25 Holiday Activites + a FREEBIE

December is upon us.

I tried to google some fun activities to add to our advent this year, but I couldn't find any decent lists....so I made up my own. Here is a list of 25 activities to do as a family during the month of December. You can print off this list and choose one from a jar each day, make it a part of your advent calendar or choose a few and schedule them on your family's calendar. Whichever you choose, take some time out to spend with the most important part of the Holidays...family.

01. Make a advent paper chain to count down the days until Christmas/Hanukkah.
02. Write and mail holiday letters to U.S. Soldiers. Find out how here.
03. Finger paint a Holiday scene in red and green.
04. Learn a new Christmas/Hanukkah song you didn't know before.
05. Make your own hot cocoa and sip it while telling stories of your favorite holidays past.
06. Create a mix CD of holiday songs to play in your car throughout the month.
07. Teach your kids about giving back. Go through your kids' toys and donate gently used items to your local Goodwill, women's shelter or homeless shelter.
08. Make a slide show dvd of your favorite photos from the year.
09. Bake holiday sugar cookies and decorate with green and red candies.
10. Learn about a holiday tradition you do NOT participate in. Like Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Festivus.
11. Cut paper snowflakes and hang in windows.
12. Memorize a new Holiday poem.
13. Volunteer at a local food bank.
14. Go ice skating at a local pond or indoor rink.
15. Make homemade candy and drop off at friends houses.
16. Sing and have family members act out each part of the 12 Days of Christmas song.
17. Check out holiday themed books from your local library. Read before bed.
18. Take photos around your home and neighborhood of the signs of the Holiday season. Allow your children to take some photos as well. Print and paste into a small scrapbook for your children to look through.
19. Go carolling at a local Nursing Home.
20. Play Holiday Bingo. Download for FREE here.
21. Surprise your neighbors by shoveling the snow from their driveways/sidewalks.
22. Watch your favorite holiday dvd (ie: Elf, Miracle on 34th St. or a Charlie Brown Christmas)
23. Make Gingerbread houses.
24. Have each family member create a homemade salt dough ornament and hang on the tree.
25. Dress up and act out your chosen holiday scene.



Want to download a free copy of my Holiday Bingo? Click on the link or image above to download to your computer and print. Then cut the four game-boards from the paper and keep the itemized list for the bingo caller. Use red and green M&M's to mark the squares or mini marshmallows. And don't worry, both Christmas and Hanukkah are represented on the game, so use this time to educate your children about how others celebrate the season!

Just a little holiday present from me to you. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving

This year's Thanksgiving was fantastic. We were so thankful to be invited over to our friends, The Campbells, for dinner. They were the perfect hosts. We felt welcomed, comfortable and loved. We spent the afternoon playing outside, doing crafts, playing board games, watching football, playing old school Nintendo games (on an old school Nintendo) and EATING.
The food was a wonderful collaboration between attending families. We brought 3 pies. Earlier in the day we had a pie dough issue, which we never divulged, but they turned out okay anyway. We ended up with a total of 8 pies, almost one for each adult....now THAT'S how we roll on Thanksgiving!



Being so far away from family this year gave time to reflect on the importance of surrounding oneself with surrogate family. To always create a unit of people to care for and who are for you. I was overwhelmed with the blessings of such great friends in our church family, who have accepted and embraced us in our short 4 months here in Pennsylvania.
So, this year, I give particular thanks to God for family friends.

The Life Cycle of Apple Pie

this weekend i'm...

snotty,
sniffly,
croaky,
achey,
coughy,
chokey...
sicky.

thank you campbell family!

We will be....

making 3 pies and an iowa corn casserole.
visiting with new friends that we hope become life-long friends.
counting our blessings and recording them.
watching a lot of football.
eating a lot of food.
and giving thanks.

i'll start right now...
thank YOU for reading,
for commenting
and for inspiring me.


What will you be doing?

Note to Self:

.
Purchase child proof lock for the kitchen pantry.

one of my heroes is...

