'Twas the Night Before Christmas

We all have treasured memories and magical times from our youth. Some of my most magical memories are from Christmas Eve. It was a special day for our family. Growing up we never missed the family gathering at my grandparent's house to celebrate together on Christmas Eve.

My aunt, uncle, and cousin met up with my family at my grandparent's house each year on Christmas Eve. I don't remember a year that we missed Christmas Eve until I was grown up and moved far away from home.

These Christmas Eve celebrations were usually joyful occasions, but as we got to our teenage years there were some grouchy teenagers there, namely my brother and I.  Especially when Grandma forced us to bring our band instruments and play. My brother and my cousin were good and I was not, but Grandma did not care. We played Christmas carols and she was happy.

One of my favorite memories of Christmas Eve was how Grandpa would label our gifts from him as from Santa. We all knew his handwriting even as kids, but the joy these gifts from Santa brought were fun. I always treasure that he went this extra step to make our Christmas magical.

Grandpa always bought chocolate covered cherries for the ladies in the family. He would buy the cheap red Queen Anne's boxes you see in the stores. They are not fancy and now that I am an adult I am not that big of a fan, but it was his thing and we loved it. My dad has carried this tradition on since my Grandpa passed away. It still brings joy to my heart to see those red boxes of chocolate covered cherries sitting under the tree.

Each year on our way out the door, Grandpa would say, "Make sure you are watching for Santa on the way home. You might see Rudolph's nose or hear the sleigh bells." My brother and eye would keep our eyes peeled the whole way home looking for Santa Claus.

So tonight, love your family. Remember the good times. Make Christmas magical. Oh, and read "'Twas the Night Before Christmas".

"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!"  ~ Clement Clarke Moore 

I Feel Pretty!

I adore all vintage dresses from the 1950's. The full skirt with a petticoat is such a flattering shape and style to me. I have quite a few vintage dresses and I wear them for church and dinner and all kinds of things, but this black vintage style dress by OWIN is by far my new favorite. When I put this dress on "I feel pretty, oh so pretty!"* Almost all women understand that feeling pretty in it makes an outfit a real winner. 

There are several reasons why I love this particular dress. First, the length is perfect. It is a little shorter than my other vintage dresses and the skirt is a little bit more full looking than some. Second, the cut and fabric around the bust is very flattering. The fabric in the bust is a satiny type of fabric and provides just enough contrast to give the dress a little bit of a different style and flare. Third, this dress is well made and comfortable. The stitching is well done and the zipper works smoothly.

I ordered this dress in black in a size medium, which is my normal size. I am about 5’6.5 inches tall and weigh around 135 pounds. The medium fits perfectly. I do recommend wearing a supportive bra with this dress to give you a little hint of cleavage. The length, as I said previously, is perfect. It comes to just below the top of my knees. Most of my other 50's style dresses come down below my knees. The fabric has a little stretch to it which allows it to hide some of your more vulnerable areas. 


The neckline is a heart shaped neckline. The fabric in the bust may need some adjustments when you put it on to get to lay just right across your bust. Once you have worn it a couple of times it will require less fiddling when you put it on. 

I wear this dress with a petticoat, but it can also be worn without. The skirt looks okay without but the petticoat provides the fullness you need to get the traditional 1950's look. I love this dress. It can be worn for so many events. My husband also really likes this dress because it shows off my curves well. 

You can buy this dress by OWIN here. 

I received this product free. All opinions stated are 100% my own. 

*Lyrics from "I Feel Pretty" by Stephen Sondheim in "West Side Story"

O Christmas Tree

What kind of Christmas tree do you get? Growing up we always had a real tree. I love the smell, the feel, and the look of a real tree. I have fond memories of going to the Christmas tree farm and cutting our own tree. The joy of decorating the tree was glorious.

Thankfully, we have had several opportunities in Little Bear's lifetime to go cut down our own tree. When we lived farther north it was wonderful at Christmas time. The tree farms were like magic. Living here the soil is sandy and the very few tree farms are different. The type of trees is just not the same. They consider juniper's to be Christmas trees and some other strange varieties as Christmas trees.

I had my first fake tree as an adult. I was newly married to my first husband and he wanted a fake tree. Not gonna lie having a fake tree broke my heart a little.

