Hey Rudolph!

Cookies

2010-12-20T15:29:00.000-05:00

I spent some time today reading the blogs of my friends at MHH . One of the ladies Leann was quite busy baking all kinds of goodies. She had made 19 different kinds of cookies and 4 kinds of homemade candies. Everything looked so scrumptous. I know the receivers of those sweet treats are very happy campers. And I thought the 10 I did was an achievement. My hat goes off to Ms. Leann.

Last weekend I spent time in the kitchen baking away. I love baking. I've only been doing it for about 4 years or so. I think I'm getting better every year. I hope to one day try some real fancy baking, especially decorating. I filled 3 large cookie tins, handed out two at the office and one to my neighbor and her son. They were well received which made me very happy.

I have several cookie recipe books I've collected from BHG over the years. I think I will take a look through them for some ideas for next year.

6 Days to Christmas

2010-12-20T09:40:00.000-05:00

For me I have 5 days until my little palace is filled with all of my loved ones. Yes, the long awaited Christmas Eve Family Dinner will soon be here. People have been calling me for weeks checking to see if I'm getting everything ready for the party. My response is always a resounding YES! I think they are more excited than I am.

Today has been a day of pampering and relaxation. For Rudy Day today I listened to my Christmas music then started watching Christmas movies. Right now Home Alone is in the dvd. I've been eating Hershey Kiss chocolates. These are my favorite things to eat during the holidays. I washed my hair and touched-up my eyebrows. Had a cup of hot chocolate and leftover pizza from last night. Just enjoying myself.

.

Decorated the Office

2010-12-16T12:57:00.000-05:00

Been gone for a minute. Family matters, you know.

I wanted to tell you what I did to the office this year. I decorated my office in a gingerbread theme:

Let The Baking Begin

2010-12-06T22:12:00.000-05:00

As soon as I got home from work today, I chaned into something comfortable, then headed to the kitchen. I have been trying to get my baking started for weeks but I was either too lazy or too sick. Now that I'm feeling better and time is now of the essence, I needed to get started and this is the last week I can get them done.

I am making several types of cookies:

Christmas tree shaped butter cookies
Chocolate gingerbread people cookies
Old-fashioned Snickerdoodle cookies (a recipe I got from a friend, Jessica at Organized Christmas)
Peanut butter cookies
Cocolate chip cookies
Oatmeal Raisin cookies
Eggnog Sparkle Cookies (another recipe from a friend, Snowangel00)
Santa's Thumbprint cookies
Pecan shortbread cookies
and finally, Candy cane sugar cookies

I'm only making up the dough. I will bake everything this weekend. This weekend we are expecting snow. Not a lot but enough to keep me in and to make the mood perfect for baking. As of tonight I have three kinds done (the first three listed above). Tomorrow I will continue with the next group, and so on until they are all done.

By the end of the weekend, everything will be baked, wrapped and ready to hand out as gifts. I always take treats to several of the departments on the job and give a tin full to my nice neighbor and her son who lives in my building.

Countdown Calendar

2010-12-05T15:38:00.000-05:00

I don't know if you all remember this but last summer for CIJ I made a countdown calendar for my 11 year old niece. This was year two and I stuffed it with lots of neat gifts. Well she called me the other day to say that the dog got to it and you can guess what happened....

Here's what it looked like before the dog got to it.

I can only imagine how it looks now.

Workout Saturday

2010-11-13T17:56:00.000-05:00

What a day! From 7:30 this morning until about 45 minutes ago, I have been going non-stop. First I did some checking on my Christmas decorations, checking what I have and what I need. Then I updated my holiday budget - staying on track with this (very good). I also updated my gift and master shopping lists - checking off and crossing out people who are finished and items that have been purchased. The lists are getting shorter and shorter. My master shopping list is now down from three pages to half a page. Whoohoo! "I'm so excited! And I just can't hide it!" (singing and snapping my fingers)

Next, I held my own personal wrapping party. I put on some Christmas music, sat in the middle of the floor of the guest bedroom and wrapped gifts until I couldn't wrap anymore. I just finished grouping the gifts by families for easy tracking. I still have a few more to wrap but that will wait until tomorrow.

There are a few pajama sets I need to exchange. I don't know what I was thinking when I bought them. After taking a second look, I realized that they are way too big for the recipients. So back they go Monday. I hope I can find the right sizes.

Tommorow, after wrapping the remaining gifts, I hope to get started on making the cookie doughs to freeze. I would like to get that done so when I'm ready to bake all I will have to do is pull the dough from the freezer and into the oven.

Right now I am going to jump in the bath, put on some warm pj's as it has gotten very chilly after having such beautiful warm days since Thursday. Pop a big bowl of popcorn, lie on the sofa and watch some Christmas movies.

Happy trails!!!!

Happy Wednesday

2010-11-10T19:15:00.000-05:00

Today has been a really good day. Quite honestly this week, so far, has been very productive. I started gift shopping late in the game and now I have 3/4 of my list done. I will still make my yearly deadline to be finished by the end of November.

Today I picked up my Kmart layaway. That's another three people crossed off my list. Plus I got a pleasant surprise. The video game I bought my newphew a few weeks ago: Medal of Honor is on sale this week from $59.99 to $39.99. So I showed them my receipt and got the difference back - $21.00 plus change. Can you say, "You the woman." LOL

My boss had these cool pencils with the Baltimore Ravens' logo on them. He said he doesn't use pencils so he gave them to me.

One of the erasers even has the Raven on the helmet. I have a little cousin who is a die-hard Ravens' fan. This will go with the little gift I got for him.

