Halloween and Tardis Dress

 I LOVE my TARDIS dress.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I could never have done it without the help of my Auntie.  I helped cut and pin and such, but she did the VAST majority of the work on this dress.  I did add the finishing TARDIS details though.  I made the belt, "PULL TO OPEN" sign, and light hair clip. Below is a crappy selfie, but it shows the glowing light.  I used cut up glow sticks to light it up.  I totally enjoyed my blue hair clip ins as well. :)

Halloween night started out a bit nutty.  Everything went wrong as I tried to leave my house.  Work stuff went crazy and I kept remembering other things I needed to grab.  I had various things the boys needed for their costumes and things I needed for mine.  I was a bit of a wreck by the time I finally left the house.  Then, about halfway to D's house, I realized that I'd left the face paint for N's costume sitting by my front door.  It was pretty necessary, so I had to stop at a costume store on the way.  Of course, EVERY OTHER PERSON ON EARTH was there too.  I stood in line FOR-EV-ER.  I did however make a fan while I was there.  This teenage girl a few people in front of me in line turned around, saw me, gasped, and squealed to her mother, "I LOVE HER DRESS!!! SHE'S THE TARDIS!!"  The whole time we were in line she kept turning around to stare at me, wave, thumbs up me, and grin.  It was pretty funny.

I finally got out of there and back on the road.  I pulled onto D's street only to realize that his van was not in his driveway.  I was totally confused for a moment and then it hit me...CRAP! I bet I was supposed to meet him at his parents' house where we would be trick or treating later.  I called him, and yeah...somehow that got lost in translation.  By this time I was frustrated and stressed and on the verge of a panic attack.  It took me the whole drive out to his parents' to calm down, but by the time I got there I was feeling much better.  

We had dinner and got the boys ready for trick or treating.  

I cannot even tell you how many hours of work went into these costumes.  It was a lot.  I think they turned out awesome though.  S was Megaman and N was Lion-o from the Thundercats.  N's hair was a blast to do.  I teased it like crazy and sprayed him down.  It was so much fun, and I think it looked great.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it when we were trick or treating.  Between his costume, saying "Trick or treat. Smell my feet.  Give me something good to eat" and his amazing way with people, he managed weasel about twice as much candy out of people as the other kids got.  I wish I knew his secret.

Thirty!

Well, I've gone and turned 30. Thirty. My father and brother-in-law were good enough to remind me that I have now entered my 4th decade. It feels a little weird, but I'm not really depressed about it or anything. I'm thankful for the 30 years I've had. They've been good ones. :) I'm blessed.

My sister came down with her family on Friday night to spend the weekend with us.  I spent the night making a strawberries and cream cheesecake.  It turned out to be a great deal more time intensive than I expected due to the strawberries needing to be roasted for an hour and a half (I'm horrible about reading recipes all the way through before I start them.)  I also used a white chocolate chip cookie dough crust (using my mom's famous pudding chip cookie dough) instead of graham crackers.  That was a good choice I think. :D 

Saturday morning I woke up to a "Happy Birthday" phone call from D and the footsteps of my nieces coming down the stairs.  I got started on the bacon wrapped smokies we would be eating later and then got dressed for the day.   D and the boys showed up around 10, and we feasted on the smokies and some delicious french toast made by my mother.  We spent most of the rest of the morning just hanging out.  D and I took the kids outside where they found a coconut. The kids all wanted to cut it open and try the meat and milk (or is it coconut water? Doesn't look very milky to me.)  D cut it open, and let everyone try some.  No one liked they milk.  Most of them spat it right back out.  They had fun with it though.

A while back, D's Sister and I had both purchased some Groupon's for a local ice skating rink.  I thought my birthday might be a fun time to use them.  We also found some extra coupons in a book D had, so we got a pretty good deal on it.  My parents decided not to join us for the skating portion of the day; but my sister, brother-in-law, nephew, nieces, D and his boys, D's sister and her family all came along.  We had a great time! The kids were all very unsteady at first, but they eventually started getting the hang of it and having fun.

My youngest niece loved it!  She has no fear at all.  She kept saying, "Don't touch me! I can do it!"  She did pretty well, too.

I think she's going to be the bravest of her siblings.

Occasionally, D and I got a few moments to skate without little ones hanging on to our hands.

D's sister got me an awesome hat for my birthday.  It kept my head nice and warm while I skated. :)

After skating, my parents met us at PF Chang's for lunch.  It was soooo good!  Click that lunch link for more description on what we ate and some new things I tried. 

