Christmas in July

Those of you who know me know that I love Christmas. I was so excited the other day to walk into Hobby Lobby and see that they've already started putting out Christmas stuff. If I had all day, I would craft Christmas to my heart's content. But I don't, so I have to do what I can when I can.

Another Christmas love of mine is Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments. As many of you know, Hallmark releases their ornaments in July. I really am very excited!  As in:

I really don't know where to start! I think the only downside is that they tend to run over $12-15 each and when you want about, oh I don't know...20 or so...it tends to get pricey. Like own special budget each month pricey. My justification in this, though, is that there are about 2-3 (OK, 2) that I buy for other people:

 Star Trek for the hubby.

And cupcakes for my mom.

The rest are for me!!

 Frosty Fun Decade (3rd in series)

Mickey's Christmas Carol (4th in series)

Visit from Santa (4th in series)

These are the five I've kept up with for the past four years. There were three series I wanted to start last year (Pixar Legends, Angels Around the World, and Twelve Days of Christmas), but due to budget restraints (aka - saving to marry the man of my dreams), I was doing good to keep the series I'd started going. So I'm looking for them online at a reasonable price. The Partridge in a Pear Tree ornament from last year is already selling for almost $50! But that was the one I wanted most, so I may just have to bite the bullet on that one. I'm not too concerned about Pixar and may just buy the ornaments from the movies that I can't live without. Last year was UP, this year is Monsters Inc. I'm OK without those, but I will need Brave and possibly Cars when/if they come out.

Now, if I were only going for the five continued ornaments and picking up last years starters and this years seconds, I might be fine. But this is where Hallmark gets me/you. They continually put out new series!

Cookie Cutter Christmas

Holiday Lighthouse (plugs in and lights up)

Mickey's Movie Mouseterpieces

Really, what's a girl to do!? Guess I'll just have to buckle down and save those pennies. Cause I don't know if I can let these little gems go.

We just might need a second tree this year!
*ornament pictures taken from Hallmark website; gif taken from photobucket*

So What Wednesday

Hey y'all!  Sorry I've been MIA since last week sometime.  It's just a little difficult to get the motivation to post when I'm on the road.  I just get so worn out lately that when I get back to my hotel room I crash on the bed in front of the TV till it's time to sleep. 

Anyway, to get back in the swing of things, I'm linking up with Shannon again for another installment of




This week, I'm saying So What If:

* I am, as usual, not unpacked from last week yet.  That's my plan for today.  I've GOT to do laundry because the Mr & I are headed out of town Friday!

* I am actually a little excited about my new class I started today.  I'm sure the reading will be boring, but I'm looking at it as one more step towards that elusive Bachelor's Degree.

* I failed my last class...with a big Fat F!!!  I have to retake it (that makes three to retake now...the other two hold a W).  I have no excuse...I just didn't do the work.

* It's less than week till my birthday and I'm just not that into it.  The only exciting thing will be the 4-day weekend (two of which will be spent driving) in Arizona with my parents.

* We haven't been to DL since March.  It's been a little busy and money's been a little tight.  *but seriously, I think I'm starting to go through withdrawals*

* I still have craft stuff for about 3-4 different projects and I haven't touched them since I bought the stuff!

And that's all I've got.  What are you saying "So What" to this week?

Thursday's Through The Lense

I have SO MANY pictures on my camera to unload still, it really is ridiculous how lazy I'm being about this! And there are more to be taken this weekend with CHRISTMAS (my fav holiday!)!!!

But, since I've not downloaded them to my computer and edited, I'll leave you with a couple from our October trip to Disneyland.

My new camera has some pretty cool built in editing features that I discovered. Here is the original picture:

This is the "Fish Eye" effect:

And this is my favorite, the "miniature" effect:

I love my new toy!! :)

Hugs...

Updates

It's been a crazy week or so. I missed last week's TTTL due to being in Phoenix/Glendale for a conference. This week's will come in a separate post (once I upload my latest pics).

Here's the update:

Last week I was in Phoenix/Glendale for a few days. I had some time on Thursday when I flew in (which was so nice to have a late morning flight instead of being up before the sun) that I got some quality time with Mr. Sun in the afternoon. However, due to ridiculously high heat, that didn't last longer than an hour. Oh Em Gee....Phoenix was around 111 on Thurs (90-something after dark), 109 on Friday (inside all day...thankfully), and 108 on Saturday. Yes it's a dry heat...but it's like opening the oven when you're baking and you get hit in the face with that rush of hot air...only it doesn't go away and it surrounds your whole being! Needless to say I was very glad to get back to SoCal (where our highs have only been in the low 90s that I'm aware of).

