so thankful...

with Thanksgiving coming up, i thought i would share some of the people and things i'm thankful for... God has blessed me in so many ways, and i can't be thankful enough! so here goes a completely UN-COMPREHENSIVE list in no particular order:

• music! i really really love listening to music. i think it can change a mood right away. currently i'm totally digging Christmas music (and have been for at least a month), but the current favorite i just bought on iTunes is "Pennies from Heaven." hehe, so fun!
• my family--love them so much. my parents are awesome and supportive, and my brothers are super sweet and they never fail to make me smile. Peter and Joey still live close to me, and getting to see them brightens my day. AND! everyone will be together for this Christmas. Cecelia is coming from D.C., Lincoln will be jetting in from PA, and my grandma and my aunt are coming from NY. who knows when the next time me and my siblings will all be together like that again. it hasn't even happened yet, but i'm already thankful it's going to! :D
• Christmas! i love celebrating the birth of Jesus, and i love everything that it entails. i'm a fan of traditions, but i'm so totally excited to decorate in my own place in just my style. since i have a pink living room and bedroom, i'm thinking of going with a sweet and girly tree and decorations (aka pink and green!)--of course i'll be making some handmade decorations, and i'll have to share them with you :D
  

this one i found HERE was sooo pretty!

friends. this includes so many people. the ones that care about how i'm feeling and how it's been going, the ones who pray for me, the ones i get to meet up with and we don't skip a beat even though it's been ages since we got together, my sister, my daily best friend, my co-teacher, my crafty buddies... they help me in so many ways. i only hope that i'm half as reliable or steadfast as they are. i just seem SO lucky. actually, BLESSED.

sandwich grills. addicted and about ready to give them as Christmas gifts to everyone i know. they make grilled perfection every single time no matter what the contents! *LE SIGH*

scrapbook retreats--i counted up the actual 'completed pages' and even though not all of them are 12x12, i still had a record productive weekend: i completed 82 pages!!!! w00t w00t! :D

bursts of ingenuity when teaching or planning for school--it helps so much! i love doing something that makes students think!

coupons and sales. these make me so happy. good deals MUST be endorphin boosters, would you agree?

diet coke. helplessly addicted.

laughing--i am so thankful for laughter.

water polo with all its challenges and physical demands. i think what others say is 'insane' actually keeps me 'sane.' oh, the irony.

and YOU, my precious blog readers... you are a constant source of encouragement that i feed off of. i am blown away by your support. i love reading your comments!

oh, and you thought i wasn't going to share a card? hehe--nope, i've got one here:

i used tons of Sassafras papers that made me think 'vintage' so i de-hoarded a length of vintage lace trim and then inked up the edges, and finally i added a fun swirl stamp i picked up from Impress a year ago. i also added a few BG felt stickers--they're perfectly wonderful texture-wise on this acetate card. oh, and i used an EK border punch for the inside edges. fun stuff in sort of fall colors--what do you think?

so, what are you thankful for? i'd love to hear what has blessed you lately :D thanks for stopping by!

drama queen! + w00t = 2S4U

can i just say WOOT! WOOT! for making the Fab 5 over at 2sketches4you... i am so honored :D i love all the different cards that people come up from just one amazing sketch.

also, thank you so much everyone for your well wishes with my move... it went *mostly* well. suffice it to say, it's a long story and it involves wet carpets, semi-rude landlords, and having TONS of friends help me out! (THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE!)

well, as a single person moving into a 2 bedroom apartment, i got SOOOO many comments about the amount of stuff that i own--whether it was in regards to my clothes (eek!) or my crafting supplies, or all the free furniture that i got from friends. anyway, i think that all 14 of the people who helped me move think that i need to 'rethink my life' (as my brother Peter put it). but hey, what can i say? i'm a crafter!

i know you all understand (hehe, at least a little.) i got some unpacking help after the move, and as i was explaining how the tank tops were to go in the drawers, somebody mentioned that they thought i was a tad OCD about the color coding and folding... but i honestly think that the color coding is SMART, and it comes from my crafting habits :D what about you? do you categorize your clothes similarly to your crafting supplies?

