Well, we are getting packed and ready to go on our fortnight of crazy traveling! Tomorrow morning we're headed up to Aberdeen, MD (4-5 hours) for Todd to do some work this week. Then we'll leave there Friday and run up to visit Todd's sister Lisa and her family in Wilkes-Barre, PA (3 hours). Then we'll drive out to my folks' house on Sunday morning (5-6 hours) and stay there through Christmas, spending some quality time with my brother and sister and their families, too. And my extended family.

The day after Christmas, we'll hop on down to Columbus (3 hours) and spend a couple days with Todd's sister Julie's family. Then we'll drive back up to my parents' house (3 hours back) and try to squeeze in all the relatives we didn't get to see on our first short stay, including Todd's parents, who we'll be passing on the freeway as we leave Lisa's house in PA and they head to it for Christmas earlier that week.

Sick of the car yet? Well, don't be, 'cause there's a 9-hour drive back to good old Virginia on New Year's Day! Hee hee!

I figure there's a 50/50 chance Todd and I can come out of this with our marriage intact. (KIDDING!) As long as the weather cooperates, it should all be okay.

I worked ahead on my Christmas journal, so here are the next three days' worth of entries. I was going to try to take it all with me on my travels, but if we cram one more thing in the car it might just collapse, so I'll catch up with the rest of it when we get back home.

Wish us good traveling weather and good fellow travelers as we all barrel down the highways together, okay? I'll check in from Maryland later this week.

Looking at our travel plans all written out makes me want to curl up in bed until Martin Luther King Day! It's going to be nuts! We're doing laundry and packing up the car this weekend.

Today's topic: gifts and how they're handed out in your family. Again, I tweaked it a little so I could include another bit from one of my favorite Christmas stories.

I decided to go with a different topic today, and get a few of my holiday recipes into the book. These are the most delicious sugar cookies ever!

Today's journal topic is Christmas traditions, and I had a hard time with that last year, because we honestly don't seem to do much the same way from year to year. And in last year's journal, I did list the few things I could think of that could be called traditions.

Since this year I want to put a few excerpts from favorite Christmas stories into the book, I decided to use a snippet from A Christmas Carol, which for quite a few years was a tradition for us to view as a play. I've also read the story many times, and as I mentioned in my journaling, I find it more touching every year. Scrooge is one of those characters that you want to laugh at, and cry for, at the same time.

Here's yesterday's journal entry, too. I was waiting for some sunshine to get my photo of our front door. I painted it red right before Thanksgiving--isn't it festive?

I went to see Christmas lights along the boardwalk in Virginia Beach with my friend Bev last night, and it was so fun. All the hotels put up displays, and you drive along the boardwalk and listen to a Christmas CD they give you at the entrance, and look at the lights. Much of it was beach-themed...very cool.

Today's journal entry is about holiday to-do lists, organization, etc...but most of my to-do list consists of shopping. And then wrapping. So my shopping list is inside this funny card that I found at a fancy paper store in Alexandria a couple of weeks ago.

Other than the shopping and the wrapping, what's left for me to do is to get packed and travel-ready. This is going to be a crazy traveling Christmas for us!

Memory.

The topic for today's journal entry is to write about good and not-so-good memories of Christmas. Since I did that last year, I decided to focus on two good memories--mine and someone else's. The story in the journaling block is Laura Ingalls Wilder's Christmas memory from Little House on the Prairie, of the Christmas she and her sister Mary received candy and a cake AND a penny and were completely delighted. And my memory is in the little tab on the side, of receiving that book for Christmas as a child!

I got today's entry done quickly this morning...now on to laundry and housecleaning! (This entry is much more sparkly in real life, by the way...)

Oh my, it's cold and crazy out there! I'm glad I don't have much more Christmas shopping to do!

Today's journal topic is "the perfect Christmas"...I can honestly say I don't think much about perfection any more. What would make this Christmas perfect for me is good, solid quality time with all the different people I love, without feeling rushed or sad that my time with all of them is so limited. I'm going to do my best to accomplish that, and everything else is just gravy!

