Another Christmas Gone, A New Year Is Almost Begun

Hey all! Sorry for not writing for so long, it's been a bit mad here this week. I hope that everyone had a fantastic Christmas. I had a wonderful one, and what made it so special was that I had my first White Christmas. I couldn't believe that the snow/ice lasted in my yard until today (two days shy of being a whole week). I have been listening to one of my Christmas presents all week. My sister bought me the new Josh Groban album. This is a must have in your music collection. Go out and get it.

As I tried to think of what some of my New Year's Resolutions could be, I had to start counting my blessings. Have any of you seen Rodger's and Hammerstein's "White Christmas"? If so, do you remember Bing Crosby's character singing the "Blessings" song to Rosemary Clooney's character? That song has taken on new meaning in my life this year. Those of you who are close to me know why. We have so much to be thankful for, there are always people out in the world worse off than you. As you enter this new year, think of all your blessings and be thankful for all that you are blessed with.

Talk to y'all soon!

2 More Days Until Christmas

Hey all! I know its been a week since I was last on, sorry about that. Getting ready for Christmas and working on some freelance projects has been keeping me busy the last week. There is a major reason I like getting all my Christmas shopping done before November...Traffic! My sister and I went in town the other night for her to pick up a few last minute items. Traffic was insane. How come one of the most festive and joyous times of the year creates such rudeness and disdain in the hearts and actions of men? I feel sorry for these people, because letting that into their hearts and actions robs Christmas from not only them but others. My Christmas Wish is that these people remember the true meaning of Christmas and the season. To borrow an analogy from a movie I saw on GMC, "Remember, Christmas starts with a 'Capital C.'"

Off to finish baking cookies with my mother. Talk to y'all soon!!!

10 Days Until Christmas

(photo from: ioffer.com)

Hey all! The Christmas season is in full swing. This weekend we had flurries and then started sticking and now today it is suppose to start sleeting and having wintry mix. Looking forward to it and hope that it stacks up.

Monday, my dad and I went and bought several vinyl records for just pennies. Having a blast listening to them, so much better than just plain CDs or MP3s. Vinyl is back! I noticed when browsing through all the albums, that there were albums by artists of today. Did a little research and found out that artists of today are starting to record on vinyl again because of the sound quality.

Get out your old turn tables or browse the yard sales and find a turn table. Break out your LPs that are in the garage or attic and enjoy.

Talk to yall soon!

18 More Days Until Christmas!

Hey all! I thought I would share with you what I am listening to in my car right now. It is Christmas time now, and so its time to breakout all your Christmas CDs/MP3. I have many favorite Christmas CDs from over the years. My first CD ever was a Christmas CD that I received as when I was six-years-old. However, one of my new favorite Christmas CDs happens to be one that I purchased last year, Andrea Bocelli "My Christmas". Several of the songs literally take my breath away. If there is a Christmas CD that you should have in your collection, this would be in the top picks for my list. Enjoy!

Talk to yall soon!

How To Make A 72 Point Star

Hey all! Here are some pictures on how to make a 72 point star that my Mother taught me how to make years ago. I decided to make a bunch this year for one of our two trees. Hope you enjoy!

Step 1: Cut out 12 circles and slits towards the middle leaving about a quarter size circle in the middle.





Step 2: Wrap each wedge around a pencil tip making a tight cone. Tape and make sure the tape is secure.



Step 3: After making the cones on each of the 12 circles, now it is time to thread them on to a ribbon. Using a sharp point of some object (ie. a needle) make a hole in the middle of each circle.
(tip: cut the ribbon at a sharp angle to make the threading easier.)



Step 4: After threading on all 12 circles, now it is time to tie the ribbon and pull tight.


Step 5: Tie the two loose ends together to create your loop to hang the 72 point star. Repeat these steps to create unique one of a kind Christmas ornaments for your tree.




Step 6: Hang on your tree and enjoy them for the the whole holiday. When the holiday is over, store them or throw them out and make new ones next year. The great thing is, they are are cheap to make and look great. (hint: They are hard to store, but it is totally worth a try. If you find a way to store them safely and keep them from bending, let me know. I would love to keep mine.)



Talk to yall soon!

Happy Thanksgiving

Hello all! I hope that you all had a wondrous Thanksgiving. For those of you that braved the stores today, I hope that it was worth it and that you were able to find some great deals. Thanksgiving had been different the past couple years. My dad started this no oils diet to lower his cholesterol, and so we try and make everything so that he can eat it too and we don't have to fix something else special for him. So this year, because my dad loves pie, I searched online for a fat-free pie crust. I found several, but the one I chose to do was from the Happy Herbivore blog. Here is my advice for it: because this pie doesn't have fat in it and uses a banana for the moisture to hold it together, cook your filling on top of the stove before filling your pie crust. The reason being, this pie crust can not bake for as long as the filling needs to and you will end up with a very hard crust that could break a tooth.

