My fur monster Buttercup was a very good boy in 2022, so Santa rewarded him quite handsomely!

Santa brought him another cat tree to put in the living room for when our back sunroom is closed off for the winter :). Grandma (my mom) got him a pack of yummy Salmon flavored snacks! She also got him three new toys!!!

Hopefully he will be on Santa's nice list again in 2023...who am I joking? he's a cat - I'll get him stuff no matter what! LOL

I was lucky enough to get a Lego set for Christmas! I was even luckier to find out that December 27th was actually Lego Build Day! Since I hadn't built it yet, I decided to build it today!

It was definitely a lot of fun, and I hope to make sets more frequently now that I have more time to do so!

I had a mishap with my fireplace over the weekend. During Friday's obscene cold, my mom showed up at my house unexpectedly. She suggested I turn on my gas fireplace to help keep my living room a little warmer (especially since my fireplace is quite drafty). So I went and got my long-stem lighter and this is where things got a little more exciting than I anticipated!

I turned on the gas, and went to light the fireplace. Well...I guess I turned the gas on WAY more than I thought I did and I think one of those huge 50 MPH wind gusts came down the chimney at the same time too. When I lit the fire, I had a HUGE rush of flames coming out of the fireplace and my entire left forearm was in the fire!!! Luckily, it went out immediately and I turned the gas down, and all was well.

Just as a tip - BE CAREFUL to know how far you have the gas turned on and try to stay away from flames as much as possible ;).

For me, I'm perfectly fine except that my left arm still smells a little like fire, and some of my arm hairs are a little shorter than they were Friday morning! ;D

Hopefully you and yours had a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday... AND STAYED WARM.

This may turn up the heat as we still have one more big party to welcome in 2023. 

We had 'Christmas In The Country Fest' the past few weeks.  Win Tickets to the party of the Summer, in the Winter!

Here is one of The Country Fest Performers Jon Pardi who hosted Campfire Sessions on CMT for the Holiday.

He is playing one of my favorite Christmas Songs.   I'm just gonna say it Country Fest is gonna be a Pardi!  

 On the Christmas Episode Tracy Lawrence, Lilly Rose and many others made an appearance.

I hope you had a very happy Christmas weekend :). Now, it's time to turn the calendar over to 2023 this weekend. I was thinking earlier today that I remember at least one event from every month of 2022. My memory just works that way. Some good, some bad - but I'm glad I am able to do it either way.

There are a few things I didn't get accomplished in '22 or things didn't go as I thought they might. Now I guess, that means they go on my list of things to do starting next week lol. As we say in sports around here: "There's always next year!" LOL

With this extreme winter storm coming, PLEASE take care of the animals too. It's animal cruelty to leave them out in the cold. The wind chills coud be as low as -20 to -30. 

PLEASE, PLEASE bring them inside! Remember, if it's too cold for you - it's too cold for them. Period.

This week's Trailer Thursday is the teaser for the movie Barbie!!!!!! Look I know that it came out last week but it came out on a Friday so I had to wait till now to post it!

This movie is directed by Greta Gerwig and stars Margot Robbie and if that doesn't excite you I don't know what will. This trailer is colorful, star studded, and a brilliant homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey. I'm so excited for this!

Check out the teaser for Barbie below!

I am taking tomorrow off and I'm doing a couple of things I have been putting off (not intentionally): baking cookies and wrapping gifts! I really like wrapping gifts, especially the ribbon and bows, but it does take a while to get it done. So cookies first, lol! By now, you may know I am a fan of Babs and her account Brunch with Babs, always coming through with the helpful tips and advice. In this video she talks about gift wrapping, and I had no idea you could sharpen scissors with aluminum foil! 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Babs (@brunchwithbabs)

Today is one of my favorite days of the year! - the shortest day of the year. Now at first that may sound weird, but hear me out. I say that because from here out, the days get longer for the next six months!!! 

When you work 3rd shift like I do, this time of year is difficult. Almost my entire day is spent in the dark! If I do see what little sunshine we get this time of year, it may just be for a couple hours before it's dark again. So that is why I always say December 21st is one of my favorite days of the year.

You can't buy everyone in your life something personal. So why not make them something DELICIOUS instead? Every year, I make peppermint bark for people I'm not able to shop for! Mostly coworkers, parents of friends, postal workers, and everyone in between. It's so simple and sweet! Hopefully it spreads the joy of the season.

In other news, I got a new coat today. Make sure you bundle up before this weekend hits!