Whew!

Today was a VERY busy day.  Double A, The Bean, The VH, Flower, Pippi, Tink, and Laughter were all here for Holidays!  Holidays is the tradition we started when DJ was 4 (she's 19 now), and try to do at least once a year, where we celebrate a bunch of holidays in one day because I'm usually not home for most of them.  So today we did:

Easter.  Each kid gets to dye 6 eggs, then we send them off on an errand and I hide the eggs (obviously it's too cold for the bunny to come do it).

 

Thanksgiving.  We eat Thanksgiving dinner, but very pared down.

We celebrate birthdays.  Each person gets a cupcake.  We've started doing only 1 candle for each, because between 7 kids and 4 adults, it would have been something like 304 candles.  11 are easier to light and blow out...

 

4th of July.  We got outside and do sparklers and smoke bombs.  There isn't always snow like this year, so this time we got to toss the smoke bombs in the snow and watch the results. 

Halloween.  We do face paint and the kids trick-or-treat around the house.

St. Patrick's Day.  We do a treasure hunt with clues to follow to find the Leprechaun's lost gold (gold wrapped chocolate).

Are you exhausted reading about it?  Because it's exhausting doing it!

 

We then all wore our matching owl pjs to the movie.  Because I am a dorky aunt who makes her nieces do stuff like that.

 

The movie was Moana, and it was a lot of fun.

Finally, today is Shoetopia's 4th blogiversary!  I think this shoe is hilarious and adorable.

Everyone is supposed to be spending the night, but sadly Pippi had a horrible headache all day and decided she wanted to go home after the movie, and Tink decided to go with her.  The VH has family stuff tomorrow so she couldn't say over.  I still have 4 kiddos sleeping over, though.

Speaking of kiddos, all of my nieces are amazing, but can I take a minute to brag on Double A and The Bean?  They still love to do Holidays, but they are also great with helping with the younger kids.  They're great with kids in general, and love hanging out with their cousins.  They are patient and kind and loving, and it makes my heart happy to watch them.  But now my happy heart and I are going to bed.

Deer

There is a group of deer that wanders in and around the parents' yard:

This is from the front porch.  Yes, the neighbors have a caboose.

This is the back porch.

And this is the backyard.  Aren't they sweet?  I don't have to live here, so I love seeing them and watching them.  Mom and Dad do have to live here, so they are less enamored with the deer pooping in the yard and eating everything.

Obviously tonight's shoes shall be deer themed:

 

Why does this shoe have a hood ornament?

These are actually pretty sweet, but I would have to have a very specific occasion for which to wear them.

 

Awwww.  I love these.  Still can't think of where I would wear them, though.

But wherever it is, the PB could also go.

Yay, deer AND Christmas!  Or not, but they kind of look Christmas-y to me.

What is even happening here?  These make the hood ornament shoe look sane.  I...like the color...?

Much better.  I couldn't leave you with the insanity above.

Today was awesome.  The auntie, seester, Double A, Bean, Flower, and Laughter came over for a crafternoon.  The seester and I crocheted, Double A painted rocks, and everyone else kind of rotated around through various crafts.  It was a lot of fun.  The auntie and seester went home before it got dark, but Double A and the Bean just left and Laughter and Flower are having a sleepover.  Not a bad way to spend the 5th Day of Christmas, if I do say so myself.

Good Morning

I was going to do a different post tonight, but in light of Debbie Reynolds dying today (my heart breaks for that family), I'm going to give you this instead (everyone, but especially Ms. Reynolds, is wearing great shoes):

If that doesn't make you smile, not much will at this point.  I love this movie, and I love Debbie Reynolds in it.  What an amazingly talented gene pool that family had.

And because this is a shoe blog, here are a couple of pairs of blue dance shoes for you:

Maybe in my next life I'll be badass like General Organa while also having the dancing and singing ability of Debbie Reynolds...

