Bah Humbug AMAZINGNESS

Ever since I was a child, I've loved seeing Christmas lights. I lived in Dallas until I was 8. I've never forgotten the Christmas lights for a particular house on my street. Similar to this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jtuason/2125543459/ (Sorry. It's copyrighted, so you'll have to click on the link), the owners had spelled out on their lawn the words "BAH HUMBUG". The letters stood upright, about three feet tall.

I've loved seeing some really great houses this year. One of them (the picture below) was--I was sure--the most amazing house. (Can you tell I was in my car for the last picture? Well...think of it as going along for the ride.) Only two hours later I saw the best house I've ever seen. Ever. Ever ever ever ever.

The thing is, what you see above was NOTHING compared to what I saw later that night. It was so amazing that I had to take video for you. It took three videos to capture everything. This is a totally house, but you still have to get out of the car and walk around it to see everything. There are even themed window displays, one for Santa Clause figures, another for teddy bears, and yet another for cartoon characters (think Big Bird and Marvin the Martian). If you were here, I'd take you to see it first thing.

(I'm having trouble getting the videos to load, so you'll just have to go with the first one until I can get the other two uploaded!)

Ugly Sweater-White Elephant Dinner Party 10

Those who have known me more than a few years (or have been close to me in the last few) probably know I love a good dinner party. I normally swear by the rule Meg Ryan mentions in Sleepless in Seattle: 8 is too few, 12 is too many.

I broke that rule this year.

Instead, a few girlfriends and I invited approximately 35 guests (28 ended up coming) for a dinner party, with the request that they wear an ugly sweater and bring a white elephant gift.

A quick note about throwing this type of party: NEVER do the cooking. We delegated ALL of the dinner to dinner guests. This is important if you are inviting singles, who are often prone to bailing last minute. Give them an assignment, and it (mostly) guarantees their attendance. Also, when delegating, only ask people who know how to cook well to bring a main course. When I throw the smaller dinner parties, I've always done the most notable part of the dinner--the meat or other big course item. After the first year, I learned to delegate, and people are more than happy. I've even sent them specific recipes that I want them to make. This helps since I believe that at a dinner party, it should be no less than a four-course meal. Five is even better.

Second, always decorate and make a table look nice. This was more challenging with five tables to set. I found fabric at a thrift store the day of, and cut it to cover the tables. I hated that I didn't have a table setting in the middle of all of them, but I just didn't have the time. Table setting or any decoration definitely influence the mood of a party. Sometimes the smallest effort can make a huge difference.

Finally, (unrelated to throwing parties), I should simply note what a blessing it is to have wonderful friends. AND, tall girls make some of the best friends. I love the picture below because we're all just standing. I'm not kneeling, and they aren't on tippy-toes. This is just the way my life is. (It also explains why I'm a little paranoid about making the part of my hair look decent: for many, this is one of the first things they see.)


A few pictures of ugly sweater favorites. Some really aren't ugly, which is the risk you run in throwing a party like this. Some people actually like the sweater you are wearing.

I loved Brian's effort at an ugly sweater. And I want that ugly sweater!

J's sweater made me want to do an 80's workout.

Too bad you can't see the shoulder pads very well in the picture.

And, a few of the great gifts that came out of the evening:

Mark's 4th (?) pick of the night. "I Love You" Lotion. We suggested that he could give it to a home teachee...

but then concluded it would be an awkward gift that might suggest an unintended message.

Bumpits, and a demonstration of their amazingness below. (By the way, did you know you can "double bumpit"? This is accomplished by stacking the medium sized bumpit on top of the large one, and putting both in your hair.)

A very creepy mask. And kudos to B for finding a Bill Cosby-esque sweater.

C got her gift and decided to "kiss dating good-bye".

Not pictured is the popular beta fish, which came with a bowl, bowl decorations, and fish food. It was a highly prized gift that was finally won with a little stratagem. Namely, L coerced someone into picking it for her and then swapping gifts with him afterwards. We're so glad she didn't shake the package when it was opened, and I'm so glad that I didn't accidentally tip over the bag when moving it to another room.

DKC Makes A Great Brother

Dear David,

I promise not to tell everyone how OLD you are turning this year. Instead, I will tell them that you are my hero.


Being a super strong super hero, you naturally lift us up and help us carry our loads.

Even if it's not easy.

But I guess that's what big brothers do. (Aside from looking AWESOME in 3-D glasses.)

