Holiday Help from you....

(Jackie Schneider, Shayne, Paul Schneider, Cayden)

This year is the first time in years, we have not done Christmas cards. Most of you know that we send out cards with a newsletter & picture. But since we couldn't coordinate our schedule to get pictures done, we let the cards slide. (However, I may send out a few today).

In lieu of the newsletter & picture, we decided to do a few YouTube holiday greetings from our house to yours! So be looking for that in the next day or so, hopefully today!

So...... I thought it would be fun to ask you all to do 2 things for me to break the monotony of typical holiday stuff. (1) share/post on here your favorite holiday tradition & new years resolution (I'll hold you accountable) AND

(2) the fun thing........ in the next couple of months, mail us a picture of you, your family... whatever that represents you! We're going to start a Schneida's Wall of Fame & Friends in our house! We have a huge family wall, but we want to bring you all in here as well! So here's the scoop: send us a 4x6 or 5x7 picture. Frame it if you can (can get frames at Dollar Tree) & we're starting a wall! You can label it, write on it, whatever you want, just keep it clean! Occaisionally I'll blog about it, and maybe post a picture/video with an update! Whenever you want, you can send in a new picture to add to it! C'MON.... it'll be fun!!!

Our traditions? Well, we don't have any in concrete, but the past 2 years on Cmas Eve night, I've taken Cayden outside under the sky (& last year with Shayne) & told them the story about Jesus' birthday & the trip to Bethlehem. My pastors wife bakes a birthday cake for Jesus, so I might copy that! (thanks Jenn!) Saturday Cayden helped me taste test, I mean ice the cookies! Then that night he & Shayne painted some ornaments for me. Well, Shayne thought that the paint brush looked a lot like a spoon with blue icing so he attempted to taste it numerous times!

For New Years resolutions.... well, as always... I plan on being healthier & better organized! The difference is, this year I hope to stick to it! (can't you relate?!) Oh... I know the big one for me:

This year my family has endured the loss of several friends & relatives, all at a young age! I find myself always telling people when they ask me "... what have you been up to lately?...", my reply consists of "I'm SO BUSY with work & the kids..." Now, while all those are important, the friendships that I have & have lost touch with are also important to who I am. So in 2009 I plan on committing myself to getting up with girlfriends that I haven't seen or spoken to in a while & having a monthly outing of some sort! It may not sound like a lot, but it's a start.

LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO BE TOO BUSY TO ENJOY IT & ONE ANOTHER!

So hopefully my resolution will prompt you to do the same. I mean, we all get on here & read blogs, email, FaceBook, MySpace, text people all the time.... but that's not a person-to-person relationship! So I challenge you & myself to make dates in person, with your friends! Send a HAND-WRITTEN card or letter! Don't let distance & "too busy'ness" come between you! The one thing in life that is certain is that we all die..... so don't be left behind regretting you didn't make the time for one another!

The Giving; Final Countdown til Christmas.....

So now all the hustle & bustle (or is it hussle & bussle?!) is either winding down, or for some of the guys... just getting started! After working many years in retail jewelry, most men saw the shopping season as December 24th from 10am-5pm!

Believe me when I say I made many women happy with my choice of what their man should give them for Christmas. Fun, yet sadly, men would come in to see me on the 23rd or 24th, drop off their cash or credit, give me a limit to spend & take off to buy other items! So, I would buy what I would want... or if I knew the woman, what she liked, wrap it & ring it... & he never knew waht exactly he gave her! But I'm sure all that has changed now! (yeah right!)

There is a little time left to get what you need so I thought I would throw my 2 cents out to help you out on the shopping stuff & ideas. Here we go.....

* Jewelry- men, most of the time you cannot go wrong with jewelry! And to add to it, take it to Things Remembered & get it engraved!
* Things Remembered- A great store found in most malls. You can just about always go in there & find something beautiful for anyone of any age & get it engraved! From nice pens, jewelery, boxes, frames, etc.
* Steinmart- Ok, so I am partial to Steinmart (& JC Penney), but yesterday I went in there, coupon in hand & found the nicest gifts that I needed to complete the people on my list. They have nice toiletry satchels for men & women, a lot of monogrammed items, housewares, beautiful wallets & business card holders, etc,etc.
* eToys.com- Great, great prices on toys on shipping, which is usually free.
* craigslist- on a budget? Look on craigslist for that hard to find item (like a Radio Flyer Talking Spring horse- cha-ching!)
* gifts.com- WOW..... this site has helped me a lot for what to get the husband that has it all! And it's great for all holidays and events.
* LL Bean.com- A lot of nice items that are below $40! And some of those can be monogrammed!
* shutterfly.com- You can always be the winner with beautiful pictures!
* Ribbon gift cards- http://www.quixtar.com/products/thumbnail.aspx?pid=2811&ctg=7017 Super cool, super fun! Great for any occasion & any person! Even great for co-workers!

* Music- Wow, I love SO MANY artists, so I'll just through out a few great artists that you should check out OR give as a gift. Check out their sites & YouTube them so you can listen to them as well!:

- Susan Tedeschi: Awesome bluesy, rock-n-roll'ish. Mostly blues. She is awesome & her new album Back To The River is great.(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88LNk-_Tfr8&feature=related from an older album)

- Faith Hill, Joy To The World: a beautiful approach to traditional Christmas songs.

- Ana Popovich: jazz, blues, rock & roll! Love her! Go to http://www.anapopovic.com/ & listen to How'd You Learn To Shake it! You will want to do just that!

-Rihanna: Reloaded. Fun & moving. You'll become your own bedroom/bathroom, dancing diva!

- Britney Spears: Circus. Im not ahuge fan of her, but the songs on here are moving & danceable!

- The Lost Trailers: Fun. country group.

- The Zac Brown band: Chicken Fried..... cold beer on a Friday night, jeans that fit just right!

- The Puppini Sisters: A new twist to the old school bee-bop music! You have to listen to them do Spooky, Walk Like An Egyptian & Crazy In Love! http://www.thepuppinisisters.com/

I hope this helps... Post some of your ideas & findings & music likes! Let me know what you think...

Ho,ho, ho ya'll!....

Kristi Claus

How the Angel made it to the Top of the Tree!

A Christmas Story for people having a bad day:

When four of Santa's elves got sick, the trainee elves did not produce toys as fast as the regular ones, and Santa began to feel the Pre-Christmas pressure.

Then Mrs Claus told Santa her Mother was coming to visit, which stressed Santa even more.

When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two others had jumped the fence and were out, Heaven knows where.

Then when he began to load the sleigh, one of the floorboards cracked, the toy bag fell to the ground and all the toys were scattered.

Frustrated, Santa went in the house for a cup of apple cider and a shot of rum. When he went to the cupboard, he discovered the elves had drank all the cider and hidden the liquor. In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the cider jug, and it broke into hundreds of little glass pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom and found the mice had eaten all the straw off the end of the broom.

Just then the doorbell rang, and irritated Santa marched to the door, yanked it open, and there stood a little angel with a great big Christmas tree.

The angel said very cheerfully, 'Merry Christmas, Santa. Isn't this a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Where would you like me to stick it?'

And so began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree.