12 Days of Christmas Day 1

12 Days of Christmas Day 1:

If you want to read all about my 12 days of Christmas with ideas and suggestions here is the link. 

http://livinglifeasafife.blogspot.com/2013/12/12-days-of-christmas.html

I know some people will start this on December 13th and end on December 24th. Some will give another gift(s) on Christmas. Other people will start this on December 14th and end on December 25th and this is their Christmas present. I start on December 13th. 

I hung my banner with my 12 numbered clothespins last night. I decided to use the same banner I used last year which isn't anything Martha Stewart would be proud of. 

I got up before Mr. Fife but I do every morning. I grabbed the little candy bag of chocolates wrapped in black foil that said COAL on the tag. I would show you a picture of that but I don't have one because Mr. Fife had me wrap them up again and was giving them to a friend as a joke this morning. 

I then sat on the bed and told Mr. Fife it was time to get up. He asked the time and said he could sleep a little longer and didn't even open his eyes. It wasn't until Fife 2 came in the room and asked if I was holding Daddy's present for the day. I said yes and miraculously Mr. Fife's opened his eyes and was well rested. He opened the wrapping and look so disappointed. I made a joke about how I told you that he was getting coal this year. I then proceeded to ask if he wanted his real gift? Well I wrapped his real gift in a juicebox case. He opened it and asked if this was another gag gift. I told him to open it and find out. 

He opened it and he got a fleece pullover from his university. He loves anything and all things from his university. It was a hit. Here is the picture of the pullover.

I then had him write on the tag what he got and pin it up on the banner. 

Shhhhhh here is a sneak of tomorrows gift. I can't say what it is because Mr. Fife reads this blog. 

 

Have a great day and wonderful weekend. By the way if you are looking for some great gifts for friends and co-workers today only (December 13th) Bath and Body Works is having their $8 candle sale. That is a great deal for 3 wick candles that are normally $20. 

Random Acts of Kindness

You can find inspiration anywhere and I found it on Facebook. One of my Facebook friends is celebrating her birthday in a great way. She is doing 35 random acts of kindness. Why 35? The reason for 35 is because she will be turning 35 in a few days. She started 35 days before her birthday and did 1 act of kindness per day. She has done some great things for random strangers. Here is some of the great things she has done so far.

Bought coffee for the person behind her in line.

Bought gifts for Toys for Tots.

Bought items for the giving tree at her church.

Repaired the computers of friends. 

She taped lottery tickets to the gas pumps and wished whoever got the tickets luck. 

She gave the electric outlet she was using for someone else at the airport. 

She left dollar bills in the toy section of the dollar store.

Here are some of ideas I thought of in case you feel compelled to do a random act of kindness.

Put coins in the machines at the laundry mat. 

Put quarters in the gum machines at a store. 

Shovel your neighbors sidewalk when it snows. 

Bring a co-worker coffee in the morning.

Bring in a bag of candy for everyone to share at work.

Donate old cell phones and chargers to a local battered women's shelter.

Put quarters in the meters at park spots. 

Offer to walk someone dog. 

I know this time of year people are in a giving mood. I think this is a great thing to do to celebrate your birthday every year. It is true it is better to give than receive. Hope you are as inspired as I am by this great idea.  

Our Yearly Christmas Cards

Sending Christmas cards seems to be a lost art. I know when my parents first got married they got over 100 cards every Christmas. I wasn't alive to see that but I remember seeing all the cards show up every season. I also noticed as the years went on less cards would show up. When I started working in high school I bought my own funny Christmas cards and passed them out to all of my co-workers. 

I always thought it was a sweet sentiment to send Christmas cards but I especially loved picture cards. I decided 13 years ago to start sending out picture Christmas cards. I didn't even have children of my own. My first one was of my friends son. It was his first Christmas. It became a picture chronicle of my year. I was pregnant in one and then the cards started to become pictures of our kids. 

