2009 is here - Resolutions abound!

As for 2008 it went by too quickly and I can only imagine what 2009 will bring. I made my New Year's resolutions again and I am confident that it will be maintained. For 2008 I gave up French Fries (and waffle fries and all other fries) and I made it without even sneaking one (which is hard when your 6 year old orders them and only eats a small handful leaving all of those lovely fries to the garbage).
This year I am dedicating myself to running at least twice a week ( I tend to do other cardio instead when I don't have a race scheduled) and adding in other mini resolutions as I go. My first one is the hardest - I am going to stay within my designated calorie range until the week of April 20th. This means no pizza binges, Chinese food buffets, or ice cream sundaes covered in hot fudge and caramel. My biggest challenge for this is the weekends. On weekdays, I have no problem staying within my goals. But oh those weekends are rough - it is too easy with the family around to just get some junk food and go crazy with it. I have made it 3 days (all off days - woohoo) so I am on a roll now! I am looking forward to losing the rest of my weight and hitting my goal this year.
In other goals, I want to run a 10K without walking and finish a 5K in under 30 minutes. That's where the running twice a week will help. I need to have less weight to carry and build endurance. Look out 2009 here I come!
Happy New Year everyone! I hope your resolutions (if you make them) challenge you and inspire you to achieve all you can! Here's to a wonderful 2009! Cheers!

Christmas and 2008 catch up

It has been so long since I last posted, I have to try and remember where I left off. Thanksgiving came and went and it seems that Christmas came all too fast. Work was crazy since we were shipping vaccines as fast as we could package them (it seems every parent was getting their children vaccinated for the new year!) and I still had all of the shopping and decorating to do at home. Christmas was wonderful though and it went flying by. Miss Attitude - formerly Sweetpea but in her new role she isn't always sweet :) - loved everything she got for Christmas. I think the thing she enjoyed the most was the days off of school. Even though she likes learning, she has discovered the joy in playing ALL day again.
We have spent the last several days digging out from the piles of presents that we were blessed with from our wonderful families. I am looking forward to a great year. I received a new camera (oh my hubby is wonderful) that I can't wait to learn all of the things it can do. Miss Attitude has too many toys to even name, and hubby is playing with his new Xbox 360. So instead of words - here are a few pictures to share our joy of the holiday.

The "kids" (my cousins and Miss Attitude)

My uncle and Miss Attitude had a lot of fun with a can of whipped cream!

Every now and then she still looks like an angel :)

My family waiting anxiously to open presents - the people not in the picture were the ones slowing us down!
Miss Attitude and my Dad (see where the name comes form?)

True joy when you get the one gift you asked Santa for!

Even the cat loves Christmas!

I hope everyone's Christmas was equally fun filled!

All dressed up for Halloween

Sweetpea was supposed to be a ballerina for Halloween. This would have been a FREE costume since I already paid for it for her Spring dance recital. Then she decided she was tired of being "cute" and wanted to be something bad for Halloween. I guess the fact that Batgirl is a good guy was lost on her. The only problem she had with this costume was during the annual begging for candy when the adults called her bat MAN. She eventually resorted to tugging on her braids while saying Trick or Treat so they could clearly see she was BatGIRL. I think she still looks "cute", just don't tell her that!

Sweetpea wasn't the only family member dressed for the occasion.

I was at the pet store and they had this on sale...I just couldn't resist (the costume, the cat was already ours). Can you just tell how much he hates me?

Pumpkin Carving

During the pouring down rain we went and shopped for pumpkins. The best part of getting pumpkins is that you get to carve them. We carved three pumpkins and once it gets dark I will take some cool pictures of them lit but in the meantime here is Sweetpea's favorite part of carving.

She loves the pumpkin guts! She pulls it all out and digs her hands in it, makes "pies" out of it, and generally just makes a huge mess! I love carving pumpkins too, so I don't mind at all.

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Where is the best place to hide your Valentine's candy so Dad won't eat it? How about behind the audio tower? Just be sure to put it upside down so if Dad does see it, he won't recognize it.

Christmas Meme

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

Wrapping Paper all the way - at least at Christmas time. For Birthdays I also go for the quick and recycled gift bag but there is something special about picking out Christmas paper. I also just enjoy wrapping each gift and then adding dressings to make them even nicer. In my own way this is part of the present I give.

2. Real tree or artificial?

Real and only real. The fresh scent of pine, the hunt, the climbing under it to water it every day, and the trail of pine needles left behind, I never want to give up any of that. We also now have the best tree stand ever which makes the tree even easier.

3. When do you put up the tree?

Typically 2 weeks before Christmas, any earlier and we would have to kick it out before New Year's due to the increasing fire hazard.

