Merry Christmas:-)

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Christmas Presents

I love wrapping presents! In fact if I buy anything for my husband in December I usually just wrap it up and save it to give him for Christmas. I have in fact wrapped up $3 iPad screen cleaners for him this year. I had really wanted to do the brown paper wrapping this year, but I could NOT find it anywhere around here (rural SW Virginia). So I settled with using hemp as the ribbon this year and made clay name tags for some. Anyway, please don't judge my Christmas tree. I didn't really put all that much effort into it this year because we will not be around and quite frankly the fact it has any ornaments on it is a miracle.  Notice that it is lacking a tree topper. Yup, never brought it up from the basement.

typical I do blues for wrapping paper, but I decided to use the bells as my touch of blue this year.

that circle up front is one of the clay name tags I made.

said poorly decorated christmas tree.

our fireplace has been so amazing this year! 

There are some very special presents from me and my husband this year!

Can't wait to GIVE them away! I can't believe the surprise I have kept this year:-) Normally I tell everyone what I got them:-)

Confessions: The List goes On!

Its that time of the week...

1. My ugly Christmas sweater party is today, and I am with out an ugly Christmas sweater. I have settled on borrowing one from someone- they will bring it to the actual party. Did I mention that I am co- hosting this party???

2. I have watched this video three times today, and will be watching it probably another 3...


3. I confess that when I have children of my own- I will do this to them.


4. My mom wouldn't let me get my ears pierced until I was able to keep my room clean for a whole week. I didn't get my ears pierced until I was thirteen. My whole house is in about the same state as my room was before I got my ears pierced.


5. I picked the picture out for our Christmas card without really looking at it. My hubs is not super thrilled with his side of the pic:

Now the actual card was zoomed in and had a cute little frame around it that said "Merry & Bright." He's "bright" alright...anyone seen that Seinfeld episode with Elaine's Christmas card wardrobe malfunction? Here is the video:

Christmas Card

6.  I usually do my confessions ahead of time and this week I have been so crazy that this one is just not as well thought out as my others. Deal with it. I thought it was worth posting just for that Video:-)



Have a wonderful Weekend!!!

Birthday girl!

Lady Sadie turned 3 today! My baby Sadie is all grown up! She had a good birthday and later I will have to post the video I took if her opening her presents!

Link Up: Confessions, Christmas Edition

1. I have bought and wrapped presents for everyone on my Christmas list. No joke. Done. That's not my confession. My confession is this. While these presents are sitting under the Christmas tree so beautifully wrapped, my Christmas tree is undecorated. I have had it up since Thanksgiving, and quite honestly I am not in the mood to decorate it. I heard a funny explanation of Christmas trees on the radio the other day and it hasn't helped motivate me. Here it is.

my christmas tree 2012

Christmas trees- who thought of that? I'll tell you who. A drunk guy did. He was outside, thought it would be funny to chop a pine down and put it in his house. When he woke up to his wife scratching her head he quickly came up with an explanation,"Oh honey, we're going to decorate this tree all beautiful like- with lights and little colored balls, it will be beautiful...we'll also take decorations from inside, like lights, and put them outside. Its a great idea."

So I got to thinking, who really did think of the idea of bring a big old tree into a house and decorating it? I betting on this story.


2. I was pretty skeptical about Santa Clause at about age 4, but held on to the belief until about 5th grade, and would have for much longer, had mom not told me when I asked her in 5th grade. I can't wait to be Santa for my own kids!!

3. I LOVE LOVE LOVE giving gifts. But I am terrible at surprises. When I think of something really good to give someone I want to tell them the moment I buy it. I told my brothers what I got them almost every year, even when they didn't want to know. Usually the day I bought the present. I have gotten better.  Homemade gifts/art, I will never tell. They are too special.

4. I LOVE getting presents about as much as I love giving them. I especially like being surprised. Here are some "surprises" I am hoping to find under the tree:

kindle fire

short uggs

navy and white shower curtain

iphone- but I know this won't be happening due to my current contract.

5. As impatient as I am, I have only peeked at one Christmas present my entire life. I actually unwrapped the present at one end pulled it out, then put it back together. I am not sure why I haven't ever peeked again, maybe it was guilt.

6. I may or may not have purposely spent less (time, thought, & money) on someone this year because of what I got from them last year. Usually, this does not bother me,  I almost never compare what I bought to what I receive. But for some reason this one person really got to me last year and I am holding a grudge. You can say the were on my naughty list.

