Holiday Decorations

Welcome to my home. I love the holidays, and for some reason, I got in the mood to decorate really early.

This picture is of a raffle quilt that I won while in the Pieceful Heart Quilters Guild of Augusta, GA. Isn't it lovely? I'm so thankful that I had the chance to be part of such a fun group, and to learn so much. And I'm really thankful that I now have a place to display such lovely work.

Next on the list, the fireplace. What's a family with 2 adorable girls to do when you don't have a fireplace for Santa to come down? Why, you make your own, of course.

Seriously though... one year, we were in an apartment even smaller than our current one. It was a 3rd floor walkup and it was our first Christmas away from family. We were just barely making ends meet, and had NO room. So we got a 2 foot tree, and some foam sheets, and made our fireplace. It has been displayed every Christmas since. :)

This is my little Christmas village. See the poinsettias to the right? If you look to the left in the picture of the quilt, you'll see them there as well. I don't have a fancy curtain or drapes over my sliding glass door. I use flower garlands that I change throughout the seasons.

And here's my collection of dancing and singing Christmas figures. :D They make me smile. :D And they are within perfect reach of Little Bit.

Sweet Pea has dubbed this the "kitchen cafe window." Do you notice the irony in it? The Halloween candy bucket sitting underneath the Thanksgiving corn decoration surrounded by Christmas garland. To me, that's just ironic beyond all get out.

Last but not least, our Christmas tree. What do I say about the Christmas tree? Do I point out how lopsided our decorations are? Or how they seem to be creeping higher and higher out of Little Bit's reach?Or do I tell you about how both girls will stand beside the tree and sing "O Christmas Tree" in their sweet angelic voices?
Maybe I should point out Mrs. Claus who has been in my family for as long as I can remember.
And her husband, Mr. Claus, hanging right beside her. (Technically, he's behind her because they wouldn't hang right on the tree.)
And there's the elf. Who has also been in the family for years.

Christmas means so much to me. It's filled with traditions and family. I hope that each and everyone of you can find that meaning in your life. And if you don't already know him, ask me about Jesus. After all, he truly is "the reason for the season."

Happy Holidays.
Hugs,
Melinda

Would you look at this?

According to Rebecca, I rock! I'm a bit embarrassed that I didn't see this until tonight, but I'm also very honored. So, here is the button....


If you click on the button, it should take you to Roberta's first post, that started it all. (She has since changed to this site.)

Now for nominations....
Amber.... I love you. You most definitely deserve this award. You rock more than anyone I know.
AllyJo.... You too. We're learning more about each other as adults. I never did tell you thank you for trying to teach me to ride a bike. :D
Laurie.... I've had such a blast. Surely you need a pretty button. See how bright it is? ;)
And Babs.... You get a button just for being a really cool grandma and telling me all about your kids and how you spend every weekend traveling to all the games and concerts.

Here's to all us Rockin' Girl Bloggers!

Hugs,
Melinda

A tag for 4

Giz tagged me a couple of weeks ago. I keep forgetting so I'll do it now. :D

4 Jobs I've had: Paraprofessional, Temp worker as a receptionist/ accounts payable/ filing person/ jack of all trades secretary manager, Student worker, and the best job..... Mommy. :D

4 Films I could watch over and over: With a large collection, I have a hard time deciding on just 4.

4 TV Shows I watch: Iron Chef America, House, Stargate SG-1, Everyday Italian (Honestly, though, I watch Food Network constantly.)

4 Places I've Lived: Augusta, GA; Haughton, LA; Raytown, MO; Searcy, AR (I've only lived one other place, and that's our current place. Independence, MO)

4 Favorite Foods: Chipped beef gravy on toast, potato soup, Maggie Moo's fudge ice cream, chocolate

4 Favorite Colors: Blue, pink, purple, and the color of the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen but can't say if it was pink or orange or what.

4 Places I would like to be right now: Snuggled in bed, In Colorado in a cabin, In my sewing room (preferably in my own house), and in New York watching Phantom of the Opera

4 Names I love, but could not use on my children: Mildred, Justin, Duncan, and Dorothy

4 People I would love to tag: Any 4 people who read my blog and would like to do this. If you do, please come back and let me know so I can see your responses. AllyJo, Sandi, Amber, and ... Rose? Do you want to play?

