I can't believe the season is already here...

...it sneaks up on me every year, and then flies by in such a flurry that I barely get to slow down and enjoy it. And every year I vow, "Next year I'll do it differently," but it always seems to happen the same way. So this November I have been trying to think about what my priorities for the holiday season are, especially now that Chloe is old enough that what we do during the Christmas season will make a lasting impression. I want to be deliberate in our choices, and create traditions for our family that have meaning beyond the commercialism and stress created by the expectations of the holiday. I have noticed a lot of people in blogland taking handmade pledges, which is awesome. I always make a few presents every year, and each Christmas we have pared down the list of people we exchange gifts with. We have gone from swapping names with my siblings and their spouses to eliminating adult presents altogether, which is a good thing considering the financial strain so many of us are currently under. D. and I have asked our families to consider "experiences" as gifts for Chloe and ourselves rather than objects, and I have done the same for my nephews for the past few years, having them sleepover and then taking them to the science museum or aquarium. I'd like to ask for just handmade gifts for Chloe, but I just can't see my 85 year-old Grammie buying handmade when her shopping locale of choice is usually Walmart. We have, however, asked for no electronic toys and done fairly well with that so far--seeing that we're committed with the cloth diapering has made my 'conservative' family take such eccentricities seriously.

I tend to get stressed out trying to accomplish too much during the holidays--meeting some expectation of what I think needs to happen. So I think I'm going to start a list of things/priorities I'd like to focus on this year so that I can come back to it to revise and edit as the season progresses to help myself keep from getting overwhelmed. Here goes:

1. Create traditions w/ D. and Chloe that are meaningful to our family

• bake cookies together for neighbors
  
• decorate tree/ pine boughs
• volunteer at soup kitchen

2. Make some crafty gifts

• screen printing w/Leah
• photo calenders
• stuffies/ornaments

3. Spend quality time with friends/family

• invite brothers and their families to dinner
• visit Grammie for lunch
• host NYE party (?)
  

That's probably more that enough for now, but I am sure I will amend/edit/add/delete as time goes on!

And just to prove that I am indeed a ma-ma-material girl, I found what I want for Christmas, Dear Santa!

Canon PowerShot A590IS based on the most minimum amount of research, I have decided this is the camera for me: under $150, small, but not so small you can see the damn screen or through the eyepiece, not a SLR (because d. already had a very nice one of those) but with lotsa options to play with.

And in scrappy news...
Here are 2 layouts I did a few weeks ago, supposedly for the November newsletter over at ScrapGal, but due to some various delays, I reveal them here to you in all their glory instead, lol:


and a detail shot of the hand cut title and little apples I drew

And finally:

Check out Galblog for details on when I'll be giving a tutorial on making these cute ornaments!!
{stash diet update--yes, I'm still keeping track!! 41 down, 9 to go}