Month: December 2012

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When Do You Put Away Your Holiday Decorations?

Christmas is over but I like to leave the decorations up until at least Three Kings Day in January. Some times I’ll leave them up a little bit longer. I remember one time I left them up longer than I really should have because I truly enjoy sitting by the Christmas tree and gazing at the warm lights.

I did  take the decorations from outside down I just left the tree up past Valentine’s Day that year. I loved every bit of it though. Then, I realized that I should put it away in order to keep it special. Because if I left it up all year long, it would loose it’s special value of being a Christmas tree and turn into an every day house hold item in our home and that was not something I wanted.

I have already begun to put away some of the things I got while out shopping yesterday.  That’s one of my rules; if I buy new decorations on sale I can’t set them out until the next year. I did get a bunch of  cute things to set out for next year and I can’t wait for Christmas to be here all over again. I look forward to decorating the house every year, it’s just the putting everything away afterward that I don’t’ really like.

When do you put away all of your holiday decorations?

 

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Mayan Calendar Ended But the World Did Not

Well it is December 22, 2012 and we are all still here. Woo hoo! I never doubted we would be but oh boy did many people think just the opposite.  I feel horrible for the people that spent their life savings thinking the world was coming to an end only to wake up today to realize that they have nothing left. Talk about a rude awakening for people.

All of these people based the idea that the world was coming to an end simply by using the Mayan Calendar because it ended on December 21, 2012. I wonder what all of these people are going to say now that we are all still here. Are they going to take things back to the store for a refund so they have some money again? What will they do if they spent every penny on consumable items and they are all gone?

What would you do if you spent all of your money and burned every bridge you had because you thought it was all going to be over and gone today? Would you go beg, plead, borrow, and apologize for your actions? Or, would you suck it up and go out and start over and do what you have to in order to survive again?

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Household Holiday Clean Up

I have less than a week before everyone arrives for Christmas.  We’re hosting Christmas at our house this year so I need to do my household holiday clean up.  That’s where I go and scrub every surface that a mother-in-law could complain about seeing dust, and make sure everything is put away in it’s place.

I need to steam clean all of the carpets and drapes. The kids seem to bring dirt in no matter how many times I have them wipe their feet or take off their shoes.  I don’t know how it gets in, it’s like they are dirt magnets. I plan to do that this afternoon and then take the kids out afterward so the carpet has a chance to dry.  Hopefully once it’s clean it can stay that way for at least another week or two while everyone is here.

I have most of the normal everyday cleaning done it’s just the things I only do on more of a monthly basis that still need to be done.  I need to change the sheets on the bed in the guest room.  I don’t remember when they were used last but fresh sheets are always nice to have.  I should probably also cull the magazine collection I have in that room as well. I don’t need a two and a half foot stack of magazines int here to collect dust.

What is your routine for your household holiday clean up?  I’d love to hear how you get through it and any tips or tricks you might have.

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Family Photo Books for Christmas

I was thinking it might be fun to get all of our relatives long lasting photo books of our family.  We could send them out instead of Christmas cards this year.  Our family is always pestering us for more photos.  One nice thick book might appease their appetites for a little while.  I’m looking at getting wholesale catalogs at zooprinting.com.

A nice glossy catalog of page upon page of the children and all of their silly shenanigans from the year is just what everyone needs.  They are nice and sturdy and will last awhile.  I bet I’ll even find them used as coffee table books at a few of my in-laws homes.  They absolutely love to share off their grandchildren to everyone that steps foot into their home.

We’ve made photo calendars in the past but I think these catalog style books will really stand out.  Plus, there will be more than just twelve pages of pictures in these. Now, the fun part is to gather all of our family photos and start putting it in order.  I’m soo glad I have saved all of our photos digitally. I don’t have to go digging through a bunch of boxes to find our photos.  They are all organized nicely on my computer in a file tilted, “Family Photos.”