. . . a little bit more . . .

. . . "maybe christmas,

he thought,

doesn't come

from a store" . . .

{jammies @ grammy's v. 2011}

. . . "maybe christmas,

perhaps,

means a little bit more" . . .

. . . that grinch . . .

. . . he was one smart cookie . . .

. . . merry christmas . . .

. . . from the romneys . . .

. . . {won't you be my} neighbor gifts . . .

. . . i'm a big believer

that if you're going

to do something . . .

. . . it might as well be cute . . .

. . . before i even knew

how pinterest works . . .

{still not sure about that!}

. . . i did know

how to look at blogs . . .

. . . and i see

sooooo many darling ideas . . .

. . . i saw this one

on eighteen25 . . .

. . . those girls are clever . . .

. . . they give directions

on how to turn this . . .

. . . into this . . .

. . . perhaps the trickiest part

of this whole project

was convincing the produce guy that

~ yes ~

~ as a matter of fact ~

~i do want to buy

the entire box of apples ~

and then some . . .

. . . it took a committee at fry's

to figure out

how to sell them to me . . .

. . . oh, brother! . . .

. . . then i gathered

all my essentials . . .

. . . and started

the assembly line . . .

. . . with three hours

of the survivor finale

to keep me company . . .

{dang! i was totally rooting for ozzie}

. . . i had labels . . .

. . . and tags printed

at americopy

on glossy paper

and cardstock . . .

. . . and no gift is complete

without a bow,

of course . . .

. . . here's is my favorite way

to package homemade cookies . . .

{helpful tip: fold cellophane like a fan

and cut edges into scallops ~ so cute}

. . . it makes a few cookies

feel a little more special . . .

. . . i thought up this tag

all by myself

when i found

some adorable

christmas s&p shakers . . .

. . . i know, i know . . .

. . . slightly on the corny side . . .

. . . it might have been aristotle who claimed:

"the whole is greater

than the sum of its parts" . . .

. . . which i believe can be true . . .

. . . especially when you put your heart,

your time,

and love

into whatever you create . . .

. . . i hope my neighbors and friends

know i think they're special! . . .

. . . happy first anniversary . . .

. . . in jessalyn's words . . .

. . . one year down . . .

. . . eternity to go . . .

. . . these two are

perfect for each other . . .

{thanks, jess, for making this swell photo collage

i borrowed/stole from facebook!}

{and i'm kinda glad there's no christmas wedding this year}

. . . 99.9 kez . . .

. . . they're on the air while

you're doing your hair . . .

. . . playing the hits

while you're spraying your pits . . .

{via tim & willy}

. . . i'm a morning radio listener . . .

. . . at least an hour a day

while i'm getting presentable . . .

. . . usually country music . . .

. . . but pre-thanksgiving

through december . . .

. . . it's christmas music 24/7 . . .

. . . and, as you might suspect . . .

. . . i have opinions . . .

. . . some of them

a little grinchy . . .

. . . first of all,

i know there's tons

of great christmas music

out there . . .

. . . why, then, do they play

the same stuff

over and over and over and over? . . .

. . . case in point . . .

. . . "last christmas,

i gave you my heart . . .

. . . but the very next day

you gave it away" . . .

. . . blah, blah, blah . . .

. . . wham! no thanks . . .

. . . also not a big fan of paul's

"simply having

a wonderful christmastime" . . .

. . . and my all time unfavorite

begins with creepy whispering . . .

. . . "happy christmas yoko.

happy christmas julian" . . .

. . . just ~ ~ ~ no . . .

. . . no beatles at christmas . . .

. . . also on the naughty/

drives me crazy list . . .

. . . christmas canon . . .

. . . "onthisnightonthisnight

onthisverychristmasnight

onthisnightonthisnight

onthisverychristmasnight" . . .

. . . ad nauseum . . .

. . . then there's

the "o holy night" battle . . .

. . . i'm basically anti-celine . . .

. . . so there's that . . .

. . . i know there are

tons of josh lovers

out there . . .

. . . but i have to give the win

to michael crawford . . .

. . . that last note . . .

. . . he holds it

through all those modulations . . .

. . . reminds me of phantom's

"music of the night"

every time . . .

. . . yes, please . . .

. . . and extra points today to david . . .

. . . good for him . . .

. . . this decision

couldn't have been easy . . .

