Archive for the 'Holidays' Category


Thursday Thirteen - My 73rd edition - Thirteen favorite Christmas carols

Wednesday, December 19th, 2007

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen of my favorite Christmas carols: First, though, a little Christmas carol history:

Christmas carols are based on Christian lyrics and relate, in the main, to the Nativity. Christmas carols were introduced in to church services by St Francis of Assisi in the 12th century. As for the word carols, “carol” is a derivative of the French word caroller, the interpretation of which means dancing around in a circle. Carol and carols, eventually came to mean not only to dance but included music and lyrics.

(1) Silent Night, Holy Night

(2) It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

(3) O Holy Night

(4) The First Noel

(5) Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

(6) O Come All Ye Faithful

(7) Away in a Manger

(8) Mary, Did You Know?

(9) The First Noel

(10) The Friendly Beasts

(11) Little Drummer Boy

(12) There’s a Song in the Air

(13) O Little Town of Bethlehem

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Sunday Seven - 37th Edition

Friday, December 14th, 2007

This week I am writing about seven Christmas traditions that I am thankful for:

(1) Christmas stockings - I love planning and shopping for items to go in everyone’s stockings.  It’s just fun.

(2) Christmas Tree - There’s nothing more beautiful than a pretty Christmas tree.  Everytime I look at our Christmas tree, I like to squint my eyes so that only the lights stand out - and they look softer and beautiful.

(3) Colored lights on the Christmas tree - While all white lights look pretty, there is just nothing more Christmasy than colored lights.

(4)  The star that our daughter (now almost 33 years old) used in a pre-school Christmas play 30 years ago.  Each year it is the star at the top of our Christmas tree.

(5) And next to that star on top of the tree is the angel our son made in school 25 years ago.  So we have a doubly wonderful tree-topper each year.

(6) We have always had the tradition of opening one gift on Christmas Eve.  Everything else has to wait till Christmas Day.  It’s always fun selecting the one gift we want to open early.

(7)  Christmas caroling…There is absolutely no music more beautiful than Christmas music.  “Silent Night”  “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear”  “O Holy Night” “ Hark the Herald Angels Sing”  ”Mary Did You Know?”  “Away in a Manger”  - along with the more secular “Christmas in Dixie” “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” and “Tender Tennessee Christmas”

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Thursday Thirteen - My 72nd Edition - Christmas Gifts for hard-to-buy-for MEN (and women, too)

Wednesday, December 12th, 2007

We draw names in our very large family (over 50 people!), and sometimes when someone draws the name of an adult male, there’s a little groan because men can be so difficult to buy for.  It’s not that they are unappreciative, but it’s just hard to know what they’ll like.  Here are some suggestions that should be helpful - or at least give you some ideas if you’re shopping for a man.

(1)  The Kindle is the newest electronic gadget to have.  It’s the new wireless reading device.   It’s really cool, and if your man is a techie, then this will make him happy.

 

(2)  You can’t go wrong with an iPod.  If your man doesn’t have one, it’s a great gift idea - especially if he really enjoys music.

(3)  Here is something I absolutely love - and so does RT.  My Keurig single-cup coffee brewer brews a k-cup of RT’s so-strong-it-would-choke-a-normal-person coffee one minute, and the next minute it brews my so-mild-RT-can’t-drink-it coffee the next.  It’s the one coffee maker that keeps us both happy.  Plus they have hot tea and hot cocoa k-cups now - so the it covers all bases.

 

(4) One of the best inventions of mankind is the cordless drill.  Before RT and I remarried, I had a DeWalt cordless drill, and RT had one, too.  So now we have two which was absolutely wonderful when we were putting in doorknobs, towel racks, blinds and other jobs around the new house.  We’d put a drill bit in one and a screwdriver bit in the other - and we were a team getting everything done.

 

(5) Many men have TV shows they particularly enjoy - or TV shows that they’ve heard about and thought sounded good but never watched - or TV shows that they like so much, they enjoy watching reruns of shows they’ve already seen.  Sometimes we start watching a show in its second or later season and wonder what that first season was like - how the story and characters were developed up to the point when we started watching it.   If any of those scenarios are the case, then a DVD with a season’s worth of shows is a great gift.  We never could afford to have HBO, and so we never watched “The Sopranos” when it was on its regular run on TV.  Now, though, we can buy the DVDs and see all the shows.

