25 Days of Christmas in 2011

Last year I did 30 days of Christmas, and this year I haven't even planned out an album. So, it's going to be 25 days - on the blog, and then I'll create it!

December plans already made:

December 2nd: My mom's birthday!
Dec 3rd, 10th, 17t, and 24th I work in the morning at the Gym daycare!
Dec 4th : Jon's company Christmas Dinner party at benihana's
Dec 7 & 8th: Devin''s Wedding - Jon's the best man!
Dec 10th: Women's bible study group
Dec 11th: Heart Family Christmas Party
Dec 19th: Mother-in-law's Birthday
Dec 24th: Christmas Eve!
Dec 25th: CHRISTMAS! & Church events!

It's going to a very crazy Holiday season for sure! Other events not yet on the calendar...

- putting up the Christmas Tree & decorating
- Peacock Lane
- Visiting Santa
- Family Holiday Pictures
- More Christmas shopping
- Snow play!

I do not have an album created or even planned out. I'm flying by the seat of my pants this year...I have many personal trials ahead of me as well, and I think I will find time to add the personal (internal) notes to the book this year.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Getting Caught up on December Daily

Well, I am at day 16 today for my album and only have up to day 9 done in my book (mostly done I should say, need to pick up some prints from the store to completely those). I have found it difficult to print the photos I want each night, and make the pages before way past my bedtime and have to get some sleep. Finding time has been the biggest obstacle, along with working part-time, and a major virus overtaking my computer setting me back even further. So, here's some photos of the pages I do have completed.

Photos & Journaling for Day 7-10

Day 7:

Today is my mother’s birthday. I’ve had her birth date memorized since I was a kid, and I’m not sure the exact length of time but I have always purchased a poinsettia plant for her birthday. One year I even went into Costco a couple of days ahead and saw the gigantic poinsettia plant (like 3 feet tall) and decided it was the best thing ever. Of course my mom has almost never been able to keep the darn things alive past Valentine’s Day, except one year I remember recently her keep one alive until summer. I am not sure what prompted the first poinsettia, except for always having a strong need to buy my mom a birthday gift. Although my mom and I have been through tough times and rough patches in our relationship I always make the time to tell her how much I love her and appreciate all that she has done for me in my life and all that she will continue to do for me as her daughter.

The poinsettia’s association with Christmas began in 16th century Mexico, where legend tells of a young girl who was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus' birthday. The tale goes that the child was inspired by an angel to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar. Crimson "blossoms" sprouted from the weeds and became beautiful poinsettias. What a beautiful story about the love of Jesus Christ.

Day 8:

Pancake Friday has become such a tradition for us! Jon has Friday’s off from work and it’s always so much fun to make breakfast for the whole family once a week. Sometimes it’s French toast, but if there’s Bisquick in the house then it’s all about the pancakes. Julia loves to get up to the table and help Daddy make them too, and today was even more special because she got to help stir the mix! She had flour on her chin from peering in to see her mixing skills, and then bounced with joy as Daddy poured mini pancakes onto the griddle for her to eat. It’s always such a joy to watch her experience everyday tastes and see them as special moments.

Day 9:

Tonight we (Jon, me, Julia, and my mom) walked over to the Main street plaza for the tree lighting for the city of Sandy. This is the first ever such event, and we missed it unfortunately (due to our favorite friend Devin stopping by for a quick hello as he was going through town). We made it up to the tree and into the tent where cookies and caroling was going on. Santa made an appearance as well, and boy was Julia delighted to see him! She jumped right out of her stroller and walked right up to him, pointed to him and smiled. I asked her if she wanted to shake his hand, and she ran over to me for a hug. I told her to stand by him so she could have her picture taken, and she was so excited she could barely stand still. We walked over to the group singing songs and she danced her little jig as we sang Christmas songs and stood together enjoying the moment. It was wonderful to have my mom there and for Julia to have one of her Grandma’s there to share in such a wonderful moment. I hope our city will continue to have this event each year from now on, so we can make it our family tradition. Though the tree could have used a much better decorator, it was festive and it’s exactly what our town needs.

Day 10:


The yearly Christmas party given by Steve, the owner of Woodcrafter’s where Jon has worked for 17 years now is always my favorite event of the year. It is the one of the few times of the year I really take the time to dress stylishly and can go out to a nice (expensive) restaurant without worrying about the bill or what I’m eating. The past few years the party has been at Benihana’s and this year was no different. I really enjoy going to this place because I love, love, love their food! Jon and I always make it a point to order their sushi and honestly I could eat just a ton of that for my meal and be satisfied, but there’s just no way I’m passing on steak and shrimp with fried rice! This year was Julia’s first party and I was anxious that she would be a scream’n meany, but she was pleasantly good and excited about the whole event. Of course there were the moments of wanting out of her chair and getting bored, hungry, or tired, but overall she was fabulous. One thing that surprised me as well was how much everyone adored Julia’s beauty. I know how beautiful she is, and long and flowing her hair, and overall how cute as a button she really is, but it’s always so wonderful to hear other people complement her in this way too.