okay, on to my card... it's based off of Kazan's sketch #46 at 2Sketches4You (love these designers and EVERYTHING!) i flipped this sketch again, and actually made my 1st SHAPED card! :)


i made this using a whole bunch of different supplies... not everything is unpacked (and may not get much attention anytime soon), so there's a smattering of all types of things on here. Sassafras, some rub ons, SEI, K&Co, Fiskars border punch, and buttons and poms :D

i LOVE how there's an eclectic mix of just about everything on this card... stickers, bling, etc. i thought that Kazan's sketch was just perfect for a shaped card too.

the above is a picture of the inside of the card, i can put a message around it.

then, here's the whole card at a glance... see that 'turn that frown upside down' rub on? i almost forgot the 'turn' part of the rub on >> that would have been interesting :D

i thought it was a sweet detail to have the clear 'bling' where the camera flash would be. can't you see yourself giving this to a loud, personality filled friend 'just because'? i personally would love to have something this obnox... i mean, LOVELY... fits me perfectly :D

thanks for stopping by, i LOVE reading your comments :)

yes, Virginia

there is a Santa Claus. [famous line from Miracle on 34th St. you know this, yes?]

so i don't know how many of you knew about the deal that Macy's was putting on for "National Believe Day" on Friday, but they had this promotion. anyone named Virginia could go in to Macy's and get a free $10 gift card. yeah, simple, right? well, only if your name is Virginia.

and mine is! :D

GASP > i know some of you may be surprised to know that although i go by Ginny here on the blog (which is an honest-to-goodness nickname) my real name is Virginia. well... it is. it's a nice name--somewhat rare, and very unique. so i decided to get the gift card--i mean, who could it hurt?

so there's a good story for the day, right? can't get much better than that ;D i bought something already with the free money, but i can't share, because there's a chance that the person might be reading this blog post, and i don't want to ruin the surprise for anyone :D

also up on the agenda are some more banners. i really need to enter some cards for challenges, but still have my craft space covered with things for this project... we'll see if i can fit it in sometime.

i'm sorry about how out of order these pictures are... Blogger doesn't want to cooperate with me for some reason... again, i'm going with the pink, green scheme for these Christmas banners.

here i am... not looking my best, but still, it's me.

lots of goodies loaded up over here.

and oh.my.goodness... i have to tell you about how thrilled i am that i got to go to a concert tonight! i went with Paulina, her sisters, and my brothers to the TobyMac "Winter Wonder Slam Concert!"



i got to see this awesome performer... if you haven't heard about him before, he's one of the most popular Christian artists out there, and i absolutely love his sound--hip-hop/ rock/ r&b/ rap mix--> hard to describe, but just plain awesome.

he's getting older (as far as the concert circuit and for doing what he does on stage), but i am still totally in awe of his energy tonight. my ears are totally blasted out! :D

and to make things even better... he came down to the floor seats (which btw, i had AWESOME 6th row seats thanks to Paulina, best concert buddy EVA!) and he sang this close to us...and THEN... OHMYWORD... still can't believe it... he WALKED DOWN MY ROW. he got up on the chairs along the aisle that my brothers were standing on, and at this point i am basically hyperventillating... and he comes down, he's walking along the chairs, he's passing me while he sings, and i touched his arm as he went by.

(okay, side note: i know i totally sound like a groupie here, but seriously, i LOVE TobyMac... like a TON. and this had to have been the greatest concert experience EVER. ohmyword. so call me groupie, or whatever, but it ROCKED!!!)

and i could not believe that it had happened... still amazed. i came home with the brothers, and i know that i'll be a little hard of hearing for a while yet, and that my eyes will still be hazy from the fog machine, and that i'll remember this always.

thanks for checking in--hope you have a great rest of the weekend!

