gesu bambino

Did you know that Max eats the bubbles from my bubble bath? He does. It's weird. But that's beside the point. =^..^=

Tonight I filled out one of those crazy "getting to know your friends" emails--the holiday edition. It was kind of fun to think of my favorite holiday things. One of the questions was, "What is your favorite Christmas carol?" My answer was Gesu Bambino, as sung by my dad. If you have never heard my dad sing this piece, you are missing out on one of my greatest joys. If I can ever figure out how to make an mp3 from a record (yes, a true RECORD), I'll post it online so you can all hear it.

**I looked online this evening to find a suitable recording of this piece. I listened to both Kathleen Battle and Luciano Pavarotti, but neither could even begin to compare to my dad.**

This started me thinking of the gorgeous words and music of this piece, so I decided to post the words here. I hope Dad sings this on Christmas Sunday morning. (This is a request, Dad!)

GESU BAMBINO

When blossoms flowered 'mid the snows
Upon a winter night
Was born the Child, the Christmas Rose,
The King of Love and Light.

The angels sang, the shephers sang,
The grateful earth rejoiced,
And at His blessed birth the stars
Their exultation voiced.

O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

Again the heart with rapture glows
To greet the holy night
That gave the world its Christmas Rose,
Its King of Love and Light.

Let ev'ry voice acclaim His name,
The grateful chorus swell,
From paradise to earth He came
That we with Him might dwell.

O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

O come let us adore Him, adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
O come, o come,
O come let us adore Him,
Let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

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christmas card count: 19!!

crunch time

OK. I realized late last night how much I have to do before we leave on Thursday night!! We're leaving after Brian gets out of work (I'm PRAYING it's a decent time!) and driving to Greenville, SC. I'm hoping we'll be there by 2:00 am. Then we'll leave Friday afternoon for KY. Right now I have 4 mini-loaves of cranberry bread in the oven, and I need to jump in the shower and get a few more things done before they come out. I have a chiropractor appointment at 3, (something is poking me in the back), and then my scrapbook club at 6, which means I need to leave around 5 to fight the traffic. Whew! And I have to scrap something before then to share at the club!! Nothing like waiting till the last minute.

In keeping with the holiday spirit, I want to share my cranberry bread recipe. It's from my dear friend Alicia Harlow. Her husband Jason worked at VV with Brian, and they moved to CA at the same time we moved here. It was weird not spending Thanksgiving with them, since we have for the past 3 years! And Alicia always brings this bread. It's delicious! A departure from normal holiday treats, it's not too sweet, not too tart, but a perfect blend of both. Enjoy.

Cranberry Bread
(this recipe makes 1 loaf or 2 mini-loaves)

2 c. sifted flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1/3 c. orange juice
3 Tbsp. white vinegar plus water to make 2/3 cup
1/4 c. oil
1 c. coarsely chopped cranberries
1 c. chopped walnuts

Sift flour, soda, salt, & sugar; set aside. Beat together egg, orange juice, vinegar/water, & oil. Add flour mixture. Stir just until all flour is moistened. Add berries and nuts. Pour into pan(s) and bake 60-70 min. at 350. Cool overnight before slicing.

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christmas card count: 12!
PS--Jenni, I'm desperately trying to get my scanner to work so I can put Evan's picture on my blog! He is just TOO ADORABLE!! I can't believe how big he is!

one week from today

is Christmas Eve!! And we will be frolicking happily in Kentucky at my parents' house, where it's COLD and it feels like CHRISTMAS!! Today I have all the fans on, the windows open, and am wearing shorts and a t-shirt. It's just not Christmasy!

My new favorite Bath & Body Works scent is definitely Vanilla Bean Noel. I got the moisturizing hand soap and it ROCKS!! I wash my hands 40 times a day and then walk around sniffing them!! :-D

I got some sad news today from my mom. Friskie, their cat, has completely lost control of her bladder. I got Friskie when I was 14--that was 1987. She's 18!! That's pretty old for a cat, and she's an outdoor cat too! Anyway, she's apparently been peeing in her sleep. But the really bad thing is that she sleeps on the couch! Or in the chair! Mom is about to die, and I don't blame her. Poor Frisk. I dearly love that cat.

