Author |
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Roxip
Member
01-29-2004
| Tuesday, December 09, 2008 - 12:40 pm
I wish we could do that, but my parents live WAY out in the country and it would be quite the drive to get someplace for some kind of movie or restaurant...and most things close down early in their location on Christmas Eve. At Thanksgiving we had discussed doing our Christmas at my niece's house instead of my parents in the future but I guess my niece has now decided that she wants to do her own thing now. Again, I'm not blaming her, it just throws a wrench into this year's planning. I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE BOOKED A CRUISE! (Just kidding...sort of...a friend of mine found a cruise deal for less than $200 a person during the week of Christmas and it was SOOO tempting...but my parents are getting on in years and I know that someday I won't have them to spend Christmas with so I treasure these years when we can all be together...whether it be on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or any given day.) I guess in some ways I'm blessed...Shelby's father doesn't do anything with his family (they live out of state) and so I'm pretty much free to do with her what I please when I please. Not that I would probably give him much choise anyway...LOL!
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Tuesday, December 09, 2008 - 12:52 pm
Hmm, in that case Roxip, I think I'd stay home Christmas eve and do the family thing when your niece is there with her family. More Christmas fun for Shelby to have her cousins to play with. Caleb and Kota always have more fun with my family (cousins their ages to play with) than with Darren's (older cousins who aren't that interested in them.) The one good thing about that is Darren's step dad truly enjoys having them around and makes sure they get at least one game or toy they can take out that the three of them can play with. Spend Christmas eve at home or with friends, decorate some cookies or watch a movie.
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Vacanick
Member
07-12-2004
| Tuesday, December 09, 2008 - 1:12 pm
I put a huge lighted wreath on the front window of my house. I love it!! 
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Tuesday, December 09, 2008 - 1:27 pm
That's very pretty, Vacanick!
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Tuesday, December 09, 2008 - 1:29 pm
Nice Vnick!
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Kc103
Member
07-13-2004
| Tuesday, December 09, 2008 - 5:39 pm
That's a beautiful wreath!
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Hukdonreality
Member
09-29-2003
| Tuesday, December 09, 2008 - 5:51 pm
Roxip, I guess you have to weigh out how much Shelby wants to be home alone with you on Christmas morning, with whether you will have any guilty feelings for your parents having to deal with a change in tradition. I'm not saying you should feel guilty, just wondering whether you might. Of course you said that your sister would be moving in before Christmas, so it's not like your parents will be all alone on Christmas Eve. Tough call.
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Kc103
Member
07-13-2004
| Tuesday, December 09, 2008 - 8:25 pm
Naked tree...no ornaments yet
Ornaments boxes...Guess I should get to work??
  Thanks for the helping me learn to work with photos on here. 
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Biscottiii
Member
05-29-2004
| Tuesday, December 09, 2008 - 11:26 pm
Great wreathe Vacanick! What might be funny would be to place a picture of Santa in the middle window, like 'Santa peers out'.
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Biscottiii
Member
05-29-2004
| Tuesday, December 09, 2008 - 11:30 pm
Lovely looking tree Kc103! Looking at those boxes, though, well...I'm just worn out thinking of what comes next!
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Panda
Member
07-15-2005
| Wednesday, December 10, 2008 - 6:02 am
I like the wall color in the last pic!
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Vacanick
Member
07-12-2004
| Wednesday, December 10, 2008 - 6:27 am
Thanks all for the nice words! Biscotti, that is so funny about putting Santa in the middle. We've been saying that from inside the house the wreath looks like a ships port hole. Santa looking out would be perfect! 
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Wednesday, December 10, 2008 - 6:57 am
Holy Cow Vaca, that is a great wreath!!! How big is it anyways? It looks to be 5 feet or more!! Very cool!! And so festive!
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Scooterrific
Member
07-08-2005
| Wednesday, December 10, 2008 - 7:22 am
Very nice VN!!!
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Vacanick
Member
07-12-2004
| Wednesday, December 10, 2008 - 10:13 am
Thanks Julie and Scoot! The wreath is about 5 feet wide. My dad's neighbor was throwing it out years ago and I snagged it. 
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Wednesday, December 10, 2008 - 11:15 am
Looks like I'm going to be doing my kids Christmas, if you want a babysitter to go shopping you better drop them off tonight, party on Friday night. My nieces have a tree lighting thing at their school at 6pm that night that sis and I will be taking the kids to. This event, or rather, the tree itself, has a special meaning to us. When we were kids, we attended the same school and one year, one of the students we knew passed away. The school had a memorial service and planted a small tree and placed a plaque underneath it. First time I went with sis to take the girls to school, I was absolutely shocked at how huge the tree was (of course it's been 20 some odd years since it was planted!) It's now become school tradition to decorate that tree, so we're going to go to the tree lighting ceremony. And then the kidlets, plus nephew, my friends nephews and the neighbor kids are going to come back here for some crafts, pizza, movie, and christmas music. Should be fun!
