Tea Time with Tiffany #28 - Wrapping is my Kryptonite...

Well look at that, it's Thursday. Time for our weekly installment of:

This week I have an Advent update, of both the spiritual and more task oriented variety. And that would include both wins and failures. ;-) Also, preparation for Christmas! Want to know my least favorite part? View on, dear viewer. You'll notice that I've been keeping these videos shorter of late. I'm just trying to keep them accessible and easy to watch. I can be chatty, so yes indeed some of my older videos are more in the 10 minute family. Lately, I've been keeping them closer to 6 minutes. If you haven't watched my videos in the past, try out one of these shorter ones and give it a try!


Items mentioned in this episode:

• Pray More Novenas Christmas Novena. We're only on day 2, so totally fine to catch up and join in!
• Feedback from the last video about possible audio editions of Tea Time? *crickets* :-) So the videos are staying, I won't swap them out with audio! But stay tuned for a new audio project in the new year.
• I mentioned the Magnificat Advent Companion, which you probably either have already or don't want to get at this point. BUT Magnificat has a Year of Mercy Companion available for download with the same type of format of daily reflections.

How are you, dear reader? How is your Advent going? What are your weekend plans? Do tell me all about it in the comments. :-)

Of wacky holiday crafts & open mic nights on the 3rd Sunday of Advent...

Hi all, and happy third week of Advent! How are things going for you? My Advent has been lovely, I've been feeling calm and happy. And yesterday, Gaudete Sunday, is one of my favorite Sundays of the year! I wore a pink top to Mass to commemorate this occasion. :-)

Our Advent wreath all lit for week 3, oohhhhh...

The kids were very well behaved at Mass, and things generally went well over the weekend. Lots of activity to report in, so settle in with your beverage of choice...

The weekend found me doing LOTS of last minute gift crafting. I finished the socks:

Can you hear the angels singing?

...and moved onto to frantically knitting dishcloths. I knitted watermelon dishcloths earlier in the fall, and I wanted to supplement those gifts, so I embarked on a fruit-themed endeavor. Here is Anne posing with her penguin in front of an in-progress strawberry dishcloth:

I also finished an apple cloth, and a different, solid green watermelon cloth. That was a win. Then I started on a colorwork hat that I've been commissioned to knit, and I seriously LOVE IT. I will post photos later this week. Oh, and I also have to squeeze in a crocheted cat before Christmas. We're getting there!

In other crafting news, I spent some time on Friday readying my tray for my dance troupe's Christmas video shoot. I gathered garland, ornaments, and a gift box to adorn my tray:

Kinda sorta?

It's not terrible, right? I don't have a hot glue gun or any fancy supplies, but I did what I could with materials found around the home. And it balances well.

This is what totally normal people do on Friday nights, yes?

We rehearsed this past Friday, and will record this week. I'm certain that will provide much amusing fodder.

Speaking of amusing dance anecdotes, we had a performance Saturday night. There is a new organization in our area called Dance Days, and they hosted a 12 Days of Dance event at the beginning of December. There is going to be a big festival this summer surrounding it, which is super exciting, but in the meantime, Saturday night was a fundraiser toward paying for all of this dance goodness. Our troupe was asked to perform.

It was a bit different than what I was expecting in that it was an open mic night. So, any performer could show up and perform, it wouldn't all be dance. We were given an approximate time slot, just given that we are a full group and there are more logistics to getting us all there and ready on time, as opposed to solo performers. Our slot was 9 pm, which is all "late" for those of us in the over 30 crowd.

I have to admit, given the above, I wasn't as excited about it as I usually am. I was feeling tired, and was wanting to lay around in my pj's on my couch, knitting, drinking wine, and watching Downton Abbey, as opposed to dancing squashed onto a small stage with 7 other women, a piano, and two Christmas trees, while a sparse crowd sips hot cocoa. But such is the way of things.

We all crammed into two cars and drove together down to the venue and the aforementioned tiny stage. We sat around for a bit, beads uncomfortably digging into our skin, watching various stand-up comedians and singer/songwriters. The only other dancer there was a tap dancer, who was very fun.

When it was our turn, we all herded onto the stage in our bright pink troupe costumes, making it appear as if a case of Pepto Bismol had just exploded. The space was a little tough, some of us had to dance down on the floor level in order to accommodate everyone. Me, knowing myself, paid very close attention to how near I was to the drop off between levels throughout our performance. The last thing we need is a belly dancer in a pink heap on the floor with a sprained ankle.

