It's Monday! In the Christmas Spirit

I saw a picture on Facebook and got carried away so here's my finished project!

I'm never crafty but I almost felt it doing this. And who wants to guess who's stocking is who's? Hint... the stockings represent our personalities pretty well.
We're almost done with the nursery but the mess of painting it and moving furniture around is holding me off from putting up the Christmas tree yet. Anyways once I put the Christmas tree up I'll feel like I need to have presents under it.... and yeah.... a little behind on that.
Reading right now is a little slow. I'm reading a lot of long books. I wouldn't have finished any books this week but I wasn't feeling well on Friday so I laid around and read most of the day.

Currently Reading

• Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
• God Is by Mark Jones 
• The Mortification of Sin by John Owen
• Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey 

Finished this Week

• Adam Bede by George Elliot 

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It's Monday! Holiday Thoughts

We're now past Thanksgiving and on to Christmas. Thanksgiving is such a delicious holiday and currently I'm still thinking about turkey covered in gravy and leftover turkey sandwiches. Yum! Sadly, my husband is not a turkey fan so if I make turkey now I'd be the only one eating it.... hmmm... maybe that's not all bad. I am looking forward to Christmas though. More food! My family has a long history of making so many delicious treats for Christmas. We love peppernuts, date pinwheels, coconut joys, peppermint bark, coffee fudge, poppyseed roll and so much more! Just listing them off makes me drool! Is there more to these holidays besides the food... maybe... but this pregnant woman mostly is thinking about the food. I do love giving gifts though and Christmas is prime time for that. I love giving gifts all year around really. I'll see something I know my siblings or my parents will like and I get it for them and then it's the game to see if I have the self control to hide it until it's their birthday or Christmas or if I'm going to give in and give it to them early. I'm already so excited about the gifts I'm getting for people. I obviously get super excited about getting gifts to. I spend all year putting together the perfect Christmas wish list and since my birthday is not too long after Christmas it doubles as a birthday wish list too. Obviously a lot of books make it on to the list. I can't wait to see which ones I get!
I was so excited that I got my Broke and Bookish Secret Santa gift this weekend! It really kicked off Christmas for me. Aliza Shandel got the gift again for me this year and once again it was awesome! She puts so much thought into her gifts it's so sweet! Look what she got me this year!!!

She got me the books; I am Malala, As You Wish, and Daddy-Long Legs. I'm so excited to read them!!! Then she also got me a candle, some bee balm, chocolate (yum!), a herbal tea sampler (I've enjoyed the two flavors I've tried so far!) and this super cool glass! What fun!

In my reading world recently it's been going pretty decently. Here's what's up!

Currently Reading

• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy 
• Adam Bede by George Elliot
• God Is by Mark Jones
• The Mortification of Sin by John Owen 
• Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey

Finished Recently

• The Four Feathers by A.E.W. Mason
• The Bronte Plot by Katherine Reay
• A Princes of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (audiobook)

Coming Soon

• Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs

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It's Monday! A Very Merry Bookmas

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays because I love giving gifts that I think the recipients will be excited about. Of course I also like getting gifts. I tend to have a big wish list and my parents, or the sibling that drew my name for our siblings exchange, can pick something off of it. I still get surprised but I also get what I wanted. Then of course people just get me something else entirely and surprise me even more, which is alway fun! This year I was not disappointed at all with the number of books I got not to mention a bookish Christmas ornament! Between the books I borrowed from my aunt at Thanksgiving, the ones I got in the Secret Santa and now the ones I got for Christmas my TBR list for 2017 is rapidly growing.
So what books did I get? The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Call the Midwife, Shadows of the Workhouse, Farewell to the East End and Love and Friendship (a novelization of the movie). I'm so thrilled to read them all!

Also in other amazing and bookish news at a work Christmas party I won a Kindle Fire in a drawing!!! I've kind of wanted a Kindle for awhile now but I never would have spent the money on it myself so I was delighted to win it!

So here's what's up with my reading life currently.

Finished this past week

• Openness Unhindered: Further Thoughts from an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield- Very good read. Equally as good, if not better, than her first book. 
• The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (audiobook)- Now I really want to watch the movie, which somehow I have not gotten around to watching in my life. The narrator made this book extra enjoyable! 

Currently Reading

• Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas 
• The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum 
• Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey

Coming Soon

• The Bourne Ultimatum by Robert Ludlum
• The Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

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It's Monday! Can't Wait for Christmas!

