Holiday stress and photo play

There's not too much going on at Chez I Candy besides the hustle and bustle of getting ready for Christmas! I have all my out of town packages shipped, the presents are wrapped, Christmas cards are sent, and most of the laundry (but none of the packing) is done. I always manage to get pretty stressed before Christmas but I am relived when it is almost here and most of the work is done for better or for worse.

So I didn't make handmade cards this year, that's okay. The extra time was another moment that I could spend connecting with my family. I didn't make those cookies that I wanted to try this year, oh well, that's something to look forward to next year.

Buck turned 38 on Monday. He requested a yellow cake with vanilla frosting. I didn't realize until right before we sang and did candles that we are missing an "8" candle so I had to do 35 and add 3 single candles. It looked pretty sad....

One thing I have been doing lately is playing with my camera. Jensen had a DSLR and since we talked photography a lot I knew he would want me to have it. I don't have the manual or the software that goes with it but I am slowly learning how to use it. Ian has been a patient model for me while I play around.

Merry Christmas!

Holy crap! I saw Rachael Ray!

Last night we went to a book signing for Rachael Ray's new book (Just in Time). Buck's cousin (CC) is crazy about her and so she and her mom drove seven hours to see her.

The signing started at 7:30ish and the line-up started at 6, so by the time we got our stuff signed and we were on the way home it was 8:20. We were put into 3 groups to wait for a signature, and we were lucky enough to be in the first group. I felt sorry for everyone waiting when I saw how the line snaked all over the store!

Rachael was really chatty and nice and she told CC that she was beautiful which made her day. Rachael is really cute and looked just the same in person as on TV. I only managed to get crappy pictures because I had to stand about 20' away and behind a stanchion to take pictures. The fluorescent lights didn't help matters.

Rachael shook CC's hand as we left the signing. On the way to the car CC said, "I have Rachael Ray on my hand. I am never going to stop sniffing it!" She always makes me laugh my ass off....

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas!

We bought our tree last night and spent the evening decorating the tree and the house. The Advent calendar is filled with treats, the stockings are hung (by the chimney with care), the lights are up inside.

I can't for the life of me seem to get a decent picture of my Christmas tree. I did get a picture of my most favorite part of the tree though-my garland.

When I was a little girl we lived in the same town as my grandparents and so we spent Christmas morning at our house and then went to "Fort Evergreen" as my Grandpa called their place, in the afternoon. I loved to dance around their living room, admiring the decorations and especially the candy garland on the Christmas tree. It looked like lifesavers and of course I had to taste it just to make sure it wasn't real. It is plastic, glittery, kinda tacky and was probably made in the 60s but nothing says Christmas to me like that garland on my tree! When my grandma died 3 years ago it was one of the only things I asked for from the house.

This weekend Buck will have his annual "Rednecks on the roof" party. This is when he dons a "Buckzilla" shirt and a bunch of his friends come over to drink beer, eat NC barbecue, and listen to redneck Christmas music while putting our lights up on the roof and around the house.

We enjoyed a marvelous day with Evie and her boys today. I was treated to Iain the Human Pretzel:


and Luigi:










Ian and I had such a good time with our friends. Iain and Ryan always play so well with Ian even though he is younger than they are. They hunted zombie aliens and played with castles and legos and all kinds of fun stuff. Ryan and Ian invaded Evie's jewelry box for magic rings and artifacts and she was so patient and generous with them to let them use her pretty things.

Evie and I got to chat for a long time which was so fun for me. It is wonderful to have a friend who is an unschooler like me since I don't seem to know many at home. I just wish we lived closer to each other so we could meet up more than once every month! Thanks for inviting us, Evie.