Growing up Renaissance

The guys keep me insanely busy ... and part of that running to various scouting events.  I do have to admit that I run a lot less than I used too because as of September they are all in the same scout troop.  But ... quite a bit of free time is used up keeping them straight with the event dates, getting their clothes together for campouts, and processing paperwork ... and that's just for the scouting thing.  There is a lot more to it as you all know.

This year I did something I haven't done in years ... let someone convince me to sew costumes for the other kids too.  Fall Camporee this year had an interesting twist.  The boys were supposed to participate in the creation of a trebuchet that would chuck a punkin.  I won't go into the details of it all.  I will just say that our troops was the biggest, threw the farthest and was the most accurate.  To make the experience more authentic, the boys were encouraged to wear Renaissance period clothing.

The task started like this ... which is I am sure is a familiar experience and not unique to me.

1. Scout Dad asks if I will organize a sewing event for the Mom's to make costumes. (Ugh).  2. Once agreed ... I was then informed that the scouts would be expected to cut and sew their own costumes.  (You have got to be kidding me!)  3. After planning the type of costume that would need to be made and determining that the fabric requirements would need to stay around 3 1/2 yards of fabric (yeah.. .that's right sewing Mom's ... think about that) it was then announced that no extra money would be available to pay for fabric.  4. It was suggested that a donation for the costume be collected from the parents and another mother (who I will point out made all these suggestions and then was no where around when the actual process was expected to start) suggested that costumes could be purchased for about $10 on the internet that would meet the requirements and that sewing would be a nightmare.

FAST FORWARD a couple of weeks ... THERE ARE NO COSTUMES FOR ANYTHING ON THE INTERNET AVAILABLE IN THE AMOUNT OF $10 that would serve this purpose ... so ... THANKS MRS. KNOW-IT-ALL.  I found some awesome fabric in my stash I bought wholesale.  Suggested to the Dad that the sewing would be a nightmare with kids and there wasn't enough time.  Parents were not motivated so 6 random kids paid me $10 each to make something (cloak, shirt, kilt... etc).

I DID!  I donated the time and fabric.  A week early ... with one week left to make the costumes for my own kids.  Of course, I spent a small fortune on my guys.  I also, due to a business conflict, was unable to attend the event and see the kids in their costumes.

Of course I am unable to post pictures of the other kids ... but here is a shot that my lovely friend Donna took of my guys in their costumes.  Which gives you an idea of just how much they have grown ... and how much they eat.

Some of the pieces were not worn (despite the expense and effort) because it was too cold but I am certain they will get used some time.  They turned out pretty great and all the kids were happy.

 

A Blog Revisited

Phew!  A whole year has gone by since I blogged from here ... and what a year it's been.  The boys and I have gone through some changes.  They keep growing ... and growing ... and growing ... and EATING!

I have been insanely busy writing two books (which are both published and available on Amazon.com) and building a second business ... ironically also revisited from the past.  So ... too many changes around here meant that something had to give.  Unfortunately, that something was sharing the hilarity that accompanies raising my guys with all of you.

Hopefully, I will pick back up where I left off.  My personal goal this year is to post something once a week.  That way I will be sure to keep you laughing ... since I am pretty certain that they say at least one funny thing a week.  Maybe more than that ... maybe less ... but enough.

It feels good to get back to it ... and not be chastised by my editor by using too many ellipses' in my writing ... which is a grammatical rule that I dearly love breaking.

If for some reason you subscribed to my blog solely for Quilting purposes then you will love checking out the Cabin In The Woods Quilters blog which is as named and also on Blogspot or you can click on my website:

www.cabininthewoodsquilters.com

and clicking on the Blogspot icon on the homepage.  Their are too many patterns to list and 2 new books out with more coming all the time.  You can find out about my workshops and my studio play and everything else about quilting that you might be interested in.

But for now ... I am going to continue enjoying what's left of Penni Appreciate Month (PAM - which for me is celebrated the entire month of October) and my time with my guys and the dogs (which are also mostly boys so they count too).