monster cards and a little about me

hey there! so last Saturday was World Card Making Day, and as i was surfing the web for all the fun stuff going on that day, i happened upon the Caardvarks survey regarding paper crafting. i thought at first--"there's too many questions," (ha! this coming from the English teacher), but as a dutiful sister would (*cough, cough* CHOKE) i followed my sister's encouragement to fill out the Caardvarks survey anyway. now i'm glad i did, even though it took some thought and typing :D you know, good things *DO* often take some time... BUT, the cool part is that some of my responses were actually highlighted on the blog on Sunday. :D

i've included my full responses below the pictures... i hope you enjoy learning a little bit more about me and my paper crafting style!

this group of cards uses the Doodle Stack from DCWV, a lot of red, green, and kraft. also, all the stamps are PTI sentiments that i borrowed from my friend Paulina.

don't you love those little faces of horror and delight? :D they make me laugh.

i showed these to my brother Peter, and he said, "When am I going to get my birthday card? Can this be my birthday card?" i just about fell over laughing--i said, "YES! ...just let me write something on the inside." anyway, i know if it passes muster when my brothers like it :D

all the layouts are similar, with just a few parts arranged differently. i had a fun time distressing the edges with an actual distresser as opposed to my scissors... SOOO much easier :D

anyway, here are the Q/A's as promised, and if you haven't already seen my BLOG CANDY from a previous post, you need to get going! go over and enter by leaving a comment--it's that easy :D

What is your favorite part of the card making process?
I love making the card… finding the right paper, cutting out the pieces I need, and putting it all together. I also really like adding the finishing touches—the glitter at the end, or the flower embellishment.

What's on your craft table right now?
A card in process: DoodleFactory “Santa” stamped in chocolate ink on cream paper. I’m working on a combo challenge card for Christmas—it’ll count towards Dawn Mcvey’s Color Challenge as well as 2sketches4you, Kazan’s sketch.

What color combos do you most enjoy?
Ooooh, I absolutely LOVE pink and black. I wear it a lot, so that may be a reason why.

Where do you gather inspiration?
Everything. I like looking at blogs and sketches, but really, when I’m not basing a card or layout on someone else’s art, I just kinda look around and ideas start flowing. I am not currently keeping an idea book, and luckily, haven’t *had* to keep one—my ideas haven’t stopped yet :D Pretty paper doesn't hurt one bit either--having things on hand helps me get going!

How many cards do you make in an average week?
Well, because I teach full time (9th grade English), and coach girls swimming, I generally only get to create on the weekends. Maybe 3-4?

How did your passion for card making begin?
My friend Paulina kinda got me started. She invited me to a scrapbooking convention last November, and I ended up going and spending a *ton* of money. Then I had all these things I was looking to use, so I started a blog, looking at work that I admired, and then it just kind of took off from there. I have always loved Paulina’s cards, and still point to her encouragement as the reason I started blogging/ card making.

What's your favorite card theme?
I love making cards for birthdays. I tend to go “whole hog” as my sister Cecelia would say, and the last couple of “cards” I’ve made have turned into booklets :D hehe. I especially like making cards for people I know intimately—family, friends, co-workers, because it gives me pleasure knowing I’ve created something they’ll love.

What 3 pieces of advice would you give to a new card maker?
Keep trying new things. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Update your blog/ photo gallery frequently. (Advice #4: participate in challenges and comment on other work—they’ll come back to your blog and leave you encouragement and good feedback if you ask.)

Other than card making, what other hobbies do you enjoy?
I love scrapbooking (even though it’s in the same category as card making), and watching movies. I’m something of a movie addict—I love watching movies just about all the time. I also love baking, when I get a free moment… anything with chocolate (banana nut chocolate bread, chocolate chip cookies, etc).

Do you send or hoard your cards?

Both. When I create something specific (birthday, anniversary, thank you, etc) then I send it right away. BUT, I usually don’t have a specific purpose in mind when I make all the cards I do—so I have ended up with a stash of cards that keeps piling up. I am working on de-hoarding that stash by slowly listing these cards on Etsy. We’ll see how it goes :D

thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to check out the candy HERE!

no matter what... & ABC's

a while ago i made this Fathers Day card for my dad. we were having a family picnic on Father's Day, and i wasn't able to take a picture of it, so here i am posting this WAAAY later than planned. i really like the color scheme for this "masculine" card, even though some parts of it could be considered girly. American Crafts, DoodleFactory, and Bazzill were my main products used.