Here is a pic of some fun with gift wrap:
Aren't those so cute?? I had so much fun making them. They're punch-out boxes from Stampin' Up! that my friend Meg sold me. I painted them with these really cool irridescent watercolor paint things that belong to my friend Denise. They were so cool, I came home from her house and ordered some online that night! I also stamped on a few of the boxes. Can you guess who the polka-dotted one is for, Kari Dawn??!!

Here's a picture of Brian and I, all dressed up for the Radio City Christmas show, in front of our family Christmas tree:
And finally, here's me doing my America's Next Top Model pose!! haha!!
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christmas card count: 9!

an unfortunate event

Earlier today, I made a very upsetting mistake. I was playing free-cell solitaire, and I was marveling over the fact that I had won 45 games IN A ROW!! Go ME!! As I was looking at the statistics, at that big 45, I accidentally hit the "clear stats" button. I was immediately at zero. :-( I began playing again and now I'm up to 6 games won in a row. It will take me awhile to get back to 45!

See, I am a solitaire addict, specifically free-cell and spider. I've tried many 12-step programs, but none have worked thus far. :-P

Jenni, I'm DYING to see the card with Evan's picture! We'll be in Ashland from the 24th to around the 29th or 30th. Come see us! Or better yet, bring Evan to Disney!

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christmas card count: 6!

radio city christmas spectacular

Brian and I went to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular tonight. No, not in NYC, in ORL! It was awesome! The dancing, bright colors, and lights were fantastic! My favorite part was the living nativity at the end, with live animals and everything! The 3 kings walked right by us--we were on the aisle. It was cool! One of the sheep didn't want to face forward and kept turning around. The "shepherd" kept trying to get it turned back around. It was hilarious!

It was really nice to see a true CHRISTMAS show, complete with nativity. It's really been upsetting to me how everyone is trying to take Jesus' birth out of Christmas. I was so glad to see the nativity and hear "One Solitary Life."

I didn't get any Christmas cards yesterday, but one came today--thanks, Grandmama Carol! :-)

And now, for myself only, I'm going to make a list of things that need to be done before I leave for Christmas. This truly is for myself, so I can refer to it quickly and often.

THINGS TO BAKE/MAKE
1. **finished**
2. **finished**
3. **finished**
4. Hershey kiss treats--maybe
5. **finished**


THINGS TO DO
1. **finished**
2. finish up a few homemade gifts
--mb da
--chti mo
--pc hu ha
3. **finished**
4. store: diet pop, battery for camera
5. **finished**
6. make sure Cherrie can watch cats
7. **finished**
8. **finished**
9. **finished**
10. buy a few more gifts
11. **take car in for oil change/tune up--will do in KY
12. **finished**
13. cut Brian's hair (it's a shrub!!!!)
14. get a pedicure/manicure

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christmas card count: 3

four calling birds, three french hens, two CHRISTMAS CARDS!!!!

FINALLY!!!! I must admit that I've been having a pity party for myself because I haven't received any Christmas cards yet this year. My little Christmas card basket looks horribly empty on my kitchen counter. Poor me. Especially since I sent out over 100 cards this year!!

BUT--I just went out and got the mail, and there were TWO in there!!!! Yay!!!! So, thank you to John & Jeanne Sugg and David & Mona Webb for being the first to send me a card!! Both cards were beautiful. I'm blessed to have such wonderful friends who are really more like family.

I just wanted to take a minute out of my notedly UN-busy day to blog about the cards. If you were to drop by right now, you would find me on the couch, working on some homemade Christmas gifts, and you would notice two kitties sleeping peacefully in sunbeams by the sliding glass door. =^..^= Meg is gone (*sniff*) and I miss her already. I'm spending today catching up on laundry, bill-paying, and general clean-up around the house. Less than 2 weeks till Christmas!

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christmas card count: 2

delightful exhaustion

On Friday, Meg and I got up, had coffee (with Pumpkin Spice creamer-yum!), and headed out. We went to yet ANOTHER scrapbook store and then to the gym. We had a great time. I hadn't been to the gym in awhile, so all the trainers were giving me a hard time, but it was nice to be missed! We did a workout and then got lunch and smoothies at the gym's cafe. We took our lunch over to EA to visit Brian. So we ate in the EA breakroom and Meg got a mini-tour of the facility.

