Back to Writing: Cats, Blogging, and Crafting

Hey everyone! I know it has been quite a while since I last posted. Man, have we been busy!

Since my last post, we celebrated Christmas, Aaron and I moved from Dallas to Ft. Worth, we celebrated the New Year, we switched churches (church campuses at least; we're still at the same church), and we got a cat! :) It has been a busy couple of months, but it has been full of good changes! Speaking of our new cat, here he is:

Isn't he adorable?! :D His name is Gandalf. (Yes, my husband and I are nerds but we're perfectly okay with that). He is adventurous and playful and loves to be held and cuddled with, when he's finished playing. He is five months old. We got him from an organization called Kool Katz that comes to Petsmart on the weekends. This organization rescues animals from animal shelters and puts them in foster homes with some of their volunteers until they can find them a permanent home. 

Here are some fun facts about our little Gandalf:

• He is afraid of several things in our apartment: my blow dryer, the washing machine, the dishwasher, and the ice machine. 
• He loves waking us up in the morning. He is my second alarm clock! 
• His favorite place in the entire apartment is under our bed. I don't know what he does under there, but that's where he runs when he hears anything he is afraid of. 
• He knows Aaron and I control the laser pointer with the little red dot, but he continues to chase it anyway! And recently he has been hiding it from us.
• He loves jumping to and from high surfaces. 
• He loves to be center stage when my husband is playing computer games—standing right in front of the screen or on the keyboard. (My husband has not been a fan of this, but I've found it rather amusing). 
• He loves to type on our computer; it's just in a language we don't understand, I guess. ;)
• He likes to jump like a gazelle every now and then and stand tall like a prairie dog. 
• He loves playing board games with us. 
• He may be teething right now because he keeps biting anything and everything in sight, including us! Do any of you have suggestions on what we can do to help him? Or to get him to stop biting us? See the next point below to understand what steps we've already taken to get him to stop. We know he's not biting us maliciously because he looks like he just wants to play. After we get him to stop biting us, he just starts biting blankets or pillows, which makes me think it's a teething problem.
• He isn't like the other cats we've read about online. When reading about disciplining your cat, here's what we were told works--all of which Gandalf is immune:

• Clapping your hands loudly and saying no!
• Bopping him gently on the nose and saying no!
• Spraying him with a spray bottle. (Seriously, I had a cup of water with me so I flicked him with the water--plenty of it--and he just came up to my cup and started drinking out of it)
• Putting him in time out in his carrier. 

• He is very good at only scratching his scratching post, which has been awesome! We haven't seen him scratching our furniture or noticed any damage.
• He has learned how to open doors on his own.
• He is a wonderful kitty, despite our difficulties, and we really love that he is apart of our family! When he cuddles with you, it just warms your heart.
• And finally, we're teaching him how to use the human toilet. It's not a joke, even though it seems like it. Apparently, teaching your cat to use the toilet is actually a thing. We bought the kit off Amazon and so far it has been successful.

            

It's messy at first, but now we have those two inner circles cut out and it has less litter in it. He's actually going directly into the toilet now. It's so crazy! We've been asked by many of our friends if we can also teach him how to flush. From what we've read, that's one thing you shouldn't do. Cats are so entertained by it that they'll just flush the toilet all day long--and no one wants that utility bill!

Other Updates

In other news, we are finally settled into our new apartment. I still need to put curtains up, but I've been putting that off because I'm not sure how our cat will cope with them. Will he look at them curiously and just gaze at them from a distance, will he try to climb up them and inevitably rip them down, or will he hide in them and pop out when we aren't expecting him?! I would guess he would probably try each and every one of these things.

The job I started back in October is going very well. I love everyone I work with and I'm loving what I do! :) I write for their blog, which has been great. I've been learning a lot. If you're interested, be sure to check out some of my posts at 1Dental.com/blog. You can also find me as 1Dental on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+. Check us out!

This has also contributed to why I've been away from writing on this blog for such a long time. I've been trying to adjust and get into a routine writing for that blog too. So if you don't find me here, you know where I'll be. Although, I am going to try to get better about keeping up with this blog! I really have missed writing to all of you. :)

I'll set a goal for myself though so you know I'll be back! Next week, I'm going to be having an Easter crafting night. I'll be sure to post pictures and talk about what we made! You might even be able to make an Easter craft of your own this year!

Finally, as a follow-up to my Christmas series: Did any of you try the gifts I showed you? Were they a success?! What did you make? What other ideas did you come up with? Leave your answers in the comment section below.

