Organize!

What a busy weekend I had! Lauren Peace had a birthday, so of course we had to have a big party! She turned 21, which means she gets to have some of the "special" eggnog this year, ha ha.  Most of my list items fall into the same category, so today, I'll get right to it.

Day 67 Organize your address book. If you are like me, you're address book is filled with little scraps of paper that are just slipped in to remind me to change or ad someone's address. What's in the book tends to have been crossed out several times and now I hardly know which phone number, address, or e-mail is correct.  It may be time to get a new address book, or index file box, or maybe just transfer them into your computer, where future changes can be easily and cleanly accomplished. One way or another, it's time to clear out the old, input the new, or maybe just make it easier to read. You don't want to be struggling to read things while you are sending cards out later. It'll give you a headache.

Day 66 Organize your closet.  Whether or not you have kids, you may be needing a little extra storage space soon. If you are one of those people who goes Christmas shopping early, or even if you aren't, You need a central place to store the gifts. Get rid of those old sweaters you haven't worn in ages, or the empty shoeboxes from your last pair of shoes. Make some space. It's so frustrating when we get close to Christmas and I know I've gotten something for someone special, only to realize I have absolutely no idea where I put it. (Don't laugh, I know everyone's done it at some point.) Sometimes all you have to do is make sure everything is folded up and put in its proper place. Maybe you'll find those earrings you lost last month.

Day 65 Organize your desk.  If you have one, go through your desk. Throw away those old receipts from fast food places you now regret going to, and crumpled up phone messages. Put all those "BoxTops for Education" coupons into an envelope. File away bills that have been paid. Whatever you have to do to clean it all out. The holidays get crazy. The best way to avoid the clutter later, is to start with a fresh slate. Oh, but make sure you leave that little piece of paper that says: order tree from livingchristmas.com! We wouldn't want you to forget that one. :)

Day 64 Take a break. That's what I'm doing today. Actually I'm still recovering from Lauren Peace's birthday. Not because of well, too much eggnog or anything, but hey, throwing a party is a lot of work. My little elf body is tired!!


I'll be back tomorrow, with something new. At least that's the plan. Smile!


Merry Merry!!

Care'n Presents

Time to Smile!

Scotty Claus had called some of us elves together for a team meeting at The Workshop. Close to the end of the meeting an alarm on his cell phone rang. He smiled, looked at me and said "Smile!" I smiled and looked at him like ?????  He told me that was his smile alarm. Every day at 3:00 it reminds him to smile. I LOVE that. I need to do that. So on the Christmas List today...

Day 68 - Remind yourself to smile. The holidays (or everyday for some people) can be stressful. It's easy to get into a rut where you're just trying to survive. Believe me, life is way too short to just survive. We have to live. We have to smile. We have to laugh so hard it hurts sometimes. So set an alarm, or set aside a certain time of day, everyday...to just smile. Think of someone you love. Think of a happy memory. Think of a silly face. Just don't forget to smile.  :)

Scotty Claus and me!

Merry Merry!!

Care'n Presents

A Giving Get-Together

I haven't had much time in the last couple of days to look for worthy causes, but rest assured, I'm still trying. Meanwhile, I started thinking about "Operation Christmas Cards" that I talked about yesterday, and I'm really excited about it. So on my list of things to do...

Day 69 - Plan a "Giving Get-Together".  I want to have a little party to make Christmas Cards to send in! It's always more fun doing arts and crafts with friends and family. Even people who wouldn't normally do that sort of thing will be more inclined to do it in a group. Come up with a few easy designs that anyone could put together, give everyone instructions and then, have at it. Be creative!   Then brainstorm about things to write on the inside. It's hard sometimes to come up with something to write to someone you've never met, but again, if it's a group endeavor it becomes fun. Have some coffee and cookies (or for you healthy people:  water and veggies).  If you have any old Christmas cards that you can recycle, or other items that can be reused, all the better. One person's scraps of colored paper might be just the accent on someone else's card. It could be a challenge: to avoid any leftover materials!

