Happy New Years

My Wish by Rascal Flatts

I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow
And each road leads you where you want to go
And if you’re faced with the choice and you have to choose
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you
And if one door opens to another door closed
I hope you keep on walkin’ ‘til you find the window
If it’s cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile
But more than anything, more than anything

Chorus

My wish for you
Is that this life becomes all that you want it to
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small
You never need to carry more than you can hold
And while you’re out there gettin’ where you’re gettin’ to
I hope you know somebody loves you
And wants the same things too
Yeah, this is my wish

I hope you never look back but you never forget
All the ones who love you
And the place you left
I hope you always forgive and you never regret
And you help somebody every chance you get
Oh, you find God’s grace in every mistake
And always give more than you take
But more than anything, yeah more than anything

This is my wish
I hope you know somebody loves you
May all your dreams stay big

gonna be a long one folks

what a fantastic trip! even though we were only gone 3 days-it really felt longer.

trip started off a bit rocky(forgotten passport, too long of a border wait) but it worked out when we got to our hotel in Sultan that first night to discover that it, the restaarant(best mushroom burger ever!) and a gas station were the ONLY things in the town lol. so much for Jim's plan of exploring lol. instead we just had dinner and went to bed.

Friday we were off to Steven's Pass. i don't ski. i don't understand why you would pay all that money for equipemnt/rentals and than take the time to go alllll the way up the mountain and seconds to come down again. just doesn't make sense lol. (i have cross country skied and really enjoy that though)


once we got through the mountain pass(wasn't as bad as we had expected. weather was perfect-sunny and clear the whole time) Leavenworth was just a few turns away. we were thrilled to discover that our hotel was deadcenter Leavenworth. hotel was amazing(not the best picture but only one we got lol)



it was opened in July 2005 and gorgoues. completely fmaily orientated. boys favorite part was the private sledding hill next to the hotel
and the heated outdoor pool. yes, outdoors. Jim took the boys saturday morning. it was 23degrees F out(below zero) and they loved it.

A freaked over the Nutcracker musuem. it was amazing how many nutcrackers they had! and every store we went into had them. those and my favorite of all, Jim Shore collectibles. i'm going to snivel for a long time over the snowman we saw marked down to $23(from $55!) that had a cat and a birdhouse in his arms. when we went back yesterday, he was sold *sob* and i thought i had hid him so well rofl!

all in all, we had a great time. boys were fantastic. we even took a sidetrip out to Wenatchee(i know i've spelt that wrong lol) we were too early to check in on Friday and Jim wanted to get the boys snowpants when he saw all the kids sledding so off to Target(have to admitt, most disappointing Target store ever! ugh!) can't wait to go back!





have to sneak this one in

Jim took J fishing last week and i just love love love this picture



we had a fantastic time away. i'll post details and fantastic pictures tomorrow. night!

enjoy the rest of the week

we are off in the morning to Eastern Washington and hitting Steven's Pass and Leavenworth. Jim has never been to Leavenworth-i went years ago. it's one of those magical towns that you need to visit when its cold and snowy out.

have a great week; enjoy spending time with friends and family.

i love a sale!


Hamels is having their Boxing Week blowout. i had a $100 g/c and totally cleaned up. ended up getting just over $300 of fabric for $115! everything was on sale at least 50% off. i got the most beautiful quilt kit. its an Asian themed quilt and i can not wait to get started on it!

i am Queen


or that is certainly how i was made to feel yesterday! holy spoiled! i've debated about posting what i got but i'm a tad embarrassed about the extravagence lol!

few highlights-3 sets of the corelle hearthstone dishes in chili red, a giant oval punch and a giga circle punch. a funky cat quilt kit(and a g/c to the quilting store woo hoo!) some more stamping ink(poor Jim drove himself crazy seaching everywhere for Ancient Page ink. apperantly its not sold in Canada anymore??) enough chocolate to keep me happy for a month or so, g/c to my favorite clothing store, 5 Jim Shore collectiable ornaments/figurines(that shocked me!) and the biggest surprise of all? a digital camera all for ME!!! talk about spoiled! and my birthday was just last month! woo hoo! lol!

all in all, we had a fantastic day. kids loved everything(the look on A and J's faces when they opened their new DS systems was priceless!) no complaining, no fighting-it was the perfect day!

i haven't tried my new camera on the computer yet but will later today and upload some pictures of Christmas

Merry Christmas my friends

just getting ready to head out to my Aunt's for their Christmas Eve service and than back for the family Christmas Eve party.

goodies are baked, house is clean, presents wrapped. now its time to kick back, relax and celebrate.