Christmas Gift Idea #15: Miscellaneous & the Greatest Gift of All

It's Christmas Eve today!! Merry Christmas Eve! I'm so sorry I failed to post this yesterday. I got swept up in all of the holiday fun that I forgot what day it was. But it's not too late to get that last-minute gift in! I'll go through some great gifts you can get that won't seem last minute.

First, let's see our last Christmas movie clip for this series--and by Christmas movie clip, I mean clips. To get the full impact of this movie, I needed to show you two clips from it instead of just one.

The Nativity Story

I just love that movie. I get choked up as the shepherd reaches out for Jesus every time. Do you know that feeling? To feel so hopeless and lost and then to find out that God sent His Son for you--for each one of us. You can see why the shepherd is in awe of this little babe in front of him. What these people have been waiting for--a Savior--has finally come. 

I'll talk more about this at the end of the post, so be sure to keep reading.

Christmas Gift Idea #15: Miscellaneous

Well, it's Christmas Eve and you still need a gift, huh? Fortunately for us, and not so fortunate for the employees that work there, there are several stores that are still open today. They might close early though so you'll want to get out as soon as you can. And as you go, be an encouragement to those who are working today. Smile, be friendly, and wish them a Merry Christmas and a great day! There are too many people out there that aren't as friendly or considerate of the workers at these stores. Brighten their day!

Here are some of the last-minute gift ideas I have for you. You may remember some of these ideas from past blog posts in this series, but these will be gifts I've talked about before that can also be last minute. 

1. A scarf for a man or woman. Department stores will have these, but so will Walmart and Hallmark if they're open today. 
2. A gift card. Now a lot of people don't really like this gift idea because it's not as personal. You can make it personal by picking a store or restaurant you know they really love! They'll still be very excited about this gift because it will be to a place they enjoy going, and they will have a reason to go now with your gift card! You can also find fun ways to give them the gift card. You saw my Coffee Cup card and Coffee Mug bundle in one of my earlier posts. You can use that to put the gift card in, or if it's a movie gift card, why not put it in the popcorn bucket bundle I wrote about in my last post? You'll give them an additional gift with the popcorn bucket. You can even include a game with the gift card and make it a date night gift! My sister-in-law did that for us this year and I thought it was a great gift! I'm excited to use it! 
3. Tin of Cookies. This is what I was doing yesterday. I was baking cookies to go in these cute Christmas tins I found at Walmart. I filled up the tins, wrapped them, and today I will give them to a few of my family members as gifts! 
4. Bath and Body Works. I pointed out in a previous post that Bath and Body Works has great gift bundles already put together for you! All you have to do is go there, pick out what you want, purchase it, and then take it home and wrap it. Bath and Body Works isn't the only store that does this though. Just about any store you can go to today will have gifts already prebundled and ready to go for you! 
5. Soda Pop and Candy Bottles. This was also a previous post I wrote about, but it's really easy to do. Go to your grocery store or Walmart and pick up a four-pack or six-pack of soda bottles. You'll also want to pick up some candy, but it needs to be candy that will fit in the soda bottle. Then you'll need to take that home, drink two or three of the bottles depending on how big of a pack you bought (I recommend getting some help with this. You don't need to drink that much soda in one day), wash the bottles out, let them dry, and fill the empty bottles with the candy. Put the bottle of candy back in the pack with the full pop bottles, put a ribbon on it or put it in a gift sack, and then you are ready to go. 

These should get you through the holiday! But what will you do next year? Buy your gifts earlier so you aren't stressed out around Christmas! :) 

The Greatest Gift of All

Now I would like to share with you the greatest gift you can give this Christmas, and that is the story of Jesus Christ. If you don't know the story of Christ, I'm going to share it here. If you do know the story of Christ, don't be afraid to share it with your friends and family this year. You may think they know the story, but you might be surprised to learn how little they do know of it. 

Now the Christmas story didn't start in the manger. It started long before that. It began when sin entered the world in the Garden of Eden.

It should be obvious to all of us today that there is sin in this world. Just look outside or turn on the news. People are being killed, are sick, or are dying. There are wars and famine. People are cruel to others, whether it's through physical violence or verbal abuse. There is definitely evil in this world, and it is a result of sin.

