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Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Wordle - Love it

I should be cleaning my messy house (results of being snowed in for 2 days), but I found this website and made this:




Like I needed something else to waste time on! Oh well, this was so fun!

Enjoy!

...Mrs. G

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Happy Birthday HD

It's hard to believe, but my cousin's little baby is almost one! One of my most cherished memories was visiting with him and his family when he was only 3 months old. It was a bittersweet time for my whole family, as we excitedly welcomed Hudson into the world and very sadly said goodbye to my sweet Grandma Clara. It was a blessing for us that she was able to meet her newest great-grandbaby before she left this world and I believe meeting him was what gave her peace and the ability to say goodbye to the life and family she loved so much.

On our trip down for the memorial service, Ben was able to bond with the whole family on my Dad's side (there's only about 15 of us!) for the first time (other than at the wedding) and he also held a baby for the first time. My husband is completely, absolutely, 100% not interested in babies. He has no desire to hold then, kiss them or cuddle them. None. Zilch. Nada. However, not surprisingly, after a few days with perfect baby Hudson and his big sister Riley, he was in love.
How could you not fall in love with those baby dimples?!? (I like both sets!)

(Sorry this is sideways) They did this until Ben was totally out of breath!

We left California with bittersweet memories, and a car full of my grandma's card making stuff. My grandma would make cards for EVERYONE she loved for EVERY holiday. Most days you could find her buried somewhere in the back card room lovingly creating a special card for someone. She took such joy in using her free time to make something for her friends and family. I cherish every card I received from her. I have a few tucked away in a special place and they always serve to remind me how loved and blessed I am. They also help me to remember to count my blessings for the wonderful family I have.

I'm definitely not as diligent or organized enough to make cards for every holiday, but I do manage a few special ones every now and again, and it makes me really happy to sit down and create a little something for someone I love.


I'll send Hudson's card out tomorrow, with a $1 bill folded inside, just like grandma always did.

...Mrs. G



Happy Birthday HD

It's hard to believe, but my cousin's little baby is almost one! One of my most cherished memories was visiting with him and his family when he was only 3 months old. It was a bittersweet time for my whole family, as we excitedly welcomed Hudson into the world and very sadly said goodbye to my sweet Grandma Clara. It was a blessing for us that she was able to meet her newest great-grandbaby before she left this world and I believe meeting him was what gave her peace and the ability to say goodbye to the life and family she loved so much.

On our trip down for the memorial service, Ben was able to bond with the whole family on my Dad's side (there's only about 15 of us!) for the first time (other than at the wedding) and he also held a baby for the first time. My husband is completely, absolutely, 100% not interested in babies. He has no desire to hold then, kiss them or cuddle them. None. Zilch. Nada. However, not surprisingly, after a few days with perfect baby Hudson and his big sister Riley, he was in love.
How could you not fall in love with those baby dimples?!? (I like both sets!)

(Sorry this is sideways) They did this until Ben was totally out of breath!

We left California with bittersweet memories, and a car full of my grandma's card making stuff. My grandma would make cards for EVERYONE she loved for EVERY holiday. Most days you could find her buried somewhere in the back card room lovingly creating a special card for someone. She took such joy in using her free time to make something for her friends and family. I cherish every card I received from her. I have a few tucked away in a special place and they always serve to remind me how loved and blessed I am. They also help me to remember to count my blessings for the wonderful family I have.

I'm definitely not as diligent or organized enough to make cards for every holiday, but I do manage a few special ones every now and again, and it makes me really happy to sit down and create a little something for someone I love.


I'll send Hudson's card out tomorrow, with a $1 bill folded inside, just like grandma always did.

...Mrs. G



Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Kitchen Challenge Complete!










I was too embarrassed to take before pictures, but let's just say my kitchen hasn't been this thoroughly clean in a long time.

Now I'm off to pick up my hubby from school and then to go see Twilight with the girls from work!

Ciao! Mrs. G

Taking a break

I'm working on the kitchen, really, I am...I just need a little break! I found this cute Christmasy survey and it seemed to be a perfect way to spend a few minutes while the dishwasher is doing it's thing.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? 
Paper. Wrapping presents is my favorite part about giving gifts.