There was 1 child and then there was 2 and then there was 3 kids in those beautiful cards. Every year people would call and say how much they enjoyed the cards. It started out that I sent out 30 cards. Then it was 50 cards and before I knew it I was ordering 100 cards. I started addressing all the envelopes and place them in the mail on the night before Thanksgiving. It was so people would get them on the day after Thanksgiving or that weekend. 

 I used to only have the kids on the cards. I thought the kids were what everyone wanted to see anyways. Like this card. 

I started off sending the cards to family and friends local and in 5 other states. It grew each and every year. Then one year I thought why not take a family picture for the card and if it didn't work out I could always use another picture of the kids together. Well it did work and I sent off 100 cards that year. Wow! People called and sent me messages every year but that year it was even more than in years past. People tell me they keep the cards, others have said I am the star on top of their card tree every year. 

Every year after that I sent out cards with the entire family minus the 2 labs who run our house. I couldn't figure out a way to get all of the kids to look at the camera the same time the dogs would be. It is a goal to have all of us and our 2 labs in the picture at least 1 year. 

Here is some of the cards from past years. Such as this one.

Each year it grew and I sent more cards out and to more states. I started sending a family update along with some of the cards as well.  People loved the card and I loved that they knew we were thinking of them. Here is another card.

I am sure you must be thinking it is expensive to send out that many cards. So let me give you my tips. People ask who is my photographer? Only 1 year we used a photographer, it was the first year I did the entire family. She is a friend and gave me a great deal. After that year I thought why not try to take the picture at one of our favorite places. My niece has been my photographer and so has my Mom. We used to use my old point and shoot camera until this year. I set up all the poses and they take the picture. I also get the picture printed for our home at Sam's Club a 20 x 30 is only $8.96. Can't beat $8.96 for a family photo. I now have a big girl camera I didn't get the new camera for the Christmas card picture we got it for the kids sports events. I get the cards from Sam's Club which is super reasonable and there are a ton of options. I must admit the most expensive part of this is the stamps. 

This year we sent out 130 cards to over 20 states. Each year it grows but I feel blessed to have so many people in our lives. I am sure you are wondering if I get that many back. The answer is no, but that is ok. My sister has never sent out a Christmas card to anyone. While there are others who I know will send a card every year. I love getting each and every card.  I save one of our cards for each of the kids every year. I know when they are older they will look back through the cards and have great memories. I want to share this years card with you. 

So why send out Christmas cards?

1. It lets people know you are thinking of them. 

2. People genuinely like receiving your card.

3. It is like a hug from miles away.

4. Christmas cards are a way of staying in touch.

5. People have seen our kids grow from babies through the years. 

6. I know it is some work but it is only once a year.

7. Especially if you do picture Christmas cards you will look back at those cards and cherish them. It is like a picture chronicle of our family over the years.

Merry Christmas!! Send a card and share some love. 

Let the Christmas Music Play!

This year for some reason I am loving all the Christmas music. I am even turning it on while doing house work, driving in the car and relaxing in the evenings. I am usually not interested in Christmas music at all. In years past I have found it annoying and couldn't wait for December 26th so I won't have to hear another Christmas song for 11 months. This year however I wouldn't mind if Christmas music was on for the next 11 months straight. Since my new found love of Christmas music I thought I would make a list of my favorite Christmas songs. Here is my top 10 list. What is your favorite Christmas songs? 

1. O' Holy Night

2. Silent Night

3. White Christmas

4.. All I Want for Christmas is You. 

5. Let it Snow

6. Santa Baby

7. Blue Christmas

8. Last Christmas

9. Hark The Herald Angels Sing 

10. I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas

12 Days of Christmas

My husband is the hardest person to buy gifts for, receiving gifts is not his love language. I have tried to surprise him for years since we started dating. I always thought I had the perfect gift that he would love. However I never got the reaction I was hoping for, you know the one of excitement and surprise. I kept trying but felt better after I read the Gary Chapman book The Five Love Languages. After reading the book I realized that gift giving just wasn't his thing. 

