This isn't Mayberry

I forgot to tell you about our little bit of excitement that happened over the weekend. It all started Sunday morning about 9am. I was sleeping on the couch in the family room and no, I wasn't having a spat with Mike. I had just woken up early & didn't want to disturb him, so I went out to the couch to watch TV & fell back asleep.

Anyways, I was sleeping on the couch when all of a sudden a heard a woman screaming for someone to call the police or to call 911. She wasn't screaming far away, she was at our front door. It was the 19 year old daughter of the neighbor who lives across the street. It seems that Mike had gone outside & heard the neighbor & his daughter arguing about calling the police. The neighbor pointed across the street to Mike & told his daughter to go across the street as "they will call the police".

Let me give you a little back story on this neighbor. They live across the street, kitty corner. The husband & wife fight almost every weekend. Usually on Sunday. They get quite loud. It seems they party all weekend & by Sunday they are at odds with each other. When their adult daughter used to live with them, or comes to visit, she gets into it with them as well. The police have come to their house more than a few times in the 3 years we have lived here. So they obviously think we are the neighbors who call the police when in actuality, we have never called the police on them until today. In the past, we have never seen them physically fight, just verbally. Except one night the wife was mad & went to leave in her car & the husband jumped on the hood. The wife raced forward & then slammed on the brakes. The husband was thrown off the car. He then jumped on a 2nd time & she did the same thing until he fell off again. She then drove away. That is the most physical they've been that I've witnessed.

Now back to the story, the daughter than ran across the street to where Mike was. She pushed him into our house. Mike closed the security screen door to keep her out. She started kicking the door & banging on it, screaming that we needed to call the police or 911 as her father was beating up her mother.

This got my attention real fast. I asked Mike if I should call 911 & he said yes. So I got on the phone & dialed 911. This was the first time I have ever had to call 911. I was a little, OK a lot, nervous. I told the 911 operator that some woman was at our door banging & screaming for us to call the police as her father was beating up her mother. I didn't really know what was happening, but these particular neighbors have a habit of arguing loudly every week. The operator said she would send the police.

By the time I got off the phone, the woman was gone. I told Brandon he would probably want to turn his police scanner on as I had called 911. Brandon got his scanner & we heard the call come out for the police (Sheriff) to come to our street for a domestic dispute. We then heard a second call that named the daughter by name stating that the father had tried to beat up the daughter, so we knew that another neighbor had called 911 as well as we didn't know the daughters name & the story of who was beating up who had changed.

I asked Mike why he shut the security door on the daughter & didn't let her in. He said, she had crazy eyes & didn't seem quite right. He felt we might have been in more harm letting her in, then just letting her stay outside the door.

When the daughter was outside our door, she kicked it so hard she cut her foot & there was blood on our door & a trail of blood down our sidewalk when she left.

A few minutes later a police car showed up and went inside the neighbors house. Then 3 more police cars came. By this time, the neighbors who live right next door to the fighting neighbors came over to our house. This was the first time I have met these neighbors. It seems when the daughter left our house, she went over to their house & kicked their security door as well. But she bent their door & damaged it quite severely. She told them that the dad had been beating her up. It seems they know the daughter & this family all too well. They said this fighting has been going on for 8 years. Usually it is the daughter or the mother who cause all the fighting. All this time, we thought it was the husband. They said no, he gets loud, but they've seen the wife hit the husband, but never the other way around. They said the daughter is the craziest of the bunch. They said Mike was smart not to let her in our house. That is why she busted in their door, they wouldn't let her in.

By this time, the police came out & all 3 family members were yelling at each other. One of the cops came over to our house & asked us what we saw. Asked if we saw the husband hitting the wife or the daughter. We said no. Told him we only saw the daughter out of control screaming for us to call the police. She was the one who said her dad was beating her mom & then told the other neighbors he was beating her.

When it was all said & done, they hauled off the daughter. It seems the police couldn't figure out what was really going on & since the daughter was so out of control & had damaged the neighbors door, they arrested the daughter & took her to jail on a felony warrant.

