What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

I'm looking forward to a great night.  Tony and I have buttons to go to First Night-St. Louis, a family friendly, alcohol free celebration of the arts.

When the boys were young we attended First Night as a family (or as part of a larger mixed-age group), but as they got older they wanted to make plans with their friends instead of their parents, so Tony and I stopped going, too.  The last few years our plans for New Year's Eve have been pretty laid back, and we wanted something a bit more structured this year.

We've checked out the First Night program online, and there's dozens of things to do over the course of the night.  I have a mental list of the ones I want to do, and I know Tony does too, so we'll get together and figure out a tentative schedule.  However, nothing's set in stone, and we're willing to be spontaneous as the mood strikes.

Our area is having some nasty weather right now, but the rain is supposed to be gone by this evening.  Sadly, the abnormally warm temperatures are leaving, too, but we should still be able to stroll down the street from venue to venue in comfort.

For All My Super Mom Friends

I lifted this straight from Bee's Blog...

First Class Honours

I have a First Class Honours Degree in:

Engineering (Playmobile, Brick Building,), Home Construction (Doll Houses), Mechanics (Broken Toys) Home Economics (Cleaning, Cooking, Laundering, Shopping), Medicine (Children's and Husbands' Ailments), Veterinary (Sick Rabbits, Gerbils, Hamsters, Dogs, Cats), Chauffering (School and After School Activities), Sports & Gender Affairs (Swimming, Tennis, Off Road Biking, Gymnastics, Rugby, Karate, Golfing, Ballet, Tap Dancing), Music (Piano, Drums, Guitar, Keyboard), Design (Art and Craft for School Projects), Law (My House – You’ll Do as I Say), Finance (Home Tasks = Pocket Money) Administration (Home Work Helper), Fund Raising (PTAs) Diplomacy (Cocktail Parties and Company Dinners), Clairvoyancy (Mind Reading), Psychology (Speaks for Itself), Entertainment (Juggler), Languages (Interpretation of "In Phrases" and Grunts) Fashion (What to Wear and What Not to Wear).....................

I know there are thousands like me! What would they all do without us?!!

Have a great day!

©Barbara M Lake, December 2010

Fun With Presents

I got some great Christmas presents this year.

Some of them, like a pair of earrings, a coffee maker that was a joint present to Hubby Tony and me, and my silk long underwear got put into use immediately. In an effort to quickly straighten the house before the extended family came on Christmas Day, the other presents went on my dresser in the bedroom. Yesterday I returned one of them, a pair of exercise pants which were too long.  This morning it was time to take care of the rest.

After breakfast I moved a book to my bedside table, and hung the earrings on the organizer in my closet.  I washed the set of beautiful aqua-colored flannel sheets and put them on the bed. Later in the morning, I picked up a box containing a set of glass photo coasters, and got them ready to use.

Even though we have a supply of coasters already, you can never have too many places to set drinks.  These four-inch coasters came in a nice black wood holder, and had a slot to insert a small rectangular picture. I didn't have the correct size photos on hand, so I decided to cut some paper for the photo opening with another one of my presents, a portable paper cutter.

 

I've wanted a small paper cutter for years.  Unless I have a line to follow, I cannot cut straight with scissors.  The one I got is designed for scrapbooking (which I don't do), but it's compact and fits nicely in a cabinet above the desk.

For paper, I dug through the recycling drawer and a couple of old magazines.  An artistic friend taught me years ago that if you use a bit of divergent thinking when you look at things, it's amazing what you can see. For example, if you use a small portion of a larger image, the section can turn into a wonderful textural element.

Would you ever guess that the inserts in two of the coasters in the picture above came from a cable TV company advertisement, one is a picture of foundation color samples from a makeup company magazine, and one is a photo of balloons against a backdrop of trees and clouds?

Cold Winter Coming (I'm Concerned About You)

The Farmer's Almanac is predicting a very cold winter.

It must be true because the squirrels are gathering NUTS.  Three of my neighbors have disappeared!

Soft and Silky

One of the great things about being in education is that you get a nice long Christmas break.  I stopped working last Wednesday, and I don't have to go back until after New Year's Day!  This morning I slept in, then ate a leisurely breakfast and read the newspaper.  After breakfast I decided to take a walk to counteract the effects of all the food I've eaten the past few days.  Hubby Tony, who took a vacation day today, decided to join me.  Even though the temperature on our walk was only 18°, I was nice and warm, thanks to some new long underwear Santa brought me.

My old thermals date back to my days of doing playground duty when the boys were in elementary school.  They're thick and bulky, and the top and bottom don't match, but they work.  However, I thought it was time for an upgrade.  My friend Dani, the Walk Diva at Walk It Off! is a big advocate of silk long underwear.  Based on her recommendations, I added some to my Christmas list, and I was fortunate enough to find a set under the tree.

