Happy Holidays!

Where the Lovelight Gleams

I am SOOOO excited! Blake came in town last night despite the horrible weather! I was definitely not expecting to see him sitting at my kitchen table when I got home! It was such a wonderful surprise! Now it feels like Christmas :)

Merry & Bright

As I sit hear dreaming about Christmas and all that it brings, the song "White Christmas" came on Pandora.com, and my little heart jumps with excitement. I'm not sure what it is about Bing Crosby's milky voice, but it ignites nostalgia and I find myself wishing I was lying underneath the Christmas Tree. There's just something so innocent and magical about the way Christmas was portrayed in the 1950s. I love all the tinsel, sequins, gaudy red and green decorations, extravagant costumes and sweet musical lyrics. Even though I was born in the 80s, it reminds me of my childhood and how I prayed to God every Christmas Eve for snow. I even went as far as to bargain with him! I'd say "Now God, I'll stop watching MTV and be nicer to my parents if you just give me snow on Christmas Day." My dad would always tell me that God didn't make bargains, but I can only remember 1 Christmas that didn't have snow and it was probably because I watched too much Real World that year.

Pet Snowball Poem

I made myself a snowball
Just as perfect as could be.
I thought I'd keep it as a pet
And let it sleep with me
I gave it some pajamas
And a pillow for its head.
Then, last night it ran away,
But first . . . .it wet the bed!

Oh By Golly

Christmas is 1 week away! And guess who hasn't done any Christmas shopping! Yep, you guessed it...me. What have I been doing with my life since Thanksgiving?? Christmas just kinda snuck up on me this year...one day it was my birthday and then like a day later, Christmas is right around the corner. Life is moving too fast. I remember when Christmas seemed like it couldn't get here fast enough. The days felt like months and to a kid, that's an eternity. Not too mention, a kid can only be sooo good for sooo long.

Christmas can't be in a week! I haven't watched enough Christmas movies, or made any cookies or listened to enough Christmas music! I have had enough snow, though. I think Missouri drivers hate me because I drive about 25 mph in the snow...sometimes even slower than that. Black ice is my nemesis. We don't get along. I almost cracked my elbow because of it this morning, but thanks to yoga, I kept my balance and gained my equilibrium. I swear, every time I'm driving and I have a death grip on my steering wheel, I hear on the radio "Oh the weather outside is frightful" and I think "Damn straight!" Once again, God likes to play these little pranks on me in my life to give himself a good laugh. At least he's got my back...It reminds me of the Bible Verse 'The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love..." ~ Zephaniah 3:17 Whatever makes him happy :)

Back in the saddle again

I'm off to go attempt to ride a bull...a mechanical bull that is!

Wish me luck!

Calamity J

Sweets for my Sweets

I was messing around on Etsy and found the CUTEST thing EVER! It is a cupcake stand! I have never seen this before and I loved it so much (hint, hint mother) that I had to blog about it...hehe:) This cupcake stand is made by Whitney Smith and she has some other really cool items too. I actually found her cupcake stand available, though, on Poppy Talk.

By the way, I have mustered up the courage and I am going to make the Melting Snowmen for Blake this weekend...Eek! He just had 30 hours of med school testing this week, which means he's a little delirious...SO, if the cupcakes taste like poo, I'm sure he won't notice.

Sprinkles of Deliciousness

I've had a hankering for cupcakes lately. They are so hott right now and seriously the easiest to make, or so I thought! There are blogs, sites, etc. dedicated to making gourmet cupcakes and they are sooo pretty and sound so delicious. One site I particularly like is Cupcakes take the Cake! It is a blog about cupcakes and it shows some pretty creative stuff!

I want to make the Melted Snowman Cupcakes! They look so difficult, though and I have no idea what caster sugar is! The site is Cherrapeno, which you should definitely visit should you feel so daring to attempt these. I thought the frosting would be difficult, but it is ready-to-roll frosting, which anything with the word "ready" in it means easy to me!



Blake's last med school exam is tomorrow, so I will be making him some Eggnog Spice cupcakes. I'll take some pics of them and let you know how it goes!

To: Blake

He loves Eucalyptus.

My Heart Leaps for Joy

I had an interesting thought this morning all because I stumbled upon a great Bible verse I found in Psalms 28:7 which reads...

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song."

I really liked the idea of my heart leaping for joy. When I looked up verses about joy, they all had to do with not being afraid for the Lord is my strength, which really speaks to me because I've really been struggling with fear lately. Whether its driving in snow, sleeping in my apartment or life in general, fear has really been taking hold of me lately. As far back as I can remember, I recall being afraid about anything and everything. I think fear has held me back some in life and kept me from achieving some dreams. I pray that this revelation, if you will, from God will result in some chains being broken because I am free in the Lord, but I have not truly been living as such. I think God has something great in store for me and I'm excited to see what unfolds.

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, "Do not fear, I will help you."
Isaiah 41:10,13

Dangerous Weather for a Car Ride together with you

Headed home! Say a little prayer for me:)

I'm Misses Green Christmas

It has been snowing all afternoon, and while most people embrace snow, I loathe it. I only enjoy it when I'm experiencing it on skis, sleds, snow mobiles, on foot or from the inside of a warm, cozy house with the fireplace on while drinking hot chocolate and watching Christmas movies.

I wholeheartedly apologize to those who love snow, but after being in a few car wrecks all caused by bad weather conditions (please note, I was driving safely in the first accident caused by rain and a bad semi-driver who caused me to hydroplane resulting in a ticket for failure to drive within one lane and in the other, I was a passenger - I just have bad luck!), one begins to appreciate sunny weather and blue skies. My heart is already beginning to thump at an increasing pace just at the thought of driving home tonight!

Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?

"First we'll make snow angels for a two hours, then we'll go ice skating, then we'll eat a whole roll of Tollhouse Cookiedough as fast as we can, and then we'll snuggle." ~ Buddy the Elf

Oh my goodness, if you thought I was crazy about the Fall, well you were sadly mistaken, my friends. I love, LOVE Christmas. I think I was actually meant to be one of Santa's elves. I mean, I've got a high pitch voice, somewhat pointy ears, cheeks you just want to pinch (the ones on my face), a rosey complexion and I love all things Christmas. I'm like Bubba on Forest Gump, but instead of loving shrimp, I love Christmas. Christmas carols, Christmas cards, Christmas presents, Christmas lights, Christmas traditions, Christmas sweaters, Christmas parties, Christmas cookies, Christmas candies, Christmas pudding, Christmas movies...you getting the picture yet? Ok, then.

I was talking to my lovely cousin, Linds, about Christmas Eve and all of its festivities. My cousin and I are a little OCDish when it comes to Christmas Eve, and this year is going to be a little different, but only in the locations. Christmas ALWAYS takes place at my parents' home, but this year, due to me working on Christmas Eve and cousins having babies (yes, plural on the cousins), Christmas has been moved, but Linds and I are expecting and will make sure of it, that the traditions remain the same. Which means, the annual Christmas picture of ridiculousness with the cousins. As long as we are all together, then Christmas Eve is complete:) But, if we have time, I'd like to eat a whole roll of Tollhouse Cookie Dough, make snow angels and then...SNUGGLE!

Happy Birthday To Me...and Britney Spears.