Now see.... if I was a great blogger, I would take the time to link to everything I've mentioned. And maybe I'll come back and do that someday. But not today.

Hugs,
Melinda

I have a Tween

I have a tween (ie between teenager and child). She's not even really a pre teen either. She's a sweet girl who loves fairies, a popular teen singing star who has a double life, and as of tonight... another girls singing group that walks around in animal prints. *sigh*

She is a beautiful beautiful girl who simply loves life. She loves her little sister, she is a big help when her Daddy has to work, she loves singing and dancing, and is just an overall joy to be around.

This joy does not come without a price, though. Being a "tween" means she is also going through those wonderful "hormone" changes. We haven't gotten to THAT time yet, but I know we're getting closer.

So.... HELP?? What do I do? How do I deal with THAT time when we get to that time? Okay... breathing now. If anyone has advice, I would love it.

Hugs,
Melinda

What Works for Me

Okay, so you may know this already, but for me... it's a lifesaver.

When you go to a doctor's office with a little one, take some crayons. Let them draw on the paper on the exam table. It keeps them occupied, and keeps you from going insane. ;)

For more tips, go to Rocks in My Dryer. That's what works for me.

Hugs,
Melinda

Oh THIS will be fun!

First off, hat tip to Shannon.

There is a chance to get a free copy of Michael W. Smith's Christmas CD . As someone who has loved music forever, and has been a fan of Michael W Smith's from the days of Rocketown, this is exciting. Now, time to see if I can add the button. I've done it before, but it always seems to be such an effort. ;)

Merry Christmas everyone! Happy Thanksgiving. I LOVE this season.

Hugs,
Melinda

Computer troubles

I've been having lots of problems with Internet Explorer lately. I am going to try to uninstall it and then reinstall it. (I hope this works.)

Hugs,
Melinda

I did it.

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My church had it's annual talent show last night. It's lovingly called "the Hoedown." I haven't sung in front of people in 13 years. But last night, I did.
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Can you tell I'm shaking like a leaf? I was so very nervous. (I shook most of the afternoon.) Anyway, I sang Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again from Phantom of the Opera. I don't know about other people, but I could tell my voice was shaking too.
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I also remembered why I don't have that many pictures of myself. It's because I'm the one who has the camera, and I don't like other people's work. LOL :D

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I do have to mention Little Bit here. One of the reasons there are only two pictures is because Dale was trying to get ahold of her. She kept coming closer to the stage, and she was dancing (read swaying back and forth) and singing (without words). It's really hard to be serious and sing about someone who's dead when your 2 year old is making you laugh.

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Regardless, I came through it okay. And now I have a whole year to get ready for the next one. I'm hoping that I can get Dale and the girls to join me though. ;)

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Hugs,

Melinda

Christmas Giveaway

Hey all. 5 Minutes For Mom is hosting a Christmas Giveaway this month. There's going to be lots of cool prizes, so why don't ya click the button over there in my sidebar --------> and enter for yourself. I will admit though, that these two twin mothers are still dealing with smaller children, but it's still a great site.

Hugs,
Melinda

Family pictures

These are pictures of some of the females in my family. It shows how we all look alike. Make sure you check out my cousin's blog to see more family resemblance. The first is my grandmother. The next is my mother. The last is me when I was in high school.

Aren't Momma and Grandma just absolutely beautiful? I love them and miss them so much. I'm glad I look like them.

Hugs, Melinda

Free Rice

This is a cool site. At 500 grains of rice, my level is 39. I think that just means I'm a good guesser. LOL

Hugs,
Melinda

St. Louis Zoo

We had the wonderful opportunity to visit the St. Louis Zoo this past week. It was a perfect day. It was about 65 degrees: not too hot, not too cold. We saw a lot of animals that normally are asleep in the heat of summer. These are just 10 of the 101 pictures I took.

Mother Lioness.

Zebra. One of the only animals Little Bit can say clearly.

Sleeping Jaguar.

I can hear this camel saying, "What are you looking at? I know I'm not as ugly as you are."

This momma orangutan was .... HUGE!

One word for the penguin habitat..... COOL! They had you really up close and personal with the penguins.

And the butterfly habitat was also really awesome as well. There was a waterfall, and it was really quiet, and very peaceful. These butterflies were all over and just beautiful. These shots were made with my macro lens and about 18 inches away from them. It was awesome.