I hope to also get back to reading about my funny friends on the web.

 

 

PAM Day 25

I enjoyed my morning brunch with Renee before she made her way back to home and family on Monday.  Now time to enjoy my solitude.  I caught up with a few friends... put a few ideas on paper... checked out a few more ideas that were already on paper... and caught up on some zzzzzzzzz's.  Love hanging out with myself.  I don't have any place to be... nothing that HAS to be done... no laundry... no dishes... no cooking... it's pretty awesome.  I managed to knock of few things off the TO DO list and make some calls without the dogs barking in the afternoon.  

This was pretty much my view all day long.  It stormed in the afternoon and the only noise I heard all day were the jets flying back and forth out of Norfolk.  They are quite loud.  But that's only if you're on the balcony trying to hear the waves.  It's a pretty awesome place to work take some me time.

Me time soon interrupted by calls from home from boys... a crisis that could apparently only be handled by Mom.  It's always amazing to me how Dad could be right there... but when there is a problem or an argument of some sort... they suddenly feel the need to call Mom... and it really doesn't matter what Mom happens to be doing.  I could be at the movies or out with friends... or in a business meeting... or a school conference... it doesn't really matter.  I assume that I could be in a coma and I am pretty sure they would call me ... the phone by my bed would ring and ring... and they would probably be pissed that I didn't pick up... and they would leave a message... just in case I suddenly woke and decided I wanted to jump right back into parenting.

Best call of the trip so far... they little boys snuck the phone at 7:45 pm to inform me that I must return home immediately because there father was torturing them.  Apparently he was making them pick up there own dinner dishes, put there clothes in the hamper and load and empty the dishwasher.  J actually said... who would treat their little children this way.  I quickly reminded them that if they were big enough to shoot each other with automatic air soft rifles... they were probably big enough to do chores.  They hung up... a little disappointed... but none the worse for wear.  

I don't know what happened after that... but I slept like a baby.

PAM Day 24

The best part about a vacation on your own... you can do whatever you want.  What more could a busy Mom want than peace and quiet... not worrying about anyone but herself... and peace and quiet... and sleeping in ... and peace and quiet....  You get my drift.  I think Renee agreed.  We had a little pajama party of sorts Friday night and then slept in on Sunday.  I think by the time we left the condo on Sunday it was lunchtime and we were starved.

We took a walk up the street and grabbed some lunch.  A little photo shopping on the way.  

I was thinking of getting this shirt for Hubs.  

Of course I am getting older... and I was thinking this shirt was more appropriate for me.

We stopped in a little candy shop for salt water taffy.  I think this little penguin might have had a little too much.  Just sayin...

On the search for a place for lunch.  This place had all of hubs requirements.  We passed.

We picked up a little friend at the candy shop.  He was too excited about coming along... and clearly he loves the beach.  

We picked lunch at a little pancake house.  Renee laughed at me cause I complimented the cook on his potatoes and he ran outside to give me his phone number.  Dude... the potatoes weren't that good.  But whatever... I was nice.

Of course we stopped for yuppie mom crack... um... I mean Starbucks... you get the point.  I saw this mini... mini red velvet whoopie pie.  Yeah... that's right.  Happy Birthday to me.  Plankton... again... really excited about it.

He soooo totally wanted the first bite.

We shopped all afternoon... and very successfully I might add.  This time we decided to actually eat dinner instead of just having a bagel in the condo.  It was a classy place ... they had "fancy" tomato ketchup... thank god.

Sunday night ... pub... and a couple of beers.

... and yes... football.  Too bad we had to share the moment with a couple of Steelers fans.  Hrumph... but they stayed away.  

It was lots of fun spending time with a good friend.  We were beat... and we crashed.

Penni Appreciation Month

So... to celebrate my birthday... I rented a condo for a week in Virginia Beach.  My birthday actually falls on Wednesday so I thought the perfect “end” to my celebration of PAM (Penni Appreciation Month) would be utter relaxation.  

