Sunday Morning Song

I was listening to the Christmas music the children are doing for our church this morning. It is going to be a cute program and the children are working very hard on learning the songs. 

Edgar wanted to get involved so I hooked up my mp3 to a little speaker. He is practicing making candy canes which is what the little ones will be doing in Sunday School this morning. He is actually behaving himself today. Maybe he is mellowing out. 

His song of choice today was Can't Stop Thinking About Him by Larnelle Harris. It was a good choice. I thought I would share it as my Sunday morning song. Have a blessed day.

Saw this on Facebook this morning. Sharing this for a lady I know who loves acrostics, even if this one is in the middle of the words and not the begin. It's still awesome.

He's Back!....and he brought a friend!

Many of you remember Edgar from last year. He is back again ... and this time he brought a friend. Meet Ms. Elaine. Elaine is a little on the quiet side, but is very firm on how things should be done. I am in hopes she will be a calming influence on Edgar. He was a handful last year. 

They watched quietly last night while I did a little decorating. I was thrilled to use my new Pyrex snowflake patterns I have accumulated this year. My friend made the towel. I think this is going to be my favorite Christmas display this year. I only did a little decorating before bedtime so I was in hopes that Edgar didn't get into too much mischief last night. 

I thought things might be better since I got up this morning and found him quietly having a cup of hot chocolate with his new friends Chilly and Rudy. I could hear him telling them about all his antics last year. Oh, I hope he is not going to be a bad influence. 

He visited some old friends, Ginger and Mr. Frost. Unfortunately, Ginger remembers how many times he tried to get her in trouble last year. It doesn't appear she was too eager to welcome him home.

EDGAR! We had this same problem last year. STAY AWAY FROM MY PYREX! Even hubby is afraid to touch certain pieces. I get a little freaky about my Pryex.

It appears things may not be as calm as I hoped this year. He never could resist the glittery sparkly decor.

But he did try to help by starting to fluff some of the tree branches. I'm pretty sure that the minute my back was turned he probably was swinging from them. Who knows with Edgar. 

And where was Ms. Elaine while he was getting into mischief? Snuggled up in her bed fast asleep. I will have to have a talk with her. I'm not sure how much help she is going to be. 

Join me daily for the adventures of Edgar and Elaine. They may not be here everyday and they may not be talked about each day, but they could show up here and there in pictures. Every day you see a picture of one of them, please leave a comment and you will be registered for a drawing the day after Christmas. You can earn one entry each time you leave a comment. Only one comment per day please. The prize will be announced later. It will be something from our NEW Thirty-One spring catalog which premiers December 7th. Stay tuned to see what the prize will be for one lucky winner. Leave your first comment today and be one of the first to enter the drawing to be held on December 26th.

Black Friday

I am out enjoying the thrill of Black Friday shopping. I won't let the retailers who started a day early upset me. There are still bargains to be found and I am armed with my list and ready to go. 

I plan to be at my first stop by 5:00 a.m. and will travel my normal Black Friday route. I plan to meet up with my daughter-in-law for lunch about mid-day. Not sure where we will go. Last year, we went to O' Charlies and it was delicious. 

I would love to share all the wonderful bargains I am looking for, but some of my family reads my blog so I better keep my secrets till Christmas. 

For those of you who are hitting the stores today, be safe and have a great day.

Happy Thanksgiving

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. - Psalm 100:4

A little surprise

For the past few days, our local weatherman has been telling us snow was heading our way on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. 

But we generally don't get snow before Thanksgiving around here. I thought it would be festive to be able to look out the window and see a little flurry of activity.

But I didn't really expect it this early. Although I did see the "signs" when I stopped at the store Tuesday morning.

I was delighted when I woke up this morning and saw my back deck. 

It's not much but when you don't usually have any before Thanksgiving, this was exciting to see.

The world outside my backdoor is a contrast of seasons. I still have some beautiful fall leaves on the trees and Santa's van next door had a light dusting of snow. (yes, I live beside Santa Clause)

Even my apple tree out front had a little on the branches.

I fixed my favorite ... a cup of hot chocolate, marshmallows and peppermint candy cane and settled down to work on my Christmas list for Black Friday. 

Now just to try to stay warm today.

Some recent finds

There is a closeout outlet in our area called Ollie's. Sometimes you can find a good bargain there. We went there over this past weekend and I decided to look at the cookbooks. I got this Hershey's cookbook for just $3.89. I love anything made with Hershey's. While this has some recipes using Hershey chocolate baking chips, the majority of them use Hershey's powdered cocoa which is what I prefer to bake with. Can't wait to try some of the recipe cards. 

In the back of the book, there are tear out recipe cards for everything in the book. I was thinking that would make a nice gift for someone. Bake the goodie and gift wrap it with the recipe so they can make it themselves any time they want. 

Hubby and I have been debating getting a real tree this year. We haven't had one since the late '90's. Some of the local tree lots are already putting them out so I have been comparing prices. I just need a 5 1/2' - 6' one. I found some for as low as $18.00.

Before we make a decision, I decided to check prices on tree stands. If I was going to have to pay more for a tree stand than I will a tree, I won't get one. So I looked at Ollie's Outlet for the tree stand and they had one like I wanted.

When I saw the price of $3.29 I decided that yes, we will have a real tree this year. We already have some lights I bought on clearance one year. 

I checked the mail yesterday and found one of my Pyrex trades had arrived. I have been so excited to get it. It is the Town and Country casserole. I can't wait to use it. 

The sweet lady who traded me also made a cozi to go around it. That was so nice of her. I love it. 

All in all, it has been a great week so far. 

An early Christmas gathering...

Due to all the busy schedules with my Thirty-One sisters, we decided to have our annual Christmas party yesterday. We had lots of great food. 

The ham and cheese sliders with spicy mustard was delicious. I could have sat and eaten the all night. 

I also loved a cheese dip that had bacon in it. I am going to get the recipe and I will share it with you when I do. 

The desserts were so decorative and delicious that I couldn't stop sampling them.

The banana pudding was out of this world.

This cake batter dip with Scooby snacks was really delicious.

My favorite was the brownies decorated like little Christmas trees. 

And the cupcakes decorated with a turkey.

There were lots of dips to try and some mini pigs in a blanket with some awesome sausage balls. 

We had an awesome time.