Fa la la la la...

I still can't believe I'm a small group leader but alas I am. I have somehow managed to make myself partially responsible for the spiritual growth of the Jr. High girls who are in the Bohemian's youth group. Luckily I'm not going it alone and have a fantastically cool Chicky poo trudging along with me who deals with the teaching part of our meetings. Wed. night we decided it was Christmas party time so we pulled out the Christmas music, bought a white Christmas tree (only because we couldn't find pink) and pulled out the craft supplies. It was so much fun and the girls did a fantastic job making there own decorations, the tree looks great! Now we're hoping to be able to donate the tree to someone who doesn't have a Christmas tree of their own. Doing this party also made me realize I do so much better when I can interact with people while keeping my hands busy with crafting than I do with the unspent, nervous, social anxiety ridden energy that rages through me when I don't have something to occupy my hands, I need to take up knitting!

M.I.A

For those of you who have expressed concern, no I did not trade my children in order to acquire Mr. Cash Pugface. Here is my photographic evidence:

Wishing You A Pug-filled Christmas

Isn't he so pretty? I was terribly impressed with his manners during his photo shoot. We've never done this and so far when I try to take his picture he runs up and sticks his nose in the camera. I suppose getting dressed up has a civilizing effect on us all! He sat still as a stone waiting for his treat, there must be bribes! I did realize after looking at these that he's shorter than the bottom of the tree so the tree wasn't as much of a background as I'd hoped it would be, more of a hovering presence. Have I mentioned yet that I LOVE this dog?! He's perfection. My husband's pretty cool too, he enables my newly found Pug obsession by taking pics while I bribe.

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!" It's just the Pug Mamma trying to trick her Pug into acting like a Poodle.

There Was An Old Lady Who Lived In A Shoe

Once upon a time, long long ago, there was a young art student who lived in a 650 sq/ft house with no interior doors, an incredible deck the size of the house and an acre sized fenced in yard. She moved there so she could adopt a fantastic Great Dane, Sir Edward Elgar The Mighty Sedlak Graham Skaggs. This girl and Elgar had other roommates of the feline variety, 4 to be exact: Annie, Fazzoletto, Luciano, and Damian Hell Cat who lived contentedly together in this tiny house cramped with furniture, books and art supplies. They all lived happily ever after. Well, all except for Fazzoletto who died mysteriously...and Luciano who was run over by the girl's prince shortly after they were married...Damian Hell Cat, well, come on really does that need explaining?! He was destined for the wild. Oh yea, and Elgar died of bloat but he was an old man...So Annie cat, the girl and the prince lived happily ever after. Good grief, no wonder my dad was calling me Animal Hospice!

Bah Humbug!

Between kids and my love of pets I don't think I'll ever be able to decorate my tree below the half way mark. This year I thought I was safe with non breakables down low but Mr. Cash Pugface LOVES the plushies!

A Christmas Kid Craft Classic

Mr. Golden Curls has been asking me daily "how long before it's Christmas?" I think mostly because he wants to see his Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Pete and, maybe most importantly, the four cousins that are part of that brood. After he asked for the three millionth time I decided it was time to whip up the 'ole grade school classic, the countdown to Christmas chain. Now every morning we can pull off a link and when he asks "how long before it's Christmas?" I can just point to the chain and say "that long!" I'll let you know if it actually works.

Crafter Of Mountains

On the way back from North Carolina we took the scenic route through the Smoky Mountains and it was breathtakingly gorgeous. My photos just don't do it justice because to stand on this outlook and see the vast expanse of mountains covered with autumn trees was an incredible experience, the kind of experience that makes me say "Wow, that God is one big, powerful hombre!"