Let me first explain PAM.  Most of you know this already... but for those that don’t ... I am a very busy woman.  I run two businesses and am also a full-time mother.  I sometimes support my husband’s business... or at least do lots of extra work so that he can feel free to be a work-aholic and “crackberry” addict.  I am a perpetual volunteer (although much less these days since last years PAM... a little birthday gift to myself)... I am always available to lend a hand or a good listening ear.  While I seem to make time for everyone else... I rarely make time for me.  I am also a fairly low-maintenance woman (if there is such a thing)... so I figured that I needed a break... so I decided my break would be the month of October, my birthday month.  It was easy to remember.  I would use this month to try to do all the things that I never do for myself... or at least one BIG thing.  Whatever... just celebrate me.  

I didn’t ask anyone to celebrate me... I am no where near that conceited or self-important... although clearly I do not lack in self esteem.  I will say that celebrating your birthday for an entire month takes all the pressure off friends and family members to have to remember a specific day in the year.  It take the pressure off my husband who now does not need to find the perfect gift... he only funds the celebration and enjoys the photo posts and tale telling that accompanies all my experiences... and of course he delights in pointing out to friends and co-workers how he is so wonderful as to “let me” celebrate my birthday for an entire month.  I choose not to burst his bubble... he knows this... it’s all hush hush and it works for us.

PAM does not specifically mean spending lots of money... although some of my activities are considered luxuries... it’s just really about taking care of oneself.  It was so successful last year that I will celebrate this way forever.  

So back to my beach trip.  I had a dilemna... to invite or not to invite.  The condo was small.  Everyone’s schedules are so busy and personalities differ.  Should I have friends come down and visit or not.  I like the idea of having friends around me... but I also like the idea of spending time with myself.  Working if I feel like it... or not.  Going off on some experience that I like but doesn’t appeal to anyone else. Of course, there is safety in numbers... but I am pretty savvy so...

I decided to let a few people know I was going and tell them if they wanted to visit and spend some time with me they could.  My friend Renee jumped at the chance first and changed her schedule to come down for a couple of days.  It’s really good... cause I don’t get to see Renee as often as some of my other friends cause she works during the day.  I left everything with everyone else open cause I am easy like that.

So Saturday morning I packed my bags and headed to the beach with Renee following behind me.  I think she was packed hours earlier and was literally waiting on me.  We stopped at Starbucks and took off down the road... literally into the sunset.

Check-in was great... hotel/condo staff really pleasant (no doubt an off-season attitude) and room was completely adequate.  Off to a good start.  Someone brought all our bags  out of the car and into the room for us.  Gotta love it.  

The two of us were so relaxed I think we just had no energy... and no opinions either.  So we decided to hit the mall and go shopping without anyone sitting at home waiting for us.  We stayed out way too late and forgot to get dinner... and ate a bagel and went to bed.  Like a little pajama party with sleeping in.

I have attached some random pics for your amusement and certainly hope that you will enjoy the updates.  

How can someone be nervous about coming down here alone when there is this huge fleet here protecting me.  (Yeah I know it's a bad pic... but give me a break... I was driving)

The view from my balcony on Saturday... gotta love the crowds.

I know you can't really see the pod of dolphins but here is a pic of one fin coming up.  They were nice to look at.

The busy sidewalks on a Saturday in October.  I love that the weather was so nice that people were out... there just weren't that many people.

The one thing that is not allowed on this trip.  Amen!

Unite Or Die

I am doing some research for an historical project and came across this Revolutionary War Flag.  During the war each regiment of Minutemen would make their own flag representing their region and carry them proudly.  This was one such flag.  Similar to the "Don't Tread On Me" snake but divided in numbered segments.  It got me wondering what exactly the flag stood for... what were the 9 Principles and the 12 Values.

