Works for Me Wednesday: Christmas card display
Well, I haven't been posting as much lately, so I thought I'd share what's working for me and see what you guys do.
I have 2 ways I display my cards. 1 is a 3-4 foot long carboard card holder thingy that I bought from a school fundraiser. It holds the photo cards and horizontal cards. The other is an idea I got from my Mom. She always used to hang the horizontal cards over a fishing wire or dental floss tacked into the dining room wall. Well, I've taken a string of yarn and tied it from one end of the top of the blinds (in my dining room, last year I did it in the living room, I think) to the other, and that's where I am hanging my top-fold cards. I may also start clipping the other cards to it with clothespins.
What works for you, so the cards from loved ones don't get buried on the counter?
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007
some things just really suck
miscarriages, for one. sudden loss in general. most of us have probably experienced it in some form or another. the things that happen, that are obviously part of God's sovereign plan because He allows them, but we will never understand them. at least, not in this world.
a friend of mine and her husband are mourning the death of their baby boy. on december 4th, baby Mason was admitted to the ICU with meningitis caused by group B strep and MRSA. this past thursday night, he went to be with Jesus.
miscarriages, for one. sudden loss in general. most of us have probably experienced it in some form or another. the things that happen, that are obviously part of God's sovereign plan because He allows them, but we will never understand them. at least, not in this world.
a friend of mine and her husband are mourning the death of their baby boy. on december 4th, baby Mason was admitted to the ICU with meningitis caused by group B strep and MRSA. this past thursday night, he went to be with Jesus.
Suffer the little children to come unto me,
and forbid them not,
for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
and forbid them not,
for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
If you are a parent, hug your little one(s) more tightly when you tuck them in tonight. And please pray for my friend Cheri and her beloved Seth as they mourn the loss of their son, Mason Garrett. He would have been 2 months old on Monday.
Cut-off
No more Christmas decorations for me. Hubby hung the icicle lights on our front porch. I plugged them in before he hung them, and they seemed ok. Well, apparently there was a short in them, because about 10 of the icicle strands did not light up when we plugged them in after being hung. We checked to see if any bulbs were loose... nope. So down they came, to Kroger I went with my dysfunctional lights and receipt, and I exchanged them for another set. Mr. Snowman is now at home under the soft white glow of icicle lights.
No more Christmas decorations for me. Hubby hung the icicle lights on our front porch. I plugged them in before he hung them, and they seemed ok. Well, apparently there was a short in them, because about 10 of the icicle strands did not light up when we plugged them in after being hung. We checked to see if any bulbs were loose... nope. So down they came, to Kroger I went with my dysfunctional lights and receipt, and I exchanged them for another set. Mr. Snowman is now at home under the soft white glow of icicle lights.
Friday, December 14, 2007
It's official!
MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph
Hannah looks more like her Daddy!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
I think I may have to send out 2 or 3 different Christmas cards.
I am torn between the more formal:
and the very quirky cuddly family shot:
I think the only solution may be to just have some of each printed, and make sure Gramma M. gets the formal one since she specifically said she did not like the whimsical one.
FYI, in case you are wondering, I used the collage feature on shutterfly studio, which is a free download on shutterfly.com. It's capabilities are minimal, but I don't have another program on this computer and my other computer is unreliable.
I am torn between the more formal:
and the very quirky cuddly family shot:
I think the only solution may be to just have some of each printed, and make sure Gramma M. gets the formal one since she specifically said she did not like the whimsical one.
FYI, in case you are wondering, I used the collage feature on shutterfly studio, which is a free download on shutterfly.com. It's capabilities are minimal, but I don't have another program on this computer and my other computer is unreliable.
Our thanks to Dotson Studios
for their beautiful work!
(click on individual photos to see them more clearly)
for their beautiful work!
(click on individual photos to see them more clearly)
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Friday, December 07, 2007
Thursday, December 06, 2007
in case you were wondering...
12 feet of 1/8" gold ribbon is the perfect amount needed to hang 20 glass bulb ornaments.
My tree was missing something. Though it did not look bad, there were too many bare spots which kept calling to the ornaments buried in the closet across the room. And those ornaments called back, "save us! We're lonely in here! It's dark! Let there be light!" But the thought of actually hanging ornaments with hooks disturbed me. My toddler is curious. It's part of her spirit, and I am glad. But I felt that by using hooks I would be asking for trouble.