Tuesday

2010-11-09T19:13:00.000-05:00

Got to work a little early than normal today. Had my breakfast and dranked a cup of tea. About an hour later I put on my coat and left. Why, you ask? Because today is Tuesday. What's so special about it being Tuesday? Well I had to get to the store before they opened. See, one of my nephews has been talking for months about this new video game called Call of Duty: Black Ops.

I'm not sure what the hoopla is all about but it seems to be a very sought after game.
So much so that some idiots robbed a Game Stop store in a certain part of this area and took all the copies as well as some gaming systems over the weekend. I tell you, some people can really make it bad for others. I don't know how they expect to sell them on the streets when the theft has been blasted all over the tv news and in the papers.

Anyway... I saw the commercial for the first time last night. I must say the commercial is really cool. I like how they used celebraties to promote the game. Colby Bryant (sp?), Jimmy Kimmel (sp?) and a few others I couldn't recognize. I see how it can get people anxious to grab this game. I'm not a gamer myself. The last game system I ever owned was the original Nintendo and my brother bought me that when I was home recovering from a life-threatening car accident (That was the year '96). So that should tell you how much I know about today's video games. Whatever happend to Frogger, Donkey Kong, Galaga? Now those were my games. Heehee

My nephew is going to go nuts when he opens this gift. I also got him the new Medal of Honor video game. Another person crossed off my list.

Now you know I couldn't just leave the store and not buy something for myself. I picked up Home Alone on DVD. I can't believe I did not have this movie in my collection.

Well looks like it's going to be another early night for me as I am very sleepy. I tell you, this time changing thing is throwing me for a loop. Good night all.

My Adventures of the Day

2010-11-08T21:08:00.000-05:00

I don't know what's going on with me but I am on a roll. Today I went shopping during my break at the shopping center behind my job and found three more gifts that I could cross off my list. Whoohoo! Then later after work, my mom and I hooked up to do more shopping. I bought everything I need to do my holiday baking. The only thing I couldn't find was a bottle of the lighter molasses for the gingerbread men cookies. All I could find was the darker molasses and I don't like the way my cookies taste when I use it. If anyone has a suggestion of what I can substitute for the molasses, please let me know!

Well that's it for tonight. I'm going to finish my cookies and milk, then I'm going to hit the hay. Nite-nite all.

The First Sunday!

2010-11-07T19:19:00.000-05:00

It's the first Sunday of November. Thanksgiving in the USA is only three weeks away. Time for talking turkey - gobble, gobble, gobble.

Today I had plans to spend the entire day indoors but it was not to be. My mom has been having trouble with her truck and finally was able to get it fixed. Her catalytic (sp?) converter had to be replaced.

So while her truck was being worked on we had breakfast at IHOP and then went shopping at the nearby shopping center. We had loads of fun. First we went in to Marshall's where I picked out three nice outfits for gifts. And I saw the cutest little baby bib that said, "Baby's First Thanksgiving." I may have to go back and get that for my great-niece.

Then we went in to Dollar Tree where I found two Christmas movies on VHS: "Veggie Tales The Toy That Saved Christmas" and "Surviving Christmas." (Yes I still own a VHS player - lol) I am going to watch them tonight.

Daylight Savings

2010-11-07T17:46:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. Did you remember to turn your clocks back 1 hour?

Gift Wrapping Today

2010-11-02T13:37:00.000-04:00

Due to the elections going on today across the USA, my office is closed. Now that I've got the voting out of the way, I am spending some time wrapping gifts. Actually it's the advent gifts for my 11 year old niece. Some of the items can't be hidden inside the stockings. So I need to wrap them so that she can't see what they are.

Adventurous Friday

2010-10-31T21:47:00.000-04:00

I headed out the door at 4:45 Friday morning with shopping list and itinerary in hand. First stop, the 24 hour Super Walmart. I love going there after normal hours. There's no huge crowd and when done shopping, checkout is a breeze. They were just starting to put out there Christmas decorations. I was like a big ol' kid. I was in there for several hours. Most of the things I bought were household things. I did get a couple of the Diary of a Whimpy Kid books for my 11 year old niece. She's really into them. I had gotten her the movie early this month.

After leaving Walmart I headed to Target. There I hit the Dollar Spot section where I found a lot of nice things for my niece's advent calendar. I got her glow stick bracelets, play dough, a Santa Claus pen, holiday packs of hot chocolate, stickers, candy-filled ornaments, and a host of other stuff. Some of the stuff was marked 1/2 price.

I also found a lot of Hello Kitty stuff to give to my bestfriend's daughter. She loves Hello Kitty.

All of the gifts will go into this Hello Kitty paper pail and wrapped up in a cello gift basket bag.

Other stores I hit were Michael's, Kmart, TJ Maxx, JoAnn Fabrics, Five Below, a beauty supply store, another Walmart and several Dollar Trees.

If you haven't heard me say time and again, I am a big Dollar Tree shopper. My mom always says that I should own stock as I'm always in there. LOL Anyway I hit the jackpot at one of them. They were stocking the shelves so there was plenty to browse through. I bought several packs of red feather birds for the main Christmas tree. It's a new additon to the tree this year. I've used the birds on the tree at the office last year and thought I would use them at home this year. I also bought several packs of red glass ornaments, an advent calendar, a couple of gingerbread dish towels, gift boxes, gift bags, and Christmas cards. I didn't need the cards but at least I won't have to worry about getting any for next year. Plus they were so pretty, I couldn't resist.

gift cards

gift bags

advent calendar

gift boxes

gingerbread dish towels

gingerbread house ornaments (for the gingerbread tree in the kitchen)

Monday during my morning break, I am going to walk over to the Kmart directly behind the job and pick up several make-up gift sets. I noticed them last Thursday but didn't have time to look at them. I have a friend who wants some makeup and the prices looked very reasonable.