I did a little research today on the flag and found out this... the Minutemen believed in a core set of values and principles which differed from those of the King of England.  This base of core values helped shape our country and our Constitution.  The following were the Principles and Values that the founders of our country practiced and believed in... and risked and gave their lives in the pursuit of...

9 Principles

1. America is good.

2. I believe in God and He is the Center of My Life.

3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.

4. The family is sacred.  My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.

5. If you break the law you pay the penalty.  Justice is blind and no one is above it.

6. I have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.

7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to.  Government cannot force me to be charitable.

8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.

9. The government works for me.  I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

12 Values

1. Honesty

2. Reverence

3. Hope

4. Thrift

5. Humility

6. Charity

7. Sincerity

8. Moderation

9. Hard Work 

10. Courage

11. Personal Responsibility

12. Gratitude

I do not speak for anyone but myself and my family... but I still abide by these core principles and values.  I didn't know it... I didn't know that I was carrying on the tradition of my fore-fathers in my daily life... in the raising of my children... in the way I embrace the world... in the way I participate in my community... in the way I treat the people around me... my fellow Americans. Now that I know what they believed when they formed this country I feel honored to bless their memory by continuing this tradition.  I will hang a copy of this flag in my home, my office and anywhere else I can as a daily reminder to honor not only their memory but the efforts of our current military in continuing to fight for our freedom and the freedom of others to follow the same core values and principle... even if they believe in another God... even if they honor another flag.

I cannot tell you how much this history project means to me.  Since I have begun my research I have learned so much about our history and about myself. I take joy and pleasure every day in my work and cannot wait until the project is finished and I can share it.  

New Patterns April 2009

I realized when I was looking over some photos today that I never posted any pics of the new designs. So I will send some new pics of the quilts I debuted at the Quilter's Heritage Festival in Lancaster, PA this year.

Pattern: Grandma's in the Kitchen


Pattern: Fender Bender
Sized for an extra long twin bed


Pattern: Trellis Rose
This pattern is a reprint from 2006 made with different fabrics.

Hope you like the new designs. Soon I will post a pic of the new BOM patterns I have released this year.
Happy Quilting!

Guild Night

So Monday was a bit of a busy day and nothing really exciting to blog about unless you want to look at pics of my computer screen while I worked on the Guild Newsletter or the printing of Block 4 of the Civil War BOM I am doing for Millstone Quilts. I also made the election ballots for the quilt guild elections for the 2009-2010 board.
I didn't think you would find that very interesting. But, on the way out of my driveway I saw this little baby of the power lines. I say baby because I am quite convinced that all the redtail hawks in the area are all my babies. We do have a pair that lay in the same next next to our garage every year and raise their babies every spring. So... I am pretty that they are either one the pair or one of the babies. I see one almost every day but today I had my camera at the ready.

And then I went off to the Guild election meeting *yawn* because it was my duty to the Guild to go... but I did make a stop on the way.
This is the only way that I could make it through the meeting. Thank God for Iced Coffee.
Cheers!

McCafe

No matter what kind of day you are having I think just knowing there is stuff like this just waiting in the McDonald's drivethru makes everything soooo much better. I don't even care about the calories. It's like McDonald's is reading my mind. I love the beads of sweat on the cup. tehe


Enjoy!

Millstone Quilts Outdoor Show 2009

On May 2nd and 3rd I had the wonderful opportunity to host a Cabin In The Woods Trunk Show at Millstone Quilts in Old Church, VA during their annual outdoor quilt show, sale and BBQ. Each year Millstone hosts a customer quilt show on their grounds where customers can show off their quilting talents. They have a 25% off sale for anything in the store and they serve a free southern style BBQ lunch. It's a really wonderful event and I was asked to bring down the quilts and greet the customers.

Here is the trunk show set up on Saturday morning on the porch of my favorite shop down by the creek.

All the new designs were on display as were most of the old designs in the line. Isn't this the cutest little shop. Little is actually very deceiving. This "little" shop has three floors of fabric and is definately worth the trip.
The quilts were on display in the trees all day until about 2:30pm when the rains came.

