This time of year is always so hectic.  You’d think with all the parties that it would be easy to relax but parties just mean more baking and cleaning than usual.  It feels unacceptable to spend a night at home without inviting friends over for games or something. 

But one of the things I always love is the way that families feel so much more like a family during the holidays.  For once my brothers actually think it’s a good idea to hang out with the family instead of hiding in their rooms reading and playing video games. 

This year we decided to start a new family tradition of getting our family portrait taken by a local Utah photographer.  Then after we’re going to do the customary drive around the city and see all the beautiful lights.  And along with that comes the routine jokes from my brother who likes to point out how beautiful all the street lamps are when the rest of us are oohing and ahhing at animatronic reindeer.

Maybe next year we’ll actually convince my dad to dress up like Santa in our family picture.

When my niece shattered a piece of my Grandmother’s china I was convinced that she was going to be written out of the will.  My Grandmother has had this set for years and she normally keeps it hidden away in a dark cupboard, but seeing as it’s the holidays she decided to break it out one night for hot cocoa.  My poor niece felt so bad that she gathered up the pieces and carried them with her for days after, saying that she’d ask Santa to bring a new tea cup for Christmas. 

Luckily I realized that we didn’t have to rely on Santa because I found a great place for china replacement.  I found the cup online easily and now my niece has wrapped it up to give to my Grandmother on Christmas morning. She so excited about it, each day she sneaks back to its hiding place and checks that it’s still ok.  She’s even had to re-wrap it three times now because she keeps opening it to check that it’s still safe. 

What she doesn’t know is that I also ordered a few extra tea cups just in case Grandma decides to invite us over for hot chocolate again.

Is it just me, or do movies seem to be getting more risque? After seeing The Heartbreak Kid, Good Luck Chuck, and the Hostel Part 2 other movies seemed to pair in comparison. The nudity of both males and females, as well as the frequency, intensity, and length of sex scenes seem to be getting longer and more grotesque.

My mom, always worried about swear words and inappropriate movies, recommended that I visit Kids In Mind. It details and rates the level of every swear word, violence, nudity, drugs, sexual reference, and anything that someone may take offense to.

It was here where I learned which movies have more profanity than Scarface.

Check it out before you go see a movie to see how it rates. This site is helpful when searching for appropriate kid movies, and for those adults looking to find a somewhat clean flix these days.

With a few months to go before my brother’s wedding, things are getting a little hectic because some of the planning is off schedule. With the bride working 30 hours per work and going to school full-time, it doesn’t leave much time for the timely tasks that wedding planning requires.

As a result, I’ve done some research and gone to plenty of places with my brother’s fiancee to help her choose and complete some of her wedding tasks.

I researched several Utah photographers and was impressed, as was she, with a particular SLC wedding photographer that had a beautiful variety of portrait photos in color and black and white with beautiful lighting and backdrops. They also did touch-up work on a computer so all the bridals looked flawless without looking too altered, just what every bride wants.

I’m excited to see all the beautiful pictures of the bride and groom, and hope I won’t come out looking too bad either in the family wedding portraits.

If you’re looking for the perfect present for your picky family member or friend, try being creative this year. Here are some presents to consider.

-Pets/Children: A Christmas dress or dog purse for your Chihuahua or little dog.

-Grandparents/Adults: For the adults, you can give a membership to LifeBio.com, which provides individuals and families to create a life story and share memories. It’s a great way to bring the family together this holiday season.

-The Trucking man: Get him a product like ShurTrax, which helps him safely add weight and fill up his truck during the winter weather.

-Athletes: Buy him or her a membership to a gym, a few personal training lessons, or a subscription to a health/fitness magazine. Or check in at your local health store for other great gifts.

-Everyone: Look up a niche item online to surprise and please everyone on your list.

As I was searching through real estate listings, I was amazed at how many resources there are on the internet. Besides finding a complete first time buyer’s guide and mortgage calculators, I also found dozens of sites with home listings. Some of these homes were for sale by owner while others were using a real estate agent. I also found a few websites with listings of foreclosure homes, but many of the sites required a subscription with payment to view the homes.

Lucky for me, I also found a website that had listings specifically for Bella Vista Arkansas real estate. I personalized my search and receive email updates every time a new listing that meets my qualifications is posted. It sure makes it easier to find a home when I’m doing less work searching. Plus it’s less expensive than hiring a real estate agent.

Since I live in Utah Valley where many college students live, I feel like I go to a wedding reception at least once a month. Last week I went to my friend’s reception in American Fork. I was impressed with her reception, it certainly looked like she spent more on her wedding than the average Utah couple.

Her food was the best wedding food I’ve ever had. Her Salt Lake City caterer had a beautiful display of food, including a light dinner of sweet pork loin, caesar salad, and plenty of light desserts, although my favorites were the raspberry sorbet and chocolate-covered strawberries. They even had the desserts displayed on a vertical shelf, something I had never seen at a wedding before.

The whole affair was very elegant, not to mention a comfortable, pleasing atmosphere for all the guests and the happy couple. If I had to get married again, I would use her design ideas! Maybe for my 50th wedding anniversary…

I was so excited to see Kat’s post about HGTV!  I have to admit that I am (slightly) obsessed with that network.  Maybe it’s because we are finally and officially homeowners!  After numerous condos and town homes, it is so nice to be in an actual house and be able to make it our “own.”   Thanks to HGTV, these creative impaired homeowners (i.e. my husband and me) are able to beautifully decorate our home without breaking the bank.

The HGTV website is also jam packed with fun decorating ideas, tips, and advice.  They even have a MarketPlace, where you can shop over a million products.  Cool, huh?

…By the way, TLC is another great network for homeowners.

My little brother is finally getting married after four years of dating and a two year engagement. I couldn’t be happier for them both, plus it feels like his fiancee is already part of our family.

It’s fun to plan a wedding without the stress that is present when you plan your own. I feel as if I get to vicariously relive my wedding through them.

She’s already found her dress, the SLC caterer, and is now working on one of the most important parts–the wedding photographer. I’ve recommended my wedding photographer, and she’s meeting with some other photographers that her friends recommended. With her amazing sense of style, the SLC wedding photographer that she chooses shouldn’t have a hard time capturing this fairytale wedding.

My family recently came together to celebrate my Grandpa’s 89th birthday party. It was fun to see everyone and talk about everything that’s changed since we last saw each other–new babies, jobs, getting older, you know the fun stuff.

Since this was such a rare occurrence to get everyone together, and since my Grandpa has Alzheimer’s and we’re not sure how much longer he has left, we decided to commemorate the event by hiring a professional photographer to take a big family photo. Since the pictures turned out great, we couldn’t be happier with the Utah photographer that we chose.

I’m so grateful we had a chance to get together as a family. Those memories really are priceless, particularly as we get older.