(W)Rap Artist

Christmas Eve is also my mom's birthday, so this day has had a hint of sadness since she passed away almost 19 years ago.  There are so many things that come to mind when I think of my mom and Christmas, but I have the most memories when it comes to wrapping presents.

I remember how quickly she could do it herself, always perfect in the amount of paper she used and the amount of ribbon she pulled off the spool.  Her organized mind was evident in the pre-torn pieces of tape she would have stuck to the back of her hand, or stuck to the side of the table where she was wrapping, ready for immediate use at each fold of the paper.  I noticed she never tried to wrap an odd-shaped toy or mug or whatever without putting it in a box first - this ensured the neatness of the package.  And she never left a present without a bow - she had a bow maker when she wanted to be fancy, but she wasn't beyond using the stick-on kind.  She just wanted it to be nice.

When I started choosing presents on my own to give to others, the first thing my mom did was to teach me how to wrap them properly.  Of course, teaching me to use the right amount of paper and ribbon involved lots of eyeballing, which I was bad at doing.  Many times I'd cut too much or, even worse, too little.  In the latter case, my mom told me to save that piece that was cut too small, because inevitably there would be another gift of appropriate size to use it on.  I still make that mistake to this day, so if you look inside the tubes of gift wrap in my closet, you'll find many rolled scraps meant not to go to waste.  Folding the corners on the present wrapping proved to be even more of a challenge.  Whereas her corners were always so crisp, mine left wrinkles and bulges that made the gift look like it needed a facelift.  But she assured me that, with practice, the corners would get more snug and the edges more flat.  After 30 years of wrapping my own presents, she was right.  And, per her example, I never forget the bow.  For any of you who have received a wrapped present from me, you know my fallback is curling ribbon.  Curly is about as fancy as I get.

Now in no way am I against gift bags, in case you were wondering.  I just feel like I'm honoring my mom when I wrap at Christmastime.  I value what she taught me and I don't want to forget it.  And I think the way I wrap presents is a good reflection of my mom:  simple, considerate, and nice.

"And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."  Luke 2:7

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Shop Till You Drop

Back in the 80s, I loved going to the mall.  Like all teenagers, I had the most fun hanging out with my friends and going to my favorite stores like Contempo, Wild Pair, and The Broadway.  We would coordinate whose parents would drop off and whose parents would pick up, and it was always exciting when we could walk around on our own and didn't have to be chaperoned by an older sibling.

Since then, God blessed me with four sons, which brought my desire AND my ability to go to the mall to a screeching halt.  My boys are classic boys, born with the absence of the "shopping" gene and double the dose of the "runs around stores" gene.  At the mere mention of the mall, they begin a tirade of complaints, and I am positive that they the only humans who literally melt into useless blobs upon stepping into a Macy's.  But over time, I have come to accept and somewhat agree with their opinions on mall shopping.  It can be crowded and parking is usually bad.  I no longer understand the teenage culture, so communicating with a cashier who has to pull up his saggy pants every 30 seconds, or with a salesperson who asks me to wait as she finishes her texting, is a bit frustrating.  

As a result, I have come to enjoy online shopping.  Maybe a little TOO much.  It's so convenient now to scour the internet for the exact item I want, or to compare prices and item descriptions with just a few clicks.  I know blogging about internet shopping is nothing new (I might as well tell you about the advantages of push-button phones), but with the comings and goings of four boys, I have my favorite sites:

Bradsdeals.com    Justin discovered this site a few years ago for Black Friday deals.  This site actually updates the most recent online deals every few minutes, so checking it every hour or so always produces something new.  It covers all categories of items, from clothing to home items and jewelry to electronics.  I always check this site first when I shop online, but I must admit that the main thing I look for on this site is a great deal - impulse shoppers beware!

6pm.com    If you didn't know already, 6pm.com is the outlet for Zappos.  They have some of the same current items as Zappos, but the selection of sizes or colors may be fewer.  They do have a wide selection of clothing and shoes from past seasons.  I've been wearing lots of the same clothes since the 90s (fine - the 80s), so finding a bargain from something that came out last year is still a bargain worth buying.  Also, 6pm.com always has special sales to celebrate certain holidays, and, from experience, sometimes it's worth it to wait a few weeks for an item to be reduced even further.  6pm.com is a hit and miss, but they usually have new things on sale every few days.  Shipping is not always free, so that's something to wait for, also.

