• Crazy Kids,  Family

    Desperate Times

    As exciting as the snow was when it first fell earlier in December, the ice has left us all slipping and sliding and wishing for either the Morton's Fairy to arrive or a fresh snowfall to cover it all up. One of Mike's and Sophie's favorite things to do is to go sledding, but the weather hasn't cooperated. So today they struck out for the driveway to go icing instead.

    (Nevermind the filthy vehicles…)

    Ice tp 6

    Ice tp 5

    I bet that curb felt good…

    Ice tp 4

    Ice tp 3

    If Mike acts like this on our driveway, imagine what he would do sliding down Everest.

    Ice tp 2

    If they can make it back to the top, they'll go for round 2…

    Ice tp 1

    And they're off!

    Ice tp 7

    Yes, Mike, you are the champion icer in the family.

    Ice tp 8

    Ice tp 9

    It's been three hours since I last saw them last. I imagine they're on the Iowa border about now.

    Ice tp 10

    Which means I don't have to play bored games tonight.

  • Stitching

    Finishes!

    This is Joann's "HallowEden"… she named the serpent "Crowley." 😉 Great finish, Joann!

    Joann

    Here is Chelsea's rendition of "Sophie's Sheep"… Sophie loved the sparkly fabric, btw!

    Chelsea

    I love what Valie did with the "Adore Him" freebie! The colors are wonderful!

    Valie

    Take a look at how Myra finished "Hares' Christmas"… I love it!

    Myra 2

    Myra

    And finally, here is Robin's "Olga"… what a great fall display, Robin!

    Robin

    Thank you all so much for sharing your finishes with me! As usual, I LOVE seeing them!

  • Good Things,  Holidays,  Home

    I Resolve To…

    I have really looked forward to 2011, bc I've been feeling completely overwhelmed with inspiration and lots of creative energy. One wouldn't know this, judging from the state of my house, but 'tis true: I am feeling fabulous!

    Earlier today I tweeted that I want to experience the feeling of actually finishing something I started. So I gathered together all the lists I made (don't you just love lists?) on New Year's Eve and decided that if I read them enough throughout the year, surely everything on them will happen. 🙂

    1. I will learn to knit dishrags.

    Yes, dishrags. I love them. And after that, I shall knit baby hats. I want a whole collection of baby hats, and no one can talk me out of it.

    New year tp 2

    2. I want to be nicer to the Yorkie.

    I've been working on that lately, but no one around here seems to appreciate it. I heard Mike recently tell Sophie, "Don't tell Mom that there's pee on the carpet. It's better for everyone that way." So I got to thinking that maybe I shouldn't behave like Genghis Khan on crack every time it happens. Instead, I decided to sweet-talk her throughout the day, which prompted Sabrina to tell me that it's ridiculous when I talk to her like a baby. Go figure.

    New year tp 1

    3. I will finish 3 of my cross stitch projects.

    I came to the number 3 bc I have 6 total unfinished projects. I cut that number in half, bc if you could see the size of the things I have to finish… well, let's just say they're not ornaments.

    Here's one of them… Frances Eden. It was started by my dear friend Kim before she passed it on to me, and I worked on it only a little. I'm very excited to see this finished!

    New year tp 9

    The second one is Ruth Bacheler. I started this with  Samplermaker-Extraordinaire-Margaret, but we both grew sidetracked with other projects, and it never got finished. I find these colors to be extremely relaxing, and it's one of my favorite projects I have going.

    New year tp 8

    Finally, there is Dutch Beauty. I've completed 13 of 21 pages so far, and desperately want this hanging over the back of the couch in my family room!

    New year tp 6

    Did you know that the Yorkie and the Chen are stitched on it?

    New year tp 5

    Oh, and look. The Yorkie is doing what she does best…

    New year tp 7

    I still can't quite figure out why the original stitcher included that naughty dog in her masterpiece, unless she wanted to give her mother fits.