. . . this michael made

my favorites list . . .

. . . may i say that

the puppini sisters

are just adorable . . .

. . . and though

i usually change the station

when shania twain comes on,

her duet on "white christmas"

is yodelightful . . .

{the international section at the end of the cd,

i can take it or leave it ~ mostly leave it}

. . . harry's been

on the nice list

for years . . .

. . . love the big band sound,

his sassy attitude,

and his frank-ish voice . . .

. . . chicago holds

a place in my heart . . .

. . . mostly from

the saturday night dances

of my youth . . .

. . . but i do love

a fabulous brass section . . .

. . . i used to think

this james taylor album ~

originally distributed

exclusively by hallmark

~ was my favorite . . .

. . . that was until

this one was released . . .

. . . "in the bleak midwinter"

brings tears to my eyes

every time i listen . . .

. . . truly lovely . . .

. . . so all in all ~

some yays and some boos . . .

. . . and yet

nothing sounded as lovely

as the children's choir

my granddaughters sang in

on sunday evening . . .

. . . hearing their angelic voices

and watching them sign

the lyrics of

"picture a christmas"

was the best gift . . .

. . . i was one proud grammy . . .

. . . it was music to my ears . . .

. . . what's your favorite? . . .

. . . styrofoam . . .

. . . i suppose it's

a necessary evil . . .

. . . especially with

all these fragile pretties

around . . .

. . . some is well made . . .

. . . with clear instructions . . .

. . . in multiple languages . . .

. . . making things easy to store . . .

. . . and though i love these pieces to death . . .

. . . i dread getting them out every year . . .

. . . because of the snowy mess . . .

. . . in the storage room . . .

. . . and on me . . .

. . . which gives the ol' dyson

a run for its money . . .

. . . styrofoam's saving grace, though . . .

. . . is it's amazing ability

to keep hot foods hot

and cold foods cold ~

just like a thermos . . .

. . . which is the reason

i'm seldom seen

without a sonic cup

close by . . .

. . . a trait i've apparently

passed on to elliott . . .

. . . whose exact quote was,

"a cooooooooooooold drink

like grammy's" . . .

. . . what a smarty pants . . .

. . . check it twice . . .

. . . even tiny babies

deserve

adorable stocking stuffers . . .

. . . with dots . . .

. . . shabby chiffon roses . . .

. . . or animal prints . . .

{and by the way ~ if i were a zebra,

i would totally change my stripes to red for christmas.

genius.}

. . . cutecutecute . . .

. . . yet practical . . .

. . . the best combo . . .

. . . oops! make great gifts . . .

. . . there's still time . . .

. . . cards . . .

. . . i can't remember

the last time

i sent out christmas cards . . .

{shame on me}

. . . but i will tell you

it's been long enough

that we've been

crossed off most peoples' lists . . .

. . . so far, this year,

we've received

like seven cards or so . . .

{and that includes one thanksgiving card

and a graduation announcement}

. . . which made it even more special

when this one

arrived in our mailbox . . .

. . . eleven grandsons

and five granddaughters . . .

. . . boy overload must be

a romney thing . . .

. . . i feel your pain, ann! . . .

{but seriously . . .

how cute is that little girl on mitt's lap?}

{also . . . hydrangeas!!!}

. . . what a lovely family . . .

. . . and a heartfelt sentiment . . .

{with all "holiday" bases covered}

. . . and now i know the secret . . .

. . . i'd probably send cards out, too . . .

. . . if only i had a committee . . .

. . . side note:

there's another debate tonight . . .

. . . on fox news . . .

. . . america needs mitt . . .

{not newt}

. . . simply amazing . . .

. . . richard elliott . . .

. . . one of my musical heros . . .

. . . take a listen . . .

. . . arranged and performed by him . . .

{wishing i could play this for prelude tomorrow}

. . . good king wenceslas

and tchaikovsky . . .

. . . together . . .

. . . only in my dreams . . .

. . . it's official . . .

. . . i'm a mormon . . .

{whoa . . . big photo!}

. . . you can read all about me

and what i believe right here . . .

. . . they don't match . . .

. . . beach towels . . .

. . . and christmas lights . . .

. . . do not go together . . .

{going to great lengths to avoid planting three times ~ like last year}

{we live in arizona}

{it's not supposed to freeze here}