retailmenot.com    This site is growing in popularity, as it provides extra discount codes for online sites.  If I ever order anything online, I always check retailmenot.com first for any other code I can apply.  I have also used this site a few times to double check whether a retail site is legit.  If I can't find it on retailmenot.com, I don't order from that site. 

ebates.com     My friend told me about this site that is all about rebates.  Before I make an online purchase, I check retailmenot.com, THEN I check ebates.com.  Ebates.com lists cashback percentages and once you sign up, you can shop the regular sites through the ebate link and you'll automatically earn money back if the site you're shopping on has an ebate offer.  This is a great site because it doesn't require racking up points and you don't have to get others to sign up (but if you do decide to sign up, let me know because I get a bonus).  :o)  I have already received two checks in the mail, and ebates.com gives you a running total of your rebates due and pays out quarterly.  Free money?  Yes, please!

So there you have it:  how to shop wisely and quickly while saving money AND making money.  I no longer need to be in the mall where, as a mom, I'd mostly focus on my kids not getting kidnapped.  I have changed out the company of my junior high friends for the company of my sons, and, ironically, I now have them to thank for making my shopping experience the most efficient and it's ever been.

Joyeux Noel

"Kalat" is the tagalog word that means "litter" or "something spread about".  I am NOT a fan of kalat, but with four sons it's something very difficult to avoid.  Dirty laundry can be kalat, Pokemon cards can be kalat, and Legos strewn on the floor is MAJOR kalat.  This explains why I am not a big collector of anything, really.  I don't care for souvenir spoons (like my mom did),  or for giraffe-related sculptures, or magnets in the shape of the states.  I like that I don't have a "thing" where people would always give me "thing"-related stuff to fill up some kind of display cabinet for which I don't have any room anyway.

But if you look closely just at our Christmas tree, you'll see I come fairly close.  Every year I like to buy a new ornament for the tree.  Not one that I had bought the year before on the day after Christmas at like 95% off.  No, I mean to buy an ornament during the current season, when the stores have their best decorations out, and these decorations are still fully glittered, haven't been stepped on, the designs are still intact and they're not broken.  Oh, and the ornament has to have the word "Joy" on it.  (I know the one pictured above doesn't say that, but it's because I haven't found my special ornament yet for this year.)  :o)

As a big fan of the writings of C.S. Lewis, I remember him describing joy as something only of God.  Whereas happiness is the result of beneficial situations and is a feeling that comes and goes, Lewis stated that joy itself is complete pleasure in the Lord.  It is immune to the sway of emotions.  Joy does not change because it is not of us but of God, who never changes.  The Psalmist writes "In Your presence is the fullness of joy."  (Psalm 16:11)  Is that not what we celebrate at Christmas?  The birth of Jesus Christ gave man the ability to be in the physical presence of God.  It exemplified God's love for us, that He came to earth to live like a man but also to be able to die for our sins.  I know that sounds simple, but aren't the simple things worth celebrating, too?

So I don't consider my "joy" ornaments "kalat" because they're always contained in a specific place:  on the tree.  And I don't have them out year round, either.  But if I can ignore the dirty laundry for a moment, keep the Pokemon cards in their tins and maneuver around the Legos underfoot, I'll make my way to our Christmas tree whenever I can, searching for the reminder of the real meaning of this holiday and the joy we are all to find in it.

Boiled Chicken Can Be Fab

At the risk of being put on the black list of a dear friend, I am posting her recipe for probably the BEST chicken salad I have ever had.  I have not asked her permission to share it but it's just after 11pm my time and I'm trying to squeak in a post.  I figure I could write a recipe quickly and have it count as my post AND as the highlight of my day.  Two birds, you know?

THE BEST CHICKEN SALAD EVER
also known as
WHAT TO MAKE FOR DINNER WHEN YOU'RE AT YOUR SON'S BASKETBALL PRACTICE AND YOU REALIZE YOU HAVEN'T PREPARED ANYTHING AND ALL YOU HAVE IS BOILED CHICKEN

4 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
4 stalks celery, diced
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup (ish) of mayo

Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Serve in sliced croissants if you're fancy, in wheat bread if you're healthy, or do what I do and eat it right out of the mixing bowl if you're just plain hungry.

And please don't ask me how many it serves.  All I know is that I have six people in my family and everyone gets fed.  Please don't ask me the nutritional value, either.  All I can say is that it has nutrients which are very valuable.

And yes, it was the highlight of my day and will continue to be until it runs out or unless my husband gives me an early Christmas present.

Christmas List

Does anyone else's Christmas list look like this?

