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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Happy New Year

Its such a busy time of year and one where we make so many memories. 
We spent Christmas Eve at my parent's house.

 We had a delicious turkey dinner and pulled poppers and listened to Dad read Twas the Night Before Christmas as well as the story of Luke. Then we hopped in the car to see the best Christmas lights in our  small town. 
 All my boys were there. Fun to have BigBuddy home again. MyGirl didn't want her picture taken and Cowgirl wasn't here yet, sadly.
MyMike and Me. . . so grateful for all he does to bless our family. I finally got him a wonderful gift and he hasn't even played with it yet, he's been so busy making sure everyone else is happy. Love him!
 We also had my brother Rich and his wife and son with us.


 For the next two days, littleguy just had to be with my big boys. They played in the snow, they broke geodes, they played at the park, they built things like the marble tower, they shot nerf arrows, and it was so fun for all of us to have a little four year old again, with his energy and excitement about everything.
 LittleBuddy asked me where they [kids] get their energy, telling me he was out. It made me smile how easily we grow up from being all energy to being all teenager, then to all adults where we don't have the choice, energy or not, we are a parent and thus play must happen.
 Then Cowgirl came in on Friday night. (She was a highly energetic child.) Unfortunately with a cold that MyGirl also had, so it was a mellow weekend. She did get some thank-you's made. Its always fun to craft with a crafty girl! Finally yesterday we all went out to lunch and shopping and to see a movie when the worst of the colds began to lift.
It was fun to have Christmas, Round 2 when Cowgirl came. Here, her brother plays with the hovercraft she got for him that he first had to make, then drive. Its awesome as it doesn't scratch the floors at all, and is very fast. He loved it!

So, now its New Year's and we're hosting it at our house. We'll all watch a movie we got my dad then we'll eat and play games and laugh I'm sure. Then only one more day of everyone home to play and on Thursday Mike goes back to work and Cowgirl goes home. . . so sad. I love it most when we're all together. I was so hoping for a day up at Breckenridge, but with the colds it didn't happen. I may just have to bring the boys without the girls soon. Maybe even a little fun can be squeezed in tomorrow. . . if we don't stay up too late.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Its December the 24th

Merry Christmas Everyone!
We won't have everyone together this year until the 27th, so Christmas will be a prolonged experience this year.
Mike has been off for a week of vacation already, but then he drove for 3 days picking up BigBuddy from college and bringing him back home. He has so many online classes it didn't make sense to keep him there and his best friend was coming home too to work, so they'll have fun hanging out around here now. 
The other really unusual thing is that I've been done getting ready for Christmas for over a week with the exception of one gift which I went and got yesterday. I was in that store and out so fast I could hardly believe I could call that Christmas shopping. 
Amazon has been my best friend this year, and has done an excellent job at making Christmas happen. I wrapped the gifts as soon as we had the tree up or whenever the packages arrived, made very little treats, and its not been stressful getting ready. There are other stressers in my life, mind you, lest you think by me being organized all is calm and bright. Hah!  Christmas and having company and holidays in general are hard for those who are not well, but somehow we seem to get through them every year. . . just so I don't have another New Years like last year, I think we'll be okay.

 I found this photo I forgot to post. It got more likes on the CTMH website than the one I sent out and this was a lot easier to put together. . . maybe I'll use this design in the future, but I'll probably change the sentiment. I really like to wish people, "Merry Christmas," so insert that mentally, okay? If You thought the cards that were sent in the mail were lame, look upon this and feel better. . . I try.
 These are the thank-you's I"ll be sending out after the holidays. Trying to keep them flat so USPS won't charge me extra postage.
 So, while MyMike was gone, this is how we spent our time.
I woke up and saw the moon still full and up, so I took a photo out my bathroom window, standing on the edge of my bathtub. Loved how pretty things look when the sun first comes up. I imagine Mike would have been surprised had he been getting up in the morning to see me standing on the tub, but when he's gone, its not a big deal. I'm just hoping the neighbors weren't drinking their coffee watching me in my jams.