**i know i haven't been posting regularly lately, but i've been super busy with the 1st week of school and teaching and coaching, etc... i'm definitely not used to this pace yet, and am still settling in. thanks for bearing with me!**

here you see i made a belly band for this card... i used my Cricut to cut out the "Happy Father's Day" that fits perfectly behind my band. i did a lot of distressing and sanding around edges of everything, to give it a more guy feel.

here's how the card opens at first: "no matter..." i wrote a bunch of funny little things my Dad does, like shrinking clothes in the laundry, and not delivering phone messages. i love him all the same, though :D

and here's the full card opened completely. overall, there are quite a few layers on this card, and it was a good thing i had thought of a way to close it up, otherwise it would be spilling out, hehe!

also, i picked these barn and castle stamps for the inside of the card because my Dad has been dreaming up the house/ barn he's going to build at our property for years... he's actually tossed around the idea of building a castle type house, but my Mom wasn't really going for it. anyway, whatever they both finally decide, i'll be happy for them, because i know they'll love it. i got these stamps from DoodleFactory, and they were sooo perfect for layering and this card for my Dad :D

do you see how the windows are popped out, and i even had these barn doors open on the top layer! hehe, i felt so clever when i made this card... everything is just so cute :D (oooh, and did you see that windmill detail with the brad in the center? neat, huh?)

and here you can see the mega-layering on the castle. i stamped it 3 times--the first on the panel, then twice on gray card stock. i popped out some turrets and shaded everything in to give it even more depth. ahh, don't you just love this? it makes me think of knights, and princesses, etc :D too fun!

i got to use some fun velvet letters from Making Memories as well as some alphas from Basic Grey (on the belly band and on the inside). it added another kind of texture to the card which was really nice.

here you can see how i cut out the tags with my Cricut again and made a pocket to hold all the special little notes on why i loved my Dad so much. i used a circle punch out of the front of the half envelope and stuck these tags in with AC ribbon too.

he really liked this card, and actually showed it off at the picnic we were at... so glad he liked it. now he's got in in his office along with some other cards i've made for him over the years. so funny to see what you made before and compare it to your style/ sense now.

Anyway, in other news, I’ve been tagged by Celia @ The Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia to participate in a fun meme, and since she’s my sister, and it looks like fun, I think I’ll play along. Plus, don’t you want to know more about me? :D

RULES

1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Share your ABC’s
3. Tag three people at the end by linking to their blogs
4. Let the three tagged people know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website
5. Do not tag the same person repeatedly but try to tag different people, so there is a big network of bloggers doing this tag

Available or married? Available! But totally willing to change that ;D

Best Friend? Cecelia, my sister. *grin*

Cake or Pie? Cake. For sure, ah, I love chocolate, and spice, and carrot… and doesn’t cheesecake technically count as cake?

Drink of choice? Water, or Diet Coke with a lemon OR lime. Either works.

Essential item for every day use? Gum, or my car. I practically live in my car… I drive about 45 minutes to school, and 45 minutes back every day. I spend so much time in my car, and everything in it is essential (like the chap stick, the comfy seats, the CDs, the speed at which it goes…)

Favorite color? Red, black, pink, and blue. My second favorite color is orange, green, and yellow. I also look really good in purple.

Google? Yes. Frequently. The maps are better than MapQuest, and well, it’s Google.

Hometown? Seattle, Washington.

Indulgences? Pretty patterns… especially on paper. Although I’ve been known to covet some items from Ikea catalogs every now and then. I also love movies, FOOD, and traveling.

January or February? February. Valentine’s Day, and it’s not right after the holidays when you don’t want to go back to school…

Kids and their names? I want them someday, and have ideas regarding names, but currently, no children… unless you count my “kids” at school… which I don’t really want to do.