December 3.

Although it was 60 degrees this morning, it's been blustery enough to feel wintry! The wind is threatening to take the Christmas bows off the windows of the house--the only decorating we've gotten around to! And now tonight it's gotten cold, perfect weather for snuggling up in bed with a book, which I think I may do once I post this.

Here's journal entry #3. Pretty dull...the prompt is about cards and I haven't picked any out, nor do I really feel like sending any. I like getting them, though!

Entry #2.

I'm doing a minimum of journaling this year...it feels weird not to write a lot, but I'm just not feeling verbose this time around. I'm focusing more on the art elements and the mood of the book. Wish we would get some snow!

It's that time of year again...

...time for Shimelle Laine's "Journal Your Christmas" class! One entry every day from December 1 to January 6 (although I bailed right after Christmas last year)!

I found a small house-shaped album from 7Gypsies for this year's book. I took it off the spiral, and I'm covering up the spine holes with papers. Then once it's all done, I'll punch just three holes and bind it with binder rings.

I'm having my usual case of "cover block" on decorating the cover (I never did get last year's journal cover decorated!) But here's the entry for December 1. We're supposed to write our Christmas manifesto for this year, but I'm not really a manifesto kind of girl. So this is my laid-back, feel-good, non-lofty goal for Christmas this year:

My library date stamp, which I got in like, 2000, when they were all the rage, only has the years up to 2006. Chuh! So I'm just stamping the date and then the handy AM/PM option, for each day's entry. It didn't come out too clear, but it's off to the right near the bottom. Next time I'll remember to rock the stamp.

Halloween book.

Here's the Halloween book I made in my friend Beth's class last month. I finally got the last tidbits I wanted to use the other day, so I finished it up.

I started the book in class, but ran out of time, so the first few pages look sort of like what we did in class, but then I went on and did my own thing on the rest. And then I went back and added in some of my own papers and the Halloween card reproductions and faux vintage postage I got from Artchix Studio. And I fiddled with it and fiddled with it and now it looks very little like the book we did in class! But Beth came up with the fantastic Making Memories papers and shapes and stickers, and created some of the journaling blocks and embellishments herself. I think she should open an Etsy shop and sell them!

Thanks for the awesome book, Beth--I have had so much fun playing with it!

Saturday catch-up.

I just waved Todd and his co-worker R. J. off to a big poker game, so I have the evening all to myself.

It has finally, finally gotten chilly-ish here, and now I'm ready for fall. Unfortunately, now that Halloween has passed, the rest of the world has moved right along to Christmas, which I am assuredly NOT ready for.

We had a fun little Halloween evening here. Todd pulled on his suit of armor and stood on the driveway waving at the trick-or-treaters and pointing them up to the front porch where I waited with the candy bucket. Some of the kids thought he was a robot or Robo-Cop. And the toddlers were mostly scared of him. However, he did get challenged to a couple of duels, so there are obviously a few kids out there who recognize a knight when they see one.

We had about 60-65 kids come by. I just love seeing their costumes and ogling their full bags of candy. We didn't live in a neighborhood when I was a kid, and my mom had a niggling feeling that Halloween was of the devil, I think, so we didn't do much trick-or-treating when I was little. The result is that every Halloween I just want to grab a pillowcase and make a costume and go out and hit the streets with the rest of the kids. Of course I can't really do that, so I have to just console myself with the leftover Halloween candy (Tootsie Roll pops.)

Todd's parents were here for a week in mid-October, and we had a great time with them, as we always do. They are such low-maintenance houseguests--they can take care of and entertain themselves if necessary, and they just fit into the flow of life here really well. Todd and his dad got to do some fishing, and we all just hung out, puttered around, hit a few sights and shops, and otherwise relaxed. Very nice. And they were here for my birthday, so that was nice, too.