So that was our bit of excitement.

Happy Birthday Noah

Happy Birthday to Noah!!!! Noah is Andrea's youngest son & today he is 12 years old. It seems like yesterday that he was born. I should remember as I was there to witness his birth. I went to visit Andrea at the hospital on my lunch hour & low and behold, she gave birth to Noah as I was visiting. It was a special experience I will never forget.

Noah, we love you very much & are happy that you are a part of our family. Enjoy your day!!!

Love,
Aunt Kim

Tablescape Tuesday

I am participating again this week in Tablescape Tuesday. If you want to know what all the fuss is about, you need to visit Between Naps on the porch & click on all the participants. It is quite fun & addicting.

Here is this weeks attempt at making my table look beautiful. Since New Years is this week & my hubby gave me some new dishes for Christmas, I thought I would do my tablescape in black, cream & silver. Let me know what you think.

I used my winter white snowflake placemats from Walmart (same ones as in last weeks). I really don't have any tablecloths except for white & burgundy. So I opted to just use the placemats on the wood table. The big silver ornaments placed at each setting came from a boutique store this summer while we stayed in Cave Creek Arizona. I got them on clearance. They were 90% off. My kind of deal!!!

Since it is New Years this week, I used my thrift store crystal water goblets and champagne flutes. They don't all match, but that is OK with me. I love them all.


The flatware is by Oneida. I'm not sure of the pattern. I purchased them from Montgomery Wards years ago. These are the knives, spoons and forks that we use everyday. I need to find some more forks. I used to have setting for eight, but about 1/2 of my forks are missing. I'm pretty sure they ended up in the trash along with empty food boxes from our favorite Mexican take home restaurant. The kids hate using the plastic forks they give you. I guess I should have been doing a silverware check all these years.

These are my new plates that my hubby gave me for Christmas (I picked them out at Costco). They are by Spode (I love Spode). The pattern is Delamere in black. I didn't need any new plates, but I am a plateaholic. There I admitted it. I have a problem. But obviously I am not alone, that is why all of you are here looking at my post isn't it? We are all plateaholics.

For my centerpiece I used an old silver tray I purchased at the thrift store. I placed on the tray my silver trees. The tallest one I bought at Walmart last year I believe. The shorter one in the back came from Marshalls this year. I got it on clearance before Christmas. The tree in the front my dear hubby bought for me at Lowes on clearance last week before Christmas for $2.50. That was the best deal on the trees. I can't remember where I got the Mercury glass candle holders and I bought them this year. They have snowflakes etched on the side. You can't see it in the photos. I then sprinkled sparkly snow & layed some fake Mercury glass ornaments that I bought on clearance at Target this Christmas. I love how most of the stores clearanced out their Christmas items before Christmas. Got to enjoy everything for this Christmas & didn't have to wait for next.
You can see the etched snowflake in the mercury glass candle holder in this photo.


This photo was taken with the flash off.


Close up of my crystal goblets & flutes.

Here is a closeup of my new plate. It came in brown, blue, black & red. Since I am a black & white toile fan, I chose the black. My hubby got me a place setting for 4. He also got me the accessory bowl, platter & gravy boat that matched as well. I then went back to Costco after Christmas & used some of the money my son gave me for Christmas & purchased another 4 place setting. So now I have enough plates for 8 people. I could actually have a party & invite other people. Want to come? You just need to bring the food. I don't like to cook much.

My husband asked me if I was going to do this every week. I told him probably not, it's just really fun to decorate your table for the holidays. I do have enough different plates that I could do this every week for a few months, but I will probably space them out throughout the year. So you will probably hear from me again sometime.

It has been fun decorating my table & sharing with you all. I love looking at the tablescapes you all have created as well. I love this blog sharing that goes on in blogland. I'm one of these people who when I take a walk, I hope that window shades are left open as I walk by so I can peek in other peoples homes to see how they are decorated. That is what blogging has done. I get the thrill of peeking into peoples homes but I don't have to exercise in the process. Pushing buttons on the computer is my kind of exercise.

