Merry Christmas!

Good morning! I'll come back for a longer post with more updates about what's going on, but wanted to take a quick break while DH and the boys are assembling LEGO sets to wish you a wonderful Christmas Day!! Please remember the greatest gift of all, Jesus, as you enjoy your families and open gifts! :)

Also to pass along a couple recommends! (one directly related, one indirectly, it will be obvious which is which) ;)

First, a little Christmas present I just bought myself I think a lot of you might be interested in, you can order it wherever you live: Zaggorra Hot Pants for only$26 (a $71 value) Now I had never heard of these workout shorts before this morning, but I had finished a sticky sweet and buttery serving of monkey bread (our Christmas breakfast, easy peasy) and came padding in my office to check my email and saw a deal for some miracle promising, fat and inch busting, cellulite reducing shorts. Well! I had to investigate, and I believe they must really do the trick after reading all the reviews from ecstatic ladies on the company's website and had to get a pair of my own! (Size chart is on the site, you select your size later after you get the voucher) As you know I have been dieting and working out, but even when I have been my thinnest in my adult life, I still had cellulite. The site explains you can wear them to bed, working out or under your normal clothes, but you will sweat a lot as it pulls out those toxins. When I receive them, I am going to try their 2 weeks challenge and record inches lost 9will of course comeback and report!) I didn't take any measurements when I started juicing, but have obviously lost a bunch based on how my clothes are fitting and pounds lost. Do you own a pair of these shorts or heard of them?? Let me know what you think!


Next, a really cool Christmas as program "Once Upon a Christmas" I went to yesterday with my kids, it was FREE and produced and performed by Gateway Church here in Austin. I'm telling you about it because YOU can watch a streaming version of the full show on their site TODAY at 11 AM CST. If you have kids, tweens or just have time to check out part of it, I think you'll find it really entertaining! (If I didn't already have a home church this is one I would definitely be interested in attending. They really have a vision (was so impressed this massive church is only 13 years old and yet was able to put on such a professional looking production, doing so much outreach in the community around the world and having this gorgeous facility) This was a really dynamic pageant and fresh modern retelling of the Christmas story. It held my 6 and 9 year old boys' interest for the full 75 minutes, combining break dancing (Yeah, I know, sounds cheesy but was fun to watch! This was the angelic host proclaiming the good news to the shepherds!) plus a lot of pop music (teenage Mary receiving the amazing news about Jesus while "Unwritten" by Natasha Beddingfield blared, it actually worked! " Today is where you book begins, the rest is still unwritten..." or "Who Can it be Now?" from the innkeeper (by Men at Work! hee hee) The singers had really good voices, (as well as being very telegenic!) and the camera work for visuals were very good. I think the video will still be available on the site after 11 but I'm not sure about that. See what you think! A fun way to enjoy the Christmas story in a new way.* The lighting and solos and choruses often remind me of a PBS music special like Celtic Woman or Andrew Lloyd Webber staging. The traditional Christmas songs had hipper or country-pop crossover arrangements. Check it out at the link above, 11 CST!

I'll be back with some blog candy (new stamps) a very important announcement, and our release is coming up on Thursday this week! Fun stuff!!

We have been having such a great week with our family, more later, but in a nutshell had our first family ski trip (to New Mexico), tons of snow, a great time opening gifts this morning and watching home movies of Christmas past (I really did not remember my oldest son sounding like that at age 2 until watching! and it was so lonely without William running around with him (he was in my tummy that morning!) Will want to hear all about your Christmas celebrations, too! :) Your comments and support are gifts every day of the year!

* The only thing that didn't sit well with me was Mary's very frightened and doubting reaction (which is what you'd expect and is relatable if this happened to a teenage girl today!), but I just kept remembering the reaction the Bible conveyed instead in scripture, her very accepting and humble "May it be as you say" from the Magnificat. Otherwise, two thumbs up!