to do is leave the house. I was at a point where I felt a little better but knew I had to get on some medication. 

Hopefully in a few days I will be myself again and I can get going on all of the above projects. It's early yet, it's not even December 1st! I've also been able to get some shopping done online with Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

I did however get to watch about 16 brand new 2018 Hallmark, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries and Lifetime Christmas movies. Thank goodness for a DVR and other show times on these movie channels. 

DOES ANYBODY REALLY KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS.......

DOES ANYBODY REALLY CARE?

I care and it is really bothering me! The busiest time of the year is approaching and I feel so behind already. 

I haven't had time to read and respond to emails let alone blog posts. This is a part of my daily life, it is my pleasure to read your posts. 

Heck, I haven't even been able to clear my DVR since I got home from Florida and each day it fills up more.

It isn't going to get any easier over the next 35 days until Christmas! Please understand that I may not be over to visit with you. 

I realize that this sounds silly to some of you but I love my blog friendships and I love knowing what is going on with you. I am bummed about it but I also need to eliminate stress from my life. 

So between now and Christmas I will do all that I can to visit but if I don't show up please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers always. 

Something I haven't shared is the fact that Amber and Dylan are moving to Montana. Dylan is already there and starts work tomorrow. 

He got a great offer from the hospital in Great Falls Montana and we are very excited for them. He also just found a duplex for them to rent. It is more economical for them to survive in Montana than to get caught up financially in California! 

Mark and Amber, along with their dog Charlie, will be driving their belongings in a U-Haul with her car behind it and will be leaving on the 29th. 

Amber, Dylan and Charlie will not be here for Christmas this year. So needless to say, along with everything else I've bee dealing with, I am still a little down. 

But I will do all that I can to make this a beautiful Christmas because there is always so much to be thankful for and  I always trust in God's plan for us. 

Thank you for listening, I love you guys.......

MAYBE.....

I did not want to leave the house last week. I very much wanted to go to the show but could not get my act together. I honestly did nothing for several days last week. Probably one the laziest weeks I've had in a long time. Each day I had plans but never did them, putting them off until tomorrow. Then tomorrow came and I put them off until the next day.

Finally by Thursday I went out. Why? Because I had bowling and I never want to let my league down so I made myself go. Then since I was dressed for the day I convinced Mark to go to the show that night. 

No more pajama days for me! (okay, technically I am always in my PJ's until sometime after lunch except on Thursday's) What I mean is no more days where I shower and put on clean pajamas in the middle of the day. 

Friday I attended a funeral for my boss from Hallmark where I worked for seven years for her and her husband who owned the store. She passed away in her sleep. Her husband passed away last May. I couldn't stop thinking about their three daughter and how hard it has to be to lose both parents so close together. 

When you see the video of pictures of a persons life it really makes you think how quickly our lives go by. Let's make the most of it while we are still here! She was my buddy on Facebook and we emailed each other often. I will miss her.....

After that I ran to our local Von's grocery store to pick up a few things for Saturday. Adam was coming over. I picked up vegetables and berries. I knew we were going out to eat for his birthday dinner that we didn't do the week before and I wanted to have something to munch on if we got hungry.  

I'm just so tired of the bad snacking that the holiday parties bring on. We are back on track...well at least until Super Bowl Sunday! 

We had a wonderful lunch at the Wood Ranch, went for a walk around a pond next to the restaurant and then we came back home and played a game. It was really a perfect day. Adam flew back to Pittsburgh yesterday. Mark took off to Georgia this morning and I plan on keeping busy this week. Hopefully I will see a few movies. 

We are expecting storms today....

My plan is to go see  Whiplash tonight 

but I'm not holding my breath on that one ....

MORE ABOUT THE HOLIDAY'S.....

These are my new ornaments for 2014.  I open up each box, collapse it for storage, take a picture of the ornament and then hopefully at some point I will get them posted on my Debby's Tree blog. I was doing this for future reference for my children but I've been slacking off a little this year. 

When I do get them posted I will let you know because I will be having a little give away of my favorite ornament this year. They are all awesome but one is just too cute so I want to share it with one of you! 

 We had some rain which brought 

snow to the mountain tops....

 and a rainbow! 

Mark and I had his office party on December 19th which was at Mario's Place in Riverside which is across the street from The Mission Inn who puts up four million lights each year. Here are a few photos I have to share with you.....

IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

WELCOME TO OUR HOME AND WELCOME WINTER

Living Room Tree - white lights

Family Room Tree - multi-colored lights

 Snowman trees in the dining room....

My grandmother's wooden ironing board....

Our reindeer in the back yard.....

A few up close to share with you......

I just love how they sparkle at night.....

My Jim Shore collection.....

You may have heard me say that I was doing a "Less is More" this year. I have approximately 8 bins of decorations and 5 boxes of plush that I have not put out this year. I still have my miniature tree to decorate which has about 150 ornament on it! I thought Amber was going to do it but she never got around to it.

Please stop over to my post from last Christmas which will show you all that I have. I think you will find my collections to be unique and special......

DEBBY'S HOUSE 2012

 Someone on the scent of the Petco box that arrived.......

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Remember, it's 5:00PM somewhere!!!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND

Hope All Of My Dear Friends Have

A Wonderful Fourth Of July !

P.S. I will try to do a post soon and be over to read yours. My dad is now home and doing well. I have been so busy and I'm totally exhausted. You know me ~ I never leave the house ~ so this is like work to me! Hopefully it will stop raining so I can sit by the pool :)