After lunch, we headed over to a little playground to let the kids burn off some energy (where does it all come from?!) before walking around at some shops.

In the evening, we all hung out at the house and relaxed.  We ate my mom's yummy spaghetti for dinner, and I opened my presents. 

I had no shortage of helpers!!

Since the kids had been snacking on chocolate chip cookies all night, we decided to put them to bed before we did the cheesecake.  D and his boys stayed the night in the guest room, so we read with the three boys for awhile and sent them all to bed.  

We ended the evening with my yummy yummy cheesecake.  It was totally worth staying up baking till 1 AM the night before. :D 

Yay for Birthdays!!

Valentine's Day

D got me these flowers for Valentine's day.  Aren't they beautiful! They smell amazing too.  :) <3

Valentine's day happened to fall on our Bible study night this year, so D and I decided to wait and go out Wednesday night instead.  We drove out to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner, and had some of their smaller bite plates.  I got a really yummy flatbread with pears on it.  We shared a piece of Wild Blueberry and White Chocolate cheesecake for dessert.  YUMMY!!! I love cheesecake...

Christmas

Blah, Blah, Blah, haven't posted in forever...blah, blah, blah...

Now that we got that out of the way...

Holy cow the year is almost over!! Christmas was...bitter and sweet, but not really bittersweet as the bitterness and sweetness didn't come together.

The sweet: My Grandma, Aunt and Uncle, and sis and her crew were all here over Christmas. We had a great time. D and the boys came over on Friday and stayed the night. (It's been crowded! We had people shoved everywhere, but it was fun!) Friday night my family and I gave our gifts to D and boys and I opened mine from D. (Awesome purple Pumas, some spicy chocolate, and the promise of a date night to a place he's been wanting to take me.) I got the boys bows and arrows I had purchased on Etsy, and Saturday morning we all went out in our PJs to play with them. So fun! We also did some fishing (though we caught nothing) and just general hanging out and playing.  In the evening, we all went to a Christmas Eve service at my parents' church where N fell asleep in my lap, and S fell asleep on D's shoulder...guess we wore them out!)  After service, we had dinner at Sonny's BBQ.  D and boys went home that evening, and the rest of us went back to my house to watch Christmas in Connecticut. 

Christmas morning, we all got up and got ready for church and had a big, yummy breakfast.  My family all went to my parents' church, but I met up with D's family at another church in town. After church, I exchanged gifts with D's family and then headed home to open presents with my family.

Christmas evening we had a big dinner with lots of family.  Some cousins that I don't get to see very often came over for a few hours, and it was great being able to catch up with them.  D came back that evening after dropping the boys off at their mom's.  He and I stayed up watching Firefly with my Sis and Bro-in-law after everyone else went to bed.

For the most part, it was a really nice Christmas...except...it wasn't...

The bitter:
About 4 months ago, we got the news that my mom's brother had cancer, and that even with treatment, he would probably only make it another 11 months.  They tried treatment for a little while, but the cancer continued to spread, and he began to go downhill fast.  Last monday my mom got the call for the family to come (My Uncle lived in Tennessee), so she and my dad drove up there early Tuesday morning.  It looked like they might be gone for Christmas, and I was depressed about both my uncle's condition and the idea of my mom and dad not being here for Christmas.  After a couple days, they decided that since my Aunt had her children with her and there was nothing they could do, they should just head home for Christmas.  On Christmas Eve we got the call that he had passed away.  I've never seen my mom hurting so badly.  She keeps saying, "I just want to wake up from this bad dream."  I'm going to miss my uncle.  He's the one who used to live with us...back when I first started this blog.  It's so hard to imagine him not being alive and well and full of fun.  But as much as I hurt for me, my heart breaks a million times more for my mom who has lost her beloved big brother.  The funeral was yesterday, and she and my dad are up there now.  I know that my uncle is with the Lord, and that he is no longer in pain, but losing him will leave a huge hole in our family.  I always expected that someday he would officiate my wedding as he did for my sister and so many of my cousins, and now he can't.  I'll miss his crazy, amazing ability to do accents and his chocolate "medicine" and all the other little things that made up his wonderful personality.

Life is so hard and painful, and yet there is so much joy and happiness and love in it as well.  I guess we have to take them all together.  We don't have a choice about the pain...it comes without our consent.  Strangely, it's the good that I think we have to choose...choose to be mindful of it and not allow ourselves to be lost in grief and sadness...choose to let it in...let ourselves love without fear.  Maybe Christmas is a good reminder of that...Christ came in this sweet and precious way...a tiny baby to loving parents.  Yet, that wasn't the end of the story.  There was pain and hard work and love and friendship and a cruel death on a cross that, in the end, brings us life.  We can't pick out pieces of it...it all goes together.

