Happy New Year!

First, I have to thank everyone for a wonderful birthday! As much as I dreaded it - everyone made it so nice - from the e-cards, to the warm wishes in my comments, from phone calls, to surprise goodies, & from cool friends who gave shout outs on their blogs for me (Thanks Lynn & Carolina Girl!!!!) - & even had two sets of flowers sent to me.... its because of awesome people like you that made my day! Seriously - totally made my day - THANK YOU!!!

So today is the last day in the year. Can you believe it? A great time to set those resolutions! It always cracks me up how people think that just because the date is 01/01/?? - that makes it good to start fresh.... especially when we have a Graceful God who makes all things new daily!!!

Anyways - I've got things that I'm going to resolve to stick with through the year....what are they?

OK - don't laugh... I wont be - I'll probably be crying.... I'm actually starting to train Monday for the Mini-Marathon for the Kentucky Derby Festival. Me - Running..... stop laughing! I always wanted to run this before I turned 40 & after yesterday, turning another year older - I need to do it soon. And my Sister in law did it last year - her first.... I was so impressed she did it - & made it under 3 hours - I told her I'd do it too. That was in April - darn it - she remembered I said that!!!! So I've got my schedule to train. Starting off the first day - I have to run 3 miles... building up on that... after 7 weeks, on Saturdays (which is the big days to run - I'll be up to 12 miles).... can you hear me laughing? I'm not sure if its laughing or crying myself... but I'm going to give it a go. If anything - I'm hoping to survive... live through this... make it across the finish line - even if its 6 hrs later...as long as they dont have to send a rescue team after me - I'll consider it a success!!!!!

All that is going to lead to my resolution to eat healthier... yes - how many people make that one - but I think training to run - I'm going to HAVE to do this... I wont be able to eat some fried stuff & then jump on the treadmill....it'll feel like a rock in my belly. This should be interesting because I'm not a veggie fan.

But this also leads to another resolution.... I'm going to try to cook more. Now, I did make this last year & I did really well the first few months of the year, but again, having to eat healthy - to train (see how it all ties in together) - I'm going to have to do more of this. Carolina Girl has already tipped me off to the "Biggest Loser Cookbook".... I heard easy ingredients & recipes - that's what I'm talking about!

Also, my blog buddy, Deidre is challenging people to memorize scripture. I love my time to read my Bible daily - but I want to hold it tight to me... I want to store it away. So I got a little leather book that fits in my purse & will be writing down a verse every few days - until I get it down & memorizing it! Of course, my love of sign language - I'll learn it that way as well. It actually helps me to memorize it since I'm a big "talking with the hands" person. Ricky says if you tie my hands down, I wouldnt be able to talk - its true!

So that's what I'm resoluting (is that a word?) ... I think it takes care of my mind, body & soul.... all three covered. I've got to be sure to link this up to my friend Lianna - she's keeping track of everyone's resolutions... can't wait to see how many are the same - or different!

Be safe tonight... I always worry about OTHER people driving!!! I just hope Ricky & I can see midnight come in - we both have early mornings going to work.... odds are good for me - not so good for Ricky... we'll see

Happy New Year! May 2009 hold wondrous Blessings for us all!

Another birthday?

Dang... I'm another year older today.... I can't believe it.....

I'm one of those people who dreaded turning 25 because I knew 30 was coming.... oh, talk about being down - I hated my 30th birthday... & now, I'm on the back side of 30 & I can't believe it. Where does the time go?

And its crazy because when someone asks me how old I am - I truly have to think because my initial reaction is to say 18! How screwed up is that? But I guess mentally, I still pass for 18 years old most of the time!

Oh well... I just know I'm going to use the phrase, "BUT ITS MY BIRTHDAY" to Ricky all day - afterall, he used it on me 6 days ago - ALL DAY LONG!!!! I have witnesses!!!!

Christmas cards

Here's an idea that I love doing....

When you get ready to take down your Christmas cards - & this is a great idea to do if you work in a business where they normally just toss the Christmas cards - take them & recycle them... how?

What I like to do - if the picture is a beautiful picture on the front - cut off the front portion of the card - make sure the back side is blank. Then you can take a hole punch & put two holes at the top - thread some ribbon through & tie a pretty bow to it to add a little touch. You can trim the edges with some of those really neat shearing scissors made for scrapbooking.