Then we came home, showered, rested for a tiny bit, and headed out to Sephora (yes, again) to get makeovers. It was so fun! We both had our makeup done all fancyish! We looked hot, if I do say so myself. And I only spent $14 this time. I was proud. We then headed downtown to hang out and have dinner.
Yesterday, we got up, had coffee (I love Meg being here, she gets up and makes coffee every morning!), and went to DISNEY!!!! YAY!!!! It was awesome. The guy who was signing us in was in the Dapper Dans, so we stopped and watched their show on Main Street. They were great. Then we had a quick lunch and headed to the rides. We started out with Pirates of the Caribbean, which was cute, but not very fast or anything. Then came Big Thunder Mountain Railroad--one of my favorite rides ever! I remembered it from 3rd grade, and it was just as fun as I hoped it would be! We worked our way around, riding rides and taking pictures, and did Space Mountain. Even better than I remembered!!!! Loved it, even though we had to wait about 30 minutes for it. We waited 10-15 min. for everything else, which was great! We even had our picture taken with Mickey!!At around 6:15 we got back on the monorail and went over to Epcot to eat. We had Chinese food in China and it was delicious! Now, Magic Kingdom was open till midnight, so we were planning to head back over there for the fireworks and some shopping. We wanted to be there by about 8:30 because the first parade started at 9:00 and we knew it would be a madhouse. We had just enough time to ride Test Track, which is a cool ride that simulates the tests they put cars through--so we were basically crash test dummies. It was so great! My NY student, Matt Maguire, had told me to be sure to ride it, and he was totally right. It was great fun! I think it was my favorite ride of the day.We got back over to Magic Kingdom and got on the train to Frontierland--so we bypassed all the parade traffic, which was wonderful. It was a coolish evening and it felt GREAT! We rode Big Thunder Mountain again and tried to ride Space Mountain again, but it was broken down, some kid told us. That would explain the crowd of people standing outside it. So we did a little shopping (for her cousin Aidan and my nephew Braden) and watched the fireworks. I took about 4,000 pictures. They were so gorgeous!!!! Then we got ice cream, did a little more shopping, saw part of the 11:00 parade, and took off for home. We got here around 12:30. What a wonderfully fun day!Today we're totally vegging out. Meg has been watching football. She's curled up on the couch with Max. :-) She has to go home tomorrow and I'm so sad! It's been awesome having her here. I can't believe how much stuff we've done this week!!!! We are totally exhausted, but it's worth it for how much fun we've had!!!!

i'm in my pajamas

No, I'm not ALREADY in my pajamas at 10:41 pm, I'm STILL in my pajamas at 10:41 pm!!!! Meg and I have been scrapping all day!!!! We got up, had coffee, put on Christmas music, and started scrapping. And we've only stopped for meals! We had leftover Mexican for lunch, then scrapped for several more hours, then I put a roast in the oven for dinner, then we scrapped some more, then we ate dinner, and now we're scrapping some more! I stopped for a little break because Meg is doing her journaling on my computer, so I decided to make a quick blog entry on Brian's laptop.

So we never even got around to showering today! It's been dreary and rainy, so it's been the perfect day to stay in and scrap. We've both been working on Christmas gifts, and Meg's gifts are so cute that she decided to make one for herself!! Too fun!

AND....we just found out a few minutes ago that we are going to Disney on Saturday!! My dad used to train a barbershop quartet that was really good, and they won lots of competitions, and now some of them sing at Disney, and one of the guys is getting us in for free! Yay! I cannot wait--I haven't been there since 3rd grade!! Do you know how long ago that was? That was like 24 years ago!!!!!!!! And it will be all decorated for Christmas, so it will be extra special. Don't worry, I'll take pictures.

Now I'd like to give a shout out to Brian's adorable cousin in SC--Hi, Brandi! I got your email today and it was great to hear from you!! Brian will be thrilled. Hope your boys are doing great! Maybe we can see you sometime soon!