Dinner was fabulous as always, and Julia got to eat some of her favorite foods – sticky rice & steak! She also used chop sticks to eat most of her food with too – once she saw us using them she was motivated to use them herself. We watched the chef cook the foods on the hibachi style grill; performing the silly stunts of throwing the spices around his back, the onion volcano, and the fast chopping of the shrimp and vegys. By the end of the night Steve had handed out the employee’s Christmas gifts (some for the spouses too) and the employees gave Steve his gift from them. Most years Steve gives out gift cards and is always so generous with them. This year’s gift was a Target gift card and 2 Starbucks cards, which I always take full advantage of! Such an amazing event every year, filled with holiday cheer. I really appreciate all the blessings we are given by Jon having such a stable job from Woodcrafter’s and every year feel so many emotions during this event. We are truly blessed.

December Daily pages 2, 3, 6

Reading and looking at everyone's December daily pages has made me feel somewhat inadequate in my abilities as a scrapbooker, but then I remembered that it was my project and not anyone else's. So, I walked in and sat down to work on my pages. I looked at a picture frame my husband had bought me for Christmas last year and remembered that these are just scrapbook pages and nothing else - I don't have to follow the same format every time, I don't have to make it perfect, but I do need to make it unique and tell the story. So, I found myself enjoying the process again and realized I can put whatever I want on my pages! Here are some pages I have finally completed. I have pictures ready for all my pages, but I just don't feel that they are finished yet. So, here are Days 2, 3, and 6.

Day 2

Supplies: Basic Gray paper and sticker. I feel like another picture will go above the sticker soon.

Day 3

Supplies: Basic Gray & making memories paper, making memories word-fetti stickers.

Day 6

Supplies: Snow flake punches: unknown; paper: basic grey, making memories, and unknown.

December Daily Day 6

Just an ordinary day for us today filled with house work, movies, and a full on PJ day for Julia; after she woke up with a wet bed. Wet beds have been a common theme in the morning about twice a week for her. She will leak through her diaper, usually due to the way she sleeps, and then after changing her I end up piling all of her blankets and stuffies around her as she sits there sad that I am dismantling her bed. I so can not wait until we buy pull-ups and begin the daily process of potty training. Even at bedtime now it’s becoming a struggle, with her learning to unzip her pajamas and undo her diaper (sometimes then falling asleep like this) and then us finding her this way when we check on her at night. Not only am I tackling many Christmas projects, events, working a part time job, and all the other duties I have on my list I am now going to attempt potty training in just a few short days. Just another reason why I love my life!

Julia sitting on her changing table, surrounded by all her bed items!

Day 4 Photos & quick journal

A snowman poll at the library

Checked out movies from the Library

Trees waiting for a home

Off to work I go!

Today I worked
Ashleigh watched Julia until Jon came home
Today we walked to the Library, checked out movies and no books
Today Julia wore a pull-up most of the day, but did not use the potty.
Today I noticed all the Christmas decorations coming out in town.
Today was a good day!
Today I smelled amazing after work!

Day 5 photos & Journaling

Julia sliding down the pile of snow next to the lodge

Hot cocoa shared with mommy

Running in the snow - away from the wind!

Visiting the Raven's Nest - where we got married

Loved going to the little memories in Timberline Lodge today! The alcove on the second floor where we set out all the cookie boxes and placed ribbon around them the night before the wedding, the table Andy sat on while we took pictures of everyone, and especially the Raven’s Nest were our ceremony was held. All such great memories and joys to come back to each year! Discovering new memories in this place is also such a joy today. Julia discovered the mountain for the first time and certainly got her fill of all the snow she wanted. The day lodge is where we spent our inside time the most and we discovered a great deal of little areas and new spots to make memories with. The fireplace was of course my favorite place – warm and cozy! We had such an amazing day to share with our daughter and celebrate our 3 year anniversary together. The snow was coming down and the wind was blowing fast, but it was well worth the treacherous drive up Timberline Rd today.

Later on Grandma Roxanne took Julia for the evening so we could see a movie (Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows Part 1). The movie is the first part to the end of Harry Potter. It’s great to add this into a memory because this franchise has been going on for so many years and we are all so intertwined with Harry Potter and all that goes with it. I can’t wait to watch Part 2, but it will be bitter-sweet.