Here is the trunk show rearranged on Sunday to accomodate the rain that lasted all day. I was nestled on the porch on Sunday (at one point wrapped up in one of my samples due to the draft) and greeted customers with Smoke the cat. Who, I should mention, is not friendly. He is a certified attack cat so if you ever get to Millstone... I would advise saying hi to the cat from a distance. However, Smoke and I became fast friends. Well he liked me anyone. We played a great game of cat and mouse (he was the cat) and he enjoyed torturing me by laying on top of all my business cards on the table and swatting at anyone who tried to take one.

The show turned out to be a wonderful success for me and the sale was a great success for the shop. We were even able to talk a couple of gals into signing up for the Civil War BOM that I designed for the shop this year. All the quilts looked great and I received many compliments. The crowd favorite at this show... Grammy's Thread Box which is the spool quilt in the middle of the above photo.
Happy Quilting!

Friday's Field Trip

Yesterday I kinda caught everyone up on all the work stuff but promised to catch up more with some backwards posts with pics. So I here is a little snippet of Friday that I will share with you over coffee. Little Brat took a Second Grade Field Trip to The Gari Melchers house in Belmont (Fredericksburg, VA). For those of you not familiar with Gari Melchers (and who would be unless you are REALLY into art) he was a very famous painter/artist. He was known primarily for his portraits. He studied in Germany as a boy and had studios all over the world, most noteably in New York and Paris. Won many awards... blah, blah, blah... and settled here in our home town. He bought a beautiful estate and filled it with his wife's enormous china collection (so big in fact that they cannot display all of it). Sounds like many of us with our fabric. I took a few shots with my point and shoot camera on the estate. I am always looking for interesting B&W pics to decorate our cabin. The grounds ar positively beautiful so if you ever get this way you should stop in and visit and then go down the hill and have lunch at Annie's Cafe.

This is a pic I took of Little Brat and me on the grounds. The kids had a great time learning about life cycles on the farm and art from the wonderful volunteers. They even had a little scavenger hunt and ran all over the grounds.

I was glad I had the opportunity to be picked as a chaperone and hang out with Little Brat for the day.

Happy Mother's Day

So a friend pointed out the other day that I have spent way too much time working and connecting on Facebook and haven't posted anything on my blog in 2 months. That's terrible. So today is the day that I rectify this travesty. I don't want anyone to miss out on the going's on around here. So here was the actual important happening from 4am this morning.

In a nutshell... the last two months have really been all about work. Yes... there has been some socializing and Facebooking and visiting family. But mostly I have been attached to the sewing maching and computer and working like a dog. I managed to put out two new applique patterns and one re-release of a quilt design this year. I will be sure to post the pics for you in the next Blog. They premiered at The Quilter's Heritage Celebration (an International Qult Show in Lancaster, PA). The designs were quite popular.

I picked up three new clients at the show and of course many, many new customers. I was able to stay at the booth throught out the four day show and meet lots of friendly quilters and sign many patterns. Immediately after getting back it was time to get to work on the Civil War BOM that I designed exclusively for Millstone Quilts. They began the project back in March and I am working on making sure they have everything they need each month. I also had a few more new clients not from the show. I had two trunk shows running through April and my first outdoor quilt show/trunk show with Millstone the first weekend in May.

All were very successful... I have had to reprint both new patterns twice already in the last two months. The company is crazy busy. I am crazy busy. Yesterday I found a new home for a dog and drove 4 hours to deliver it and visit with my Mom for Mother's Day. Today was my Mother's Day. I got home last night at Midnight and awoke at 4am so it was inevitable that I would nap today... and I did.

This morning I was presented with three red roses from my Mom (in honor of the three Grandsons I have given her). My boys gave me a new book, some iTunes gift cards and a wonderful iPod docking station to make a stereo for me in the house and studio. It was great. I also bought a couple of used digital point shoot cameras for my business. So I put on shoes and went out in my pajamas this morning to take a couple of pics.