It's almost Christmas! I so excited to celebrate with my family. I love giving gifts and I'm thrilled to see their reactions when they open them. I'm working Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (the price one has to pay for not working at all Thanksgiving week but so worth it), so we'll be celebrating Christmas a little early.
Amongst all of the Christmas festivities I'll still be sneaking in some reading of course.
So here's what's up in my reading world.

Currently Reading

• Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum 
• Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey 
• Openness Unhindered: Further Thoughts from an Unlikely Convert on Sexual Identity and Union with Christ by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield 

Finished this Past Week

• Tales From the Perilous Realm by J.R.R. Tolkien
• St. Bartholomew's Eve by G.A. Henty (re-read) (audiobook)
• Outlaws of Time: The Legend of Sam Miracle by N.D. Wilson 
• The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis (re-read) 

Coming Soon

• Bourne Ultimatum, by Robert Ludlum 

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2016 Secret Santa

This year I again participated in Broke and Bookish's Secret Santa. It was a lot of fun last year so I was excited for this year. I sent off my package at the beginning of the month and eagerly awaited for my gift to come. Yesterday it came and it was amazing!!!!
Allison from Aliza Shandel really put a lot of thought into my gift. I got three books, tea, chocolate, bookmarks she calligraphed Jane Austen and Tolkien quotes on, and gloves she embroidered a T.A.R.D.I.S. and Doctor Who quote on and a flash drive with some fun reels and jigs. All of my favorite things!!!!
Here are a few pictures of the goodies!

Thank you Allison!!!!

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A Very Merry Tag

I saw this Very Merry Tag on a couple blogs and had to steal it!

Does it snow where you live around Christmas?

Sometimes... Kansas is kind of up in the air when it comes to snow. Sometimes we get white Christmases and sometimes we don't. 

Do you get a real tree or a fake tree?

When we were younger we got real trees but when my grandparents downsized they gave us their fake tree and that's we've had ever since. I love real trees though. 

What is your favorite Christmas movie?

I love White Christmas so much but I'm also a fan of the classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas with Boris Karloff voicing the grinch. 

Where in the world would you like to spend Christmas the most? 

With my family. 

Which fictional/literary character would you most like to spend Christmas with?

Laura Ingalls Wilder. I loved reading about her Christmases in the Little House books. 

What is your favorite Christmas song? 

I can't chose! I love O Holy Night, Joy to the World, O Come O Come Emmanuel and Let all Mortal Flesh Keep Silence. When it comes to secular Christmas songs I also really like Winter Wonderland. 

What is your favorite Christmas Book/Story  (besides, ya know, THE story)? 

How the Grinch Stop Christmas! 

Which do you prefer: multicolored lights or white lights?

We've always had multicolored lights on our Christmas tree but I kind of prefer white lights personally. 

What time period/decade would you most like to spend Christmas in? 

I love the Christmases in Call the Midwife so 1950s let's say. 

Which period drama has the best Christmas scene/episode? 

I like the first Christmas special in Call the Midwife. 

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It's Monday! A Very Geeky Christmas

I was so grateful to be able to get off work this Christmas. The plan was to go to Minnesota for Christmas but bad weather changed that plan. :( I hate snow. We still have a few Christmas festivities left with one side of the family to look forward to this week though.
Here's a few of my presents so far. :)

My sister and I in our very geeky T-shirts.
Her's is a Doctor Who T-shirt and mine is the
coolest T-shirt ever... it says "I'm the nightshift
I am Batnurse. Because Batman isn't the only
hero up all night." :D 

I got the most amazing gift from a friend! It's
an infinity scarf with a map of Middle Earth.
If you've followed my blog for awhile you'll
know how long and much I've wanted it! 

The beautiful poster my sister-in-law got for me.
I had to put a lot of magnets on it to hold it flat.

My book haul this Christmas! Two Agatha Christie novels,
Miniatures and Morals (I love this book!)  and a cookbook
from my favorite food blogger! 

A few knick knacks. A pocket sized first aid kit,
two ornaments from my parents, fingerless gloves
from my sister and candy canes (of course).

Currently Reading 

• The Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin- This is so good but very heady. I'm trying to diligently take notes on it though as I go along so hopefully my book review will be half completed by the time I'm done.  
• Othello by William Shakespeare (audiobook)- I'm not as familiar with this Shakespeare play but so far so good. 

Finished this Past Week

• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (audiobook) (re-read)- I just can't get enough of Tilney... he cracks me up! Now I think I need to watch the movie again. 

Coming Soon 

This is just a rough idea as I have no clue what book will grip me first off for the beginning of the year! I'm just a little giddy at the thought of a new year of reading! 

