12 Days of Christmas Challenge - Day 8

It’s Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay Eight!!  Let’s blog!!

Today’s topic = Least Favorite Thing About The Holidays

Well, first of all it’s hard for me to be in a sour mood this time of year because it’s my absolute favorite time of year!! I love the weather, I love the television specials, I love the holiday movies, I love the spirit that people get into.  BUT, there is usually a very small cloud that hovers over me during this excitement.  It’s the cloud of guilt and emptiness.

I tell myself every year that I’m going to take several of those tags off the Angel trees at Wal*Mart and make some families happy.  And every year I walk right past them thinking about what I came there to buy.  I feel extremely selfish and I always feel the tapping of guilt on my shoulders.  It’s a struggle this time of year because I walk the line of “do I buy for my family? Do I buy for someone else’s family?”  I know I can’t meet the needs of every stranger out there but I do need to do my part and share the blessings that God gives me each and every day.  If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times, I’m blessed beyond what I ever think I deserve.  My God is awesome and He loves me! You know that envelope system I was talking about?  I think I will have one just for this occasion for next year.

Now, let’s talk about the emptiness.  Don’t get me wrong, I have an amazing family that fills my life with more joy than I can tell you.  My family and Zach’s family are the most loving, caring, supportive people I know.  I love them all with all my heart!  But, I still get really sad when I watch movies where families all come together and enjoy each others company and laugh and cook and decorate and talk to each other like everyone’s thoughts and feelings matter.  Especially if it’s a mother/daughter situation.  To make a looooooong story short, my parents divorced in 2005.  It was ugly and it still is.  It’s ugly now because I haven’t spoken to my mother in a year and a half and she only lives a couple towns away.  It’s a very sticky emotional situation that I wish would just go away and we could be close again.  So I’m left with this emptiness that only gets worse during the holiday season.  I know one day it will get better but until then I just have to go on and live my life.

I’m sure others who are doing the 12 Days of Christmas Challenge probably chose their least favorite things about the holiday being long lines at stores, insane traffic, spending too much money so I’m sorry I kind of wrote a downer of a blog.  I just thought I would be honest with you and let you see that I’m not all smiles and sparkles.  I am human and I definitely don’t want to be a fake in my blog.  This Is Me!  Hope you are having a blessed day and thanks for keeping up with me throughout the challenge so far.

Happy HAPPY Holidays,

April

12 Days of Christmas Challenge -Day 7

Hello there! It's Monday after Thanksgiving.  Work was pleasant and I got a lot of fun work stuff done.  There are several teams in my department and next Friday we are going to do a Christmas card exchange with a basket of goodies.   I have to come up with a couple of different goodies for the baskets.  We have to make 4 goodie baskets and 4 cards.  My team is going to make giant cards out of poster board and write our own messages on the inside.  I'm pretty excited about making the front.  In the next week I will be on the hunt for some big cute gift bags so I can cut out the image on it and glue it to the front of the card. I will post some pictures as soon as I get it done.  With all that being said let's jump into today's blog challenge.  DIY crafts.  

I don't have any in my home at the moment but I'm always cutting things out of magazines that I want to do around my house.  In no particular order here are some of the things that I find extremely cute and adorable.  Maybe next year I will get around to doing some of them :)

This seems so simple and way cute!

I'm sure you could go to Goodwill and pick up an assortment of ties to make one of these.

Very Cute!

I don't really know if I could make these but I could try. I just love them.

I think I will make something like these for my counter top next year.

You can't go wrong with ornaments in glass.

I'm in LOVE with trays.  I would put a tray on every table if I could.

This little guy is made out of chipboard and scrapbook paper.

Love 'em!

Again, ornaments and glass.  And I love the bedazzled look on them.

Okay, so I had to stop myself from looking stuff up on the internet.  I found almost all of these on Better Homes and Gardens website.  LOVE the magazine, LOVE the website.  I encourage you to sign up for their daily email.  They have the best ideas.

If you are looking to spice up your pictures and pictures frames I saw a great idea in Woman' s World that said to wrap your frames in wrapping paper.  My sister wrapped her wall pictures in wrapping paper and then put a big bow on the front for her bunko party this weekend.  They look really cute and it's a lot cheaper than buying a picture that you can only use at Christmas time.

Happy DIY,

April

12 Days of Christmas Challenge - Day 6

Day Six is Gift Ideas

I sort of did this one in an earlier blog of mine.  It's a list of things that I want but will NEVER get.  It's called Dear Santa if you would like to check it out.  I actually have recieved one of the gifts from that list though.  I am now a proud owner of an IPAD and it ROCKS!!!  So here is a little list of things that I wouldn't mind having if someone just wants to get me something ;)  

Beauty and the Beast

The Sound of Music

Katharine Mcphee's Christmas Album

Pink's Greatest Hits

Lady Gaga concert tickets

New Kids on the Block/Backstreet Boys concert tickets

Cricut machine

One Tree Hill season 7

Glee the Christmas Album

Cougar Town season one

Name brand handbag (I usually don't buy name brand unless it's from Ross so I think I would like one.)

Roxy slip on shoes

These are just some ideas I came up with.

Hope you get something off your list!!

Happy Christmas list day,

April

12 Days of Christmas Challenge -Day 5

It's that time again to link up with Aly and Molly!

