One More Day…

 

Uh huh- just one more day of 2010 and one more day of  dealing with one of my many bad habits. You know what I mean!  I can’t possibly be the only one out there with big plans to begin a New Year’s diet and try to lose some weight, can I?  I have a plan for 2011.  I’m gonna start slow and attempt to get off some of the “middle age spread” that has taken over my body.  And if I begin with the attitude that “Rome wasn’t built in one day,” then perhaps I won’t be discouraged if I fall by the wayside and resort to my old ways. I bet more than a few of you know are familiar with the following imagined scenario -

 

                                                                                                

 

You start the first day of your diet with a big bang! You select all the right things for your meals and snacks from the classifications on the food pyramid. You drink the recommended eight+ glasses of water. You work out to that 30 Day Shred DVD that you bought yourself in anticipation of your resolution and promise yourself you’re going to do it faithfully every morning before you start off the day. 

 

 

                                                                                       

 

And you do it all the right way….   For about a week.

 

                                                                                                       

Then you find yourself in the throes of hunger and tell yourself that just one teenie tiny piece of an Esther Price caramel pecan couldn’t possibly hurt.  You’ve been good for several days in a row. You DESERVE a treat!  So you pop that piece of chocolate candy into your mouth and savor it slowly.  But you can’t just stop at one. You have another, and another, and before you know it- half the box that cost you $15 is gone! 

 

                                                                                                                                          

So when lunch time rolls around and you’re feeling really guilty for having eaten all that chocolate, you sit down to a healthy turkey sandwich on skinny bread, an apple, and a serving of carrots and broccoli.  

But because all that food didn’t quite fill you up,  you add in a couple handfuls of potato chips and wash everything down with an ice cold can of Coke. 

 

                                                                                                    

 

In an attempt to make up for that nasty fall from grace at lunchtime, you work out that night with another dose of Jillian and her Biggest Loser trainer mentality. You’re so sore when you finish the routine that your legs wobble as you walk up the stairs to bed. You dose yourself with a couple of ibuprofen and a nice warm rub of Ben-Gay and you smell so medicinal that the husband leaves the room.  Heck- even YOU are having trouble with the fumes.

                                                                                                                   

You finally fall asleep, exhausted from lack of food and the pain of aching muscles.  But you wake up early the next morning and start your new routine all over again!

 

                                                                                                                           

 

How do I know what has been happening in this little scenario? 

Don’t laugh…  It’s not imagined! I started my resolution a week early. I’m so sore that it hurts to bend over to put on my socks; my stomach rumbles because it’s empty; and I’m floating to the bathroom all the darn time.   

                                                                                                                               But I’m starting slow….

 

                                                                          

 

                                                                                       Happy New Year

                to all my blogging friends!

                                                                                            

                                                                                          and may you have good luck with all YOUR resolutions……

                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                     

A Simpler Time…

 

I hope that everyone enjoyed a beautiful Christmas celebration!  It was rather uneventful in our empty nest household. We spent Christmas Eve with my sister-in-law and her family and on Christmas day we stayed indoors and watched a marathon of holiday movies on the tube. 

After yesterday, I am so glad that I record my favorite movies and television shows on the DVR. I have come to the conclusion that I HATE commercials! Shows start out with about 10-15 minutes of uninterrupted viewing, then BAM- you are inundated with three to five minutes of commercials! Then you begin a cycle of 5-7 minutes of the show, then the commercials again…. 

An hour long time slot is filled with only about 40 minutes of the show and 20 minutes of commercial time.  I think I could quote every line of dialog in many of those commercials after yesterday!  Well, maybe not all of them…. but good grief- it sure did get old listening to the same sales pitches all day long! 

 

Okay, on to showing you a little more of my Christmas decor.  I bought my goat cart back in the fall and knew it should be decorated for the holidays. I didn’t quite make the cut on the fancy decor- in fact, I just stuck one of my small trees in it and called it a day!  I decorated a miniature tree with animal ornaments.  It’s mostly a folksy type of tree, hung with an assortment of ornaments dating back to a simple country tree back from the eighties.

 

 

I “planted” the tree in a clay pot, nestled it in the cart, and surrounded it in a bed of burlap. One of the garlands is made up of wooden “light  bulbs” strung on jute cording. They are replicas of the large old-timey bulbs that I remember from the trees of my childhood.  I also used some colorful wooden beads to fill in the gaps.

