First Things First- Blog Challenge Update

We're Baacccckkkk!!! I hope you all have had a fantastic week/ weekend since we have been gone! I am in the process of uploading pictures from the trip so new post to come! But I will say- the Ritz is Absolutely AH-MAZ-ING! Like big time WHOA! Pretty crazy! Anywho- soo of course I want to get caught up on the blog challenge

Day 9: Favorite Holiday recipe

No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients: 
1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
3-4 tablespoons cocoa (depending on how rich your cocoa is)
3 full cups instant oats
2 teaspoons vanilla


Directions:
Add first 4 ingredients to pan- bring to a boil
Add oats and remove pan from heat
Mix well
Drop with a spoon onto wax paper 
Let cool


TADAA!! These are the best/ easiest cookies and ohhh soo good!!

Day 11- New Years Resolutions

OK soo yes I'm skipping day 10 for now until I can spend a lot more time on finding all my songs! New Years Resolutions are welll.... humph one of those things. Does anyone REALLY hold on to their resolutions ALL year long. I mean yes gym memberships always go up in January and the organic healthy food section of the grocery store sales shoot up but how long does it all last?! I would say my New Years Resolution is the same as my everyday resolution- to be the very best I can be. To live out my short life on this earth in preparation for the Kingdom of Heaven. To glorify God and praise his name. To be more understanding, patient, loving, kind hearted, a good wife, daughter, friend co-worker and all around good person. I fail often but I do try- that's all we can hope for. But most importantly to give thanks and make my Almighty God proud!

Day 12- Show us your decorations

 (the bow is upright and straight now I promise)

Here is the start of our Christmas Decorations! Pictures of Christmas lights is super hard to take! We still have YET to be home and complete all I want to get done when it comes to decor so more to come! Stay tuned..... LOTS to be done!

Off to the Ritz we Go

Yep Yep you heard me right! Tomorrow morning bright and early hubs and I are off to the one and only Ritz Carlton in Amelia Island, Florida. And no no no before you start off on the "wait I thought you were crying pitiful me for the one income story" this is for our company retreat/ Merry Christmas from the Company. Every year (this is my first year) they close the office down and send us all to the Ritz for an all inclusive paid vacay for 5 days. Yep ALL INCLUSIVE and AT THE BEACH! Take that! I am super excited for some plush beds, ocean front views, relaxation and exploring a new city!

Yep yep I'm super excited! An all inclusive paid vacay at the beach in December when its gross and cold- SIGN ME UP! I am going to take my laptop but not sure if we have internet! If not I hope you all have a WONDERFUL rest of the week and weekend and I will look forward to playing catchup when we get back!

Top Two Tuesday- Cleaning Tips

 

Over at Taylor's Top Two Tuesday it's favorite cleaning/ organization tips. I am a big one when it comes to things being neat and tidy. My husband is worse than me...soo here are some of our tricks

{ONE} Hubs has implemented the colored tubs concept. Seems simple enough but it REALLY helps when we are trying to find certain decorations- we know the red and green are Christmas and so forth. He also labels the bins because if your anything like me with a million decorations you don't want to be ripping through it all just to find the bows! This has been just amazing for us!

{TWO} I/ We try to constantly stay on top of the cleaning. I can't just let everything go and clean once a week. Normally one day we will dust or if I see furbabies hair on the wood floor I will vacuum. Dishes are constantly in the dishwasher NOT the sink *that drives me nuts*! We try to just keep everything a constant production of keeping the house neat and clean- well really so I don't have an OCD panic attack. Great example- one night I go to bed and don't fold the blanket back up on the couch, or fix the pillows on the couch, I maybe didn't put my wine glass away or take my shoes upstairs- the next morning as I'm already rushing around for work I see this cluster of a mess in my living room and what do you know I'm late for work because I'm picking up my mess from the night before! OCD a bit much?! YES I KNOW

12 Days of Christmas Blog Challenge- Least Favorites

So I feel like I am going to sounds like McGrouchy the Grinch Grouch but there certainly a few things that really GET me around the holiday season

{ONE} As I have touched on before now that hubs and I are married its extremely (an understatement) difficult trying to figure out how we are spending the holiadys. My family is a straight 2 hours up the interstate from us, his family is west Tennessee like 3 hours from mine and its a bit of a pickle to get to (or maybe its just me). And then my mom and step dad live in Ohio which requires flying and is just never easy to get to get up there and just creates issues. We want to spend time with everyone and of course your always partial to wanting more time with your family and its just *(%^$# NOT FUN! Once something (GOD FORBID THE DAY) happens to my grandparents and we dont have to have the formal holiday jazz I SWEAR hubs and I are just going to go on a vacation and say see ya all later one holiday!

{TWO} My next least favorite is the financial part of all this jazz. I LOVE nothing more than buying presents for everyone. It just makes me so happy. But it also scares the living *(%^% out of me when the bill comes in for everything. As I mentioned before I am the only income right now as hubs is in school right now. And although he is so wonderful and helpful as he can be when it comes to buying presents its kinda on me. This is going to be evaluated for next year... because I'm getting an ulcer just thinking about it now

{TREE} TRAFFIC and CLUSTER!! As if I don't already a large HATE HATE relationship with traffic in this darn city the holiday tis the season doesn't help. People already can't drive... add a load of presents and not knowing where you want to go... I'll stay home with my glass of wine! Online shopping here I come :)

See why I said McGrouchy Grinch McGrouch?! I really do love the holidays I promise! I just tend to overstress sometimes :)

12 Days of Christmas Blog Challenge

Day 7: Holiday Craft/DIY

Sooo I officially am SLACKING in the blog world. I had FULL intentions of going home and taking pictures of all my winter/ Christmas crafts and well..... I did nothing! We are getting ready for our trip tomorrow and so we were packing and organizing and ya know..... the typical pre trip thing you do. More of that to come!

On to crafts... you all know this is one of my favorite most favorite subjects so I am sad to announce.... my phone only has 2 crafts pictures thus far... I shall explain!

This is my Christmas centerpiece. Again- not a great picture at all but what do you expect out of a blackberry?! This wasn't exactly a craft- more like me poking and proding and moving for an hour. The pine cones are from your's truly (aka my yard) the rest are braches from the dollar tree that I plucked and arranged. One day I promise I will take good pictures! This is super pretty in person- especially the shimmer of the flowers

Pardon the furbabies tails in the background. This is my work in progress. Its a santa topiary but it needs some work. I bought some black shiny ribbon that I am going to wrap around the white stem and also around santa's belt (hence the uneven lines)

Now projects to come:

I SWEAR I am going to get this done! Holiday season just doens't allow for much time... It will and I promise WILL be done by next weekend :)

I am DYING to make an ornament wreath. I especially LOVE the gold and silver one here with the big bow! Tutorial and pictures to come when this slacking blogger/ crafter gets her butt in gear!