I'm still waiting for the two dvd sets I ordered from Barnes & Noble. I hope they arrive this week. I also ordered Nanny McPhee on dvd for my mom. She really likes this movie and has been looking everywhere for it. I hope that comes soon also.

A Personal Rudy Day.

2010-10-28T19:35:00.000-04:00

Did not get much accomplished at the office today due to the fact that my computer would not work. It had been acting crazy since Wednesday. They tried to fix it from their office. I tell you, today's technology. They can access your computer without even having to be physically in the office. Unfortunately the problem was worse than they thought so a technician had to come out. It appears my hard drive bit the bullet and had to be replaced. Since I was unable to do much I walked over to the shopping center to look around. Big mistake (evil grin).

I came back to the office with three shopping bags of stuff all for me. I bought 3 jackets, 2 cardigans, several sweaters, a blouse and a few screen print tees to wear with jeans or jogging suits on weekends. I didn't plan to buy any gifts for myself until next month. Right now I'm supposed to be shopping for others, but I couldn't resist. Well what's done is done. Heehee.

I'm off tomorrow so I will focus my attention on shopping only for others.

In Honor of Rudy Day

2010-10-24T18:07:00.000-04:00

For dessert tonight I baked an apple pie.

To make the piecrust is really easy:

In a bowl mix 2 1/2 cups of flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Then in another small bowl mix together 1/2 cup of vegetable oil with 1/3 cup of milk. Add the oil/milk mixture to the flour mixture and with a fork, stir until ingredients come together. I divided the dough into 3 balls, using two to make the bottom crust for the pie dish and the last ball to make the top. I placed the doughs between two sheets of wax paper and with a rolling pin flattened it out. This made it easy to lay in the pie dish, plus it kept my hands fairly clean.

Next, in goes the apple mixture: McIntosh apples (about 5), 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. I prefer Gala apples as they are sweeter (to me) than the McIntosh, but the grocery store was all out of the Galas.

While working with the piecrust, I decided to make it look a little Christmassy. So with a cookie cutter, I cut out a snowflake in the center, then rearranged the cutout on top of the piecrust.

Here's the final result. A little piece of the snowflake broke. It's okay, it will still get eaten.

Mmmm... I love apple pie. This is the second time I made this pie. Quite sure I'll be making it again. Never thought I would ever be able to make a crust. I've always used store bought. Me thinks I'll take this to work tomorrow and share with my coworkers.

Christmas Countdown

2010-10-24T14:55:00.000-04:00

Hiya folks! It's been a lovely Sunday here in ole Maryland.

Today begins the Christmas Countdown for me and all of my friends over at Magical Holiday Home. So all this week I will spend time getting organized. I'll be checking lists, then checking them twice. Making sure that this Christmas will be merry and bright.

Then tomorrow is October Rudy Day. I've been having a Rudy Day here for few weeks. Most of my Christmas cards have been signed and addressed. I made my own holiday address labels using my computer and printer. Bought half of the gifts on my list. My dinner menu and dessert menus are typed up along with the shopping list. My Christmas activity center is set-up. I even wrapped a couple of gifts today. So far so good.

Today I scheduled a photo session in my livingroom. I picked out a nice outfit from the closet that had a holiday look and got my boyfriend to take a few pictures of me with the digital camera. He knows how I am about the holidays so he didn't say a word. He just shook his head, took the pictures then went to go watch his football game (Go Ravens!). I'll pick which one I like best to use as a photocard that I'm sending out this year to family and closest friends.

My 10 year old niece has been texting me since last night about what she wants for Christmas. I asked her what does her other siblings want, she just keeps telling me about what she wants. lol

I need to get some ink for my printer. I found this cute iron-on design that I want to put on a white cotton shirt. I hope to wear it Christmas Eve at the family dinner with a pair of jeans or a nice pair of black pants. I'll post a picture when I have it done.

Behind These Closet Doors

2010-10-17T18:19:00.000-04:00

Is a massive amount of Christmas decorations.

Over a period of 11 years (that's how long I've lived in my little palace), I have accumulated all of this stuff.

So today I was thinking. Since next Sunday is Rudy Day, what better way to celebrate than to invite my girlfriends over and let them have whatever they want (except for my trees). I have a lot of ornaments that I won't be using this year because I'm getting new ones. And I don't think I'll be hanging the lighted garland around the entire livingroom, diningroom and hall. Why not let them take it. A couple of them could really use the decorations as these economic times have been harder for them than for me. Plus I know they will be used and my friends will really appreciate it.

So now I need to go through everything and seperate what I'm keeping and what I'm giving away. But not today. The sun is setting and I must start getting myself ready for work tomorrow. I will do a little bit each day.

Better send out some text messages.

A Fun Rudy Day

2010-10-14T20:00:00.000-04:00

On Dasher, on Dancer, on... Oh darn, my mind just went blank. - Hahahaha.

Sitting at the computer listening to Merry Christmas Radio on live365.com. RadioJonD's show is now playing.

Wednesday I decided to have an impromptu Rudy Day. It turned out to be a very productive day. First I signed and address Christmas cards. These cards will be given out to my office associates. After signing what seemed my life away, I went on line and ordered some dvd's for two uncles at Barnes & Noble. I know they are going to really love these movies. I ordered the first season of Hogan's Heros and the first season of Gomer Pyle. I used to love watching these shows with my dad when I was a little girl. And I know that my uncles used to watch them also. (Woohoo, just received an email that my movies have been shipped). Can you say "Excitement". Now, I've lost my train of thought. Better end it here.