Monday Show and Tell-Part 2 Christmas Finale

I lied when I said there would be 3 parts to my Monday Show and Tell. Well, I technically didn't lie, I fully intended to make this 3 posts, one for my Christmas tree, one for Christmas Eve & one for Christmas Day, but at the last minute there was a change in plans. I am a woman, therefore, I can change my mind. I had an epiphany. I decided to combine my Christmas morning photos along with Christmas Eve photos so you get them in one humongous post. I hope you don't mind. Too bad if you do, it's my blog (even if I share a little), so I make the rules.

Now on with the post. We spent Christmas Eve down in El Cajon at Mom and Dad's house. Andrea's family was there, my family & Danica, as well as Mom, Dad & Jodi. We decided to let Jodi come since she lives there & it would be kind of rude not to include her (you know we love you Jodi). Eric & Todd's family were not there except for Danica who technically belongs to Eric's family but since she is my surrogate daughter, and Eric was out of town at his in laws, Danica was part of my family for the night.

Jodi cooked tacos for dinner. Yes, some Langston's can cook, at least simple things. It was very good. After dinner we opened presents and then we had ice cream cake that Andrea had made. Very yummy!!! Since I had been sick, I didn't have to make anything. Remind me to be sick every holiday. It's a great excuse for getting out of all sorts of work. I didn't even have to help with dishes.

Then it was time to go home to our individual homes. It was nice getting together on Christmas Eve with the family.

On Christmas morning we got up about 9:30am & I called Danica to come over to open gifts. Since we didn't have to be anywhere, we spent a leisurely morning opening gifts. Afterwards I fixed pancakes & Mike cooked bacon for breakfast. Danica left after breakfast to go visit friends. She said she would be back for dinner.

The afternoon was spent watching TV, playing games & relaxing, aka: laying around. Mike cooked a ham, I made cheese potatoes (you all missed out on some yummy cheese potatoes), green bean casserole, corn, rolls (the easiest rolls in the world, they are pre made, frozen, you just pop them in the oven to warm them up & they taste just like you spent all day making them from scratch. My kind of baking!) and of course our annual Thanksgiving/Christmas green jello salad. What did you have for Christmas dinner? Danica came back just in time for dinner. We all ate so much (I had to make up for Thanksgiving when I was too sick to eat much).

The evening was spent watching some of the new DVD's we got for Christmas. In fact, we spent most of the weekend just watching movies & of course the Charger football game last night. GO CHARGERS!!!!!

Here are the photos from our Christmas. There are a lot, hope you don't get too bored.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

How did you spend your Christmas? Let us know, you know we are snoops and need to know real bad. So give us a break & show us or tell us. Please!!!!!

Next Mondays show and tell will be anything in regards to NEW YEARS. You can post about your resolutions or goals for the coming year. Reminisce about the past year. Tell us what you did to celebrate on New Year's Eve and Day.

Monday Show & Tell - Part 1 Christmas Tree

Welcome to Monday Show and Tell. Again this week, show and tell will be in three parts. Too much Christmas to post in one. So part one will be about our Christmas tree. Thanks to Danica, we finally got my tree decorated 2 days before Christmas. You are probably thinking, why bother at that point. But you can't have Christmas around a plain fake tree. You must make it pretty.

