More Christmas Pics

Here are some pictures of my den. My hubs who does most of the decorating, did up a patriotic tree for us in the den this year. I love it. Our den is in tans blues and reds so it is perfect. I collect snowmen as well and here is how he displayed them. I am a beloved Peanuts fan and have a scene of them too. My kids love all the little characters straight out of the Christmas special.

This week I want to spend time getting the house organized and spiffed up so next week we can bake to our hearts content. Today I am starting in my room. Dusting and putting away sordid Christmas stuff. This room is least likely to be destroyed by the kids so I am starting here and then onto the dining room and front room for some spiffing up. I feel energized and wonderful when my house is in order so I want that good mojo around here for the holidays. Off to clean. Enjoying everyone's snowy pics. It was 84 here yesterday so not very Christmasy but pleasant for sure.
Linking to The House in the Roses and The Nesting Place and Between Naps on the Porch and for Rednesday at Sue Loves Cherries

Walk Thru Bethlehem

Every year our church does a wonderful outreach to the community called "Walk thru Bethlehem". It is for one weekend in December and attracts thousands of visitors. It is a wonderful depiction of the real story of Christmas. You walk thru Bethlehem just as you would have at the time of the birth of Christ. Roman soldiers  are ordering you to pay your taxes and villagers act and talk in the context of the time.

The tour takes months and hundreds of volunteers complete with a camel.

King Herod. He addresses the crowd about the news he hears of the coming birth of a new King.

Innkeepers telling us they have no room at their inn and how they had to turn down a woman about to give birth.

The cutest little actor.

After the tour thru Bethlehem you go into the auditorium for the story of the birth. Above is the Angel of the Lord.

The three Wisemen.

Mary, Joseph and a real baby Jesus. It was moving and helps us to remember and celebrate the real story of Christmas.

Linking to http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/ for Seasonal Sundays. Also linking withBargain Hunting with Laurie.

Frugal Challenge Update

I am almost done with my Christmas shopping except for all the gift cards I need to get for the older kids in the family. Our Vons has a special spend $150 in GCs get $15 off your next shopping order so I am going to buy all my cards in one trip to get the $15. I am also heading today to see my hubby who is working out of town. He's only a couple of hours away but it is his birthday and I want to spend it with him so he's not alone for it. Instead of going out and because I am taking our two year old with me, I decided to make a picnic dinner of oven fried chicken, potato salad and fruit with a crusty loaf of bread for dinner. We will take it to a lovely park near his hotel and let our little one run around while we relax and eat. It is warm here in SoCal so we can do this lest anyone think we'd be sitting in the snow. This will save us the money from dinner and keep the two year old busy as well. I hate taking little ones out and then they get restless and one of you has to take her out. Not fun when there are only two of you. Plus we just don't want to spend the money. Have a good day and let me know what you are doing to save money. Linking with Frugal Makes Cents for this challenge.

My Christmas Dining Room

We finally went to get out tree over the weekend and it is up and beautiful. I love a real tree. My family won't let me buy an artificial one for our main tree so we go to the same lot in downtown run by the same family and it is small and quaint with hay on the ground and their kids and their friends load the tree for you. We even ran into some family there. Love the tradition. Can you tell? Well this is the dining room at Christmas.

My dry sink which is my favorite piece of furniture. The rest of the house is a mix of whatever family was passin' on and thrifty finds.

 This is a miniature dry sink that I bought for my two yr. old and she uses it to store all her little dishes. I don't keep much in the house that can't be touched.

Loved this little saying. It's so true. We need to keep Christmas light and let go what we can't get done so we aren't stressed out.

We put our tree in an old galvanized tub. Fits perfectly after my hubby trimmed down the base a little.

 Wow I must have the camera on the wrong setting here.

I do!!
Linking with Dittle Dattle and Between Naps on the Porch.Also Bobby Pins Boardwalk and Savvy Southern Style. Linking with Hooked on Houses

A Salad Please

When I was doing my little one's laundry today this is what I found.

Is she asking me to wash her lettuce and tomato for a salad?

She is always leaving me little gifts in my cupboards and tucked into little places she can reach. She's like a squirrel. Her sisters say she drops little trinkets in their boots all the time. Love it!

Money Saving Challenge for 2011

I am joining Frugal Makes Cents for her 2011 Money Saving Challenge. This is my favorite money saving, frugal living blog.  What she does is give frequent posts on how to live frugally so you can enjoy your life and your future retirement. I love her detail oriented posts as they show me ways I can save as well. Check her out, you will definitely learn something from her.
So today, beside staying home to save fuel and miles on my car, I cleaned out my fridge to see what meals could be made from items hiding in the bowels (yuck) of the freezer. Made a list of meals, cleaned things out and put order back in where chaos reigned. Found an unopened bag of fries and chicken tenders the kids can have for dinner one night. Also, took out my frozen bananas and am in the process of making banana bread. I make two loaves so that we can eat one and freeze one. Adding coconut is a great addition. I need to make my dollars stretch as Christmas has our budget stretched and our rising utilities here in California have my budget stretched. I love it when I can make a meal out of something I forgot was in the freezer. Almost like a free meal.

 They look rather unappetizing but cook up just fine. I always throw my overripe bananas in the freezer to use later. Hate tossing food in the trash.

 My daughter snapped this of me. Not the most flattering of pics but hey, it's real life.
Cooking for the fam. It's what I do.

 Using my clearance flour from Target. You know I stocked up on these.

Ready to go. They are literally baking as I blog. Will enjoy some with my coffee later for a snack. Check out Frugal makes cents. You will be glad you did.