I've added a few new features to Musings of a Housewife that I hope will be helpful. Over the weekend I created a Whole Foods Resources page that is a great place to start if you are interested in learning more about the whole foods lifestyle. I also compiled my design tutorials into one convenient location. Both are linked in my nav bar. And there is now a Print Friendly button at the bottom of each post, should you feel like printing recipes or information for future reference. Before printing, you will have the option to delete any photos or content you don't need.
One of my faithful DCR Design customers emailed me this morning to see where I’d been. She was actually worried when she saw no action on the blog or Twitter or email in 24 hours. I’m not sure what that says about me. Either I’m loved, or I’m on the computer far too much when a 24-hour absence is alarming. LOL! I choose to go with Door #3 — all of the above!
So this is a brief recap.
Dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh! (Except there was no snow, we were being hauled by a tractor, and we were riding on a flat-bed truck. But otherwise, the same.)
We found it! The perfect tree! And C has turned into a reindeer. Success!
TIMBER!
Hub was very proud of himself for rigging up this pole to reach the highest parts of the tree.
Time for ornaments!
Our Christmas angel.
And a couple of elves.
Ta-Da!
And that was just Friday.
On Saturday I got up early and announced that I was going to the mall. It was a purely spontaneous decision. I almost got stuck with a tagalong, but at the last minute, she decided to stay home with her father. FREEDOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!! I had a blast, wandering in and out of my favorite stores and trying on clothes and shoes without an entourage. And I did take advantage of a few good deals. Surely it would have been a crime to pass them up. For one thing, Bloomingdales had all of their designer jeans on sale. I KNOW! And I had an outstanding store credit at the Nine West store that I decided to use up. I’ve heard that it’s a bad idea to hold onto store credits and gift cards, with the current economy. So I bought black boots to wear over my jeans. I’ve been loving my brown ones that I got a few weeks back, but what do you do when you’re wearing black or gray? Clearly I needed a second pair. Ahem.
I also stopped to pick up greenery for the outside. After I got home from the mall, Hub and I hung a ginormous wreath over the garage and pine roping and red bows around the garage and front door. Then I put lights on all our bushes. At least until the lights ran out. I’d post picture of the outside, but they’ll have to wait as it’s been pouring cats and dogs here all day.
Then after a brief snooze on the couch, I hopped in the shower and we all headed out to a friend’s 40th birthday party. Now you can see why I wasn’t online on Saturday!
Today we attended church, brought take-out pizza home for lunch, and then R and I settled down for a long winter’s nap while Hub took the big kids to a nearby nursing home for a service our church was leading today.
And that, my friends, is why I was MIA for over 24 hours!
So what have YOU been up to this fine weekend?
I’ve changed my bloggy clothes from harvest colors to Christmas! If you read from a feed reader, why don’t you come on over and take a peek!?
I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving. Did you stuff yourself to the gills like I did? I swear every year I’ll pace myself, and every year I come home stuffed fuller than Tom the Turkey. At least I don’t meet the same fate. Unlike poor Tom, I will live to tell the story.
My appetizers turned out GREAT. I will never again purchase a round of brie. The brie log is so much easier to slice for appetizers, and the rind is hardly noticeable. I snapped this picture before they were all gobbled up!
And speaking of trying new recipes, here is a picture of the breakfast casserole I made. Hub and I loved it. The kids, not so much.
And while I’m posting mouth-watering photos of the delicious food we ate yesterday, try this on for size. My brother-in-law made TWO turkeys — one to slice and one to set on the table to look pretty. I think it might have been the most delicious turkey I’ve ever tasted. It was moist and flavorful. And his oyster stuffing was da bom!
And now we’re off to hunt down the perfect Christmas tree. It’s beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS!
When I was a little girl, every year at Christmastime I would write a letter to Santa with my (very lengthy) wish list. Even though I knew it was really my mom who read the letters and did her Christmas shopping from the ideas on my list, writing those Santa letters was just part of the holiday fun. Same with leaving out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer on Christmas Eve. Long after I knew it was my parents who scarfed the treats after I’d gone to sleep on Christmas Eve, we would go through the ritual of setting out that plate and cup.
My older kids already know the truth about Santa. I’m the kind of killjoy of a parent that can’t stand to “lie” to my kids, so while we have Santa books and kind of play along, they know that it’s really mommy and daddy who are buying their presents and putting them under the tree. But the funny thing is, they still have fun trying to figure out how Santa gets around to everyone’s house on Christmas Eve. Even though they know the truth, they still WANT to believe.
So like me, they will have fun writing letters to Santa and pretending that they will reach the jolly old elf up at the North Pole. But this year it will be extra fun because instead of me taking the letters and eventually tossing them in the trash (yes, I realize if I were a good mother, I’d save them for posterity and return them to my children up on some momentous occasion in their future, but unfortunately I am not that kind of mother) we are going to take them to Macy’s and drop them in the big red Santa Mail box. Because for each letter received, Macy’s will donate $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. It seems like a fun way to send off their Santa letters, and I like knowing that we can do something, even a very little something, to help make wishes come true this holiday season.
So if you have a Macy’s in your neck of the woods, and if your kids like writing letters to Santa, maybe you want to make a little detour and drop the letters into the Santa Mail box. If you do, let me know!
I had great intentions of writing out a list of things I’m thankful for this year. It’s so easy to just cruise on past Thanksgiving and jump right into Christmas. Eat a little turkey, have a glass of wine and some pumpkin pie, and then we’re decking the halls and riding in a one-horse open sleigh. Once again, I find that’s what I’m tempted to do.
But last night when I sat down to watch the season finale of Dancing With The Stars, I caught the tail end of the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. And I couldn’t help but be struck by the sacrifices our forefathers made to bring us to this land and how much we have to be thankful for. So although I didn’t get a list written out like I’d hoped, I want to say that I am so very thankful for my family, our health, our home, and our country that allows us to worship freely. And for a more thorough (and far more entertaining) list, visit the Generation Huggies Mom Bloggers at TheMotherhood.com. Tracey’s list is awesome, and I only wish I’d thought of half of those.
And because Thanksgiving just isn’t complete without pilgrims and Indians, I have to share a few pictures I took yesterday and today when I visited my daughters’ school classes. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to be at my son’s party.
One Little Indian…
And a pilgrim…
Both classes enjoyed a “feast” and my kindergartener participated in a little show about the first Thanksgiving. High comedy, I’m telling ya.
Tonight we took the two older kids and went to see a Panto of Cinderella at the People’s Light Theater in Malvern. If you’re local, this is a great show. I highly recommend it. We’re looking forward to a nice liesurely breakfast in the morning and then a fun family gathering in the afternoon. I hope you and yours have a delightful Thanksgiving celebration!
Just a mom attempting to juggle three kids, four blogs, a blog design business, and the laundry. 