So here is my decorated tree in all it's glory. Isn't it pretty? This year I made it my girly tree. But the boys didn't seem to mind. At least we had a tree with some presents underneath. The tree was in our family room this year. This was a new tree that I purchased from Target last year after Christmas on clearance. Pretty good for $20.00. It was simple to put together & already came with lights. Much easier than my old fake tree. (click on any photo to make it larger)
Now for some photos of my favorite ornaments on the tree. This one is of a unicorn. I got this ornament from Mom back when I was a teenager & loved unicorns. I still love them. I just don't collect them like when I was a teenager. Doesn't it look like it is brand new? I take very good care of my ornaments.
This is one of my newest ornaments. I purchased it this year. It is a large snowflake made out of pipe cleaners. Mike calls it my "Old lady" ornament. I don't care, I love it & that is all that matters.
I love all the ornaments in this photo. I love Victorian looking ornaments or any ornaments that make me think of that time period.
This dragonfly ornament I got for Brandon. It reminded me of when he was a little boy & loved insects.
Here is another of Brandon's ornaments that I got for him when he was little and loved bugs. I love how this ornament sparkles.
This Eiffel Tower ornament I just purchased this year. I love all the glitter. I love anything that reminds me of Paris.
I love this little angel. I picked up this ornament as a thrift store a few years back.
Here is a photo of our kitty Missy. She is about 10 years old or more. Not really sure. She was my mother in laws cat before she died. We then inherited her. We were thrilled. We all love Missy (except for Mike, he tolerates her). She was thrilled to see we had a Christmas tree with things she could knock around.
Here is one final photo of my tree. As you can tell, I love to decorate it with anything Victorian looking, angels, cherubs, crystals. or anything sparkly or glittery.
This final photo is the end to my stolen Santa story. Remember how I told you that someone stole my Santa from the sleigh in front on my house? Well Mike found Santa on the side of our yard in some bushes a few days later. So when I came home from work that night, Jesse asked me to get him something that was in my bedroom. When I turned on the light to my bedroom, this is what greeted me:
Santa was in my bed!!!!! It was pretty funny. I got a kick out of it & hopefully you did as well.

Friday Family Face - Kira & Stewart

Sorry that I am sooooo late in posting today. Since I have been sick I decided today would be the day I did absolutely nothing. So I layed around & rested all day. Then I remembered it was Friday & time for the Friday Family Face, so I thought I better post this.

This week we are spotlighting Kira & Stewart Pope. So we get a two for one this week. Kira is Marti's third daughter and Stewart is her husband. They have one child, Kylee Elisse, and she is 4 months old.

Kira loves to play sports. She will drop anything to play a sport. She says that lately it has been difficult finding the time to get out and play. She also loves to make things. Since Kylee was born she has been working on making her a crib set, making bows for Kylee's hair, and making nursing covers for her friends. She enjoys doing things for other people, and seeing how happy it makes them. Blogging has become one of her obsessions (I can relate). She wants to learn photography, and will hopefully sign up for a class soon. The majority of her time is taken up by being a mom, which is her dream come true. Kira loves the time she gets to spend with her beautiful baby girl. She is such a blessing in their lives. She loves her husband and everything he does for their family. Stewart is a blessing in her life. To Kira, he is the perfect man.

Kira's answers to the questionnaire:

Your full name? Kira Rose Pope
Your age? 26
Spouse’s name? Stewart Andrew Pope
Children’s names & ages? Kylee Elisse Pope: 17 weeks
Job description: Stay at home mom/Graduate Student
Where do you live? Springville, Ut (soon to be moving back to Ca)
Places you have lived: Templeton, Ca; Fullerton, Ca; Provo, Ut; Springville, Ut
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Close to family;either San Antonio, Tx or Southern California somewhere.
Education: AS: general studies; BS: Kinesiology emphasis in Athletic Training (Certified Athletic Trainer); Working on a MS: Exercise Science emphasis in Athletic Training (I only have my thesis to finish)
Happiest childhood memory? Playing with my cousins outside on the ranch!
Happiest memory of teenage years? My first boyfriend
Happiest moment in life? Getting married and when Kylee was born!
What makes you happy? Besides my family, which is obvious; it would have to be…when I get to spend the day doing what I want to do. I get to make my own plans. Especially not having to work. What makes you laugh? My husband when he is around other people, and Kylee when she does something silly.
What makes you cry? Sad movies (when people die) and when people let me down.
What scares you? I am scared of scary movies, and something happening to anyone in my family. I have nightmares that something happens to Kylee and it really freaks me out.
What has been your biggest challenge or something you struggle with? My Thesis!
Who has been the biggest influence on your life, or who is your hero? Stew, Christ, my mom, Erin, and my cousin Heather
If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do today? Spend the time with Kylee and Stew, while going around telling everyone goodbye. I would probably write a long letter to Stew and Kylee telling them how much I love them. I would also write letters to a few other people to. I bet my hand would be so tired and cramped from writing it would need the bodily rest that comes with dieing.
Before you die, you would like to: get very old and see all of my grandchildren!
What do you (or did you) want to be when you grow (grew) up? When I was in kindergarten I wanted to be a nurse. In high school I wanted to be a Landscape Architect and in college I wanted to be an Athletic Trainer. However, through it all I always wanted to be a Mom. Now I am happy because I am an Athletic Trainer and a Mom!
What is your ultimate goal in life? Be Happy!
What has been your greatest accomplishment? Graduating with my bachelors and passing my certification test! And becoming a mom!