Life would not be complete without? God, family, friends.

Marriage date? Not married, yet ;)

Number of siblings? I’m the second born of 5. One older sister, three younger brothers. My sister Cecelia is only 16 months older than me at 25, and my brother Peter is 16 months younger than me. Then there's Lincoln and Joey. My mom was brave, and had 5 kids within 6 years… I L-O-V-E my siblings.

Oranges or apples? Apples for sure! Fuji are my favorite!

Phobias and fears? I hate heights, but more than that, I hate the edges that usually accompany them.

Quote for the day? “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.” --Dory, from Finding Nemo

Reason to smile? Hmm, FAMILY, pretty paper, good music, yummy food, FRIENDS, and finding money in pockets when you didn’t expect it.

Season? I think Winter’s great… I LOVE Christmas--definitely my favorite part of the year. But I absolutely cannot knock having the summer vacation (even though this summer wasn’t much “vacation”) as a teacher.

Tag 3 people?
Heidi at Van Laar Designs
Dad at The Garden Handyman
Amy at Tsuruta Designs
…not sure if they’ll actually do this, but who knows? I always like to hear about real people and their lives.

Unknown fact about me? I went to the National Championships in college for water polo (3 out of 4 years!).

Vegetable you hate? Lima beans, cooked spinach, beets, and sometimes I really hate eggplant. It’s the texture.

Worst habit? Staying up way too late. Especially on school nights.

X-rays you’ve had? Dental, fingers, toes, ankle, etc…

Your fave food? I like pizza, but if I had to live off of one food (made in a variety of ways) for the rest of my life, it would be POTATOES! Mashed potatoes, hash browns, French fries, potato salad, baked potatoes, home fries, tater tots, jojos, steak fries… I love it all.

Zodiac sign? Dunno, my birthday is May 1st.

thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful weekend :D

my memorial day weekend

wow, it's started! a long weekend!

i went to breakfast with my brothers, washed dishes, finished a book, went shopping and bought a book, a cd, and a dvd, and went on an hour long walk with my brothers and dog Cookie.

the walk resulted in some hilarity. i told my brothers we'd be going to the beach to take some "goofy" pictures, but what we actually ended up with was so much more...

and i'll let you see for yourself. i hope you enjoy it as much as i did. i know it's a bit long, but i think it's totally worth watching :D




(or you can check over here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKMYqIntftU)

2sketches4you, Kazan's #26

i loved Kazan's sketch this week, as well as the new Design Team's work. you totally need to check it out if you haven't already!

this sketch gave me a chance to use some scraps, try a new technique, and also to put one of my pretty butterflies to use!

so for this card, i borrowed the leftovers of the polka-dot ribbon from this set of cards. there was just enough to make this cute little bow :D

then, i had seen Kristina Werner's technique of masking an area, and then stamping around it. well, i didn't have any vinyl decals or anything like that, but i did recently get a Cricut, and in trying out some new things, had some extra flower outlines and shapes. so i took the border i cut with Cricut and placed some of the flowers in random order over the top. then i used an ink pad (yellow, to coordinate with my patterned paper) to go over the images... just dabbing it lightly all over until i had the color i wanted. anyway, the result was pretty sweet, no? (and i can totally see myself doing this as an easy complement for other projects that need something "special.")

and after all that, i was looking for some embellies for the flower, and didn't just want to use buttons. well, the other day at Michael's, i picked up a pack of butterfly picks (i think you add them to floral arrangements, etc) and thought that the yellow one would go perfectly in the center here. so i tried it, and YES! it looks good :D i love how the butterfly is pre-colored and glittered so it takes so much prep time out of making a card like this.

all in all, very pleased with my card. i think i'll be trying some new things pretty soon, especially with the upcoming stamp show that i'll be going to with my friend Paulina. she's actually working at it with her family, who owns DeNami Design, but i know that when i get there, all the concentration will go down hill :) i can't wait to see the FORTY-FIVE vendors that are scheduled to be at this event... it will be slightly overwhelming, i think. i'll have to set a budget limit before i leave the house, or who knows?!

