Christmas 2013 at the Holden Home

Christmas 2013 in the Holden home.

My grand-daughter and son holding hands in front of the Christmas tree.

Definitely a beautiful moment. These two really love each other.

So I finally changed my colors this year. Purple, Turquoise and Silver.

I've been wanting to do this for quite some time, finally. I know they aren't traditional colors but I'm so in love with my tree.

In the below picture this is pretty true to the actual colors of the ornaments. I found it wasn't so easy trying to capture the purple of my ornaments.

Child Jean Apron Tutorial

I've been asked by quite a few people to post a tutorial on how to make this apron.

I finally got around to it since I decided to make one as a Christmas gift.

First thing I did was take the pockets off an old pair of jeans.

I happen to have a lot of old jeans that no longer fit me. ;)

Red Chevron Christmas Tree

I was selected to be part of the Christmas Craft Challenge over at May Arts Ribbon & I was given 4 different ribbons to create a craft out of.  These are the 4 ribbons that I chose...

I love creating Christmas Tree topiaries, so that's what I decided to make with the ribbon that I received.

Instructions to create this tree:

Christmas 2013 at the Perry Home

Here are a few pictures of what Christmas looks like in our home this year...

2013 Christmas Tree in the Alba Home

I used the same colors as I did last year because I really wanted to make a tree skirt to match it, but never got around to it last year.  Finally, I made it this year & it matches my tree nicely.

Here are my camera settings for this picture:

f-stop: f/22

exposure time: 20 seconds

ISO: 400

No flash

Shutter priority

Lasagna

While searching the internet for a lasagna recipe, I found this one & let me tell you, it is so yummy!

The recipe title is "World's Best Lasagna" & I had some friends who tried it tell me that they thought it really was the world's best recipe.  Now, it's the best recipe I've found so far.  That is, besides my Italian husband's family recipe, but that recipe is non-sharable.  Sorry. :)

100% original.

This is a youth driven campaign & I feel that this video speaks volumes!

Help our youth out by spreading the word & change your fb profile picture for just this week.

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=yCYFPuq83Go

"100% Original-No Label Needed Campaign

Campaign Overview: We witness labeling everyday in our classrooms, schools, buses, online, in the media, etc. People are labeled for anything that makes them different than what their peers or society thinks they should be. These labels leave a lasting impression. It can have a significant impact on how that child acts and views themself and how others act towards and view them. 

Because of this, 1 out of every 10 kids will drop out or change schools. 3 million kids will stay home from school each month, that's 160,000 kids per day. For every 1 completed suicide, there are 100 attempts. Because of these statistics, Madison CARES has developed a campaign to help make our youth resilient, accepting and proud. This campaign take a positive spin on a negative issue. We realize that we can not do away with the bad, mean and hurt in the world, but we can help to build each other up so that when it does happen, we are so strong and confident in who we are that it will not resonate. 

It is time to make a change and we are starting here is Madison County. We are ready to turn these numbers around and show the nation that it can and is being done in our schools. 

To join the challenge visit www.mymadisoncares.org or find Madison CARES on Facebook! 

WE CAN BE THE DIFFERENCE!

Watch our video from last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ottMZ..."