What do you think is the world’s biggest problem? People thinking that their way of life/opinion is the only way and anyone who disagrees with them is always wrong.
Are you a spiritual person? Very. I’m LDS!
What is something you believe in? My Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
What has been your hardest decision in life so far? Where to go to college.
What is the craziest thing you have ever done? I do never done anything really crazy. I am one who plays it really really safe, but I did sneak two people into a BYU football game when they played Utah Utes last year.
What are your goals for the next 5 years: Move to Ca, finish my thesis, and have more children What are you really good at? Being creative and crafty
Do you weigh yourself? And if so, how often? Only at doctor appointments, which is now only once a year. What are you listening to these days? Usually country, but as soon as Kylee recognizes what is on I will start listening to Children songs.
What are you most proud of? My education and family.
What is something no one knows about you? I am too vocal to keep secrets. If you ask me I will tell you.
Are you a dog or cat person? 100% Dog!
Are you a morning or night person? Can I choose afternoon?
What is your pet peeve? *see what is wrong with the world* and people not rinsing their dishes
What do you love about your spouse? His humility and how he takes care of me before himself. When & where did you meet your spouse? I met him in Fullerton, Ca while I was going to school. He was in my singles ward. I knew him for about two years before I became really good friends with him, and then we started dating.
When & where you married? May 5, 2007 LA Temple
What do you love about motherhood or fatherhood? The daily surprises and watching her learn new things.
What is your motto? Be of good cheer.
What celebrity crushes did you have as a teen? I was to busy with sports and school to have a celebrity crush.
One thing you love about your body? My eyes
Something on your mind lately is? How I am going to find the time and motivation to finish my thesis.
Your life would be more simpler if? I did not have to write a thesis, and I can still get my Masters. What surprises you most about your adult life? How much I have changed since I was a teenager. What is the nicest compliment anyone has offered you? “I miss having you around. You were like my mom.” Name 2 objects you use in your everyday life: my computer and Kylee’s binky (it is my lifesaver) What did you do for Halloween? Went and planned a ward Halloween party. We went as Kylee’s conscience. I was the devil and Stew was the angel. Kylee was half of each of us; half angel and half devil.
What are you going to do for Thanksgiving? Go to Idaho Falls with Stew’s sister-in-law’s family.
What are you going to do for Christmas? Going home to Templeton to spend a few weeks with the family.
Favorite food or drink? Ice cream
Favorite food or drink that is not good for you? Anything sweet
Favorite treat or dessert? This yummy butterfinger ice cream thing my friend makes.
Favorite ice cream? It used to be vanilla, but since we are in Utah and can get BYU creamery ice cream I have a ton of favorites now!
Favorite place to eat out? PF Changs
Favorite vacation spot or place to travel? We love cruises
Favorite color? Red
Favorite movie? Disney’s Mulan
Favorite book? Jane Ere
Favorite thing to do or favorite pastime? Being creative
Favorite holiday & why? Christmas. I get to give people things that I know that they will like. Also, I get to spend time with family and I love the family traditions.
Favorite decorating style? I like shabby chic or classy country Favorite day of week & why? Saturday, because Stew is home with me all day and we can do what ever we want.
Favorite memory of Grandma & Grandpa Manning? I only have one memory of Grandma Manning and that was when we came up for a Bunker family reunion and stopped by to visit her one day. We got to eat ice cream out on her patio.
Favorite possession? My car
One word that describes you? Motherly
Your advice to others? Be happy. Notice all the blessings that you have in your life right now. Start a list of all the things that make you happy. Even list the little things such as flowers, naps, green lights, etc. You will be surprised at all the good things that are in your life. Plus, it will help to focus on the positive things instead of the negatives.