(6)  I read the story of Burt’s Bees products not long ago, and I already loved the stuff.  It’s great for your skin - both men and women.  This particular kit has grooming essentials for men - shaving cream, soap bar, body wash and after shave.   

 

(7)  I LOVE this cookbook.  When I was single, I gave it as a gift to some of the single men I know.  It’s a simple cookbook that men who are not accustomed to cooking can use with relative ease.  The directions are simple, the ingredient list is minimal, and the recipes taste good.  Great gift idea for any man who wants to start cooking for himself.

(8)  Okay, so this is probably not a male gift idea.  However, I love my paraffin spa so much that I decided to throw it into the mix here anyway.  If you’re looking for a gift for a woman, this is it.  I absolutely adore the way this makes my hands instantly softer and smoother.

 

(9)  I bought a webcam for my laptop a few weeks ago, and it has been so much fun playing around with it.  There’s just something about seeing the video on the computer screen immediately - and playing it back over and over.  I found I had a little bit of an actress in me - is YouTube in my futre?   Your guy will most likely want to start making his own YouTube videos if you get  him his own webcam.

(10)  Okay, now this gift is for the guy who already considers himself a good cook - or simply a connoisseur of fine pizza.  A pizza stone is the ultimate in making wonderful homemade pizzas.  You cook and serve the pizza on the stone.  It keeps the crust crispy and hot.  A perfect addition to any kitchen - for both men and women.

 

(11)  No matter your man’s interest, there is a magazine related to it.  A magazine subscription is a great gift.  I give magazine subscriptions every year.  I usually buy a recent issue and place the gift subscription card in it  - and then put the magazine in the person’s stocking - or in a gift box or bag. 

   

(12)  Every man needs a pair of Crocs for everyday wear around the house - or out and about.  They’re comfortable, washable and practically indestructible.  RT has one pair, and I have two pairs.  They’re the ultimate go anywhere shoe.

 

(13)  Every man needs a small tool kit - one that has the essentials for the home.  Well, every woman needs one, too.  I have one for the home and another one in my classroom at school.  I use them both quite frequently.  RT has his own tool kit that he uses often, too.  It’s so convenient to have everything altogether in one kit, and I have found that we go ahead and take care of little things that need done around the house when the right tool is near at hand.

 

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Sunday Seven - week #36

Saturday, December 8th, 2007


Many things I’m thankful for this week:
(1) Sunshine’s love of apples: “I LIKE sour apples” - a phrase we’ll be repeating for years to come. (You had to be there! -) )
(2) Sweet Stuff’s sweet nature - listening to her talk to her mommy (my little girl!) on the phone
(3) RT’s frequent affirmation of his love for me
(4) Our church and the friends we have there, and the beautiful music each week
(5) That RT and I got most of the blinds put up last night - and mostly that the blinds fit (yea! I measured well!)
(6) The entire Christmas season - there’s nothing about Christmas that doesn’t make me happy
(7) Our driveway - It sounds strange, but everytime I drive on our driveway, I think of how beautiful the scenery is

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Christmas Cartoons - Add a little humor to your holidays

Thursday, December 6th, 2007

I got an email today from a fellow teacher with a bunch of cartoons.  Several of them I posted two years ago .  These are some new ones - at least new to me.  I hope you get a chuckle out of at least one of them.  Enjoy!

Watch out, Rudolph!

And whatever you do, make sure you follow this

Christmas cartoon - watch out for birds

Christmas cartoon

 

Holiday cartoon

Excuse the language in the next one - it was too funny to leave out.

Santa cartoon

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Letters to our American Soldiers (Reposted from December 2006)

Monday, December 3rd, 2007

The following is a post I wrote last December.  Lots of people enjoyed reading it, and it provided encouragement and a positive message for many.  Since we’re into the Christmas season again, I wanted to re-post it.

After over 25 years of teaching, I still enjoy experiencing fresh examples of the insight and compassion of children.  I found that to be the case when the children at my elementary school wrote letters to soldiers serving overseas.

