...and then we did some jamming to Jingle Bells.

Are you sitting here reading blog posts, when you really should be doing some holiday shopping but you're here because you have no frickin' clue as to what to get (insert name here)???

Well...honey....have I got some advice for you!!!

A very long time ago, when I was in university (the first time around!), my step-mother sent me some incredibly wonderful goodies from a company that I have used again and again and again (they like it when I do that, you see!!) for the last 30-some odd years..for holidays, birthdays, special occasions, get well, I'm thinking about you kind of situations!!

If that person on your list has a sweet tooth, likes popcorn/cookies/chocolates/snack food....link on over to The Popcorn Factory and take a look at all the wonderful goodiness they have to offer. The containers that everything comes in are positively the cutest and can be used long after the popcorn (or whatever you choose to fill it with) is gone. The gifts are especially good for families as some of them are quite abundant and will keep the whole family happy...for a short time anyway!!

My personal favorite is the canister with different flavors of popcorn....they are offering one for the holidays that has 7 different kinds!!!!!

(Photo from The Popcorn Factory site.)

Go and check them out. You might find THE perfect gift for someone...maybe even a little something for yourself!!!

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Ah......there it is!!!!

Thanks to the help of these very important things on Saturday night....

I do believe that I feel the slight beginnings of the Christmas Spirit.

Yes, it's amazing what some ume shu ("plum wine") and Elvis can do for the spirit.

I had taken out the holiday Cd's for the party and on Saturday night, while I was waiting to get dinner started, I poured a glass of homemade ume shu and then put The King on.

Amazing.

By the third glass, I was crooning along with E and even tried to get Issei to dance with me.

(He pretty much ran from me, but Koji? He's my dancer. He and I were two-steppin', baby!!)

I woke up on Sunday with, no, not a hangover (surprisingly enough) but, a new outlook on this whole "holiday" thing. After getting some laundry started, this girl got busy.

The boxes full of Christmas decorations actually got taken down, opened, and some things taken out of the boxes.

Lordy, Lordy, but it's beginning to look a teeny-eensy bit like Christmas!!

So...the lights and paper bows are on the tree....the ornaments may have to wait until Wednesday when I have more time to go through what I have, to see which ones "make the cut" this year!! (I have quite a few ornaments and I would need another tree or two to be able to display them all....our little artificial trees are small so if I had a real American-sized one, it might be a different story!!)

Most importantly...the nativity scene is put up. For me, that is usually the first thing that gets done and last thing to get put away. It took me a very long time to find just. the.right. one to buy....the pieces are made of hand-carved wood and they are beautiful, I think.

Since I had worked through that whole "I gotta listen to Elvis" thing, I needed some different kind of music to help me through the day. I have quite a few from which to choose....Hawaiian...Neil Diamond...Jazz..a wide variety of compilations.....Spanish...Oldies but Goodies....and yesterday, I chose Vince Gill and James Taylor.

I also learned a couple things about myself and Christmas music today:

This man......

....this man and his incredible voice can make me cry.


And this man....

...this man, I would marry in less than a heartbeat.

And...he can do a mean version of Jingle Bells. The rest of the CD is awesome, but it was the Bells that got this family a groovin'!! If you don't have this CD, get yourself to the store and buy it today!! You truly won't regret it!!!

So....here you go....click on the link...turn up the volume...push whatever in the way there is because, you might just wanna dance!!! We did!!



Have a great Monday!! I've been singing Sweet Baby James' version of "Jingle Bells" all day and it really has made a difference!!! {{smile}}