Here are Stewart's answers to the questionnaire:

Your full name? Stewart Pope
Your age? 32
Spouse’s name? Kira Pope
Children’s names & ages? Kylee (Ask my wife :)
Job description: Aviation marketing and sales
Where do you live? Springville Utah
Places you have lived: Orange County, CA, Lexington KY, Cinci, OH.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Orange County, CA
Education: High School
Happiest childhood memory? Mothers day fishing trips with Dad.
Happiest memory of teenage years? Motorcycle riding
Happiest moment in life? Marriage
What makes you happy? Kylee
What makes you laugh? Kylee
What makes you cry? Not much
What scares you? My wife sneaking in on me when I'm taking a shower.
What has been your biggest challenge or something you struggle with? Finding time to find a house to buy.
Who has been the biggest influence on your life, or who is your hero? Marie Allred (childhood baby-sitter / Seminary teacher)
If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do today? Spend all day telling Kira and Kylee how much I love them.
Before you die, you would like to: Make sure the rest of my family is financially stable.
What do you (or did you) want to be when you grow (grew) up? Professional football player
What is your ultimate goal in life? Make sure the rest of my family is financially stable.
What has been your greatest accomplishment? Successfully owning and operating a commercial aviation distribution company for the last 8 yrs.
What do you think is the world’s biggest problem? News Media
Are you a spiritual person? depends on who you talk to.
What is something you believe in? I believe in my wife's ability to be an excellent mom.
What has been your hardest decision in life so far? Moving to Utah :)
What is the craziest thing you have ever done? You don't want to know.... but some would say walking a high wire over the river at needles and hanging upside down by my knees and letting go doing a full flip before landing in the water about 35 feet below. Or just regular cliff jumping from roughly 70-80' depending on how high or low the water was.
What are your goals for the next 5 years: get out of Utah
What are you really good at? Everything

Do you weigh yourself? And if so, how often? No way
What are you listening to these days? talk radio
What song describes you & your life? Not as good as I once was.
What are you most proud of? Kylee
Are you a dog or cat person? Dog
Are you a morning or night person? night
What is your pet peeve? Stupid people
What do you love about your spouse? right now, I love how much she takes care of Kylee
When & where did you meet your spouse? Church, Fullerton
What keeps your marriage spicy? Her reading this questionnaire, and laughing at my answers.
When & where you married? Cinco De Mayo, Los Angeles LDS Temple.
What do you love about motherhood or fatherhood? Seeing that little girl smile melts my heart, Seeing that little girl Cry Breaks my heart. (and hearing that little girl cry makes me have to Tivo the game)
What do you love about being a grandparent? That I'm not one.
What is your theme song? Not as good as I once was.
What is your motto? Get out of the way let me do it.
One thing you love about your body? Thats there's lots of it!
Something on your mind lately is? Moving to CA
Your life would be more simpler if? I had 10 million dollars.
What surprises you most about your adult life? Marriage :-)

What is the nicest compliment anyone has offered you? Wow your athletic.
Name 2 objects you use in your everyday life: Pen / Computer
What did you do for Halloween? church party
What are you going to do for Thanksgiving? Spend it in Idaho with my brothers in-laws.
What are you going to do for Christmas? spend it with my in-laws.
Favorite food or drink? steak and potatoes
Favorite food or drink that is not good for you? Del-Taco.
Favorite treat or dessert? Home made ice-cream
Favorite ice cream? Rocky Road
Favorite vacation spot or place to travel? Glamis (Sand Dunes)
Favorite color? Blue
Favorite thing to do or favorite pastime? Motorcycle riding / Golfing
Favorite time of day & why? between 3 and 4, coming home to see my girls.
Favorite thing about yourself? wife
Favorite possession? Wife
Your advice to others? Figure it out yourself.