Now, with Popeye, we have decorated fake trees more often than I would like, but sometimes it has been out of necessity. We have celebrated Christmas with extended family at Thanksgiving several times and put up the fake tree before tree farms were even opened. Then, there have been a couple of times that we have had an extremely early Christmas before deployments. A fake tree works for that and I still find joy in decorating it. Honestly, some of my most memorable Christmas decorating memories have been with fake trees.

First, there were several years my grandparents had a small fiber optic Christmas tree. This little tree was in style when they bought it. My grandparents thought it was so neat. The rest of us liked it the first couple of years and then the tree started making a high pitched noise. The noise was terrible. We mentioned it to my grandparents for a couple of years and they could never hear it. They finally agreed that it must be true since we all complained about it two Christmas seasons in a row. That was the last of the fiber optic tree.

This year and last year we had a small fake tree. We decorated well before Thanksgiving last year. Decorating that small fake tree as a family knowing we would not actually be celebrating gathered around it together on Christmas morning was a mix of sadness and joy on my part. The best part was in the several months we left the Christmas tree up Little Bear and I laughed about decorating with Popeye. We wore our Santa hats and decorated. We laughed and made memories.

This year we decorated that same little fake tree before Thanksgiving. We celebrated Christmas at Thanksgiving with Popeye's parents. I won't let the fake tree stop me from joy at Christmas, but I won't lie and say I don't miss a real tree.

Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels

I love salty and sweet snacks. Salty and Sweet is my favorite snack food category. When Popeye and I got married his sweet grandma sent me a recipe for a salty and sweet snack he loves. When I read the recipe I was thinking it sounded a little odd, but it isn't. It's really perfect.

Pretzels Before Being Microwaved

Salty and Sweet - Cinnamon and Sugar - Crunchy Salted Pretzel Nuggets.... What gets better than that? Basically nothing. One of the best things about it is that it is gastroparesis-friendly, or at least enough for my GP. The one problem with this snack is I always manage to eat too much of it!

This recipe is ridiculously easy.

Ingredients:

1 pound pretzel nuggets or whatever 1/3 cup sugar 1-2 tsp cinnamon 2/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Mix oil, sugar, and cinnamon. Pour over pretzels in a microwave safe bowl.
Stir until all the pretzels are coated with the sugar mixture. Microwave for 2 minutes. Stir.
Microwave again for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir after each 30 seconds or 1 minute. They will probably need 5-6 minutes total in the microwave.

The Christmas Bell

My grandma and grandpa always loved decorating for Christmas. They would start decorating soon after Thanksgiving. I remember going to visit them in the weeks before Christmas and they would pull out all the Christmas stuff and my brother and I would help them decorate. They had a fake Christmas tree, lights for the house, wreaths, mistletoe, and an adorable Christmas village. 

As we decorated my grandma would talk about where she got each piece. Many of their decorations had some kind of sentimental value. She treasured each one of them no matter what they looked like. 

The quaint Christmas village buildings were gifts from my cousin over the years. He started giving them to her long before I can remember. By the time I was in college it had become almost a city instead of a village. 

There was a fuzzy bell shaped ornament that had been a gift from some old friends. This bell was old and faded as long as I could remember. Every year as I helped hang ornaments on Grandma and Grandpa's tree, I tried to hide this tattered looking bell
out of sight.

The unsightly bell still makes an appearance for Christmas. When my family went through Grandma's things they sent me several of her ornaments and decorations. I somehow got this ratty old bell. This year when I pulled it out one of the Santa's on it had broken off. I lovingly glued Santa back on and hung the bell on my Christmas tree. I see it and want to laugh and cry all at the same time. I find my eyes misting with tears because I miss decorating with Grandma. Then, I laugh since this ugly bell, that I tried to hide each year, is now something I faithfully put on my own tree now. 

My Top 10 Favorite Places to Visit

I have been blessed in my life to travel across much of the United States. I have been to 36 of 50 states, not including the states I have only been to airports in. Many of the states I have been to were in my childhood, but they were still amazing and memorable. In my adult life, I have also been to some glorious places.

Out of all these great states, I have ten places I have most enjoyed visiting and have some of my fondest memories at.