• The Complete Stories of Flannery O Conner by Flannery O Conner- I bought this either this year or last year (can't remember!) at Goodwill. It was a really lucky find. My mom likes her stories so I'm intrigued to see if I will as well. 
• Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange- I've never been thrilled with Jane Austen spinoffs but these are the ones I've heard the most good about so I'm going to give her Diary series a try starting with Mr. Darcy's Diary. 
• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein- Finally I'll get around to reading this! I even bought a copy to force myself too. ;)  

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My Christmas!

My sparkling grape juice from the Christmas dinner.
I had fun texting this picture to my friends and saying,
"Look what I'm drinking!" Unfortunately though they
had the brains to figure that one out. ;)

My Christmas was amazing thanks for asking! Oh… you didn't ask? Well that's never stopped me from telling. ;)
My family spent our Christmas up in Minnesota with my mom's side of the family. She had seven (now six) brothers and sisters so there's plenty of them. I had a great time catching up with all of the relatives. I only see them once a year so I try to milk every moment I'm with them for all it's worth. We had a great Christmas dinner at my grandparents' assisted living home and then went to my aunts for Christmas goodies, games, conversation, and general fun. We played Funglish and Apples to Apples and had way to much fun doing so. :) I even won at Apples to Apples, which never happens! All in all it was a great time though not without some heartache. I know the years are wearing on my grandparents and my fear is always that this trip might be my last one to see them alive. However, it doesn't do any good to dwell on that. I need to take those moments I have with them and fill them with all I have to offer. My grandpa here in Kansas tells me that when he was young he thought life would never end, but now that he's older he realizes that it just flew by and that it's drawing to a close. So my closing thought to you is that you don't waste your life because it's going to catch up with you and you're going to look back and you'll wish you could have spent your life differently. So use your life, use it for the glory of God so that you may enjoy Him forever!

Merry Christmas! 

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Top 5 Favorite Christmas Songs (With Honorable Mentions!)

I hate making top lists. I always realize later that I left a favorite out! However, here, with the best of my ability and memory, are my top five favorite Christmas songs in no particular order. I've provided links to some of my favorite versions but there are several of them that I haven't just because I can't think of a version I've seen on YouTube (or at least one that really stuck out to me)… though I'm sure there's some great ones out there.

1. Oh Holy Night- listen to Celtic Woman's version here and here (I honestly can't see any difference in these, just different performances… but why not listen to it twice?). Orla Fallon and Méav ní Mhaolcatha (previously of Celtic Woman) had an incredible version they did as well but I haven't been able to find it on YouTube recently. 
2. The Hallelujah Chorus (that's considered Christmas right?)- listen to this great production of the  timeless classic! 
3. O Come, O Come Emmanuel- Listen to Orla Fallon's version… absolutely captivating! 
4. Angles We Have Heard on High- There's the Piano Guy's version… but they don't exactly sing it. :) 
5. Go Tell it on the Mountain

And because I feel like that list is severely lacking… here are some honorable mentions. :)

• Let all Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
• The Littel Drummer Boy- listen to Celtic Woman's version! 
• What Child is This- listen to Celtic Woman's version! 
• Winter Wonderland- listen to Celtic Woman's version here and here! 
• Ding Dong Merrily on High- listen to Celtic Woman's version! 
• Joy to the World- listen to Celtic Woman's version! 
• Hark! The Herald Angel's Sing- listen to Celtic Woman's version! 
• Carol of the Bells

And, I never used to like this song but Celtic Woman made me like it…. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear. Listen to their version here. 

Also, kind of a joke but… The Twelve Days of Christmas. You have to admit, you feel an amazing sense of accomplishment after signing that whole song. 

By now I'm sure you've seen the Celtic Woman theme… yeah, I'm kind of a fan. :)

Linking up with Mama Kat!
Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Fun (and not so fun) Happenings

I write this post from the couch at 3:30 in the afternoon. Why? I am sick, miserably sick. Two afternoons ago I started getting a sore throat and headache and by the evening I was have muscle aches and was shivering. I have been able to get fairly good sleep and mostly have just been laying around. They say rest is the best medicine. :) I've been drinking a lot of tea to keep me going and some chicken broth too.

My new flavors of tea. The pumpkin one is amazing!

