My wife took Daniella to the mall on Christmas Eve to get these pictures done.

Taken From The Houston  Chronicle

Alley Theatre’s A Christmas Carol: The holiday favorite featuring the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, through Dec. 28, Alley Theatre, 615 Texas; 713-220-5700 for schedule and tickets.

Irving Berlin’s White Christmas: Stage adaptation of the classic 1954 movie musical, with still more Berlin songs added. Previews at 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday. Opens at 8 p.m. Saturday. 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays, through Dec. 21. Theatre Under The Stars, Sarofim Hall, Hobby Center, 800 Bagby; 713-558-8887.

The 12 Ways of Christmas: Encore run of musical revue, songs and sketches showing varied perspectives on the holiday season.  showing how Christmas means different things to different people. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays, through Dec. 28. The Ensemble Theatre, 3535 Main; 713-520-0055.

Festival of Lights: A winding trail with 75 light displays with sound and live entertainment, 6-10 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays through Dec. 17 then every night through Dec. 31, Moody Gardens, 1 Hope, Galveston; 800-582-4673; www.moodygardens.com. $3.95 per person, children 3 years and under, free.

On the Ice at Discovery Green: Open to the public. 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; 10 a.m.-11 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays; 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sundays; 4-9 p.m. Monday-Thursdays through Jan. 19. 1400 McKinney; 713-434-7465.

Woodlands Ice Rink: Open daily through Jan. 19, 10 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sundays noon-7 p.m.; Mondays-Thursdays 3-9 p.m.; 3-11 p.m., Fridays, 9819 Six Pines; 281-363-2447.

Main Street Square: Downtown comes alive with decorations, lights, events, shopping, free trolley rides and more, go to www.houstondowntown.com and click on the Holiday Spectacular for information.

Moody Gardens’ annual Festival of Lights, another Galveston tradition, has returned. The mile-long trail of more than 1 million lights includes 100-plus animated displays, a variety of holiday-theme films and more.

Today, volunteers with the group Elves and More will start loading up 12,000 bikes at Reliant Center. Tomorrow, they will gather at Reliant Center to deliver the bikes to students at 40 elementary schools. 

Finding a slogan for our city can be hard. Over the years, there have been many attempts. Remember a campaign called ‘Houston, it’s worth it?’ The city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau called ‘My Houston.’ Now comes the latest attempt to identify this city — ‘Keep Houston Rich.’ What would your slogan be? 832-644-KSBJ. (Story is from KTRK)

Jake Shafer, 14, presented a check for more than $2,000 to the DeGeorge Center for Homeless Vets. The Alvin teen has spent the year soliciting cash and other donations from the Alvin city council, local businesses and organizations. The DeGeorge Center houses 100 previously homeless veterans.  (Story is from KTRK)

Heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain will continue through the day in Illinois and Indiana. Power companies are reporting more than 50,000 customers in Illinois without service. In Indiana, nearly 100,0000 outages are reported. Pray for all those affected by this.

Moody Gardens’ annual Festival of Lights, another Galveston tradition, has returned. The mile-long trail of more than 1 million lights includes 100-plus animated displays, a variety of holiday-theme films and more.

If you find yourself underemployed or without a job, you do have options. Home health is one field hiring right now. Another place to find a quick job is valet services. A valet can make $300 a week or more depending on tips, and valet companies need workers right now. Restaurants are another place always looking for help.

Here are five budget-friendly ways to introduce Christmas cheer over the next few days: (From The Houston Chronicle)

1. Meet a Friend and catch up with an old friend over a cup of hot chocolate or apple cider.

2. Light candles, boil cinnamon sticks and drape a few garlands of fresh greenery for a warm, fragrant home.

3. Turn the radio to jolly tunes while you hang a stocking and a strand of lights (whether or not you have a tree).

4. Rent the holiday movie you loved best as a child.

5. Donate time to your favorite charity.

Dips That Could Ruin Your Waistline I found this on Newsweek.com.

• Cheese dip. Sorry nacho fans. The onions, chilies, tomatoes, and garlic are fine – but when they come immersed in cream cheese, cheddar or jack cheese – it can set you back 145 calories and 12 grams of fat per quarter cup.

• There’s French onion dip. It’s usually composed of onion powder mixed with various combinations of sour cream, cream cheese, and mayo. One commercial brand estimates that each serving can hold as much as 200 calories!

• Stay away from the spinach and artichoke dip. Just because “spinach” is in the title doesn’t mean it’s good for you. One popular recipe for homemade dip is estimated to contain about 235 calories and 21 grams of fat in one serving.

 • Keep your chip away from crab dip. Think of all the fatty, creamy foods you can imagine. Chances are, most of them end up in crab dip –

So what dips WON’T kill your waistline? Give these a try!

• Bean dip. A two tablespoon serving has 25 calories and zero grams of fat.

• Hummus. At 50 calories and three grams of fat per two tablespoons – it’s among the best of the bunch and it has protein and fiber to help fill you up.

The Houston area dodged the icy bullet overnight because temps never dropped below the freezing mark. Dallas County had experienced at least 30 accidents since 10 p.m. Monday. So, it’s been pretty icy there!

Only a handful of people came to the Galveston Island Humane Society shelter this week to look at the dogs and cats waiting in rows of wire cages for a new home. They are looking for people to adopt pets, and volunteer. Interested in volunteering at the animal shelter? Call 409-740-1919.

