Just Make Stuff

2006...

It's been QUITE a year...Mac performing in his first plays...having a birth mom choose our family and all the excitement that went with it...having Darby Jane...losing Darby Jane and the immense pain and stress that went with it...Mac's surgery and six weeks in casts on his right leg and arm...an amazing trip to Ireland...my 30th birthday and the huge surprises Sean had in store for me...Mac playing baseball for the first time...getting my nose pierced...volunteering at Camp for the 13th year...Mac's 10th birthday and his pirate party extravaganza...our family trip up and down California...lots of work to the house including the front porch I love so much...three failed artificial insemination attempts...Mac starting a new school...being lucky enough to teach scrapbook classes...and so many other special days.

I'm not going to lie, this year has been pretty darn hard, but it also has brought me more than I could have ever imagined...we as a family have so much to be thankful for...especially for the kindness that has come at us from every direction...never have I been able to witness the power of the human spirit the way I have this year and I'm awestruck by how much it has blessed us.

I think it's fair to say that 2006 has been a defining chapter...and I'm eager to reach the end tonight and see what happens next.

Happy 2007!

Problem solved...

the depression problem that is. Christmas decorations are all packed away and that meant it was time to start my seemingly annual craziness of re-arranging...that always makes me feel better in the end. I made a huge mess, as usual (the top photo was about 1/10 of the disaster), but this time I got pretty lucky and the puzzle came back together without too much trouble.

Love a re-organized, cleaned-out space to start the new year...and I managed to fill three gigantic boxes to donate next week. I have all my Christmas thank you notes off in the mail too so I might, just might, have a little time left in the year to make something...anything...just for fun...

The letdown...

I've got to admit the days after Christmas are pretty depressing to me...HATE that it has to end...but I can't complain too much being that I can officially say the holiday couldn't have been more perfect...every gift we were lucky enough to get, every bite of food, every minute we had with my family and Sean's...just perfect.  Of course all the photos weren't perfect, but here are some of them.

Randy and Ellie have left for the airport and Mac has left for Bryce's so the house is quiet and in desperate need of being organized and cleaned...that combined with some take-out chinese for dinner will hopefully start to shake away the doldrums.

I don't think I ever shared my little holiday journal I made earlier in the month...it only ended up with a couple of pages inside...but oh well...next year...

All is calm...all is bright...

It's a few minutes after 1:30am and I just got home from Midnight Mass...hearing the alleluia chorus in a church filled with Christmas trees is good for the soul.

We're having a wonderful holiday so far...there are so many photos I could share from today's festivities but this one should do it...I recruited Sean's mom to be our photographer for a quick family photo before Mac was off to Bryce's this afternoon.

Okay, time to stuff Sean's stocking and then off to bed...

Merry Christmas! :)

Can I keep them?

Just a few simple bookmarks for Sean's dad to go along with a Barnes & Noble gift-card, but I love them...I love seeing all the photos combined from the last several years...I love that the computer gives me a way to put them all together...but most of all I love this family I married into...it seems that the word "in-laws" often strikes fear in the heart, but not for me...Randy and Ellie couldn't have been more wonderful from the first moment I met them...and that was asking a lot being that I was a 21-year-old single mom dating their son...I can't believe I've known them for almost 10 years...and despite the busy-ness that has to take place before their arrival tomorrow, I am SO excited that they're going to be here for Christmas.

Because I needed another addiction...