Last year I heard about people giving their significant others little gifts for the 12 days of Christmas. I thought why not do this for my hubby. I wasn't expecting fireworks, remember he just not that into gifts. He had no idea I was going to be doing anything like this which made it even better. He knew I had a great Christmas present for him. What can I say I was so excited about the gift that I kept telling him how much he was going to love it. I was right he did end up loving that gift when he opened it on Christmas morning it was some shirts and hoodies from the college he is attending working towards another degree. He loves this school so I knew that would be a hit and because he hasn't met a hoodie he didn't like.   

When December 13th came around he was shocked when he woke up and saw a ribbon with clothes pins on it hanging in our room. I handed him a gift with a tag that said "On the 1st Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me...." He opened his gift to find a jacket from his favorite sports team.  I then had him write on the tag what the gift was and hang it on the ribbon. Here is the shocking part.........  He loved this and I finally saw the great reaction I was trying to get for years. He told my friends it was one of the coolest things I have ever done for him gift wise. He was excited like a child on Christmas morning. He really looked forward to getting his present every day. I was also told he is expecting it every year now. I guess I created a monster. 

I didn't know I was going to be blogging about this so I didn't take pictures of it last year. I created my tags this year as a simple document with different colors and fonts.  

Here are a few things to know about this and remember you can change it in so many ways to make it special for the person. 

Each day is assigned a number of objects so keep that in mind when deciding what to buy. 

I gave the biggest gift on day 1. It was the most expensive day out of the 12 for me. 

You can also do this without spending a dime. Example each day is associated with a chore or act of kindness.Such as 5 days of taking out the trash. A back rub or 2 car washes etc. 

I wrapped each gift individual which made it even more exciting for him. 

Here are some of the things I used for my 12 days last year: 

Gloves 

Pack of socks

Pack of under shirts 

Instant scratch of tickets (those are great because you can either do the number of the day or some of them have a number in the name such as Lucky 7s) 

CD the number of songs on the disk corresponds to the number of the day.

Favorite candy (If they are really into candy and sweets you could do all 12 days with sweets)

Favorite pop this works good for day 6 or 12

Gift card works good for days 5 or 10   

Books or Magazines

The possibilities are endless there is a lot of ways to customize it or themes to do for each year. 

What I did was make a list of things I wanted to buy and then I filled in with instant tickets the days I couldn't find something in a package with that number. I didn't know how many shirts or socks were going to be in a pack until I went shopping. So if you plan on using instant tickets buy those last. 

Last year I used a simple piece of ribbon and put clothes pins on it so he could hang the tag each day. I may do the same this year or I may create a poster or calendar for him to hang the tags on. 

I will be taking pictures this year and I will share them with you and everything I buy for the days. 

I think this is something special to do for that special person in your life. It also shows the special person in your life that you haven't forgot about them in the middle of the holiday chaos. I hope they like it as much as Mr. Fife did. 

*************Update*****************  Here are some pictures of the tags from this year.

I found the list of what I got Mr. Fife last year.

1. Jacket
2. Pair of gloves
3. Instant Ticket
4. Axe gift set
5. Undershirts
6. Socks
7 Instant Tickets
8. T-Shirts
9. McDonalds gift card
10. Instant tickets
11. CD
12. Golf balls  

Mrs. Fife 101

I have been living life as a fife for the past 13 years and counting. My name is Bonnie but I must admit my last name isn't Fife. My husband is in law enforcement and channels Barney Fife 24/7. We really love all things Barney Fife. Even though neither one of us were even a thought when The Andy Griffith Show was on. We love watching the episodes on DVD over and over again. I really live a wild and dangerous life. 

Here are a few pictures from our vacation 2 years ago. When we had to make a pit stop because of our Barney Fife obsession.

  

This is Mr. Fife and I in Mount Airy, North Carolina the birthplace of Andy Griffith. Yes I did have blonde or white hair back then. I now realize it looks anything but natural on me. But what can I say? You only live once and I wanted to know if blondes really have more fun or maybe I wanted people to think my kids got their beautiful blonde hair from their mother. Either way I now realize it is a mistake not to be repeated again. 

Here is Mr. Fife outside the Andy Griffith Museum.

