While we aren’t quite snowed in here in the midwest, it’s pretty close! I’m visiting family & we haven’t left the house for 2 days (except to go help some people out of a ditch- lol). While it’s great, it can be a little boring so here’s some ideas to keep you from going cabin-crazy!

• Bake! What a perfect time to fill the house (& your freezer!) with yummy food! Plus it’ll help you use up what’s in your pantry since you probably can’t get to a store.

• Hobby time. Are you always complaining that you never have time to scrapbook? Paint? Read a book? Well, pull it out & get going!

• Organize/clean. While it may not be “fun”, you will appreciate it after it’s all done! Plus it’ll pass the time more quickly than you can imagine!

• Learn a new skill. Even if you don’t have someone to teach you, google it! There are tons of “how to” videos out there floating on the internet!

• Write a letter or email. You know that person you always say “I wish we kept in contact better”? Well, now’s the perfect time! If you get really ambitious- go write a quick message to everyone on your facebook friends list!

• Go out & play in the snow! A little bundling up & a sled is all you need! Don’t have a sled? Grab a trash can lid (one without a handle, of course) or a big piece of cardboard (surely, after Christmas, you have to have one of these laying around!).

• Take those family pictures you’ve been talking about. Find a plain background (hang a sheet from the wall if you need to!), set up the tripod, & snap away!

Those are just a few ideas! Do you have any suggestions?

For those of you who don’t know (and I’m not sure where you’ve been if you don’t know!), today is the day that all Christmas stuff gets marked down! I suggest you make it your new year resolution to spend less on gifts in 2010 so get out there & start now!

Remember, have a place to put all your purchases that will help keep them organized! I also recommend keeping a list either on your PDA, phone, or something. This will keep you from buying 10 gifts for your mom, but nothing for your brother!

I always stock up on Christmas-themed gifts right now because I use them to make baskets to use as gifts next Christmas!

Do you plan on buying anything specific today?

We wish you a very Merry Christmas! It is holidays like these that remind us how grateful we are

that God has blessed us with wonderful families & friends. Thanks to all the sisters out there who

share this little bit of blogdom with us!

Christmas Wishes,

Heather & Ellie

If you’re thinking of starting a new holiday tradition with your family, consider piling them into the minivan and heading out to look at Christmas lights! I just found a cool site, Tacky Light Tour, where you can find cool home displays in your area. It’s a fun and free new tradition! So, grab a couple blankets and a Christmas CD and head out! Merry Christmas!

I just had to share this because it’s such a crazy day for shopping (& I was inspired by Blueshelled’s post). With all of the insanity that is shopping right now, I just had to share how I had a great experience at Walmart today!

The DPH is forcing me to buy (& later watch) District 9 (a movie for those not in the know).

I really have no inclination to watch it, but hey, he sat through not only Twilight, but also New Moon & I made him read all 4 books so “I could discuss it with him” so I figure, I owe him.

Anyhow, back to the story. We stopped by Sam’s Club to check out the price and it was not at all cheaper so we grabbed the Nebraska Furniture Mart ad (don’t ask me why a furniture place sells movies for such fantastic prices) and headed for Walmart. I just love their pricematching! I certainly buy more there because of their price matching than I would if they didn’t! I was not looking forward to it, though, because I had determined that it would be crazy in there. Actually, even though the parking lot was busy, inside seemed quite calm. They had several people trying to keep the lines moving in check out & everyone had a smile on their face. We went straight back to the electronics section, located the movie, & headed for the electronics check-out. The clerk quickly checked out the ad, agreed to the price match, & checked us out. It took less than 15 minutes from the time we pulled into the parking lot until we got back in the car!

After having a kind of crazy day, this just made things so much better! So thank you Walmart for your price matching policy & for all of your employees having the Christmas spirit in full force today! (And in case you are wondering, Walmart has no knowledge of this post nor am I being asked to write this! It’s all just of my own outpouring of gratitude for an easy time of shopping today!)

Well, my G.G. is obsessed with Fancy Nancy…which makes complete sense since I often wonder if the author had my daughter in mind when writing her famous books. My little drama queen loves to dress up, speaks some French and can make anything more Fancy. She told me this morning that she wants to be Fancy Nancy for Halloween. So, we’ve only got 10 months to decide what completely fabulous Fancy outfit we will choose. I can just envision my little girl with purple and pink streaked hair teased within an inch of her life, with rosy cheeks, sparkly shoes and that mandatory Nancy feather boa. Oh, why can’t Halloween come more than once a year!?!