Thankfully, all went well, although I nearly accidentally kicked a floor light during a hip drop segment. The crowd was attentive, and although the event wasn't exactly bursting at the seams, there were a decent number of attendees. Afterward, we stayed for some more singing and one chanting/spoken word performance that I can only describe as surreal (and not in a good way :0) before slipping out. I was happy to get home to my wine.

Coming up I have lots of fun dance events that I'm looking forward to. I was asked to perform solo for a restaurant gig, but it was for New Years Eve, and I'm already booked that day with Mike and the kids. :) Alas, because I'm certain that would have been amusing fodder. After the new year though, there is MUCH more dance fun to be had, so I'll keep you all posted!

How was your third Sunday of Advent? I've got some book and other crafty stuff to post about this week, so make sure to check back! Looking forward to chatting with you then!

Tea Time with Tiffany #26 - Advent goings on & end-of-semester busyness...

Well look at that, it's time for our weekly chat once again. I missed you all last week!

This week I talk generally about busy life happenings (the recent audio projects, end-of-the-semester teaching adventures) as well as how my family Advent observance is going. Care to catch up with me? Let's do this!


Items mentioned in this episode:

• My appearance on Allison's Gingras's show A Seeking Heart. We talked about blogging, parenting, dancing, all sorts of fun stuff.
• My big day on the CM Hangout podcast. Our topic was family Advent activities and wellness for busy moms.
• The St. Andrew Christmas novena.
• You can still procure the Magnificat Advent Companion, in Kindle form, for $2.99. 

Relatedly, this is our family Advent calendar, day 3. Can you guess who put up 2 of the magnets, and who put up the latest one?

Apparently, one of the wise men can fly...

All right my friends, I want to know what is going on with YOU! How is your Advent starting out? What devotions are you trying out this year? How is your Christmas shopping going? Do tell me all about it in the comments. :-)

Advent goodness - Nativity sets abound & calendars that secretly multiply in the off season...

Morning everyone! I hope that your first week of Advent is off to a good start. Did you light your candle this week?

We did. :)

This was the first week of our parish moving from having an 8am, 10am and noon Mass, down to just an 8am and 11am. We attended the 11am, and all went very well. I wasn't quite prepared for the new parking lot situation, but that's all right. We'll all adjust! The liturgy was quietly beautiful and the kids both behaved like angels. I assure you, this is not always the case, it is not due to some special Catholic Mothering Trick that I have patented. I just got lucky this week. :)

Yesterday on December 1st, we started the Advent calendars. The kids each have a chocolate calendar this year, and we have a new wood calendar with magnetic pieces. I have coveted this calendar for years, and finally bought it over the summer. Tip: this calendar often goes on sale during the non-Advent season. :) That's when I snapped mine up. At any rate, Henry LOVES this new calendar, and has been sneakily getting the pieces out and set up before Anne and I come downstairs in the mornings. Anne had a pout face on about that this morning, so I had to secure a promise from Henry that Anne could do tomorrow's piece.

*long suffering sigh*

Speaking of poor Henry, he has whatever Cold From The Very Pits of Hell that Anne and I had recently. He was coughing a lot yesterday and this morning. I could sigh again, but I won't, and instead offer up yet another instance of lost sleep via parental sacrifice. Before I was a parent, I had NO IDEA about the dire nature of the sleep situation. I think that this all should be taken into consideration during our turn at the Last Judgment, don't you agree?

At any rate, the other Advent items proliferating in our house are nativity sets. Henry has a set, Anne has a set, and we have a family set. We also have other random, partial sets in the storage that sometimes intermingle during the off season and result in eclectic family situations come December. As in a wise man is suddenly a member of the Holy Family, or an angel is stepping in for Mary. She deserves a break sometimes, right? Far too often, baby Jesus Himself is missing in action. It is most distressing when this happens. Henry keeps good track of his set, and Anne's is confined to her room, so it's the main downstairs set that sees the confusion each year. I just try and piece together as coherent a representation of the nativity as I can and call it a day.

So, our home traditions are all going well, but I am feeling rather busy these days, which I am decidedly not enjoying. I want things to settle down and all of us just enjoy the season. Oohh, I'll talk about this more in our weekly video chat. *beams*

How is your first week of Advent going? Do write in and tell me all about it. Oh, oh! I almost forgot. If you want to watch or listen to my spell over on the Catholic Mom Hangout podcast, check it out right over here. The topic is Advent, so it's all perfect and everything! :)