A Simple Woman's Daybook~November 22, 2010

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So, For Today...Monday, November 22, 2010

Outside my window...It is dark because I am starting this early this week. It is Sunday night! Jim works at the Temple tomorrow morning and then we are heading to Sacramento for the musical Forgotten Carols and some other fun. It is going to be a little rainy but c'est la vie, we don't mind. It is like the Christmas season kick off for us and I am looking forward to my favorite holidays of the year.

I am thinking... Although I am never done decorating the house for Christmas, I have done all the basics now and just have to do the little detail stuff that I think of every time I walk by something. It drives me nuts, but I love it. I think that is my favorite part of decorating; the details.

I was thinking that I have come full circle now. My very first decorating job, when Laura started kindergarten, was in a large antique collective where I was hired to do their vignettes. Taking things from all over the store and setting up little cozy corners was what I did. I have done everything in between since then, and it still remains my favorite part. The selection of accessories, the placement, the angles, the little touches that make all the difference.That is why I am never done the entire month of December...such fun!

I am thankful for..the blog I ran across last week about 1000 gifts. It prompted me to begin a new permanent page on my blog and add to my gift list of things everyday. The list includes gifts I have already received and things that make me thankful. I think she had a perfect idea and it is, after all, the list making season.

This one little thing that takes about two minutes a day has heightened my awareness of my gifts in a very real way. You should make one too, it is fun and simple to do and rewarding. It makes you ask for less and thank God more each day.

You can find your permanent page option on your editing page right next to where you edit your posts in Blogger) then once you have made your page you can add it on your sidebar and update it daily. Mine is right under my photo. Home is the most recent post on this blog, 1000 Gifts is the list. I really like the idea of the permanent pages, I am going to make some more. If you need help on setting one up, just let me know.

From the learning room..when you continue to add oil to your lamp and learn of the Gospel, you can be prepared to help someone in ways you don't quite imagine sometimes. The Lord brings things back to your memory just when you need them. He does this so you can be an instrument in His hands to lift another of His beloved children.

I am reading...I should say here that in addition to the novels, etc. I read, and that take me forever, I am reading the scriptures daily with Jim and also have been reading and listening to the October LDS General Conference talks on lds.org lately.

I am wondering...if anyone saw the blue moon last night? You know it only comes around once in a ....while. :-)

I am hearing...The First Noel by Johnny Mathis.

Today if I could change one thing...the things in life that just don't make sense or seem right or fair. You know me, I just want everything to be good. Not the plan though! I guess the secret is to look for the silver linings.

I am quoting...George MacDonald wrote, “No gift unrecognized as coming from God is at its own best…when in all gifts we find Him, then in Him we shall find all things.”

I am going...to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your feast with your family and friends but mostly thank God for the richness of your life and your blessings. No person can be unhappy and thankful at the same time. What is gratitude? It is a contraction of "grateful attitude!" Isn't that great? I heard it from a 19 year old missionary in church yesterday. Brilliant!

I am missing...our kids and grandkids, our parents and all of our loved ones that we will not be with this Thanksgiving Day. But we are so happy to have my brother, Steve and his wife and Jim's mom joining us. Looking on the bright side...just enough people to make it feel festive and not enough to kill us off in the kitchen! Woohoo! A new quote I just heard last night on a friend's facebook status, "I love Thanksgiving, it is the presence not the presents!" Sue Capson. I really like that.

One of my guilty pleasures....mashed potatoes and a little gravy. A rare treat around here and something I am looking forward to on Thursday.

Pet Peeves...people that are "bah humbug" about Christmas! My feeling is you make it exactly what you want it to be. If you think it is a pain and annoying it will be. If you put an effort into making it great, it can be.

If there are things about it you dislike work around it. As an example if you hate crowds like I do, shop online, shop early, shop at night, shop at dinner time or make something. If putting up a ton of garlands with lights and ribbons and do-dads, is too much hassle, skip it. I did, I am going more simple this year. It can still be pretty. I don't do tons of Christmas cards but I do make a fun electronic Christmas Card each year. Many people have said they really like it and it goes to a lot more people than I can afford to send cards to. It is a lot of work and effort but is worth it to me.

And, true confessions... I do not bake at Christmas time. Yep, it's true, you heard it here! For years I felt terrible about it and then I realized...it can still be Christmas without that. It is OK. We are never hurting around here for extra calories during the holidays thanks to wonderful people who do bake and share with us (they probably feel sorry for my family! LOL) Do not overburden yourself with the things you do not enjoy about Christmas and it will be a great time for you!

It is far better to remember the real reason for the season and then do the cultural Christmas things that you do enjoy and skip the rest. We have somehow come to think we have to do it all, guess what? We don't. Give yourself permission to do it your way. If you need to hear it from someone else, "You have my permission to do it your way!" Climbing down off the soapbox now, sorry!

One of my favorite things...knowing it is all about what I choose, no matter what I am doing.

An enjoyable movie I have watched lately...Tristan and Isolde..there that James Franco again. Excellent movie.

I am curious about...what you are planning for Thanksgiving and your four-day weekend?

A few plans for the rest of the week..The musical tonight and dinner with James to celebrate his birthday a few days early, shopping for Thanksgiving dinner, getting some stocking stuffers in Sacramento, Harry Potter either Tuesday or Friday for Jim-Bob's birthday, cooking a turkey and all the trimmings Thursday and enjoying our tiny group of loved ones, getting VT letters out, buying some poinsettias and red and white cyclamens for the porch and house, and I am sure there is more....

Here is are some photos and fun link I am sharing with you....

And....Don't forget this....

http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=HY27482779

Don't forget to wash the spoon before
putting it back in the crock, K?