A Minecraft Nativity

(Photo by Michael Stufflebeam)

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day.

Instead of Christmas music I hear the sound of snow blowers.  I think our neighbor is doing our sidewalk, which is really nice.  It's really snowing right now.  Big giant flakes.

Pictured above is a nativity made out of Minecraft mini figures.  My nieces are obsessed with them.  And for fun my brother set up a nativity using these popular characters.  It seems Jesus came into the World wearing the full armor of God, sword in tow.  Mary likes cake.  And Joseph is decked out in diamond gear.

Stay safe!

Merry Christmas!!

But It's Not Even Christmas Yet!!??

Last night in a last minute Christmas food spree to Walmart I ventured down the candy isle with my Mom and sister-in-law Krista, picking out some goodies for today and tomorrow.  In a show of holiday spirit all the Christmas candy was ceremoniously replaced with Valentine candy, beckoning costumers to the front of the store for the red, white, and green variety.

And it's not even Christmas yet!

It's not even New Years!

Or groundhog Day!

(Groundhog Day is the least appreciated holiday of the year. 

But maybe this simply adds to the quaintness of the holiday and a repeated viewing of a certain Bill Murray movie.)

I'm not mentally prepared to even think about Valentines day.

It brings out the cynic in me. Blah.

(I just realized I'm the scrooge of Valentines . . . need to change my attitude.)

But seriously, I like my holidays one at a time.  Yet, I still can't believe today is Christmas Eve and tomorrow Christmas day.  It doesn't seem possible.  Next week is 2017, which seems crazier still.

Today's a full day.  Cleaning.  Wrapping.  Cooking.

There's ribbons and bells stationed at the desk I'm writing at.  Presents all around with tissue paper and boxes.  Every year my Mom and I remind ourselves not to procrastinate, and every year we fail.  Kinda takes away from the spirit of it all.

Tomorrow will be a simple day.  No major festivities.  Time with family.  Snowed out by the upcoming Winter storm moving in this evening.  Church.

Sullivan Boutique messed up on an order I made recently, and they sent me a music CD to make up for it: Thank You, Say it With Music.  Really nice of them to do that.  I'm listening to it now, and it's lovely.

Sometime today or tomorrow I'll need to grab my copy of Christmas with Anne and Other Holiday Stories, including the story about Anne's puff sleeves.  I'll need to read it while I glance at the snowfall.  That would be nice.

Merry Christmas Eve!

And for those living in the Winter Storm warning areas, travel safely.

Craving Disneyland McDonald Fries

Hmmm . . . McDonald Fries.

They're addictive.

Unhealthy.

And Oh. So. Good.

But nothing will live up to the memory of McDonald Disneyland fries.

From 1998 to 2008 Disneyland and McDonald's had a deal that involved McDonald products sold in the theme parks and Disney toys sold in Happy meals.  When 2008 came to an end this deal was not renewed, much to the relief of some who didn't like the golden arches destroying the Disney magic.  For me, I miss the fry wagon next to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

In that decade I looked forward to grabbing a somewhat affordable snack while visiting the parks. There was something bewitching in the taste of those fries.  I don't know what it was, but they were just so good!  Was it the heat?  The freshness?  Did they change the oil more regularly?  Or were there some addictive chemicals added to make me want more?  I don't know.  But here in the real world, whenever I do grab McDonald fries, they are never the same.

Every now and then, as in once in a blue moon, the fries will be amazing while partaking in a fast food run.  For a moment I'm taken back to Frontierland.  The memory of those fries are so ingrained in my mind that when I do get fantastic MacDonald fries my first explanation is, "These are Disneyland fries!" In which I chow down in happy silence.

Maybe it's a good thing Mickey D fries will never live up to the Disney memory!!

Heh, I don't need the addiction.