Favorite Holiday Movie/T.V. Show Special

I'm linking up late tonight.  It's been a busy couple of days in the Rowell house.  Family has been in town, we had a concert to attend and some important football game in the state of Oklahoma is happening this evening.  OU vs. OSU.  As you can tell, I'm not watching it :)

This is an easy one!!  Let me just give you a little list to compare yours to.  Maybe you'll pick up some new ones to watch this year.

 1.  How the Grinch Stole Christmas

 2.  White Christmas

 3.  The Santa Clause

 4.  While You Were Sleeping  (I consider this a Christmas movie)

 5.  A Very Brady Christmas

 6.  A Christmas Story

 7.  Home Alone (duh!)

 8.  Saved by the Bell Christmas episode

 9.  Babes in Toyland

10.  National Lampoons Christmas Vacation

11.  Deck the Halls

12.  The Nightmare Before Christmas

13.  Pee Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special

14.  Batman Returns (yes, I consider this one too!)

15.  The lighting of the tree in Rockefeller Center

This pretty much sums it up.  My friend Amber and I are having a Christmas Movie Fest on the 11th so I better start thinking about what I want to pick for a movie that night.  Can't wait for it!!

I'm gonna go read up on your lists now! Maybe I need to add some more to mine.

Happy movie watching,

April

12 Days of Christmas Challenge -Day 4

Here's to another day of the challenge.  I'm linking up with Aly and Molly.  You should do the same!

Well, looks like today we are talking about tips and tricks to a budget friendly holiday season.  It's like this.....I'm cheap!  Cheap meaning I don't like to spend a lot of money, especially on myself.  I check the clearance rack before I even think about checking out the non-sale stuff.  I like to get more for my money and my theory is, it's gonna go on sale eventually and if it doesn't then I probably didn't need it anyways.  

When it comes to buying for other people though I want to get the best I can afford to get them.  If I was a millionaire I would be showering my friends and family and probably even strangers with gifts.  I like to give :) However, I am not a millionaire, yet.  When that day comes be prepared for an amazing gift!

I'm pretty bad about waiting until the last minute to purchase something and sometimes panicking making sure I have enough money.  This next year I think I'm going to do the envelope system of saving money, and not just for holiday or birthdays.  Dave Ramsey believes in this system and I think I will give it a try. Nothing sucks more than when you think you are sittin' pretty with your money and then BOOM, your car tag is due.  Well guess what?  I'm gonna have an envelope for that! Problem solved and I won't have to take that chunk of money from the bank account.  I think though, I will look for a cute coupon holder so I don't have a drawer full of envelopes.

One thing I do now is every pay day I have a portion automatically sent to my savings account.  This way I never even see that money and the only way to get the money is to drive almost downtown to my credit union and take it out in person.  It's an inconvenience and it's better that way.  It makes it a hassle if I just want to get out some fun money.  So, I just don't do it.

Make sure you have a list and a budget for each person you are shopping for.  Try your best not to shop for yourself.  Tis the season to give and not to receive!  You will feel guilty when you get home and you have 3 bags of stuff for you and one for everyone else.  If money is tight then come up with a little homemade something.  I really do enjoy getting homemade goodies from people.  Especially if it comes in a cute container :) 

These are my best tips for now.  Hope they help you a little and I'm excited to read all of yours.  I need more ideas on how to save money so that I can have that million dollars we were just talking about :)

Happy budget friendly holidays,

April

12 Days of Christmas Challenge - Day 3

It's day 3 of the blogging challenge!! Link it up!!

I don't know if the most meaningful and the best gift was supposed to be the same thing, but I split them up so I could share two gifts with you ;)

The most meaningful gift I have ever received at Christmas time would have to be my marriage.  Zach and I were married on December 15, 2007.  I'm completely in love with him! It's a good thing too cause I'm pretty sure I can't return him :) I won't talk too much on this subject because come December 15th I will go into all the lovey dovey details of our wedding in a fun filled wedding blog. 

The best gift I've ever received was given to me last year.  My in-laws swept us off to New York City last December for a family trip.  It was the BEST vacation ever!!! It was everything I imagined.....plus some!!  If you ever get the chance to go (especially at Christmas time) you MUST go!!! I can't even explain how magical the city is.  We definitely plan to go back but when it's a much warmer climate.  It was freezing!  

We took in as much as we could in the four days we were there.  Well, the last day our plans were totally changed due to some New York snow but that's a whole new blog of its own.  Of course we saw the tree at Rockefeller Center, the Rockettes Christmas show at Radio City Music Hall, Times Square, Central Park, China town (where I thought my life was about to end just trying to get a Louis Vuitton purse for my sister), Little Italy (my favorite place), Macy's, Ground Zero, St. Patrick's Cathedral, The Dakota building, FDNY Firefighter's Museum, Tavern on the Green, Bryant Park, and lots and lots of cabs!!!! And they drive CrAzY!!!!

I want to go back sooooo bad!!! Maybe we will plan a nice liitle trip next summer or fall. 

I HEART NY!!!

April   

Big Nutcracker

Radio City Music Hall

Rockettes Christmas show 

Rockefeller Center 

Imagine in Central Park 

Mailing our letters to Santa at Macy's

Pretending to do the news on the streets of New York

Probably one of my favorite moments.

I felt famous for just a little bit.

I've always wanted to buy a hotdog from a hotdog stand.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Macy's store front

New York snow

Pretty on Saturday, ugly on Sunday

The firestation across from Ground Zero

Times Sqaure

The view of New York as we were driving away.....to Ohio!

Long story, looooooong day!