Shopping for Christmas Gifts

2010-10-12T18:49:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was Columbus Day here in the USA and all government offices were closed. I took advantage of the time off by having a Rudy Day and went shopping for Christmas gifts.  I'm happy to say that after months of putting off this task, I have about half of my list done. Woohoo!

I got my step-dad a new MP3 player with FM radio so he can listen to his music when he does his exercises at the VA gym. I got my mom a couple pairs of pajamas (something she mentioned last year). My mom is the only person each year, I have difficulty shopping for. I'm still not done with her though. I bought my 11 yr old niece Diary of a Whimpy kid movie. I'm doing a craft basket for her and will put the movie with everything.   For my two old high-school friends I'm putting together "white" theme baskets for them. So far I got them cute robes with hoods and a pair of slippers. Just a few more bath items (bubble bath, body lotion, etc.) and they will be done.

For the guys/boys in my family I bought a Dallas Cowboy shirt, a sweater, a polo shirt,  2 crew-neck thermal henley shirts, a graphic t-shirt and graphic hoody, 2 race track sets, a sweat suit, and a cute toddler outfit. For the ladies/girls I bought a fleece vest with coordinate pants, 2 'Down' quilted vests, satin pajamas, fleece pajamas, 4 hat/scarf/glove sets, a bath robe, 2 sweaters and a pair of jeans.

By the time I got home I was exhausted, tired and hungry - but happy.

Hmmm

2010-10-10T19:57:00.000-04:00

I haven't had a Rudy Day moment in quite some time. I'm changing that starting tomorrow. I have the day off for Columbus Day and I am finally going to start my Christmas shopping. I have my list printed and in my purse ready to go. Just set the alarm clock to get up early in the morning.

Christmas Music

2010-09-28T18:08:00.000-04:00

Another Rudy Day Moment:

I think I've mentioned this once or twice before that for token gifts this year, I'm giving out a holiday mix CD. There were a lot of songs I wanted to add to the playlist but only a few made the cut - 19 songs to be exact.

I printed the labels (free printables) from the HP Acitivity Center. I had to improvise on the label for the actual cd as there was no ready-made label to use.

They will be displayed in a nice basket and handed out to family on Christmas Eve. "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way!"

Gift Idea for Friends

2010-09-27T22:33:00.000-04:00

While chatting with my MHH friends Saturday, a thought came to me. What to give my friends this Christmas season. And I thought, how about a movie of our trip to the Poconos. My bestfriend wanted to go there for her birthday so sixteen of us packed into cars and took the trip. It was a memorable event. Everyone really enjoyed themselves.

So once again I find myself sorting through photos. I downloaded everyone's photos on to my computer one evening while we were altogether playing cards. Whew! There are so many pictures. It's going to take me a couple of weeks to make this movie. There's even some video that one of my friends took unbeknowns to us. I was watching those videos and I was in tears. I could not believe how crazy we were acting.

They don't even suspect that I'm doing this. They think I am just collecting pictures as I am know as the 'picture lady.' Heeheehee I love collecting memories.

Happy Rudy Day

2010-09-26T19:50:00.002-04:00

For Rudy Day Saturday, some friends from MHH and I got together for a little chat. We talked about any and everything. It was quite fun. While we chatted, some of use listened to holiday tunes from Christmas Music Radio on live365.com . One of our MHH member, RadioJonD, has his own show on the station.

Today, I continued the celebration by making peanute butter cookies - yum, yum. So here I am, chomping on cookies, with a glass of ice cold milk, blogging all while watching my favorite program Extreme Makeover Home Edition.

Creating a Christmas Activity Center

2010-09-19T20:14:00.000-04:00

For weeks I have been working in the guest room trying to set up a holiday activity center. It took longer than I estimated.

First I had to get rid of some old furniture - a dresser and computer hutch. Once that was done, I brought in a table from the kitchen to use as my new work station. I then needed something to store my books and things but that didn't take up a lot of space so I bought a new book case. I also picked up some collapsable storage cubes from Dollar Tree to hold/hide everything.

This area is right next to the bookcase. Soon this table will go out and a new smaller one will go in it's place along with a nice comfy chair. (FYI: Those pictures all came from Dollar Tree. The larger frame was a bargin at Kmart. I paid $10 for two of these frames.)

The room is still not finished. The wall above the desk is completely bare. This is where I want to hang a shelf. Looks like another trip to Ikea is in order. In addition a futon (my cousin was nice enough to give me) will also go in this room for more seating and sleeping quarters for overnight guests.

A Nice Day to Have a Rudy Day

2010-09-12T16:46:00.000-04:00

It's been raining all day. I love the rain this time of year.

So I am spending the day indoors and have Rudy Day. I got my Christmas movies playing while I work in the guest bedroom. I recently got rid of an old dresser and computer chest. I brought in small table which will be used as a work station/Christmas activity center.

Everyday Will Be Rudy Day!

2010-09-09T09:43:00.001-04:00

From this point on I will try to have a Rudy whenever I can and as much as I can.

One thing I did was pull out my collection of Christmas movies so when the mood hits me, I just pop one in the DVD.

Long Time No See

2010-09-07T13:24:00.000-04:00

Good day all! Yes, I've been a way a long time. So much has happened. During what was the called the worst winter this area has ever seen, I joined Facebook and to my surprise, reconnected with nearly all of my highschool classmates. Many of us got together for Game Night back in February which was so much fun. It was great laughing and reminiscing. Several classmates have formed a committee and are planning for our 25th reunion next fall. I was extremely excited to reconnect with my best friends from school, Joyce and Latoria. We lost contact with each other a few years after graduating. Since reconnecting, we have been hanging out together ever since. The class is having a fund raiser in October. A 70's gathering to help raise money for the reunion next year. We would like pay for our teachers come to the reunion. I think that is a nice gesture.