1) The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, NM & CO

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is by far my favorite place. First, the historic steam train is super cool. Second, the landscape and scenery are gorgeous. The first time I was there I was in kindergarten and we saw the Indiana Jones train cars on the tracks. We visited the railroad almost every year after that until I graduated high school. I have been blessed to go back several times as an adult and love it just as much if not more now.

2) The Alamo & Missions, San Antonio, TX

The Alamo and the missions in San Antonio will always have a special place in my heart. First, they are an amazing part of Texas history. They have a sad story that is also filled with hope and joy. They are also a place of beauty and peace. I can wander these missions for hours or sit and enjoy the peace that I feel in these places.

3) Shenandoah National Park, VA

Shenandoah National Park has a special place in my heart. It is one of the first places we took Little Bear hiking. We also went camping there once and saw more bears than I had ever seen. We saw 11 bears on our trip including three bear cubs. It was amazing. Skyline Drive is an amazing drive through the mountains, whether it is spring, summer, winter, or fall.  

4) Echo Amphitheater, NM 

Echo Amphitheater is an interesting and beautiful rock formation found in New Mexico. It is a lovely spot stuck between the mountains and the High Desert. The landscape is stunning. So stunning in fact that many famous artists such as Georgia O'Keefe have used the scenery for inspiration for their work.

5) Cass Scenic Railroad, WV

The Cass Scenic Railroad is a really neat place in West Virginia. When Popeye came home from his first deployment. While the Cass will never take the place of the Cumbres and Toltec it is a truly beautiful railroad. It is in the middle of nowhere, which gives it a really nice relaxing atmosphere. The Cass Scenic Railroad and the wonderful bed and breakfast we stayed at made a perfect getaway after months apart.

6) Top of the Rock, NYC, NY 

When we visited New York City it was a really neat trip. We did a lot of cool stuff including seeing the Statue of Liberty, but I felt overwhelmed by the crowds everywhere. I was thrilled with the views from The Top of the Rock. Top of the Rock was amazing. We could see all of New York City from up there. It was a special moment in time that I will never forget. 

7) Yellowstone National Park 

Yellowstone National Park is a really stunning place. We went when I was in middle school. I don't think my family planned to go there on vacation, but we ended up there. It was one of the coolest vacations we ever went on. We saw wildlife galore, but even cooler than the wildlife are the geysers, springs, and mud pots. The bubbling ground is so interesting. The science and nature combined to make bubbling mud pots, water that has so much acid it can dissolve almost anything, and water that shoots through the crust of the earth rising high into the sky at regular intervals is a feat that only God could perfect. 

8) Colonial Williamsburg Williamsburg, VA 

Colonial Williamsburg is a beautiful historic area. It has more history than almost anywhere I have ever been. The Revolutionary War and Colonial history here give you opportunities to learn so many stories. Besides learning about all the history you can enjoy the stunning gardens. During Christmastime, the Colonial style decorations are interesting and have inspired lots of craft projects for me. 

9) Fort Washington National Park, Fort Washington, MD 

Fort Washington National Park can be found tucked away along the Potomac River just outside of Washington D.C. It is a quiet park with an amazing historic fort that served our country from 1809 until 1939. The historic fort has a beautiful view across the river. It is filled with historic batteries, cannons, and more history than most of us can imagine. When you walk down from the fort to the shores of the Potomac you can fish and find sea glass or river glass as the case may be.  

10) The Blue Ridge Parkway, NC and VA

The Blue Ridge Parkway is the first place Popeye and I went camping. It is also where we rode the first train together of our married life. We made several trips up and down parts of The Blue Ridge Parkway in the early years of our marriage. It will always be one of my favorite places. The Scenery is lovely.

A Boatload of Memories, More Laundry, and a House to Clean

Getting ready for company is always fun. You anticipate your guest's arrival for a while. In most cases, you try your absolute best to make everything look perfect. You look forward to friends or family coming to visit, but you dread the thought of extra scrubbing and dusting. It's the nature of the beast, I suppose.

I know I am not the only one that dreads the cleaning. I'm not going to lie, I am not the best housekeeper. I keep things sort of clean, but we have our own system for organization and sometimes it consists of a pile of papers here and a pile of books there. Other times
our system gets knocked over by Little Bear as he runs past. Then, we just have a mess.