Then with the blank side - you can write any sort of Christmas message..... then you can take these to a nursing home or a hospital next year & have nurses deliver them to patients - especially those that are not getting alot of visitors or have alot of family... it would be a nice surprise to lift up their Holidays.

If you work with kids in any way - this is a great idea to have them write on the back as well - let them pass on a fun message to a stranger! Let the kids even pick the ribbon & tie them... something to get kids involved as well!

I hate to throw away anything that can be recycled - & this is a great way to recycle some of the beautiful cards!!!!

Listening?

One of our great church members filled in giving an incredible message on prayer today. He did this skit below - & this guy is the funniest guy in the world - so he added his own touches & made everyone get a good laugh in church (always love to laugh in church!) But I wanted everyone to see this - its such a reminder.... how much time do we spend praying? How much of HEART is in praying? AND how much time do we spend listening to God's answers - his response to our lives? HHHmmmm.....

Sunday Scripture

HE must become greater; I must become less.

-John 3:30

The Day After...

Oh - its all over... isn't a little weird when you wait & wait & all the build up - & the anticipation & then bam - its over! I had to work this morning but got out of work early (Thank you Mr. Nice Boss) so I got to come home & start cleaning up the Christmas madness. But here's a few pics from my celebration.

We got this package in the mail from Julie & gang... YIPEE - I got a yarn pattern book - how fun! & Ricky got the cutest frame - it says "Grandpa & me"... gotta find the perfect picture of Pappy & Isaac... But look at the jars... Julie has learned to make natural foods & canning them... we got apple butter, apple sauce, & other fruit spreads... YUM!!!!!! I'm glad she knows how to can them so she can mail more up (hint Julie - Hint!)



Got to spend time with the baby of the family - Lindsay & her fiance.... yep - I said Fiance!!! We're a little taken back - she just turned 20 in October but that's another story... but she's still the baby so we worry - you dont ever stop worrying for your kids - do you? Anyways - its always good to spend time with her.







What do you see here? Know what I see - the best gifts in the world!!!!! My dear sister-friend Lynn knitted for me for my birthday, which is next week, some Alpaca Fingerless gloves... these things are like Heaven on the hand... & how beautiful are they!!! I'll be wearing them daily!!!! I had to watch Lindsay - she wanted to walk out with them. And the socks... Lynn made those as well - for me & for Ricky.... which is funny because I've never made Ricky socks because he complains so much about the price of them - I told him I'd never make him a pair... Lynn stepped in being a good friend & made a pair for him for Christmas. I'm telling you - there is nothing better than knitted socks!!!! It really is the best gifts ever Lynn - thank you!!!




Got to spend Christmas Night with the twins...I had to pick this picture because look at those faces... Sophia is sitting in anticipation & Madi - I dont know what she's seeing - but it must be the packages coming out ... in this picture - the floor is clean - & by clean I mean you can see it... after about a 15 minutes - you couldnt see nothing but shreds of paper.... oh - Christmas through the eyes of kids....And can I help it if I gave them 4 Belle Dolls? Who can get enough of that?

Now - what did my hubs get me?


YIPEE - a new camera... & ITS PINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I didnt get to play with it because the battery had to charge so new pictures will be coming.... its so slim! I'm used to a bulky camera - but I wanted a camera I can put in my purse - never know when a blog picture moment will happen....





Hubs got me more fun stuff & the above... a book which I've been wanting & GIFT CARDS.... so what am I doing this weekend - going SHOPPING!!!!!!

And he also got me a Ped-Egg.... know those things? I've been wanting one for so long but didnt want to spend $10.00 on it for myself.... so he ventured out to get it... I wish I could have been a spy - he said he felt like a fool going around asking for a "PET EGG".... I would have loved to seen the faces of everyone he asked!!!

Hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas....I'm ready to go snap some pictures now!!!

The Gift

I know alot of you are hearing the verses from Luke or from the gosepls about the birth of our Savior.... I want to look at another verse real quick.