So when I made my trek to Joann's yesterday, I browsed the ribbon... both the holiday display and the standard aisles. Finally, after perusing all my favorite aisles (scrapbooking, floral, yarn, crafts, Christmas and ribbon- in that order), I found the perfect braided thread on a spool in the ribbon aisle. And after we put Bear to bed at the late hour of 9:30 tonight (Daddy came home from being out of town, and naptime was late this afternoon), I decided that since I had to vacuum the dry cereal off the couch and top steps, I might as well see if my ribbon did the trick and be able to vacuum the trimming from the ribbon. I still have 1 box of smaller gold balls, and am undecided. I think some of them would accent the tree nicely, too, but I am out of ribbon for now. At least I found a way to safely adorn my tree. (Unless my daughter pulls down the tree and crushes ornaments in the process, as my friend's DD did last year.)
12 feet of 1/8" gold ribbon is the perfect amount needed to hang 20 glass bulb ornaments.
My tree was missing something. Though it did not look bad, there were too many bare spots which kept calling to the ornaments buried in the closet across the room. And those ornaments called back, "save us! We're lonely in here! It's dark! Let there be light!" But the thought of actually hanging ornaments with hooks disturbed me. My toddler is curious. It's part of her spirit, and I am glad. But I felt that by using hooks I would be asking for trouble.
So when I made my trek to Joann's yesterday, I browsed the ribbon... both the holiday display and the standard aisles. Finally, after perusing all my favorite aisles (scrapbooking, floral, yarn, crafts, Christmas and ribbon- in that order), I found the perfect braided thread on a spool in the ribbon aisle. And after we put Bear to bed at the late hour of 9:30 tonight (Daddy came home from being out of town, and naptime was late this afternoon), I decided that since I had to vacuum the dry cereal off the couch and top steps, I might as well see if my ribbon did the trick and be able to vacuum the trimming from the ribbon. I still have 1 box of smaller gold balls, and am undecided. I think some of them would accent the tree nicely, too, but I am out of ribbon for now. At least I found a way to safely adorn my tree. (Unless my daughter pulls down the tree and crushes ornaments in the process, as my friend's DD did last year.)
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Sunday, December 02, 2007
FINALLY!!!
Our 1st Christmas Tree since 2004.
Our 1st Christmas Tree since 2004.Yes, that's right. Before you call us Scrooges, let me explain.
Decorating our tree was... like Christmas. I opted to leave off the glass balls. With a 2-year old, hooks and the risk of shattering scare me. We have no hooks on our tree this year, so I don't have to worry about Bear chewing on one. DH and I worked together to put all the branches in place and drape the strands of lights around the tree. (Note to self: buy some replacement bulbs, and perhaps another strand for next year at the year-end sales.) As I dug through boxes, I uncovered lost treasures. You see, our ornaments may not all match or coordinate, or fit one theme. Instead, they reflect bits and pieces of who we are and where we've been. That's how my family's tree was growing up, and I'm following suit. Making their debut on our family tree this season: Baby Bear's "Baby's 1st Christmas" Pooh ornament, which was given to us by one of hubby's buddies from Police Academy. The crystal-cut plastic bear that my Dad brought back from Grandma's house after she died. I added a white ribbon to it and it is so charming. A pottery ornament which my parents bought while on Cape Cod for my cousin's wedding in 2005. A mirrored angel ornament from a neighbor, also given to us to commemorate Baby Bear's birth. A hand-colored wooden ornament which our "niece" gave to us. And last, but not least, a star with 3 bears on it and our family name and the year written on it. Hubby and I picked it out while we were on our last pre-parenthood vacation together.... the one where I hiked 2 miles to see a waterfall in the Smokies at 26 weeks of pregnancy. Oh, there are many more ornaments which remind us of friends and family, and there are also some I picked out just because they were pretty and in my price range. I may pick up some shatterproof ornaments to fill in some of the bare spots, or I may not.
I can't wait to see Baby Bear's reaction to the tree when she sees it tomorrow.
Baby Bear was born late October, 2005. Hubby left for 7 weeks of training a week later, coming home or meeting us about every other weekend. We were much more interested in spending time together with our new baby when he was home, and by the time he came back for good, there was less than 1 week before Christmas. Last year, we spent the Christmas week at Tech Mom and Dad's. I DID put up my techno-Charlie-brown-counter-top-tree both years. But it just was not the same.
So as we set up the tree tonight after we put our daughter to bed, it was nice. In less than 3 hours, we set the thing up, put on the lights and decorated it. This is not one of those simple 3-piece pre-lit trees. They were brand new and way too expensive when we were tree hunting. Allergies keep me from even considering a natural tree, plus picking one out at the school yard is not the same as choosing one for Dad to chop down at the tree farm as we did prior to, was it my 2nd grade year? They don't exactly thrive in this climate, so by the time we get them, they have well-begun the drying out process, posing a fire hazard. But I digress...