1. Finish off Thanksgiving leftovers

2. Find a home for the pumpkin pie that was brought to your after-Thanksgiving party because it never got eaten at someone else's Thanksgiving the day before

3. Put up a Christmas wreath on the front door

4. Disagree with those who say "just decorate the front door" and convince your husband to go into the garage and pull down all the boxes of Christmas decorations

5. Spend all day creating Christmas cards online because your Groupon is about to expire

6. Forget how to spell the word "Christmas" because you've been staring at it all day making sure there are no spelling mistakes on your Christmas cards

7. Drink a large cup of coffee at 6pm because you're on your way to help with the Christmas choir and play rehearsal at church

8. Wish you had another cup of coffee halfway through rehearsal

9. Come home and eat the last 3/4" piece of baguette someone inconsiderately left in the bread bag

10. Keep your promise and blog before midnight

Hmmm... I didn't think so.

The Most Blogger-ful Time of the Year

Inspiration can come from anywhere.  Realizing that it's already December was the inspiration for me to continue my blogging tradition of frantically writing at the end of the year, just so I can "keep up" my blog (like "keeping up" the roots of your hair by wearing hats in between salon visits).  But I told my husband that, starting today, I WILL blog everyday until Christmas - I WILL.  Now I may be falsely assuming that there is still interest in my blog, but if I treat my audience like I treat my husband, I'll just go on and on whether anyone is paying attention or not.

So "Why the picture of the painted nails?", you ask?  (Herein begins the "writing with abandon".)  In keeping with the theme of "inspiration", I was recently inspired to retry new things, the first being to paint my nails.  For those of you unfamiliar, I haven't painted my fingernails for years.  Actually, decades.  No joke.  If my old mind serves me correctly, I think I last had my nails done when my oldest brother got married.  In 1997.  And they were acrylic, so waiting for those darn things to grow out and trying to pick them off was only part of why I never painted my nails again.  And now I am also a stay at home mom.  I have four sons.  I have no maid.  I love to cook.  But I tried to deny these facts and submit to the powers of Pinterest, so I had a friend buy me a bottle of OPI Roadhouse Blues (like the pic above).  The reason I had a friend buy it for me is because OPI is an expensive brand of nail polish and my friend is a hairstylist so she gets me discounts at the supply store and as I said I'm a stay at home mom so I try to be cheap without looking like it.  Anyway, I somehow found an extra hour in my day and actually painted my nails - base coat and top coat and all!  (I know, check me.)  I absolutely loved it, was so proud of myself for doing it, and felt so hip wearing dark nail polish!  (Hmmm, I think using the word "hip" just negated any coolness I just built up for myself.)  Well, as we all know, painting your nails doesn't take away life's responsibilities, so only two days later my nails looked like this:

I should have taken another pic after I finished the laundry that day, but if you can imagine nails with no polish on them whatsoever you've pretty much got the picture.  I was actually hoping to paint them again today:  I wanted the whole "New Look, New Blog" theme, but seeing as it's dinner time and I wanted to squeeze in this post before reheating Thanksgiving fare, painting my nails will have to wait - again.

And since the Christmas season has begun and I must somehow segue from nail polish to the birth of Jesus Christ, I am rebooting my blog with my FIRST EVER CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY!  Just leave a comment telling me how often you paint your nails, and you'll be entered to win your very own bottle of OPI Roadhouse Blues!  I know you're thinking that I'm just going to give you the rest of my unused bottle, but I'm not.  (Winner will be announced on this post on Friday, 12/6.)

So readers, join me in raising a bottle of nail polish as we begin a new season of inspiration!  Here's to streams of thought, unaccomplishable Pinterest projects, and Baby Jesus!

Nontraditional Traditions

Before the end of 2012 I thought I'd try and squeeze in a SECOND blog entry during the year.  My excuse for lack of more blog entries is the usual:  having four sons.  I am constantly in search of new holiday traditions for their sake, to make their Christmas memories more meaningful.  Take my own traditions, for instance.  "Traditional"?  Maybe not.  "Meaningful"?  Absolutely.

I wear tights.  And I don't mean leggings (though my friend had an awkward situation where a woman she saw at the bank was wearing tights as if they were leggings, short shirt and all - but that's a different conversation all together).  I mean tights.  I used to wear stockings all the time when I was in sales and had to wear a suit, but that was 11 years and four children ago.  Now I just reserve the opportunity to once a year to treat my thighs and legs like ground pork and force them into cotton/polyester casings that make them look sausage-like.  All for the holidays.  This year I attempted to wear the patterned-type of tights, but seeing as it was ribbed I realized too late that the lines are supposed to go STRAIGHT down my legs, not all curvy around the thick parts.  Oh well, live and learn (as in "learn to wear a longer skirt next year").

