wishing you all a holiday filled with love and joy!
*** taking a break for a week or so to visit the in-laws. looking forward to reconnecting with you in the new year! ***
12.23.2008
merry christmas
wishing you all a holiday filled with love and joy!
*** taking a break for a week or so to visit the in-laws. looking forward to reconnecting with you in the new year! ***
12.19.2008
12.17.2008
feeling a bit like this lately?
me? i am going back and forth. some days i have the spirit others i don't. this week, not so much.
first of all, while the rest of the country is getting blanketed in snow and ice - we are experiencing record highs (70's). while some of you may envy this, it doesn't really help put you in a holiday mood. i need to be inside crafting and baking, when i really just want to be outside. i'm having trouble splitting my time up.
speaking of baking. i discovered over the weekend that i am not one of those people who excels at baking and decorating sugar cookies (i really do envy you people). especially when my two year old helper has barely napped and i am already in a pissy mood. not a good combination.
then it also doesn't help that i pretty much suck at baking and decorating sugar cookies. i promised henry that we would get better at this as the years go by. then as i am beginning to clean up this is what i witness:
okay. so next year i can just have him do it on his own. even better! *and for the record, i looked nowhere near at ease as he did.*
i'm trying to stick with the things i do grasp and have a small amount of experience with. it's a little limiting. but i am making do. and without trying to rush or stress myself, i still have several projects to start and complete over the next week. so i will be popping in and out, here and there over the next week.
i know many of you will be working your magic at full speed over the next week too. hang in there, and stay calm and relaxed (and breathe). enjoy your gift of craftiness. you are what makes this time of year special for those around you, so take time to revel in it too.
me? i am going back and forth. some days i have the spirit others i don't. this week, not so much.
first of all, while the rest of the country is getting blanketed in snow and ice - we are experiencing record highs (70's). while some of you may envy this, it doesn't really help put you in a holiday mood. i need to be inside crafting and baking, when i really just want to be outside. i'm having trouble splitting my time up.
speaking of baking. i discovered over the weekend that i am not one of those people who excels at baking and decorating sugar cookies (i really do envy you people). especially when my two year old helper has barely napped and i am already in a pissy mood. not a good combination.
then it also doesn't help that i pretty much suck at baking and decorating sugar cookies. i promised henry that we would get better at this as the years go by. then as i am beginning to clean up this is what i witness:
okay. so next year i can just have him do it on his own. even better! *and for the record, i looked nowhere near at ease as he did.*
i'm trying to stick with the things i do grasp and have a small amount of experience with. it's a little limiting. but i am making do. and without trying to rush or stress myself, i still have several projects to start and complete over the next week. so i will be popping in and out, here and there over the next week.
i know many of you will be working your magic at full speed over the next week too. hang in there, and stay calm and relaxed (and breathe). enjoy your gift of craftiness. you are what makes this time of year special for those around you, so take time to revel in it too.
12.14.2008
on the make (holiday secrets)
making a gift that i already know will be hard to part with, but it is going to just the right person.
loving. LOVING. this yarn. it's soft and luscious. and the perfect amount of funky. not usually my choice of color (for myself) but i am really into this combination.
and working on this, which i will repeat (hopefully) 2 more times before the holidays! it's the perfect pattern. more on that later.
loving. LOVING. this yarn. it's soft and luscious. and the perfect amount of funky. not usually my choice of color (for myself) but i am really into this combination.
and working on this, which i will repeat (hopefully) 2 more times before the holidays! it's the perfect pattern. more on that later.
12.12.2008
12.08.2008
random randomness
i was tagged by the ladies of two black sheep to amuse you with six random things about myself so . .
here goes:
six random things
(you may or may not want to know)
one::
though i was young in the eighties, i am still a product of it. i liked michael jackson, i used to roller skate in our garage (the floor was perfect) while singing along with licensed to ill, i coveted swatches, wore stirrup pants and leg warmers, layered socks and rolled jeans and yes, i collected unicorns.
and for the record i still love the beastie's, wear leg warmer's, and may have just rekindled my wanting of a swatch watch by going to that link. the unicorns, however, uh, not so much.
two::
it drives me bonkers. seriously bonkers, to hear or see someone bite into anything really cold. it makes my teeth hurt just to watch it. i don't even have to hear it. it gives me the willies. i have been like this as long as i can remember. and wouldn't you know it, both henry and matt do it when eating popsicles and ice cream. yech!
three::
in the year 2000, matt and i had been together for about 5 years. i discovered this little tradition that in leap years women would/could propose (marriage) to their men. so i did it. i proposed to matt on february 29, 2000. (he said yes). i called his mother and asked for her blessing and i gave him a pocket watch (it seemed traditional). we were happily married on june 8, 2002.
four::
{this one was going to be about my crush on lyle lovett, but matt didn't think that was very nice. love you, matt.}
i once skipped a test in a poly sci class to go and see spike lee speak at my school. i agonized over this for days. should i go or should i take the test? well . . . we know what happened. my main reason for going - crooklyn*. i LOVE this movie. LOVE.
i had to go listen to the man who directed this (and has worked so many times with john turturro, love him too). spike was pretty laid back and seemed nice, not as conceited and cocky as he appears to be at times. he autographed my crooklyn cd and my copy of please baby please that i bought. it was worth skipping the test and i still got an A in the class.