Yes, I had another birthday...I haven't figured out how to avoid it yet. It was pretty painless this year. My mom sent along some great presents with my in-laws, so I had those to open first thing in the morning. My mother-in-law and I went to Smithfield with my friend Cheryl, and we did a little walking, a little antique shopping, and had a fabulous lunch at the bakery there. And I was inundated with phone calls from my loved ones all day, plus some great handmade cards and pictures from a few of the nieces and nephews. I also had a couple very interesting renditions of "Happy Birthday" sung to me over the phone by my nieces Natalie and Marissa. So it was a good birthday. Sometimes it's easy for me to forget how blessed I am, and how often the biggest blessings are the ones that seem the smallest.

This week we ordered some new bedroom furniture, which I still can't quite believe. We have a whole bedroom full of hand-me-down furniture, and not one piece goes with any other piece to the tiniest degree. I've been okay with it for fifteen years, but suddenly a couple weeks ago, I was not okay with it any more! So we shopped around and ended up with this set from Bassett: Eastbrook. We got the bed, two nightstands, the tall chest, and the "door dresser," without the mirror. It will be very interesting to cram it all into our bedroom. It will all fit, except the bed. We currently sleep in a double, so I think the bed frame will go into the attic until we're ready to splash out on a queen mattress/box spring set. Anyway, it'll be exciting to put all our stuff into new dressers!

Now I think I'll read for the rest of the evening. I have an enormous stack of to-be-read books, courtesy of Paperback Swap, and it's great to just go grab a new book whenever I'm ready for it.

Finally fall.

Thanks for the good thoughts for Bev's big move...she's been here a week and is getting unpacked and settled. The trip went super-smoothly, and the weather cooperated--if anything, it was too hot!--but at least it didn't rain.

We are having a gorgeous day here today, and it actually feels like fall now. The nights are chilly and the past few days have been cooler. The sky is bright, bright blue, and the leaves at the top of our tallest backyard trees are starting to turn golden. I'd take a picture, but the loss of my Epson printer also meant the loss of my memory card intake or whatever you call it, so I can't quickly upload pictures just now. I'm writing from the laptop right now, anyway. I guess I could stick a memory card into this thing, but who knows which slot? Could I be more clueless?

Anyway, no pictures just now. I know blogs are way more interesting with pictures!

I went through the kitchen today and did some knick-knack rearranging, getting in the mood for some fall decorating, maybe. I can finally start thinking about Halloween and Thanksgiving now that it's semi-cool outside! It's also time for the fall cleaning and moving-things-around ritual. Spring and fall are good times to look around and pull the house back into order.

Every few weeks, when I can haul myself out of bed early enough, we hit whatever yard sales look good, but I haven't found anything worthwhile in ages and ages. But yesterday I really hit the jackpot: I got two pretty antique plates and two vintage embroidered linen dresser scarves, a Black and Decker rice/veggie steamer, which I've been thinking about getting for ages ($3.00!), four old blue Ball/Atlas canning jars with the metal tops, a vintage saltines tin, and a green t-shirt with fall appliques, two old soft sweatshirts, and a gorgeous moss green corduroy button-up jacket. Almost everything was an absolute steal. Very exciting!

I took a very fun class from my friend Beth Fye at the scrapbook store yesterday, after yard sale-ing, and we made a little Halloween book chock-full of great embellishments and papers, mostly from the new Making Memories Halloween collection, which I love. It's meant to have photos put in it, but I don't have very many Halloween photos. I was thinking about putting in some Halloween poems and quotes, and maybe some recipes, like pumpkin bars or hot apple cider.

If you have a favorite Halloween-themed poem, quote or recipe, put it in the comments section! I'll send everyone who comments a little Halloween goodie, that will be fun!

Off on a trip.

Just poking my head in to say that I am off to Columbus for six days to help my friend Beverly get packed and loaded, and then we'll be moving her down to Virginia Beach this coming weekend. Any good thoughts you have for safe traveling would be appreciated! It will be so nice to have her down here and get to see her more than once a year.

I've greatly curtailed my computer time, as my shoulder/arm pain has come back and typing and mousing really seems to exacerbate it. So a couple minutes in the morning and evening to check my e-mail and that's just about all I'll allow myself. Maybe a total computer break for a few days is just what the doctor called for.

See ya next week!