New Year's Eve

We rarely go out on New Year's Eve - but this year decided to go see Neil Diamond. Our friend Michelle is a huge Neil Diamond fan!!! - and invited us to go with her. We tease her about being a stalker since she has been known to go to every concert withing driving distance, has written to him, and has even invited him to her house. She is ga-ga over the man and his music and has been for years.

I don't know what is going to be more entertaining - the concert or watching Michelle's reaction to the concert.

He has written so many great songs - and Michelle is going to be so excited - that it should be a fun night.

"Songs are life in 80 words or less." ~ Neil Diamond

Silly Crochet Project

I am not sure why I decided to crochet Sadie a hat - and I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do. I was thinking dog beanie. This is what I ended up with.
Of course she acted embarrassed when I first tried it on her - and she wasn't too thrilled about having her picture taken. She acted like she didn't even want to look at me.
But say the magic word - "WALK" - and she is ready to show the world her beanie.

"The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too." ~ Samuel Butler

A Little More Christmas

A new pink Christmas ornament
A new pink Christmas Tree - I've been wanting a small pink tree for some time. I don't want to put it away with the Christmas stuff. I am thinking maybe I can somehow hold it over until Valentine's Day. It is soooo cute. I wrapped a pink boa around the base and now it is just waiting for some ornaments.
A perfect place to hang out.
Jennifer and Josh were over on Christmas Eve and made up the last gingerbread house. I like Jennifer's icicles. Josh proceeded to eat this when they were over for Christmas. I forgot and left the other houses on the table last night - Sadie put a dent in those. Ooops!
One last ornament made - Our friend and neighbor collects Coca Cola things - and her tree and house are decorated around this theme. We made her this little angel out of a Coke can. I had seen one at Urban Outfitter's - but they only had one made with at diet coke can. I added the small heart on the bottom because I had gotten glue on the front of the angel and could not get it off. I like the addition of the heart more than anything - I guess sometimes mistakes can be a good thing.
Never say, "oops." Always say, "Ah, interesting." ~Author Unknown

Enjoying the Season

With all of the projects I did with my kids while they were growing up - we never did gingerbread houses. Kasey had never made one either. So better late than never - and doing this with adult children is way easier than what I can imagine it would be with small kids. I was going to bake the gingerbread so they could design their own houses - but time was a factor this week - so we went with the kits and I went out a picked up other candies and goodies for them to decorate.
Here they are getting started. I probably went a little overboard on the candy and goodies - but I think they used a little of everything.
It was Richard's idea to do this - and a good idea it turned out to be. Christmas can't help but change a little as children grow up. No more school programs to attend or handmade ornaments carried home from school. So a project like this reminds me of all those special times when they were young children - and also reminds me that those times do not have to end.

I bought Kasey some special lawn torches for her house. I love this picture of them lit. Next time everyone in the gingerbread neighborhood gets torches.

Here are all three houses finished. Luke has some better close up pictures on his camera - I will have to post some of them. Unfortunately Jennifer and Josh could not be here and Sarah was out of town - or our gingerbread neighborhood would have been a little bigger - maybe next year.

"Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas." ~ Peg Bracken

Last minute crocheting

A couple of the scarves I am making for gifts - talk about last minute. I had hoped to have them done before now - and I have a few more to make. Things just keep happening to keep me from sitting down to crochet. That is, I suppose normal for this time of year.
This is an extremely easy pattern to make though - otherwise I probably would not even try to get anymore done before Christmas. I don't really like to do things last minute - but I guess it wouldn't be Christmas if I wasn't deciding to make one more thing for someone.
This was Monica's last pink ornament for her tree at work. I like how my pink snowlady looks holding this - I will have to make one for her to keep.

It's A Wonderful Life

This is one of my favorite movies. Each year I put it on while I am putting up my Christmas decorations. I have seen it countless times - but it doesn't seem to matter - I will watch it over and over. It also doesn't matter if I watch the whole movie or not - I can even catch just the end scene - and I still will cry when George comes home after seeing what life would have been like if he had not been born. I cry every time. My family has always tolerated me watching my favorite movies over and over - but the boys must have been paying attention over the years because both of them practically know this movie by heart. They also know about the time I will start crying. As hard as it is for me to believe - there are people out there that have not seen or even heard of this movie, but for me it would not be Christmas without watching it - a few times.

