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I had a wonderful and productive day. I cleaned house, did laundry, and got some meat out to thaw for tomorrow’s dinner. Chanielle and boys stopped by for a visit, which is always nice.
Christmas Shopping: I visited a couple of second-hand stores and bought a stocking stuffer and some Christmas candles. I also stopped by our local Bible book store and picked up some half-priced Christmas cards and a box of candy canes and bookmarks.
Because we are cutting down this holiday season both for frugality reasons and also to get back to the true spirit of Christmas, I have some plans. For our Christmas Eve, I will be reading a couple of newspaper articles about “Christmas” today and then talk of how Christ’s birth should really be celebrated. I will tell the story of the candy cane and hand out the peppermint sticks along with a bookmark that shows a candy cane and has a saying which includes the word “Jesus” on it. We’ll then tell the story of Christ’s birth using one of the nativity sets that I have. Our treat will be hot cocoa adorned with our mint candy canes. I think that my little grandchildren will be able to understand the meaning by the use of these visuals. We have agreed on plain brown paper wrapping for our gifts. I may hand decorate mine—something I used to do years ago.
I ordered several Christmas gifts from Lehman’s this evening. Many of the products that they offer are from days gone by. I even picked up a couple of little things for myself, my much-searched-for Fels Naptha soap and a sock darner ball! I’m so excited to get these things! Since we are only spending a very small amount on each other, the price will be quite minimal over all compared to what we usually spend. It’s a nice feeling, and the stress factor is greatly reduced!
Shopping: I spent hours going through the material and craft isle at our local Mission second-hand store. What bargains I found! I am starting a collection of Barbie’s to go with the one I got as a girl. I thought that I would have a hard time finding them, and that they may be expensive. However, I found three of them at the bottom of a cake decorating box today! They were .99 a piece; I couldn’t believe it!
Someone must have unloaded their entire attic full of crafts, as there were all sorts of items from, I am assuming, the 1960’s. How fun it was to look through all of these things. I never did find the crochet hook that I was searching for but had lots of fun just perusing the treasures. I even found a dress for $3.99. I’ll wear it to Church tomorrow.
Struggles: I had the very rough decision these past weeks of whether or not I could continue school. At long last, I decided that I just couldn’t work enough hours to pay the bills and pay for school and carry my class load too. It was very difficult to come to this conclusion, as I have tried two other times to get my degree. This time, my straight-A GPA will also be ruined. It’s an ego buster, I guess, and it stays on my record for ever. I suppose that I just didn’t push myself enough. There is always good that comes out of bad though, and my good is that I will be able to spend more time in my home and domestic endeavors. Elliott has wanted me to crochet him an afghan to take on his mission, and I would like to do some sewing also.