Romans 6:23 " For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"

As we receive so many gifts from our friends & family - let us remember the one gift that our Father God sent for us - Jesus Christ. I think we forget that he was a "GIFT" for us. And as any gift - we can choose to take it & open it & use it & receive it.... or we can take a gift & not ever open it up - or never use it - put it in a corner or closet & forget about it.

As you celebrate Christmas with your family - remember the gift that God sent down to us... the gift that cost so much for his Son..... the gift that God wants you to accept.

May your Christmas be full of love, hope & peace!

Happy Birthday Punk!

I use the word "Punk" with nothing but love... that's how me & my husband roll...

Yep - Ricky's birthday is on Christmas Eve.... He always said that makes him & Jesus even cooler with each other since they share a birthday.... that strikes our argument - was Jesus born on Christmas Day or Christmas Eve - since we go by the star that the wise men followed - but you have the argument that they followed that star for awhile... & what makes us think he was born at night even though all the pictures show a late night in the stable? Because there was no room in the inn? Does that mean its night - everyone settled in? And then that takes us back to was it Christmas Eve Night or Christmas Night - even when studies show Jesus was probably born sometime in the summer.... see - that's how our arguments go... they lead to one thing & another....

But back to the main point.... Its my hubby's birthday!!!! And I have tried to make it a day where he doesn't feel "cheated" that he has to share his birthday with a pretty big holiday... so we'll be celebrating..... lucky him - he got off work so he gets to relax the day away while I have to work... the point that I have to work makes it even sweeter to him! But we're meeting our dear friends for lunch & he'll finally get his Birthday gift that he's been dying to figure out what it is... I'll post a picture later....its SOOOO him!!!

So Happy Birthday Dude-y! I'm thankful for the day you were born!

Dogs taking over

So not only have I met some incredible friends - my doggies are all into this blog thing & have made friends of their own... & the results - they've been tagged! Yes they have! Their doggie friend Rudy from his mommy, Krysta's blog tagged them - so they are taking over on this post... I'm handing over my lap top & asking the questions & letting their little doggie paws put whatever they want (with a little help from me)

The rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

With four dogs - they each have some habits & quirks... so which dog to begin with...

1. From Zoe.... I love to ride in the car. I especially like to ride in my mommy or daddy's lap - that way I can sit behind the wheel & feel like I'm driving the car! I'll sit & look straight out the window like I'm actually turning the wheel. I just have to use mom & dad's feet to reach the pedals. I'm the littliest of the bunch so I like having the control in the automobile. Being little has its perks because no one else can fit in this spot!

#2. From Sydney.... No one knows my secret talent. - I'm really a basketball pro at heart! when my mommy & daddy go play basketball at the park, they'll take me & I love when the ball comes through the hoop. That's when I make the move. I can jump up & block the ball & then, my Aussie skills come in handy. I'll herd the ball to where I want it, while barking & snipping at it until it does what I want. Then mom & dad pick up the ball & we do it all over again. I'm waiting for my offer from the NDA (National Dog Association!)

#3 From Sydney again.... I love my little nephew Isaac. After all, he is mom & dad's first grandbaby so I know they love him very much. I even watch out for him when he visits to make sure he's OK or not getting into any trouble. But I have to remind everyone that I am still the baby in this house too. Even if that means being right in the middle of all the toys... that's what it takes sometimes to get the attention back on me. Its hard competing with a beautiful blue eyed baby! That's OK - I love him enough to share the attention!

#4 From Buffy.... I'm the biggest in the family & there is advantage with that - I've got a better vantage point of the kitchen counters! Mom & dad keep a close watch on me because they know I'm super fast with seeing what's up there & grabbing it & running. They've gotten smarter though because they push things back where I can't reach it. I'll figure out a way to get even those things! Luckily - it seems my stomach is made of iron because I think I've ate more chocolate than any dog should be allowed. I'm ready for more too!!

#5 from Bruno.... I love everyone! Especially little kids & babies. Maybe because my legs are only an inch long - I like shorter people. I can sit for hours with a baby's arm around me - or just sit & let a little one pet me. When the twins are over, I get so nervous because I dont know which one to follow. I just want to play with littles ones all the time - its the only time I can really play because my sisters all have longer legs & outrun me so I have a hard time keeping up with them. That's OK - I prefer humans anyways!

