December 30, 2011

time to share the gifts!

Not all of these have been given yet, but the ones that are left are going to people who won't see this, so now I can share. It appears as though my quilting tutor is doing a good job!

My first quilt - for the oldest's BF who has never had one.


I-spy - for my grandson with fabric I've collected over years.

Stars - started for my granddaughter when she was a baby.
Tag blankie - for the newest little family member.


December 26, 2011

over the river...

My other sister and her husband moved into a beautiful new home, and so it was her turn to host Christmas. They made ham and potatoes, and we opened gifts that we exchanged names for. This was the view on the drive out to her house:


December 24, 2011

Jesus would have a smart phone, I know it....

The kids and I went to midnight service at the church where I grew up, and where my sister and her family still goes - it's a very relaxed format. As I was taking this picture, the middle daughter leaned over and said, "I think taking pictures in church is frowned upon."

Because it was Christmas, I didn't point out that we were all wearing jeans and hoodies, and that the people in front of us were dancing....


December 23, 2011

all aboard!

The oldest planned a surprise for the rest of us today. She took us to dinner and then to the Polar Express at the IMAX theater. We saw the movie in the theater as a family when it was released, and we have watched it on dvd hundreds of times since, and there were still things we caught this time that we never heard or saw before. The two funniest memories of the night:

1) The middle daughter walked into the IMAX and her brain went into math mode. All she could think of was how fast the sound waves would travel across the dome, and the formulas to calculate things. She could not clear her brain until the movie started. And she was pissed that she couldn't turn it off. Hilarious!

2) As we are wrapping up dinner hubby pulls out his phone and announces that he has "this cool calculator" on his phone that can figure out what the tip should be. No one had the heart to tell him that we all have a tip calculator on our phones - or we all sat in the same stunned silence, while he demonstrated it for us....


December 22, 2011

it's points either way....

At work we had a gag gift exchange, so middle daughter and I made a trip to the local Goodwill store looking for a good one. We found a pillow in the shape of a hamburger. It was perfect.

In the exchange we did, once you opened your gift, you could trade with someone else who already opened theirs to get a "better" gift. 

When I picked the kids up at school I reported back that my co-worker chose the burger, and when it was the boss's turn she swiped it from my co-worker. Apparently it was a hit.

The middle kid says, "Maybe it will earn you some brownie points - or more like hamburger points."

December 20, 2011

so that's what the ironing board is for

Ok, so when I started quilting again, I forgot why I quit in the first place. Part of it was finding time to work on it with little kids running around. The other reason is that I stopped taking classes after the intro, and didn't learn how to actually finish one.

I'd like to introduce my new quilting tutor, YouTube:


December 17, 2011

Ms Money

I was talking with our coach at a rock climbing competition when the middle daughter came springing up with some papers in her hands. "Whatcha got there?" asked the coach. "Oh, an application to work here - college isn't gonna pay for itself."

I love that girl.

December 14, 2011

well, at least it's one more

My co-workers decorated my cube for my birthday - hub and kids left me a starbucks gift card and texted me messages all day, and my sister, my other sister, my dad and sooo many friends on FB wished me a happy birthday - which was really nice because I spent my day at work, and then at night went to my other job, and was still in a meeting at midnight when my birthday ended.


December 7, 2011

st nick...

I did not want the oldest to miss St. Nick just because she is away at school - it's always been such an event in our home.... So I made arrangements for the info desk in her dorm building to deliver a package to her mailbox that night. In the box was a small, wrapped item for each day, like an advent. That night when she got caught up on the days, she sent me this picture:



December 4, 2011

cookie day

My BFF organized a cookie exchange at her house this weekend. Way easier than baking all of these alone - which is what the two of us used to do.


December 3, 2011

i forgot about these

Last year when the oldest was choosing colleges, one of them was on the other side of the country with a very aggressive program and intense schedule. We knew if she wound up there, we would not see her during the semester, possibly not for Thanksgiving, and only a few days for Christmas.

As I was putting the Christmas stuff away, I realized that this Christmas was one of the "lasts" for us. For the first time it hit me that she would be graduating, and the possibilities she had to choose from was overwhelming to me. I was missing her already.

I put some ornaments in one of the leftover cookie tins to send to her - wherever she was the next year. I put the tin back in with the rest of the decorations and packed them away. This year, when I pulled  them out, there was the tin on top.

As it turns out, she chose the college 45 minutes away and is home nearly every weekend, but the sense of "lasts" has not gone away.