Justin and I watch "While You Were Sleeping".  Yes, other more traditional Christmas movies are on the list, but we've been fans of this movie since we were dating.  The funny thing is, most people don't know about this Sandra Bullock film from 1995.  But its loveable main character and message about the importance of family actually make it our favorite movie of all time.  It's because of this movie that I want Justin to take me to Chicago someday.  It's also the reason that the words "Mary mashed them" always crack me up.

I call one of my brothers, or he calls me, not even on Christmas, and not even to greet each other.  We try to be the first to call the other upon legitimately hearing "Do They Know It's Christmas?" or "Last Christmas" (and by "legitimately" I mean hearing most of the song and actually paying attention to it).  We're both big fans of the 80s and we can't even let it go during the holidays.  I think we've been doing this since, well, the 80s.  The call goes something like:
"I heard the song."
"Cool.  Where are you?"
"At the bank." or "In the car."
... and that's pretty much it.  This might be one of my favorite Christmas traditions, but don't tell my brother I said that.

Although I am sure these three nontraditional traditions will still top the list of 2013, there are a handful of things I hope NOT to add to that list.  Like "blogged just two times".  Or "can't do without 'Home Alone'".  Or "became fruitcake's #1 fan".

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."  John 1:14

Christmas Traditions

Like most other homes that celebrate Christmas, I grew up with many holiday traditions. We didn't have lots of money or give or receive lots of presents when we were little, but my parents still managed to create memories that I will always cherish.

On Christmas Eve I would always be awakened by the sound of a running vacuum. Always. That would be my dad preparing 12 hours in advance for the yearly party we would host on the evening of December 24. Once mostly awake, I'd be directed to the Pledge and a rag since it was my duty to clean all the side tables, the coffee table, and pretty much anything with a flat surface so that our house would be dust-free for the party. Sadly, it wasn't till I was older that I realized my mother, who was born on Christmas Eve, would spend her entire birthday in the kitchen preparing the meals for our celebration with 40+ guests. We stopped the December 24th party when she got sick and never resumed it after she passed away, but I think it takes a humble mom to create a festive atmosphere for family and friends on a day that should have been spent celebrating her.

But my mom's humility was counteracted by my dad's antics when it came time to sing Christmas carols. All our party guests would cram into our little living room, which necessitated an open front door for fresh air's sake. The printed list of songs and lyrics would go around, and my dad's show would begin. You see, he felt that caroling time needed an emcee and, as the host of the party, he was the natural choice. I suppose singing these Christmas songs would have been pleasant if they were sung normally, but not so with my father. Things pretty much got out of hand when my mom received a "12 Days of Christmas" bell collection one year. Those bells became props for the song and groups of people (assigned by my dad) would take turns singing their "day" and ringing their bell. But no one could really sing days 4,3, or 2 on their own because my dad would always chime in. Always. Whereas normal people would sing it like this:

"4 calling birds, 3 French hens, 2 Turtledoves..."

my father would sing it like this:

"4 calling cards, 3 French toast, 2 turtlenecks..."

Now imagine those words being sung with a heavy Filipino accent. Now imagine a roar of laughter from the crowd. Now imagine that same show year after year. Yep, that's my dad.

So it's probably been at least 17 years since my family's last Christmas Eve party. I must admit that I miss all the food, the joyous gathering of family and friends, and my dad's unique way of singing carols. Maybe I'll consider starting similar traditions for my own family. I'll have to make due without my mom's bell collection or my dad's accent, but I do have a vacuum and lots of Pledge. And that's how great Christmas memories begin.

[See World Vision's "12 Blogs of Christmas"]

Hark the Herald Shepherds Sing...

Yesterday was the first rehearsal for the Christmas Children's Choir at church. Jonah is performing for the second year in a row. When given the choice between an angel, animal or shepherd, Jonah chose the shepherd.

The theme for this year's performance is "The Innkeeper's Tale". It is the story of the innkeeper who, despite previous accounts, tried his best to find accommodations for Joseph and Mary.

Plays are always fun to watch due to unpredictable nature of live acting. Add a cast of young, untrained child actors and viola! It will be a fun night.

The curtain rises on Sunday, December 21st! Sing your heart out shepherd boy.