 LittleBuddy took his high school finals all last week and spent a lot of time studying for them, and it served him well. I'm grateful he is a good student. He's also full of personality and a ham for the camera, but really such a nice boy. I'm grateful he's my son. Love him! We played a duet in church on Sunday, a medley of three Christmas hymns and he did a wonderful job on the viola. He was nervous. I've never heard him practice so much, but again, all his preparations paid off.  I'm also glad his dad and brother got through the snowy roads in time to be home to hear him. 
 I watched a couple of Hallmark movies while these two sat on the sofa with their I-touches or phones and kind of sort of watched it with me. And when I point the camera at them, most of the time, they either turn on the silly or ignore me, like in the picture below. I think she is such a beautiful girl. Look at those golden brown curls just naturally framing her face. Love her more than words can say!
 The biggest accomplishment of the time Mike was gone, however, was that I made time to really clean my desk, in fact my whole house. This may not look super clean, but for me, its absolutely Stellar!!! I moved the desk facing this direction now so that I can turn my chair to more easily quilt on the long table behind me. Mom is coming over for quilting tutorials after we've finished the holidays and I can't wait!
 I get goofy smiles, but its okay, he's studying, so I really should have not bugged him.
More ignoring by the beauty. That is her natural hair color and it is so gorgeous. I tell her regularly, people pay big bucks to get her natural color. She doesn't think she's beautiful but I know she is. Now if I could just get her to believe me. That would just Make Christmas for me! (And getting Cowgirl here would tie for being the absolute best too!)

Friday, December 13, 2013

Christmas Progress and Cards

Made this treat this week and it is DELICIOUS!
Ingredients:
White chocolate *used Ghiradelli big bars*, pistachios and craisins. That's it!
I spread a cookie sheet with foil, turned my kitchen burners on low, then let the
chocolate melt. Just as it was starting to turn soft I sprinkled the nuts and craisins on top.
Then stirred it all up, spread it out flat again on the pan and put in the fridge for 45 min.
Easy to just peel off the foil and break into pieces. Because we didn't melt it
in a bowl first, there was no waste. Easy, yummy and red, green and white. 
What's not to like, right?


 Just sent out all the cards and packages today. The Cricut cut out all my banners for me. All I had to do was stamp, punch, and sew. Very easy. Mind you, I started these in Sept and had the fronts done by the end of Oct. All I had to do was glue them to the card bases, sign, stamp, and stuff this week. The wood/houndstooth paper was on sale on my website this summer for 75% off, which is when I bought it, by the bulk. There's always something new on "While Supplies Last." That's my favorite part of my whole website.
 I ended up needing to make a few more, so I put these together too.
 While I was wrapping and signing I popped this DVD in and completely felt myself immersed in the beauty of Christmas. Sissel's voice truly sounds like an angel. Even LittleBuddy commented on how angelic the music sounded. She's from Norway, is not a Mormon, and brought such a beautiful spirit to this whole performance. Of all that I've watched, this one is my favorite. My parents were there live when she performed. That would have been an amazing concert!
 Last week we had the Winter Freeze. And of course, MyMike had to drive up to Boulder for three days in this rental car, which he parked in front of the house when he came home every night at 9:30 - long days.
 It was dreary for the first couple of days and then the sun came out and just made it all breathtakingly beautiful.
 This is the part they were transporting back and forth to a company who is doing some antenna work for them. Mike didn't want to leave it in the car every night, so he brought it into our dining room.
 Can you guess what it is?
 Its the nose to an airplane. Interesting things my husband works on.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

A Year of Scrapbook Pages

Well, I did it. Hard to believe I'm posting this Dec. 10 isn't it? Christmas being right around the corner, I've still got some things to do towards making all that happen, but I feel like its close, and I hang out at home a lot so that helps. And I started working on these in October, so its been a slow process, personally.

As usual I set up a few rules for myself, limiting what I used because, frankly, I have Plenty! to choose from.
So, here are the rules:
        *Only Close To My Hearts papers, inks, and embellishments
         *Every page had to have a banner for the month and use CTMH baker's twine for them.
         *Lots of bling - its fun, and I have plenty of it and a little goes a long ways.
             These included pearls, Base & Bling jewels, clear sparkles, opaques . . . all CTMH
         *Use stamps I haven't used in a while or never used before
          * Have some kind of sentiment or words on the page besides monthly title.
         *Must use the Slate washi tape somewhere on every double page spread.