Anyway, if you are out there reading this, please say a prayer for comfort for my family. We sure could use it.  And I hope that everyone had a very merry Christmas.

Family, Friends, Fireworks, and Fun

This past week and a half has been crazy busy, but in a good way.




Early last Saturday morning, D and I took the boys up to stay at my sister's for the weekend. I have been missing my nephew and nieces like crazy, so it was great being able to spend some time with them. We hung around the house, went out for BD's Mongolian Grill, played at an awesome park, walked around a beautiful garden, and visited a church up there. It was a very relaxing, fun weekend.






Last Monday night, my cousin Kirk and his wife and 3 teenagers came down to stay with us for the week. It had been a year and a half since I had last seen them, so it was fun being able to hang out and catch up.







I took a couple days off work while they were here. We shopped and talked and cooked and played games and tried to swim (it rained most of the week) and played with sparklers out on the dock.






It's kind of funny how my relationships with all three of my cousin's kids have grown over the years. I was 10 when Kailey, the oldest, was born, but somehow we have all always seemed to have more of a peer/friend relationship than I have had with most of my older cousins. At least, that is how it feels to me. Perhaps they are just indulging their ancient cousin. ;)

This Saturday, D, the boys, and I met up with his family to watch a big Fireworks display.

We sat in a Rib City parking lot and played with our 130 glow sticks for a few hours while we waited for dark.

The fireworks didn't start till after 9:30, but we had fun waiting. The display was well done, and we all enjoyed it.

Sunday was spent mostly relaxing with my cousins. D was supposed to come over with the boys, but wasn't able to because their mom ended up asking D to drop them off at her house so she could have a chance to do fireworks with them. Instead, he came over early Monday morning to meet my cousins before they went home.

Monday, D's sister, BIL, and nephew came over to swim in between the raindrops In the evening he picked up the boys, and we went over to his parents for dinner. People in their community put on a pretty spectacular fireworks show. We sat in the backyard and watched as the neighbors all around burned up thousands of dollars for our enjoyment. I have seen professional fireworks displays that were not as amazing as the ones shooting off in his parent's neighborhood. We stayed out for a couple hours watching them and playing with sparkers and eating popsicles and dropping pieces of them down my shirt...oh wait, that last part was just me...

~Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Patty O'Green

Several weeks ago I got an invitation to a Halloween party. It's been awhile since I've actually had a reason to dress up for Halloween, so I wanted to come up with something creative.  A good friend of mine had gone to a party earlier this year as Rainbow Brite, and looking at her pictures on Facebook inspired me.  At first I considered actually dressing up as Rainbow Brite, but then I thought about my Patty O'Green doll I'd had when I was little.  The Rainbow Brite Color Kids are a little more obscure than Rainbow herself, but I thought it would be fun. It took a while to find/make all the pieces, but I had a lot of fun doing it.  I even went on ebay and bought myself a Patty O'Green doll and the Sprite that went with her.

Happy New Year!

It's 2010 now.  Gonna take me awhile to get the hang of writing/typing that. I've messed up typing it several times already.

I don't always make a new year's resolution.  Sometimes I just can't think of one.  Sometimes I can think of things but figure, why bother...no one sticks to them anyway. But you know, one year I did stick to it.  One year I decided it was time to lose some weight, and I did it.  I lost about 80 lbs over the next year and a half after that.  If I could stick to that, why can't I stick to something else?  I CAN!  So here they are.  Maybe if I use my blog to keep myself accountable, it will be a little easier to not let them slide.

1. Learn to make my own clothing
Now, this is something I know a little about already.  I have made a few things over the years, but I'm not good at it and I can't do it without a lot of help.  My goal is to keep working on this skill over the next year and get myself to the point where I can make myself an outfit without stressing out my mother with all my pleas for help and temper tantrums.  

2. Knit myself at least one garment
This cannot be something like a scarf or hat.  I has to be something that requires me to learn new techniques.  It will be something along the lines of a sweater I think.  We'll see.