So this time of year when we go on a walk through our neighborhood we get to see all the Christmas decorations...this one house in particular has the most beautiful village all set up in the front bay window.  The owner was outside a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't help but ask her where she got it...Department 56...so Tuesday night as we were leaving Disneyland I insisted we stop by the store they have in Downtown Disney...it was overwhelming to see all that they have and all the amazing detail in each piece...I came home with a little Christmas card shop and figured I'd just collect them here and there...until I talked to my sister...she informed me that her car wash, yes car wash, up in Yorba Linda has a shop that sells tons of it...and a lot of it was 50% off too...she even scouted it out for me yesterday morning...so long story short I now also own this...this...this...and this...I guess I should have stuck with just one village series, but I like too many so my village is pretty eclectic. :)  Sean and I tried to set it up last night as best we could...clearly I have to work on my "snow" arranging...but for our first year it doesn't look too bad I hope.  It makes me so happy...I have always wanted something like this so I'm pinching myself that it's actually set up downstairs and I can add to it every year...like I said, because I NEEDED another addiction, right? :)

Annual passes are good...

so when you're all freezing despite the layers you piled on (even Oregon boy Sean was cold) you can just head home...not before taking over 100 photos though...

 

Irony...

1 : a pretense of ignorance and of willingness to learn from another assumed in order to make the other's false conceptions conspicuous by adroit questioning -- called also Socratic irony
2 a : the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning b : a usually humorous or sardonic literary style or form characterized by irony c : an ironic expression or utterance
3 a (1) : incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result (2) : an event or result marked by such incongruity b : incongruity between a situation developed in a drama and the accompanying words or actions that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play -- called also dramatic irony, tragic irony

Notice the definition starts with the "pretense of ignorance"...love it...irony is have 14 tasks to finish before Christmas, yet spending your time this afternoon making thank you notes for after Christmas...oh well they'll come in handy on the 26th. :)

His to-do list...

Apparently he's discovered the Style Network this morning and it's the best thing ever...so he was hesitant to take a break from it to help me make a cake to take to his music class later today...here he is breaking Andes mints (guess what cake I'm making again) all the while not taking his eyes off the TV.

He doesn't know it (because I keep everything secret so I don't have to hear about it endlessly, patient mom that I am) but there's a holiday to-do list ahead for him...a gingerbread house kit has been tucked away for a couple of weeks waiting for Christmas Break to start...we're going to head back up to that Christmas light neighborhood I saw last week and this time we're taking the wagon and walking it...  there's a trip to Disneyland when Sean gets home from work tomorrow...and plenty of time in our pajamas being lazy.

Of course his mom and step-dad have a holiday to-do list too, but it's more like going to Costco to buy prime rib and deep cleaning the house...not quite as festive...then again Sean has somehow taught Mac that scrubbing toilets is fun so I guess I'll add that to his list too. :)

Christmas Break...

Oh it's started alright...but I think Mac has finally calmed down a little from yesterday's bouncing-off-the-walls excitement...hopefully...right now he's making a garland to surprise my mom with...a.k.a. something to put in the cute box he made at school that's driving me nuts because it's coated in glitter, but is something that will totally make Grandma's day when it's dropped off on her doorstep later.

Speaking of dropping things off on doorsteps that's what I'll be doing with my "I have no school for 17 days" child in a couple of hours...it's Bryce's weekend and I have to admit I'm sort of totally looking forward to it...Sean and I have nothing planned, a lot of TV to catch up on, and it's supposed to rain this weekend so I have visions of a whole bunch of laziness on the couch in front of the fireplace. :)

Update...

All done...goodbye cute, but glitter covered, box! :)

They come in 3's...

Good things and bad things, right?  So we're on number two of the (possible) three minor bad things...and I'm paranoid about what the third one will be. 

First we have my car going into the shop on Saturday because last week I was dumber than ever and slightly rear-ended someone...I say "slightly" because we were both stopped at a light and I just decided to step on the gas peddle when I was zoned out thinking about make-your-own-sundae parties and saw the people in the lane to my right moving...time to go, right?  Yeah, not so much.  I am SO ridiculously ashamed...I have never gotten in an accident, well not one that I caused.  Best part was I hit a 17-year-old kid who was so polite and composed I wanted his parents to call me just so I could ask them how to raise a teenage boy to be like that...his truck's chrome bumper just needs to be straightened out a little...our minivan has a lovely trailer-hitch sized hole punctured in it...did I mentioned how ashamed I am?  I felt compelled to let every insurance adjuster I spoke to know all about how ashamed I was...they were kind and reassured me this happens to everyone...as did my endlessly understanding husband...but I'm still SO very mad at myself.

