Keeping up the Christmas spirit.

via Pinterest

Today is the first day that we don't have any Christmas celebrations. Jon and I came home from my parents yesterday afternoon and exchanged our gifts so we snuck in a little extra day of the holidays. But, I still hate how everything ends so abruptly. Christmas radio is gone, Christmas specials are no longer being shown on TV, and life is moving back to normal. This is the part of Christmas that totally puts me in a funk every.single.year. So I plan to continue the Christmas season on my own just a little while longer. I will continue to turn on the Christmas lights, listen to holiday tunes and watch Home Alone and Rudolph. The holiday season isn't over until New Years, my friends. I may be the only one celebrating, but I'm ok with that!

Do you always feel a big let-down after Christmas is over?

Merry Christmas, friends!

via etsy seller palomasnest

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas! Have a wonderful holiday.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Super cute gift tags - via Etsy seller seasonaldelights

We have reached my favorite day of the year! There is just something so magical about the anticipation of Christmas that makes this day so special. We plan to celebrate my parents' 34th wedding anniversary at a family friend's restaurant, then partake in some holiday festivities with my extended family. Then it's off to Jon's parents' house for more merriment! I hope you all have a lovely evening and really get to savor the holiday spirit.

More cookie baking.

It's my first day of winter break and so far I have spent it baking! I've made peanut butter cookies with peanut butter cups in the middle, peppermint chocolate crinkle cookies, and peanut butter fudge. The only thing left to do is frost the cut-out sugar cookies. Then my Christmas cookie baking of 2011 will be complete. Jon and I plan to wrap gifts tonight and, with the exception of buying a couple more gifts, we will be officially ready for Christmas! I absolutely love this time of year and I am especially excited that Jon has 4 days off in a row that we will be able to spend together. I can't wait to spend some time with friends and family either! It's hard to believe that next year we will be adding a baby to the mix.

Are you ready for Christmas yet?

The true spirit of Christmas.

A Christmas Carol was the inspiration for the trip.

We took our freshman students on a field trip today to sort through and bag Christmas toys for little kids who may not get anything for Christmas otherwise. I was amazed at their generous spirit and willingness to give back to the community. We sometimes think that teenagers don't care about anyone besides themselves, but they definitely proved that theory wrong today. I was so proud of them! We had time when we got back to the school so they all then made Christmas cards to give to local nursing home residents and they even got into the holiday spirit then too! I have loved working with this group of students (even though I have had my frustrating moments with them as well!) so I am sad that I have a limited amount of time to work with them this year. However, I am glad that today they showed the true meaning of Christmas in their thoughtful actions towards others.

How do you give back during the holiday season?

Sugar overload.

via bhg.com

We had a staff holiday "meeting" after school today where I decided to indulge in a wide variety of cookies and candy. I blame too many options. There were too many tasty looking things that I just couldn't pass up. Plus, the baby wanted it. How could I deprive him? ;) But seriously, I love the holidays and it's the only time of the year that I really indulge way more than I should so I'm totally fine with having a little extra sugar today! Oh, who am I kidding? I know that I will indulge in more cookies, candy and food as the week goes on! Bring on the holiday treats. I'm ready for them.

Do you tend to indulge a little more over the holidays?

It's Christmas week!

via etsy seller barnowlprimitives (love this sign!)

Can you believe Christmas week is finally here? This month has FLOWN by. So has the year actually. I know everyone says that, but it's really starting to hit me. I still have a few things to do to get ready for the holidays, but I have a plan so hopefully everything goes smoothly and gets completed when it needs to be! It helps that the things that need done are all things I love - shopping for others, baking & wrapping gifts! I am also really looking forward to being off of work for 11 days. I desperately need a break to recharge and to get things ready for our move in January. Plus, the kids are being crazy so I think they need some time off too!

What do you still need to do to get ready for the holidays?

7th Day of Christmas

I forgot to take pictures while baking today! Here's one from foodnetwork.com.

I woke up bright and early (for a Sunday at least!) and got to work baking Christmas cookies. I made cut-out cookies (recipe below) and monster cookies yesterday, and plan to make the other 2 types of cookies and peanut butter fudge throughout the week. I did cut each of these recipes in half and got 3.5 dozen for each cookie so if you make them just be aware that the full recipe makes a TON of cookies! I froze all of the cookies and will ice the cut-out cookies the day before I plan to use them. I will say that it was really hard not to sample a few of them before putting them in the freezer!

Cut-out sugar cookies - recipe from a family friend


Cream together the following ingredients:


1 cup shortening (yes, I know...but I've been using this recipe for years and love it!)
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1 T. baking power

Then add 6 cups flour and mix well. Cut out whatever shapes you want!

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Ice and enjoy. :)

How was your weekend?

On the 6th day of Christmas...