I also became a great-aunt. My oldest nephew and his girlfriend have a beautiful baby girl. She's so adorable. So you know she's going to be spoiled rotten by the grandparents (and great-aunt).

January Rudy Day 2010

2010-01-21T11:07:00.000-05:00

The first Rudy Day of the new year (Jan. 25th). What do you plan to do?

Because Rudy Day is on a Monday, and I will be working, I've decided to celebrate this weekend. One of the things I plan to do is buy a new Christmas movie to add to my collection (an idea I got from Happy2bme, at MHH). By December I should have a nice collection. I also plan to put together a few playlists of Christmas tunes to burn onto cd's to give to family and friends this year. And finally, I want to dress up my holiday notebook so I plan on spending a couple of hours doing that while watching the new movie.

If you want some ideas of what to do to celebrate Rudy, check these out.

search for craft ideas
work on homemade crafts
test a new recipe
listen to some holiday tunes
watch a favorite holiday movie
sign/address Christmas cards
plan holiday budget
plan holiday meals
look for gift ideas
shop for gifts
search for ideas on decorating your home
look for neat stocking stuffers
take a drive to see neighborhood Christmas displays/lights
bake some cookies or other tasty desserts

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010-01-07T09:08:00.000-05:00

Well it's a new year, a new decade. Where did the time go?

Last year I really didn't spend a lot of time celebrating Rudy Day as I had hoped. You know that thing called "Life" gets top priority over everything else. This year I hope to do better with the help of my friends at Magical Holiday Home.

Right now we are mostly trying to declutter - putting away Christmas decorations and making the home cozy during these extremely cold months. Everyone's been brainstorming, sharing ideas and suggestions on ways to celebrate Rudy Days 2010. As part of my Rudy days I've decided when shopping for gifts, I will do it by family. My intention is to focus on one family each month instead of the way I have been doing it in past years.

Myself and other members created a list of what we want to focus on each month during Rudy Day. My list looks like this:

Here's what I've come up with.

Jan. -   Christmas notebook
Feb. -   Budget
Mar. - Gift ideas
Apr. - Christmas cards
May. -   Gift closet
Jun.   -   Entertaining
Jul.    -   Crafts
Aug. -   Gifts (part 2)
Sept. -   Cleaning
Oct.   -   Food/desserts
Nov. - Decorating
Dec.   - Celebrate

I'll be back around the 25th with a progress update. Wish me luck.

September Rudy Day

2009-09-25T08:58:00.000-04:00

Another Rudolph Day is here. What will you do to celebrate?

For me, I am undecided. I have some crafts that I can do. I need to get started on altering a few canister jars. I have everything I need (craft paper, ribbons, glue, etc). These jars will be filled with candies (caramel, m&m's, Hershey kisses, etc.) and given to the ladies in the accounting office. They love snacks.

Yesterday I printed cover labels for the DVD greeting cards I put together. My family is definately going to love receiving these. Here's what they look like:

Since today is Friday, I may stretch Rudy Day over the entire weekend. On my last visit to the grocery store I stocked up on popcorn and hot chocolate. We are expecting rain for most of the weekend which is good because it will keep my in the house. I will spend Sunday lying around in pajamas and watch movies (a couple being Christmas). First I must get my dinner cooked. Oh I almost forgot! Our Ravens play the Browns Sunday. So before and after the game I will be watching movies.

Saturday I will go out for a bit and shop for the remaining gifts for the advent calendar I made back in July. I finally decided how to display the little Christmas stockings. I attached them to fleece fabric so that it can hang on the wall or door.

It's work right now, so the celebration is on hold until later today. Hope everyone has a chance to do something Christmas today!

August Rudy Day!

2009-08-27T10:11:00.000-04:00

Well this month for Rudy Day I celebrated by making a few teacup candles. I used gingerbread mugs I purchased from Dollar Tree a few years ago. I'm sure the ladies at the office are going to love them. As soon as I can I will post pictures. I have so many pictures on my camera I need to download, it's crazy. Puts me in mind of that commercial where the guy with the fishing poles says, "I'm not getting deleted, I got deleted last time." Then puff, he was deleted. LOL

Be back soon.

CIJ Giveaway

2009-08-03T13:26:00.004-04:00

Please check out this blog by Ms. Life's Place for a chance to win her CIJ giveaway. The winner will be announced August 9th.

http://lifewithoutmanual.wordpress.com/

July Rudy Day

2009-08-02T11:11:00.001-04:00

Well I'm still working on the advent calendar. I'm undecided if I want to attach the stockings to some red fabric or connect them together with string/ribbon.

Here are the supplies I used to put them together:

25 mini Christmas stockings (got them from Dollar Tree at $.50 for two the day after Christmas)
key tags
red number stickers
red yarn
hole puncher

First I attached the red stickers to the key tags. Then I punched a hole in the stocking. After removing the metal piece from the tag I attached tag to the stocking with a piece of red yarn. And here's how the stockings look:

Each stocking will have nice surprise. The recipient of this gift will have so much fun counting down to Christmas.

Gone On Vacation!

2009-07-23T17:00:00.000-04:00

Well today is my last day at work. Tomorrow I shall be at the beach (doing the happy dance). I will still check in every now and then to see what everyone's up to over at MHH. See you all when I get back in a week.

Have a Great Day!

Another Marvalous Craft Idea - Melting Snowmen

2009-07-21T14:39:00.006-04:00

You have got to check out these funny and creative ornaments by CandyCanes News. She's a fellow friend from MHH who loves crafting and is a big 'Twilight' fan.

Melted Snowmen Ornies 1

Melted Snowmen Ornies 2

Niiice, huh!