Here is Mr. Fife in another part of Mount Airy. Our kids didn't see the fascination we did with this stop. They were thrilled when we got back in the car and on our way to our destination. 

 I will introduce Mr. Fife in his own blog post. I want to introduce myself to those of you reading this who don't know me personally. I must admit introducing myself without going on a tangent about Mr. Fife or our 3 kids is much harder than one would think. There are some random things I want to share with you, I am nervous. Yes I said it I am nervous about writing a blog. The thoughts that I should have paid more attention during English class when we were talking about that little thing known as grammar is running through my head at lighting speed. Hoping my grammar is up to your standards if not please let me know. I am a work in progress on everything and open to all suggestions.

Now that we have discussed some of my insecurities I will move on. I grew up in an extremely small town with my parents and 2 siblings. Being the youngest child was such a difficult role in the family but someone had to do it. If anyone believes that I have some nice swamp land for sale in Florida. I often tell my brother and sister the reason I am the youngest is because Mom and Dad finally got it right. Unlike their first 2 failed attempts = my siblings. There isn't a lack of confidence in that statement. However my brother and sister would like to think that I am the "opps" my parents had well after their perfect family of 4 was set. My parents planned to have me later than my siblings. I swear!

I attended private school which meant I wore the same outfit day in and day out. Nothing makes your sense of expression grow like wearing the same plaid or solid color jumper/skirt for 13 years in a row. As you can tell my sense of sarcasm is going strong with no signs of stopping. I didn't just attend any private high school I attended an all girls private high school. Nothing says living like a rock star like all-girls private high schools. The only thing that sounds like more of an ongoing party would be living in the convent. Being serious for a second I really receive a good education and like all things in life you get what you put into it. 

I have graduated from college but I would like to say that I went to college right after high school and graduated 4 years later. That isn't the case I took my good ole time. This is something I regret and wish I would have taken more seriously when I was young. Listen to me young kiddies take your grades and college serious. It will effect the rest of your life. 

I met my husband at 15 but we didn't start dating until we were 20. I will tell that story on another post. It is a long story and such a major part of my life it deserves a post of its own. 

I love photography and take an obnoxious amount of pictures. I admit it but really don't want to do anything about it or stop it. I believe that one day when my children are grown Mr. Fife and I will sit around looking at all of these pictures and say awwwwwww. Awwwwww is sophisticated word that my college and private school education taught me. Can you hear me laughing as I type that line?   

I am married with 3 beautiful children and 2 pure bred labrador retrievers who run my home. The dogs act as if they made last months mortgage payment. I am a stay at home mom who likes volunteering and doing all of the fun stuff with the kids at school. I have planned more Valentine's Day, Halloween, Holiday parties than I ever thought possible, I often find myself scouring Pinterest looking for new ideas for those parties. You can only play holiday bingo so many times before it gets old. 

Thanks for sticking with me through this long post. I hope you know more about me and find my sarcasm as funny as I do. 

Thanks For Reading,

Bonnie AKA   Mrs. Fife

**I must put a disclaimer here. No my life isn't perfect but you won't find me complaining about my life, husband or children. If you want to hear about problems, people going through relationship issues and fighting you have come to the wrong blog. I believe life is hard enough and no one needs to hear me complain. I also believe every thing you complain about someone else would look at as a blessing. Complaining about making dinner or washing clothes when some people are struggling to afford food, clothing and shelter isn't right in my book. I will step down off my soapbox now.

Let This Journey Begin

I must say thank you first and foremost. Thank you for taking time out of your day to read my blog, it really does mean a lot. I hope to keep you entertained, amused while also sharing some recipes, money saving ideas, pictures and life lessons along the way. 

I will be introducing you to the most important people in my life. Mr. Fife the man who I met at 15 and changed my life forever.

Our 3 children who fill our hearts, home and life with adventure, love and joy. I will be telling you all about them and our family soon. 

More to come later when my home isn't filled with little girls giggling and singing their way through a sleepover. I must say this is the sweetest sounds in the world. We are just busy here Living Life As A Fife. Thanks for stopping by and spending a few minutes with us.

Goodnight, 

Mrs. Fife