So minor problem #2...Tuesday night my friend Karen and I were headed out on our now second annual Christmas light search...which means driving around in our pajamas with Starbucks in hand looking for good houses to critique with our shared love of Christmas lights--totally fun...but it helps when your garage door will go all the way up to let your car out...oh but wait the power is out to one third of the house...Sean then spent the next three hours either on the phone with his dad or our brother-in-law trying everything they could think of (don't worry though he manually opened the door and Karen & I were out looking at lights--we found the COOLEST neighborhood ever in Brea...seriously we were there for an hour it was so good)...moral of the story is we had to find an electrician yesterday to fix an outlet that was beyond fried...the culprit is most likely our Christmas lights so we had to do some rearranging and Sean has a fun outlet mapping project he was assigned by the electrician so we know what's plugged-in on what breaker...we both have learned more about electricity in the last couple of days than we ever wanted to know...but probably should have known, huh?

So #3 might be out there...and I'm hoping that, maybe, my hefty paranoia will protect me from it...maybe not.

One of the good things that's happened in the last few days is I received a holiday kit that I was super lucky to be asked to design...I got to play putting together paper, a couple of my favorite Christmas stamps and the Daisy D's vintage designs that I've been loving...it was a fantastic opportunity to come my way...despite stupid car accidents and electrical problems I am one lucky girl :) 

It's for a site that will be up in a few days and the owner is an amazing lady...if you think I'm productive you should listen to what she does on a daily basis like it's no big deal...makes me look like a lazy schmuck. :)  Anyways, as much as the thought of self-promoting anything makes me want to jump out of my skin, I am really excited for her and her new endeavor...if you're interested in the kit you can e-mail Susan now to find out the details and/or order...she also has gathered some GREAT scrapbookers for a design team and was telling me about the 58 layouts and projects she's already gathered from them...I can't wait to see what they've made!

Since the kit is already sitting on my desk and I have power back to my computer I think I'm going to print out some recent holiday photos and try to make stuff...who needs to exercise, right? :)

Craftiness...

Lately I've made a fair amount of stuff...mostly for the house...and I was going to share a little over each of the next few days, but instead here it all is now :)

Exhibit A: random canvas that's sitting on the red fence headboard in the guest room...thought the quote was fitting

Exhibit B: frame hanging on the guest room door...my friends would always joke that we had "hotel Griffin"...so I couldn't resist making a sign now that we're back in business :)

Exhibit C: another canvas...this one is for the table when you walk in the door to our house and it was SO fun to put together

Exhibit D: for the downstairs bathroom...inspired by Ali Edward's frame, but much less creative...just 80 one-inch squares of patterned paper...now I'm thinking how freaking cool would this be to do to a whole wall!?!

Exhibits E & F: neither of which are made by me...instead I handed some patterned paper and a glue stick to Sean who is now my official altering guru (reason #7,593 that I love him--he's MUCH more exact with paint, scissors, and glue than I could ever be)

Here's a tissue box for the guest room and a pink ornament "A" to hang on the tree in the teacher's lounge for his secret snowman exchange at work...I've already put in my request for an "N" :)

 

More than enough...

I swear we could host a dozen more make-your-own sundae parties and not run out of food...I have more homemade whip cream and chocolate sauce than we'll ever know what to do with...it was pretty darn tasty though...I could have stood there dunking various cookies and brownies into whip cream for the next week...thankfully I stopped a little short of that. :)

Now it's December 10th...for the most part I'm done...as much as I love endless crafting and party planning I just might love having nothing to do a little bit more.  I have to finish up my to-do list this week and then I should have a nice little chunk of time to do whatever I want...that sounds almost as good as a brownie dunked in whip cream...

Check...

Thanks so much for helping me check that off my to-do list...not totally convinced about the mess of stamps I made, but hopefully it'll grow on me.