It wasn't always that way. When God created the world and man and put man in the Garden of Eden, the world was good and perfect. There were no wars or famine or disease. God gave man wonderful things in the Garden, and God walked among man. But He also set in the Garden the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and told them not to eat from it. He told them they could eat from any other tree in the Garden except for that one. Many will say, why did God even put that tree in the Garden if they weren't allowed to eat from it and if it was so bad. God gives us choices, and that day in the Garden He gave man a choice. They could choose God and choose to obey Him, or they could choose the tree and choose to live for themselves. That day they chose the tree and ate from it. 

When Adam and Eve ate from the tree, sin entered the world. Because of this, we are all sinful people. Not one of us can say we are perfect. We make mistakes and bad choices everyday. And because of sin, we were separated from God. When we die, we would not be with God in Heaven, but we would be sent to hell, where all sinful and evil things must go.

But that is not the end of the story, and evil has not won. God formed a plan to save us. He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, down to earth. This is what we celebrate on Christmas--the greatest gift of all! Jesus lived a perfect life. He never sinned. He taught people about God. God is loving but He is Just. Jesus paid the price we couldn't pay. He payed for our sin by dying on the cross and rising again three days later, conquering death. Now, when we believe in Jesus and all that He did for us and accept that gift, we will be saved. When we die, we will no longer be separated from God. We will join Him in Heaven and praise His holy name for all eternity! 

That is the best gift anyone can receive--hope in our Savior Jesus Christ. He didn't just die for me; He died for all who will accept His gift and choose to live for Him. 

You don't have to live without hope this Christmas. Accept the hope that Christ brought to us. Choose to live for Him and you will see how much better your life is for it--not regarding material possessions or circumstances necessarily, but your outlook on life, the attitude you have, and the hope you have in knowing that this life isn't all there is. 

I hope you will choose to accept Christ this Christmas. And if you know Him, I hope you will share Him with your loved ones this Christmas season. Have a very Merry Christmas! 

Christmas Gift Idea #14: Movie/Popcorn Bucket

Nine days until Christmas!! Can you believe it?! I only have one more post for my Christmas Gift Idea series after this one. We have gone through several Christmas gift ideas for the holidays. I hope that you were able to find one, or a couple, that you were able to use this Christmas. Today's gift is another easy one to put together. But, as always, we'll watch a Christmas movie clip first.

The Muppet Christmas Carol

Don't be a Scrooge this Christmas! Be of good heart and cheer. I really enjoyed this version of A Christmas Carol. Maybe it's the songs, maybe it's my fondness of the Muppets, or maybe it's my love of Michael Caine (I love the movies he is in), but I really love The Muppet Christmas Carol.

Christmas Gift Idea #14: Movie/Popcorn Bucket

Here's another fairly easy gift for you this Christmas. This is what I like to call the Movie/Popcorn Bucket.

 

For this one, I bought a pre-made popcorn bucket at Target for $7.99. It came with the bucket, two bags of popcorn, two boxes of M&Ms, and a box of Skittles. All I need now is a movie to go along with the gift, some cute ribbon to tie it all together, and then I'm good to go!

If you don't like this mix of candy and popcorn, you can also put your own bucket together. Bed, Bath & Beyond sells some fun popcorn buckets by themselves. And Walmart did at one time. You can buy a popcorn bucket, pick out some candy you know your family member or friend would enjoy, grab a couple of popcorn bags from your box of popcorn in the pantry, buy a movie, and give the gift to a friend!

It's that simple and easy!

Join me next week for my LAST Christmas gift idea for this holiday season. And if you missed any of my posts for this series, please go back through and see all of the gift ideas I've laid out for you all. I hope they are a help to you this Christmas! I know I have used several of these ideas for this year alone.

Safe travels! And I will be back next week with my last Christmas gift idea. :)

Christmas Gift Idea #13: Bath & Body Works Gift Bundle

Only sixteen days until Christmas, can you believe it? It seems like November and December have just flown by! It doesn't really seem fair. This year I felt like we were cheated in a way. Thanksgiving came so late this year that it has felt like a mad dash to get everything ready for Christmas as soon as Thanksgiving came to an end. As a result, I don't really feel like I've been able to enjoy all of the Christmas festivities I so enjoy doing. (The ice storm that just hit Texas and kept everyone inside for days on end didn't really help either, but I did enjoy looking at the snow! So pretty!). This weekend, I've already told Aaron that we need to go ice skating and look at Christmas lights. :) It should be a fun-filled Christmas weekend before we head off the following weekend for Christmas in Oklahoma!