Apparently some of my Christmas cards have made it to their destinations, because there has been a lot of activity on here! So, hi, everyone! Leave me a comment or two sometime!

MEGa fun

My fab friend Meg is here from NY. I picked her up last night at the airport and we didn't go to bed till like 2:00 am! (Well, I stayed up till about 3 because I was waiting on Brian to get home frome work!! He's in crunch mode right now.) And we got up at like 9, because our lawn service people were here mowing and she heard them and peeked out the window and someone was RIGHT OUTSIDE her window, weedeating! LOL! Poor Meg.

Brian went to work and Meg and I had coffee and breakfast, sat around and talked, and then took a VERY brisk walk around the neighborhood for 45 minutes. It was great! Then we showered and got ready and headed out for some shopping. We left the house at around 1:00 and returned at about midnight!! First we went to lunch--Chevy's--where we had chimichangas and floutas. They were delish! Then we went to Michael's and bought tons of ribbon, and then we went to a scrapbook store. Fun!

After that, we headed over to the Mall of Florida and went to ANOTHER scrapbook store, then to Sephora where we spent about 2 hours!!!! It was GREAT!!!! We put so much makeup on--my hands were covered in different shades of eye shadow, mascara, lip glosses--and I was sparkly all over from all the lotions and powders I tried. Awesome! We both put tons of different lip plumping glosses on our lips, and we ended up looking like a cross between Angelina Jolie and Goldie Hawn! Our lips were all swollen and red--it was so funny!

We both bought some stuff, and I left the store with purple glittery eye shadow and SILVER eyeliner on!!!! I looked like Jezebel, but it sure was fun! So we went to Yankee Candle, NY & Co., Bath & Body Works, Hallmark, & Aveda. I got this really awesome strawberry lemonade shower gel at Bath & Body--yum! Then we were starved, so we headed over to Logan's for soup, rolls, and an appetizer. Delicious. We finally returned home, brought in all our stuff, and showed it all to Brian. He was laughing at us because we were talking a mile a minute.

What a fun day!! Tomorrow we're going to stay in and scrap all day, I think. It's supposed to be rainy. Meg said we have to make a pact to do one project before we shower. Sounds good to me--that should guarantee that I'll get at least one thing done!

up, up, and away!

The hot air balloon ride was spectacular! We got up at about 4:15 am (!) and left the house a little before 5:00. When we went out to get in the car, our sprinklers were on! They are automatic and it's the first time we've seen them since they come on 2-3 times per week, at a very early time! It was nice to know they were working.

We arrived at the meeting site, hopped in a van, and drove to our take-off position. There were lots of other people, and I'd say around 15 balloons total, all in this big field. Brian got to hold our balloon open while they blew air into it with a fan. It was so cool! Then they sat the basket upright and the balloon floated upward. We climbed in and away we flew! It was awesome! We were riding with a pilot and another couple and their little girl. We left the ground around 7:00.

The ride lasted about 45 minutes during which we traveled about 20 miles. We could see Disney in the distance. We flew over lots of trees and lakes, and some houses--sometimes people would come out of the houses and wave at us. It wasn't scary at all, even though we were totally riding in a WICKER BASKET!!

We landed in a cow pasture on the back side of an orange grove. The balloons have chasers and it took awhile for ours to find us. When they finally found us and loaded up our balloon and basket, it was around 9:30 or so. Then they let us browse around the orange grove store--it was just like the apple orchards in NY except it was all orange stuff. We got to taste samples of the different types of oranges--yum!

When we finally got back to our car, it was around 11:30. We headed to Cracker Barrel, but there was a 40 minute wait and we were exhausted, so we got an order to go. We got home around 1:00, ate lunch, and had a delicious nap. It was a fabulous day, all in all! I would definitely recommend a balloon ride to anyone. It was so peaceful up there!

Today it was in the 70's--I have the A/C on! Go figure! Oh, and my friend Meg is coming from NY TOMORROW!!!! I can't wait!