"Look, Daddy. Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings." ~ Zuzu Bailey

Angels

This ornament was made by a parent at school for one of our teachers who's son is serving in the military. I thought it was such a great little angel - so I had to post a picture - of course. A reminder to keep not only the people serving in the military in our prayers - but also their families.

"I've seen and met angels wearing the disguise of ordinary people living ordinary lives." ~ Tracy Chapman

Only a couple of more days to take Monica minature pink ornaments for her little Christmas tree at work. This was fun to make - and I am thinking I have to make some more of these. Glitter and wings - what could be more fun!

"We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another." ~Luciano de Crescenzo

December Doodles

 Whenever I am on the phone at work - which is often - I tend to doodle. Lately I have doodled on my desk calendar instead of a message pad - so rather than end up in the garbage - it has turned into this. It will still end up in the garbage when I rip off the page for the new month - so I thought I would snap a picture of my December doodles - with any smudges and coffee marks that might be included.

" Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." ~ Dr. Seuss

Lily Bug

There is something about baby shoes that you can't help but love.
And then . . . there is something about this baby that we can't help but love!
She has changed so much in just 5 weeks.

. . . and they are going to make sure that every moment is captured on camera.

"Where did you come from, baby dear? - Out of the everywhere into here." ~ George MacDonald

Surprise!

Look at all this fun stuff! The origami paper is so small - it will make the cutest cranes. - My uncle always made origami cranes out of the silver liners of his cigarette packages. (I still have a couple that I put on my Christmas tree every year - they are a little worn after thirty years - but I am careful with them.) These will be small like those.
Amy always sends me these cute tissues. I wonder if she has any idea how much I enjoy them? :-)
And Santa in a pink sleigh . . . How cute is he? The kitten thing is a small coin purse.
Jake took this apart and fixed it - but I sort of like him this way. It was a do by number thing - I don't know what happened this first time he put him together. Amy's package was full of fun, little surprises. It makes me miss her more than ever!

Thank you Amy!

I received a box from Amy today which included so much fun stuff. I will have to post some pics later. But for now I want to talk about the photo album she sent me. This is actually the last page which totally caught me off guard and I cry every time I read it. This is our grandmother's grave stone. She was very special to both of us and we miss her terribly. I know that she is a part of us - and even though we miss her - remembering her is a wonderful thing.
These pictures were taken last summer when Luke and I were in Iowa. Amy and I took Luke and Connor to eat at "Teluwhat". This is actually a pretty good place to eat for the little town of Osage.
This is one of my favorite pages - because of the saying - "But which is the way back to Iowa." (I should have bought these shoes.) It is better in one aspect that I do not live near Amy - or I would have taken this picture of me away from her. I need to not worry about what I look like in photos. I used to joke when the boys were little that if something happened to me, no one would remember what I looked like - because there were no pictures of me. If I didn't like them - I threw them out. Much easier these days when you can just delete them and take another one. My cousin is the best!!!!
I love the pictures we took with my parents the last day we were there. Luke had not been back to visit them in awhile - and this trip was something he will always remember.
I can't wait to take my book to work tomorrow and show everyone. I love every page. This one of Dad and Uncle Al is one of my favorites. This was taken early one morning when we went on a breakfast picnic. I love the picture of them on the bench.I probably could have scanned every page - but Luke wanted on the computer.

"A cousin is a sister you never had"

Champagne Chair - Pink of course.

I finally decided to try making a little chair out of champagne wire - (Luke usually makes these for me.) With just a little pink paint and glitter it became today's pink ornament for Monica. I think these little chairs are so cute - for being so simple. One of those simple things that make me happy.
So after making one of these - I had to get on line and see if there was anything on champagne wire. I found this sight. I like the little barbecue that he made. I will have to make one of those and show it to Luke.
I got to work early and turned the Christmas tree lights on. It was still dark out and there was a thick fog - it was so nice to sit here with my cup of coffee and enjoy the quiet. Our winter weather is nothing like what I grew up in - but it is enough to feel like winter. I enjoy that - especially during the holidays. There is talk that we could possilby see some snow this weekend. It doesn't happen very often here - and when it does it isn't much. But whenever there is a possiblity - I hope for a few flakes.