also, in other exciting news: my brother Peter is graduating from college this weekend! my whole family has been praying frenetically about whether or not he'll graduate because he needed two B's or better in his history classes, but that had been a struggle for him. PRAISE THE LORD that he passed his finals (with flying colors) and got the grades he needed. i'm so proud of you Pete! my mom'll be at the ceremony, along with my 2nd youngest brother Lincoln, and my older sister, Cecelia. should be a great celebration. i'll post some pictures of that when they get home... and maybe i'll tell you about how i was commencement speaker at college :D

OH! and it's Joey's birthday this saturday... he'll be 19 years old! i can't believe it. he's grown up and matured so much lately. everything goes by so fast nowadays. it seems like i gauge a lot of what happens/ happened in my life by how old Joey is/ was. like when we got our dog, Cookie, Joey was just turning 8. we went to Disneyland around the time Joey was 6... it all goes by the baby, i guess :D

well, i think that's about it for now. i'm going to say goodbye to my mom before she flies off to PA to congratulate my brother (and i'll have to send a card with her for him... better get to making it!). hope you enjoyed looking, and if you read this far... thanks for sticking it out :D

XOXO

(oh, and if you haven't checked out my Dad's blog on gardening, or Cecelia's on everyday life, then you need to check it out, or just look at the previous post here. my family is so funny. i'm including myself, OF COURSE!)

2sketches4you, kazan's #20!

wow, it's been a while since i've posted an actual card. but never fear, i've been making tons of cards over here... i actually had a list of +/- 50 Valentine's cards to give to friends, family, and swimmers... i mass produced about 24 small cards from one of my favorite simple designgs that i'll have to post sometime. but i was really excited to get back from PA (where i cheered for brothers Pete and Link in their MAJOR swim meet in which they did AMAZING!) and check out the new sketch from Kazan. last night i got to work and came out with something pretty cute...

whatdya' think? like the cherries?

i wasn't sure if the flower was too much, but it's bright and cheery. let me know what you think, it's fun reading your opinions... :)

it's Christmastime!

wow, been a while since i've posted. i made a couple of cards a few days ago, and they were based on a 2S4U sketch--i think i'm giving them to relatives for Christmas, but i truthfully haven't decided.

we've had QUITE an interesting week here in Washington--it's been snowing almost every day for the last week and a half, which has now accumulated to about 8 inches where i live. really amazing. i got to enjoy the snow a couple of different times--walking with the family, NIGHT sledding down a hill in our neighborhood nick-named "Killer Hill," and then sledding two more times (once on a saucer--oh boy). as a result of the snow, i've been semi-stuck at home because the only way out of our neighborhood is UP one of three hills. so my family hasn't made it to church, shopping, a performance of "Scrooge, The Musical" or just about anything else. BUT! the good news is we had a party here at the house on Monday, and we thought that the weather would prevent most people from attending. fortunately, though, we had about 45-50 out of the 80+ invitees show up! it was a lot of fun, and everyone enjoyed themselves. some dear friends couldn't come, but i've decided to host something that they can DEFINITELY come to (*hint, hint* Paulina).

i seriously CANNOT wait until tomorrow... i LOVE Christmas, and having all my siblings home, and the family together is amazing. plus, i'm super excited about the presents i got/ made for family this year! i took some pictures of the wrapping that i did too. (but they may not load until later) i found some AMAZING ribbon from Costco, of all places, to make beautiful bows with--one is double-sided black and pink, and the other is red and black with velvet fleur-de-lis (i tried to get more all-occasion ribbon i could use for more than Christmas). having 6 other family members gives me ample opportunity to showcase my wrapping expertise... Peter said "Gin, you look like you got a professional to wrap your presents..." and i told him, "I did!" :) i love giving gifts, like i said.





well, i truly hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas!

family picture!

well, all my siblings came home this week--cecelia on time on wednesday from GA, and peter and link a day late from PA.

it's great to have them all back, we're a VERY crazy family when we get together. we woke up this morning to bacon, eggs, and KRINGLE from our uncle in Wisconsin, so that was really sweet. then, seeing as we didn't have family photo basically ALL year, my mom suggested that we take one in the snow. so i used my 10 sec timer on the camera and our trash can (it was the right height) to take this picture :-) think it turned out okay!

