cleaning house.

I've been cleaning house (um, well, room) for the last few days. It had reached a point where I couldn't exactly see the carpet and I was out of clothes. And, well, Mom was about to go crazy. So, since there was a threat of "when you leave for college I'm entering your room with a gazillion trash bags and throwing all your belongings away because I'm a little concerned you have officially become a Hoarder", I decided something needed to be done. Since I'm normally really bad with house cleaning deadlines, I gave myself a deadline of this weekend. As in, to be done by the time I leave for Passion. And well- I think we're almost there. I have a load of laundry in the washer and dryer that still has to be sorted and put away, but I think that's completely do-able. And I still have a sizable pile of trash that needs to be taken out (after trash day. the trash can is full from after Christmas fun). But, I think that a sizable accomplishment has been done. So, I figured I should blog about. Even though I forgot to take before shots so I only have afters. You're just going to have to trust me on the "borderline Hoarder" status of my room pre-cleaning craziness.

My bed. All made and pretty. :)

My closets. They're clean and organized inside, I promise! I just like the curtains closed. It makes my room brighter!

 My bulletin board. It's full of pictures and letters from Sandra.

I decided to organize my clothes in these plastic tubs.I have a tub for warm and a tub for cold weather. Then, I sorted the clothes between keep at home and bring to college. They're labeled with duck tape!

My library. It's full. I'm thinking that when I grow up, I'm going to have a whole room devoted to library space in my house. And some chairs and a couch, so that you can read all comfy! :)

I had to throw this one in. Its all the trash from my room (minus the two bags already brought out). Inside this pile? My 9th grade math notebook and my 8th grade science binder. Okay. So, I might have a hoarding problem. But, we're working on it!

And that's my room all clean! Yay! :)

G.O.A.L.S.

New Year's Resolutions. I'm not really a huge fan. Mostly because of the fact that I'm not all that great at remembering them and so they never happen. But, I also tend to make very specific resolutions that never happen because, well...they're too hard. So, this year, I'm trying something a little different. In addition to my 101 in 1001 list (which is fairly specific and cover a bunch- well, 101- things that I will be also working on this year) I am going to be working on five goals. Why goals? Because it's a prettier and nicer and friendlier word that doesn't scare me as much as resolutions. These goals are going to be fairly broad and open to interpretation throughout the year. Oh- and I'm going to be blogging about them. Why five? Well, you'll see in a minute.

If you were wondering, I came up with the acronym all by myself. That's why it doesn't flow all pretty like and has random elements, like sewing. :)

1. God- Experience Him in a new way. I'm going to be participating in this and expanding my bible reading repertoire (I'm not going to commit to reading the entire Bible over the course of the year, but I want to read it more than I currently do). Oh- and I'm going to Passion 2011 this weekend, so I think that will be a great start to this one!

2. Organize- Clean up my room. File all the random papers. Clean out all the junk that has accumulated over the years.

3. Attitude- Positive. Enough said.

4. Loving- Everyone I meet. Finding ways to find the good in everyone. And finding ways to love the unloved in the community around me.

5. Sewing- Learn how to sew new things (other than elastic waist skirts and pillowcase dresses!). Not give this hobby up. :)

So, over the course of the upcoming year (2011), I'm going to try and work on these five areas of my life. And possibly blog about them when appropriate and all.

christmas happenings.

I thought I would share what went down in the Adam household this Christmas weekend.

It was pretty fun, you should know.

Christmas Eve, the family and I went to the Christmas Eve service and then over to Mrs. Barbara's house for a small get-together. It's something we do every year we're in town. It's tradition. Just like how we always watch part of Charlie Brown Christmas during the Christmas Eve service at church while we hold candles and sing "Angels We Have Heard On High". It's what we do.

When we returned home on Christmas Eve night, I tried to start a new tradition. Since I've heard the Christmas Story a thousand times and have pretty much memorized it (in the KJV version people. I'm that good), I started telling it to the boys. Who looked at me like I was kind of strange. Until I came to the part about Mary giving birth, and then Desmond decided he wanted to act it out. Because he's a little strange like that.

 

Then, we opened our Christmas jammies present. Every year, we get to open up two presents on Christmas Eve. One is our pajamas so that Mom can control everyone wearing proper clothing for Christmas morning pictures. Then, we get to pick one present to open.

In our jammie jams. Aren't we cute?

Then, we all went nighty-night and waited for Santa Claus to come. (Which- side note: I saw Santa when I was six. I'm not even kidding. I was on the stairs and saw him. Then, I ran back to my room and hid in my bed because I was scared he saw me and would take away my presents. My parents say this was simply not possible and I was dreaming, but I beg to differ).

At the bright and early hour of seven o'clock, the festivities began. Technically, the boys opened stockings at around 6:30, but the present unwrapping did not commence until seven. 

Then, as I got to my last present, I got a surprise. You see, I've reached the age where I don't get many surprises. I mean, I picked out my Kindle and case. But this? Was a surprise. :)

I GOT A SEWING MACHINE! 

Blurry. But it describes how I felt.

Now, I can have one for my dorm room when I move out. Which is really good because I'm on a fairly large sewing kick right now. It's light weight and could easily be stored in my closet until I need it. And...I'm really happy.

We also got another Christmas present. Mom took pictures...but since the SD card wasn't in the camera, you're just going to have to take my word on it. We got a semi-White Christmas in Alabama. It's the closest I'll ever get to a real one. It SNOWED. In ALABAMA. On CHRISTMAS. It didn't stick, but it sure was pretty! :)

And that was Christmas. Yay. 