This is NOT a zoom on this giraffe. This is how close we were to it. The kids were holding out leaves, and the giraffe was reaching over the rocks and the fence, and grabbing them.

Isn't this cute? I guess it was naptime. :)

I hope you enjoyed a small tour of the St. Louis Zoo. :) If you ever get a chance, you should go.

Hugs,
Melinda

Organizing Challenge

I love reading the blog called I'm an Organizing Junkie. This month, Laura is hosting a 30 day organizing challenge. We are supposed to pick one area in our house that needs to be organized, and post before and after pictures. It's a contest, but for me the reward is going to be in having an organized house.

So.... here's my pick. My WHOLE house. It feels like we are knee deep in clutter. And I know that there are some areas that have been organized before, but are not now. (The other part of this challenge is getting my family to continue the organization after I've started.) My specific room will be my bedroom/sewing room. My specific small area are my closets. I have five fairly large closets that are not being used appropriately because of the clutter problem.

So, I'm going to try to post some "before" pictures of some key areas. And I will be working on this project all month. Wish me luck! Oh, and I have started in some areas already. LOL

Hugs,
Melinda

This is one of the cabinets. It's down low, and it's for my girls dishes. We started cleaning this one yesterday, by getting rid of some of the "extra" dishes.
My bathroom sink area. I cleaned this up, mainly by taking all the books back to the bookshelf.
This is our outside closet. See all those trash bags? Toys. All 7 of them. (You can't see 4 of them in this picture.) I have been through these bags. I pulled out two bags full of stuffed animals (no green teddy bears though), and another bag full of toddler toys. Those were donated to a nursing home, and to a friend that has a day care center. My next step is to go back through these bags to pull out "favorites" and then donate the rest of them. My children have way too many toys. These are the dishes that I don't use that often but that I do use. I need to organize this a bit better.
Part of my sewing area. I really need to get this area organized, because otherwise, I can't sew. I can't quilt. I can't be my creative self.

Like I said, when I can't even find my sewing machine, it's a sad day. (Oh, that quilt on the back of my chair got donated to a DAV thrift store on Monday.)
I'm working on finding a home for this box. I've been through it, pulled the trash out, pulled the yarn out, pulled out the fabrics I'll use. The rest of it needs a home though.
My husband needs help with his cable clutter. I really really want to do this NEXT.
I want my kitchen shelf/ledge/bar to be clutter free. I think this will be a good spot for a Thanksgiving buffet. But it has to be clutter free first.

See this pile of coats, blankets, and pillows? I put the blankets on the correct beds, the couch pillows on the couch, and.......................

I hung the coats up in this closet. (This is a before shot of the closet.)More sewing stuff. Except it's in the dining room. I want this storage drawer unit, plus the other one I have to eventually go in my closet. And that big brown box on the left side of the picture??? Gone. Donated to the DAV thrift store on Monday.
And this is another problem closet. There's the pack and play that will be given to my SIL at Christmas. But most all of those boxes underneath is either paper clutter or just plain JUNK. I don't like it, and I want to get rid of it. And the blankets to the left in this picture are going to get sorted and organized and some will be donated.
I really need to organize my office supplies and Sweet Pea's school supplies. More of husband's clutter problem. Do you think I can help him? And does anyone know where to donate used electronics?

Happy Halloween!

I wanted to share Halloween pictures with everyone. Sweet Pea was a "fairy princess," and Little Bit was a "kitty cat." I'm starting to be real big on making costumes as opposed to buying them. It's more fun and it saves money.

Kitty Cat's tail was almost as long as she was. LOL
I made the fairy wings using this tutorial. It's not as fast as it looks. But it was fairly simple if you followed the directions.

Kitty Cat likes driving the car strollers at the mall. By the way, we went to the mall to go trick or treating. It was safe, it was loud, it was crowded, it was WARM! This picture shows Kitty's face a bit better. She rubbed her pink nose off.
And I think this is my favorite picture of my fairy princess. She's gorgeous. She has a majestic hair flower as her crown. And her dress was a gift from some friends who adopted Chinese boys. They try to keep their heritage prevelant in their home, so they bought Chinese dresses for my girls to wear to a party.

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween.

Hugs,

Melinda