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Nancy
Member
08-01-2000
| Thursday, December 11, 2008 - 2:31 pm
Subject: HOLIDAY EATING TIPS (sent to me by a friend with a good, healthy appetite). Pass the eggnog (my favorite drink, shame its only sold during holiday, of course you can make your own with raw eggs and milk but it is not as rich.) Please print this out and carry with you in case you forget what to do. HOLIDAY EATING TIPS 1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls. 2. Drink as much eggnog as you can, and quickly. It's rare⦠You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas! 3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat. 4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission. 5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello? 6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's... You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog. 7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again. 8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin... Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day? 9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards. 10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by: "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!" Have a great holiday season!!!
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Neko
Member
08-03-2001
| Thursday, December 11, 2008 - 6:25 pm
Haha, for anyone trying to maintain weight or even lose it during the holidays, those tips are HORRIBLE.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Thursday, December 11, 2008 - 10:09 pm
Sis and bil hit on an interesting gift idea for my aunts companion and it's something we can all help with. Back when he was younger he was in the Navy and served on several ships. These days his memory is not as good as it was (most the time he can't remember my name even though he's known me since I was a young kid) but his memory from being in the Navy, and one destroyer in particular are very strong. He looks at his Navy yearbook from that ship often and talks about the men he served with and the ship itself. Sis and bil decided they were going to try to find him a book about that ship, but after numerous calls and internet searching, they came up empty. She then called the local hobby shop and found out that while they didn't have a model of the specific destroyer she was looking for, all of the ones of that class looked alike just with different numbers on them. So she picked up a model and her and bil are putting it together for him (he wouldn't be able to himself.) We were talking about it this afternoon and decided since she can't find the book on that ship...we're going to make a scrapbook. I spent some time at the website today gathering interesting info, will also print out pictures and whatever else I can find. I also added info to the website (his name/years serving) and am hoping to get in contact with some people who served around or at the same time that might have stories or info to share. Once I get all that together, the kids can help put together the scrapbook. Between the model and the scrapbook, that'll make his Christmas. **On an interesting note...one of the people on the list I found that served with him actually lives here in town! Even odder...sis and I are pretty sure he's the father of two kids we grew up with (same last name, they were born on a naval base and their dad was 20 or so years older than their mom.) How strange is that???
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Ladytex
Member
09-27-2001
| Friday, December 12, 2008 - 7:14 am
War, that is the best gift ever! Y'all are so sweet to do this for him. I'm sure he'll be so appreciative.
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Cinnamongirl
Member
01-10-2001
| Friday, December 12, 2008 - 8:18 am
Nice wreath Vacanick!! Wow! War, thats an awesome gift. Would love to see his reaction. Julie... did I miss Abby's Santa pic?
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Friday, December 12, 2008 - 2:26 pm
Thanks! I think sis and bil had a really great idea and luckily it was one we could also expand to do a bit more. Darren and I have bought him a couple books on navy ships, but never one on his ship, the one he remembers so fondly and I think that's going to be a big deal for him. We're thinking it'd be rather nifty if we could get him in touch with some of his old buddies, but not really holding our breath. If that happened though it'd be totally awesome.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Saturday, December 13, 2008 - 12:26 am
Tonight was fun. It was the kidlet Christmas while parents shop party. The kidlets decorated cookies, colored, watched movies (How the Grinch Stole Christmas--not the cartoon version, a Charlie Brown one--something about Rerun wanting a dog, and Mickey and Friends Christmas. They had all kinds of junk: pizza, popcorn, marshmellows, cookies, and hot chocolate. My 2 year old nephew spent half the night dancing with our singing/dancing Santa. Darren, who's been out of town, got back this afternoon and we decided tomorrow night we're going to take the kidlets down to see the Griffith Park Festival of Lights (they put up light displays throughout part of the park and it's really really cool.) It's about a 45 minute drive down there and usually long lines, but it's free and it's worth it just to see all the lights. My nieces are spending the night tonight, but we decided we'll keep them til we're done down there and take them home when we get back. Caleb's buddy is spending the night tomorrow night, I already talked to his mom about it and she's cool with him going out of town with us to see it. So it'll be me and Darren, Caleb and Kota, my two oldest nieces and Caleb's buddy. Should be fun.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Saturday, December 13, 2008 - 3:16 am
Oh, I meant to add: A couple weeks ago, Julie posted a link to the Shutterfly photo books (either here or the holiday shopping thread, I don't remember where.) Photo Books. They're very cool, you choose the book you want, the background, upload your photos, add a caption and just order. Anyways, they're having a sale, buy one photo book, get additional ones for half off. I just did one for my mom and my aunt(did the 5x7 soft cover books.) First one was $12.99, second was $6.50. I was quite happy with how easy it was and ended up doing a new one, one for us and one for Darren's mom. The first set (moms and my aunts) are all the kids, mine, sis', and the rest of the nieces and nephews. Second set (ours and Darren's moms) is just Caleb, Kota and a few with Darren and I. Would have done four of the same, but Darren's mom doesn't really know my nieces and nephews and probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as with just Caleb and Kota. If you want to do it, the sales over on the 14th (though it's already been extended once) and I noticed that my delivery date is scheduled between the 19th and 24th, so if you wait much longer it might not come til after Christmas.
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Saturday, December 13, 2008 - 6:49 am
Help!!! anyone from AZ? My son wants an authenticKurt Warner jersey. I can order one but it won't be here till after Christmas. Was wondering if there was any place local that you might know of.
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