My "must see" Christmas Special List

There are certain movies and specials that I have to watch every Christmas. It just isn't the holiday without them. Here are my "must see" items that I watch every year. 

1. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - I have been watching Rudolph as long as I can remember. It simply isn't Christmas without me getting to see Rudolph. I love when Clarice sings "There's Always Tomorrow."

2. A Charlie Brown Christmas - I love this one as well. My daughter even bought me a little Charlie Brown tree a couple of years ago. I put it in my kitchen every year. 

3. Santa Claus, The Movie - This is one of my favorite Christmas movies because of the legend at the beginning about how Santa became Santa. I love the part with Burgess Meredith, as the Ancient Elf, proclaims "Now, all those within the sound of my voice, and all those on this Earth everywhere know that henceworth you will be called Santa Claus."

4. Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas - This is a cute twist on The Gift of the Magi. I love this little show and it just isn't Christmas without Emmet Otter. My kids like to watch every year too. I love the song "When the River meets the Sea" that is in this movie. 

5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (The cartoon. I don't like the movie.) Who doesn't just love little Cindy Lou Who. This is a classic and we should all learn from it that even if we do not have much in this life, we still have reason to rejoice. 

6. Miracle on 34th Street (The original version.) My favorite quote is when Fred says "Faith is believing when common sense tells you not to." Maureen O'Hara is one of my all time favorite actresses. 

7. A Christmas Story (otherwise known as "You'll shoot your eye out." This is my husband's favorite Christmas movie and we have to watch it two or three times every year. It is a classic around our house. 

8. Christmas comes to Willow Creek. This is a wonderful Christmas movie full of twists and turns that all put together give a happy end with a Christmas miracle or two thrown in. I love this one. I had it on VHS and it broke last year so I need to find it on DVD...SOON.

9. A Smoky Mountain Christmas. Obviously, living in the Smoky Mountains this is definitely a favorite one of mine. I just love Dolly.

10. The Santa Claus (just the first one. Didn't care for the sequel.) This is a good movie to watch for a light hearted take on Santa Claus. 

Well, there you have it. My top 10 favorite Christmas specials. What ones are a "must see" at your house every year?

Better late than never

I'm a little late in posting today, but it's been a busy day. I headed out at 5:00 a.m. to do some shopping. There wasn't anything on my wish list for the early sales yesterday and last night, but I just love going out early on Black Friday. I did manage to snag three items that I wanted. Needless to say since they are gifts, I won't be posting what good deals I got. Let's just say I'm very happy.

We had an awesome Thanksgiving. Hubby and I used a lot of my Pyrex. There is no better combination than Pyrex and Duncan Hines.

My grandson likes to make woven potholders and make his own pattern. He wanted to do one yesterday when they were over, so I had him do one in blue to go with my Pyrex bowl. 

I love the pattern he designed. 

Worked some on my latest project....getting all 5 grandchildren in one photo. It didn't work. So I gave up on a group photo and took what I could get. Garret did agree to let me take one of him....but he preferred not to smile and I didn't argue.

Caleb on the other hand likes to do his crazy faces so again, I'll take what I can get. 

Colby just gives me that "Seriously, Mamaw? Another picture?" look. 

My girls will pose at the first site of my camera. They even got me to pose with them. They are so "camera ready" that if I pick up my phone even, they start posing. Not sure why Alexis's eyes are glowing, but we at least got a picture together. 

Guess I'll have to resort to bribery to get a group shot at Christmas. 

One thing I noticed today while I was shopping was the return of leg warmers. Oh, how I loved these. They look so warm. Does this mean big hair may come back as well? 

Saw these really cute boots. I need to check and see if the granddaughters might be interested in something like this. They are both fashionistas.

The parking lot at Sears was loaded with Canadian geese. Guess they were shopping for some scarves for Christmas? I rolled down my window to get a good picture and one started waddling over to me so I snapped, rolled up the window and moved on. 

By 8:30 a.m., I was at Target and my breakfast from 4:30 a.m. was worn off so I needed nourishment. It is never too early for popcorn from Target. 

Met my daughter-in-law for lunch at O'Charley's. Their sampler platter was just the thing I needed.

Of course, the brownie and ice cream for dessert just topped off the day. Going to have a nice long soak and redo my nails. They were red glittery today to match my red Christmas shirt. I'm polishing them green to match my green Snowman Christmas shirt for tomorrow. Going to look over the regular ads to plan my day for tomorrow. My daughter and I are heading out to do some shopping at Turkey Creek tomorrow. Leftovers for supper tonight then vegging out on the couch all evening. Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend. 

Happy Thanksgiving

When saying my thanks today, I consider each and everyone of my readers and all those who leave comments as one of my blessings. 

Thank you for being faithful to come back and visit on a regular basis and for taking the time to leave comments. I appreciate each and everyone of you. I know I have a habit of rambling, but you are always faithful in letting me do that. So again, thank you.

Hope you and yours have a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Meandering Monday

It's Monday and time to focus on the new week, but my mind is meandering again so here our some of the thoughts running through my head today.