Ornaments

2009-07-21T09:24:00.014-04:00

Not happy with the ornaments you see in stores? Are the ones you do like too expensive for your budget? Well here's an idea, make your own ornaments. If you're looking for something fun to do for Rudy Day here's a few suggestions:

How about snowmen ornaments mad out of styrofoam. They can be hung on the tree or grouped together on a table.

And what about these lovely ornaments also made with styrofoam.

Or what about golden angles. I especially like this idea. You could even make a large one and use as a tree topper or several in various sizes to sit on the mantle.

Now here's a sweet idea. Non-Edible Cinnamon Ornaments! Although you can't eat them, they are sure to make your home smell wonderful.

If you have the time this coming Rudy Day, why not give one of these a try.

Soda Bottle Labels

2009-07-20T10:34:00.007-04:00

I got this idea from my bestfriend. Labels for 2 liter soda bottles. (I didn't have any bottles around so I had to use a candy jar) What a fun, festive what to dress up a plain old bottle, jar or whatever your heart desires.

I made 10 different labels, each will have a family photo added. I just need to find the right photos.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS IN JULY 2009

2009-07-13T07:45:00.001-04:00

Well it's been a very long time since I've posted here. The holidays were an absolute joy for me last year. I'm hoping that this year will be another success. With that said, here's what is going on for this year. Last month for Rudy day I spent the day reorganizing the closet which houses all my Christmas decorations...sorting and getting rid of things I no longer wanted or were just worn out and no longer useable.

For the remainder of this year my plans are to spend each Rudy Day crafting. So far I have several easy-to-make craft ideas that will make great gifts for family and friends. More may be added if time allows for them.

Teacup candles
Altered Jars
Advent calendar

Over at MHH and OC members are celebrating Christmas In July. We're doing everything from watching holiday movies to crafts to sharing recipe ideas. During CIJ, I am just working out plans to make Christmas relaxing and as stress free as possible. Be sure to check out my other Christmas blog, "Love of Christmas" and watch my progress.

Also stop back here later this month when I hope to show you pictures of my current craft project: Advent Calendar.

Where Has The Time Gone?

2008-10-20T13:21:00.000-04:00

I was just over at cmerth's blog when I noticed that it's been 3 weeks since my last post. I can't believe we only have 66 day's and Christmas will be here. I have been working so much trying to earn extra money, to make sure that Christmas is extra fun this year that I've all but put the holiday on the back burner. I haven't followed the HGP for the past two weeks and I missed the Fall Tour of Homes. :o( Not to mentioned that the Christmas Countdown starts this upcoming Sunday. So I've decided to stop working so hard and get focused (again!)

I'm taking the day off tomorrow from both jobs. First thing - finish the tasks on my list from HGP. I think this week is the kitchen. I have to give my kitchen a good cleaning out but since it's small hopefully it shouldn't take much time. I've already emptied out the fridge/freezer. It's nearly completely empty. I need to reorganize the food cabinets, sort through expired spices and baking supplies and purchase supplies, move my Christmas dishes from the top shelf of the cabinet down to where they can easily be reached once the holidays are here. Give my floor and oven a good scrubbing, stock the fridge and freezer with easy/quick meals on those nights I don't have time or feel like cooking and other cleaning organizing that needs doing. Then I'll revisit the list for the previous weeks and see what needs to be completed in each area. I know I won't get everything finished tomorrow. What I don't finish will be worked on Wednesday and Thursday evenings as I do not have to work at my parttime job. I want to get the cleaning completed before the countdown begins that way I can focused just on the holiday planning.

I'm sitting here at my desk looking at the boxes of Christmas decorations sitting on top of the file cabinets. I can't wait to start decorating my office. I'm doing a totally different look. I think my co-workers will be presently surprised. I especially hope to lift the spirit of one of them who shares the office with me. Her sister was diagnosed with Cancer back in early September or late August. On Columbus Day the sister went into cardiac arrest and was put on life support. The family decided to take her off this past Friday and she passed away. My co-worker has gone through a lot in the last few months and I just want to make her feel not-so-sad during the holidays.

Saturday is Rudolph Day. There's only one more before the "Big Day" in December - the day we celebrate the birth of Christ. I have to admit that I don't really do anything spiritually-wise and have been thinking of what I can do to change that. I will talk with my mother for advice.

As for this Rudy Day, I'm pulling out all my decorations. I will be checking lights, finish writing room decorating ideas, checking that I have all recipes in my holiday notebook, signing/addressing greeting cards all while listening to an instrumental holiday CD. I like to hang lighted garland around the living/dining rooms and hall. I have the larger lights that I wrapped around garland but this year I want to switch to smaller lights. I picked up a lot of boxes of lights at Walgreens on clearance after the holidays last year that I will use. The larger lights will go on my new tree for the balcony. Thinking now, I'll probably spread this day out to the entire weekend as I also need to finish my crafts.

September Rudy Day

2008-09-26T08:30:00.000-04:00

Well the 25th found me at home in lots of pain. I have a wisdom tooth that's giving me hell. The pain seems it's worst at night -- bedtime. The pain takes over the entire right side of my jaw. I have been forced to sleep sitting up. My appointment with the oral surgeon is Monday. I will celebrate Rudy Day afterwards...hopefully pain free. I have a lot to do and time is growing short.

September

2008-09-19T09:20:00.000-04:00

Well Christmas is less than 100 days away. The weather has begun to get cooler and the days are getting shorter. Oh how I love this time of year. I've been sitting here at my desk thinking of ways to spend the upcoming Rudy Day. Well for starters, there's several homemade gifts needing doing. I've been so busy getting ready for Fall that I'd basically put my holiday crafts on the back burner. While working on my crafts, I'll put on a few holiday movies.