Thanks to the both of you for letting us get to know you better.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I hope that you will post about your Christmas this Monday for Show and Tell.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas

Make a Smilebox greeting

Merry Christmas Eve Day

I wanted to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. We are going down to El Cajon this evening to Mom and Dad's house. Jodi will be there and Andrea's family is coming. Danica is going down with us as well. So we will have 14 people total for dinner. Jodi is suppose to be cooking tacos. Isn't tacos the traditional Christmas dinner?

Eric, Todd and their families won't be there. Eric's family, minus Danica, are in Tahoe at Jeannette's parents house. Todd is spending Christmas with his own family at his house in Utah (I am assuming, as I haven't heard for certain, all I know if that they are not coming down). We will miss them all terribly. It won't be the same without them.

We will come home later tonight & spend Christmas day at our own house & celebrate with just my immediate family & Danica. We started this tradition last year of spending Christmas Day with just our own individual families & it seems to work out the best for everyone.

Hope you all have a happy & safe holiday. I may post again later today with photos of my tree. It is finally decorated!!!! I have to download the photos & don't know if I will have time today or not. If not today, maybe tomorrow, or the next day, or the next.

Also, the stolen Santa showed back up!!!! I will post more later about him. It's a good thing he is back. Would hate for all the little kiddies not to get presents tonight.

Merry Christmas!

Tablescape Tuesday

Oh no, I'm late to the party. But I guess better late than never. You have to cut me some slack though as I have pneumonia & I live on the west coast, so it is still morning here. My intention was to have this all ready before I went to bed last night, but with being sick, I fell asleep before getting it done. So please forgive my tardiness.

This is my first time posting on Tablescape Tuesday. So go easy on me with your comments. Remember I'm sick, cough, cough (you can feel sorry for me now if you would).

If you want to see more tablescapes by woman who are much more talented & creative than me, then go to http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ & you will find links to all the participants.

Now lets get this show on the road:

This is the table in my living room/dining room. I have it set for 4 as there are 4 people in my family. Go figure!!! The plates came from Ross a few years back. They came in green & a pinkish red. Now I wish I had also purchased the pinkish red set as well to mix & match.


My centerpiece is a glass cloche set on a Christmas plate cake stand that I made. I filled the cloche with medium & large jingle bells. I love jingle bells. I then put a Christmas candle ring at the base. Then I made a wreath out of sparkly greenery that I purchased last year from Brylane Home on clearance. It is actually a swag, but I made a circle out of it & used twisty ties to keep it all together. The crystal candlesticks came from my mother in law. The candle rings on the candlesticks I purchased at a dollar store a few years back.
The red table runner came from the Dollar Tree store last year or the year before.


The cream colored placemats have snowflakes on them & came from Walmart last year on clearance. The napkins are from the Dollar Tree. My silverware from Big Lots. The crystal glasses came from Amvets Thrift Store (my favorite thrift store down in San Diego).
I got the Santa hats last year at Target on clearance. I thought they looked real cute on the edge of the chair. What do you think?

The red Santa pants at each setting came from my work party last year. They were filled with candy. I had planned on doing the same before taking the photos, but ran out of time.This is not part of my tablescape, but part of my nativity in my family room. I just like to remind everyone the true reason we celebrate Christmas and that Christ should always be the center of our home.
As you can see, I enjoy clearance sales, thrift stores & the dollar stores. I love getting a bargain & have a hard time passing up one. I hope you enjoyed my tablescape and hopefully I will participate again sometime & post earlier.

Monday Show and Tell - Part 3

Ta da!!!! Here it is, I know the suspense has been killing you all day, waiting for this third & final part of my Monday Show and Tell.