hope you all have a wonderful blessed day tomorrow

ahh memories

14yrs ago, dh proposed to me at sunset on the Mark Twain Riverboat in Disneyland

trees



i whined my way through the begining of December searching for the *perfect* Christmas quilt for moi. nothing satisfied me(like that's a surprise rofl!). until i say Better Homes and Gardens *Quilts and More* magazine.

i had this finished a few days later. i ran out of time to finish off the quilting at mom's but she has promised to bring it to me finished tomorrow.

how long does it take

for a broken heart to heal? does it take longer if you have resentment and anger tossed in with it? in a blue mood tonight. i've come down with M's cold. i'm exhausted; this week took too much out of me. was hopping for a quiet day tomorrow of getting the house ready for Christmas and wrapping presents but i have discovered that not only am i out of tape but we are short one gift for B *sigh*. hopefully Jim can pick that up tomorrow and i can stay home.

so how long?? remembering holidays past isn't helping and have to admitt the anger gets stronger. ya i know-too deep of a post and too damn confusing and boring to read. what i hate the most is the anger i still feel-really surprises me too that it can just flare up inside me.

todays great mail


brought to you by my sister in law, Erica(snowflake card) and my CCE December swap card from Carol

snacks


being the Martha Stewart wannabe that i am, i had the idea that for teacher gifts this year, i would make a variety of tasty goodies. the plan was solid-start baking 10days before the last day of school. make 1 goodie/day-lots of extras and selection.

fast forward to today-2 days left of school. all previously made snacks eaten. panic sets in. run to store to buy teacher gifts(gotta love the stores that mark Christmas items 50% off the week before Christmas!)

than, brainstorm. take remaining treats(sugar cookies, carmel shortbread squares(both recipes below!) chocolate balls(no, they aren't timbits lol!) and chocochip shortbread cookies) and deliver to staff room in the morning. win best student mommy of the year award lol!!

more holiday card exchange goodies

gorgeous Victorian Christmas card from StaceyM and the cute snowman card from LindaJ

boys have their Christmas concert tonight. to be perfectly honest, i am really not looking forward to going. they've made the concert cat themed and singing songs like we wish you a meowy Christmas, wreck the halls. ugh. they are even going to have their faces painted like cats and wear cat ears *sigh*

lucky 13


Jim and i are celebrating our 13th anniversary today. we are going to the Keg for dinner tonight(mmmm steak) than off to see Will Smith's new movie Pursuit of Happyness(no i didn't spell it wrong lol) mom and dad are babysitting-that is their gift to us each year.

mom and i were remembering this morning the phone calls we got when people recieved our invitations-the wedding is when? lol i'm amazed we are at 13yrs already-some days it seems just a few, others it seems like forever lol!!

Christmas time...

recieved this in an email this morning


A time of joy, harmony, and peace, or is it?

Years ago, instead of peace my home was filled with stress, rush, and fatigue. There never seemed to be enough time, money or energy to fulfill my expectations of what a “picture-perfect” Christmas celebration should be.


I remember one particular holiday season, I got this wonderful idea to kick our family celebrations up a notch. My children were no longer toddlers and I thought we were “ready for the challenge.” I had visions of all the things we could do. First, we would make our own Christmas cards, including a lovely family portrait. Next we would wrap our presents in style, and surely we would win the “best decorated house” neighborhood contest. Never tiring, we would make crafts, bake and decorate cookies for all of our family, friends and neighbors. Our home, a mini version of Christmas central, would be filled with all the sounds and all the aromas of Christmas. Peace, joy, and love would ooze from within...


Maybe the celebration would have gone better if I would’ve spent more time planning for it and less time daydreaming about it … or if I would have picked a few kid-friendly activities to enjoy instead of overwhelming my family with projects … and if my husband would not have lost his job right before Christmas!


I learned then that reality seldom matches my expectations, especially during the holidays. How can I be joyous, harmonious, peaceful, or even nice to my family during this busy and hectic season? I learned by painful experience that by simply doing a little homework before the “big test” comes you can preserve the true meaning of the season.


Let me share with you some practical pointers I’ve learned over the years, so that you and your family can enjoy the holidays “Heaven’s Style.”

