New Years Eve, perfect

We spent New Years Eve at home this year, just like years past. There is a comfort to ringing in a new year within our own walls, with our cooking, our libations, our family and friends. If last night is any indication to have 2011 will be like for us, then we are in for a great year.

Me, tired, happy and anticipating a new year.

Casey, Master and Commander for all things fun.

Alex, a blur all night, there were way too many Nerf fights, snacks, and fireworks to explode to slow down.

Kim, girlie girl with the Fouey pup. The background image is a great peek into the crazy times we had.

Robert, Copilot and instigator of craziness.



Trimming the Life Fat

It's Limbo week, that odd week of the year where the holidays are over and the New Year has yet to start, which means everything is in reflection. I have all ready made my prep list and have moved on to thinking about what I would like to cut out of my life in the next year. For a girl who loves lists, this is the perfect mental workout!

Tangable:

1. Facebook games, I admit it, I love to zone out on Frontierville. The missions, the cropping, the holiday events, it's a vice AND a mega time waster. It takes away time I could be spending with my family, on my house, cooking recipes from the stack of cookbooks we have, gardening, puppy playing, LIFE.
2. Couch time, the TV is ALWAYS on. Time to make some rules about when the TV is on and what is being watched.
3. Paperwork, the sheer amount of paper, mail, contracts, reciepts that we have/store is CRAZY! I want to start purge and organizing this better than it currently is. Maybe even look into Neat Reciepts again.
4. Clutter, it is everywhere, enough said.
5. Processed STUFF, think foods, sodas, snacks, ice creams, etc.  I know how to make all that stuff, so I need to just make it instead of buy it.

InTangable:

1. Stress, I am my own worst enemy. I CREATE stress for some stupid reason. New Mantra= Less Stress is More Living
2. Anxiety, which is closely related to stress. I can work myself up over just about anything.
3. Arguements, I have slowly been realizing that many of the arguements that I am involved in, I start. Ouch!
4. Cursing, yeah I can and do sound like a sailor. Time to stop, I want to sound as educated and classy as I really am.
5. Expectations, I hold a high bar to everyone else but myself. So I want to drop other's bar and pick mine up.

Obviously, my New Year is working towards making a New Me.

The Christmas Elves



Alex's Winter Wonderland

 This is the first Christmas that Alex has displayed a bit of "I know who Santa really is" wisdom, which really meant that his Christmas Magic level was a little low. So I cooked up this idea to make a ton of snowflakes and hang them in his room on Christmas Eve so he would wake up to a Winter Wonderland.

We had our good friends Kim and Robert over on Christmas Eve night, so we put them to work with paper and scissors and crafted a bunch of Snowflakes. Elf Kim up'ed the anty by bringing a bag of glitter snow which was scattered all over his room to make it look like Narnia.

The hilarity was barely contained while we tried to be quiet hanging these up in his room, but we were successful because Alex didn't wake up at all!

These are the memories I hope he will never forget. These are the things that we love to do as Parents, make things just a bit more special.

His snowflake room makes us all smile, which is exactly what we aimed for.

Hello November

 I am loving this month, yes we are only 3 days in, but there are so many great things to look forward to in November for our family. Lots of work, new contracts finalizing, my mother in law coming for Thanksgiving week, the end of fall semester for me, a week off for Alex, and the last of our Christmas shopping completed! Not to mentioned cooking loads of fabulous food!

 I took down all the Halloween stuff this afternoon. I had said that we would leave it up for another week, but I was just OVER it. I love Halloween and all the excitement it brings to Casey and Alex, but it just felt wrong to leave it all up ( even though we had only finished decorating inside on the 30th). so I put it all away and discovered in the process a bag of Autumn goodness that I had bought last year on clearance. I had completely forgotten all about until I spied some of the glittery goodness peaking out of a bin that I thought just held random holidays. talk about Autumn bliss!

So I put it up and added our pumpkins of all sorts, the flame less candles and our little squirrel candle holder. Happy Happy Autumn!!

* Ignore the touch up painting I need to do around the fireplace, I can barely contain the groans when I think about more painting.

The weekend in hindsight

This past weekend was a complete whirlwind. Looking back over the 72 hours that it made up I can see why all three of us are exhausted today. Feel free to skip this next part if you take my word for the weekend craziness.

Alex had a Halloween party, I hung out with my parents for a couple hours and then made a late run to the airport to get Casey, we picked up Alex around midnight on the way back form the airport and then made a stop at Walmart to see if they had any fog machines left. Came home and passed out around 2am, was woken up by the doorbell, it was my friend who I said I would go to the farmer's market with, delayed 15 minutes to take a fast shower and dress, strolled said Farmer's Market. Came home, did some more decorating inside and tried to manage the mega piles of laundry that sprouted out of our carpet. Dropped Alex off at my parents house so Casey and I could have dinner out for our anniversary. Discovered that we had been at the restaurant 3+ hours (so fun!), made a late night run to grocery for beer, came home and decorated the front yard for Halloween at 11pm. Passed out at midnight, up early to get Alex from parents house, home to finish decorating with Alex, more laundry, some cleaning, a term paper, an accounting project, ordered pizza, trick or treating, home to hand out candy with Casey. Broke down decorations at midnight, in bed shortly after, and up around 4am because Casey had to leave on a business trip. Whew! 