High school students who lost a lot during Hurricane Ike got a warm surprise Monday, all thanks to a pastor and his challenge to “pay it forward.” He gave church members $100 and one woman turned it into much more than that. Karen Anderson is the one who took up her pastor’s challenge, she gives God all the credit, insisting he stretched a dollar in a way no one else can. She wrote friends, who wrote their friends and asked for donations. They raised $36,000 in donations is five weeks! She bought 2,130 coats, enough for every Ball High School student in Galveston.

So, here’s how to beat stress this holiday season, courtesy of Forbes magazine:

• It’s tempting to plop down on the couch when you’re overeating, and channel-surfing through endless parades, football games, and holiday specials. The fix: Get moving! Anything that’ll burn a few extra calories will also burn off stress.
• Also, don’t turn to comfort food as a coping strategy. That’ll only lead to guilt about weight gain and breaking your diet.
• Take time for yourself. Whether you read, take a hot shower, or just watch the sunset.  Studies show that even 10 minutes of relaxing “alone time” a day lowers blood pressure, reduces stress, and fights off heart disease and cancer.
• Feel free to say “no.” the biggest stress is feeling obligated to attend a family function, work party, or social event.

Tomorrow, temperatures are expected to get no higher than 42 degrees. By Thursday, the highs are expected to be in the mid-70s.

400,000 still without power! New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York and Maine declared either limited or full states of emergency Friday. Pray for all these families.

Today will only be 10 days before Christmas. It’s also going to be a big day for FedEx.   The U.S. Postal service said that today is supposed to be the busiest shipping day of the year. FedEx will sort out millions of holiday packages before they ship them out. The last day to ship for Christmas via FedEx ground is this Wednesday. The last day to send packages on FedEx express is December 23rd.

The Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Houston is looking out for the less fortunate. On Sunday, the organization hosted a holiday party in the east end of the city.There were also plenty of fun games and activities including sugar cookie decorating.

Christmas Lights:

FM 1960 & West Lake Houston Parkway..You would head North on W. Lake Houston Parkway….They have 20,000 lights 96 channels of D-Light, 2 animated trees, 4 light arches, 8 mini trees, and much more!!!

FM1960 at Highway 249….As seen on The Travel Channel and Fox News (nationwide), Prestonwood Forest continues a 30+ year tradition. Majority of residents participate. Many WOW displays.

Grant and spring cypress…indian trails subdivision is really lit up now, some houses have thousands of lights…and one has over 10,000 lights a giant star on the roof and lights dancing to over 20 songs

Here’s some pictures of the snow coming down at the “K” house!

If you’re still not ready for the Feb. 17 switch to digital television, your wake-up call is coming Wednesday. At 6:22 a.m., 5:22 p.m. and 10:22 p.m., several Houston stations will temporarily shut off their regular analog signals and broadcast only in digital. This time the switch will last five minutes for each test. Come February, it will be permanent.

Finding a Christmas gift for your spouse is hard enough. But what about getting something for your co-worker?
When swapping gifts through a large exchange, like a Secret Santa, keep the whole process relatively inexpensive.
• If you are giving gifts to one or two close friends in the office, exchange them outside the work place.

• If you feel you need to give something to the boss, do it as a group gift from the entire office.

• A person is not meant to spend more than they can afford.
Enough gloom and doom: There’s a prediction from a leading color source that cheerful and sunny yellow will be the influential color of 2009. It’s bright, and makes you feel good.

Soup May Not Be As Healthy As You Think

That’s according to Dr. Robert Vogel – the chief medical director of the Pritikin Longevity Center and Newsweek magazine.
• Most canned soups. Many of them contain trans fats, more than half a day’s worth of sodium and even MSG. A lot of condensed soups are culprits – but they’re also the cheapest. So if someone’s on a budget, they may be ruining their diet. So look at the labels – and try to pick one with 200 calories or less per serving. There are plenty on store shelves that have that.
• Also, be wary of powdered soups. Because of the artificial additives in powdered soup mixes, they’re often worse than canned soups. The calorie content may be low – but one serving of cream of vegetable has over 1,100 milligrams of sodium.
• Dr. Vogel also says stay away from creamy soups. One restaurant chain’s popular Cream of Broccoli soup has as many fat grams as a 20 piece chicken McNuggets! Resist the add-ons. Croutons, bacon bits, bread on the side – or even worse, a bread bowl! The bread bowl alone is 600 calories!

We got these from the researchers at Psychologies magazine.

• Arrive early. If you get there early, you’ll meet a few people you can hang out with, and later they’ll introduce you to their friends. Next thing you know, you’re talking to everybody.
• Play the host, even if you’re not. Introducing people to others is one of the best things you can do. And, the bonus is that when good conversations happen around you, people tend to see you as a good conversationalist.  
• Don’t hide your weaknesses. Even the best party can be spoiled if we’re constantly wishing we were the wittiest, best-looking person there. Remember - it’s not a competition, and a quick anecdote about one of your shortcomings actually makes people warm to you.
• Make a good parting impression. The final secret to making a good impression is one we often forget – saying goodbye. A sincere “I really enjoyed meeting you,” will leave just the right impact on someone new.

Woman’s Health Minute: 3 easiest things to do at home 3 easiest things to do at home:

• Do housework on hyper drive. Get everyone out of the house and have a plan/strategy and put on some music.
• Get a stability ball and use it.
• Body weight exercises with circuit work in between. Some suggestions would be to do wall squats, jumping jacks, and the plank and use some steps for lunges. Again put on some music to motivate you!