    I do have a few other things on my list of resolutions, but none with accompanying pictures. For example, I'd love to live a healthier lifestyle; this is not defined by one thing like "I'd like to lose weight" or "I will go to the gym every day," but rather just learning to do what I can and be happy with that for the day. I learned some time last year to stop picking fights with myself over what I did or didn't get accomplished, bc it would leave me feeling very dissatisfied at the end of the day. And who wants to wake up the next morning with leftover dissatisfactions? It leads to an awful lot of negative thinking, and that's something that definitely prohibits creative energy!

    One last thing I'm doing this year.. a 365-day blog. In case you've never heard of one, it's a way for people to document a year, one photo per day for each of the 365 days. If you enjoy taking photos, join in! Here's where my pictures will be posted:  focus on today.

    Thank you for always taking the time to visit me. I hope this new year brings you all the joys that you deserve!

    **************************************************************************************

    BEFORE YOU LEAVE…

    1. Heike, I've been trying to email you, but my emails keep getting bounced back to me! I'm not sure why this is happenening, so do you have an alternate email address I can send to?

    2. Constantina, I still have your Christmas issue of Just Cross Stitch to send to you! I've tried emailing you, but the address doesn't appear to be valid. Can you email me your mailing address? I'd love for you to have your magazine – at least by next Christmas! 🙂

    3. I want a huge collection of baby hats despite the fact that I am not pregnant, nor plan to be. Just in case you were wondering.

     

     

  • Family

    A Very Good Year

    This evening I looked through the photos from these past twelve months, remembering all the blessings throughout the year… the changes, good and bad… the way the girls have grown… the love and the loss (but mostly the love)…

    January.

    Bday tp 11

    Huhot tp 2

    Cupcakes tp 6

    February.

    Bday tp 18

    Brea game 2

    March.

    Brooke tp 6

    Jules email 14

    Game 14 tp

    April.

    Love tp 1

    Ski tp 12

    May.

    Friday tp 1

    Breanna tp 1

    June.

    Tasha tp 5

    Germany tp 7

    July.

    4th tp 9

    Sisters tp 15

    Sisters 065 edit email

    Sophie tp 2

    Fifa tp 5

    August.

    Sophie and Missy tp

    Unl tp 1

    Sabrina 077 edit

    September.

    Race tp 15

    Valas 061 edit small

    October.

    Dogs tp 5

    Mom dad email

    Halloween 3

    Senior 133 edit tp

    Senior 059 edit email

    November.

    Tp 9

    002 edit

    December.

    Downtown 003 tp

    012 tp

    070 edit tp

    Tp 11

    Bday tp

    Bean tp

    Bre tp

    Soph tp

    I wish you the happiest new year!

  • Family,  Good Things,  Holidays

    Santa Baby

    Would you believe I'm still trying to clean up the house from all the Christmas spirit? It was a wonderfully happy time we all had, despite having to accomodate Sabrina's work schedule (she had to work both Christmas Eve and Christmas day!).

    In years past, Mike has always surprised me with the most wonderful gifts. And this year was no different… not only did he get me the new camera I've been pining for (the Canon 7D), but I just have to show you these adorable Betsy Johnson earrings he got for me!

    Tp 1

    I've been wearing them constantly. 🙂

    I got Mike an iPad, which has worked out very well for me: if he says he wants dinner, I just tell him there's an app for that.

    Same with the laundry.

    I truly hope your Christmas, no matter how it was spent, was a joyous occasion. We celebrated Christmas with my family, and we learned to adjust to new traditions as we celebrated in our hearts with Mike's.

  • From My Kitchen,  Good Things,  Holidays

    Holiday Baking

    The shopping is done, the gifts are wrapped, and I've decided to spend the remaining hours before Christmas Eve baking to my heart's content! Here's what I have on the menu…

    Shrimp and Cocktail Sauce
    Honeybaked Ham
    Sweet Potato Casserole
    Summer Sausage
    Crackers
    Jack Cheese
    Sugar Cookies
    Reindeer Eyes
    Peanut Clusters
    Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
    Cinnamon Rolls
    Zucchini Bread
    Pecan Shortbread Cookies
    Fleur de Sel Caramels
    Savory Meatballs

    I think that's it, but I can't guarantee it. I have no idea why I'm making so much food, bc much of it will end up in the freezer or taken to Mike's office. But I do love it all, and I feel very fortunate to be able to do it. (Plus, some of Frieda's staples every Christmas Eve were shrimp, sausage, crackers, and cheese, and I'd like to keep her tradition going for Mike and the girls.) I'll also be taking quite a bit of it over to my parents' house on Christmas Night, where I feel sure my brother will polish off the reindeer eyes!