4. When do you take the tree down?

The first weekend after New Year's.

5. Do you like eggnog?

No Thank you!!

6. Favorite gift received as a child?

I'm not sure if it was a Christmas gift but I was given a ride on horse that was made out of juice cans. The cans were covered in a soft brown fur and there was a rubber horse head on the front of it. I was afraid of lightening and I remember sitting on that horse hugging his head for protection. Kind of humorous considering his body was metal. I loved that poor thing to death, I think eventually his fur fell apart from me dragging it around the house.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?

Absolutely, with many guests to the party made lovingly by my aunt.

8. Hardest person to buy for?

The teenage boys in the family - it seems all they want is money. Well they must be planning on buying something with the money, I wish they would let me know what it is so I could buy it instead of giving them cash.

9. Easiest person to buy for?

My Sweet Pea. Thanks to TV she wants just about everything in any commercial or any sale circular. I also like to buy toys that I find fun so I can play with something I like too.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?

I can't think of any...every Christmas gift, even if it ends up in my closet was given to me by someone special and I always appreciate the effort. Have I received bad gifts (or useless ones), of course, but I just joke about it with hubby and forget it. I guess I just haven't been lucky enough yet to receive something so horrible that it is memorable.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards?

Christmas cards need to be mailed - how else can people like me tape them to our doors and windows? Plus this is the only time of year I look forward to a full mailbox.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?

Serious movie - It's a Wonderful Life; Funny Movie - A Christmas Story; Cartoon Show - The Grinch (this is also my cell phone ring tone this time of year)

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

Typically the first week in December. I do look throughout the year for ideal presents but I use lists in December.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

Absolutely - I admit it. If I received 2 of the same thing (and I'm not good at returning items to stores anyway), or something I know I just won't use but someone else will love, I will pass it on.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?

Hmmm , toss up between Turkey and Toll house cookies.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?

Colored - I think they are more festive. White is very pretty but I just feel they are too stark and glaring for me. Also all of the other lights in the house are white year-round, color makes it special for Christmas.

17. Favorite Christmas song?

I can't pick just one...I have too many good memories of a lot of songs. I love to hear the Little Drummer boy and after Sweet Pea's Christmas program the other night I think Mary Did you Know? is especially wonderful.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?

I would love to stay home but we travel close to home. First to MIL for presents and lunch then off to my family for dinner and more presents.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?

Of course, what mother of a 5 year old can't?

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?

Angel. Our angel is currently a fire hazard and we still won't give her up. When we were married we searched numerous stores for a pretty angel with a plesant face. About a month after we bought her I saw she was recalled. Oops - too bad, I'm not giving her back. We've had her 10 years now and not one single fire.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?

Both. We have a tradition of opening gifts from each other in my family on Christmas eve and from "Santa" on Christmas day.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?

It is so depressing after the decorations come down. We need more holidays after Christmas and Valentines day just doesn't count in my book.

23. What I most love about Christmas.

As cliched as it sounds - giving people special things and all the preparation that goes into it. I try every year to surprise someone with something unique and special.

The voice of an angel

I wasn't sure what to call this post. It was a toss up between "The next American Idol winner" or "The voice of an angel". Considering the response elicited by this sweet voice, I had to go with angel.
Last night was Sweet Pea's Christmas recital at school. We had the traditional yelling of songs from K, 1st, and 2nd grades along with a few mumbled songs from 3rd and 4th. There was also a very nice violin solo from a 6th grade boy and several songs on the chimes and recorders. The most outstanding part of the evening was when a small un-assuming little 5th grade girl walked up on stage to sing her solo.
This small girl had the only solo of the night. Her song was "Mary did you know?" and when she started to sing the entire room broke out in tears. The depth and beauty of her voice was amazing and the feeling she brought to that song was incredible. If you could have seen her and then heard this voice you wouldn't believe it came from her. Every person in the room was weeping as she sang of the wonders Jesus would do in his life. I even saw teenagers, who I'm sure were forced to be there, crying as she sang. When she was finished she gave a quick tiny "Thank you" and ducked off the stage. We all immediately stood and clapped as loudly as possible and this sweet girl burst into tears in her Principal's arms. She was so nervous to sing and she did a wonderful job.
I can only imagine where the years will take her and I am feel blessed just to have heard her this one time. I hope God continues to bless her and that her voice continues to touch people the way she did last night.

A Holiday House Tour

I am a few days late but as Christmas approaches and my "To do" list never seems to shrink, I figure better late then not at all. I saw that BooMama was giving a holiday house tour and I thought it would be fun to at least get a few pictures posted of our own happy home. So please come inside and enjoy the view.