Printed Pages with out Photos

Here is day 1 printed with it's patterned paper on it along side it's title page.

Here are days 2-5 printed with their patterned paper in a row.

I really can not wait until I have my photos printed and ready to place them on the pages. I'm regretting however not using a 3-ring binder. So, along with getting my pictures this weekend I am going to go out and purchase a 3-ring that will hold more pages. This one just isn't holding up to my standards, and if I plan to add anymore pages it's just going to fall apart. Hope I can find one in red though.

December Daily Day 3 Photos

I am in no way a fabulous photographer, although I wish I was, so here are some of the pictures I took on Day 3 as we finished up decorating our tree. Some things I'm forgetting: To hand the camera over and get myself in the pictures and to bring my camera with me to capture outside events (hanging of the green's at our church).

Jon & Julia hanging ornaments
Our wedding ornament given to us my mother-in-law the year we were married (2007)

The finished product

I will probably cheat a little and attempt to get a better picture with my SLR camera to put in place of this blurry one.

Day 4 & 5 are busy ones: I have to work in the evening on day 4 and it's our 3 year anniversary on day 5!

December Daily Page Template

So, I went back and forth between deciding to use Ali Edwards Digital template or creating my own like I did for my week in the life book last spring. So, I finally tried my hand at just making a quick page template myself that will be easy for me to print and use for my album. I'm not 100% happy with it, but it's cute and officiant. Maybe next year I will start using the digital templates (more money, more experience with them). Here's a peek at what day 1 will look like printed -
Once I've printed on cardstock I will put a strip of patterned paper across the top next to the number and place photos at the bottom. I am also planning to print out wallet sized pictures and place them in baseball card page protectors along with any memorabilia.

December Daily Day 1 & 2

Well, I've taken pictures and have written my journals for Day 1 and 2 of my 30 days of Christmas. We have our tree up and I worked my booty off for 10 hours on Black Friday. Here's some peeks.

Day 2:The joys of decorating with a little girl who finds each ornament pretty and extraordinary are so warming and special. As we went through part of the first box of ornaments I began to tell Julia the story of each little special one. So many of our unique ones have a little story attached to them.
Day 1:After the tree was put up and glowing Julia realized she could see through the branches, but that the tree was also a great hiding place. So, she’d go to left of the tree (the corner of the stair case), bend down just a smidge, peek through the branches and declare, “I’m hiding!” Such a silly little girl who makes my extremely tired body relax with joy.

Here I am leaving to work at 4:15 am!

More December Daily Pages

Here are some more of my 30 days of Christmas Album Pages - to view my whole album click on the links at the bottom of this post.

Day 6: (the number's up in the top left corner) This paper is a little busy, but I used it because we will be up in the snow this day and I wanted it to be Representative. Paper is Basic Grey.

Day 16: Love my little Ginger Bread man! Paper is Basic Grey.

Day 26: Generic paper from Michael's, but it's super nice because it has embossing to it.

Day 29: Love this paper from Making Memories - it really gives me the feel that it's Christmas Eve.



To view more photos of my album or other December daily pages go to Flicker.com or go to my gallery at twopeasinabucket.com

December Daily Scrapbook Project

I have completed my December Daily book and have decided to name the project 30 days of Christmas because our holiday season begins the day after Thanksgiving, or Black Friday. This holiday season will be so exciting for me. Trying to fit in all of our traditions and work part time will make the season go by so fast. I am so glad to be creating a memory like this in order to remember it all.

In order to really organize the process for myself I wrote out all 30 days and scheduled in the events I already knew about. I also made lists of events I needed dates for and events I needed to make time for. I can’t wait to start new traditions and continue the old ones.

Christmas to me means all these things and more.
- Fancy dinner with Jon’s work
- Family gift exchange/holiday party
- Holiday Music
- Baking cookies & Gifting cookies in a jar
- Having Christmas photos done & sending out holiday cards
- Snow
- Watching “The White Christmas”
Christmas will also mean new traditions and some of them will include these…
- Visiting Santa at the mall
- Zoo Lights
- Peacock Lane
- Reading Christmas books to Julia
- Creating 30 days of Christmas!

Here is a photo of the album all put together and a couple of the pages dated for each day.

The finished product - I went 8.5 X 11 - couldn't find a 3 ring either. So, just a traditional album.

Day 25 - I should have used this font more often, it really stood out!

Day 30 - Merry Christmas! This will be the final day of my book, being that it's Christmas.