Annie Leibovitz.

In my opinion, she is the best portrait photographer of all time.

I have lately been studying her work in order to try and grow as a photographer.

Annie somehow manages to capture a dimension that is undiscovered in the faces of her subjects. And when she has free reign to create a scene for photos she creates incredible stories with one shot. I cannot even describe it, or put into words how amazing I think she is, but here are some of her photos that are pure magic.






I also highly recommend seeing the documentary "Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens". It is a very well made and an absolute MUST SEE for photographers, both amateur and professional. The dvd is available to rent through Netflix and if you rent it be sure to watch the EXTRAS as well, which has as much good information, fresh perspective and inspiration as the documentary itself.

Are you familiar with Annie Leibovitz's work?

Top 5: Movie Musicals

I really LOVE musicals. Maybe because I have often been known to sing during normal life activities without even realizing it. I recently had a conversation with Emily Foley about West Side Story and she remarked that she had never seen it. Whaaa? Could our friendship be on shaky ground? Nah, but I really think she ought to consult the following list and maybe you should too if you haven't seen any of the following movies.




Best Movie Musicals

The Sound of Music - I mean, c'mon....it's just the best ever. One of my lifelong dreams is to attend the official Sound of Music sing-along in California before I die.




The Fiddler on the Roof - So profound and beautiful and meaningful. I love love love it!





West Side Story - I grew up watching this movie and wishing I could be Anita, Maria's sassy and sultry Puerto Rican aunt. I am guessing most little girls would want to be the lead...Maria. But Anita is so cool.





Seven Brides for Seven Brothers - A family classic. One of my favorites. And the best part is being young and fighting over who gets to "be" Dorkus. Because, despite having a crappy name, she was the prettiest and got to hook up with the hunkiest brother, Benjamin.





Meet Me in St Louis - The music, the story, the teenage infatuation with John Truitt....what's not to love? I adore the old cool house they live in and that the movie is separated by season.




What's YOUR favorite movie musical?

Craft of the Month - So Thankful Mini Album

In 2007, we had our last Thanksgiving in Utah. By the next year we had moved lock, stock and barrel to the East Coast and away from family. But back in 2007, amid the food, football and family fun I did something for which I am infinitely grateful. I took 20 minutes and made a mini album which was used to record our family's Thanksgiving celebration and what we were thankful for.

I had completely forgotten about this small album until last month, when I unpacked it from a box filled with scrapbooking albums. I eagerly grabbed it and read through it, amazed at how young we looked and remembering how good that Thanksgiving was.

November's Craft of the Month is to assemble the same mini album for your Thanksgiving feast. Take 20 minutes and assemble it now so it's ready to plug info into by Thursday. Here's what you'll need.

Supplies:
- Downloaded digital pages by Jessica Sprague (my digi hero). Click here.
- One, 4x6" mini photo album. These can be found at Dollar Stores or in WalMart for $1.00
- Photo printer OR access to an online printing site where you can load your pictures and have them printed. WalMart, Sams, Costco and most stores with a photo section have this.
- a razor blade
- One, acid free, permanent marker. Yes, this can be a Sharpie fine point or Sharpie pen.
- Your camera

Instructions:
- Download digital jpg files from the link above. Save to your computer.
- If you want the same back cover I used (see below) click here to download. I made this by slightly altering Jessica's design. Save to your computer.
- Upload the files to a photo printing site and print a front and back cover and as many "list" pages as need for each member of your family. Print as 4x6" photos.
- Load cover photo into cover of album. Leave at least two pages after the cover for photos from the actual dinner table, of extended family and of your family together. Load remaining pages and slide back cover into back cover of album.
- Use a razor blade to carefully remove excess pages from your album. You may also choose to skip this step and add to the same album each year until it is filled.
- At Thanksgiving make sure to snap a photo of each individual member of your family and have someone else snap a photo of your family all together. Take enough shots so you know you will have some good ones to work with.
- Either during or after dinner ask each member of your family three or four things they are thankful for. Use your sharpie to list them in the book. If you have small children who cannot yet speak, just write down three or four of their favorite things. A blanket, a sibling, etc.
- As soon as Thanksgiving is over, upload your photos from the event and send them to be printed. Be sure to pick them up on Black Friday or on Saturday. If you wait to do this step, it will get lost in the shuffle of Holiday activities and never get finished.
- Load individual photos into your album with the corresponding thankful list. You're done!