.....Don't think I'm rushing the season because I have changed my blog to Christmas. Here's the thing. I have a full day today and this evening. I have a lot of things to do on Tuesday and Wednesday as well. Add to that the fact that Thanksgiving is Thursday and then some serious Black Friday shopping to do on Friday and Saturday. I am writing some of my blogs in advance and want to have my site changed by Friday but don't know when else I am going to have time to do it. So I'm going Christmas in Blogville starting today.



.....I figured since we have Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's on the horizon I would opt for a Happy Holidays layout for now. I have found about 3 or 4 templates I love for Christmas. So don't be surprised if I change it once a week.


.....I got another cute gift from my Secret Sister on Sunday. Check out the cute basket. Inside was full of juicy red apples.

I hung the little pillow on the side of the rack in the kitchen.

I put the little basket on top of the cabinets with my other baskets. 

I put the apples in the red Pyrex bowl my niece Amy sent me. Don't they look delicious? This bowl is quick becoming one of my favorite pieces of Pyrex. In retrospect, I was thinking that Wednesday is pie and praise at the church. Do you think the apples with the little pillow that says "Sweet as apple pie" was a hint that I should bring an apple pie for my dish that night?

I used my Corelle platter to make some peanut butter candy this weekend. It's candy, not fudge because it is more of a solid dessert then creamy like fudge, but once you bite into it, it melts in your mouth. Mom has made it for years and years and it has always been my favorite. Just 2 cups of sugar, 2/3 cup of milk. Stir and put in a medium pan over medium heat. Cook to the soft ball stage, stirring regularly to avoid scorching. At the soft ball stage, remove from heat and add 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 heaping tablespoon of peanut butter. Beat until it start to set up a little on the side and pour in a greased platter. Let cool. This doesn't need refrigerated. 

Then I made a pan of brownies. No recipe on this since they were just a box of Duncan Hines brownie mix. But they were still delicious.

Guess I just wanted to get a head start on this being a week of favorite foods.

It is already 8:00 a.m. and I haven't stopped for breakfast. I think I hear the brownies and some cold milk calling my name. 

A special birthday wish

Today is my daughter-in-law's birthday. She has been such a blessing to the family. I could not have asked for a better wife for my son nor for a better mother for my grandchildren.

She is so easy to talk to and is always there for me if I need her. She brings an order of calm whenever things get chaotic. She has a great sense of humor which makes her fit in well with the rest of us. And she is a very loyal, loving, devoted wife and mother.

Happy birthday, Jamie. I hope you have an awesome day.

Been Black Friday Scouting

With Black Friday less than a week away, I have been spending some time looking over the online ads. I will still look at them in depth on Thursday when the paper comes out. But I wanted to get a sneak peek. Here are some things that caught my fancy.

These are adorable. You know I love recipe boxes and these are so vintage looking. I may have to pick up some for myself as well as for a few gifts. At $3.00, they are a bargain. Call me crazy but this is the number one item on my wish list.

Another thing I want to pick up on Black Friday is a wreath and some poinsettias that Walmart has on sale. 

The sewing machine I recently was going to buy didn't work good so I didn't get it. This is a good deal but last year they had this deal and they were gone in just a few minutes. 

I am always a sucker for warm plaid jammies. And scottie dogs are always a favorite of mine. I must drop a few hints to hubby about these. 

This is a pretty good deal on this camera. We need a new one. Our went kazonk.




Well, there are some ideas for me to think about and to tell hubby about. Of course, there are times when I want something bad enough and there it sits on the shelf with an awesome deal, I just snatch it up. And when I get home, I leave it in a bag and hand it to hubby and say "Here put this with your other shopping. You are giving it to me for Christmas." Cracks him up every time.

My new Bible Carrier

I recently told you about Thirty-One's new Timeless Beauty Bag and showed you a picture of mine. But I haven't been on any trips nor am I planning any right now and I really love the bag and can't wait to use it. 

Someone on Facebook said she uses hers for a bible carrier. I loved that idea and decided to try it out this past Sunday. In one pocket, I put my calendars and a notebook since I design the church website and attend most of the church events. I am also in process of helping plan the 2nd Annual Kodak Christmas Parade and helping plan the pre-K Sunday School class program It's a "Grand" Christmas for the grandparents. So I guess you can see why I need a notebook and calendars for church. 

And I always carry gum and mints for church. It's just a thing my mom always did and something I have always done. 

I put a few of my favorite pens in the make up brush slot....just in case somebody needs to borrow one or one runs out. 

My bible fit perfectly in the other zipper pocket. I have an older bible that is a little bigger than this one and it fit as well, but it is getting a little rough from wear so I usually only use it at home. 

This is what the inside looked like when I was done. 

So I folder one side in. 

Then the next side and pulled the elastic snap over to snap it closed. 

Wah-lah. I now have a new bible carrier. I loved it. It worked out great Sunday. This is a great gift idea. 

And the really great part is that on Sunday morning when I have crafts to take to class, I can just drop the Bible bag in my Organizing Utility Tote and head off to class with everything in one place.