If you're in a rush to get those Christmas presents picked out and wrapped like I've been doing for the past few days, I hope I can be of some help. We are about to look at Christmas Gift Idea #13, but first, as always, here is another Christmas movie clip. (Disclaimer: I don't know if most of you consider this a Christmas movie, but for some reason I watch this movie every year at Christmas.)

The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Christmas Gift Idea #13: Bath & Body Works Gift Bundle

Here is another easy gift idea for the holidays. The great thing about this gift is that it is already put together for you. All you have to do is pick out which one you want, add a tag or put it in a gift bag, and then give it to the person you have in mind! 

In the gifts' section on their website under $20 gifts and under, you can see several Bath and Body Works gift sets they have put together. (And if you celebrate Christmas after December 25th, that's even better. Whatever they have left gets marked down quite a lot so you can go back and get it after Christmas if need be!)

Another idea for buying a gift from Bath and Body Works is to go during the Buy 3 Get 3 sale. You can buy 3 lotions or shower gels from their signature section and get 3 of the same ones or different ones for free! It usually costs about $32 to do this, but then you can give a lotion or shower gel to each of your friends, or use them as stocking stuffers. That's about five dollars a person. I've done this on several occasions for the holidays. And if you are on their email list, you may even find a coupon you can use on top of that to get those lotions or shower gels for even less! 

I'm a huge fan of Bath and Body Works and highly recommend their products. I have been so busy lately though that I haven't been able to go in several months--although that is probably a good thing since I usually spend too much of my money on lotions and shower gels when I do go!

If you don't think lotions or shower gels are really what the people on your list would like, they also have kitchen and bathroom soaps that are almost always on sale, cute wallflowers that would make great gifts, and Aromatherapy lotions and soaps that are great for dry hands during the winter season! 

I hope this has been a help to you. There are only two weeks left in the Christmas Gift Idea series. Be sure to share these posts with your friends if you have found them helpful! I know many people are scurrying around right now trying to come up with inexpensive but personal gifts to give their friends and family and could really use some ideas.

***

Above all though, don't forget the reason for the season. It's easy to get wrapped up in buying gifts for our friends and family--which can be a great encouragement and loving thing to do for them--but don't sacrifice the time you should be spending with your family and reflecting on the meaning of the season to obsess over the gifts you are going to get for your loved ones. I've been guilty of this for sure. I love the joy receiving the gifts I've crafted or bought brings to my friends and family, but I have to remind myself that gifts aren't everything. They are only temporary things, mere objects that will one day pass away, but the time we spend with people and the encouraging words and love we offer them goes so much further and makes a lasting difference.

And for me, Christmas is a time that I celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and what that means for all mankind. I am lucky to be able to celebrate this with much of my family and many of my friends. If you don't have friends and family around you you can celebrate with, take heart in knowing that you are not really alone. Your brothers and sisters around the world are rejoicing the birth of our Savior with you. That's such a cool thing for me to reflect on. Even though I haven't met all of the people who believe and have chosen to follow Christ around the world, we are all still one family, one body, waiting for our Savior to return again for us. Rejoice in knowing that our Savior has come, has conquered death, and has made a way for us! 

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end."

"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail."

"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled." Then the angel left her.

Luke 1: 26-38 (New International Version)

Until next time...

Tell me what you like to do to celebrate the holidays! 

Christmas Gift Idea #12: Tin of Cookies

I'm a huge fan of The Santa Clause movie that I've already shared a clip from, but I also enjoyed the sequel to this film. Here's a clip from the movie. I love the setting of this scene. It's so pretty!

Christmas Gift Idea #12: Tin of Cookies

This is another quick and easy gift for you to put together for your friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors. Just get one of these cute Christmas tins:

Then fill them up with some yummy cookies! Here are some good recipes for you:

No-Bake Cookies (or Dog Piles as my family calls them)

Ingredients 

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons cocoa (baking)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 cups oatmeal
waxed paper

Directions

Melt butter, sugar, milk and cocoa. Bring to a boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add peanut butter, vanilla and oats. Stir well until it starts to cool a bit. Then drop on waxed paper.

There are also Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, which can be found at Sally's Baking Addiction. These are very delicious!

What are your favorite cookies? 

Christmas Gift Idea #11: Soda Pop and Candy

Thanksgiving is only days away! Although I am going through the Christmas Gift Idea series, I don't want to skip over Thanksgiving. So today I decided to post a video clip that features Thanksgiving.

