HO HO HO...... is a BLAST!

Let me tell you this......there is nothing so neat as playing Santa and Mrs. Claus for children of all ages.

Mike was asked to be the Jolly Man in 2009 at a country club and of course, I had to be part of the package deal because I was NOT going to miss out on the fun. Amazingly, the suit worked great for this Santa but he had to add the extra padding to make it look like he has been eating well for the long trip to around the world. Ashley's good friend Alysia, worked her magic on the sewing machine and created a beautiful dress for Mrs. Claus to help Santa with the little boys and girls. And so it began....... what we think is the COOLEST couple to ever come out of the North Pole. (Besides Rudolph and Clarice because they were sweet)

The kiddos are so excited to see him and that HO HO HO is one of the best I have heard. (Pssst, if you see Mike, ask him to let our his Christmas chant.......it is real!) Of course, there are those who were very frightened but for the most part, these little boys and girls lit up when they saw him and jumped right up onto his lap to share their stories, wants and Christmas wishes. This year, there was one sweet little girl who wanted Santa's beard. Nothing else, just his beard. Luckily, this Santa knows alot about toys because he asked all the right questions to all the children who were stumped. How about Legos? Harry Potter, Star Wars or Atlantis? He told the girls about Tangled Barbies, Zoobles and Breyer horses. (I think he even impressed the moms and dads!)

The questions and little whispers were the best. Santa was asked....... why does Christmas come, how old are you, where is your sleigh, why do you wear gloves, what do your reindeer eat and he was given the cutest letter from one of the little girls who melted our hearts telling him she was a good girl and would he please bring a blanket for her dog Dixie. At one point, two 30 year old men sat on his lap! Santa got pretty smily when he had two beautiful 30 year old ladies plop down too. During this time, Santa cannot refuse a customer. One driving aged young lady asked for a winter car. What the heck is a winter car?

This is something we look forward to and this is our 2nd year. Hopefully, they will let us continue this tradition in the future and I think that this might be a calling for retirement ages. Maybe in some mall in Florida or a mountain hideaway in East Tennessee! You never know but all I can say is..... He sees you when you're sleeping, he know when you're awake, he knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sakes~!

Christmas is Comin'

Brace yourselves folks.....it's a coming, it's a coming, ready or not, it's a coming!

I love this time of year, the lights and colors, the sparkles and glitter, the trees and cold weather. BUT.....dun dun dunnnnnnnnn, there is one thing that I am not fond of. The shopping, the retail stores and the crabby employees whom I happen to get after they have just had an argument with the previous consumer. Sigh. Therefore, I choose to frequent my favorite site, Amazon.com. I have no idea what I would do without them. I am so a fan of Amazon that the UPS man who delivers to my office walks in and says "Guess who this is for" and has worn a path to my door. The corner of my office looks like I am a corrugated box saleperson rather than a print sales person and I am hoping for the happy wrapper (not rapper) to pay me a visit. (Any takers?)

This past week, while I was at the mall with my sister and my daughter Ashley, Mike assembled the tree and that was step one. (I will have to say this, one tree went up as the mice in our shed have decided that the dining room tree made a nice chew toy and a place to deposit unmentionables). Two days later, I put on the lights because I am so darn anal about that and I have to do it every year. Who woulda' thought? Hopefully, this evening and the weekend will be spent making our home a beautiful reflection of the season. Hopefully I say because I still have a naked tree in the corner of the house.

Then there is the problem of our kitties. Simon (the giant cat) and Lil' Gray, the little girl, love the tree. Simon likes to sit under the tree and munch on the branches. If you are not a cat owner, you have to understand that cats do not resond to the word NO, or strong tones. They just stare at you like ...SHUT UP, I'm busy chewing on this tree. I am hoping that the tree can withstand the team of S & G. Hey, that could be a new wrestlin' tag team!

Truly, I am anxious to see what the weekend will bring.

Merry Christmas....let the countdown begin. Now, go decorate and share pictures!