Today was the first time I put them on.  I love these new undergarments!  The silk feels great, and it's very lightweight;  the two new pieces folded together weigh less and take up less space than one of the old pieces.  My regular clothes slipped easily over the silk layer, and I didn't feel bulky.  I was ready for some serious cold weather when I walked out the door.

Tony and I walked for about a half hour and (except for my uncovered face) I was comfortable the whole time.  Maybe I'll be spending more time outside this winter...

Christmas Isn't Over Yet!

Even though I had an awesome Christmas, I realized this morning that I like December 26th as much as, or more than December 25th!

• All the kids are at the house for at least one more day.  

• Today there aren't any expectations or commitments.  The presents are opened, and the big family dinner is cooked.

• When we went to Mass this morning, we got to sing all the familiar Christmas hymns and carols.  (In the Catholic church, the season of Christmas started yesterday, and it will continue until the feast of Epiphany on January 6th.)  

• For breakfast I grazed on all sorts of goodies, like a gingerbread cakelet, a slice of banana bread, and a bit of lemon cake.  Lunch today was thrown together with leftovers from yesterday's dinner.  I cooked oven-fried rice studded with corn and chunks of roast beef, and cole slaw from extra shredded cabbage mix.

• After lunch daughter in law Nicole and I went shopping while the men watched football.  We made four stops, and managed to be gone the entire game.

• Dinner was homemade pizza, pasta, and salad and I didn't have to do any of the cooking!

• The evening was filled with talking, puzzles, and games.  Fun times.

From My House to Yours

Merry Christmas!

If Mary and Joseph Had Facebook...

When the boys were young, we used a Countdown to Christmas calendar. It had a pocket for each day that held a strip of paper with an activity that would help us get ready for Christmas. Even though I haven't used that calendar for many years, I still like the concept of spreading out the holiday activities, and try to do one or two things every day to make the season less hectic.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

When the boys were young, we used a Countdown to Christmas calendar. It had a pocket for each day that held a strip of paper with an activity that would help us get ready for Christmas. Even though I haven't used that calendar for many years, I still like the concept of spreading out the holiday activities, and try to do one or two things every day to make the season less hectic.

Christmas is only two days away.  Even though I'm off work today, I still got up early this morning. There's a lot to do!

Son Tony flew into town today.  We picked him up at the airport shortly before lunchtime. The rest of the family will be rolling in over the next 36 hours. Everyone will be staying for at least a couple of nights.  Even though our house has four bedrooms, two of them only have twin beds.  With the addition of daughter in law Nicole the family is growing larger, and we need more bed space.  Last week I bought an air mattress and electric pump. Today I got it ready to be used.

The full-sized vinyl mattress has a soft-looking flocked cover.  According to the information on the box, it could be inflated in 110 seconds.  That sounded like a challenge to me, so I decided to time the job.  After I took the air mattress out of the box and spread it out on the bedroom floor, I attached the pump to it, turned the pump on, and started inflating.  At the same time I started the stopwatch on my phone.

Although the job went quickly, the box was incorrect.  I inflated the air mattress until it was firm, which took 2 minutes and 25 seconds.   After I was done, I stood the mattress against the wall so the cats couldn't get on it, then put the pump back in the box and set the box in a corner of the bedroom.  That way whoever uses the mattress can make it firmer or softer if they'd like.

Tomorrow I'll put linens in the room and dust the furniture.  Then it will be ready for guests.

Do-Over

When the boys were young, we used a Countdown to Christmas calendar. It had a pocket for each day that held a strip of paper with an activity that would help us get ready for Christmas. Even though I haven't used that calendar for many years, I still like the concept of spreading out the holiday activities, and try to do one or two things every day to make the season less hectic.

I thought I wrapped the last of the presents yesterday.  However, when I came into the kitchen this morning, I saw a shredded mess of gift bag and tissue paper piled on the island, with one of the presents in the middle of it.  When Tony came home from work, he told me this story...

Before work he was using his computer on the couch with cat Pepper curled up on his lap. Tony sneezed, which startled the cat, who jumped off his lap and ran out of the room.  A few minutes later he noticed Pepper in the living room staring intently at the Christmas tree.

Tony continued getting ready for work.  As he was getting ready to walk out the door, there was a rustling sound coming from the living room.  He walked in and noticed torn paper scattered all over.  Pepper had taken it upon himself to unwrap one of the presents!



After dinner I got a sturdy box, put the gift in it, then re-wrapped it and put it back under the tree.  Pepper better NOT try that again!