2010 King Family Christmas Baking Day

There seemed to be some disagreement on whether this was our 4th or 5th year doing a big Christmas baking day. To me, it seems like this was our 5th but Katie and Jessica are pretty sure it was only our 4th. Regardless, it was a lot of fun.

Appetizers, Punch, Coffee and a whole lots of sweets!

We had friends join us:

And family:

And bakers in the making:

For the record, THIS auntie is not the one that gave her the frosting coated beater. I am telling the truth. I believe it was auntie J or auntie Mindi.

I even tried my hand at Cake Pops:

Ridiculous Amusement

I got a couple packages in the mail the other day. They were from my beautiful and wonderful friend, Emily. She sent me a Christmas and a Birthday gift.

Most people buy the big stamp at the post office and slap it in the corner. This time, however, I found this when I picked up the packages...

Stamps galore! Puppies and Kitties all across these two boxes. I found this amusing and cute. I'm not sure why she opted for this sort of postage but I am glad she did. I had a good laugh. Thanks Em!

The Great Stocking Scandal

OK well it wasn't great and it wasn't so much a "scandal" as it was a theft. You see, Fed Ex delivered a package to my apartment but I wasn't home. Instead of leaving a notice saying when they would try again, they left it outside of my door. Overnight.

The next morning my neighbor asked if I got the package and I said no.

Long story short, no one in the complex knew where it was. I made many phone calls to Fed Ex and Personalcreations.com. Fed Ex was no help. I basically got a "well our driver said they delivered it". End of story. Personal Creations re-made the order for free and shipped them immediately.

I got them about 5 days later. So here are the stockings that I ordered for me and "the boy". They turned out adorable, in my opinion.

Baking Gals

I know I've written about this alot lately. Oh well :)

I just did the count for how many boxes were sent to Afghanistan. I hosted 2 teams this round. I've heard from 23 of the 32 team members I had.

Between the 2 team we sent 47 boxes. Maybe closer to 50-53 boxes. I am just amazed by the men and women that sign up for this and the generosity in their hearts. I am hoping these boxes make it a VERY Merry Christmas for the men and women serving in Afghanistan!

Thankful Thursday: Coupons

OK, so I am beginning to think I should change the name of this segment to Thankful Fridays. But it doesn't have the same ring to it. Oh well. I am going to use the "it is the holidays and I've been working alot'" excuse. Ignore the fact that I was off of work yesterday. I will get better at this. Or so I keep saying,

I really love the internet and the many things it has to offer. I.E. Printable coupons/Coupon codes. I am not a huge online shopper but I do utilize it during the holidays and when I simply can't find anything in a store. I don't care if it is a 10%, 20%, 50% off coupon. If can use it for something I am going to buy, I will. A dollar savings is a dollar savings. Especially in this economy. I do not, however, buy something simply because I have a coupon for it. If I don't need or want the item I am pretty good about passing it up.

I wish I could use more coupons while grocery shopping. I look through the adds and all of the coupon things that come out in the Sunday paper but I just don't see a whole lot of coupons that are useful to me. Once I have kids the diapers/wipes/baby gear coupons will be very useful. Too bad they expire. I'd start collecting now if I could. Then there are the "buy 2 get $0.75 off" coupons. Do I really need two boxes of that particular product? Probably not. Afterall, it is just little ole me at home right now.

I love Costco and Kohl's coupons the most. With Kohl's you can use thyeir coupons on absolutely everything in the store. Sale/Clearance/Regular. Love it. Especially when you find a really cute shirt on the clearance rack for $6 and you have a 15% off coupon. Can't beat that! Costco coupons always have something to offer. Water, Vitamin Water,Trail Mix, Clorox/Lysol wipes. Also some smoking hot deals on electronics.

Yeah, I'm a coupon girl and I'm not afraid to admit it. Now I'm off to Bath & Body Works and Barnes & Noble to finish up Christmas Shopping. Coupons in hand, of course.

Christmas Music

Around this time every year I am bursting with Christmas spirit. I am basically an elf in dispatcher clothing.
I will be the first to admit that I go overboard on gifts. I spend oodles  of time picking out wrapping paper, matching ribbon and bows, tags and wrapping each gift. I love it. All of it. And boy oh boy do I love me some Christmas music.

Day after Thanksgiving? Game on! The Ipod gets reacquainted with the Itunes "Christmas" play list. Catchy title, I know. From that moment on Christmas tunes are cranking from anything that has the ability to spew music.

I get ridiculously excited when I hear some of my favorite songs for the first time that year. I can't help it. They are just soooo good! So what are some of my favorite holiday tunes you ask (because I know all 4 of you are dying to know)?