Decorating our tree was... like Christmas. I opted to leave off the glass balls. With a 2-year old, hooks and the risk of shattering scare me. We have no hooks on our tree this year, so I don't have to worry about Bear chewing on one. DH and I worked together to put all the branches in place and drape the strands of lights around the tree. (Note to self: buy some replacement bulbs, and perhaps another strand for next year at the year-end sales.) As I dug through boxes, I uncovered lost treasures. You see, our ornaments may not all match or coordinate, or fit one theme. Instead, they reflect bits and pieces of who we are and where we've been. That's how my family's tree was growing up, and I'm following suit. Making their debut on our family tree this season: Baby Bear's "Baby's 1st Christmas" Pooh ornament, which was given to us by one of hubby's buddies from Police Academy. The crystal-cut plastic bear that my Dad brought back from Grandma's house after she died. I added a white ribbon to it and it is so charming. A pottery ornament which my parents bought while on Cape Cod for my cousin's wedding in 2005. A mirrored angel ornament from a neighbor, also given to us to commemorate Baby Bear's birth. A hand-colored wooden ornament which our "niece" gave to us. And last, but not least, a star with 3 bears on it and our family name and the year written on it. Hubby and I picked it out while we were on our last pre-parenthood vacation together.... the one where I hiked 2 miles to see a waterfall in the Smokies at 26 weeks of pregnancy. Oh, there are many more ornaments which remind us of friends and family, and there are also some I picked out just because they were pretty and in my price range. I may pick up some shatterproof ornaments to fill in some of the bare spots, or I may not.
I can't wait to see Baby Bear's reaction to the tree when she sees it tomorrow.
Now to get some lights up outside and decorate downstairs...
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
A very special friend is a new mommy
9 1/4 years ago, a friend invited my college roommates and I down for a going away party for our mutual friend and her roommate. Later on that evening, after the man who is now my husband and I had hit it off, she gave me a slip of paper with his phone # on it and asked it he could have mine. So silly, but so sweet. I kept that slip of paper in my wallet for the longest time. I never had to use it, though. He e-mailed me 2 days later, then began calling me, and the rest is history.
Well, our friend Summer is now a mommy. She was married a little over a year ago, and yesterday she gave birth to a bundle of joy in a big baby boy's package. I don't know all the stats yet, but pray that she and baby recover well (so far so good, I think- she had a c-section).
9 1/4 years ago, a friend invited my college roommates and I down for a going away party for our mutual friend and her roommate. Later on that evening, after the man who is now my husband and I had hit it off, she gave me a slip of paper with his phone # on it and asked it he could have mine. So silly, but so sweet. I kept that slip of paper in my wallet for the longest time. I never had to use it, though. He e-mailed me 2 days later, then began calling me, and the rest is history.
Well, our friend Summer is now a mommy. She was married a little over a year ago, and yesterday she gave birth to a bundle of joy in a big baby boy's package. I don't know all the stats yet, but pray that she and baby recover well (so far so good, I think- she had a c-section).
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
If there is hope for me to learn crochet,
there is hope for anyone!!!
1st attempts:
Tackled over Thanksgiving weekend:
Why am I posting this when there are several obvious flaws in my first hotpad?
1) To encourage others to try and not be afraid of the struggle.
2) To encourage myself somewhere down the road, when I am working on a real project like an afghan for a friend's baby... I will be able to see how far I have come.
Crochet is one of many lost handcrafted forms of artwork in our society. Well, almost lost. But there is something special about a handmade blanket, whether it's crocheted, knitted, or sewn. My goal is to be able to make blankets that are worthy of being given as gifts.... eventually.
I know, I will have to actually count my stitches and make them looser. And learn prettier stitch combos. But you have to start somewhere.
1) To encourage others to try and not be afraid of the struggle.
2) To encourage myself somewhere down the road, when I am working on a real project like an afghan for a friend's baby... I will be able to see how far I have come.
Crochet is one of many lost handcrafted forms of artwork in our society. Well, almost lost. But there is something special about a handmade blanket, whether it's crocheted, knitted, or sewn. My goal is to be able to make blankets that are worthy of being given as gifts.... eventually.
I know, I will have to actually count my stitches and make them looser. And learn prettier stitch combos. But you have to start somewhere.
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