Did I Say

Did I say.....

 you could.........

 open that? 

Once Upon a Time.....

Once upon a time in the land of  In Your Dreams, there was planned a "Perfect Christmas".

The presents were all  purchased and wrapped  weeks before Santa would add to them on Christmas eve.

The house was immaculately decorated and clean to a pristine condition.

The Christmas cookies and candy were made and beautifully arranged on trays ready to be placed out for arriving family and friends. 

Christmas cards were mailed on December 1st.

All gifts that needed to be shipped had arrived to their destination, uncrumpled, a week before Christmas.

Christmas in my world:


Still shopping on Christmas Eve.  

Finishing wrapping on the 22nd.

Dog hair covered rug/ everything.

Cookies thrown on a tray last minure and wrapped in celophane.

Cards.........some still yet to be mailed.

Still with all that......  a pretty perfect Christmas.

What to do?

Last weekend I had a Pampered Chef booth as part of a Christmas Collective at a local natural family store.  Unfortunately a snow storm kept the holiday shoppers at home, but us ladies that were there had a really good time chatting.  

There were several vendors like myself,  then there were some home spun vendors, meaning they make  the goods they sell.   Really cute children's items, scarves, dresses, shoes, crowns, hair accessories, homemade wool diapers, the list goes on.  

I was talking to these ladies about some of my craft projects I do and about selling some of my stuff to co-workers.   They were very encouraging and urged me to sell them  outside of work as well. 

So I guess I am on a mission to figure out how I want to do this.  Do I just do it through my blog....or should I get a shop on Esty?  

What do the rest of you do?

I need some ideas, please help!

Sound track of life.....

I have a  friend I went to school with who is also a blogger.  Somethimes he blogs about the songs that would be on the sound track to his life.  You know, the songs that you wake up and they are in your head and they seem to fit the day. 

Here are a few of mine. 

 "Loverly" from My Fair Lady.  I like musicals and while this may not be the best one ever made, it rates high on my list and I sing this song a lot...in my head....sometimes out loud...mostly in my head.  



"Blister in the Sun" Violent Femmes Peter's firts ring tone.....don't ask why.

"Satellite" Dave Mathews.....cause it's Dave.

"My Hero"  The Paramore cover.... I like Paramore.  I do wish they would have stayed on and did some more songs for the Twilight Saga series.....but I get why they did not.  

"Feeling Good" Muse.  I became a fan a few years ago, but the thing is I had already liked a ton of their songs but just did not know who they were sung by. (Yeah, I know that's bad.)

I will post more a different day. 

Hope you enjoyed them. 



Happy Thanksgiving!

Sung to the melody of "White Christmas"

I'm dreaming of a big turkey.
With all the fixings on the side.
With the rolls all buttered
and taters smothered
with golden gravy , my oh my!

I'm dreaming of a big turkey
and yummy green beans on the side.
May your pies be delicious and fine.
and may all your stuffing come out right.



I am very thankful for all the blessings in my life. May you have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am a "Twilight" geek.

Yes, I am a "Twilight Saga" fan. 

I saw a preview for the first movie and decided I wanted to see it,  but needed to read the book first. Less than a week later I had read "Twilight"  and moved on to "New Moon".  Overall I would say  it took me less than two weeks reading time to finish all the books once they were available to me.

I am a Fan. 

And I am a fast reader.

I have seen all the movies made so far and have been a fan of those as well.

Last night I went to "Breaking Dawn, part 1".  Loved it!

Let's be realistic here.  The movie critics are hard on these films.  Most of them do not like them at all.  Well I personally like to form my own opinion when it comes to what I feel will or will not entertain me.  I will read reviews on merchandise and such,  but when it come to music and movies....I would rather be the judge.

My Husband does not feel that way.  Sometime he seems to  live by reviews.  Come to think of it, we have not been to a movie together in a very long time.   Mainly because we have a toddler and also because my taste in movies has changed a little.  I used to be able to handle guns and violence in movies to a point......now too much of  it makes me nauseous.  Of course those are the kind of movies he prefers.


I need a date night. 


Anyway back to "Breaking Dawn".  Those of you who have not seen it.....I do not intend to spoil here and I hope that I do not divulge too much. 

Be aware....you have been "Spoiler Alert"ed as they say.

They did an amazing job on Bell's makeup in this movie. Not sure how they did it if there was a lot of makeup or a lot of CG or a great combination.   AH-Mazing.  It was perfect!

The music...ah the music.  I personally love and have the sound tracks to all the movies so far except this one and I will be getting it soon.  I loved that they brought in songs from all the films so far and worked them into "Breaking Dawn".   The song at the wedding during the vows is the song that Bella and Edward danced to under the gazebo at prom.  I love that song. The melody is so beautiful.  Also love that some of the score of the movie was instrumental versions of several of the songs from the previous films. 

Yay for Stephenie!  She was a guest at the wedding.  I loved seeing her in one of these movies again.  I cannot remember her being in either "New Moon" or  "Eclipse". (Please correct me if I am wrong)  I was so glad to see her again!  Love your work Stephenie!   I would like to see "The Host" brought to the big screen.   That is also a great book, that I highly recommend.

Those of you have read "Breaking Dawn" know how the birth of the baby plays out.  When they announced they were making this movie, I was very unsure how they would do this particular sequence.  I was very glad with the way that they did it.  I though that they showed enough, but not too much to make you not want to watch it.

The ending is great.  I liked where they ended it and how they ended it.  It left me wanting more and anticipating the next one which I believe will be out next year.  Yay!