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Merry Christmas!

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

-Luke 2:1-20

Christmas Spirit

I've been doing a little Christmas baking here recently and thought I would share some pictures of what I've been making!

First, I made a batch of sugar people cookies! I used a garlic press to give them some hair (I don't want them to bald!). Then, I made a powdered sugar/milk icing. I think they look like murder victims (see the "blood" splatters?), but they are pretty cute. :)

Then, today I made some cupcakes for a Christmas Eve get together that my family is attending after the Christmas Eve Service at church. As you should know, I really like cupcakes and I really like cookie dough, so when I saw this recipe, I decided that I should make them. So, I made Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes with Cookie Dough Buttercream Icing. They are really good (I already did a "taste test"). But- fair warning, these babies use 5 sticks of butter. I'm not even kidding. But, they taste really good, and everyone knows that calories don't count on Christmas! :)
I used a box mix for the cupcakes since you don't really taste the cake and the cookie dough and frosting are the important parts! The secret to keeping the dough, well dough-y, is freezing it. So, make sure it's really frozen (I stuck mine in the freezer overnight).

The inside. Yum!

Have any of you gotten music from Amazon before? They have a ton of free mp3 songs (which can be imported into iTunes) and I got some Christmas songs yesterday. If you're looking for some last minute Christmas music, you should hop on over. I just thought I would share some of the songs I got.

Angels We Have Heard on High- Point of Grace
Joseph's Lullaby- MercyMe
You're Here- Francesca Battistelli
Silent Night- Sixpence None the Richer
Very Merry Christmas- Dave Barnes
I Believe in Christmas- 33 Miles

Also, if you (or someone you know) has small children, there is a free Veggie Tales Christmas Music CD that you can download. It's kind of cute, and everyone loves singing vegetables (or at least to entertain small children!).

Since these are on Amazon (and they like to change prices frequently), make sure you check the price before you download! And, I have no connections to Amazon...I just like free music! :)

book review: dining with joy

So, I received a book to review via BookSneeze a few months ago (as in October-ish). And forgot about it until I found it in the pile of books. Um, oops. Sorry. So, here's my review.

I loved this book. No, really. Dining With Joy by Rachel Hauck is an amazing novel about a young woman named Joy Ballard who hosts a cooking show. Since I like Food Network, I thought this would be an interesting read. You see, Joy and I have a few things in common. Such as...we both have a Daddy that cooks really good food. And...that we can't really cook all that great (Case in point, I was decorating some sugar cookie people for the holidays and those "little red dresses"? Totally make them look like murder victims. Um, oops.). And for Joy, the drama in her life flairs up...oh, right about the time she gets the big primetime TV spot (that she hasn't been wanting) and she falls in love with the ever-handsome, creative, I-really-need-to-meet-this-guy-in-real-life, Luke Redmond. Oh yeah, and did I mention...the cooking thing (or lack thereof) is a total secret to the rest of the world (aside from her family, producer, and sous chef). So, things are only going to get more interesting when Wanda, Joy's arch enemy that wants that primetime TV spot, finds out the secret and sets her mind on destroying Joy's career. So, is Joy able to find joy in the mess? How does she deal with the imminent disaster? Oh- and Luke. Do they fall in love and live happily ever after?

Well, you'll have to read the book to find that out.
I'm not telling. :)

(So, I really shouldn't put off posting these reviews. Because it makes me post a bijillion in a weeks time frame. Or so it seems. Sorry guys, this is the last for now. And- if I haven't made it clear before in reviews, I received this book from BookSneeze. For nada. You should join, especially if you like to read, because it makes the hobby a lot more affordable. And I didn't have do give a positive review. But, you know. I liked it.)

favorite christmas songs

I thought that I would share some of my favorite Christmas songs today since it is Christmas Eve Eve. Mom and I just finished the last of the Christmas shopping this morning, we did part one of the Adam Family Annual Christmas Lights Tour last night (tonight we will finish up with part 2!), and I am SO getting into the Christmas spirit now! Finally! It gets harder and harder each year as I get older. Getting busier and busier, I guess. So, these are a few of my favorite songs (not carols!).





And my favorite...

What if ribbons and bows didn't mean a thing

Would the song still survive without five golden rings

Would you still wanna kiss without mistletoe

What would happen if God never let it snow

What would happen if Christmas carols told a lie

Tell me what would you find

You'd see that today holds something special

Something holy, not superficial

So here's to the birthday boy who saved our lives

It's something we all try to ignore

And put a wreath up on your door

So here's something you should know that is for sure

Christmas must be something more

What if angels did not pay attention to 

All the things that we wished they would always do

What if happiness came in a cardboard box

Then I think there is something we all forgot

What would happen if presents all went away

Tell me what would you find

You'd see that today holds something special

Something holy, not superficial

So here's to the birthday boy who saved our lives

It's something we all try to ignore

And put a wreath up on your door

So here's something you should know that is for sure

Christmas must be something more

We get so caught up in all of it

Business and relationships

Hundred mile an hour lives

And it's this time of year

And everybody's here

It seems the last thing on your mind

Is that the day holds something special

Something holy, not superficial

So here's to Jesus Christ who saved our lives

It's something we all try to ignore

And put a wreath up on your door

But here's something you should know that is for sure

Christmas must be something

Christmas must be something

Christmas must be something more

There's gotta be more

There's gotta be more

What are your favorite Christmas songs?