 

So make a plan to give this Christmas in anyway you can, and invite your friends to join you!!


Merry Merry!!

Care'n Presents

Still looking...

Okay, remember yesterday I said I was going to look for a "cause", well I'm still looking, but I did find something really cool so that's what I'm putting on my list today.

Day 70 - Operation Christmas Cards. You may have seen the post I asked Scotty Claus if I could put on our Facebook page, but in case you didn't, let me tell you about it.
Since many of our troops get limited mail, and Christmas is a tough time to be away from home as it is, this is a program to send heartfelt cards to those who are serving our country.  Home-made cards are encouraged over store bought, but either is okay. The whole program is spelled out on their site, so check it out:

http://www.operationchristmascard.org/Participation_Info.html

















I can't wait to get my crayons out, and my scissors and glue...I'm thinking I can even recycle parts of old cards and sparkle them up with glitter or something.  Then I'll write a nice letter saying Merry Christmas and thanking them for the job they do. I'm so excited about this, my pointy ears are twitching!!  Hope you send a few too! The address is on the site. Have fun and make a soldier's holidays a little more cheerful.

Merry Merry!

Care'n Presents

Save Up Your Pennies...

Day 71 - These days, every penny counts, and we all look to save where we can. If at all possible, this is the time I try to start stashing away a little Christmas money, so that when it's time to go shopping it's available.  Even if I am making cookies for everyone on my list, I still have to buy the ingredients. 

I'm not saying that you have to spend money to have a wonderful Christmas. Not at all. In fact, Scotty Claus likes to give his time and energy to worthy organizations (like the Junior League of Orange County). This year, I'd like to save my pennies, and maybe ask my friends to also, to give to a Veteran's group, or Children's charity. Hmmm...I think that's what tomorrow's list item will be...find a cause.  :) I'll let you know how that works out.


Merry Merry!!

Care'n Presents

A Bedtime Story

Day 72 - Start your holiday reading. If you are anything like me, you have about as much free time as a stick bug has muscles. This time of year however, I always seem to be a little more optimistic than usual (or maybe just crazier), and I start thinking that maybe I can read a whole book. It just so happens that I have a big collection of Christmas stories too. Go figure, right? No, they are not all children's books. Okay, you're right, most of them are, but I digress.
 
So...I'm not saying it has to be a Christmas book, or story. Any old reading material will do. The point is to make sure to make time for yourself. Shut out the world for a little while, and go to a new one through words, and your imagination. You remember having an imagination, don't you? Oh, and if you're sitting there thinking: "Books? Who reads books anymore? I guess I can get something on my tablet..." then don't even talk to me, you're making me feel OLD.
 

 

 

 

Merry Merry!!

 
 Care'n Presents
 
 
Photo: www.greatnewbooks.org (Check out the site: recommendations on "great books"!)

Dream a Christmas Dream

Day 74 - Dream a little dream.  When I was a wee elf I grew up in Southern California (before my family moved to the North Pole of course). Although now I realize how fabulous it is to live here, as opposed to somewhere where it's winter all year long, when I was a kid I dreamed of snow. Every Christmas Eve I prayed that somehow it would snow. This never happened, but it didn't stop me from praying the same thing the next year. Do you have a Christmas dream? Did you ever? Maybe it's time to start believing in that dream again. Crazy? Probably, but I think sometimes, and maybe a little more during Christmas time, crazy is okay.

Day 73 - Look toward the light! No, I'm not having an out of body experience. I'm just thinking about all the pretty Christmas lights that will be hung on people's trees and outside on their houses.  If at all possible, consider using LED lights. LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. They require less wattage and last longer than regular light bulbs. LED lights stay cool, so imagine how much safer it is to have them on your Christmas Tree. You won't have to worry about toasting the branches, or for that matter, little curious hands. If you want to know more about LED lights check out http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/led.htm.

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend so far. We're almost halfway through October. Halloween is just around the corner, and not long after that...well, you know the deal...




Merry Merry!!

Care'n Presents


photo: www.iowaenergycenter.org