I want to share with you my Christmas decor. I have to thank all the little people who helped me in the preparation of this production. Namely, Danica (my niece & surrogate daughter) who helped with the decorating part. Brandon & Jesse who helped me bring boxes down & up from attic. And to Mike who helped put up the outside Christmas lights even though he didn't get the last strand up as it got too dark & he didn't want to fall from the ladder and 2 of Santa's deer didn't get set up. At least we got some Christmas cheer!!!! Can I get an AMEN!!!

Before you click on the play button, you might want to scroll down & push the pause button on the Christmas music play list on the right hand side so that my Christmas music doesn't interfere with the music that accompanies my photos. It you don't, you may get conflicting Christmas songs & it won't be nice. You have been warned! In fact, if you don't like the Christmas music anytime you come to our blog, you can pause it so it doesn't play. But if you don't like Christmas music you must be SCROOGE and we don't like Scrooge. You have been warned!!!!

Now for the photos:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Did you enjoy the photos? I learned a very important lesson this Christmas. Don't leave candles unattended and real candles can burn a wood picture frame. Luckily I saw the error of my ways before I burnt the house down. LED candles work best in this situation.

Also, someone stole Santa from my front yard. I didn't even notice it last night when I was taking the photos. I figured it out this morning while driving to work. We passed one of our neighbors who has lots of Christmas decor in their front yard. Their giant Snoopy blow up snow globe was missing & they had posted a sign that it was stolen. It got me to thinking about dear old Santa at my own house. It kind of jogged my memory that I didn't remember seeing him in his sleigh last night when taking the photos. So when I got to work & looked at my photos, sure enough. Santa was gone, missing, no where to be seen. Someone stole Santa. I bet I know what list they are on & it's not the nice list. So if you stole my Santa & are reading my blog, bring him back & maybe Santa and I will forgive you and you might get something for Christmas besides coal. You have been warned!!!


Next Monday you can post about your Christmas or post about your New Year's plans or resolutions. Or you can reminisce about 2008 and your plans for 2009.

Monday Show and Tell - Part 2

Now for part 2:

Yesterday we decided we wanted to take some family photos. We drove around for a couple of hours trying to find the perfect spot for photos. After we took a billion photos (more like 20) at various locations we decided that we actually wanted photos with the snowy mountains in the background for our Christmas photo.

So we drove to Beaumont which is about 30-40 minutes from our house. We found a little park that had not one but two mountain ranges in the background with snow on them. We were in heaven, except for the fact that it was getting dark fast & it was cold!!!! Burr!!!

Brandon set up his camera on his tripod & we took more photos before it got too dark & we became ice cubes. Then I took some random photos as well. Mike & Jesse played on the teeter totter in the playground for awhile.

On the way home we stopped at Sonic in Hemet. Yeah!!!!! We finally have a Sonic close by. If you have never been to Sonic, you need to go. It's quite old fashioned how you park and order from your car. Then they bring out your order on roller skates. Mike got a lime slush, Jesse & I got strawberry slushees. Brandon got a Oreo blast. But I realized that slushees taste sooo much better when it is 100 degrees outside. Not so great when it is only in the 40's. So I guess Sonic will have to wait until summer to be enjoyed again.

Here are the photos I took at the park and at Sonic. I am not posting our final family Christmas photo until later in the week. So you will just have to wait!


Mike & I. I really should have got my hair cut before taking family photos. It is looking pretty scraggily.

Jesse & Mike. Jesse got his goofy Santa hat at Disneyland for his birthday.
Jesse
Brandon was taking photos of the mountains when I snapped this shot.

Self portrait

Me & Jesse

Me & Brandon.

Mike & Jesse on the teeter totter. They were actually moving when I took this photo so that is why it is a bit fuzzy.

Here we are at Sonic. Doesn't Mike look like he has had too much to drink?
Jesse & Brandon in the back seat while waiting for our Sonic order.


Brandon at Sonic. Don't know why he looks so surprised. I was hoping to get a photo of the waitress on roller skates, but she was too fast & I missed the shot.
All in all we had a nice family day and weekend. What did you do this weekend?