But between all the madness I happily loved on our new wall color. Ignore the catastrophe around it. That would be the leftovers from Halloween, late night trip packing and weekend living.

 I also present to you the mess that was me after painting the popcorn ceilings in the living room and hallway. This was the light amount of spatter, my chest and arms were all most completely white. Loads of work, but so worth it! Yes that is paint on my lips and near my eye. I get into my work. :)



The Decor...

I emptied out our decoration closet, otherwise known as the space under the stairs today. It was clear that we had a surplus of one type of decoration, Halloween decorations.

 The entire stack is just Halloween, not even a smidgen of Thanksgiving mixed in there. We love this Holiday, especially Casey. At least once during the Spooky season we go out as a family and search through all the stores for Halloween decorations. We did that annual trip on Saturday and found a small handful of items we might pick up. Even though we love this holiday, we still wait for discounts on the decorations because they can be astronomically priced! For instance, all our Spooky towns houses on the left of the picture were either gifts or deeply discounted simply because one decent house can run you $75+ without a coupon. We have not picked many of them up over the last couple years because the workmanship has definitely been lowered, which is a shame, they are super cool.

Here is evidence that we are biased towards Halloween. This pile is for all the other holidays the rest of the year, including Christmas and wrapping papers. The brown boxes on the right are not even part of this stash, so this pile is even smaller.

Next week I will show you our outdoor decorations, because today was all about indoor decor!

The Final Savoring #16

Today I spent 2 hours in bed with Alex, watching his face while he played a game on his DS. I watched his eyes dart back and forth, his skin soak up the weak sunlight, how his hair moves when he scrunches up his face, the very faint peach fuzz on his lip, the shape of his teeth against the curve of his mouth, how his dimple peaks out when he smiles.

I noticed the shape of his fingers, how the clarity of the skin on the back of his hands make me jealous, the single mole that we both share, the short bitten nails, the arch of his thumb joint, the slimness of his wrist.

I love my son. I love the child that Casey and I made together more then I could ever fathom. I could have spent all day savoring his face, his laughter, his words, him.

Savoring #15

Today I have been savoring memories, all the little things and big things that have happened over the last 10 years, a decade of life. But it wasn't till I saw Lisa's Decade in Review post that I knew I had to share it in my favorite format, so welcome to my Decade in Review LISTED!

In the Last Ten Years, I...

• Had a baby, a month early, who needed NICU, and I refused pain killers after our crazy delivery.
• Married my high school sweetheart at a vineyard surrounded by friends and family.
• Had a private dinner with friends while we had a private concert with Jason Mraz.
• Moved 6 times, last time to Texas.
• Survived crazy summer flooding.
• Fell more in love with cooking.
• Started gardening.
• Had a fabulous vacation in Cancun.
• Went parasailing.
• Gained weight.
• Let my hair grow really long.
• Learned how to knit.
• Scrapped for a living.
• Scrapped for a hobby.
• Started a business with Casey.
• Adopted amazing dogs.
• Fostered amazing dogs.
• Fell in love with a Shih Tsu.
• Made a Best Friend.
• Realized that friendship, like love, isn't always equal.
• Reacquainted with lots of old friends.
• Taught outside my comfort zone and scored an awesome contract.
• Went to the beach and watched the sunset behind me, so weird to this Cali girl.
• Was baptized!
• Picked up a camera to share how I see things.

Savoring #14

I have been thrown by the fact that January 1, 2010 is the start of a new decade! The last decade of my life was started by bringing Alex into this world and then raising him to become a typical boy. This new decade is will bring so many changes, school for me, Middle school and high school for Alex, Alex leaving the nest to go to college, and my 40's. All these things are far off in the later part of this decade, except for the school for me part. But today was the first day of a new time. So how did I spend it?

• Reviewing finances
• Doing laundry
• Making breakfast for dinner
• Marshaling two boys
• Writing thank you notes
• Reading
• Playing with puppies
• Living our life

It was a good start to a great new decade.

Savoring #13 New Years Eve

We enjoyed playful puppy time in the morning, trying to soak up as many memories as we can with Betty since she is so old.
Then later we watched the New Years Eve sunset as a windy cold front blew through, streaking the sky with speed bump clouds.

Even later we saw the Blue Moon rise in the East, peeking out behind clouds and very cold skies.

We then threw poppers and firecrackers and tried to find the spares before anyone else.

And before you knew it, it was 15 minutes till the count down, so we laughed our heads off with the Archie trying to get his Cheese show, gathered everyone outside and watched the dozens of firework shows we can see from our backyard.

First kisses of the year were exchange, hugs and loves were shared, and then we all tucked ourselves up snug in our beds.

Hello 2010!