I sipped on some mint hot chocolate (with lots of marshmallows!),

while watching the snow fall out my front window. It's not a whole lot of snow, but it's actually sticking a little to the holly bushes out front. I also did a little more Christmas shopping in the afternoon and was able to check 2 more people off our list! I really hope to have everything completed by the end of the weekend thanks to Amazon Prime. I really can't believe there are only 7 more days until Christmas!

Later in the evening Jon and I watched The Family Stone. I do really like that movie, but it's just so sad! I definitely get teary every time I see it. We still have a few movies to check off our list for the year, so I'm sure that will be a major theme (like it already has been!) throughout the rest of my 12 days of Christmas posts. 

Is it snowing where you live?

Days 4 & 5

Pinterest via maisontwenty3 via Meadowbrook Farms

On day 4 I started to watch Miracle on 34th Street, but only got through about 25 minutes before I had to head to bed. I will definitely finish it soon though because I really love that movie! It has to be the original black and white version though. The 1994 version doesn't do it for me.

Day 5 was last night and Jon and I continued our Christmas shopping. We bought gifts for 2 more people so we still have 6 more to go, but I think we pretty much know what we are getting all of them. We just have to actually get the gifts! I feel like we get behind every single year. I just hope we aren't scrambling to finish up the day before Christmas Eve. I do love the face that I have Amazon Prime right now so it makes me feel better about shipping!

What holiday things have you done recently?

3rd day of Christmas...

I came home from work to find that my Secret Santa left a gift on my front porch! It's always nice to find those little surprises when you've had a stressful day dealing with teenagers. She got me the cutest red mittens and some peanut butter cups (my favorite!). I played Secret Santa the day before with a friend that I drew in the exchange so it was nice to be able to give her a gift in person. It's so fun to spread holiday cheer to others!

Have you participated in any Secret Santa exchanges this year? If so, what did you get?

On the 2nd day of Christmas...

Source - Pop Cult Junky

...I enjoyed a peppermint hot chocolate and some catch up time with a friend. I just love the combination of peppermint and chocolate and it screams the holiday season to me. I can't get enough of it during this time of the year!

Jon and I also watched the classic Charlie Brown Christmas special last night. Three of my favorite things about the show:

• the Peanuts dancing...it cracks me up every time. And...I have been known to imitate it a time or two.
• everyone yelling "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!" after they decorate his little Christmas tree
• their open-mouthed humming/singing of "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" 

What's your favorite holiday drink? Do you always have to watch the Peanuts Christmas special every year?

12 Days of Christmas - Day 1

Last night I kicked off my 12 days of Christmas by watching The Office's latest Christmas episode with Jon. The Christmas episodes have always been some of my favorites and this episode definitely did not disappoint. My favorite part of the episode was Dwight's Christmas song and I laughed out loud when he screamed "CHRISTMAS!" at the end of it. I have included the clip for your own enjoyment. :) The very first Office Christmas episode with the Yankee swap is still my favorite out of all of them though!

Have you seen any good Christmas episodes lately?

12 days of Christmas.

all things simple via Sarah via Pinterest

Last year I posted something holiday related for a 25 days of Christmas countdown. This year I plan to just do twelve since that's basically all we have time for now that it's already December 12th! This is my favorite time of year and I like to make the most of it, even though I still have a week and a half left of teaching before winter break and things are starting to get stressful. I need to take one moment each evening to really reflect on the season and get into the holiday spirit, even if it's just doing something small. Starting tomorrow I will share what I did the previous night in order to be festive!

What are some things you do to get into the holiday spirit?

It's the most wonderfully busy time of the year....

Pinterest via Gwenne Lopshire via Blissfully Content

It's definitely been a busy past few days! Here's the run-down...

• I spent most of Thursday evening prepping for our annual friends' Christmas party by making these peanut butter sandwich cookies and wrapping our contributions to the ornament exchange. I chose a red sparkly snowflake ornament and Jon chose an antler picture frame in which he inserted a funny picture of himself.

• On Friday we co-hosted our 5th annual friends' Christmas party and I must say that it was a success! I prepared a hot chocolate bar with mini-marshmallows, chopped up Andes mints, chopped up caramels, whipped cream, and chocolate and hazelnut wafer stick cookies. I also made a pan of cheesy potatoes to enjoy with our main course of ham and other appetizers and side dishes that other party-goers contributed. So we did a lot of eating, talking, laughing, ornament exchanging and caroling throughout the evening. I stayed up until 3am talking and cleaning up which is basically unheard of these days for this pregnant lady! Could be why I slept almost 12 hours last night in order to catch up...

•  My sweet friends hosted a baby shower brunch for Jon and I the next morning. They used an owl theme (which I love!) and served up pumpkin cinnamon rolls (YUM!), various quiches, a blueberry french toast bake, fruit and orange juliuses. Everyone decorated a onesie for our little baby boy and some of the designs they came up with are pretty funny. I will try to remember to take a picture to post on here! We are extremely grateful for the gifts they gave us as well and feel like we have a start to being ready for him to arrive! If any of you read this blog, thank you so much for the shower - we love you all! 