Many of these layouts are based on the Make It From Your Heart, book 2 by CTMH also. Loved so many of them, and for only $7.95, this is well worth the money. It gives me all the cutting sizes and designs, letting me put my energy into selecting papers and embellishments instead.

Remember to double click on any of the photos to see things larger.

*C means currently available, *R means retired and no longer available

 Paper Pack: Frosted  C
Cardstock: Slate, Twilight, and White  C
 Stamps: Wintry Wishes  C
Sentiment: Floral Happiness, a Stamp of the Month   R
 This snowflake punch is not CTMH - okay everything else on this page is still.
Paper Packet: Promise of Spring (Heart of Winter campaign 2006) R
Cardstock: Olive, Smoky Plum, Sweet Leaf
 Sentiment:  You Are My Happy, R
Sorry its blurry. It reads:
"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather,
always bring your own sunshine."
 Stamp on the Canvas inside the flower: Chairs To You, R
 Paper Packet: Later Sk8r - Lagoon paper only  R
Cardstock: Holiday Red, R, Pear, and Sweet Leaf  C
 Sentiment: All the Details C
 Stamp: Pinwheel R
 Paper Packet: Claire, Stella and Scholastic
You have to know that I mix papers however I feel necessary
Cardstock: Cashmere, Colonial White, Sorbet
 Senitment: I don't know - couldn't find it today  R
 Stamp: Likewise - can't find it but know I have it somewhere  R
LOVE the wooden buttons here from the Huntington WOTG C
 Stamp: Illuminate as well as the other quote are both from November's SOTM, now R
 Paper Packet: Lucy and Dotty R
Cardstock: Creme Brulee, Slate, Pear, and Cotton Candy C
 Sentiment: You Are My Happy  R
Stamp: Just For You
 Paper Packet: Tommy - the Outdoor Denim piece
Cardstock: Indian Corn Blue, Lagoon, Pear, White

 Stamps: Wonderful Friends and From Me To You R
Sentiment and Suitcase Stamp: Horizon R
 Paper Packet: Workshop on the Go Tommy C
This came with all the embellishments and a stamp set included.
LOVE that!
 I added this stamp: Lifting Spirits C
and Kraft Cardstock with some Outdoor Denim chevron ribbon and red sparkles, all CTMH C
 Paper Packet: Scholastic, Typeset and Dakota R, Huntington C
Cardstock: Juniper C
My Crush Besties Assortment: Yellow lined paper C
 Stamp: Friendship Bouquet R chalked
Sentiment: All the Details C

 Surprsingly, this was the first page I made, and I made it in LittleBuddy's school colors, which are also Halloween colors, I know, so I added lots of yellow as he plays tennis. I also used washi tape that is not CTMH, which is where I then made the rule to only use Slate polka dot washi from that time forth.
Paper Packet: Game On R
Cardstock: Buttercup and White C, Grey Wool and Orange R
 Sentiment: You are My Happy R
School Years  C
 Stamp: Couldn't find this name, but its last fall's SOTM, R
 Paper Packet: Moonlight R
Cardstock: Key Lime R
Vanilla Cream, Sunset C
My Crush Besties Paper saying "so happy"  C
 Sentiment: Chairs to You R
 MyGirl made this shrinky dink pumpkin for a card for me, so I kept it and reused it here.
Stamp: Charming Chevrons C
 Paper Packet: Huntington Workshop on the Go - everything but the flowers C
 LOVED this stamp set, used the following inks to make it:
Barn Red, New England Ivy, Cocoa and Goldrush C
 The sentiment is from the wordstrip along the top of one of the papers. C
All CTMH pages have these, and I've used several throughout.
 These are Canvas complements C and
flowers R
 Paper Packet: Sparkle and Shine C
Green Patterned Paper: can't remember R
(You'll see some of this on my Christmas cards when I post them soon. They're all made - Yeah!)
Cardstock: Ruby and New England Ivy and Silver Glitter Paper C
 Stamps: Trim the Tree with Sparkle Holiday Shapes that coordinate C
Sentiment: Again a wordstrip from the paper packet
This banner was a leftover using the Art Philosophy Cricut C

Ruby Chevron Ribbon C