For my family, the day after Thanksgiving is the day we start getting the house ready for Christmas. It takes the majority of the day setting up our 9.5 foot tree and stringing the lights on it. This year we have close to 3,000 lights on it, but this year we added another tree for the downstairs so we also had to set that up and start stringing lights on it (we ran out and have to get more to finish it). Have you ever noticed that in a lot of houses, the Christmas decorations stop after the pubic rooms (living room, kitchen and dinning room) are done. The main tree will get its decorations and finishing touches Sunday, but the second tree I am making most of the ornaments. Each year I have always made a few ornaments for the tree, kinda of a tradition. My goal for this second tree is to decorate for little money. I will be posting, later, direction to make one of the ornaments that my mother taught me to make a long time ago.

For now, enjoy your weekend and reflect on all the things in our lives that we have to be thankful for. We may have it rough sometimes, but in many ways we are so much better off than a lot of people.

Talk to yall soon!

Holiday Recipe Cards

Hey all! I can't believe that its been over a week since the my last post. Alright, here are a couple Holiday Recipe Cards for you to use this season. These are printable and are 5X7 inches. If you are having company this season, most likely someone will compliment you on one or more dishes. Here is a tip: Print off several cards and fill them out with a couple of your signature dishes that are on the table. When a guest compliments you on the dish and asks if you would be willing to share your recipe, you will already have it waiting for them. The fact that you thought ahead will really sick out in your guests minds.





Talk to yall soon!

The Family Silver

Hey all! Sorry it has been a couple days since I posted anything. I am working on some new designs for my Zazzle store. The head cold I was fighting off this past weekend caught up to me and knocked me out yesterday. I am still fighting off and trying to stay busy. But as I sat at the kitchen table this morning I noticed my parent's wedding gift, a silver pitcher, was really tarnished. I also realized that we never use that pitcher. So after finding out where from my mother where the polish was, I began polishing the pitcher. After a while my mother came home for lunch was thanked me for cleaning it up for her. She reminded me that the reason that we never use it is because it takes a lot to keep it polished and clean. However, I kind of got into it. I have now retrieved some more of our family silver and I am polishing it now. There is something about freshly polished silver that is just beautiful. So my point to this blabbering is this: Yeah something might take a little bit of work, but the result of that work is something to be proud of.

Talk to yall soon!

Andrew Peterson Concert

Hey all! I mentioned earlier that I had been so excited to an Andrew Peterson concert this past Friday night. Here is one of the songs that he did.


Talk to yall soon!

Thank You Cards

Hey all! Here are a few new/updated Thank You Cards that I had done in black and white, now I added Teal.




Talk to yall soon!

Pumpkin Thanksgiving Products

Hey all! Happy November 1st! Here are a few Pumpkin Thanksgiving Products.










Talk to yall soon!

"Twas the Night of Thanksgiving"

Hey all! I was helping my Mother sort through some papers today and found a e-mail that my Mother had printed off years ago of a Thanksgiving Poem, by whom I do not have a clue. Thought I would share it as we head into November.

Twas the Night of Thanksgiving

Twas the night of Thanksgiving, but I just couldn't sleep.
I tried counting backwards, I tried counting sheep.
The leftovers beckoned - the dark meat and white,
But I fought the temptation with all of my might.
Tossing and turning with anticipation,
The thought of a snack became infatuation.
So, I raced to the kitchen, flung open the door,
And gazed at the fridge, full of goodies galore.
I gobbled up turkey and bettered potatoes,
Pickles and carrots, beans and tomatoes.
I felt myself swelling so plump and so round,
'Til all of a sudden, I rose off the ground.
I crashed through the ceiling, floating into the sky,
With mouthful of pudding and a handful of pie.
But I managed to yell as I soared past the trees...
Happy eating to all - Pass the cranberries, please.
May your stuffing be tasty, May your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes 'n gravy have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious, may our pies take the prize,
May your thanksgiving dinner stay off of your thighs.
May your thanksgiving be blessed!!

Hope you enjoy! Talk to yall soon!

Fun Impromptu Photoshoot

Hey all! Yesterday I was hanging out with some friends and we decided to go downtown. Grabbed my camera and two of my friends; drug them around Renaissance Park posing them in several different locations. Here a few of the shots.










Talk to yall soon!

Veteran's Day Invitations

Hello all! Hope you all had a great week. I am so excited right now, because I am going to an Andrew Peterson concert tonight. If you have never heard of him, check him out. Powerful songwriter and singer.

I had the opportunity, this week, to design/layout an invitation to an event honoring our veterans. check it out.


Talk to yall soon!

What's playing in my car.

Hey all! For most of this year I have not had anything playing in my car as I drove around. I had the odd craving for music and would put something in once in a while for specific songs, but for the most part the radio and stereo has been off. Today, however, I had the craving for some Josh Turner. For those of you who are not familiar with Josh, Josh is a Country Music Artist originally from South Carolina. So we both are Carolina boys, granted I'm from North Carolina but close enough. So here is my shout out to Josh Turner, keep on with your great music and thank you for also promoting your Christian faith. Huge inspiration man!

Talk to yall soon!

Natalie's Senior Portraits

Hey all! I had the privilege of taking a co-worker's daughter's senior portraits. This was a fun session and Natalie was amazing to work with. Special thanks to Connie, her mother, for helping me out with my giant reflector.












Talk to yall soon!