Let go - Stuff in a big imaginary box all of your unrealistic or unattainable expectations for the holidays, and throw that box away!
Make a list - Gather your family to discuss the things you’d like to do during the holidays.
Check it twice - Calendar in hand, decide together what can realistically be done and jot it down on the family calendar or schedule. Decide ahead of time who will be in charge of, or helping with, each task.
Seek peace - Actively and diligently pursue those things that will guard the peace of your heart and home. Don’t allow yourself or your family to be so busy that you don’t have time to go to church, pray, or read your Bible during this time.
Remember - ‘tis the Season to celebrate! God the Father gave us the best gift in His Son. Let’s strive not to forget (nor let our families forget) what the most wonderful time of the year is all about.

blog give away

fellow stamper and blogger Cindy is having a giveaway. check out her blog, leave a comment to be entered to win. while you are there, take a look at the stunning cards and other goodies she has on her blog

baking frenzy

decided that this year we would do baking to give to all the boys teachers(we have a total of 6 this year not counting J's piano teacher) so today was baking day. found a new sugar cookie recipe from this Christmas' Kraft magazine and they were an absolute hit. so tasty and allot easier to make than other sugar cookie recipes i've used

S'More Sandwich Cookies

Ingredients

1 pkg. (250 g) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup icing sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
4 tsp. coloured sugar
1/3 cup JET-PUFFED Marshmallow Creme
2 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted


Directions

1 PREHEAT oven to 325ºF. Beat cream cheese, icing sugar, butter and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add flour and baking soda; mix well. Cover. Refrigerate 1 hour.


2 ROLL dough to 1/8-inch thickness on lightly floured surface. Cut into 66 cookies, using 2-inch festive cookie cutters. Sprinkle half of the cookies with coloured sugar. Place all cookies, 2 inches apart, on ungreased baking sheets.


3 BAKE 12 min. or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 1 min. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.


4 SPREAD bottom side of each of the plain cookies with about 1 tsp. marshmallow creme; cover with remaining sugar cookies, bottom-sides down, to form sandwiches. Drizzle with melted chocolate.


also made a carmel shortbread square(absolute family favorite) and some chocolate balls. now just to keep everyone from eating it all lol!


Caramel Shortbread Squares

Makes 1 9x9 inch pan

2/3 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C).
2 In a medium bowl, mix together 2/3 cup butter, 1/4 cup white sugar, and 1 1/4 cup flour until evenly crumbly. Press into 9" square baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
3 In a 2 quart saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk. Bring to a boil. Continue to boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon for about 3 minutes. Pour over baked crust (warm or cool). Cool until it begins to firm.
4 Melt chocolate and pour over caramel layer. Cover the layer completely. Chill. Cut into squares

gotta love a sale

Fabricland is having their triple discount sale this weekend. i got some fabric to finish off my impulse Christmas quilt-buy 1m get 1 free(will have pictures tomorrow. i'm just finishing off the applique and just might get it sewn together tonight-for sure tomorrow!) found some of those neat wallies wallpaper shapes-tropical fish for B's room(i put them up and when he went to bed he just freaked out lol) and some cool moose/deer/elk/bear ones for the office. also got a very cool christmas ornament(that broke in the bag on the way home so is currently being glued back together) i haven't been to fabricland since summer and was happily surprised with all the neat home decorating items they have brought in. called Jim from the store and told him he needs to head down there tomorrow to do some christmas shopping for me lol!!

beware-vent ahead

so 10days until Christmas. i'm sitting here with 5 things that HAVE to be quilted for the big day. 1 needs mailed yet so i'm getting into panic mood. can't use the quilting machine. saying mom is backlogged is an understatement. she gets these gorgeous custom work quilts(she creates the quilting pattern specifically for the quilt as she goes along) normal proceduere is for her to have the quilt for a month before the customer expects it back. mom took most of the summer off-didn't quilt between May and September. now she is totally doubting her ability to quilt. as a result, she leaves these quilts until 3 or 4 days before they are due than compeltely panics that she can't do them. as a result, she basically has had to do a quilt every 2 days to catch up. course the power going off every single day this week hasn't exactly helped.

i've talked to her about this. she is a fantastic quilter. if she sucked, would the biggest quilting store in the valley be bringing her quilts to do? would she have people bringing her quilts for the 3rd/4th time? would she be as busy if she sucked? she knows the answer to all those questions. almost every week, i do the mom peptalk. i should embroidery it on a pillow for her.

than this week. she sold her old machine back in June-delivered it to the lady way up north vancouver island. she hasn't even put it together yet. she called mom last week; they were driving home from Calgary and wanted to stop by and have mom show her one or two things on the machine. A-training sessions on the longarm go for $1000 for 3 days(trust me, you get your moneys worth) the woman we bought the longarm business from does the trainging courses. mom, being the kindhearted person she is, said sure. here we are on FRIDAY and this woman and her husband are still at my parents house. they have been staying there since Wednesday morning. supposedly they are going home tomorrow. mom has been training this lady since Wednesday for NOTHING. i'm peeved-can you tell? spent 6 hours at mom's today waiting to use the machine. she promised we would get my 3 most urgent quilts done. i wasn't allowed to do them-she wanted to show this lady some techniques on my quilt. techniques she was to teach me today.