Jon and I plan to go look at a new place to live today and then do a little Christmas shopping. I plan to try not to think about teaching at all today so I can enjoy the rest of this fun weekend.

What did you do this weekend? Did you attend any fun holiday parties?

Oh, Christmas tree...

 

I wish Christmas tree pictures didn't come out looking so dark. Of course, I'm sure there's a way to capture it in all of it's glory, but I do not have those photographing skills. Anyway, Jon and I finally were able to pick out our tree and decorate it last night! I love how merry the tree makes our living room in December. Everything just feels more warm in the soft glow of Christmas tree lights. Now we just need to get some gifts underneath it. I have bought exactly one gift so far so I really need to kick it into gear in the next week so my loved ones have some special things to open on Christmas Day!

Our tree with the flash...

Have you put up your Christmas tree yet? Have you started your Christmas shopping?

Let's talk Christmas cookies.

Source: www.bhg.com

I'm a baker. I always have been and probably always will be. One of my favorite "jobs" throughout my tween and teen years was baking all of the Christmas cookies for my family. I have continued the tradition of baking cookies for my family & friends every year since. Like most people, I have my favorite cookies I make year after year, but I do try to switch it up a bit every now and then. Of course, I can never narrow down the choices so I make an overabundance of cookies that contribute to everyone's holiday waistlines. Sorry, family and friends - it's what I do! Many food blogs I read have started to post holiday cookies and I am already starting to add more to my holiday mix. Here are some that have caught my eye lately:

Chewy Peppermint Mocha Cookies - Eat, Live, Run

Peppermint Mocha Cookies - Sunny Side Up in San Diego

Chubby Hubby Truffles - Brown Eyed Baker

Cranberry Streusal Shortbread Bars - Fine Cooking

Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies - Pass the Sushi

I am sure that I will be adding more inspiration to my list in the next week or so!


What cookies do you plan to make this year? What are your favorites?

Oh, hello there.

I'm sorry for my extended absence. I have been a crazy person lately with being a pregnant teacher. Lesson planning, grading and tiredness have consumed my life for the past month and a half. I hope to post regularly now. I will be finished with my long-term assignment at the beginning of January so I should have more time to dedicate to this little ol' blog. Plus, I can't help but post during my favorite season of the year.

Even with a busy schedule, I have had a little time to get into a festive spirit! I finally got a chance to pull out the Christmas decorations this weekend and am pretty pleased with the result. I played around with a few things I saw on Pinterest and above is one of the "corners" of my house. We still need to get our Christmas tree and hope to do that on Tuesday. We have also been plowing through our huge list of Christmas movies and shows we want to watch this season. So far we have viewed The Holiday, Christmas with the Kranks, Home Alone, Elf, Surviving Christmas, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and Jingle All the Way.

How have you been getting into the Christmas spirit?

Please let me know that you are still out there! I caught up on 1000+ blog posts this week and haven't had time to leave comments, but now that I'm caught up I will definitely be leaving notes on all of your blogs!

Thinking ahead.

Wow, I have definitely been neglecting the blog lately. I really don't have an excuse either.

I know it's early, but I really want to talk Christmas music for just a second. I LOVE Christmas and especially Christmas music. You will see that come out closer to the holidays for sure! She & Him are releasing a Christmas album in a couple of weeks and I am super excited about it. Zooey Deschanel is one part of She & Him and I have always really liked her voice. I am sure that the album will not disappoint!

Here's the track listing:

1. The Christmas Waltz
2. Christmas Day
3. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
4. I’ll Be Home for Christmas
5. Christmas Wish
6. Sleigh Ride
7. Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree
8. Silver Bells
9. Baby, It’s Cold Outside
10. Blue Christmas
11. Little Saint Nick
12. The Christmas Song

Definitely some Christmas favorites of mine are included!

Do you love Christmas music? What's your favorite album/song?

Stuck In-between

The end of the holidays always depress me. The anticipation gets built up over a few weeks, then it's all over in a second. That is part of the reason my husband proposed to me the day after Christmas because he knows I get in a weird funk and he wanted to lift my spirits (which he most definitely did!). However, this year has been like all the other years when I get sad about the end of the season. I have been extremely lazy and unmotivated and I'm pretty sure it's because Christmas is over. At least we still have New Year's to look forward to! But I am going to try to sneak in one last Christmas movie before January 1. Perhaps this?

On the other hand, I am also yearning for the days of summer. Now, I have never been a girl who absolutely despises winter, but the past year or so I have changed my mind and wanted summer to come more quickly. Maybe I am just getting old and crotchety? Or these feelings may be due to our vacation planning that is in the works with some friends! I just want to go to the beach, drink mojitos, and have cookouts with friends.

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I'll be back soon with winter inspiration & ideas. Just needed to get this "funk" I'm in out of the way!