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hope you ate lots of fattening foods, chocolate, and enjoy a wonderful mini-vacation. I love you!

p.s. thanks to D's wife A, his admin-assistant AWESOME RHONDA, and Papa Johns for helping with the birthday surprise. I hope you took the chocolate off before eating the pizza. Because I think a supreme pizza with chocolate added in sounds gross. But maybe super heros eat chocolate on their pizza.

T comes to the Valley

A friend came into town for an interview, and I had the good pleasure of taking him around town for a tour. We hiked Camelback, and I was crazy enough to decide as we drove over there to take the hard side up. Why I continually do this, I don't know. I can tell you that I was SO glad we bumped into some friendly hikers and the conversation did not permit me to stop. The gentleman at the top was 70 or 80 and regularly hikes Camelback. I got schooled by an old man. He was a fascinating gentleman, and has written a book about the trail. They also decided that T and I needed our picture taken together, where it would be, etc.

I'm thoroughly impressed: it was taken with an iphone. Do I want one now? yes....

P.S. Should you choose to come into town for a short visit like T did, you can also expect the following: a stop for some great pizza (Grimaldi's, which is a must if you come to town), and the Mesa temple for Christmas lights (depending on the season). I always love it when missionaries stop you and try to covertly discover whether or not you are a member of the church. Since we were, they asked for a referral. We went through our phone lists, and I walked away feeling guilty. So,...anyone want to know something about the Mormon church? :) Let me know. This will make such questions a little easier for me to deal with next time!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was lovely. I spent it with the Lindsay's this year, and had a great time. C and I are continually asked if we are twins, and it pleases us to no end. I always wanted a twin growing up, and I love that I have one. Kind of.

C got up early on Thanksgiving day and made most of the dinner. I jumped in to help when I awoke, having arrived late the night before. (This is no excuse: she went to bed AFTER I did...) Somehow, the holiday just feels a little more like Thanksgiving when you actually do the cooking instead of just going over to another person's house. I suppose I feel this way because this is what my family did growing up. The picture below is for mom--I think she would have loved seeing her daughters making our traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

The weekend also had plenty of other adventures. Aside from Black Friday, how can you not enjoy a trip when it involves spa night at the Lindsay household, complete with "girl talk". I now know from sweet K. that if a boy likes me, I can know it because he'll give me pencils and school stuff. Good to know. Perhaps I haven't been paying attention to the correct signs. :)

We also enjoyed the annual "Let the Magic Begin" night. (For those who don't know, this is the annual Chipman celebration of the start to the Christmas season. There is usually a craft or theme, bingo, and always a mitten ornament which is passed around as we serve one another during the season.)

This year's party was a little easier than last year's, which took place in a hotel room since M and C hadn't purchased their home yet. We enjoyed making sugar cookies, and came dressed for the party in our homemade Christmas socks. D, A, J, and Aunt H joined us via Skype. Mom joined us from Peru, but Dad was delayed on business. Fortunately, he caught the tail end.

The kids loved decorating/eating sugar cookies, and I think we all enjoyed the pizza for dinner. Also, we enjoyed the decorated table, which is standard protocol for a "Let the Magic Begin" party. This year, however, Camille found a Mexican bingo game for us, which had pictures along with its spanish word. My favorite pictures included the devil and a drunk man. :) I actually won first this year (very unusual), but enjoyed watching the rest of the game as we go until everyone has won. All of the grandkids prizes had to do with light. K and B got reading lights, and J got lights that attach by velcro to his fingers. C got this fantastic light swirly thing which he loved (picture below).

The surprise of the night was that each of the us received a copy of a children's book our mother regularly read to us as we grew up. It was a book from her own childhood, and is full of wonderful memories. As I opened my book, a familiar smell of "old book" wafted up and brought back the childhood memories of reading what was, at the time, already a seasoned book. I'm thrilled to have a copy.

The Lindsay family also decorated their new Christmas tree. We particularly enjoyed putting up the ornaments with pictures of grandparents that have notes about the heritage they left for us. We also enjoyed reading the notes that are saved with each years' family ornament.

And, of course, what would Thanksgiving with the Lindsay's be without me getting sick at the very end. I insisted on a picture being taken as this is, apparently, something that I enjoy. The children were so sweet and made me the nicest get well cards, which I am also keeping around in case I get sick again and need a pick me up.