Last Saturday we celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday. I doubt last year she could have guessed she would spend it in a wheelchair unable to speak. However, nothing ever really goes how we plan does it? I think we can always be comforted though that everything goes how God planned. Since there was family in town to celebrate the birthday, I was able to have a great time with them and gets lots of laughs in. I also got to shoot a gun for the first time which excited me a lot! :) I forgot to wear my glasses, which didn't help anything. I am though using it as an excuse for my bad aim! My cousin had a board set up with three targets. I aimed for the middle one and hit the left one. :(

Shooting a gun for the first time. 

We also got to sing some Christmas carols with my grandparents. It's so encouraging to sing a favorite of my grandmother's tunes and see her singing along (I'm not sure if she's singing or mouthing to be honest). Since my cousins are from Michigan so have a long trip to make, we went ahead and celebrate Christmas so they wouldn't have to come back for that. I got my own copy of the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice which made me very happy as that is my favorite movie. :) My sweet cousin also made me a gorgeous turquoise colored bag! I'd say I'm pretty happy with my gifts! :)
While I've been sick I've been watching a lot of movies. I watched an old black and white movie with Ginger Rogers and David Niven called Bachelor Mother which was quite funny and pretty good. :) I also watched the 1983 BBC miniseries of Mansfield Park which is okay… I'll right a full review of it soon. I also have been watching a bunch of Disneys that I was never allowed to watch as a child or I only watched once a long time ago and don't remember. I have been discovering that there were very good reasons my siblings and I weren't allowed to watch them. Expect reviews on those in the future as well.
That's all for now. Hope you all are having a great day and that you'll have an amazing Christmas with your family and friends. Merry Christmas! :)

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Christmas Must Haves

Today I'm linking up with MamaKat to talk about Christmas must haves.
I think the most important thing to have at Christmas is family. I can't remember a Christmas I didn't spend with family, immediate and extended normally. For me, family is part of what makes Christmas Christmas.
Next important things would be the music, the Christmas goodies (which are a big tradition in my family), and our stocking ornaments. Stocking ornaments you ask? Well every year for a very long time my mother has gotten all of the children an ornament and put it in our stockings. If you're old like me ;) then you have quite a few ornaments by now, so a great collection built up for when you have your own Christmas tree. Those ornaments are very traditional for me and I look forward to finding out what ornament my mother got for me more than I look forward to opening in my presents.
So those are my Christmas must haves. Obviously, the ultimate must have for Christmas that too often we take for granted is Jesus. Without Him there wouldn't be a Christmas and it is important to never forget that. Corny I know but remember the saying, "You can't take the Christ out of Christmas".

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Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

The Weather Outside is Frightful!

The sheep ornament I made for the Jesse tree.

There is little that annoys me more than anything Christmas before Thanksgiving. However, against my nature, I actually have been doing a little Christmas stuff recently. I want to blame it on the frigid weather. It has been below freezing pretty much every night and sometimes all through the day for the last week or so. With such cold weather and us finally lighting our wood burning stove, how can I not think Christmas thoughts? I even went so far as to watch a Christmas movie yesterday!

I got to participate in a Jesse Tree project through my church. Twenty-five of us ladies each made 25 different ornaments for the Jesse Tree and then exchanged them so that everyone had one of each ornament for their tree. We signed up do it last winter with the idea that we would have a whole year to complete them…. yeah, not me. The college student said "procrastinate" and I did. About three weeks before they needed to be completed I started thinking about making my sheep ornaments. I looked at crochet patterns (as I planned on crocheting them) online and couldn't find anything that I really liked except for patterns for purchase. So I ended up creating my own pattern from the different pictures I had seen and I really like how it turned out. About two weeks before I needed to have them ready I decided to start working on them… slowly, but surely! About a week before they were due I started panicking as I only had about half of them done and that was half done without heads or legs yet. Procastinater till the end, I ended up finishing them up about three hours before they were due with the help of my little sister and mother. I never could have done it without them. :)

Another Christmasy project I completed was to pack a couple shoeboxes for Operation Christmas child. I try to do a couple every year… I don't always, but I try. This year I included a note with my address so hopefully I'll hear back from the children that get my shoeboxes!

However, on a more Thanksgiving note, I am finally on Thanksgiving break! I had a pharmacology test this morning for nursing that I did well on. I have been freaking out about this test all semester long so I'm glad it's finally done. I wish I could kick back and relax over this little break but I have another test right after the break so I will have to do some studying. :( However I won't spend the whole time studying, probably I won't spend enough time studying. I'm looking forward to spending some time with family and enjoying a great Thanksgiving dinner. What are you doing for Thanksgiving? Have you divulged in a little Christmas spirit yet or are you a Scrooge like me? ;)

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.