Archives for December 2013

Just for Fun on Thursday

December 12, 2013 By amusingmjblog Leave a Comment

I did this a few weeks ago and posted a few videos that had intrigued me over the week and I saw another one I wanted to share!! I’ve been thinking of making this a regular thing on Fridays… but since I haven’t finished my original Thursday post, I’m going to postpone it tomorrow… so enjoy this one today!

This girl’s facial expressions are AWESOME. The story is that she is a hearing child of deaf parents who signed the concert for her parents who are deaf. Such a sweet thought from a kid who clearly has a LOT of personality!

And since we are going with an awesome kid’s performance, you can’t miss this one. I’ve watched it a few times and still love this girls heart. I need a lesson from her on enthusiasm while dancing.

And last but certainly not least… this girl LOVES her life. I think maybe we should all start our mornings like her. Its an older one… but worth the repeat viewing!!

Have a great weekend!!

Filed Under: Just Fun

Christmas Table

December 11, 2013 By amusingmjblog Leave a Comment

If you didn’t hear this last weekend (then you must not have any friends in Texas), Texas had a major ice storm come through. This happens about once every 2 or 3 years but it always shuts the whole world down. Until all the snow and ice melt. Seriously. But it was beautiful!

I should probably have brought all my potted plants inside, but I didn’t get around to it as we barely had time to get home from DC before the weather hit. Good thing I never got around to replanting the pansies in this:

I thought the tree in my neighbor’s backyard was gorgeous, the way the top of the tree iced, but left the bottom tree still red, made me think of the ombre trend which is so popular right now.

Anyway, being iced in for 3 days gave me plenty of time to haul out my Christmas decorations and get started on Christmasing up my house. I’m one of those people who refuses to start thinking about Christmas until after Thanksgiving. I know lots of bloggers out there who like to decorate early so they can get their posts up early for Christmas, I just can’t bring myself to do it. Well travelling for Thanksgiving and then our little detour through Washington DC meant I was WAY behind on getting my decor up.

But Mother Nature was kind to me and iced me in so that I had no choice but to get caught up. Most of my facebook feed included people complaining about getting cabin fever, but apparently that part of me is broken, I LOVED being locked inside while it was ~~snowy~~ icy outside. But enough about the storm… want to see what I cooked up for my dining table?

I went with a red and silver winter woodland theme. Sorry for the yellowish lighting in the pics… like I said: iced in.

I love the pinecones and fake greenery (I don’t like to use real greenery on tables because I’d rather not have pine needles in my food… or near candles).

This little bird was a gift from my grandmother a few years ago. I think she was originally from Crate and Barrel. The red candle holders are also from C&B (last season), as are the silver snowflakes (maybe 3 years ago?). Those silver snowflakes are really neat, but they don’t survive the packing well. I’ve tried packing them different ways and I always lose a snowflake arm or two.

And just so you can see how pretty it looks in the daylight and set for a party:

Just so that you know that I love you all… I took this picture with the front door open so I could get enough light… and it was 18 at the time. And I really really don’t like being cold.

Stay tuned tomorrow, I’ll have a great cinnamon roll recipe for you!

Filed Under: Dining Room, Holiday, Life

The Gift of Nothing

December 10, 2013 By amusingmjblog 1 Comment

On my desk upstairs in my office, I have a tiny little white box tied up nicely with a red ribbon. You can actually see it in this picture which is on the house tour page of the blog. See it in the bottom right of this picture?

Let’s take a closer look. It is one of my favorite gifts of all time.

giftofnothing1

Do you want to take a peek inside? My mom gave it to me a few years ago. And it has stayed on my desk ever since.

And it has nothing inside. You see, one of my parents traditions for many many years was to read the comics in the Dallas Morning News every night before bed. They would laugh and share in the ‘funnies’ together. One of those comics is Mutts (check out the Mutts website here). The author of that comic strip also wrote a book called The Gift of Nothing. Where (SPOILER ALERT!!) the cat Mooch gives his friend the dog Earl Nothing for Christmas. Because he had a bowl and a bed, so he had everything!

So one year my mother wrapped up a box in pretty white paper and a red ribbon and gave it to us with a copy of this book to remind us of the nothings to be grateful for.

I think at Christmas (but really all throughout the year) we all need reminders to value the nothingness that we need. Sometimes to me it means to value the fact that I have food and a bed, and I truly need for nothing. Sometimes that little box reminds me to take time to ignore my to do list and just do nothing. But no matter what that little box on my desk ALWAYS reminds me to be grateful for what I have and appreciate the little things.

I wish all of you get the gift of Nothing this Christmas.

Filed Under: Holiday, Just Fun