Christmas Favorites!

Joey and I got to go exploring in the snow last night... we took Cookie on a walk too. Brothers are hilarious.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper… one year I wrapped everything in butcher paper, covered it with a wide strip of colored paper, glued a snowflake on the colored paper, then covered the strip with some tissue paper and topped with a bow… simple, but elegant. Plus, I have lots of fun with matching up stacks of presents for my siblings in coordinating colors.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial… Mom is allergic to real trees (gets bronchitis). But hey, our artificial is always ready to go when we are, and it’s held up through a lot of wear and tear.

3. When do you put up the tree? Generally after Thanksgiving… this year I decorated for about 3 other places before I even got the decorations out for our house… they’re still sitting around our living room!

4. When do you take the tree down? Middle of January? One time I think we left ours up until after Valentine’s Day, but that’s only happened once.

5. Do you like eggnog? LOVE it! I’m so used to Mom saying, “Mix half eggnog and half milk… it’s too rich” that I almost DO think it’s too rich without the adjustment. But I LOVE the eggnog Italian sodas.

6.Favorite gift received as a child? I really loved the DVD set of movies of “Pride and Prejudice,” but there have been a TON of great gifts.

7. Hardest person to buy for? It used to be Peter, but he’s loosened up a lot lately. He even put “sexy jeans” on his Christmas list.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Cecelia! I find something that I would like and I get it for her (and sometimes for myself). Last year we actually got each other the SAME EXACT gift, just different colors! Oh sisters.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Does a crèche count? We don’t have a light-up one in our front yard… but we do have several around the house.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail (if we actually get on the ball). This year we may not be sending a Christmas letter. *tear*

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I honestly can’t remember. (Probably a good thing)

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? A Muppet Christmas Carol, or I really like the claymation movie with Rudolph, I think it’s called “Blue Christmas”? It’s the one where there’s the two brothers who sing songs like “I’m Mr. Icicle, I’m Mr. Snow…” anyone remember?

13. When do you start shopping? Whenever I see a good gift (didn’t used to be that way). I have been getting gifts since July or August?

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? White Elephant Christmas gifts, yes.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Oh gosh. How about we narrow this down to Christmas breakfast? (It’s the major meal for our family.) Us kids take charge and we make hashed browns, eggs, biscuits, we have DANISH KRINGLE (present from our Uncle in Wisconsin—he gets it mailed every year… I LOVE the pecan kringle :-) so yummy!), OJ, fruit, BACON

16. Lights on the tree? Multi—we have a lovely hodge-podge of ornaments, so the multi colored fits right in.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Too many to count! I love every song on Josh Groban’s “Noel” CD, I love up-tempo Christmas songs, also an instrumental CD called “Angels We Have Heard on High,” and so many more!

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home? I’ve done both, and I have to say that although Barcelona is beautiful, there IS no place like home.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Donder, Blitzen, Comet, Cupid… Rudolph? Apparently not.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Here’s how it goes—Christmas morning—kids wake up early, make breakfast. Wake up parents, open stockings. Eat breakfast, open presents. Call extended family. Eat more. Watch just opened movies :-)

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Not having enough time to go to all the parties I want to go to, or see all the people I want to see… basically not having Christmas last long enough. I LOVE Christmas!

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? All kinds… but I have to say that I love red… and I did my school Christmas trees in red, and it looks fabulous. We have a hodge-podge tree at home.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Anything, but I like ham or clam chowder.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Books (a whole bunch), colorful necklaces, audio Bible, anything crafty, swimsuit/ goggles/ cap/ scale, gift cards, music, movies, food… whatever—I love it all! J