3.  Try at least 1 new food each month and blog about it.
I'm not talking about putting foods I already like together in a new way.  I'm talking about either a totally new food that I've never tried or a food that I've tried in the past but  didn't like and never tried again.  At first I was going to make it 1 a week, but I know myself well enough to know that this will be very hard for me.  I want something I can stick to.  If I try a minimum of 1 a month, that will be at least 12 foods I've tried by the end of the year.  This may not seem like a big deal to the average person, but for me it is.  If, by the end of a month, I haven't blogged about something new I've tried, get on my case about it! Please!

4. Get off my butt and get moving!
Exercise is such a cliche resolution, but I really do spend way too much time sitting around...computer, reading, sitting the floor with kids, knitting, crocheting.  I need to get up and move.  I'm hoping that some of the new Wii games I just ordered will help with this, but I also am going to be looking for some other activities to get me out and moving.  There is only so much I can take of working out in my room. 

So there they are.  Anyone else making any resolutions this year?

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had at least as wonderful a Christmas as I did this year.  :D  Over the past week our house has be bursting at the seams with relatives.  We had my grandmother, both of my dad's sisters and their husbands, and my cousin with his wife and 3 teenage kids all staying in our house.  Not to mention my nieces and nephew who were here for most of the week as well.  It's a good thing we all get along!

I don't know what Christmas morning is like in your home, but in mine it is quite the ordeal.  We had to wait for for my sister and family to show up to begin the real festivities, but we started early with breakfast and just hanging out.  Once the entire clan was together we read the Christmas story, Grandma led us all in a time of prayer, and then we got down to the business of opening presents.  Every year we make rules and decide we aren't going to go crazy, but no one really follows the rules, and inevitably the gift opening takes us a least a couple hours.  This year I had crocheted and knitted gifts for each member of my extended family (you can see my cousins sporting their Lauren-Made Winter Wear in the pictures), and I really think all my hard work paid off.  Everyone really seemed to love their gifts (and if they didn't, they should get Oscars for their performances on Christmas morning!)  

As for me, I had some awesome gifts this year.  One of them really shocked me.  I'd been dropping hints about wanting a Kitchenaid mixer for a long time, but I knew mom hated the idea of having another appliance in the kitchen, so I really wasn't expecting one.  I think I half gasped and half screamed when I opened one up.  I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I'm really looking forward to trying it out.   I also got a Wii this year and some games to go with it as well as DVDs, gift cards, jewelry, and knitting needles.  Yeah, I know, I'm spoiled.

All the family has gone home now.  I'm a little sad, but there is something nice about having your home to yourself again.  It's also nice to still have a long weekend ahead of me.

So again, to all my friends who read this, I hope you had a very merry Christmas this year.  Also, if you have a moment, leave a comment and tell me what your favorite gift was this year.

5 More Sleeps!

Excuse the picture.  There is no purpose to it whatsoever.  Sometimes I have a little too much fun with Photo Booth, and I do hate posts with no pictures.  :D

After about 3 months worth of crocheting, I'm finally done with all my projects.  I have checked off every item on that crazy list I had. It is time to get down to the business of enjoying the season.  I have a little shopping left to do, but I'll get it done.   I'd get it done faster if I could figure out what to get my sister, but whatever.  The weather is finally cooling down a bit.  The house is beeeeeeeeautifuly decorated (my mom is so good at turning the place into a Christmas wonderland). There are yummy goodies overflowing the refrigerator and pantry.  It's early early Sunday morning.  Sunday the 20th of December.  It's Christmas week!  Merry Christmas!  Tomorrow (well, later today really) my Grandma and my Aunties and Uncles will be flying in for the week.  Monday my cousins come.  I love this time of year!

What Is The Point?

I have a to-do list that gets longer every second.  Do you think blogging is on it?  Nope.  Yet, here I am.  Somehow it helps to de-stress when I blog, and I need all the de-stressing I can get right now!  I'm am so looking forward to this week being over.  Next week all the family will be here and, as my mom said, we will be able to stop preparing for Christmas and just enjoy it!  For now I'm busy with baking, shopping, cleaning, crocheting, wrapping, making trips to the post office, working, etc.  Some of it is fun, some is not.  All must be finished by the time I go to bed on Saturday night.

The trouble is though, I'm so busy with getting ready for Christmas that I'm forgetting about what Christmas is really about.  Last night, while trying desperatly to get my room clean enough to find my floor and furniture, I uncovered my Bible hiding under a chair.  I gazed in horror as I tried to remember when the last time I read it was.  Even know I cannot say for sure.  I just know it's been far too long.   How on earth can I expect to have a truly Merry Christmas if I am neglecting spending time with the One who's birth I claim to be celebrating?  It cannot go on.  None of the rest of it even matters really.  The baking and the shopping and all the projects I have going on are worth very little if I have forgotten the reason behind the whole thing.  And so, I am going to do my best to keep my eyes fixed on my Savior as I go through the rest of this season (and the rest of my life!)

