...I bawled all the way through the last pages of Atonement. God, what a sad ending...and what a great book. I need to read some more of Ian McEwan's stuff now! I was supposed to go see the movie today, but my mom was sick and couldn't go. I don't like going to movies by myself, especially sad ones.

I have a whole bunch of books checked out from the library, and even more on hold. My goal is to read fifty books this year.

Speaking of sad stuff, I started taking down Christmas decorations. God, I hate the end of the season. I'm doing it as slowly as possible. I'm helping Mom with a big project- we're cataloging all of her Christmas ornaments. I'm going to group them by theme or type (glass balls, toys, Santas, etc.), take photos, and write up a bit of history about them. Not every single ornament, because she and Dad have well over 400, but just a general idea of what they have and the stories behind them. I've already done my own tree. Not a lot of history, but I realized that I have nearly 30 Star Trek ornaments!
More stuff behind the cut... ( Read more... )

I had a terrific holiday. The candlelight service at church was lovely as usual. I sang a solo and in a trio, and Mom thought it was the best she'd heard me sing in years! My voice must really have finally come back.

Christmas dinner was at my sister's house like always and it was great. Her tree was really beautiful this year.

 Sam got an X Box and Guitar Hero III to go with it. He spent most of the day playing. I didn't even try to play. It looks hard!

I got a lot of great presents this year. A lot more than I asked for- especially considering that I already got the big present- Spamalot!! My sister surprised me with a bottle of Vera Wang Princess, a perfume I'd casually mentioned liking (we were at Macy's shopping for our dad at the time). *grins*  I really cleaned up. Mom loved her necklace, and everyone loved the stitching I did for them.

Lots of pictures behind the cut- some are large.

The carol service went pretty well. Our music sounded good, and the kids were adorable. But it was too darn long! Two hours. There was just too much stuff to sing. I have no voice left! I sang in a quartet at the regular service this morning, too. I got a lot of compliments.

Now all I have to worry about is the Christmas Eve service- fortunately, we're repeating some of the music from today's service.

Two more days until Spamalot! Squee!

I finished one of my mom's Christmas presents tonight!



That took around four hours to do- and it took me a while to decide on a design. I do love beading. I want to take classes so I can do more professional looking work!

Another year, another successful run of The Messiah. My sister thought it was the best we've ever done it. I know I sang better than usual last night. Katie may not be directing again next year (she's really tired!), but I'll sing in it, anyway!

I think the Christmas season has officially begun for me!

I've been almost too busy to do any cross stitching. I did manage to finish a card:



I still have to do my mother's present. It's simple, though. Then I have one more card to do.

Cherry Cordial M&Ms= made of awesome. They're only for Christmas, so I'm going to buy a bunch of bags and freeze them. They're making me love M&Ms again- I had gotten really sick of them!

Also very sweet: this Issac Mizrahi purse/tote that I picked up from Target today:



It's bigger than I thought it would be, but I do carry a lot of stuff. I'll use it all through the holidays.

I've gotten most of my Christmas shopping done already, if you can believe that. Thank God for Target and amazon.com!

My little Star Trek tree...

Long post with pics ahead!

I spent most of today at my sister Katie's house. Most of her in-laws were there, so we had fifteen people at dinner! Her house was just big enough for everyone. I finally met her niece Marissa's husband Danny. He was really nice. They brought their "baby", a lab mix puppy named Mocha. Sweet doggy, but she was nervous and cried all the time! We had a great dinner, and had fun looking through Marissa and Danny's wedding album. Sam gave us a little concert on his drum set. He got a new cymbal to add to it. He was so happy!

I got a lot of nice presents- two cross stitch kits and a book, a cookbook and baking supplies from The Pampered Chef (Mom went to a neighbor's party and bought a ton of stuff), two purses (a Vera Bradley from Mom and Dad and a Laurel Burch from Katie), some Estée Lauder eyeshadow, and a big box of Godiva chocolates. I had more fun watching Mom open her presents (she loved the cross stitched "Antique Shoes")- Dad got her a diamond pendant that knocked her socks off!

I'm really tired, though. The Christmas Eve service and pre-service concert knocked me out. I was too wired to sleep when I got home.

I'll have some pics, some more choir musings, and maybe a recipe or two later this week. I'm too tired to do much else tonight! I hope everyone had a nice holiday.

The Christmas carol service is over, and I got through it all sane. Tired, but sane. We did really well. The kids were cute as always, the handbell/chime piece went almost flawlessly, and the adult choir's Ceremony of Carols went off almost without a hitch! My duet/quartet went well, too.   My voice is tired out, but I feel really good about it. I haven't felt this good about choir in a while! I still plan on taking a break after Christmas is over, though. Next Sunday will be tough- it's the last Sunday in Advent as well as Christmas Eve, so I have to sing in the morning and at 11:00 p.m.! We know most of our music already, so it won't be too bad.

I have to bake some more cookies- my sister is demanding them.  But I don't have to bake as many as I did last week, though.