#6 - from All..... we love to sleep with our mommy & daddy. Its a tight fit since its only a queen size bed, but none of us are willing to budge. We all have our places - Bruno sleeps right in between mommy's legs - Sydney gets right in the middle - Buffy stretches at the bottom & Zoe is so tiny - she'll squeeze where she can. Mom & dad wake up sometimes saying that we have to get a king sized bed.... I dont know about them - but we're just fine where we're at. We're a family after all!

So there's a little look of my dog's point of view.... Thanks Rudy for tagging them... they love getting attention too! It's always good to see some other spoiled dogs reaching out to other spoiled dogs.

Now who do they tag... they put their wet noses to my ear & said that's it free for anyone - have a pet? Let them take your blog over for a day.... let them tell a little bit about themselves! They have lots to say!!!

Kicking em' off

Christmas has begun around these neck of the woods....

I got to have fun with two different age groups today in church. Got to help out Mrs. Lynn in her Sunday School class - & I forgot how hectic it is with smaller kids. Made me sort of appreciate Jr. High kids. But the crafts are fun. We got to color in paddle balls & made Snowman frames.... & then we had donuts. What a fun, glue-y, ball bouncing, sticky donut finger time!!!

Then we moved onto the Youth Party where they had a Chinese Christmas exchange. You NEVER knew what you were going to get. Anything from a Santa Potato Head - to a rapping Dog Toy - to Moon Sand - to a fake bird in a cake singing - to disco ball headbands.... not to mention homemade Cinnamon Rolls.... OH MY GOODNESS... can you say YUM!!!! And I've said it before & I'll say it again - I'm so blessed with incredible young ladies!!! One of the most amazing gifts I received... looked at this painting I got.... I told her I would pay her to do the other 3 covers for me.... these girls know my love for Edward & Twilight - I also got a specially made Twilight key chain that only me & 2 other girls have.... How these girls bless me!!!

Then we got to go have our Christmas with Ricky's family. It was so nice because we don't normally get to spend Christmas with his side - but his sister said we were going to celebrate as a family - even if it wasn't on Christmas day... so we all got to gather at his sister's for dinner & got to open gifts & it was just fun to spend the day together. Something that so rarely happens.

Here I am with my 3 sister in laws - my mother in law & my niece.... Its always fun to laugh with these ladies!

Here's Ricky with his brother, 3 sisters & their mommy.... nice to see them all together...

So Christmas has been officially kicked off .... even after opening gifts & celebrating - can't believe its that time of the year....

Anyone else already had their family celebrations? Already enjoying the Holidays? Or are you waiting for the big day of the 25th?

Angels

My twin nieces were in their first Christmas play from their preschool. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life. You have to remember - these kids are 4 yrs old!!!! The play probably latest all of 10 minutes - but it was the cutest 10 minutes ever!!!!

You also have to know - these girls do not talk to anyone - they are the most shy little girls I've ever known. The whole family was there to see if they were going to go through with standing up there & doing what they had to do....

So let me show you how it went....

The angle in the middle is Sophia... both her & her sister were Angels - Madi is comng around the corner... but they had to flap their arms coming down the aisle... Sophia wouldnt look up - but she kept the arms flapping!

Here's Madi - the other angel... this is afterwards.... aren't they the cutest angels ever?

And this is my favorite picture... Madi is so engrossed afterwards trying to tell a story to her Papaw & Yaya with her mommy right by her...

And I love this picture too of Sophia - the girl NEVER broke character. Even when Aunt Becca was standing up in the pews ... ok, not standing, but up on my knees where I was above everyone -waving like she was Robert Pattinson or something - she never waved back... I probably embarassed her... her she is walking out - keeping the "angel pose" still going!

And because what kind of aunt would I be without live action shots - here are two videos...

the first one - its only 11 seconds - you gotta see this one - its their debut of SPEAKING in front of people!!! They are saying "Glory to the Newborn king"



And here's another video - all of 1 minute - but you see Sophia not breaking character... & yeah, that's Madi on the other side of the room, refusing to look up - she kept her head down most of the play... her little cheeks were getting so red - it was adorable... but that little black lamb was a scene stealer!!! We wondered if they made him the only black lamb for a reason....



I cant believe the twins are old enough for their first play.... I wouldnt have missed it for the world....

Odds?