now i have to find some time this weekend to get over to mom's and get these quilts finished. should i mention that mom and dad are gone overnight tomorrow for a chirstmas party? ugh

vent over-wasn't that fun?

i'm such a nut


ran out to walmart to get some odds and ends. while in the checkout i spotted a new quilting magazine. it made its way home with me all because of a Christmas tree quilt on the front cover(i did find 3 other things inside i would like to make as well) and here i am, 11days until Christmas madly sewing together a Christmas quilt for moi rofl!!



also got some great mail today. the Joy card is from CarolH and the snow card from DianeD. have to say i love this holidays card exchange! thanx for the loverly cards ladies

what a weird day

came home at lunch to discover we had no power. decided to get the boys from school, no power there either. sat around reading waiting for the power to come back on. couldn't start my cousin's quilt(have to wash the fabric first) couldn't sew. had been planning on going to the movies tonight but didn't want to leave the sitter home in the dark with the boys(i wasn't looking forward to sitting in the dark with them lol!)

just before 5:30, the lights came back on. was able to whip up some dinner(you'd be amazed at how far a splash circle a bottle of soya sauce makes when dropped *sigh*) and head off to girls night at the theater.

had a great time; was nice to get out and relax and yet i feel oddly out of sorts with getting basically nothing done today!

mmmmm, fabric

been racking my brain thinking of a quilt pattern for my cousin. I've made all my cousins' baby quilts for their little ones and have tried(succeeded so far!) not to copy the same pattern.

i've decided to make a log cabin quilt. Tracy told me the colors she was interested in and off i went to my stash. i found the perfect base fabric but that was as far as i got. nothing was flowing with it. so off to mom's and no luck with her closet full(yes it really is a closet jammed full of fabric!)

so lucky me, i get to wander on over to Hamels tomorrow morning(thankfully all the boys have school tomorrow so no helpers coming with me lol) and pick some fabrics for the quilt. woo hoo!

finished!!


got mom's quilt sewn together tonight. had enough cut fabric to make one for step mommy in law as well. i'm going to quilt mom's on my sewing machine. its not that big; i've quilted bigger, it's just been awhile lol

more great mail


2 more cards made their way to my mailbox today from the CST holiday card exchange. thanx to Fran and Sherry for their lovely creations

it's a boy!!!

congrats to my cousin Tracy and her dh Alex. they got the call today that their little boy Nicholas(love the name!) was born. now they are off to Florida to bring him home in time for Christmas. fantastically awesome news! now i know why i have all my Christmas quilting done-i need to make a baby quilt! lol!!

what to do? what to do?!?!

i started mom's Christmas presents today(i love it-can't i keep it for myself? lol) and i realized tonight, that i will have time to finish Jim's polar fleece camo outfit. i don't want tooooooooooooo! i bought the fabric probably close to 5yrs ago now-i did make him a vest but it was gianormus huge on him, the rest of the fabric has moved with us over the years and every birthday and Christmas, yup, i've promised to make it for him.

well this year, i was going to stick with it. i was just telling him yesterday that it probably wouldn't get done until January. won't he be stunned Christmas morning to find it wrapped up for him? now where did i put my serger????????

amazing what you can do with a few quiet hours


have A's Christmas present almost finished-just have to quilt it; hopefully i will have time this weekend. i nixed the original gift i was going to make mom. after reading the directions 4 times and still unable to figure out what they are doing(mom and i will have to each make one in the new year-its a gorgeous pattern) i found another one that she wanted to do a few years ago and a snatched the magazine and forgot all about it lol!

i love good mail


and been getting allot of it lately. today brought me 4 lovely Christmas cards, the iris folded Christmas tree from Phyllis, the paint chip card from Terry, the stunning ornament from Shelia and the snowman card from my friend Nancy. thanx to all of you!

i love surprises



i have this beautiful paisley paper i've been dying to use. but i couldn't find an ink color to go with the paper. i ended up *settling* with an indigo red-it didn't work. than i tried gold-ugh. so i figured that was my cue to quit and when i was putting away my embossing powders, i found a small jar in the back of the drawer-peridot embossing powder. even looking through the container, i knew it was perfect! and i was right!!!!

the end of Christmas cards

and i am sooooo glad! i'm Christmas carded out!! i'm thinking that the white card needs something in the bottom right corner under the torn paper-maybe some stamped gold stars? and i absolutely love the holly paper. if you enlarge that picture, you can see how the holly and berries are stitched in the paper. that is probably one of my favorite cards i've made this year.

enjoy!!

holiday getting to know you

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? hot chocolate

2 . Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree. everything is wrapped

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? white on my tree and colored on the family one. outside lights are red and blue

4. Do you hang mistletoe? yes except A keeps taking it down lol

5. When do you put your decorations up? everything went up November 20th this year

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? everything!