It's chilly out today. I don't think it will get pass 70 degrees. Tonight it's expected to be in the 50's (40's in the suburbs - where I live). Better pull out a heavier comforter tonight. I'm in the mood for some snowman soup (Hot chocolate, 3 Hershey kisses and a peppermint stick). Since the evenings are a lot cooler I think I'll put on my Christmas pajamas in honor of Rudy Day. After this month, there's only two Rudy's days left. I had better get my butt in gear and hope that I'm ready by the time Christmas arrives.

HAPPY AUGUST RUDY DAY!

2008-08-25T11:29:00.000-04:00

It's the first day of school and the weather is dreary. It's supposed to rain - Yeeeeeey! Unfortunately I'm at work so I can't really enjoy it -bummer. The weather will be in the upper 80's but by morning and for the remaining weekdays the temps will only be in the 70's. Anyway today I will attempt to get a few things done. Lunch time I'm going out to pick up two more gifts. My list is really getting down. Will add them to my gift closet list. I'm also going to redo my Christmas Eve dinner invitations as I've decided I don't like the ones I printed. I should have grabbed a Christmas CD to play in the car. On a day like today, some holiday music would definitely have me in the Christmas spirit. I have to work my parttime job tonight as well so won't be able to do much. If we get out at a decent time, I'll put on a Christmas movie and work on selecting photos for the calendar I'm making for my grandmother.

August Rudy Day

2008-08-05T13:35:00.001-04:00

Well let's see. This month Rudolph Day falls on Monday. I will have to plan my activities for the weekend before. I was going through the calendar section of my holiday binder and as I did that I realized that the things that I have to do are finish shopping for gifts, complete my crafts, inventory the remaining Christmas decorations, finish writing up my plans for decorating my apartment, get my place ready to decorate (cleaning), buy postage t0 mail Christmas cards/address and sign cards, create and print Christmas Eve dinner invitations on the computer, and try a couple of dessert recipes. I should be excited, but for some reason I feel like I'm missing something. Oh I just thought of something else, I want to add to my Christmas movie/CD collection. Nope, still not feeling excited. Hey I know what's missing, the really fun stuff like playing Christmas carols, watching Christmas movies, drinking hot chocolate - things like that. Okay, now I'm feeling a little excited. Will let you know what I did on the 25th!

Post Christmas In July

2008-08-05T12:14:00.000-04:00

Christmas in July is over and for me it was the boost I needed to get into swing for the holidays. I have to admit it was slow getting started with all the other activities I had going on but once I found the time, there was no stopping me. I finished my handmade Christmas cards as well as worked on a few other holiday projects. The acrylic post-it note pad holders were very easy and simple to do. I originally was going to do 5 but after seeing how nice they looked I've decided to do a few more for the ladies in our accounting office instead of the glass ornaments. Over at the Magical Holiday Home forum there was a month full of fun things to do. I have to remember to bring my camera with me so that I can post my pictures.

I went through and did an inventory of most of my decorations. I have so many I got tired and had to stop. I made a date to go back and finish doing inventory for October Rudy Day. I will be giving some things away that I will not use this year. From that I started writing out my plans for decorating each room in my apartment as well as my area at work. I have my office, the front door/stairwell area, and part of the livingroom already written out.

I wanted to have a CIJ dinner but I over-extended myself with my "celebrate me" plans. I was having too much fun celebrating my birthday. I had a menu planned with decorations and activities all written down. Next year I'll schedule the dinner for the earlier part of July.

I officially placed my master shopping list in my purse to have on hand whenever I'm out shopping. I think I have about half of my gifts bought. I went so crazy with stocking stuffers for my nieces and nephews that I am going to have to use the really big Christmas stockings to hold everything. I should have picked some up today as the Dollar Tree near my job already has a whole isle of Christmas stuff out.

My menu for Christmas Eve is finalized and grocery list is in my holiday binder ready for market day.

If I keep up this pace I think I will actually be ready for Christmas this year. Hope you all will be ready.

Christmas In July Schedule

2008-07-07T12:42:00.000-04:00

Here's a list of everything I plan to do this month:

Go through my Christmas decorations. See what I don't want or need to add. Create a decor plan.
Work on several holiday craft projects (homemade greeting cards, ornaments and post-it holders)
Purchase gifts for 4 of the people on my gift list.
Plan Christmas In July menu (date set for July 31st).
Try a new cookie recipe.
Do some of the housecleaning tasks from the Houseworks+Holiday plan.
Inventory holiday movies/music
Watch a few holiday movies. For the first week of July over at MHH we watched "Scrooged" with Bill Murray. Hilarious!
Put my holiday CD's in the car.
Create and print my Christmas Eve dinner invitations
Finalize holiday menus
Shop for stocking stuffers
Create grocery lists for baking/holiday menu
Update my blogs (started today)

Well that's all for now. I've just been over at MHH to see what everyone else is doing. Now I am going to create my July calendar with my '24 Days of Christmas' activities. Will write back soon.

Christmas In July!

2008-07-07T12:26:00.000-04:00

Well this month over at Magical Holiday Home boards, we are celebrating Christmas In July. The first week was light because of the July 4th celebration. We were asked to tell of our most favorite/memorable Christmas. My favorite Christmas memory was when I was about 8 or 9, my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends all came to our house for Christmas. I remember us kids entertaining the adults by doing dances, singing or telling jokes. It was really a wonderful time. My grandfather, father, an aunt, an uncle and a cousin have since passed away. Whenever I think of them, I always remeber the Christmas pasts that we were all together.