*if you have not seen this and you want a good laugh, and a good cry, all while listening to an awesome soundtrack, i highly recommend this film. it's one of my top ten, maybe even 5.
five::
i am not the cook in this household. if you ever see photos of me cooking it is only as proof that i do it on occasion. i may help every so often, though henry helps more often than i do. i am just lucky in that my husband enjoys cooking (i usually don't) and is very. very. very good at it (see random thing #3). i may be the baker, but the chef i am not. i could delight you with stories of my cooking follies for hours. like the time when i was maybe 14 or so and i had start dinner before my mom came home. we were having turkey and it had one of the bags with the innards in it. yeah. i was freaking out about sticking my hand up there and yanking it out. i went and got our neighbor to come and get it out. (this is the same neighbor who used to bury our deceased pets for us behind our garage. until the time he asked if he could keep one. but i digress.) is it sad that i can tell you i almost repeated this same scenario when i was a nanny 14 years later? only i didn't know any of the neighbors. but i had the mom almost peeing her pants on the phone because i was freaking out that i had my arm shoved up a turkey butt and i couldn't feel any bag!! i'm telling her i'm violating her bird and she says 'oh, well there may not be one (bag of innards) in there." there's more embarrassing stories here, but we'll save those for another day.
six::
i have a foolish fear of heights. i get panicky and feel like i am going to pass out. this did not develop until i was in my mid 20's. i get woozy looking over a second story balcony. there have been times i have been so scared that i bawled like a baby. in public. my husband likes to laugh at me while this happens (while rescuing me and telling me that i'm not that high up and i could just jump down).
Here are the rules for the meme: Post the rules on your blog. Write six random things about yourself. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
so, most people that i know read my blog may have recently been tagged for this meme or a similar one. so i am inviting lucy jane, seemownay, kristin, amy, diane and holly to play along if they so choose or if they haven't already been tagged.
here goes:
six random things
(you may or may not want to know)
one::
though i was young in the eighties, i am still a product of it. i liked michael jackson, i used to roller skate in our garage (the floor was perfect) while singing along with licensed to ill, i coveted swatches, wore stirrup pants and leg warmers, layered socks and rolled jeans and yes, i collected unicorns.
and for the record i still love the beastie's, wear leg warmer's, and may have just rekindled my wanting of a swatch watch by going to that link. the unicorns, however, uh, not so much.
two::
it drives me bonkers. seriously bonkers, to hear or see someone bite into anything really cold. it makes my teeth hurt just to watch it. i don't even have to hear it. it gives me the willies. i have been like this as long as i can remember. and wouldn't you know it, both henry and matt do it when eating popsicles and ice cream. yech!
three::
in the year 2000, matt and i had been together for about 5 years. i discovered this little tradition that in leap years women would/could propose (marriage) to their men. so i did it. i proposed to matt on february 29, 2000. (he said yes). i called his mother and asked for her blessing and i gave him a pocket watch (it seemed traditional). we were happily married on june 8, 2002.
four::
{this one was going to be about my crush on lyle lovett, but matt didn't think that was very nice. love you, matt.}
i once skipped a test in a poly sci class to go and see spike lee speak at my school. i agonized over this for days. should i go or should i take the test? well . . . we know what happened. my main reason for going - crooklyn*. i LOVE this movie. LOVE.
i had to go listen to the man who directed this (and has worked so many times with john turturro, love him too). spike was pretty laid back and seemed nice, not as conceited and cocky as he appears to be at times. he autographed my crooklyn cd and my copy of please baby please that i bought. it was worth skipping the test and i still got an A in the class.