By the way you have to stay through the credits to see an additional scene. 

I thought the director of  "Breaking Dawn" brought some great things to the movie.  I liked the beautiful scene and CG  montages when Bella is changing and when Jacob imprints.  

Overall I give "Breaking Dawn" a solid thumbs up.  I am excited to see how they will end the series, though I will be sad to see it come to a close. 

If you have not seen it, go. Hope I did not spoil too much!  

Black Friday

Several of my co-workers are Black Friday Hard Core shoppers.  They start planning their shopping trip weeks before the adds hit the papers.  They scope out sneak peek adds online and map out the stores to hit.



They are a devoted, strategic, caffinated group of gals.



 Delicious local coffee shop!



  

I don't do this.

I have been Black Friday shopping once.  I was 9 months pregnant, it was 5:30 am, it was cold and my coat would not close over my belly.

But, I picked up my Cricut die cutting machine for a steal and my parents gave it to me for Christmas.  


I love my Cricut!



I drug one of my other co-workers who is also not a Black Friday shopper out with me because she wanted the same thing.   We were both back home and in bed by 7:30.

Last year Peter went out mid-morning to get a couple specific things.   While the crowds are not as big by then it is still busy.  But this is the time of year when shopping is just going to be busy.  We got good deals on a couple gifts and I would say it was worth it. 

Peter has already started looking at the adds online.  Only he seemed to be shopping for himself when he

e-mailed me some of the things he had seen, mainly home electronics.  I gently reminded him we need to shop for others.....not for ourselves.  

If there is something that is perfect for someone we buy for and it is an amazing deal,  I may venture out. For now I just want to say, "Good Luck!", to all my friends who will be out before dawn with their warm coats, coffee mugs, and credit cards. 

Thank You!

Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die. ~Dwight D. Eisenhower

Thank you to all the men and women who serve our nation to keep us free!

Struck

The news from Penn State has struck me.

I was sickened when this news came out.

My heart goes out to the boys (now men) and thier families. Every parent dreads something like this may happen to thier child. It  is sick. There is no excuse for the behavior of all involved. 

I know there are a lot of mixed emotions about the firing of JoePa.  He failed not only those boys but himself, to let the end of his carreer be wrought with this scandal when it would have taken a simple phone call to the police. A few minutes of his time and a few of those boys lives would have never been altered. 

Prayers to the families involved!    

Spooking

I have been a busy gal lately so my posting has been slow.   Obviously......... since I am getting Halloween pics posted  right before Thanksgiving. HA!


Here are a few pictures from our Halloween adventures.

 

Carter was a tiger.

He was a good tiger. 

We attended an event at the local children's zoo called "Boo at the Zoo".  It is an annual event that raises funds to feed the animals that remain at the zoo over the winter.  They rope off a specific route through the zoo and local companies decorate little areas and hand out candy and goodies.

It was a lot of fun and there were some very creative costumes.

Rubik's Cube!!  Awesome!

He also really enjoyed trick-or-treating this year.  I took him up the steps of the first couple houses and after that we were trying to keep up with him.

He caught on pretty quickly that if he knocked on the door he would get candy.

Halloween was a great time this year.  I know that as Carter gets older we will have many more Halloween adventures.

Moving Day....Month....Year.....

Well my Dad is moving........slowly.........out of his home he lived in for almost 20 years. 

We started this process in the summer and it is now the middle of October.

We,  the children helping him,  have decided that Dad has moving ADD.  He cannot seem to finish a room.  He jumps around and starts things but doesn't get them finished.

Here are a few pictures from the adventures.

The last moving weekend was rough on all of us.  There has been a lot moved already, but there is still much to be done.

We have reached the point that most of the stuff is going to Good Will or being trashed.

We are hunting for a few specific items that I  hope we will find soon.  One is a train belonging to Dad.  We all know what it is but have no idea where it got put.



This trailer and I are not friends.

I am still in pain from this trailer.

We all know that I am a particularly graceful person.

(At this point you should all be laughing)

I was taking something to be packed into the trailer and I attempted to step into the trailer, my foot slipped and I slammed my shin into the edge of the trailer, because of my momentum, I fell face first into the trailer.

Surprisingly the only injury I received was a very nasty, very deep bruise on my shin. *Bad enough that a week later I was still limping and went to have it x-rayed......I'm a pansy.

We got most of the larger items moved and the house is no longer livable.  We will be crashing at the new place from now on.

We did not have any close encounters of the paranormal kind during this weekend.  I admit I was nervous.  Since my sister told me about her experience over the summer (see summer link above)  I have been a little afraid of staying at the house. 

Peter laughed at me saying "You were afraid even with me there?"

I replied, "Yes and when I woke up in the middle of the night, I kept my eyes closed and readjusted myself to a  comfy position because I was afraid of what I might see if I opened my eyes."

Even as I write this I have the shivers.  I'm a pansy.

We have one more scheduled weekend for moving although, I do not know how much we will get done.....it is proving to be a busy weekend other than moving activities because my other sister will be home from the state of sunshine and oranges.

She is a pansy too.

The other day I talked to her and the weather up here was a beautiful sunny 68 degrees.   It was the same down there and she said it was freezing.

Pansy.

When we are finished moving Dad it will be hard to say goodbye to the house, even with it's ectoplasmic inhabitants.   This move opens a wonderful  new chapter in all of our lives, because Dad and Theresa have decided to get married.  This will be an adventure I know we will have a blast on.