24 December 2011

. . . 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 . . .


23 December 2011

. . . {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! . . .


21 December 2011

. . . 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}


20 December 2011

. . . 99.9 kez . . .

. . . they're on the air while
you're doing your hair . . .
. . . playing the hits
while you're spraying your pits . . .

. . . 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
was the best gift . . .
. . . i was one proud grammy . . .
. . . it was music to my ears . . .

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


17 December 2011

. . . 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 . . .


16 December 2011

. . . 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 . . .


15 December 2011

. . . 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}


10 December 2011

. . . 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 . . .


09 December 2011

. . . it's official . . .

. . . i'm a mormon . . .

{whoa . . . big photo!}

. . . you can read all about me
and what i believe right here . . .


05 December 2011

. . . 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}