It was also the year I got my very first sewing machine. I was asking for a 'Sew Perfect', instead I got a Singer sewing machine. I had that machine for about 27/28 years. Never did learn how to make clothes or anything like that... just the basics.

2008-06-04T14:05:00.000-04:00

I don't have much to report. I did get started on my Christmas cards but that's about it. The weather was too nice and I just had to be out in it after weeks of cold and/or rain. LOL The cards are coming out pretty nicely. I need to do about 10 and so far I have three done.

Now I'm focusing on June. Don't have much family/outdoor activities planned this month so maybe I will be able to focus more on Christmas planning.

For June I want to:

Make several more handmade Christmas cards
Buy gifts for four people on my list (I have to make up for May)
Start holiday handbag project
Update my address book
Gather holiday decorating ideas.

Preparing for May-Day

2008-05-19T11:15:00.000-04:00

I'm falling behind a little in my plans but am slowly getting things done. I just picked up the remainder of supplies needed to do my craft projects. So for May's Rudy Day I will start on the homemade cards. I have 10 to make and I want them to be perfect (or as perfect as I can get them) so I need to get started early. My other goal is to shop for two more people on my gift list. I have quite a few people I give gifts to (about 30 to be exact). I know that's a lot but I love to give. One day I'll scale back. LOL!

This month Rudy Day falls during the Memorial Day weekend and I will be attending a couple of parties so I limited my to-do things to only two because I know me and I will not feel like doing much as I will be quite busy the entire holiday weekend.

Anyways I'll let you know about my accomplishments/failures on Tuesday. Hope everyone has a happy and safe Memorial Day, and remember why we have this day to celebrate in the first place. God Bless.

April Rudy Day

2008-04-25T14:03:00.000-04:00

One of the things I have planned was to start my holiday craft list. I'm not really crafty so I look for easy, simple projects but that I know my family will love to receive. So I went through my tearfiles and decided that here's what I want to make this year.

I bought lots of Christmas cards after the holidays on clearance but I wanted to make some special cards for people like my mom, grandmother - other close family members. I found this ribbon card project that will be nice to do with my nieces and nephews. They can give them to their parents and grandparents. Plus it will be special because it was made by loving little hands. I love these Merry Christmas and JOY holiday cards. I've added the supplies need to my master shopping list.

A few years ago I made a calendar with pictures of all the grandkids, myself and my brother for my mom which she loved. She still has that calendar up in her office so I'm going to make her another one with updated pictures of everyone. I will also make one for my grandmother but will add all her grandkids, great grandkids, and great-great grandkids.

For a few of my co-workers I am going to make them nice ornaments. I already purchased several packs of clear glass ornaments which I found in Dollar Tree stores. I will fill them with potpourri and glue miniature poinsettias and greenery around the cap then tie with some pretty satin ribbon - ready to hang on the tree.

Baby Blanket for baby's first Christmas

For my 9 year old niece, an advent calendar made out of gift boxes.

For myself and my best friend, this lovely purse will be soooo cute to carry to a holiday party.

My livingroom sofa and chairs are white, so I thought these festive red and white pillows would look really nice on them.

I had planned to go out today to start shopping from my master shopping list but my foot is aching a little from too much walking today (mending from a bad fall) so I'll put it off for Sunday.

Tonight I'll finish my 24 Days of Christmas Activities list and try to start setting up my gift closet. I've made several purchases since the beginning of the year and they have been sitting in my livingroom in a corner in bags. Every time someone comes to visit they head straight toward them - being nosey. I have to head them off and tell them to keep out. LOL I need to get them out of site quickly.

Happy Rudy Day!

2008-04-25T09:19:00.000-04:00

This morning I arrived to work half an hour early before anyone else so that I could have some quiet time. In my haste to get here early I forgot to grab my holiday planner. No worry, I remembered what I have planned to do. I brought in one of my Christmas cds and blast it through my computer while I ate some cereal. Once my co-workers started arriving, I turned the music off.

What's Going On So Far

2008-04-15T10:38:00.000-04:00

Here's what I've done so far:

1. modified holiday planner
2. created master gift list (Ginger's Challenge)
3. purchased Christmas cards
4. started master shopping list
5. created a budget

For April :

1. plan holiday craft projects
2. create a gift closet
3. make 24 days of Christmas activity list
4. shop from master shopping list (stocking stuffers)

Rudy Day List

2008-04-15T09:25:00.000-04:00

On the 25th of each month I will spend the day doing one or more of these things:

1. Create/modify holiday planner
2. Create/modify holiday budget
3. Update address book
4. Create/purchase greeting cards
5. Sign/address greeting cards
6. Plan holiday family dinner party
7. Create/buy party invitations
8. Plan holiday menus/grocery lists
9. Make trips to store for non-perishable foods
10. Gather Christmas decorating ideas
11. Inventory/purchase holiday decorations
12. Calendar-in activities with friends/family/myself
13. Plan easy-to-make weekly meals
14. Update holiday movies/music collection
15. Try a new holiday recipe
16. Create a list of homemade gift/decor ideas
17. Work on a homemade craft project
18. Create/update gift list
19. Shop from master shopping list
20. Set-up/inventory gift closet
21. Inventory/purchase gift wrap supplies
22. Decorate for the holidays
23. Chat with friends at Magical Holiday Home
24. Visit fellow Rudy Day bloggers
25. Make a 24 Days of Christmas activity list

Greetings!

2008-04-14T11:30:00.000-04:00

Each month for Rudy Day I will share my plans and ideas in preparing for Christmas. For those of you who aren't familiar with the day, my friends at Organized Christmas and Magical Holiday Home started this monthly ritual to help people like me (procrastinator/last minute person) plan for Christmas. Let me tell you it has really made my Christmases easier to enjoy.