Saturday, December 24, 2011

Seeing Santa

We took Mason to see Santa Claus.  Mason was pretty indifferent to the whole situation.  I was secretly hoping that Mason would try to pull on Santa's beard, but that didn't happen.  Here are some pictures as well as what's going on in that little head of his, as made up by me.
 My socks are way more interesting.
 Oh what's over there?
 Okay, I guess I could act interested.
This is what my mom and dad were making such a big deal of?  I'm over it.
Well if I don't get a chance to get back on the blog on Christmas day, we want to wish everyone who drops by a Merry Christmas!

Friday, December 23, 2011

#30

The first thing I would like to say about this is that I was really looking forward to having paper whites in my house this Christmas.
The second thing I would like to say is that this couldn't have gone more wrong.
The weekend after Thanksgiving, I planted my paper white bulbs.  I had five bulbs and I split them among three containers.  This is what they looked like right after I planted them.
And here is what they look like today.
See how there is no difference?  Yeah, that's because they didn't grow.  Wop wop.  Although it is still a possibility, I would like to rule out me as a possible reason for why they didn't grow.  I planted them in three separate containers, two different ways, and had them in three different locations in the house.  You would think I could have gotten so much as a teeny root or shoot.  But no.  I think a good possibility could be that I bought these bulbs to plant last year.  I never got around to it, so I tried them this year.  I thought the bulbs would be fine since they were dormant, but maybe that's not a good theory?  Who knows.  In any case, I tried.  I failed, but I still tried.  Maybe in the future I'll have the urge to try again, but I think my desire to force paper whites has gone dormant for now.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Good Bye, Charlie Brown

First let me start by saying, sorry all those of you who get a real Christmas tree every year, I am in the fake tree camp. Second, as I mentioned here, our Christmas tree is from 1988.  Let's just say, it was pretty sparse.  It's seen better days.
But that all stops now.  WE GOT A NEW TREE!  I was just telling my husband that I think this is one of the few purchases that we are both thrilled with.  Often in our decision making, one of us ends up a little happier than the other, but with this purchase, we both love our decision.  The tree is lush, lightly flocked, and complete with a few fake pine cones for whimsy.  Here are a few pictures of it coming together.
It's prelit.  Love that fact.  Some of the lights are clear, some are frosted, and some...wait for it...twinkle!  I'm over the moon.  Who knew it would take something so simple?  Anyway.  Another thing I may not have shared on the old blog is that I love Christmas ornaments.  Or Christmas balls, to be more specific.  I have a zillion.  In many colors.  Although I am missing green, orange, and yellow (if they can be found), but I will get them too, in due time.  Each year, I devise a new color scheme, and this year I have chosen turquoise and tomato.  Okay, red, but I like the sound of tomato better. I did sprinkle in a few other favorite ornaments, but here is the finished product.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Wreath the Third

My friend Sara came over and we got our craft on and made...duh duh daaaa...a wreath!
All of the supplies except for the wreath form came from my stash, and I was very thankful that we were able to find some good colors!  It is funny how different types of projects require different types of color combinations.  And then sometimes I feel like I'm left with some odd choices.  But I digress...
I will say, for this wreath I used a form from a cheap fall wreath that was made of branches.  It definitely left our finished project looking a bit more rustic - you can see some of the original wreath sticking out (although you could probably remedy that by wrapping an additional layer of yarn), and it is not a perfectly uniform circle.  My personal choice is to use the wreath form made of green foam, but they all worked fine.
I am a little obsessed with these wreaths, but I'm pretty sure this was my last for the season.  Has anyone else made any wreaths?  Am I the only one?  Hmmm...probably.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

