To all my readers and blogging friends, I sincerely wish you and your family a special Christmas this year.  Even in the midst of all our problems, whether economic or other, we have all been blessed with the most awesome gift of all times…the greatest treasure we could ever have – God reaching down to man, giving his only Son to be our Savior! Here’s a video of Celine Dion singing “Oh Holy Night” and then following is the true story of Christmas taken from the Bible, the book of Luke, parts of chapters 1 & 2.

Luke Chapter 1: verses 26-37

The Birth of Jesus Foretold / A Virgin Conceives

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”

35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she’s now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God.”

Luke Chapter 2: verses 1-20

The Birth of Jesus

1 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant.

6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

The Shepherds and Angels

8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 910 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified,

13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

(Bible text taken from Biblegateway.com, the New Living Translation)

Any of you with pets know how important it is to take care of your pet. Pet Care includes so much more than just giving your pet food and water. Just as with humans, there are all sorts of disorders that dogs and cats can have such as problems with their joints and muscles or maybe with their eyes.  There is a whole list of things that can afflict animals.  And they need treatment just like we do.

Petwave.com is the first online site that has a complete pet health library using today’s veterinary health care standards plus community and pet health management tools. This means a lot to people who have pets who are like part of the family.

Pet care also involves training your pet so that it will not take over and rule the house.  When company comes over, the pet should be well behaved so that company is not intimidated by the animal.  (That’s where we have a problem with our dog.)  Teaching a dog to stay and not jump on guests would help. Another problem people have is dogs begging for food at the table.  Some people have problems with their dog digging in the yard.  Petwave.com has strategies to use with pets to help eliminate these problems.

Here’s a recipe from a friend of mine that sounds delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 2 eggs
• 2 sticks of melted butter (do not use margarine)

Spray the muffin tins with Crisco No-Stick Spray or something similar.  Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl.  Fill the muffin tins half full and then bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  Enjoy!

Have you heard of daniblack shoes? They are a cutting-edge shoe brand for women that has been created by a husband and wife team. Maybe you’ve seen their shoes in ELLE Accessories or another magazine. These stylish and casual shoes are the latest in styles and trends.

I looked through their selection of shoes, and I really like these red pumps. They are so versatile because they can be worn with a cute dress or skirt and top, and I’m thinking Christmas right now. Or they can be worn with a dressy pants outfit as well as jeans with a cute Christmas shirt. The possibilities are endless. And then in a couple of months they would be perfect for Valentine’s Day, so between now and Valentine’s Day, they would be very stylish. But they’re not limited to holidays. Red is such an “in” color and these shoes would be great year-round.

Heels don’t appeal to me anymore because I have problems with my feet, but they have a selection of cute pumps as well as the trendy high heels. They have boots, some dressy and some casual. I saw some boots that would be stylish to wear in the winter with jeans. I’ve never worn anything this trendy, but I really think these fringe boots are cute. And notice the low heel would be perfect for me.

#1.  What’s your favorite crunchy food?

Hmmm….probably apples or baby carrots.
#2.  How often do you try new recipes?

I try new recipes more often now that I’m blogging.  Before that, every once in a while I would get a new recipe after I had tasted something and liked it.   And sometimes I would try a recipe I hadn’t tasted if I was feeling brave and creative, but not knowing for sure what it tasted like involved a risk that the family might not like it.
#3.  Name a food that you almost always have in the house.

Fresh fruit, raw nuts, vegetables, etc.
#4.  What kind of food do you leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve?

We don’t leave anything out for him. 

If you need a Seattle injury lawyer, there’s a free evaluation form if you follow the link to their site.  I have never needed one, and I guess I don’t really know anyone who has.  But apparently a considerable number of people do need one, and when and if one is needed then it’s good to check around.  Of course, being from Texas, I wouldn’t need one from Seattle.

Do you need a quick and easy meal to make at home in 10-15 minutes, and do you need a meal that’s comfort food at the same time?  Well, Marcaroni Grill has put out four boxed meals that you can make at home that are delicious.  Their Chicken Alfredo with Linguine just happens to be my husband’s favorite, so he is thrilled when I make this at home.  The directions on the box call for fresh chicken breast, but I’ve always been in a hurry and have made it with a large can of chicken breast and it turns out great.  Here’s what you need:

• 1 box Romano’s Marcaroni Grill Chicken Alfredo with Linguine
• 1 large can chicken breast (direction on box calls for fresh chicken)
• butter  (2-3 tablespoons)
  
• milk (1 1/4 cup milk)

TIP:  I buy the Macaroni Grill boxed meal and the canned chicken breast at Wal-Mart.  It costs a lot less than at the regular grocery store.

We have some friends that will be moving soon from Texas to Nebraska.  It’s such a hassle to move with all the packing, dealing with utilites and phone companies, having mail forwarded, etc, etc.  Seems like there’s an endless list of things to do.  It does help to have mail forwarded and also to have toll free forwarding services for important phone calls.  The really hard part, though, is that friends can’t be forwarded.  That’s what makes moving so hard!

This holiday season, I’m doing fairly well so far about not eating too many holiday goodies during the time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.  Of course, I ate plenty during Thanksgiving weekend, but since then I’ve tried not to keep many tempting goodies in the house.  I have refrained twice from buying Christmas candy that I really like because I know it would be too tempting for me.  If I make cookies, I try to give away most of them so we don’t have a lot of cookies at the house.  Fresh-made cookies are hard for me to resist.  I’m not one to take weight loss pills but would rather try to eat in moderation and try to get a little bit of exercise here and there during the busy holiday season.