The drawing winner is Kristina and Monica gets the credit for helping me come up with this from her "Questions and Comments" suggestion...send me your addresses when you get a chance and please be patient with me since I have a few too many things to accomplish in the next few days, but sending out a little something good to you guys is officially on my to-do list...back to it :)

Peace & Joy...

is the fact that all 40-something of these will all be off in tomorrow's mail...

I am so freaking happy the Christmas cards are done...if only everything else was too...getting there though...

Here's a few more details from the card...nothing much to speak of scrap-wise...but they are homemade and they are finished...

 

Oh and I need help with yet another crazy idea...but this one belongs to me AND Sean....we kind of just re-painted/decorated our downstairs 1/2 bath and decided it'd be fun to paint the back of the door with the chalkboard paint leftover from Mac's bedroom door. I want to make a little sign to frame and hang on the door along with the chalk that says something clever inviting people to write or draw...if you have any ideas PLEASE share...in fact I'll try to make it worth your while :) I do a drawing from everyone that offers some idea and if I use your idea you'll definitely get something!  I need them quick so I can make some kind of cuteness before the party on Saturday...thanks! :)  Oh and so far the best we've come up with is "Random Thoughts"...then there was "Make Your Mark" but that seemed kind of risky to encourage in a bathroom...sorry gross sense of humor...

Oh did I laugh...

I'm usually one of the moms who can't help but cry with pride when they see their child in some kind of performance...but today I was the mom desperately trying to hide my relentless giggle as I watched Mac perform at his after-school tumbling class's little show.  It wasn't him (well, yeah, it was a little...his seriousness and deep concentration kind of cracked me up too) it was mostly the tumbling teacher who was all kinds of crazy.  Let's just say she was passionate about those tumbling moves...add in some quality Jock Jams pumping in the background and I sat there silently laughing my ass off watching it all...totally misbehaving but thankfully everyone was in the zone and didn't notice me.  In my defense, which there isn't much of, I was also the dutiful picture-taking mom...

 

 

Mac invited everyone he knows...seriously...I was teasing him that we were going to pick up a few people off the street and bring them along too.  He ended up getting Sean and I, my sister, my mom, Bryce's mom and his two cousins in attendance...other than Mac's harem I think there might have been 4 other parents there and a gaggle of hyper after-school-care kids.

I had to get a photo of Mac, the tumbler, fresh from his performance with his fans...

Crazy kid...gotta to love him...

What we'll be up to this week...

2 gallons of whole milk...3 cartons of half & half...8 bottles of heavy cream...two dozen eggs...raspberry preserves...blueberry sauce...peanuts, cashews, & almonds...frozen strawberries & pineapple...cookies & various types of chocolate=$86.23 at Trader Joe's

Finally figuring out what you're going to do when you host the dessert house at this Saturday's neighborhood progressive dinner and having a husband willing to make a ton of homemade ice-cream for the make-you-own sundae bar=priceless :)

Heading back out to do more a little more sundae topping shopping at my very favorite grocery store...

Couldn't begin to do it justice...

but I tried...

"it" is the Feast of Lights at the University of Redlands...one of my friends suggested we go this year and now I want to make sure we go every year...it was my first time watching it...but I was lucky enough to be in the University choir in 1995 and 1997 so I've performed in it twice...it occurred to me last night that the final feast performance in 1997 was the last time I've sung (except for the car and the shower)...and listening to everything last night I was reminded, once again, how much I miss it...not so much the seemingly endless rehearsals, but that feeling of standing in the middle of an orchestra and voices...being surrounded by it and just trying to keep up.

The best part of the whole thing is the end when the chapel is lit only by candlelight...they sing this beautiful arrangement of Silent Night that I had forgotten how much I loved...then as you walk out of the chapel the quad is lined with luminaries with the Administration building up on the hill in the distance.  I tried to capture it was my camera and failed almost entirely...regardless there's no way I could do the site justice.

It was such a great way to kick off December...