Jingle, Jingle, Jingle - It's The Sound of Old Kris Kringle

Thursday, the weather took a turn for the worse. Before noon it started getting really foggy, and the temperature started to drop. I was determined to get some patterned paper to start my Christmas cards, so I ventured out to Scrapbookers to get my hands on the Dear Lizzy Christmas collection. (Everytime I think of making the cards this year, it's that paper that I have in mind - it's so colourful, in a non-traditional way. And I love the nostalgia injected into the papers).

Fall, but especially winter means comfort food. For us its all about the soups. I created a soup we call Sausage Corn Chowder while I was off healing from appendicitis (I was watching the cooking channel a lot during my days off). I thought about what I could put in a soup that would be perfect: cream corn, corn niblets, mushroom slices, red peppers, onion, sausage and cream. When Justin got home that night, supper was all made and he said the soup was the best thing I had ever made!

When we got back to Great Falls after Vegas this last time, I had the best cider at Applebee's. Ever since then I've tried to find some that I love as much as that tasty cup. When Justin called me to say he was grocery shopping, I asked him to hunt me down some cider. Low and behold, he found perfection. (He bought two kinds, one apple and cranberry, one just apple - it's the apple one that is the best!) At a Christmas craft show a long time ago, Grandma bought a bottle of concentrated apple cider; the feelings that I get drinking it now bring back that same warm and comforting feeling as having her around. It always reminds me of her whenever I drink some.

After supper, I started working on my cards. I completed three of them, and have about twelve or so left. I'm hoping to use this same paper collection for my December Daily album. And another thing that I'm working on will include the use of the numbered page. Seriously, one of my best ideas - can't wait for it to be the time to put this plan into action!

After cardmaking, I made some popcorn and watched Big Bang Theroy (my all time favorite show - it's hillarious - I'd love DVDs of the show for Christmas). Justin got to baking some banana bread. He just took the last of it with him this morning, on his big hunt - and I didn't even get a piece of it at all. It's okay though, it doesn't have chocolate chips, and everyone knows it's the chocolate that makes the banana bread!

Last night we went over to Amanda and Lincoln's for a bit. Lincoln put in a new thermistat in my Blazer. The drive out to their place was freezing, even with the heater cranked all the way up. On the way home, I was too hot; I had the fan speed and temperature turned right down. It used to be we'd take Hewie (93 Ford Explorer) everywhere in the winter because his heat works so good, now I think we'll be taking the Blazer; I can't believe how much of a difference that made - thanks Lincoln!

One way I've found (that is working) to get me in the Christmas spirit is to surround myself with it: buying pretty paper, drinking hot cider, eating soup, looking at twinkling lights, making Chirstmas cards, capturing little bits of holiday magic on my memory card. Another way? Spending time at the Sipko's! The tree is up, there's a snow globe (my favorite holiday decoration) on the coffee table, a count down ornament, Christmas lights are up on the house.

Oh, and then there was watching Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer. I LOVE Burl Ives. Again, I feel closer to Grandma when I hear him singing. When Bradley and I used to watch it, she'd come into the living room and watch it for a bit; although I'm pretty sure she was just listening to Burl singing. It's nice to have someone that appreciates the fine things in life, like snuggling up on the couch, watching kids movies and falling asleep less than twenty minutes into the show! It's just something that Amanda and I have come to expect when we sit down to watch a movie on her couches, or it could just be Burl singing us to sleep while laying beside the Christmas tree!

The past couple days I've felt like the Grinch, but I think last night my heart grew three sizes bigger! I can feel the ice melting, and me getting into the magic of the holiday!