This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for my wonderful family, God who loves us all and sent His Son to die for us and then rise again so that we may have new life with Him, my church, my job, and my home. I'm also thankful for the time I get to spend with my family this week. My husband won't have to work on Thanksgiving or Black Friday this year, which is a huge blessing! And my family and part of his family are going to come spend Thanksgiving with us this year. What fun!

Now if I can just figure out how to make this turkey...

What are you thankful for?


Christmas Gift Idea #11: Soda Pop and Candy

For those of you less crafty readers out there, you're going to love these next posts leading up to Christmas. They are extremely easy to put together! No crafting required--unless cutting a ribbon is too much, but lets hope not!

The soda pop and candy gift is a great one! Here's one variation of what this could look like:

My mom told me about this idea when I was in high school and I thought it was a great gift idea for my friends. I was recently reminded about this idea and realized that this might be something I could do for my friends or coworkers now!

You will need to buy either a six-pack or four-pack of bottled soda. For this one, I went with cream soda because that's my husband's favorite so I knew he would help me drink them! :) You want to drink half of the sodas in the pack and then wash out the bottles and let them dry. When they are completely dry, you can fill them with the candy of your choice! I went with the Christmas-colored dark chocolate M&M's because I thought those looked the most festive, but feel free to choose whatever soda and candy you want! 

You can either give one pair (one soda and one bottle of candy) to your friend as a gift--just add ribbon!--or you can give them the whole four-pack or six-pack. You'll fill half of the bottles with candy and leave the other half as sodas. Then you'll want to decorate the little pack holder with a ribbon of some sort. If you decide to go this route, especially for Christmas, I would recommend getting Coca-Cola or Dr. Pepper bottles because the cardboard pack it comes in will be red! Then you would just need to add some red or green ribbon! 

That's all there is to it! This gift is super easy and very delicious! It's also a great way to create several gifts at once! For this one, I bought a six-pack of cream sodas for $4.49 I believe and then the bag of candy for a couple of dollars. You might need another bag of candy, but you have three gifts right there! Just add ribbon. 

I hope you found this blog post helpful! Have a Happy Thanksgiving! 

Until next time...

Don't forget to share in the comment section what you are thankful for this Thanksgiving! :)

Harry Potter World & Christmas Gifts Continued

Last week Aaron and I got to go to Harry Potter World in Orlando, Florida! It was so great. If you didn't know, I'm a huge Harry Potter fan!! :D And in light of my recent vacation, I thought this clip was only fitting for this week's post:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

If you haven't been to Harry Potter World, I highly recommend it! However, I would suggest going after next summer when they complete the expansion. From what I have read, in addition to Hogwarts and Hogsmeade that already exist in Harry Potter world, Universal Studios will be adding Diagon Alley, King's Cross with platform 9 and 3/4, and the Hogwarts Express that can be ridden from the current Harry Potter world to these new additions! It's going to be SWEET! :)

Another tip for you anxious travelers: the fall is the best time to go! DO NOT try to go in the summer or during prime holiday seasons. If possible, avoid these times at all cost or you may not enjoy the parks as much as you should!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from this last week:

Aaron and I standing in front of Hogwarts!

Aaron and I hanging out in Hogsmeade.

Can you tell I'm excited?!

Hogwarts! 

Cool shot of Hogsmeade

Fish and Chips & Butterbeer!

I got a wand! 

Excited for what's to come! 

Christmas Gift Idea #10: Wall Decorations

 

These wall decorations were a gift to me from my bridesmaids a little over a year and a half ago. They made these for my bridal shower. These decorations would make great Christmas gifts for your friends/family.

All you need is either a canvas or cork board. The flat canvas is pictured in the photo to the left and the cork board is pictured to the right. Personally, I would recommend the cork board. You can get a package of these square cork boards from Walmart or Hobby Lobby. You can use push pins to tack on the pictures. If you get the canvas, you have to use double-sided tape/nails to get the pictures and paper to stay.

Then you will need some nice looking fabric, buttons, letters for the name, and some dimensional stickers like you see in the pictures (the hearts and flowers).

Step One: Wrap the fabric around the cork board or canvas. Staple the fabric on the back of the cork board or canvas so it stays.

Step Two: Order the pictures you want to put on the cork board or canvas. Use push pins (for the cork board) or small nails (for the flat canvas) to make the pictures stay on the board.

Step Three: Add the lettering/sticker dimensions onto the boards.

Step Four: Hot glue the buttons onto the board wherever you think they look best.

And that's all there is to it! Until next time...