Sigh

I woke up grumpy this morning.  I had weird dreams and just felt blah.  Then I found out that Carrie Fisher died and I got even grumpier.  It's not like I knew her or anything, but Princess Leia and the Star Wars movies were a huge part of my childhood.  The brother always made me be Princess Leia when we played Star Wars because I'm a girl, and that was OK, because she was awesome, but I REALLY wanted to be Han Solo.  I had a thing for the bad boy even as a child.  As an adult, I can totally appreciate Leia more, though.  She was a badass.  I mean, hello, she strangled Jabba the Hutt with a chain, she freed Han from carbonite, she led the rebellion.  She was awesome.  She's awesome in the new movies, too, and I'm interested (and sad) to see how her death will play out in those movies. You should go here and read about how awesome General Organa truly is (I will warn you in advance: there is language).  It's not just Star Wars that had me loving Carrie Fisher, though.  Have you seen The Blues Brothers?  She's hilarious.  Her character is psychotic, but hilarious.  I also love her in When Harry Met Sally; she had some amazing lines in that movie that I still quote with the Seester.  

I wanted to find Princess Leia shoes for tonight's post, but sadly they were few and far between, and I couldn't find any with just her on them.  Yoda, Darth Vader, C-3PO, R2-D2, BB-8, Darth Maul, random Stormtroopers, all get their own shoe, but Leia?  Nope.  So rude.

Notice how these all have the same picture?  I mean, hooray for her shooting her way off the Death Star, but you couldn't find ANY other picture to put on the shoes?

I'm not a fan of the style, but I like these a little better, at least.

Finally a little variety, but still not enough.  Clearly I need to get Double A and The Bean on shoe duty and paint me some Princess Leia shoes.  I always liked her outfit and hair in Empire Strikes Back when they were on Cloud City:

I will take this on a shoe, please.

In other news, today was also rough, and hence the grumpy, because it was one of those days where my life feels pointless.  I know, I know, my life isn't pointless, but today my brain decided to tell me all of the reasons why I should think it is.  I won't bore you with them, but the brain did make some valid points.  It's not like I'm setting the world on fire or anything.  I'm not even setting the world on ember.  Hell, there's not even any smoke.  I'm taking my grumpy butt to bed and hoping tomorrow is a better day.

O, Holy Night

A blessed Christmas Eve to you!  I spent the day with (some of) my family.  Definitely missing the hubby, though.  We had way too much food for the 5 of us who were here for dinner, but it was all yummy.  Well, all but the chocolate dipping sauce I made which did not turn out at all.  I think the Christmas baking bubble might have burst for me.  After dinner Mom asked me if I would do a Christmas Eve service for the family, so I did a brief liturgy with communion.  It was nice, and a little bit weird, and now I'm feeling a little weepy, although the weepy could be a combination of things.  The nice and weird apply to my own feelings...I have no idea how the family felt about it all.

I've decided to forego shoes tonight and just leave you with the Christmas Eve reading from the Gospel of Luke 2:1-20:

1 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Today would have been my Grandma Sylvia's 99th birthday.  I've posted before how her birthday marks the beginning of Christmas for me and how those traditions are still foremost in my head this time of year even though it has been a very long time since we actually went to her house for Christmas.  This was one of the pictures I posted on Facebook this morning:

Is it weird for me to say that my grandma was kind of a dish?  And that coat is amazing.  In honor of that coat, tonight's shoes may or may not be vintage, and may or may not be from the time this picture was taken.  None of them are suitable for snow.

 

I love these.  I would wear them now.

I might not wear these now, but I am imagining the vintage outfits I would pair them with.  My imaginary closets are uh-maze-ing.

 

I would wear these too.  What a delightfully sturdy heel!

Ooooh, I'm not sure I could pull these off, so I'm thinking they'd have to go in the imaginary closet with some more fabulous outfits.

 

Love.  Outfits.  Closet.