If you'd like to see the rest of the pictures from our balloon trip, here is the link:
Kerri & Brian's hot air balloon adventure

suck it up

This week, I have been to Sears THREE times to try to buy a vacuum. Ours has bitten the dust, (haha, I didn't even realize I just made a joke!) and with the combination of cat hair and faux pine needles from putting the Christmas trees up, I REALLY need to vacuum! I went on Tuesday night, but no one could help me. I even went over into electronics and asked for help with a vacuum, but the guy said he didn't know anything about vacuums, and there was no one over in the floor department. Pretty much the same thing happened Thursday. So today, I called before I left and asked if there would be anyone working in the floor department. The guy said that yes, a few people would be there.

I got to Sears and was immediately approached by a short little lady. She insisted on showing me the Dysons, specifically the one that costs $549. She was showing me all the features and she would go, "ta-da!" After she had talked for awhile, I explained to her that the Dyson wasn't really in my price range. So she took me to the next Dyson, which cost $499. I promptly interrupted her and said that I had seen three vacuums online that I would like to look at--could I show them to her and have her tell me about them.

We went around the corner into the aisle and I showed her the three vacuums. Her demeanor immediately changed--these were only $149 and $179!! Oh, no!!!! She KEPT showing me the Dysons and then some Kenmore models for over $200. I was adamant that I wanted one of those three. She was totally uninterested. I pretty much picked out the one I thought was best, with absolutely no help from her, and purchased it.

After wandering around the mall for a bit, I drove my car around to the purchase pick-up place. I went in, scanned my receipt, and a man came out and brought me the vacuum. Then another guy came out and said that that wasn't the right one. I commented that it looked exactly like the one I bought, but he said that it wasn't the right model. He said they didn't have any of the model that I bought (!) and I would have to go around to the floor department and talk to them. Sigh.

I marched on around there and waited for about 10 minutes before asking someone in the refrigerator dept. to help me. He said he couldn't help me and pointed over my shoulder--there was my little lady. I went over to her and told her about my situation. She tried to sell me the Dyson!!!! Then the $200+ Kenmore!!!! I told her that I wanted the vacuum that I bought, and she said that they didn't have any, and I asked her why she didn't tell me that when she rung me up!!!!

I then told her that I was going to buy the vacuum somewhere else if she didn't give me the model they had in stock for the same price I had already paid. And I asked her why they have a model on the floor that they don't have in the back, but they have a model in the back that's not on the floor!!!! Ugh! Anyway, she finally gave me the correct model for the same price and I was on my way. Good grief!!!! Sears is on my naughty list!!!!

In other news, Brian and I are going up in a hot air balloon in the morning for our anniversary. Yes, our anniversary was in October, but it was too windy and we've been busy pretty much every weekend since then. We would've gone today, but Brian has to work every Saturday now. We have to be there at 5:45 am!!!! It's probably a 45-60 minute drive from our house, but I'm sure there won't be much traffic at that ungodly hour. We're getting up at 4:15!! And now it's late, so I'm going to bed. I'll post pictures of the balloon ride! I can't wait!

Oh, and the scrapbook Christmas party I went to was a complete blast! Those girls are all wild and crazy! I had a great time, and everyone was so nice and welcoming. Thanks for inviting me, Denise!! :-)

deck the hall

Last night, Brian and I put up the family Christmas tree. We turned all the fans up on high and drank hot chocolate, commenting on the cold weather! haha! We also watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas" while we arranged the branches on the tree. Brian had never seen it!! What did he DO when he was a child?!

I now have 5 trees up along with my ceramic tree. (Well, 6, if you count the one on top of the armoire that doesn't have lights on it. And they are all mini trees except 2.) I still have to put the ornaments on them. I'm not putting my snowman tree up this year. But I do have my snowman village up on top of the bookcase in the den! :-) I'll take a picture later.

Yesterday, I went to Memory Lane to a candle class, and my awesome friend Denise invited me to have lunch with her and Tina. They are SO NICE and funny and fun--I am so glad they have befriended me! Tonight I'm going to a Christmas crop/party with Denise and her scrap group. I'm so excited!!

Today I have to wrap some gifts, put the Star Wars ornaments on Brian's tree, go to the Post Office, fix up my gift for the party tonight, make chicken tacos for the party tonight, plan some stuff to work on tonight, make the bed, take a shower....and I hope to get all that done before I have to leave! I'd better get going!