2. Real tree or Artificial? 
Real. They're messy, but oh so worth it. My house smells like Christmas!

3. When do you put up the tree?
Anytime after Thanksgiving. It was Nov. 30th this year.

4. When do you take the tree down?
Probably after new years, if it lasts that long

5. Do you like eggnog?
I do! Eggnog lattes from Starbucks are my favorite.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
This is hard. I was spoiled rotten. Maybe my American Girl dolls or my birthstone heart pendant.

7. Hardest person to buy for?
My husband

8. Easiest person to buy for?
My mom

9. Do you have a nativity scene? 
No, but I really want the Willow Tree set

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail, and talk about domestic diva, I'm making ours this year!

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? 
I think I was most disappointed with the ill-fitting, not quite matching pajama set my husband gave me our first christmas together. He wanted to buy me something that I would be cozy in, and he had good intentions, but those are my least favorite pjs! 

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? 
I was just talking with some girlfriends of mine at how shameful it is that I've never seen any of the classics.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
In December usually

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
I don't think I have.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? 
Appetizers on Christmas Eve and Cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning 

16. Lights on the tree? 
LED's 

17. Favorite Christmas song?
I can't choose, but Martina McBride has some beautiful ones 

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? 
I like staying home, I wish all of our family could travel to us!

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Donner, Dancer, Comet, Vixen, Prancer, Ruldolph...idk how many there actually are

20. Angel on the treetop, star or…?
Right now we have a bow, but only because I haven't found an angel that I like. I want my mom's.

21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning? 
Christmas morning, but it will be Christmas Eve this year.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? 
The overwhelming pressure to shop, shop, shop

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
Classic red and white

24. What do you want for Christmas this year?
Bare Essentuals makeup and a new camera 

25. Most favorite Christmas Tradition?
Making a bunch of appetizers on Christmas Eve, toasting Martinellis and opening one present. We did it as a family growing up, and Ben and I have adapted it as one of our own traditions too.

Lazy Housewife

I love the nest.com. One of my favorite things to do to when I'm enjoying some quiet time around the house is to explore different postings and peek into the lives of fellow "nesters" through their blogs. One that I came across yesterday was the "Hyper Homemaker" who has a outlined a "Fall Cleaning Challenge" for her blog readers. Oh man, I am so behind! I'm embarrassed to think how much I've let housework slip! Individually Ben and I are very clean, tidy people. However, as a couple, we are terrible at keeping our house clean. We constantly have dishes on our ridiculously tiny counters, and even though I have a wonderful little laundry room (one of the reasons why we moved), I am awful at keeping up with our dirty clothes...actually, it's the clean ones that get me. I hate putting laundry away! Anyways, seeing the Hyper Homemaker's beautiful, spotless home got me motivated. Though I don't have 7 days to dedicate to cleaning, I am going to get my butt in gear and get to work! My goal for today is to get my kitchen reorganized and tomorrow I'm going to tackle my bedroom and bathroom. Please don't think that Ben and I are total slobs, our house really is CLEAN, it's just really messy. 

On the topic of cleaning, I should mention one of my new favorite books, Gorgeously Green. After I finished the Twilight series (www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilightseries) I had no desire to read another book because I knew it would let me down. I knew nothing would satisfy me like a little Edward and Bella. I felt like I had just gone through a bittersweet breakup! In a desperate search to satisfy my craving to curl up and read, I found Gorgeously Green. It's totally unlike Twilight, which was just what I needed. This book is awesome! After reading the first chapter I felt motivated to make our home a cleaner, greener place. I feel really inspired to make a difference in my life and I feel like the little changes I am starting to make really can help change our world. Now, I'm not totally on the "green" bandwagon, but I'm definitely up for any easy, cost-efficient, eco-friendly changes I can make. My favorite green product so far - vinegar. You can clean just about everything with this stuff! I've never seen toilet gunk wash away so easily, and my kitchen counters are just as clean (if not more so) after using my homemade vinegar/water/castile soap cleaner than they ever were with Clorox. Plus, it feels really good to know that I can get my kitchen and bathroom sparkly without any toxic chemicals.

One of these days I'll post a link to the benefits of green living, but for now, I'm gonna get to that kitchen of mine and put my inspiration to good use!