OK - what are the odds - really? See that picture.... well, my co worker, the office manager, came in & laughed when she saw the packages I had on her desk.... why was she laughing? She pulled mine out & they had the same wrapping.

So she goes to our CFO & puts his package on his desk - again, the same wrapping & she notices the boxes look pretty similar. She asked me what I got him..... yeah.... she got him the EXACT same thing!!!! What are the odds?

I've been with her for 17 years....I told her - we've worked together way too long....

One

Someone asked me what our Christmas Eve plans were.... it made me think back - growing up, my whole life, Christmas Eve was always the night we went to my grandmother's house. We would have a big gathering & it would build up the anticipation for Christmas morning. My grandma passed away in 1997 & ever since then - there hasn't been the fanfare that goes along with Christmas Eve.

It made me think - how one person can make a difference in someone's life. Not just in that way - but how one person can make a decision or how their life changes & how it affects your life - sometimes even without someone knowing.

A friend decides to move - your life is changed because now you dont have that ear or shoulder to lean on

A co workers takes a promotion or decides to leave the company all together - it puts more work on you as a result

A family member makes a financial decision and the rest of the family has to feel the effects of cutting back in other areas

Someone close has a hardship & you feel their pain as much as they do & struggle right along with them

So many ways that one person can affect your life....

Then I thought about Christmas.... how one person affected so many... how God sent His son down to this earth that we may have hope.... One life, One person....

How the ripples of a life can expand to some places we may never know....

Real or Artificial?

For those of you who know me - you know I'm all about recycling, wanting to save the Earth & all that good stuff.... so Christmas always bothers me when it comes to the idea of real Christmas trees. I'm not posting anything to anger anyone - I'm just curious - I want to know why people get real trees for Christmas. Maybe I'm just used to artifical trees - that's what we had every year except for one when my brother bought a real one for us... our family was a nervous wreck of it catching on fire so we hardly ever left the lights on... that was tons of fun (BOO!)

Has anyone ever seen that "Friends" episode where Phoebe would see all the dead Christmas trees getting put in the "shredder" or "grinder" - whatever that machine is called & she was freaking out like it was a human body being put in there.... in the end - her friends fill the apartment with all dead Christmas trees.... she was so happy.... I appreciate that episode - always have....

It just hurts my feelings to see trees grown for the purpose of chopping them down & then to see them still green & on curb sides because people are finished with them.... dang, that just makes me sad... it may seem dumb like that but that's just the way the Mother Nature side of me rolls....

So do you have artifiical or a real one? Help me understand the need for a real tree....

And since I can't find the scene with Phoebe & her dead trees... here's a clip for you to enjoy .... miss Phoebe's songs.... "Smelly Cat" - what a classic!

Blocking!

So for those that aren't familiar with Blocking - dont feel alone - I never had been before tonight! But for those that don't even know what blocking is - its the process of washing your knitted project & pinning it into shape to dry.... when you do a lace project - all that detail work needs to be showed off - so you have to block it... Here's the process that I went through....This is the beginning - the blanket is just a pile of yarn - all the work is done but you cant see any of the detail. I put it in this container...

I got this idea from another blog - I put it inside of the smaller tub with holes - put it in a bigger tote & run water until its all submerged. You can add wool wash & pick up the blanket in the smaller tote & the water drain & clean water until all the soap suds are gone... smart! Thank you for whoever thought of that!!!

Then you take it & soak up the excess water in towels.... you cant really "wring" it because it'll really distort the shape... so lots of towels for this one - its wool & HEAVY so it sucked up tons of water....


Then I started from the center & pinned it out & then pulled out the four corners - here is one side of the corner I pulled out... until you get......


Da...TAAAA..... after pulling out all the sides & pinning it out - everything flat you can see the detail of the blanket.... now, it has to dry & when you pull out the pins - it actually keeps that shape & form - how awesome is that!!!! Shouldn't got closer pictures but was wet & my fingers hurt after putting in about a hundred pins....

Also had to take OUT pins from a blanket I blocked before - it was cotton so it dried FAST!!!!! I'll take pictures of that another time too...

Now - gotta wrap 'em up when this one dries... Christmas presents... ssshhh!!!!!

I'm excited to do more lace projects now!!!