Finished Project
This is what mine looked like in 2007. That year I chose to bind it myself with rings and mount each page on chipboard, but this year I will probably go with the pre-made inexpensive album.

Not sure why the photos I took of the finished album were so crummy, but...you get the idea.















I really hope you get a chance to make this project. It is really a simple one to do and it is priceless. In past years, I have even made one for each family in our extended family attending the same Thanksgiving celebration along with an acid free marker. It's a great gift!

Flea Market Finds

I mentioned some amazing Flea Market finds from the past month and today you get to see a bunch of them. Our flea market is on Tuesday morning while the girls go to pre-school and is right across the street from our local Roots Farmer's Market. I get to wander and examine everything without interruption. It's heaven.


This cool vintage children's rocking chair. I wanted to get one to sand and paint, but I cannot bare to cover this wood with paint as planned. Cost = $7.00


These tow amazing poster books containing vintage ads and vintage war posters. I plan on stretching some of these onto artist canvases and maybe add a bit of mixed media touches to them. Total cost for both books = $2.00



Handwritten and self distributed Amish Recipe book from the 1930's. So cool to see some Amish ladies' handwriting to preserve her favorite recipes. Cost = $0.50



Small wooden chair for children's photography sessions. Can't you see a cute little boy in this one? Cost = $2.00



Kooky old jigsaw puzzle of Henry VIII and his six wives. I put it together and every piece is there. I thought the subject matter was so cool and kitschy...LOVE it. Cost = $0.50



White farmhouse chair for portrait photography sessions. I actually AM going to strip this one and repaint it a nice deep red. Cost = $3.00



Large rectangular basket for newborn photo shoots. I am thinking of removing the handle, but I can't decide. What do YOU think? Cost = $5.00



Old Pepsi bottle crate. I have big plans for this one that should unfold some time this December. You'll have to wait and see. Cost = $8.00



Uncle Remus Story Book. I knew this was worth something the moment I saw it since the Disney Movie, The Song of the South, has been banned for some time here in the US. I bought it for $1.50 and it sells on Amazon for between $150.00-200.00...Wowza! Total score.


Can I just say....we have the best Flea Market ever!
Almost every week I have stumbled onto something fabulous.
I can't wait to re-purpose these items and make them my own.

Fix It Friday

Over at the I ♥ Faces blog they have a feature called "Fix-It Friday". You take an unedited photo (this one was taken by Tracy) and fix it however you want, then post a tutorial on what changes you made. I loved this week's photo and decided to play along.

Here's the original...




And here's my edit of the photo...




Here's what I did...
- Cropped to bring focus to the subject.
- Ran the Fresh & Colorful Action by Pioneer Woman.
- Used the Lasso tool to select child's face and then used the Levels tool to lighten it & warmed subjects skin by adding slight red and yellow tints with the Color Balance tool.
- Used the Blur tool to blur the background grass, tree trunk and some of the closest leaves to camera. Having these elements sharp drew the viewer's eye from the subject.
- Used the Sharpen tool to sharpen the subject's eyes.
- Used the Levels tool to slightly brighten the whites and slightly darken the shadows to created depth and highlight the leaf pile.

Even better than "More Cowbell"

I recently watched the famous "More Cowbell" SNL skit for the first time.
And I'm just gunna say it...
it was not nearly as funny as "Fred's Slacks".

Please to enjoy....


Will Ferrell writes a song for garth brooks - Watch more Funny Videos
I'm Curious...Which one do you think is the most funny?