 

 

 

 

 

A little tin bird and birdhouse.

 

 

Wooden woolie.

 

 

This mouse in a mitten ornament was made out of salt dough, painted, and given a coat or two of polyurethane.

 

 

                          

                                   Mr. and Mrs. Bunny Santa Claus

 

 

Oink  oink….

 

 

The only non-animal related ornament on the tree is this handmade angel. She has graced one or another of my trees for over 20 years.

 

 

The tree is folksy, homey, and perfect for the French country-inspired kitchen.  I may just leave this tree up longer than the rest of them. It’s small and unobtrusive and it makes me smile when I see it, because there are so many “first-tree” ornaments on it. It was a simpler time back then- I didn’t do themed trees and was satisfied with sparse ornamentation and lighting.  Although this little tree was strung with white lights, I didn’t even plug them in. Instead I hung battery operated  grunge candles that flickered with warm golden light.

 

 

                                                                  ~~~~~

                                      

                                                              Linking to:

                                          

                                       

                                          Show Off Your Cottage Monday

                                                     

 

 

 

 

                                                         Table Top Tuesday

                                          

Claus and Effect…

 

Didn’t want to forget the Santa Claus figurines displayed in the kitchen hallway.

 

This shelf hangs on the wall in the narrow entrance to the kitchen. It’s difficult to shoot head-on~ thus the bad angle and lighting.  But it gives you a little perspective as to where these Santa figures reside during the holidays.

 

 

 

 

This grouping is comprised of hanging ornaments. I started collecting the dated Santa’s about 20 years ago. They depict what the general public perceived Santa to look like during a specific time period.  You can see the popular perception of Santa Claus in the ornament dated 1899, while a more rustic looking old man is seen in the year 1894.

 

 

 

This handcrafted wooden Santa is hinged and is usually perched so that his feet dangle, but this shelf has a lip and he just wouldn’t stay put. 

 

 

 

 

 

Nestled in a bowl of glass balls, this Santa ornament can also be hung on a tree branch by the crook of his cap.

 

 

I’ve never been a very crafty person, so I was amazed at myself when I made Mrs. Claus so long ago. It was my first attempt at any type of needlecraft, but I thought she and her hubby, shown below, came out pretty good.  I’ve never done another remotely similar project, since!

 

 

 

 

 

The antique finish and painting on this gourd Santa is so textural.

 

 

 

Sad-eyed Santa.

 

 

 

More dated Santa figures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A left-handed flute-playing Santa.

 

 

 

 

Gotta stay in shape to lift that heavy pack of toys…

 

 

 

 

 

A two-fisted, beer-carrying Irish Santa.

 

 

                                                                                                        ~~~~~

 

      Wishing all of you a Very Merry Christmas!

 

                                 ~Sue

♪ ♫ ♪… Up On The Fridge Top, Santa’s Pause… ♪ ♫ ♪

 

I had been humming the song  “Up on the rooftop, reindeer pause…”  for a several days in a row when it inspired me to place some Christmas decor up on top the refrigerator. In my opinion, the top of the refrigerator should never be bare, much less during the Christmas season, so I allowed some Santa’s to pause and play on the top of mine!

 

 

I found all of these Santa figures at Kohl’s and just love them.  So much, in fact, I ordered four more styles online today at the greatly reduced price of $12 apiece.  

 

 

This traditional Santa holds a  long “Nice” list. I’m happy to see that my son’s name is on it!  I guess Daniel was a good boy this year!

 

  

In front of this Santa is a large basket filled with greens from the yard and some traditional blue pieces from Rowe Pottery. I bought these at the furniture market many years ago, when we carried the Rowe line in the store.  They add a nice change from the traditional red and green Christmas colors in the rest of this vignette.

 

 

 

 

Cinnamon stick Santa’s were stuck into the basket, as well. 

 

Just look at the face on the jolly old elf!

 

 

 

 

This is my kind of Santa-  He  has a special delivery of some red wine, just for me. I looked for my name on that “Nice” list but couldn’t find it.  Maybe I was on another list and this is my consolation gift…

 

 

 

 

 

This chef Santa is bringing some bubbly to the table. Do you see the little snack of breadsticks in his coat pocket? 

 

 

 

 

I still have a few gifts to wrap and some grocery shopping to do, but it’s nice to know I’m finally able to relax and enjoy this final week before Christmas.  Once again, here is wishing all of you a Happy Holiday Season and a Very Merry Christmas!