7. Favorite Holiday memory (as a child:) my grandma reading the christmas story christmas morning

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? what truth?

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? just one

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree. lights, berry garland, i also have a wooden star garland that goes on than all the decorations

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? love it and even more so that we still have so much here!

12. Can you ice skate? no

13. Do you remember your favorite gift/memory. my barbie motorhome lol!


14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Being with
family and friends.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? cheesecakes

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? reading the christmas story

17. What tops your tree? An angel

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? both

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Faith Hills where are you Christmas

r20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? like them better in a mocha!

its still tonight lol



















i'm {} this close to finishing my wallhanging to go above our fireplace. every piece has been sewn down in a metallic thread. i didn't use a buttonhole stitch, just a small straight one. i have to say, this was stressful! it was very hard to get the hang of it but i'm doing better. i still have the last few reins to finish and Santa's hat and coat than i can quilt it. and come Christmas, it will be on the wall!


hmmmm, i really wish our basement tile was the color in the picture and not the garish jade green that it actually is lol!!!

came to the realization

that telling people i have a blog may have been a mistake. i have a BIG vent i want to post and guess what? if i do and a certain few read it, oh man, it will hit the fan! thing is, i've already voiced my opinion and been sent to the naughty mat, so do i even care about rocking the boat more? *SIGH*

ya, i know you're shaking your head wondering if the full moon has gotten to me lol!

check back later tonight-had a successful day and can't wait to share

10 years ago my life changed

my parents were on their way home from Prince George when dad lost control of their truck on some black ice and ended up hitting another vehicle head on, spinning into a second vehicle before running head first into a wall.

dad wasn't expected to live. he was air lifted from Prince George to Abbotsford so my brother and i could say goodbye. he actually died twice on the plane and was brought back. he had severe head trauma, his head went through the windshield, his seatbelt didn't lock to hold him into place. the steering wheel, ended up breaking his collar bone, all but 3 of his ribs were broken-one which punctured a lung. today dads chest is literaly flat on ones side. he had internal bleeding, lost teeth and broke his nose.

mom was in better shape. but because her injuries weren't serious(she still suffers today from pain in her back and along the right side of her body from the impact of the second car hitting her door of the truck), she wasn't allowed to come down with dad in the air ambulance. Jim and friends of the family drove up the next day to bring mom home.

dad was in the hospital touch and go. i was given all power to sign off on any tests surgeries dad require. that involved some of the hardest desicions i know i will ever have to make.

to this day, my dad is not the same person. he suffers from mood swings, short term memory loss. he has become very selfish and angry-not the dad i had growing up.

as much as it pains me to have dad the way he is now, i know how blessed we are that they both survived. God was watching over them that day

i ran out

how did that happen? i made 85 Christmas cards this year and i'm short 12!! argh! have the teacher cards made, the ones for the CST Christmas card exchange and the ones for Jim's work. i better make 20 just incase i've forgotten anyone else!



this is my THIRD post today! wow!!

do over

i had originally done this card like this.
i didn't like the way it turned out at all. so my mission for today was to make a better looking card. i pulled off the tags(what was i thinking? lol) and mulberry and came up with this. much better if i do say so myself! now the boys' teacher cards are finished :)

deck the halls

house is all decorated for Christmas. actually has been for a few weeks now. we have 7 tress up-my tree in the living room, family tree in the family room, a small one inthe office(Jim has that one decorated with fishing lures) and one in each of the boys rooms. Jim just got the exterior lights up yesterday. he has few more strands he is looking for places to hang.

A started a nutcracker collection about 3 yrs ago; its really grown and has to be the favorite decorations in our house. he even has a tree in his room decorated with them as well.

december already!

and i'm finished our Christmas shopping! happy dance time i still have to finish off the gift for my sister in law and A. i'm starting mom's tomorrow. i have still not decided if i'm going to do the tin for mom or not. see how much time i have left.

we took the boys to see the Santa parade tonight-thought we would freeze to death before Santa finally made it to where we were sitting. mental note; next year don't sit at the end of that parade route *sigh* lol

doing a bit of stamping tonight during the Canucks game. you know you are a hockey fan(not a fanatic ;) ) when you have one game on the TV(NHL) and another on the radio(WHL). i finished off the last 2 cards using the OSW(one sheet wonder). i'm really please with how these turned out
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