Grandma update.

My grandma is back in the hospital with a mild case of pneumonia, which is very common after a broken hip. Please keep those good thoughts coming--pneumonia can be very serious, but I hope she's got the strength and the good doctors and nurses to help her fight it off.

I know it's too early...

...but I'm browsing around at Amazon listening to Christmas music just for fun.

Go listen to the samples from this (I think you have to use Explorer for the player to work) and see if it doesn't make you tap your toes!

I didn't grow up listening to Bing, Frank, or Nat, but they are all a huge part of my Christmas now. I think it's because of the movie "A Christmas Story," with the giant radio playing big band music in the background. How I love that movie!

Better late than never.

Last night I went to work and finished the last six pages of my Christmas journal from last year. For those who don't know about it, Shimelle Laine does a "Journal Your Christmas" class every year. When you've paid and taken it once, you can take it every year afterwards for free. I'm planning to do it again this year. It adds a lot to my Christmas season.

Last year we started traveling in mid-December, so I never finished the book. Once Christmas is over, I tend to just shut it off and move on to the next thing. So here are the last six pages.

December 20, write about an unexpected card, present, or other unexpected surprise. We weren't expecting to have to go to Maryland the week before Christmas.


December 21, what does your home look like right now? Since I wasn't home, I wrote a little bit about what I was doing on that day.


December 22's theme was to make your " to do" list. Again, traveling sort of negated that, so I just put in a favorite Christmas poem instead.


December 23, write about your Christmas stocking traditions. Since I wrote about that in my 2006 album, I was stumped, until I remembered that my sister-in-law Lisa had put stockings on our bed that very night while we were staying with her!


December 24, I liked this old picture because it reminded me of going to church every Christmas Eve.


December 25, I just listed a few of the things that made our Christmas memorable.

Now I need to decorate the cover (and also the cover of my 2006 book!) I don't know why I'm so challenged when it comes to album covers. I think I feel like it has to be extra-perfect since it's the first thing you see.

But I want to get both books completely done before December 1 rolls around and I start a new book, so that's a good motivation to get over myself and finish them up!