A world of yes.  I want these  in real life AND for the imaginary closet!

Tonight I made an angel food cake to celebrate the birthday (yep, baking-fest 2016 continues), and I wore one of Grandma's shirts.  This shirt to be exact:

I miss this lady.

Adventures in Hair Dye

Double A helped The Bean and me dye our hair with blue kool-aid tonight.  The Bean did the ends of her hair, and I did a little bit of the underside of mine.  Mom took a picture of us lying on the dining room floor with our hair in cups to send to the hubby, who was understandably confused.  So I now have sort-of blue hair.  I tried to take a picture of it but you can't really see the color.  Maybe tomorrow if the sun comes out I can go outside and get a better picture.  Anyhoo, I was trying to decide what to do for tonight's post.  I've already done kool-aid shoes, and you're probably sick of me posting blue shoes, and the other variations I tried didn't produce anything.  I did look up blue shoes yet again and came across this:

I like them.  They're different and interesting.  These led to the following pair:

These are Badgely Mischka, so we're not going to talk about how much they probably cost, but they come in a bunch of different colors:

I think I've probably posted the blue version already, but hey, they match my hair!  Sort of.

So far we're going in reverse rainbow order.

I couldn't find yellow or orange so had to skip straight to red.  But, now I have Christmas colors next to each other!

 

And back to turquoise.  This might be closer to the color of my hair.  How do I know, it's on the back of my head.

I've slowed down on the sugar shock, but I'm still going.  I only made one thing yesterday and today.  Yesterday Mom and I made up a recipe using some of the ingredients leftover from other things, and today I made peanut butter cups that are quite yummy.  So that's 8 kinds of cookies/candy/whatever so far.  I might need a 12 step program.

Miser Brothers

You want to know something cool about having a family who owns a movie theater?  Watching Christmas movies on the big screen!  Tonight Double, Dad, the Brother, and I watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas and A Year Without a Santa Claus.  Ostensibly it was to make sure that the new doohickey was working because the last time we watched a movie the sound was all wonky (yep, those are totally technical terms), but mostly it was just to go watch Christmas movies on the big screen.  I've already done Grinch shoes, so tonight I went in search of Heat Miser and Snow Miser shoes.

Fleep flops!  I won't even make my usual snarky remarks.

Both Double A and The Bean are quite good drawers and painters.  Maybe I should get them started on all of the themed, hand-painted shoes I need?

That's all I could find for shoes, but I found a few other things:

Usually I say cookies like this are almost too pretty to eat, but that Heat Miser cookie might be too scary to eat!

Hilarious.  The brother needs these.

I would totally do this on my toes!  Again, Double A can paint, and often does fun things on her fingernails, I wonder if I could talk her into trying this on my toes?

If you've never seen A Year Without a Santa Claus then your life is sad.  You need to watch it so you can learn the words and sing along with the Miser Brothers!

Cookies

I was very Christmas-y today.  This morning I watched Santa Claus is Coming to Town while crocheting Laughter's Christmas present.  This evening I decorated Mom and Dad's big tree in the living room.  In between I spent the afternoon in the kitchen making Mocha Truffles, Mocha Pecan Balls, Coconut Pecan Praline Cookies, and Popcorn Balls.  I was going to do more but then it was time to work on getting dinner ready.  I think I'll do a couple of more kinds of cookies/candy tomorrow.  I'm in a groove, apparently.  Tonight's shoes are Christmas cookie themed to keep the groove going:

Did you really need the same shoe in 2 different colors?  Well no, but clearly yes.

These are almost too pretty to eat.  And yet I would still eat them.  Because I am rude like that.

These just make me smile.

As do these!  I totally need a pair for when I bake Christmas cookies.

I've posted cookies made with this cookie cutter before, but I appreciate that someone made them into Christmas shoes.  Very festive.

I think I will now go read while gazing at the Christmas tree.  Yeah, it's a rough life...