When people come to visit our piles get picked up and put away. When Popeye is in charge of cleaning the piles just get moved and hidden. We move the furniture and vacuum underneath it. We scrub everything an extra time or two. I actually get out the duster and dust all the knick-knacks and picture frames.

When people arrive then the real fun begins. We hang out, we enjoy each others company. We eat good food. Life is good.

Then, our company leaves and we are left with a boatload of memories, more laundry, and a house to clean. Thank goodness the memories make it worth the cleaning and then some.

Shacke XL Duffel Bag

This duffel bag by Shacke is huge. When I read the listing to get the size and saw how big it is I thought, “Oh, neat. That’s pretty big.” In reality, I had no idea how big it would really be until it showed up and I started filling it up. It says the bag can hold 75 pounds and I do not doubt that it can.


Be warned if you fill it that full, it will be extremely heavy and awkward. My husband used this to carry stuff when he came home from an extended overseas trip. He filled it up with tons of stuff. It was heavy and horribly awkward to carry, but it held everything he needed it to and it could have held me. Although more would have made it nearly impossible to carry around. It has a shoulder strap and handles so you have the option of hand carrying it or putting it over your shoulder.


When the bag arrived at my house, my son and I tested it to make sure it was what my husband needed. He was gone and did not have enough bags to get everything home so I had to order him a bag and ship it to him in a care package. Little Bear and I fit 3 huge pillows in it and had room left over . It is really a huge bag. You could hold more than enough stuff for one trip. Little Bear also tried it out and asked if I could mail him in it since he fit. 


One of my favorite features besides its giant size is that this bag folds up into a nice neat square for storage. The zipper goes all the way around so it does not come unfolded. When it is folded up the handles tuck in and you don’t have to worry about it hanging down or getting caught on anything.

You can buy the Shacke XL duffel bag here. 

Birds

I hate birds. I have always hated birds. I don't know if it stems from watching parts of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" as a child or if it comes from being bitten by several birds at the zoo and chased by geese at the park, and dive bombed by seagulls at the beach. Either way, I really do not like birds.

My Grandma always loved birds. She had bird feeders and bird houses. She had hummingbird feeders she kept full all the time. She had little bird decorations and Christmas ornaments. She loved her birds.

When she moved into the assisted living apartment she did not have anywhere to hang a bird house or bird feeder. Sometimes she would buy bird food when she rode the bus to Walmart. She would put the bird seed out on the little balcony porch she had. Then, one day she quit buying bird seed.

She started getting bread and rolls from her apartment and putting them out on the little porch for the birds to eat. She would always get doves that would come and eat her bread. They seemed to keep all the other birds away. She still enjoyed the doves and any other birds she saw.

All through the years, Grandma would tell me stories about her birds. Before the assisted living place, she had constant complaints about squirrels getting into the bird feeders. Then, there were the complaints about the birds being picky and only eating certain types of seeds, like sunflower seeds. In my life, I never appreciated her love for birds.

The last couple of years, I have finally started to find an appreciation for birds. I am by no means a birder or even a real lover of birds. I have begun to enjoy seeing the wide variety of birds that comes through our yard each year. I have also begun to appreciate taking pictures of birds. Some birds have a majestic and stately look, others have beautiful and vibrant coloring, then there are strange looking birds and even elegant birds. I never expected to grow to like birds, but I do. I still would like to keep them at a distance. I have no intention of getting bitten by birds ever again.

5 of My Favorite Verses

1) Psalms 9:1 

I love this verse and its beautiful reminder to give thanks to the Lord.

 2) Jeremiah 29:11 

I love the promise in this verse that God has plans for me, not to harm me.

3) Matthew 11:28

I love everything about this verse. When I feel weary and overworked I always come back to this verse and remember to turn to Him.

4) Philippians 4:6 

Be anxious for nothing.... A really hard thing to master, but this verse holds truths I need to learn and store away in my heart to remember in my times or anxiety and need. 

5) Hebrews 6:19

I memorized this verse during our most recent deployment. I repeated it often and had it on my mirror as a reminder of God's promises and the hope He brings us.