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. 

I want to be like those shepherds!  I want to leave the busyness of what I am doing to go spend some time with my Savior, so I can return to my work glorifying and praising God.

I am glad I chose to blog tonight.  This wasn't even close to the topic I was going to discuss, but somehow listing all those things that I'm so worried about getting done made me stop and think about what really matters to me.

Thanksgiving Weekend

I believe it is high time I posted a bit about my trip to TN.  Here it is in pictures.

A good friend of mine was traveling up with her sister and niece to visit their other sister and some relatives in Chattanooga.  They invited me to go along.

After a 12 hour car ride on Wednesday, it seemed like Thursday morning was a good time to get out in the fresh, chilly air.  We all headed into downtown Chattanooga to see the sights...starting with a playground.

We claimed we were going for the sake of the 3 year old we had with us, but I think we big people had more fun than she did!

After the playground, we headed over to...

 Pardon me boys, is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo?

Why yes, it sure is!  This was a total thrill for my vintage loving heart.

Thursday night was, of course, the big Thanksgiving dinner (no pictures).  It was different for me to have Thanksgiving with someone else's family.  It was nice, but there were a few items that I like to have on Thanksgiving that were missing.  I also missed my family a bit.  Overall though, it was a good dinner.

After dinner several of us loaded up in the Hummer and went to see New Moon.  Again, no pictures, but it was a good time.

Friday we did more sightseeing in the area.

I so enjoyed seeing all the fall colors!  How I miss that down here.

My friend and I drove up in the mountains to see the views and the big, beautiful houses up on the ridges.  Occasionally we'd pull off at a Civil War site to walk around and take pictures.

 

If I had to pick, this drive would probably be my favorite part of the trip.

 

It was so beautiful up there!   The area where I live is lovely, and people come here from all over the world to enjoy it.  I really do love home, but it's so nice to get an opportunity to see something different...something I don't see every day.

Another highlight of the trip would have to be these cupcakes from Gigi's Cupcakes.  If you are ever in Chattanooga, you need to check these out.  I had a peppermint cupcake and a peanut butter cup cupcake.  The cake itself was delicious, and the frosting was amazing.  As you can see in the picture, there was a TON of frosting.  I'd say it was at least 3 inches high! Soooooo yummy!

Friday night, my friend and I drove back over to see the Choo Choo all lit up for Christmas.  It's actually a big hotel now.  You can either stay in a traditional hotel room or in an actual train car.  I'd so love to do that some day.

 

And isn't this tree just gorgeous!?  I loved the effect of lights on the bottom, leaves in the middle, and bare branches at the top.

Saturday morning we headed over to the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area, and stopped for breakfast at the Apple Barn and Cider Mill.  I should have taken a picture of my plate of food.  I couldn't even come close to finishing it.  I could have made 3 or 4 meals out of it.

After breakfast, we walked around there for a bit and went in the gift shop.  I bought some of their apple butter and pumpkin butter.  Yum!

Gatlinburg is a fun, but very touristy place.  I preferred the more natural parts of the area.  In the above picture we had stopped off on the roadside to see the trees and the little creek that was running by the road.  It was so lovely.

We explored the Gatlinburg area for most of the afternoon.  Basically, it's the same old tourist stuff you expect to see in a place like that...souvenir shops, candy stores, old timey photo places, etc.  The best part of all of it was the Sky Lift.

We rode up the side of the mountain in a ski lift.

I expected to be a little bothered by the height, but because your feet are always dangling just a few feet above the ground it doesn't really seem that high.

From the top we took some pictures of the view.

On our way out of Gatlinburg we stopped at the Christmas Place Store

The sign says "Incredible" and really it was.  The store is packed with Christmas decorations.  I felt a little bad that my mom couldn't be there with me.  She would have loved it.  However, if she had come along, we'd have probably never gotten out of there.

I bought myself a tiny, purple, sparkly Converse-like sneaker for my little tree.  I'll try to get a picture of it to post later.  It's adorable.

On Sunday, the weary travelers piled back into the Hummer at 5 AM and headed south toward the sunny state we call home.  I had been a little hesitant about going on this trip.  It was my first Thanksgiving with someone else's family, but I had a wonderful time.  I'm so glad I decided to go!