In no particular order:
1) "Drummer Boy"  by Josh Groban.

I could really stop right there. This song is beautiful. And that voice... ooooooooooooo LA LA! (sorry Jared).Enough drooling and back to the songs:

2) "O Holy Night"  by Point of Grace
3) "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer"  by Gene Autry
4) "Christmas Shoes" by Newsong  (grab a tissue for this one!)
5) "I'll be Home for Christmas"
6) "Christmastime" by Michael W. Smith
7) "It's Christmas Time" featuring Third Day and Various Artists from the City on a Hill album
8) Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas Song
9) Anything from Trans-Siberian Orchestra
10) "Mary Did You Know" by Michael English

So now it's your turn. What Christmas songs put you in the holiday spirit?

Some of My Favorite Things

Although it can be a battle to keep them from climbing the tree, I still think they are pretty darn cute when they are under the tree.

And really, I could watch him decorate the tree all day. I did help but I had fun sitting back and realizing how blessed I am by this guy.

And he is such a good sport about me taking his picture. Constantly.

Operation Christmas Blessing: Part 2

I had a grand plan. I wanted to involve every person I possibly could. Well, it wasn't perfect but it was still pretty darn amazing.

We bought stockings.

Decorated them.

People donated.

And donated.

And Donated...

My Captain helped me lay everything out for each stocking. (And was thrilled I looks his picture!)

 

I packed and packed and stuffed. Then taped until I couldn't tape any more.

We placed the letters from all of the kids right on top!

Then shipped them all off.

I know the people receiving these will be blessed by them. I'm not sure they will be blessed more than I was. I took a step back to exam everything people brought in. I was overwhelmed with the generosity of people. 8 FULL boxes. By full I mean SO full that I had to basically lay on them so they would close and I could tape them shut.

Thank you to everyone that helped out! I am so excited for them to get these boxes. Hopefully before christmas. We even enclosed a small christmas tree and a couple boxes of lights so they can spruce things up a bit.

Thankful Thursday: My Job

Yes, I know it is Friday. Thursday was a blur this week. Actually the last 2 weeks have been a bit of a blur. I've worked the last 13 nights. No days off in between. I finally had yesterday off but I am back at it tonight for another 5 nights.

I am not complaining though. I have a job. It is stressful, busy, crazy, stupid, annoying, frustrating, fun, exciting and I love it. I work with people that are a family. You can really only understand the dynamics of such a "family" when you are part of it. If a firefighter from Northern California gets hurt or dies, we all feel it. We shroud our badges and mourn like they were our closest friend.

My partner, Ali, is a gift from God. We talk about everything. I see her more than my family, Jared and other friends. I see her no less than 36 hours a week. Soon I will see her anywhere from 36-48 hours a week. That's not including overtime.

My other co-workers are just as wonderful. We joke, talk about our lives, encourage and console eachother after a bad/difficult call. We hug and let eachother cry when we need to.

I am thankful that in this economy, when most people have hours getting cut, mine have increased or atleast have stayed the same. I am thankful that I have been able to work a crazy amount of overtime the last few months so I can afford, without stressing, christmas gifts for people.

I am tired and kind of wish I had more than one day off this week but I am thankful.

Thankful Thursday: Friends

Yeah, I know I missed Thankful Thursday last week. It was a Holiday...give me a break. And please ignore the fact that said Holiday was about being thankful. I'm back now and that's what matters. Right?

I've heard it said that friends are the family that we choose. It's true.

People come and go in our lives constantly. I believe there is a time and a season for everything. Some of those seasons last longer than others.

I have a friend that I met in the 3rd grade. We did a very scientific science project together and got a B. Or was it a B+? In any case, that's not a bad grade for counting raisins. We played together constantly, had sleepovers and have remained friends through our adult lives.

I have a friend from Junior High that has a beautiful family of little boys. I love that we still keep in touch and love close by. Even if we don't get to hang out much. We used to go to youth group together and went away to college together. She's one of the funniest people I know. I love seeing how happy she is and that she's still part of my life.

I have a friend that I met my freshman year of High School. She's like a sister to me. She knows everything about me. Her kids call me "auntie" and I cherish the times we get to sit on the couch and watch cheesy girlie movies. We both have an unhealthy love for reality TV shows but I think we keep eachother balanced.

I have a new blog friend whom I've never met face to face. She's funny and I look forward to the emails from her. We've met through Operation Baking GALS. What better way to make a new friend than by joining an organization that helps others?

 I have every kind of friend in between that too. I am richly blessed by the friendships in my life. I am thankful that these friendships have lasted so long. The good, the bad and the ugly.. they have all been there for me. You have all touched my life in ways you will never know. Thank You , friends. I love you.