7. I bought my fur baby a really super  cute fru-fru collar for Christmas even though I am totally against dressing up my dog in fru-fru type things. My heart melts every time I see her in it.

8. I have begged my parents to do  their Christmas a day early so I can be there when everyone opens their presents (it's the in-laws turn this year). They have agreed.

9. I still wake up at 5am ready to open presents. I am *cough* 27 years old.

10. My outdoor christmas light electrical hookup looks like something Clark Griswold did in Christmas Vacation.

yup, that was me.

and now my the lights connected to this are seriously NOT working as of last night.

How about your confessions???

Christmas Slab Pottery

My Art classes had a clay day of slab pottery right before Thanksgiving Break. I like to do this project at the end of the year, so students have an opportunity to create a beautiful gift for someone:-)

Here are the steps:

wedge and compress about 1.5 -2lbs of clay

pat into a ball

roll out on canvas or newspaper into a circular shape about 1/4 inch

use dollar store snowflakes, angels, stars, lace burlap, etc to print into clay

write name on bottom of clay

lay clay in a paper or plastic bowl - you can mold it all of the way or just give a slight impression

let air dry and buff (I use the green rough side of sponges)

fire

glaze- With the imprints of snowflakes you can do two tone by painting dark in the crevasses then wiping clean with a sponge and doing a lighter color on the outside.

fire again!

and Wa LA:

Link Up: Confessional.

A Blonde Ambition Blog is starting a new link up party- and I am all in. Born and raised Catholic I am used to sharing all of the bad things I have done. These are MY confessions.

1. I may or may not have thrown an eraser and accidentally bopped a student on his head when he was working on a project (a student who constantly throws erasers, clay, paper footballs at others). He loved it.

2. News paper coupons from black friday may still be all over my living room floor. And I didn't even black friday shop. But I couldn't resist looking at all of the good deals I had missed, and then immediately got disappointed and didn't have the energy (and still don't) to put it in recycling. They aren't even in a neat stack. How about you- any good deals???


3. A student came to school with full on makeup- except mascara. Honey don't do that.

my  favorite ever: Everything Mascara by Bobbi Brown

4.  Little Caesar Pizza and Cheesy Bread may be all we eat in January considering a purchased $35 worth for a fundraiser at my school.

5. I never think I need anything for Christmas, until I start shopping for family and friends, then I need EVERYTHING I come across. For example, I want to get my hubby golf clubs, and I saw hot pink ones and immediately thought to my self- I could like golfing...

On that note, if I do end up buying something (affordable)  for somebody, at least once a year I end up buying two and keeping one for myself.

6. T & I religiously watch 8 tv shows a week. And want/need to add 3-5 more to that list. (He actually watches one more than me, but its too late for my early bedtime). Here is my list: Monday- Two and a Half Men, House Tuesday- Glee, New Girl, Raising Hope, Wednesday/Thursday- X factor, Thursday- Grey's and Private Practice. What I want to add is Modern Family and Whitney. T also watched Sons of Anarchy. Here's the thing. We are serious TV watchers. We start all series from the beginning and watch them until they are canceled the end.

7. I gave up caffeine a few months ago, and this week I have had a relapse. I have had a sweet tea or diet coke or both everyday. And I plan on having one or the other tomorrow as well. Sweet Tea of choice? Hardee's.

8. I obsessively stalk blogs and facebook friends who are expecting. 6 months ago, I could have cared less. I just love pregnant women. What an amazing miracle! And I hate the haters that complain about pregnant women because thats all they talk about. They have another human growing inside of them for Christ's sake, they have earned the right to brag! I am going to be that obnoxious pregnant woman that post pictures every week of my belly. and a picture of the fruit that they are the size of. If you don't likey, then don't looky.

Here's my BFF from high school- so freakin' cute!

9. My suit case is still packed from Thanksgiving weekend. I literally have to jump over it to get into bed at night. I keep hoping I will wake up and it will have magically unpacked, washed and put away all items in itself.

10. I talked to my whole 4th block class through a paper towel tube. It was the first time they were quite while I talked. AND I didn't have to talk as loud because the roll amplified my voice! Double score:-) I think I am still a little kid at heart, and this is why my students love me and why I love my job.

11. I am co-hosting an ugly Christmas Sweater partay next week, and I don't actually own one. Time for a goodwill ugly treasure hunt! I hope I find something like below...

This is so fun! Join me in confessing your thoughts/doings on your blog!

*note, I had this set to automatically post on Friday....Blogger FAIL:-(