Monday I got some pictures for a scrapbook I'm attempting (my first), but a couple didn't turn out so great. But that's ok, I'll reprint them local and they'll be fine.

Tuesday my Save The Dates came in!!! WOOHOO!! So that is my project for the weekend. I've been slowly stocking up on stamps for this...now I'm about to drastically diminish my stash and must start again with many more than the original (for those RSVPs). Once I send them out I'll post one...that way there's no spoilers for those followers that are receiving one. :) I'm also trying to think of something to do to spruce up the plain white envelopes. A trip to JoAnn's is in the books for tonight.

Yesterday my fiance' and I spent the day with thousands of strangers - we went to Disneyland and California Adventure! Had a blast...stayed way later than planned...I'm suffering through the day because of it. But it was worth it and I'd totally do it again!! One of the things I love about having annual passes is there is no pressure to have a plan to your day. We've had trips where we've filled the days with rides (and the lines to go with them) and we've had days with only one or two rides. Yesterday was one of those days. We rode our usual: Pirates of the Caribbean (which now features Black Beard instead of Davey Jones). This is a staple ride for us...it's not a day at Disney if we don't ride POTC. We also road the Haunted Mansion and the new Star Tours. Star Tours closed last year for a much needed renovation. They just re-opened in June as a 3D ride. There are over 50 possible "destinations" you can encounter on your ride. This time we joined in the pod races and a battle in space...all on one ride. So much fun! After Star Tours we took a trip down memory lane and walked through Sleeping Beauty's Castle (where Mr. S first said he loved me). Then off to lunch at ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney. Upon our return (via The Grand Californian Hotel...there's an entrance to the hotel from Downtown Disney) we went to California Adventure (there's an entrance to CA from the hotel) where we rode my new favorite ride: Ariel's Undersea Adventure. :) We wandered around Paradise Pier (which was also recently updated) and wandered through some shops and such. Then, of all things, we went to a movie! LOL! Yup, there's a AMC Movie Theater in Downtown Disney and Mr. S and I went to see Cowboys and Aliens (AMAZING!). After the movie, which was a much needed break for our knees and feet from all the walking/standing, we headed back to California Adventure and into the Hollywood Pictures Backlot where they are currently holding ElecTRONica (the TRON event that's been going on since the movie's release last year) for Mr. S to visit Flynn's Arcade (if you know the movie you know what I'm talking about) for a while. As much as I am NOT a gamer girl, I did try my hand a few games...and lost. But it's so much fun. After that was dinner then, my favorite part, shopping!! We always save that for last so we don't have to lug around our bags. Our to stores we hit every time: D-Street (for my crack vinlymations) and World of Disney (think Disney Store at the mall, but about 100 times larger and more stuff).

After all that yesterday, I'm suffering through exhaustion today. One of the downsides of working from home...the bed in the other room calling my name because my body knows I didn't spend enough quality time with the pillow and blanket. Going to try to remedy that tonight!

Today and tomorrow's work relates to focusing on my trip next week. I leave for Minneapolis on Monday morning. Yes, I will be visiting the Mall of America while I'm there. I'm actually going to have some time to myself (away from my team for a change) and plan on doing some wedding shopping...gifts for my ladies and other odds and ends that I'm not sure if I need yet or not! :)

Well, that's all I've got for now. Happy Thursday!

Hugs...

Thursday's Through The Lense

In an effort to get back into the swing of things, here is this week's installment - my two favorite Disney movies!!

I have a new favorite ride at Disney's California Adventure! The Little Mermaid is my 2nd favorite Disney movie and when California Adventure announced the building of this ride, I couldn't wait!! It opened June 3 and I finally got to ride it on the 15th. FANTASTIC!!!

This is from "World of Color"...an amazing water show at California Adventure. The first time I saw it, last year, I cried! Seriously...tears over a water show. Yeah, I'm a bit of crier. This picture is from my all-time favorite Disney movie: Beauty and the Beast! The picture is projected on a wall of water in the back. The two blue rays of light are actually water spouts through a lit sprayer. And the little round screens with shots of Beast actually rise out of the water at various times during the show. LOVE this!!!

Anyway...there you have it. Since I've missed a week I thought I'd add in an extra picture for your viewing pleasure.

Hugs...