December Goals

December is one of my favorite times of the year for two reasons.  First, Christmas.  I don't think I need to say much more about that.  And second, I find that December is the one time of year when I actually reflect on the past year.  I don't take a lot of time for reflection during my everyday life, but it seems like when the end of the year is approaching and a new year is about to begin, I just can't help myself.
And as I was thinking about this today, I realized that in order to make my December what I want it to be, there are a few things that I want to try to accomplish.  Cue the comeback of my goals list.  Again, it's not overwhelming, but hopefully it will be the little kick in the pants that I need to get ready for the holiday to come.
1. Bake Christmas cookies.  We have to have something to leave out for Santa, afterall.
2. Get a new Christmas tree.  The tree that I've had was purchased in 1988.  It's about time.
3. Hang stockings.  This means I need to do the final step and attach the tags.
4. Read 50 pages.  This might even mean I finish my book!
5. Finish the wedding gift for my nephew and his new wife.
6. Hem my pants.
7. Start Mason on cereal.  The doctor said he's ready.  It's me that's still getting used to the idea.
It's pretty short and sweet, and nothing too overwhelming, but it's just enough to make me feel like I've accomplished something and also to get ready for Christmas.  Wish me luck!

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Day 10

Ugh.  Our internet has been in and out for several days.  Which means I've been in and out for several days.  Mostly out. The good news is we are upgrading our service on Tuesday and shouldn't have any more problems (fingers crossed).
So in my absence, here is one thing that we didn't get blogged.  Mason had his 4 month check up, and folks, we have big boy on our hands.  He weighed in at 18 lbs, 1 oz which puts him in the 94th percentile, and he is 25 1/4 inches long, putting him in the 61st percentile.  And although we had to get shots this time, he handled them like a champ.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Day 9

It's another wreath.  This time, I created it to be included in a basket of various holiday items to be raffled off in a fundraiser.  I have a coworker who was diagnosed with cancer and my department is contributing several items to be raffled off at charity event for her benefit.  The good news is that this time, I did NOT burn the heck out of my finger.
In other news, sweet Mason is four months old today!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Day 8

There is a lot going on around here - on my craft table, that is.  I am nearing completion of my quilt top (woo hoo!) and pieces and parts of many other projects are chilling out up there too.  Recently, this table has also become a home for my husband to run his nightly reports for work, so I think it's time I learn to share my space.  A clean up will be coming soon!
A special thank-you goes out to Mason who has agreed to nap for a decent length of time, which allows this post to be written!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Day 7

Mason's Grandpa (my dad) came over and read Mason one of my favorite books.  Mason wa so interested.  I love how it looks like he is following along.  He probably already knows how to read, I'm sure.  He's very bright.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Day 6

With fabric scraps in the trashcan, it can only mean there was a weekend with time for crafting!

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Friday, November 4, 2011

Day 4

I made new art for the bathroom.  I had always wondered what kind of art could go in a bathroom.  I know an obvious candidate could be botanicals, but the bathroom isn't exactly the place for a family portrait.  That is just too awkward. But what would be cute?  Bathtub pictures.
Unfortunately I didn't have any of those either, but I did find just about the next best thing.  I found a picture of Byron as a little boy brushing his teeth, and there was one of me from about the same age playing with makeup.
I just turned the pictures both to black & white, resized them, and had them printed at my local Walgreens.  And ta-da! That was that.  And I love it.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Day 3

This was the view to our back deck last night.  It was our first wintry mix of the season.  Yes, we grilled out in the dark and in the rain.  We are going to miss the warm weather and the sun so desperately.  At least the raindrops were pretty to look through.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Day 2 - The Wreath-veal

Many thanks to my sister Betsy for coming up with the name of this post.  I had fun participating in the summer version of the Pinterest Challenge that I'm giving it another go now that the fall version has come along.  I'm going to keep this short and sweet, so what was my inspiration?
And what was my result?
My process was basically this.
1.  Gather supplies.  There are a couple of supplies shown below that did not make it into the final product.  Just saying.
2.  Wrap yarn around the wreath form. This takes forever, so I watched a movie to pass the time.  I also wrapped two layers thick and I used the tacky glue to hold it down.
3.  Make rosettes.  I cut different sized circles in felt, then cut those circles into a spiral.  Wrap them from the inside of the spiral outward and use the tacky glue to hold the end down.
4.  CAREFULLY attach the rosettes to the wreath using hot glue in a pattern that you like.  I did not succeed at this step and have a huge blister because of it.
5.  Hang the wreath.  I used a ribbon I had on hand.
Tada!  That was super easy.  Now go make yourself one.