Christmas Gifts

I have learned over the many years of Christmas shopping that it is much easier to collect gifts throughout the year than to buy everything in December. It is not only easier on the wallet, but easier to complete my shopping list too! I love being able to think, "oh, this would be a perfect gift for ___!" and snag the item in the summer months. Maybe I am just weird, but it works for me.

A few weeks ago, I ventured into the tornado (aka my guest room closet) and dug out all the gifts I had collected the past 12 months. Here is what it looked like:
After 3 hours of wrapping gifts and sorting them into piles, I ended up with this:So, yes, all of the family and friend Christmas shopping is done and most everything is wrapped. I have one or two little things to pick up for Mark. Now it is time to enjoy the Christmas spirit....and my favorite part, giving these gifts to the people I love!

Secret Santa

Every year at Christmas time, the Lower School staff at the school I work at does Secret Santa. It is always so much fun! I got a really great person this year so finding little treats for her was easy!

The rules are simple. You are to give four little gifts throughout the week and give a bigger gift on Friday at the Secret Santa party. You don't know who your person is until the big reveal on Friday. Many people write little poems or write in different handwriting to try to be sneaky.

My Secret Santa has already been very generous to me. Yesterday I got an adorable stack of note pads and today I got a lighted Christmas tree that plugs in the side of your computer. I can't wait to see what tomorrow morning will bring!

Here is what I got my Secret Santa (the pic above is everything wrapped). On her idea sheet she listed relaxing things, candy, books, and Christmas items so I got her all of the above. I hope she likes her gifts!

It's Christmas!

It is officially Christmas at our house! Mark bought an amazing, very tall, tree at a local place. Mark had to work so I put up all the decorations and decorated the Christmas tree all while listening to Christmas music on the TV.
I tried my hand at a Martha Stewart idea from her magazine and I think it actually looks really pretty!
I am using this picture on our Christmas card but I love it so much I had to post it here too! I couldn't believe that I actually got both dogs to sit next to one another and to sit still long enough for me to take a picture of them next to the tree. My little furry babies are adorable!
I love how our little house looks this time of year!

Thanksgiving #2 in Georgia

Mark and I took our first trip together on an airplane this Thanksgiving (crazy, huh?). We went to Kingsland, Georgia to visit his sister and her family. His sister, Alicia, had her third baby in late August so I was excited to get to meet Caroline and hold her. Alicia and Tim were so kind to let me hold her, feed her, change her diaper and her clothes for the majority of the 2 days we were there. I got my baby fill and loved every minute of it! Caroline couldn't be more precious.
Mark got to hold her too (while I was napping or showering).
We also got to spend time with our nephews, Mark and Luke. I got to do a lot of reading to the boys which made my very happy. Uncle Mark took the boys on a nature walk and bought them a duck hunting game that they loved playing.

Alicia and Tim prepared a delicious Thanksgiving meal for us. Here is Tim's turkey - it looked as good as it tasted! We also had cornbread stuffing, cranberries, rolls, and mashed potatoes.
Alicia and Tim took us to one of their favorite seafood restaurants the night before Thanksgiving. It is on the water and provided for a great view of boats and the sun setting.
Mark and I even got a good picture together!Mark and I were afraid of the boys falling in the water so we all thought it was best to head back to the restaurant. The boys, of course, ran there.
Lonestar, their dog, also loved our attention. She especially loves Mark. We let Lonestar sleep in our bed with us as a treat for her. We are used to Bandera sleeping with us so we would have been lonely without a dog!
We had such a nice time in GA and can't wait to go back! We love you Alicia, Tim, Mark, Luke, Caroline and Lonestar!

Free! (or almost free)

The Black Friday weekend allowed me to find some great deals!

First, there was an online Walmart deal. I was to purchase this gift set for $10.83 (with free shipping) and I would be reimbursed $10. So I got all of this for just 83 cents and it was delivered to my house!
Mark desperately needed some new Polo shirts. He has tried the Target and Old Navy Polos but just doesn't like them as much as the real thing. Lucky for us, there is a Polo outlet store in Allen. I went there during Black Friday weekend and they were having an "everything in the store is 30% off" sale. Yay! So I got each of these for $36 (they are usually $75 in a retail store).
While in the outlet mall, I saw Liz Claiborne was closing their store and selling everything for 80% off. I am not usually a Liz shopper, but I can't help an 80% off sign so I stopped in. I got these really cute pants for work for $19! They were normally $70.

My Amazing Friend

I have many amazing, special friends but my friend Jordan has exhibited true generosity this year and it has really touched my heart. I can't think of a better way to let him know (other than telling him, but he doesn't believe me) than writing a blog post about him!

Jordan and I became friends our senior year at Vanderbilt. A whopping 8 years later, we are still great friends. I always make a stop in Orange County to visit Jordan while visiting my brother in California. He and I share a love/hate relationship with Snackwell cookies, are both obsessed with airplane cleanliness, enjoy apple martinis, and love to people watch. My face usually hurts after spending a few hours with Jordan because we laugh so much together. This is one of our favorite pictures together (with Steve - miss you!) -- maybe because it was taken in our early 20's......What makes Jordan special is that he isn't just kind, caring, and generous to me and our other close friends, but he is this way with everyone. In the past year he has shaved his head and grown a mustache in an attempt to raise money to support cancer.

Early this year, Jordan's friend's nephew, Marcelino, lost his hair due to cancer. What did Jordan and his friend Skooter do to show their support? Shave their heads! Now, anyone who knows Jordan knows he is a bit obsessed with his hair cut and styling so this was truly an act of kindness. I was blown away by this.
Most recently, Jordan decided to participate in Movember to support further research for prostate cancer. The men who decide to do this typically grow a mustache to show their support while raising money. Jordan grew a mustache and has raised over $800 in a single month. Amazing! You can still donate to his page here.Needless to say, Jordan is a great friend, uncle, brother, and son to everyone who knows him but I wanted to share his greatness with everyone else! Jordan, thank you for being my friend for so many years. You are one amazing guy!

An Early Thanksgiving

My parents hosted an early Thanksgiving since Mark and I will be in Georgia visiting his sister and her family and because my brother came in a week early since ticket prices were lower than if he came over the real holiday weekend. My Mom was kind enough to also invite Mark's parents and our friends, Doug, Becky, and Charlotte. It was quite a feast!
My Mom is an excellent cook. We had our traditional Thanksgiving meal complete with pie and apple/berry crisp for dessert. Mark's parents brought his favorite, cornbread dressing, and Becky provided the wine.The table looked beautiful! It was obvious that my Mom had worked very hard for this event.
Charlotte kept everyone entertained. She loved putting stickers on Drew's arm and then ripping them off. My Dad also brought out Cha Cha the monkey. This is a puppet that was a childhood favorite of mine. My Dad had not lost his touch with Cha Cha. Charlotte was scared but eventually warmed up to the puppet and even gave the monkey a kiss. It was very cute.

We all enjoyed the dinner since this is what the kitchen looked like after we finished eating. My Mom insisted she didn't want our help cleaning up even though she told me it took her 2 hours to clean it all (with my Dad's help, of course) - yikes!