Making a list and checking it twice

of stuff I still have to get done before Christmas!

Ack - I don't know why it seems that every year, I leave things later and later to get done. When I was younger, I used to have all my shopping completed by the end of November or sooner. Now I have less people to buy for and it seems to take WAY longer!

Yesterday was DH's birthday. We decided to go to the Mandarin for dinner, it is a chinese buffet restuarant. Well they have holiday pricing on now, which translates to high prices all week instead of just on the weekends like they normally do. Also, my 13 yr old can no longer get the children's price, which stops at age 12 and so we paid almost $24 for him to eat fries, battered fish and chicken, a tiny bit of caesar salad and a dish of ice cream. Had I know of the holiday pricing, I would have suggested we go elsewhere. Oh well.

DH and I did manage to grout the remainder of the repaired tiles so my guests will have a completely finished floor to walk on on Boxing day for the first time in 3 years :)

I submitted the final copy for my contract work this morning, so I shouldn't have to deal with any changes there until after boxing day, so that is off my plate. Whew!

The tree is bought and in the stand but not decorated yet.

The house isn't fully decorated, stairs, upper landing and front livingroom still to be decorated (family room done).

Two more kinds (at least) of cookies to be baked.

Entire house needs cleaning - must be done by Boxing day when I have a crowd coming over.

Gifts are all finally bought but not one wrapped as yet.

We are going to friends nearby for Christmas dinner, but I will be providing the homemade sausage stuffing, so that has to be made on Friday.

We have to pick up the last of the food required for boxing day this evening. I didn't want to buy things like veggies too far in advance.

So I guess I should get off the computer and get some of this cra...ummm stuff done huh? :)

Day dreaming

I like to imagine all the nice stuff I would buy if I won the lottery. I plan the ultimate kitchen in my head, the grandest of living rooms and all the rest.

Of course, when I discuss this with DH, all he is interested in is a largest TV available. While the TV itself doesn't thrill me, the choice of TV stands does.

It has to be wood and not ultra modern. I really like this one, this one and although a little rustic, this one too.

Book Review - Christmas at Harrington's by Melody Carlson

Publisher's blurb:

Sometimes the best gift is a second chance
Christmas is approaching, and Lena Markham finds herself penniless, friendless, and nearly hopeless. She is trying to restart her life, but job opportunities are practically nonexistent. When a secondhand red coat unexpectedly lands her a job as Mrs. Santa at a department store, Lena finally thinks her luck is changing. But can she keep her past a secret?
Reading Christmas at Harrington's, a story full of redemption and true holiday spirit, will be your newest Christmas tradition.

My review:  I enjoyed reading this story - it was a quick and an easy read. It was heart warming, uplifting and just right for this time of year. It provides the message to lend a helping hand even if you are down and out - karma has a way of coming back to you. While sometimes predictable, it was still enjoyable and I would recommend it to others.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

Couple Photos

So I did manage to get one type of cookie baked today.

These are called Peanut Butter Blossoms - I got the recipe off the back of the mini chocolate kisses bag.

I also wanted to show you a picture of my McGyvering of Peanut's winter coat.

Here she is in it the winter of 2008

Apparently, she too has gained some weight. Here she is in it today, with the added tummy strip - she wasn't being very co-operative because putting the coat on usually means we are going for a walk and she didn't want to just sit around posing.

This & That UPDATED

See update at bottom:


Weekends are getting busy with trying to fit Christmas shopping in. I really don't have many people to buy for, but even just buying for a few is proving difficult. DH is hard to buy for as he pretty much just buys stuff when he wants it so really doesn't need anything.

My sis and I decided to tackle the mall on Saturday evening. I did manage to find a couple things. While at the mall I managed to fit in getting my eyebrows threaded - have you ever had your eyebrows threaded? I think it is WAY less painfull than getting them waxed. With tip is was $13.50 and only took 10 mins.

DH & I have also been working on repairing a few of our ceramic tiles in our eat in kitchen area this weekend. These tiles have been in need of repair for quite awhile, in fact two have been removed for a couple years now - yes we had a 2-tile gap in our floor for at least two years :) I put my food down on this and said it had to be fixed for Christmas this year.

Now when we went to remove the crumbling grout around that area (former owners did a really crappy patch job) we have found that they also replaced several tiles and set them in place with grout, instead of tile adhesive - so they didn't stick and all came loose as well. So right now we have 7 tiles missing from our floor. DH has to chip up all the old grout/adhesive and wire mesh underlay and put down new wire mesh underlay, staple it in place and lay a layer of thinset over the mesh. That has to cure for 48 hours before we can put down more thinset and set the tile in place. Once the tiles are set, we have to wait another 48 hours before grouting them - I think we may just get finished before Christmas :)

The plan is (key word being plan) to do a bunch of baking tomorrow. I have about 6 cookie recipes I want to try. I have a house full of baking supplies. I plan to make cookies as gifts for friends. I always plan to do this and rarely do it.

We bought a Keurig coffee machine today. It came with a sample pack of different flavor coffee pods. There is one that is called Bold - I think I will start with one of those first thing in the morning and hope it keeps me going all day :)

Tasks I need to do tomorrow (Monday):

• Laundry - only 2 loads, kid's already done.
• Baking - as much as possible then freeze them
• Christmas decorating
• Change Kid's bedding to flannel
• Hem DH's new pants (2 pair)
• Give Peanut a bath - it has been really rainy and muddy here lately

UPDATE
Well there has been a slight change of plans. A small job for the company my brother works for has fallen into place. I will be rewritting their website content for them. It is a small job that they want done ASAP (of course).

So, so far today (2:30pm) I have half the laundry done, and the website project underway. Nothing else on my To do list has been accomplished. I am hoping to do some of the baking this evening. We shall see.

Posting on a Wednesday for a change :)

Winter is coming! We have a bit of snow (1-2 inches), nothing to really complain about compared to those a little south west of us. One town got 144 cm (57 inches) so far in the past few days! And it has been SO cold the past couple days too - just walking around the corner to the mailbox nearly froze me to death.

Peanut's winter coat was a little tight on her this year, she has gained a bit. I checked a few stores for a new winter coat for her (she really doesn't have much fur to keep her warm) but couldn't find anything to compare to her shearling-like coat. So I McGyvered it :)

It closes with a long piece of velcro down the tummy. I unstitched one side of the velcro, found a plaid fabric that had the same carmel colour as the coat in it and made a 2 inch wide strip that I sewed onto one side of the coat where I removed the velcro - following so far?

Then I sewed the piece of velcro onto the opposite side of the plaid patch. It took me all of 15 minutes and Voila! Peanut's coat now fits her just fine! She was very glad to have it on our short walk tonight.

I haven't finished my Christmas decorating yet - I did the family room then kind of stopped. I have to get back on that. I should really do at least a little Christmas baking too. Only 16 days to go - yikes!