"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive."-- Eleonora Duse

Morning Mug

Kasey asked me to make her a black scarf. This is not a very good picture of it - and even though it is very simple - it is cute. Long and skinny with a scalloped edge. The pattern is out of this book. It is something you can make up in one night - perfect this time of year when I am so busy. I truly enjoyed this hot cup of coffee this morning - (and I apologize to you Amy before I say this) - because it was so cold.

"I believe humans get a lot done, not because we're smart, but because we have thumbs so we can make coffee." ~Flash Rosenberg

A little more Pink

One of the girls I work with put a small tree on her desk and tied a pink bow to the top of it. She had a couple of small pink ornaments to get it started - I told her I would bring her something pink everyday for her tree. She has been off work for a few days - so I get to welcome her back to work with five days worth of pink ornaments. I found the small pink umbrella in a box - (sometimes it seems to make sense that I keep everything). The flower is left over from Jennifer's baby shower. I bought the little snowman for 99 cents this past weekend, strung some beads that I had on some wire, and stitched up a little heart. I have 10 more days before we are off work for the holidays - her little tree should be fully decorated by then.

A little more Christmas

I made this Christmas stocking out of an old sweater. I love using stuff that I have to make something new. This lining is white with light blue polka dots. I will have to go through my closet and see what sweaters I can get rid of.

I found some more pink ornaments this weekend - all 50% - 60% off. How great is that!
This is one of my favorites - Just a simple little snowman with a pink hat. He was only 99 cents. How could I resist?
And one more - made out of sequins. I am having way too much fun with this pink Christmas tree.

"Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind."
~ Mary Ellen Chase

Tickled Pink

A couple of years ago Jake convinced me to make a drastic change to our Christmas tree. I had always used the ornaments that we collected over the years, and the priceless ones that the boys made when they were little. I intended on eventually giving those that belonged to the boys to them to get started - and then starting something new. As usual - Jake was able to convince me to make a change even though I hadn't planned on making one. I told him at the time that I would do something different - but I got to choose. I chose PINK - even though the rest of my Christmas decorations are more traditional - I am loving the pink tree.

Jake and Kasey gave me this pink pig the other day.
Every pink tree needs a pink elephant . . .
. . . and a pink Cadillac
A small angel bear with gold wings and a pink bow looks down at all that glitters.
And one of my favorites - a pink dog from Victoria's Secret.
This tree is really fun - and now I am always on the lookout for pink ornaments or anything that I can make into an ornament.

"The perfect Christmas tree? All Christmas trees are perfect!" ~ Charles N. Barnard

Christmas Time

Thanks to Luke and Jacob - it looks like Christmas at our house. Saturday they put all the lights up outside - Jake even went to the store for replacement lights, and they pulled out all the indoor stuff out for me. I always like to get my decorating done before I go back to work after Thanksgiving. By Sunday night the house was clean and decorated for Christmas.
Just a few of my holiday buddies that I have gotten through the years. I made these elves quite a few years ago - I like unpacking them each year - especially this one with the glasses.
I still have a few things to do - like put ornaments on this tree. I didn't go too overboard with everything this year. I am trying for a stress free holiday - not worrying about if everything gets done - and trying not to do too much. I enjoy going overboard for the holidays - but this year something is telling me just to relax. Having Luke and Jacob help so much really made a difference and set the whole tone for me. I was even able to just let them put all the lights up and not let it bother me if something wasn't exactly perfect (Yes - I am a control freak when it comes to things like that, but I have gotten so much better. There was one window that was bothering me - but Jacob is enough like me, that it must have bothered him too - or he realized that it would really get to me - so he fixed it.

Christmas can be a difficult holiday for me. Mostly because I miss my family - but also for other reasons - There is a little too much build up for me. I like to decorate, bake, and watch "It's a Wonderful Life" over and over - but sometimes it all sort of gets to me. I have learned to relax though and understanding why it gets to me has really helped me enjoy the season more. And it has really helped to relax and not overdo. It helped even more this year to have Luke and Jake help me. It really made me happy to look out the window and see them stringing up lights. Christmas was so much fun when they were young - now that they are grown it is just a different kind of fun with them.

"He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree." ~Roy L. Smith