*if you have not seen this and you want a good laugh, and a good cry, all while listening to an awesome soundtrack, i highly recommend this film. it's one of my top ten, maybe even 5.
five::
i am not the cook in this household. if you ever see photos of me cooking it is only as proof that i do it on occasion. i may help every so often, though henry helps more often than i do. i am just lucky in that my husband enjoys cooking (i usually don't) and is very. very. very good at it (see random thing #3). i may be the baker, but the chef i am not. i could delight you with stories of my cooking follies for hours. like the time when i was maybe 14 or so and i had start dinner before my mom came home. we were having turkey and it had one of the bags with the innards in it. yeah. i was freaking out about sticking my hand up there and yanking it out. i went and got our neighbor to come and get it out. (this is the same neighbor who used to bury our deceased pets for us behind our garage. until the time he asked if he could keep one. but i digress.) is it sad that i can tell you i almost repeated this same scenario when i was a nanny 14 years later? only i didn't know any of the neighbors. but i had the mom almost peeing her pants on the phone because i was freaking out that i had my arm shoved up a turkey butt and i couldn't feel any bag!! i'm telling her i'm violating her bird and she says 'oh, well there may not be one (bag of innards) in there." there's more embarrassing stories here, but we'll save those for another day.
six::
i have a foolish fear of heights. i get panicky and feel like i am going to pass out. this did not develop until i was in my mid 20's. i get woozy looking over a second story balcony. there have been times i have been so scared that i bawled like a baby. in public. my husband likes to laugh at me while this happens (while rescuing me and telling me that i'm not that high up and i could just jump down).
Here are the rules for the meme: Post the rules on your blog. Write six random things about yourself. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
so, most people that i know read my blog may have recently been tagged for this meme or a similar one. so i am inviting lucy jane, seemownay, kristin, amy, diane and holly to play along if they so choose or if they haven't already been tagged.
12.03.2008
upcycling the holidays
yesterday i posted a picture of my recycled garland i made last year. it came about because i never knew what to do with all of our christmas cards we receive and i hated throwing them out (well, into the recycle bin, but still). i don't think this is my original idea, but i can't recall where the idea came from (if anyone knows, let me know).
after the holidays, i gather all of our cards we received from our family and friends, some thread (ribbon would be nice), a package of zots, and a 1.5 inch and a 2 inch cirlce punch.
first i take the circle punches to the cards. then i stick a zot onto one of the cut-outs and place the thread onto the zot and sandwich it in there with another cut-out, so that there is an image on both sides. that's it. it's that simple. and i think it's really pretty cute.
i think with this years cards i will add an even larger punch to the mix and then punch small holes in the cut outs and string with ribbon.
*since i used such thin thread, storing this was a concern. i just took a piece of cardboard and carefully wrapped the garland around it. *
do you have any creative ideas for repurposing the holiday cards you receive? i'd love to hear them!
after the holidays, i gather all of our cards we received from our family and friends, some thread (ribbon would be nice), a package of zots, and a 1.5 inch and a 2 inch cirlce punch.
first i take the circle punches to the cards. then i stick a zot onto one of the cut-outs and place the thread onto the zot and sandwich it in there with another cut-out, so that there is an image on both sides. that's it. it's that simple. and i think it's really pretty cute.
i think with this years cards i will add an even larger punch to the mix and then punch small holes in the cut outs and string with ribbon.
*since i used such thin thread, storing this was a concern. i just took a piece of cardboard and carefully wrapped the garland around it. *
do you have any creative ideas for repurposing the holiday cards you receive? i'd love to hear them!
tis the season (now get to work)
i feel very neglectful of this space and that i am hurriedly putting posts up here just to be posting. i think some days will just be hit or miss as things are getting busier and busier around here (as i am sure it is with you also). i have much knitting and creating to do. henry is very interested and curious about christmas this year, so i want to take things slow and enjoy this season with him and experience it a little more through his eyes and get him involved.
so if you are wondering what i am up to i am doing a lot of knitting (i always start my holiday knitting in november),
cutting, gluing, painting (assisting henry really)
and baking (inspired by diane and her study plan i am baking all of our bread).
sporadically putting up the holiday decorations as i find them or make them. listening to holiday music and enjoying some evenings by the fire. having a few cups of hot chocolate or maybe a glass of wine. and always. always. wishing for snow (and for someone to clean my windows).
*and if you like that star made from sticks and jute, head over to a foothill home companion for better pictures and a tutorial. (henry loves helping with this one, he is a master stick gatherer)!
so if you are wondering what i am up to i am doing a lot of knitting (i always start my holiday knitting in november),
cutting, gluing, painting (assisting henry really)
and baking (inspired by diane and her study plan i am baking all of our bread).
sporadically putting up the holiday decorations as i find them or make them. listening to holiday music and enjoying some evenings by the fire. having a few cups of hot chocolate or maybe a glass of wine. and always. always. wishing for snow (and for someone to clean my windows).
*and if you like that star made from sticks and jute, head over to a foothill home companion for better pictures and a tutorial. (henry loves helping with this one, he is a master stick gatherer)!
12.02.2008
back from the feast
we are back from the great's and it was a great start to the holiday season. i don't know about you, but our thanksgivings are never a quiet affair. there are too many of us. it's always loud and its always good. i wish it happened more than once a year.
i hope all of you enjoyed your time with your family as much we enjoyed ours.
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