    Here's what I have so far (most of it baked while listening to Christmas movies)…

    Tp 2

    Tp 1

    Tp 3

    Tp 4

    Tp 5

    I clearly have a long way to go. 🙂 I did bake gingerbread cookies as well, but I've eaten every last one of them. Sorry, Mom. I'll make more.

    Btw, I've been making the Reindeer Eyes ever since my good friend Chris sent them to me in the mail several years ago. Get yourself some round pretzels (I got mine at WalMart) and almond bark and Christmas M&M's. Melt the bark, drizzle it in the middle of each pretzel, and drop an M&M down into it before it hardens. Voila! They're sooo good!

    I hope you all have a beautiful Christmas Eve. We're expecting snow, for which I'm happy. I do love a good snowfall…puts me in the mood to bake!

    Merry Christmas!

    P.S. For those of you who wanted to learn how to make the snowflakes that Sophie made, she posted the video on her blog! Have fun! Paper Snowflakes

  • Good Things,  Holidays

    Wooly Snowman

    I received the loveliest gift recently from a very dear friend.  She asked Judy Bielec of Mosey 'n Me to create this needle-felted snowman, and it's truly one of the sweetest things I've ever seen!

    Tp 1

    Tp 2

    I'd heard of felted wool before, but never really knew what it was. According to Judy, "felt making predates spinning, weaving or knitting." I had no idea! Here I thought it was a brand-new invention.

    Tp 3

    I love the details…

    Tp 4

    Tp 5

    Tp 6

    Tp 7

    Tp 9

    Breanna was the lucky recipient of one as well! She liked hers so much in the bag, she kept it there…

    Tp 11

    Tp 12

    Tp 10

    This made both snowmen very sad…

    Tp 13

    Tp 14

    What a lovely surprise! Breanna and I thank you, dear friend.

    Tp 8

  • Crazy Kids

    Flakes

    The weather was perfect for ice skating this week, so we decided to head downtown to visit Mike, who was working off-duty at the ConAgra Park ice rink. Since Sabrina's boyfriend is back from college, she convinced him to come along, despite his protests that he could not skate. But he was a very good sport about it, and he and Sabrina and Sophie all had a great time…

    Tp 1

    It was so much fun to watch them slowly gain confidence on their skates, and then eventually start racing each other. I'm not sure what was going on in this picture, but I thought it was funny…

    Tp 2

    Mike brought Sophie some hot chocolate, but as soon as he approached the railing, another child decided to strike up a conversation. This is never a good idea if one wants Sophie to stay in a good mood; she is very possessive of her dad, and she would prefer other children go talk to their own dads.

    Tp 3

    As far as Sophie is concerned, she feels that if her dad isn't going to be busy bringing her hot chocolate refills, then he needs to stay back with the other cop, away from curious children…

    Tp 4

    Even though the focus is in the wrong place in this photo, I still found it amusing… poor, unsuspecting little sister!

    Tp 5

    Bre watched from the sidelines…

    Tp 7

    Sabrina and Nate posed for a picture, but we found that Nate turns into quite a ham when he's got a camera pointed at him…

    Tp 8

    Sabrina scolded him, and then demanded that he pose properly…

    Tp 9

    Tp 10

    My favorite thing about the night was watching Sabrina's face. She was so animated, exactly like she was when she was 4 years old, and we'd ask her if she wanted to go to the zoo…

    Tp 11

    Tp 12

    Although I coughed my way through most of the night, these three hooligans made it a fun time…

    Tp 13

    Happy Winter!