Well, thank you Disney for helping me get my Christmas Mojo this year!
I have been feeling pretty darn stressed and not looking forward to Christmas at all. I thought I would be super-organized this year and do everything as early as possible, but then I got that darn cold. I'm still trying to get over it completely and it's been almost five weeks! Five weeks—how could it have gone by so quickly!? A bonus is that I stopped eating refined sugar when I got sick and it has been that long since I had any candy! The longest I've ever gone in my whole life! I'm trying my hardest to hold out until Thanksgiving, so wish me luck. Every day it is a little harder to resist, since I am feeling better now!
So anyways, since I've gotten sick I haven't done anything useful and the big day is closer and closer! And I am more and more stressed and turning into a regular humbug!
Tuesday night Matt and I went to Disneyland right after work so we could see the Haunted Mansion decorated for Christmas. I really love The Nightmare Before Christmas and think Danny Elfman's soundtrack is pure genius. It is one of my favorite albums of all time (and how can you resist a skeleton disguised as Santa?) I love the whole skeleton-Christmas theme of the movie and am in love with the thought of my beloved Haunted Mansion all dressed up! I've never actually seen it before this, but this year we have season passes so we could go.
Seeing the way Disney decorates Main Street really perked up my holiday spitits. They have a huge gold-festooned tree right in the town square that is really festive. I told Matt that it was prettier than the Fashion Island tree in Newport, but he didn't agree. After all, FI flys their humongous tree in from Norway (or wherever) each year and the Disney tree is fake. So Matt does have a point and he sure won that round! Real-tree-goodness always trumps plastic in my book. I know—call me a murderer and a tree killer, but I like a real tree!
Everything looks festive right now at Disney and the Haunted Mansion was so much fun. I loved the spooky-looking herald angels they have in the snow-filled graveyard—too cool! The Mansion was great fun despite the cutsie details they added. After all it's for kids, so I won't complain about a little cuteness for the holidays! So, thanks again, Disney and especially to you, Jack Skellington. I appreciate the Christmas boost.
On a side note, my blog got tagged by Nicole ! It's a fun game some people are playing on a message board I am part of . Thanks, Nicole for visiting my blog! My challenge was to post the 11th line of the 23rd or most recent post. I've been a little stressed out and under the weather, so finally, here it is: "along the path that leads between all the different temples. As we walked ". So stop by Nicole's blog and say "hi" if you get a chance. She has two cute kitties and it's worth a visit just to see her little furry friends!
Last week, I went to the Long Beach Int'l Quilt Show with a friend of mine and I got hypnotized by the beauty of hexagons. Before I knew it I had purchased a hex kit along with some Halloween fabric that caught my eye. The technique uses English Paper Piecing to make the hexes by basting them onto paper. I settled on a method where the basting is only on the back of the fabric instead of through the paper to save myself from having to remove the stitches later.
So far I've made over 110 hexes and I had to order more papers. I have been stitching them while I watch TV in the evenings. Sewing the hexes together to make a flower is taking me almost an hour for each 7-hex group and the stitches are so tiny I have to put on my reading glasses! 
Here is a view of the back so you can see that I am using squares to baste instead of spending the extra time to cut hexagon shapes. When complete I am hoping I will have a lovely table runner as a gift for someone special!
Well, 3 more days left of my "vacation" (You remember--the one I took in July where we did things in Southern California!?) and then we can "go back" to Japan! I know you're dying to hear about the 6 story stamping store, aren't you!? Well, today, let's take a craft break and see some art instead! Wednesday is Halloween, so let's get into the spirit!
This Postcard I made for a friend in the UK. Luckily it got there in time with the postal strike going on there!
I did the back in plain black with embossing. I think I like the back better than the front! I'm always so boring and simple--a plain black spiderweb is all I need to keep happy, ha ha!
OK—I thought I'd share a Christmas Card with you all to spread a little holiday cheer or something! Can you believe Matt almost threw this one out? Many years ago, he helped on her campaign, so he's on her mailing list now. This cracks me up, but I sure wonder why she would consider sending this to her constituents. Personally, I'm not sure I would want to convey this message as a professional woman. But maybe I'm old fashioned. I can't say I'm a big fan of Ms. Sanchez either; Matt and I do differ on politics. But we both agree that this card is tacky! (Sorry, Congresswoman, sometimes I have to say it like it is!)
I'm trying really hard to get into the swing of things for Christmas! I think I'm getting sick again, so please say a little prayer for me--I don't want to miss another month of things with another cold!
I wanted to share a couple of fun holiday photos we took over at Fashion Island on Sunday. It was such a beautiful day there! Going there to see the 115' tree (really—that's not a typo—it's a live tree and it's really that big!) will really put you in the mood for celebrating! If you look closely into the ornament you can see our reflection. Matt is like most Californians and wearing shorts to enjoy our beautiful Southern California sunshine. I'm always cold, so you can see me wearing a long-sleeved sweater and hat to keep warm in the frigid 65* weather!