You have been sorely neglected recently! So sorry! The only excuse I can give is that it’s Christmas time. :S

I’m going to share another gift giving idea that I just received yesterday! It works on all kinds of gifts, but large ones or ones that you can’t wrap easily work best.

Here’s the scenario from yesterday: The DPH, Bubba, BabyDoll & I went over to the inlaws to celebrate Christmas. We had opened most of the gifts when my mother-in-love presented the DPH & I with an envelope. It had a clue inside! After several more clues, it led us to a card in which was a picture of a mattress. They bought us a mattress set for Christmas (this is excitement because before we were married, I bought the cheapest one I could find & it’s TERRIBLE. Hey, I’m old & can appreciate a mattress set as a fantastic gift!) Now, there was no way to wrap that up & my mom-in-love didn’t just want to say “Oh & we got you a mattress” so she got creative!

Here’s some suggestions for your own clue hunt!

• Don’t make the clues too hard! You don’t want it to take all day!

• Try writing the location of the next clue, but scramble some words!

• Make sure they can’t see the clues beforehand! (my mom-in-love literally taped one to the bottom of the rocking chair!)

• Have at least 4 clues, but don’t do TOO many. You don’t want the gift-receiver to give up before finding it!

Hopefully this will help you make some of those hard-to-wrap gifts exciting!

Do you need a last minute gift? Something small to go along with that gift card? Here’s a few ideas for you!

• Make an Ornament- Here’s one that doesn’t look cheesy! Buy a package of clear ornament bulbs. Then push some garland inside & trim it when it’s mostly full. Add a clear sticker on the outside (I suggest Christmas words like “Joy” or “Merry Christmas” or even just some snowflakes.) Quick, inexpensive & beautiful!

• Photo Gift Card- This is great for last minute gifts! On many websites, you can purchase a gift code instead of a card. I like to write the code (all pretty like) on a piece of paper & put it in a frame. (You could write something like “You have 100 prints waiting at www.shutterfly.com! Just enter this code into your account: XXXXXXXX” I’ve done this for my brother & his wife and others- they’ve all loved it!

• Gas Gift Card- Unless you are buying for a toddler or something, everyone needs gas! You can always stop by the gas station on your way. I’ve found this is a great graduation gift, as well!

• Magazine Subscription- This one is great- just buy the latest copy of whatever magazine you are subscribing them to & stick a bow on it. (Just please remember to fill out the subscription form & mail it in with payment!)

• Board Game- There are board games for any situation & age out there now! Just grab one, grab a bag & some tissue & you’ve got yourself a great little gift!

Hope these help get you past a tough situation! Just relax, take a deep breath & enjoy the Christmas season!

I’ve been a busy little bee today! I didn’t have a lot going on so I decided to do all those crafty things I’ve been bookmarking!

(Disclaimer- keep in mind that all of the pictures that include me are taken by a 6 year old so they aren’t totally flattering to me. That’s my story & I’m sticking to it! lol)

One site that I fell in love with recently is Ruffles & Stuff. I totally just stumbled on it one day & couldn’t seem to log off of it! Here’s a couple of scarves that I made from her directions (These were super easy!):

Next I had been looking at this website & had wanted to make a scarf & a bag. Here’s my versions:

Next, a good friend of mine & I have been admiring these trees that look like they are covered in tags. (Hey, just look at the pic, ok?) She loves them & so I figured I’d make one for her for Christmas! They are a little more time consuming than I thought, but not too bad! Plus, this will totally match her living room!

Finally I’ve been wanting to make BabyDoll some of those “boutique bows”, but just hadn’t had a chance to try them. It would have been much better if I had actually had more ribbon (seriously- the 2 ribbons you see here are all I had! The red & blue are fabric pieces.), but at least I know what I’m doing now!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday-

breakfast- cereal

lunch- BBQ Ribs & cheesy broccoli rice

dinner- (No clue yet. lol)

Tuesday-

breakfast- blueberry pancakes

lunch- sandwiches (ham/cheese or peanut butter/jelly)

dinner- Roast, carrots & potatoes (in the crockpot!)

Wednesday-

breakfast- fruit

lunch- grilled cheese & tomato soup

dinner- out

Thursday-

breakfast- pancakes & fruit

lunch- Homemade pizza

dinner- Stroganoff & mashed potatoes

Friday-

breakfast- blueberry muffins

lunch- mac-n-cheese w/ meat 7 veggies

dinner- Chips n cheese (it’s a DPH’s family recipe)

Saturday-

breakfast- @church (play practice)

lunch- @ church (play practice)

dinner- chili @ the in-laws

Sunday-

breakfast- donuts

lunch- out

dinner- out

Check out more plans at www.orgjunkie.com!