Now THIS....

is what it’s all about!

Remember I told you how I like to linger after a dinner or a holiday? Well, this is exactly what I’m talking about! Outside it is gray and cold and wet; inside is a nice warm fire and cups of hot spiced (and spiked) cider with a bowl of homemade caramel corn and oatmeal raisin cookies. It just doesn’t get any better than this. And the best part…John set it all up himself (well, not the cold and wet outside.) He is so good about creating the scene for me to really enjoy all the special elements of this life we share together. Thank you, dear sweet hubby!

Okay, that was yesterday; today, he took me to a new outlet mall northwest of Houston to meet up with Alicia and the kids for a day of shopping and lunch. I got two new tops (on sale of course!) and Alicia got herself a new sweater and pair of shoes. Erin spent some of her gift cards, as well. It was a great day. What a wonderful husband I have!

CHEERS!

Sigh.....

Christmas is over. The kids are gone, most of the gifts have been put away, and the quiet is deafening. It kinda makes me sad. It's like a huge dinner that you've been planning, shopping, prepping and cooking for, and then it's all eaten in fifteen minutes. It's all over way too quickly. I like to linger and enjoy the flavor of both big dinners and big holidays, especially Christmas.

It was a very good Christmas! I got some scrappy stuff, some really big trays for serving on the deck, and a beautiful sweater, but the best gift of all was the shelving set that Alicia and Chuck gave us. Chuck even helped to hang them before they left for home. Isn't he a doll? I'm so glad to have them up, 'cause the wall was way too big and bare without them and the clocks looked funny up there by themselves. Now it looks 'decorated' and I have a place to display my favorite owls, and even some more clocks!

I hope everyone got what they wanted for Christmas. For me, it was so nice to spend time with family, and to hear from friends and family that we couldn't be with. We even got a Christmas card from son John all the way from Djibouti! It was indeed the most unique card we got!
Now it's time to sit down and write out my resolutions, and get busy on things I've signed up to do. I also hope to get some scrapping done this week.

CHEERS!

The Reason for...

...the Season! I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and that you get to spend a wonderful day with loved ones.
Alicia and her family will arrive sometime tomorrow afternoon, after they've had their Christmas morning at home. We will exchange gifts and then sit down to dinner of Prime Rib, roasted potatoes, green bean casserole, and orange and avocado salad. Fruit "Pizza" for dessert.

Blessings to everyone!

Happy Birthday, John II

Happy Birthday to our son, John II, who turns 37 today. Below is a picture of him at age 5.
He is now a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps and is currently deployed to parts unknown on an aircraft carrier named the USS Bonhomme-Richard. Yesterday was his and Kerri's 10th wedding anniversary. I know she misses him and we all wish him well and safe flying.

Happy Birthday, Son. I love you.

Cheers!

The Tastes of Christmas

We spent the last two days in the kitchen making some of our traditional Christmas favorites.

Caramel Corn:
John's world-famous Peanut Brittle:
and of course, Chocolate Chip cookies!
Are you hungry, yet? We filled the little bags (top photo) and delivered some of the goodness to friends in the neighborhood. I just love this time of year!

Merry Christmas and CHEERS!

It's Beginning to Look....

...a lot like Christmas around the Charlton house! I FINALLY got the tree finished and just got the Santas up today. But the house is taking on a little Christmas spirit piece by piece as evidenced in these photos.




Merry Christmas and CHEERS!

Recent Projects

Here is the layout I did from the snow pictures. I followed a challenge on Coordinates Collections that called for using a white background, and even a white title and embellishments. I love the white-on-white look! And the best part? ....I'm using up some of my old papers and stickers in my stash! Thank you, CC!

Another project I've completed this week is a mini 'Grandmother' album along with one for the big brother's pictures. He'll have his own album to look at while everyone is ga-ga-ing over the new baby. Here are the covers.




I'll show more projects later.

CHEERS!

More Snow Pics

John came home from the mailbox and said it was snowing even harder there. I think it's because it is less protected by the trees, but it also was snowing much harder by then. So we went for a drive and got these pictures.





And don't you just feel sorry for this little pup. He was being so good about 'staying' without understanding why he needed to.


CHEERS!

It's Snowing!

Yep, it's really snowing in deep East Texas! And it's also snowing down south in Houston! Alicia and the kids have early dismissal. (Hey, we don't get snow very often down here, and even an inch or two warrants a "snow day"!) The Houston weatherman was predicting up to 3" and said that this is the earliest that it has ever snowed in Houston.
Just a little bit of excitement in our day. Glad we took the dog for his walk earlier. We only got a bit of freezing rain while we were out.

CHEERS!

Counting the Days

I meant to do this yesterday (the 1st). Just wanted to show that I am trying to get into the spirit of things, but DANG, Christmas is really coming up on me fast. Here is one of the decorations I altered for the season. Since it starts at 1, I have to put it up now, but the rest of the decorations aren't going up just yet. Except for the outside, which we already have up. The neighborhood had a 'lighting' celebration last Saturday. Several of us helped put up lighted trees and such near the entrance and the fire station, then had a party to start off the season. It's a great way to show community spirit (and push some of us into getting ready!) On a positive note, I do have my cards made (and letter written), addressed, stamped and ready to mail!
Today, we are officially going out to do some Christmas shopping! We've picked up a few items here and there and ordered some off the internet, but today we'll get serious. I'm actually hoping to find some inspiration while we're out, 'cause I just don't have a clue what to get some of my family members.
I will report back to let you know if I had any luck; until then...

CHEERS