So what's new in Candyland? Or shall I say Fudgeland? I made homemade fudge for the very first time Monday, and I must say, it turned out absolutely DIVINE. Seems like beforehand, everyone I mentioned it to made it sound like it was difficult, tricky, impossible, and I got all of these "good lucks" that sounded more like "yeah right". Well finally after it cooled for the required 4 hours of cooling, it was PERFECT!!! I have fudge with walnuts, and also peanut butter fudge. I am probably going to make another batch or two before Christmas and divide it up in little Christmas tins amongst friends. So put your fudge orders in NOW!

Which reminds me, I'm starting to feel panicky because we haven't made our Christmas pictures yet, which means we haven't addressed or mailed any Christmas cards yet. We decided instead of paying $70+ to have pictures made at Walmart this year (not to mention the extreme stress level that causes), we would all get dressed up in our holiday attire and have someone come by and take a few pictures of us with my digital camera. I was thinking in front of the mantle or the Christmas tree would be pretty since I have everything all decorated. And it means we wouldn't have to go anywhere, stand in long lines while the kids go crazy trying to make "professional" pictures. Once the picture is taken with the digital, we can take the memory card to Walmart, put it in the Kodak picturemaker thingy, print out the picture, then send off for the photo holiday cards and mail them out as our Christmas cards this year. Well, the PROBLEM is twofold A) We always have something to do or somewhere to go it seems like in the afternoons OR evenings after Michael gets home from work, and B) Not having anyone available to come take a couple quick pictures for us after Michael gets home from work. Once the picture is taken, obviously I have to take it to Walmart, and then send off for the photo cards, which I am told take about a week to get back, then address them and mail them. Hello, it's a little over 2 weeks 'til Christmas, and this is crunch time! Especially considering we're going to be out of town the 22nd & 23rd.

All of my other friends have already done their Walmart pictures AND had pictures made with Santa of the kids. We've done none of that. Michael NEVER EVER NEVER EVER NEVER EVER EVER has a day off. Well, he has this Saturday off, which is his last Saturday off until Christmas, but he already has "plans" that day. Well, I say "all of my friends"...I know several people that don't have a tree up or any shopping even started.

Anyway, yesterday I had it allll planned out. After lunch, I was throwing the kids in the tub, and then I was going to get a shower myself, get "dolled up", get the kids in their Christmas outfits, and then as soon as Michael got home yesterday, he'd put on a shirt and tie, and my Mother-In-Law would come over and take the picture for us. WELLLL.....just as I was getting the kids in the tub, the phone rang, and it was my Mother-In-Law and she needed me to come over and help her do the Christmas lights in her yard. WELLLL....so I figured I wouldn't have time to come home AFTER that and get showered and the kids bathed, so I figured maybe we could just do the picture thing tonight, until I realized tonight is Wednesday and everyone will be going to church that could possibly take the picture for us. So that means we are pushing into THURSDAY with the picture thing. Which means it'll be the following Thursday or Friday (MAYBE!) that they will be ready to pick up, which means I probably won't get them in the mail until Saturday, which is one week before Christmas, which means the chances of us receiving any Christmas cards is slim. We haven't received but one Christmas card yet this year, and I know it's because we didn't send any last year. Everyone seems to have this rule that they will drop one in the mail to you if you drop one in the mail to them first. I've seen my grandmother and my mother do this, and I'm sure most everyone else does this too. Well what would happen if no one bothered to send one first? I'm seriously just thinking about getting regular Christmas cards, since no one else wants to cooperate, and maybe taking the pictures whenever we can before Christmas, even if it's the day before, and just giving a copy of the picture to family and close friends, instead of trying to do something extra nice and special and making sure EVERYONE on the Christmas card list has an updated picture of the Brewer Family.

What really gripes me sometimes, if it weren't for me, Christmas would not "happen" in this household. I can't depend on anybody for anything when it comes to this sort of thing. When it comes to decorating, baking, wrapping, shopping, I do all of it. I mean, I really really enjoy it, I really do...it just frustrates me and almost depresses me that no one else seems to give a rip about Christmas anymore. We were the first house on our street to even get Christmas lights up on the house this year, and that was done last Friday. Usually before Thanksgiving even, half the street is lit up. I think there are a bunch of Grinches out there this year, and I don't even know why.

So back to the helping my Mother-In-Law with her outside Christmas lights, I got there probably 2:30 or 3:00 yesterday afternoon, and with everything she wants done, it's really a full day's job, or even a day and a half job. And the truth is, I probably could have gotten it done a lot FASTER by myself. I love doing Christmas decorations, but I have my own way of getting things done, sort of a system of organization I guess you could say, so basically I generally don't work well in group projects. I was always like that in school even...if there was a group project, I would get frustrated because everyone else in the group would just slow me down. Some people are just more productive on their own. So ANYWAY, I draped the green garland across a 200 foot long white fence...it seemed a lot longer than that, lol, and put big red bows at every fence post. That took forever because the garland needed to be "fluffed" out. It was all wadded up and wrapped up in the little packages. And then there were 4 little trees in the yard we had to put colored lights in. So I got some of the strands of lights unstrung, and then we didn't have enough extension cords or the right kinds of extension cords, and I was trying to get the lights wrapped around the tree, and by then it was COMPLETELY dark and I couldn't see what I was doing without the lights plugged in, so I was getting highly aggravated. We only got 3 trees done. So this morning, I am going back over there to do the 4th tree, THEN do the driveway. Oh yes, the driveway. This isn't just any driveway. This is a I don't know how long it is driveway and it goes waaaaayyyy up hill...believe me...I ran up and down that hill yesterday so many times, and I am feeling the effects of that now. My legs HURRRT. So anyway, we are using those little ground stakes and running colored lights all the way down the entire hill on both sides of the driveway. Put it this way...it will take 16 strings of lights on both sides of the drive way....SIX-FREAKING-TEEN strings!!! After that, we also have to set out some of those white deer out in the yard amongst the trees. My mother-in-law is supposed to go get some more extension chords this morning before she calls me to come over. I told her what kind she needs and how many, so I just hope and pray gets the right thing. After doing my yard by myself, I'm a Christmas light extension chord expert. I am seriously thinking about starting a Christmas decorating service next year.

All I can say is thank the Lord I have finished decorating, and only have a couple presents left to buy, and couple presents left to wrap, a batch of fudge to make, and pictures to make. Even though the pictures are the one thing stressing me the most right now, it could be a lot worse. I'm sorry, but if I've waited until now to even get started on decorating and shopping, I'd just about decide to skip Christmas this year!!!

Well, I must go get dressed now and be ready to make Christmas happen again today!