Since I have a nephew who is serving in Iraq, some of the letters were given to me to send to him to share with his unit. Here is a small sampling of the drawings and letters that I’ll be shipping to my nephew tomorrow:

I will start off with the card that should win an award somewhere! This child gets it - because of our American soldiers there IS still hope in the world.

The following are pictures and exerpts of letters from children from kindergarten through fifth grade.

Dear Soldier,

Happy holidays. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. I feel very bad that you have to be in the war during the holiday, but the one thing we’re all happy about is that you’re fighting for our country.

Dear Soldier,

I dedicate this letter to you because you are fighting for the U.S.A. Is it hot in Iraq? I do thank you for keeping us little kids safe. I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Dear Soldier,

Merry Christmas to you. Thank you for serving our country. You are so brave for going across the ocean. I am so proud of you.

Dear Soldier,

How is it going? You know if I was there I would be scared. I’m sure I would miss my family and friends, but you are doing the right thing. You’re saving a lot of people. You people rock! I hope you have a wonderful merry Christmas.

Dear Soldier,

I am in second grade and I live in Tennessee. I like how you are fighting for me and my family. You and your buddies should get to come home when Christmas comes.You are brave to go out and fight. All of you are real brave. I like you.

Dear Soldier,

I wish you could spend the holidays with your family. I appreciate your dedication to serving our country and fighting for our freedom. Our whole class of 25 students is writing letters. I’m the only one who wrote two. I know you don’t want to be there right now. I hope you come back in one piece.

Dear Soldier,

I like the army. I almost read all of the army books. We just moved here a week ago. The old school I went to ws good, but this school is better. We are glad you are doing this. Thanks for making the world a better place. I know I want to join the army. I had fun writing this letter and I will write another.

Dear Soldier,

I appreciate what you have done for our country. I have written a poem especially for you.

Heroic, brave

Fight, protect, guard

Thank you for everything

Fighter

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BLT Bites

Saturday, December 1st, 2007

Here’s an easy appetizer to take to one of those many holiday parties:

BLT Bites

2 dozen cherry tomatoes

1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/2 cup mayonaise

1/3 cup green onion, chopped finely

3 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated

3 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped finely

Cut a small slice off the top of each tomato.  Scoop out and discard the pulp.  Invert the tomatoes on a paper towel to drain while you make the filling.  In a small bowl, combine all the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Spoon into the tomatoes and refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving.  You can garnish with a sprig of celergy or sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese on top.

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Will the people of Montague, Massachusetts be grinches or santas?

Thursday, November 29th, 2007

An 83-year old woman had just gotten over a thousand dollars in cash from the bank in order to do her Christmas shopping and pay some bills.  Her purse was in a shopping cart as she put some packages in her car.  A gust of  wind caught the cart and pushed it into the back of a delivery truck where it got caught on the rear wheel well.  The delivery truck proceeded to leave the parking lot - eventually strewing (is that a word?)the cash along the way.  When the truck was finally stopped, there was little money left.  Now the question is:  Will the people of Montague, Massachusettes who grabbed some of the flying money keep it and thus be grinch-like,  or will they follow the golden rule and give the money back to the woman and thus be santa-like.

Click here for the whole story.

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Get iPod accessories to protect your investment and for great gift ideas!

Thursday, November 29th, 2007

There’s no doubt that the iPod and iPhone are two of the hottest items this holiday season.  I don’t have an iPod, but I’d really like one.  Of course when you get such an expensive toy as the iPod, you want to have the right ipod accessories to make sure that your investment is secure and treated well.   The PDO Store has every accessory for not only your iPod and iPhone, it has accessories for Blackberries and Treos, too.  There are screen savers and skins, armbands and cases.  Whatever you  need to protect you “i”, the PDO Store has it.

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A letter to your child from Santa!

Wednesday, November 28th, 2007

What could be more exciting for children than to receive personalized Letters From Santa? My two grangirls (ages 4 and 6) are at the age where getting a letter in the mail from Santa Claus would thrill them. And  when you go through lettersfromsanta.com, you can customize the letters by providing information such as three items on your child’s wish list, your child’s name and 3 of your child’s accomplishments. You can even write a customized P.S. to add to the letter.  Sounds like a good deal to me.

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