Christmas Blaaaaaahs!

Bah Humbug!  Well, not really.  Each year I hope I get in the Christmas spirit, but then it seems to allude me once again. 

I am going to admit to all of you one of my worst flaws as a mom, so prepare yourself!  Before my daughter was born, I loved decorating for Christmas.  Always filled our little Charlie Brown trees with 300+ lights and made every Christmas cookie that I knew how to bake.  Then I had my daughter.  Even afterward for a few years, I kept up my madness because I wanted her Christmases to be perfect.  Then she hit around three years old.  She wanted to help hang decorations.  Ok, I thought.  I pulled out all of the plastic ornaments we had and she hung them on the tree.  Pretty much all in one spot.  I couldn't deal with it.  I was so anal-retentive then that I had a meltdown (not to worry - it wasn't in front of her!).  I knew I was being ridiculous, so I didn't move a thing.  But let me tell you, it drove me a little crazy every day the tree was up!  After that year, I gave up decorating the tree.  I did.  My husband and daughter took over and since I resigned to not helping, I could live with however it turned out.  Every year my husband tried to get me to join in on it, but I couldn't.  I knew that if I got involved in that project, my perfectionism would take over.

Now my daughter is 14 and I am trying to get into the spirit before she moves out of the house and only has memories of her pathetic Scrooge of a mother.  This year the tree isn't up yet, but I have over half of my shopping done.  That is rare, but I think it is contributing to an overall lack of stress and therefore I am in better spirits.  So I am going to help with the tree this year.  I am also going to organize our ornaments since my husband has been haphazardly storing them away each year (oops - there is the perfectionist again!).  I will pull my daughter's favorites ornaments out and start boxing them up for her for the day she is no longer living with us.  I am even thinking of baking a boatload of goodies this year.  Cookies and candies and breads (oh my!).

Maybe this Scrooge isn't so hopeless after all.

One Little Two Little Three Little Moo Cows

My obsession started getting the best of me and I ordered two more little cow paintings. These have blue backgrounds and will go in my dining room (which is slated for re-painting in early Spring).  Aren't they cute?

Original Moo Moo Miss Cow

Pretty Boy Blue

The has-me-laughing cow

The first two above are by the same artist  Look at their feathery ears, as I call them. The last one is a 5x7 and is more whimsical.  It looks like it is right up in your face.  Cracks me up.

In an earlier post (here) I spoke about buying art on Ebay. Well, the painter of the first two cow paintings sent her business card with her last cow and I checked out her website.  She does great portraits at a really reasonable price so I am going to have her paint a picture of my daughter from when she was just 6 months old.  We couldn't afford to have one painted then and I still can't spend a fortune on it now, but there is something about her portraits that intrigue me and since the prices are so reasonable, I am giving it a shot.  Now I just have to find the photo and make a copy to send her.  I can't wait to show you all when it is finished!

What is on your Christmas list??

My hubby and I spent a day thrifting and flea marketing last Saturday.  Gosh the weather was perfect for it!  You will not find me at the flea market in the middle of our 100 degree summers (actually anything 86 degrees or higher - I am a heat wimp).  I came up with some items for my Christmas list:


A couple of Aqua Mason Jars with the old lids on them.  Found plenty at our flea market so he won't have a problem getting some. Love the aqua color and could find so many uses for them!

An old Soda crate.  Don't need it, but just want it!  I saw one for $8.00.  Pepsi's are much cheaper than Coke's.  They wanted about $30 for Coke crates.  I am a Pepsi drinker, so I am cool with the less expensive one.

A old, large crock.  Saw one on a blog that they put beside their sofa that held their throw blankets.  I have been looking for a way to keep the throws near our sofas, but not on them. I loved this idea!

A few other things that I thought of for our crafting/furniture refinishing needs:

A pneumatic stapler gun, so I can start my first "real"  upholstery project.  I am a weakling, so it is a must for me before I start anything bigger than a basic seat recovering.

A spray painter for our compressor.  Looking forward to not being so limited in colors, since we only use canned spray paint now. 

Lastly, a good quality scissors and rotary cutter for sewing.  I have been making felt flowers as of late and my pair of scissors is S-A-D.  Great on plain fabric, but a lot of work cutting through felt.


That's my list!  My hubby and I don't usually spend much money on each other.  Our daughter gets the bulk of what we spend, but we even try to keep that around $150-200 each year.  As she has gotten older, the number of gifts has gotten smaller while their individual cost has risen.  I am adamant about not going into debt for Christmas since that is not what the day is about.  Cash only and I am finally learning to shop earlier so there is less chaos in my life!

Handmade gifts are starting to make up a small percentage of what we give, too.  My brothers are always happy if they get cookies and breads that my mother used to make for them.  It makes them nostalgic and it doesn't cost a fortune. Since we have started on this furniture refinishing kick, we are hoping that next year we can give some pieces of furniture.  When I was into my jewelry making phase, all the girls got jewelry.  During the knitting phase, all of the girls got handknit scarves.  All of that requires advanced planning otherwise it becomes insane trying to finish everything at the last minute.  And I am getting far too old for that!

So, what is on your Christmas list?  Anything antique, funky or eclectic? Items for your hobbies?