Here is a picture of a wreath I recently made to replace our 6 year old smashed beyond recognition wreath. I have to admit I made it because I was inspired by a friend's sister who made the most beautiful wreath ever. Prior to this I had the 6 year old smashed wreath on our front door.


Once you come inside the door you will find this happy couple waiting to greet you. They are one of my favorite decorations and, like all the other ceramics in my house, were made by my great aunt. To give you an idea of their size they stand about 2.5 feet tall.



Now as you look up from these smiling faces you will see this .... (notice the same ribbon here as on the wreath above). Now proceed down the hall into our family room and take a look at the mantel. The Santa's are again hand painted by my wonderful Aunt.
If you glance over to the right you will see this beautiful arrangement. I couldn't get all of the pieces in the picture but let me just tell you, we have a rockin' party. We have the basic Wise men, camels, animals etc but we also have music (drummer boy and flute player), people offering food, and a whole flock of sheep and multiple shepherds. Again all done in hand painted ceramics, my Aunt is a blessing to all of us.
If you turn around now you will see our Christmas tree. We put it up 2 weeks ago after performing our traditional hunt for the perfect tree. I love the way the branches go all the way to the floor. I think we did a great job this year. Our decorations are just a mix of everything we have collected or had given to us, nothing themed or fancy here.
Since our mantle has Santa, our stockings are hung here in the breakfast area. (There are 4 because the cat gets one too).and in our dining room we have 8 little reindeer waiting for Santa to get back in the sleigh (again made by my Aunt - notice a theme here?). And last but not least, I got this from Current when we moved in the house and I still think it is so cute. We have many more decorations but I just wanted to highlight a few things. If anyone wants to stop over for some holiday cheer - give me a ring!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Snowy lights..

Ok, remember the FallY'all giveaway? Well I am finally posting pictures of the candles I painted for that giveaway. I actually made them two weeks after the giveaway ended. But it seems there was a bit of a delay since I had to actually get to a store to buy the candles first. Then after I painted them I had to figure out how I was going to ship them. When I suggested I would make these it never occurred to me that I needed a transportation vessel to get them to their new owners. I looked all around my house for two suitable containers and I found nothing. I kept delaying hoping that something would turn up and it did. I recently took a trip to Walmart to buy tape to replace the numerous rolls of tape used by Sweetpea in her decorating efforts and there they were in the tape aisle, an entire collection of boxes for sale. Now I don't think I have ever purchased a cardboard box since I am the hoarding type but I shelled out the 77 cents a piece for some sturdy new boxes. I finally had some way of transporting these candles from PA to WA and IL. After boxing these babies up I sent them on their way and it only took me an additional 2 days to get to the post office before they closed.

If you want to take a peek at what was in the boxes here is a picture...

Hopefully the winners will enjoy them. I am not an artist by any means but I think these are cute and I like making them. I have 9 made so far and now I have to finish the rest of my painted presents before Christmas (no more snowmen though - I also do some Christmas trees, moose, and Santa Clauses for variety).

I hope all of your Christmas projects are going well too!

In the spirit of Halloween..

Halloween has to be one of the best times of the year. It signals the beginning of beautiful fall weather, fun activities, and all of the decorating you can stand. One tradition that I love is carving pumpkins. On Saturday we went to our favorite Pick your own everything place (Weavers Orchard) and participated in the fall festival. We climbed aboard the first hayride we found and took a 10 minute jaunt through all the orchards to arrive directly across the street from where we started. Here we picked our way through a pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkins. Now according to Sweetpea we needed a small, medium, and large pumpkin. Sweetpea snagged the first small pumkin she spotted and only with some gentle prodding traded it in for a pumpkin I liked. DH walked around for 15 minutes trying to find the perfect large pumpkin with no luck. I wanted a tall oval shaped pumpkin and finally found one right before we were to catch our ride back across the street.

Once we all piled off the hayride we enjoyed some cool apple cider and water. DH then selected a VERY large pumpkin from the already picked pile and we carried our haul all the way to the cars.

Unfortuately due to a previous commitment (see Mom's fix-it service) we were unable to carve them Saturday night. First thing Sunday morning Sweetpea begged me to carve hers. We spent at least an hour on Saturday evening discussing how she wanted it carved. She finally settled on a classic face pattern. As I was about to begin, I asked one More time - is this what you want? She of course changed her mind - again - and decided on the spider. Here is the result..

Sunday night I had time to work on my own. I chose a classic Disney villan, Malecifent from Sleeping Beauty.





Chris finally carved his pumpkin and he choose a classic evil face...

So those are our pumpkins for the year. We have them proudly displayed on our front sidewalk. I coated them in bleach first to prevent mold and then vaseline so they don't dry out. I hope they last until Halloween. Otherwise I'll just have to carve more..darn..wouldn't that be fun!