I found this small Bleeding Heart blossom with this daddylonglegs on it. I was testing out the macro capabilities of the new camera. He looks like he found the perfect spot huh?

I love the way the buttercups poke up through the stones in my sidewalk. Some people would mind that but I don't. These are about the only flowers I have in my yard today.

I have been growing Clamatis on my porch for the last four years. I got three blossoms last year on this side of the railing and my old lab walked out one day and wagged her tail and knocked all the blossoms off. Today I was very excited to see all the new buds on the plants. I have high hopes for big beautiful blooms this year.
Well... it has been wonderful checking back in with everyone. I will post more this week.
I hope all of you had a wonderful Mother's Day today and can't wait to get caught up on all the blogs posts I have been missing.

Congratulations Big Boy!

The past few weeks have been so incredibly busy. Work has been crazy and hubby and I have spent many hours working on Scouts for all the boys. Last night all the hard work was worth it. Our oldest son has been a scout for the five years. He began as a Tiger Cub in the first grade and has worked very hard over the last 5 years to earn all the ranks and last night at the Blue and Gold ceremony he graduated from Cub Scouts as a Super Achiever. He has earned every rank possible as a Webelo Scout and received his epaulets and kerchief for his new Troop. He is now my first Boy Scout. I am very proud of him. I wish him the best of luck in his journey to Eagle Scout.

Oh... and as a side note. Hubby made the wooden holder for the keepsake banner and Mom made all the banners for the boys. Now I can relax a little and blog about some of the wonderful things getting made around this house.

Dieters Challenge

OK ladies... I know everyone is wondering about me and how I am doing in the challenge. I have been home with boys in the house cause of snow and school closing so I have not made it to the gym for two days... UGH! I haven't been able to weigh myself at all.

I did manage to attend the gym 4 out of 5 days last week and I am pretty proud about that. Also the recovery from the trainer was much easier this week cause we did more circuit training and broke up the muscle groups... which for those of you who are interested is not only easier to recover but it BURNS MORE CALORIES!!!!!

I also wanted to update you on the fact that that I mentioned I have not been hungry... so I am the opposite of most people when trying to lose weight. I am not tempted by the cookies and such... I have a hard time putting fuel in my body. That is just as bad if not worse than eating the wrong things. Besides the obvious suggestions from the trainer to set a timer and eat every two to three hours in small bursts (which I have a terrible time doing cause I am so business with my pattern business) another suggestion was made to try meal replacement shakes. These are not diet shakes like Slimfast and such but protein shakes. I have been using Boost premade shakes. They are great for breakfast cause I can grab one on the way to the gym and I know that I am getting the nutrition that I need to workout.

The nutritionist made this suggestion to help until I figure out a regular eating schedule and I think it is helping a great deal. So I am hoping that the weight will begin coming off. The interesting thing is that although my actual weight hovers around 216-217 I have actually dropped about a size and a half in jeans. I can't explain it but it feels good so I'm not gonna knock it. Maybe things are just shifting around a bit.

I sure hope that all of you are having your own successes as well. Let me know if any of you have any questions that I can pose to my pros. Take care and good luck to everyone. I will try to post pic updates soon.

Dieters Challenge Update

Hello ladies... I know, I know.... I didn't post on Monday. I was at the YMCA working out though so that counts right. So here's the verdict. I am not dieting I am just exercising and I need to learn to eat more (if that makes sense to anyone cause my problem is that I never eat). But... I weighed myself on Monday on the scale at the gym... and I lost... dah dah dah... 1 pound. Which actually made the trainer and my friend the skinny little nutritionist very happy. And what made me happy... that the skinny little nutritionist gained a pound. hehe

Hope all of you are doing well and I will try to do better at posting on Monday cause it's not fair otherwise.

Dieters Challenge - Warning!

