snowball::stockings::santa

:: snowball ::

For the sake of alliteration, here's a snowball from the

December 4, 2009 earliest Houston snowfall on record.

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::stockings::

Our stockings look so nice on the "new" white fireplace.

I'm thinking I want to add a little greenery to the stockings

sometime soon - a little jolly holly.

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:: santa :: We got a new silver Christmas tree this year, with holographic "needles" that reflect a rainbow of color. I love, love, love it because it's skinny and fits right into our "Christmas tree corner."

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This Santa ornament is one of my favorites because it makes me think of my dad. He didn't play the saxaphone, but he was a jolly ol' elf, indeed.

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On Christmas day, Emily and I were sick so we all stayed home. Lucky for us, my most talented Hubby is a great cook and whipped up a wonderful Christmas dinner on the spur of the moment. It was a quiet Christmas, but we were all together.

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Here's wishing everyone a wonderful New Year.

May 2010 be much better to us than 2009 was!

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(And let me just say, whenever I hear an alliteration I think of:

"beets, bears, Battlestar Galactica." Don't you?)

happy snow day!

Today, Houston got it's earliest snowfall ever! Not that we get snowfall often, but it happens now and then. And it happened today! Noah took pictures while I was working at the dance studio. We took more pictures when I got home. Then hubby came home early, and we got this picture of me and Noah. Folks, this is an event. Snow in Houston! More snow than "if you squint hard, you can see it" snow.

Yes, it stuck to the ground!

And it made neat little piles on the fence.

Here, Noah's footprints became a smiley face.

Lisa at u*handbag is having a giveaway. To enter, you must submit a photo of extreme sewing. I think this qualifies.

Happy Snow Day!

the holidays are here!

Poinsettias are one of my favorite things about the holiday season. As the mom in charge of the Bayou City Dance Company poinsettia fundraiser for many years (back in the day), I now can't imagine a Christmas without poinsettias. We sold the most beautiful poinsettias, and it was awesome when hundreds of them were delivered to the studio for the dancers to pick up. It was a sea of poinsettias in red, pink, cream and sometimes one they call Jingle Bells (red with flecks of white). They were so beautiful. And now when I see poinsettias, I always remember those days. Oh, the life of a dance mom! I wouldn't change a minute of it.

This year, we had Thanksgiving dinner at our house and my big sis brought me a really big poinsettia plant. It's gorgeous! Our guests for dinner were Deb & Judy and Mary & Charlie. Dinner was so delicious with all of our favorites, and it was nice to be together as a family. And let me just say, you've got to try this cinnamon coffee recipe from the Taste of Texas restaurant. I served it a couple of years ago during the holidays, but I forgot how really delicious it is. I also use their pecan pie recipe, and it's always a big hit.

Here's Emily making coconut cookies for a friend on Sunday. She loves making cookies during the holidays. On this day, our kitchen produced pancakes (hubby), cookies (Emily), walnut chocolate chip pumpkin muffins (me), turkey tortilla soup (hubby), and chocolate pie (hubby). It was amazing and delicious!

VIDEO NEWS

At this year's CUMC Hanging of the Greens, the Best Kolaches performed once again, with Noah as lead singer. They did a great job, as always, with minimal rehearsal time. They're amazing! Here are links to their two performances - Go Go Power Rangers and Winter Wonderland - courtesy of Andrea (aka Snow White). And here's a link to Andrea's blog with a quick video of their performance at last year's Hanging of the Greens. I was there, honest I was. But I had camera issues. So "many thanks" to Andrea for sharing.

Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving, and I wish you all the blessings of the Christmas season.