Savoring #12

Truly, I did nothing but sleep and love my flannel sheets and down comforter all day. There were small bouts of lucidness where I mumbled into a phone and made tater tots, but the majority of my day was made up of fuzzy sleepy thoughts about the merits of a well made cozy bed when I am sick.

Savoring #11

Today I am savoring that I still have 9 days till I return to work, 12 days till I return to school, because today I woke up sick. Plenty of time to recover...

Savoring #10

I spent part of the day packing away all that was Christmas. I felt a sudden urge to tuck it away, organized and waiting, before the end of the year. It must be that I am so excited for January.

It might look like a red body bag, but it is the best way we have found to store our fake tree.Then I spent part of my evening making progress, see Sarah! Little bits here and here, filling in spaces left blank, all most ready to start on a creature. Hooray!

When I think back over my day, I can't remember much besides a bowl of soup, laundry, packing away glittered items, Wii Fitting, evening cooking, stitching and stepping outside only once.

Focus Nicole, there are 6 days to go.

Savoring #9

Alex and Archie's daily situation... Begging for a Nibble.

A single picture to savor today, mostly because we were on the go the whole time. We went to church, came home to Casey's awesome ham potato hash, then Alex and I went to see Avatar with Sharon and Austin. Half a day later, we were home where we Wii Fitted and Battleshipped the rest of the night away. Soon it will be time to tuck Alex in bed and me on the couch with stitching and Casey bowling on the Wii. A perfectly fun simple day.

Savoring the day after #8

We are loving our His & Hers Quilts from my mom. Isn't her work amazing?!

Family Wii Bowling, Casey spent a bunch of today practicing for the next family tournament.

Paperwhites, ready to grow!

Some of us baked in the sun for the afternoon.

We finished off the Christmas ham, how we did that so quickly I have no idea. But that leaves us open to grilling, which is always a favorite.

I am halfway through my savoring days and I have to say It has been delightful to focus on the small things and those who mean the most to me.

Christmas Savoring #7

Dawn on Christmas Day!

As you can see Alex was all ready up, but I asked him to stay in his bed reading till his Grandparents would arrive. I think it was a sweet torture.

We all enjoyed our incredible gift exchange. Not too crazy of a gift year, but every gift was perfect, thoughtful, and needed.

There was a huge break in picture taking due to more gifts, breakfast, family phone calls, and HOURS on the Wii. Of course one of us ended up on the couch with all the little dogs.
This little Santa is all Christmas'ed out.

Our holiday was blissful, full of fabulous fun family memories. Truly one of the best holidays we have had.

Savoring the Holiday Eve #6

Christmas Eve, quite possibly my favorite day of the year. Everything is ready. Traditions are in play. And happiness is everywhere.

We enjoyed our traditional Eve Lunch out, which usually happens after we go to the zoo for the morning. But the crazy windy weather made that impossible this year. Hooter's still held all it charm with fried pickles, Cubans, and wings even if we didn't see our Grizzly Bear first.

Mickey Santa is outside ready to deliver presents!

Our own Christ deer has been reborn thanks to a handy Casey, some electrical tape, and wire strippers. He met an unfortunate end due to hard wind gust. But now he is fixed!

Alex is all tucked into bed warm and snuggly. Straining his ears to hear Santa's rein deer on the roof and the Polar Express pulling up out front.
And presents have started to appear under the tree.

Merry Christmas Eve!

A short Savoring #5

Casey and I enjoyed a small sleep in, but had plenty of time to inhale the healing properties of morning coffee before we were off to pick up Alex from his grandparents house.

After chores and lunch, I surprised Alex with a trip to Sea World to see The Polar Express in 4D, and all the other Christmas goodies.
The fake snow was a hit, but didn't taste so good I heard.

Finally, the theater, the glasses, the pre-teen really showing up in his face.

Once home, a dinner of delivery pizza and movies and games. And I dug out of my old old craft box a long dormant cross stitch, all because Sarah inspired me. Sarah, you have no idea how many times I wish we lived next to each other so I could talk stitching with you tonight.

Savoring #4

Today was a day of savoring without the camera...

• Teaching Alex how to wrap a present and then finishing all that was left to wrap.
• Buying the final gift!
• Delivering two more boxes of baked goods.
• Alex has a sleepover with his Grands, which means...
• Casey and I have a solo night
• Where we are cooking beer brats and watching movies...
• and picked up plenty of firewood for the upcoming holidays.
• Now off to enjoy dinner on the couch and scary movies.

Holiday Savoring #3

I spent my early early morning at Starbucks with my Sharon. Enjoying coffee, snacks, and lots of girl talk. It was a perfect start...

Picked up Alex and headed to the park for slides and monkey bars.

And lots of laughing and story telling.

We waited for the leaves to fall off the trees...

We dashed off to get a hair cut and a couple last minute gifts.

And watched Casey open his Day 10 Advent, somehow we started a day early.

We finished cookie making and delighted in the perfectly imperfect Buckeyes.

We piled cookies...

and boxed them up for friends and neighbors.

Delivering them to houses and smiles and returning with tamales and Forrest Gump.