OK... I have done it. I have posted pictures of my body before I reached my diet goal. This is me how I usually am in the morning. Heading to the loft to work or getting the boys off to school in the morning. Always pretty casual but ready for anything. So Sharon at Red Geranium Cottage has set aside a fitness challenge or at least that's what I am calling it because I don't diet. And she has been calling for all of us to come clean and post photos of ourselves online. I finally got hubby to help. He took forever to take the photo which is why I am not my usual smiling self. I have been working out at the gym for the last month and am feeling much better but when 2009 started I have really been moving by increasing my cardio and moving to 5 days a week.

So here you go Sharon... just so you know that I didn't forget about you, I have come clean and posted my photos too. Hopefully this will motivate someone to get their photos up too. I will try to keep you posted about my progress and share some more photos soon.

Motivationally Challenged

OK here is the deal. I can't seem to get into the loft and get any work done. This Christmas was wicked stressful and I seemed to be completely overwhelmed. I couldn't fugure out what seemed to have been bothering me. So I sat back and took stock of the messy house, the messy boys that were now home with me everyday for two weeks, the new dog (giant horse Gracie), the new puppy and a completely obsession relationship with facebook (which I completely blame my friend Amy for). Now it seems that I have so much to keep me busy that I can't do what I really need to do which is get motivated to actually work in the studio on my designs for Lancaster this year.

So I was wondering if any of you have any ideas about how to go about getting my groove back. Today I managed to get more done in the house by leaving the headphones on and just ignoring everyone else. But I would prefer to get lost in the sewing right now and not the cleaning. Any help you guys can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Happy FESTIVUS!

I just wanted to take this oppotunity... in support of my boys at Fox and Friends, to wish everyone a Very Happy Festivus this holiday season. I have been watching faithfully every morning as they report about all the scrooges in the world trying to ruin Christmas by being polically correct. So today is Festivus.... and I want to wish everyone a very happy Festivus and encourage all of you to get into the holiday spirit by airing all your grievances on my comments page. I posted this on my facebook page as well this morning and I am hoping to help everyone make it through this holiday season with this smile.


I have been so stressed this holiday season and barely got up the tree so I wanted to let you know that if I can stay this happy with three children and a husband and four needy dogs at home with me every day for 2 1/2 weeks, you can too!
For those that don't understand my sick sense of humor, don't worry... I will be posting on Chrismas as well....
For those that don't know what FESTIVUS is (where were you when Seinfeld was on TV... living under a rock) it's a fictional holiday made up on a tv show that is making an appearance this holiday season as a slap in the face to all the Humanists who want everyone to know that they think their is no God. You can google it and laugh for yourself.
Hope all of you and yours are enjoying this joyous holiday season.... no matter what your religion and come back and see me.

'Tis the season

This week I had a cookie baking day with some friends. I think we baked around 12-15 dozen cookies. We had to keep trying the recipes over and over again. I am having the same problem my friend Kim is having with her Christmas baking. When all was said and done I sent most of the cookies home with my friend for her family. The story is that my mother baked a bunch of cookies for Thanksgiving and I gave some to my friend but her teenage kids kept eating them. I kept giving her cookies and they kept eating them. So we decided to have a cookie day and bake my mother's cookies... and other things as well.
The first batch were too crumbly and so on... and we finally got the recipe just right.
We also make these delectable peanut butter cup cookies that are straight from heaven. Of course I gave half of them to my personal trainer when she was here :0 (for her husband)


Then we made these chocolate chip beauties.

These were the first batch of peanut better cookies. At first I wanted to save them... they were a little over-baked. But the others tasted soooo good that I stored them here.

But since I have given away all the cookies... I will be baking again today. At least tonight. Right now I am heading out Christmas Shopping AAAAAgain with a girlfriend (cookie mama). After all that baking... here's me.

Actually, it should be called my shopping grin and the end of baking. It did make me feel really good to make the cookies for the kids and we sure did have a lot of fun making them... right girls.
Merry Christmas!