Tuesday Before Christmas Random

Christmas is 5 days away. Whoa, this month has zinged by! How are things coming together on your end?

Saturday, we went to Wal-Mart to grocery shop. Cars sat bumper-to-bumper trying to exit I-40 at the West Hill ramp with holiday shoppers making one last run to the mall. You couldn’t have paid me enough to venture into the mall.

My expectations with Christmas little over a week off for Wal-Mart to be a blinding crazy, nuthouse. Our strategy was to get everything done as quickly as possible so we could return home to enjoy the rest of the evening. 

The game plan was DH would drop me off at Wal-Mart’s door to do the shopping while he took DS to a nearby high school to run his remote control car in a wide open parking lot. Boys and their toys, right?

Imagine, my drop jaw expression and eyes wide open to find Wal-Mart was not so busy after all. Wal-Mart’s normal Saturday rush of shoppers had to be at the mall.

That’s the only explanation. I didn’t care what the reason was because it made my trip to the store more enjoyable. Yay!

Sunday afternoon, I got to try out my new cookie cutters from Ann Clark, Ltd.  What makes me especially happy is these handcrafted cookie cutters are Vermont-made. I love made in the USA products! Aren’t these just adorable cookies?

This is the recipe I used: Gingerbread Cookies.  Should I use it again, I would bump up the molasses and brown sugar at least by a quarter cup. They still tasted good despite the need to be a wee bit sweeter. The best thing was this was so much fun to do!

Do you like iPhone apps? I have two for you to check out!

Christmas version 1.0 by Critical Hit Software, LLC has some cool, fun features such as Christmas countdown, music, ringtones, emoticons, and wallpaper. DH’s downloaded the freebie version for me. To unlock some of the extras I had to pay 99 cents. That didn’t break the piggy bank too badly, huh?

Another fun free app is Flight Control by Firemint. The object is, to land as much air traffic safely and successfully without crashing. Be warned… this game is totally addictive! Again, this was a little surprise from DH. He’s such a sweetie!

I received an email this morning announcing 25 Days of Free Holiday Music at Amazon, so be sure to click over there to see if you can find some new Christmas tunes to add to your collection!

We exchanged Christmas presents this weekend. My DH got me the XBox on Black Friday, as you may remember. However, he pulled a fast one on me and got a little something else to put under the tree. Whoo-hoo, looky what I have…

Isn’t this gorgeous? I told you, DH has a good eye for fashion AND he knows precisely what he likes to see me in. I can’t wait to wear this little number!

One of the writing prompts Mama’s Losin’ It posted in her weekly newsletter was to put together a holiday outfit that I’d love to wear should a holiday party ever be on my list of things to do. A party won’t be on my happening list this season, but this would be the dress I’d wear. Doesn’t this look Christmasy? My classic white pumps would go perfectly with my new dress and the only accessories I’d wear would be my pearl earrings. All the other women would be green with envy, don’t you think?

I don’t understand the hows or the whys, but last week, Nikki (DD#2)  HAD to get rid of her cats. Her landlord was going to give her a fine of $500. The apartment building she lives in doesn’t allow pets. Yeah, that was a super smart move on her part! This is actually a blessing because she is allergic to cats, like me, and was having asthma-like symptoms. She’s hard-headed and wouldn’t listen to reason…mommy reason to why she needed to give her cats up.

She has this remarkable talent of convincing people to take whatever she’s in need of finding a home for. Unfortunately, she was not able to find a home for one of her three cats. She had no choice, but to take her to Young Williams, an adopt-a-pet center or something like that.

I’m sure, Nikki’s thinking was, Gracie isn’t on the street and maybe she’ll get placed in a good home and she’s right. She simply didn’t have the leisure this time to secure a place for her fur baby. What other option did she have? Yesterday, she learned Young Williams put her kitty down after only a week. The reason given, Gracie wasn’t adjusting to shelter life. What? Yeah, right. I don’t understand that one, either. My heart aches for my sweet daughter. Oh, the things we can’t soothe over for our grown children!

It looks like we’re in for another brown Christmas. This crazy weather pattern is driving me bonkers! So, I guess I’ll just have to dream of a White Christmas instead.

It’s not like I want a lot of snow, but a little white stuff floating around with a good old-fashion frosty chill in the air like when yesteryear’s ago when I was a kid. Ah, there is something magically special about such a wintry bliss!

Do you open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

We have dinner and open presents at my in-laws on Christmas Eve and save our stockings for Christmas Day at our home.

Last Christmas, we watched, “A Christmas Story” while we snuggled in the living room at with the tree lit at the close of the in front of the TV.

The ambiance was priceless – totally relaxing and cozy! All of the push to do, do, do was behind us and it felt good. In fact, we are going to repeat the same scenario this Christmas. I’m very much looking forward to it.

How will you unwind after all the festivities on Christmas night? 

Be safe in your travels, be happy with those you love, and have a blessed Christmas!

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