SPECTACULAR!

The MSG Entertainment family was right...last night was nothing less than SPECTACULAR! Alesia (my sister), Allison and myself started off our holiday season this year by going to Pittsburgh to attend the musical holiday stage show, Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring The Rockettes at the Benedum Center.

It. was. AMAZING! I don't think Allison took her eyes off the stage once. We were 5 rows back behind the orchestra and it was perfect seating. The dancing, the music, the stage, the colors of the outfits...everything was...well...SPECTACULAR!

As you can see in the picture below, Allison couldn't wait to get home and put on her souvenir t-shirt. She does love her t-shirts and this one is especially fun!

Here is Allison and Alesia at Bravo's, which is my favorite Italian restaurant! We had a late lunch/early dinner there...does that make it linner or lunner? :)

The purple girls posing outside the Benedum.

Here are some pictures I found on the internet to show you some highlights from the show.

I hope you enjoy them and if you ever get a chance, GO SEE THE SHOW! You will be happy that you did.

The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers...

...and their famous fall after being shot by a toy cannon.


The Rockettes as reindeer in the Sleighride scene.
As rag dolls during the Santa's Workshop scene.

The Christmas Dreams scene which featured a winter wonderland. This was very beautiful and you can click to enlarge to get a better view.

The Living Nativity with a mule, camels and sheep was the last scene and it was simply spiritual. It has been part of the show since the show's beginning in 1933. I don't think anyone in the whole place made a single sound during this scene. This scene made me feel like I was actually there over 2000 years ago and witnessing the birth of Our Saviour Jesus Christ. This was unquestionably my favorite scene of the whole show.

As the curtain closed immediately following this scene, a big screen appeared and scrolled the following essay across it which the narrator read to us. Please take a minute to read it yourself and see what "One Solitary Life" did for us all.

"One Solitary Life"

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never had a family or owned a home. He never set foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born. He never wrote a book, or held an office. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. While He was
still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. His friends deserted Him. He was turned over to His enemies, and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had - His coat. When He was dead, He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave. Two thousand years have come and gone, and today He is the central figure for much of the human race. All the armies that ever marched and all the navies that ever sailed and all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as this “One Solitary Life.”

Have Fun and a Blessed Holiday Season!

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Getting Excited!

Allison and I can't wait until tomorrow night!

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Not a Good Idea!

Princess, I'm thinking this may not be a good place for a nap!

Not that the hermit crabs would notice since all they do is sleep!

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The Moms Get A Little Frosty!

Last night was another exciting, relaxing and fun "Mom's Craft Night Out!"

I can't even begin to tell you how much I enjoy spending this time out every month. Not only do we get to be creative and snack on some yummy snacks but we get to spend a night out with some great women! I highly recommend to all of you Moms out there to set aside time every month to get together for a Mom's Night Out. You could plan a craft night like we do or if you aren't crafty, try something else. Some of my suggestions are a night of board games or cards, or a classic movie night complete with movie popcorn & candy, or with Christmas around the corner, you could get together and help each other bake cookies. The possibilities are endless. I promise you...you will not regret taking the time to put something together for yourself and your friends. You deserve it!

Okay, now onto this month's craft!

As you can see by the picture below, we made snowmen families. Aren't they adorable? They weren't hard to make but they did have a lot of steps. I found the inspiration on a blog somewhere when I was surfing a blog party. I wish I could find where I got the inspiration so I could give proper credit. You see I have a bad habit of saving just the pic in a craft document and forgetting where it came from. The craft that I make isn't ever exactly the same because, as always, I have this odd need to put my own twist on it.

I don't have step by step instructions this month because I was just enjoying myself so much that I didn't take a whole lot of pics. Dawn suggested that we video tape ourselves one time to share. OH MY! I'm not sure that I want everything that happens at MCNO to be on tape for the world to see! Now, now! Don't get the wrong idea about us! We are a nice bunch of Moms but when you accidentally stick your finger in high temperature hot glue, a not-so-nice word might just slip out of your mouth too! Just ask Susan D. ... she did it three times last night! No...not the naughty word...THAT she did only once but the hot glue on the finger....yup, THREE times!

We used a gloss craft paint on our snowman and it really gave them a nice shine. Here's Susan C. putting on the final coat of paint on her snow family.

Still finishing up the final coats but do you notice what is in the middle of the table? Yes. We can never have too much chocolate on craft night! What's that you ask...where's the other Moms? You do know that Moms are the best multi-taskers, don't you? The other Moms were practicing that skill while the paint dried. They were just to the left around the kitchen island feasting on the yummy snacks our snack hostesses brought this month.

Such concentration!

It's looking good, Susan!

Here's Susan giving her snowman's hat a little bit of fringe.

The group shot is in two pics this month because we didn't have a photographer. Well. We actually did but he was in his bed sleeping since he is recovering from having his appendix out the day before.

Left to right is Kelly, Nettie, Susan D., Sandy, Susan C., Me and...

...here's Dawn instead of me in this pic.

It's a Snowman Party!

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A Pretty Board Just for Me!

I have this bulletin board on a very small wall in my kitchen. I used to have a pretty picture there but soon found I needed somewhere to keep track of Allison's school stuff. I know...it's not pretty but no one can really see it but me...unless of course you are cooking or doing dishes in my kitchen. So...like I said, no one can really see it but me.

However. Although it's proven itself to be very functional, I just can stand it's ugliness any longer!

So! Enter a can of spray paint, a piece of fabric, spray adhesive, trim, a glue gun and

VOILA!

A pretty board just for ME!

This is the beginning of changing my kitchen. I just love the colors...except I'll be picking a new shade of green for the walls!

I'm linking this post up with Gina at The Shabby Chic Cottage for her Transformation Thursday blog party. Stop by her place to see other fun transformations!

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A Brownie's Service Project!

A couple of Saturdays ago, Allison's Brownie troop did a service project at our local grocery store, Giant Eagle.

They were there to encourage the customers to give to the local food bank. They greeted the customers at the door and gave them a handout explaining what they were doing there. Then the girls stood at the exit door to receive any donations and put them in the big bin. As you can see in the picture, that bin was full after their 4 hour project. The customers were handing them bagfuls of groceries. It was nice to see that even though people are hurting in this economy, they still found it in their hearts to donate to the less fortunate.

All the Brownies were gracious as they were there to serve and not be a nuisance to the customers. They were perfect examples of truly wonderful Girl Scouts. I was so proud of them all!

On a side note...Can you see Allison's lips? They were blue by the end! Poor thing was so cold standing at the door!

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