I have been making scarves like crazy as Christmas gifts and then today the coolest thing happened... I took 3 orders for 3 more scarves... So, it looks like I am in business...Cool...

Last night Kelly and the kids came over for pizza and to get a key since they will be checking in on the house and the hamster while we are on vacation... Sean was so cute... he always wants the play with the hamster but Samantha won't let him... I told him he could play with her all he wants while we are gone because Samantha won't be there to say anything to him... Well, he is all set to come over the second we leave to get the hamster out... Her name is Hally but it was too cute how he kept calling her Holly...

While Kelly was over Tammy called... I saw it was her on the caller ID and didn't answer, I'd call her back later... then she called again and again I didn't answer... by the third time I figured something must be wrong so I answered... She wanted John to come over until the police arrived because someone tried to break into her house... They threw a rock through her sliding glass door!

We had a lovely Christmas and pictures will be posted soon. After work on Christmas Eve I went to to buy some yarn to make Samantha a blanket. That should be a good project to do on our trip. Then we all went in to Rose's house to do our gift exchange.

Rose had a little Santa hat for Rocco the dog but he wouldn't wear it... He did however wear his monkey on his back... I so wish I had gotten a picture because it is the funniest thing... He has one of those stuffed monkeys with the long arms and legs that have velcro on the paws... Rose raps it around his neck and is body so that the monkey part is on his back and he will walk around with it like that for hours... it is too cute!

Once it got dark on Christmas Eve we went to Gahanna to walk along the creek and look at the lights... It was freezing cold but lovely... the ducks were on the creek and one swan... The swan was as big as Samantha... I knew they were big but this one was on steroids or something because it was freakin huge! Then we drove downtown to look at the Nativity Scene they have every year... It shows not only the manger scene but Mary and Joseph going to Bethlehem and the wise men's journey... It is beautiful... They hadn't put the baby Jesus in the manger yet and we joked that it was probably in the trunk of the security guards car...

Samantha didn't want to take a bath with me like we do every year on Christmas Eve... Instead she played with her 2 new Webkinz on the computer... Before bed she left Hershey Kisses and a glass of milk for Santa... she signed the note she wrote: "Your Friend, Samantha"... And, she was asleep around 9pm...

On Christmas morning Samantha and John were up around 6am but I slept in until 8am... Samantha made me coffee while I was in the shower and then we opened presents... John and I had agreed not to get each other gifts since we are about to leave on vacation but he and Samantha went to Nordstroms and got me earrings... I love them but I feel like a dope for not getting John anything... I told him the slippers I got him last week are his present... Samantha loved the doll house furniture Santa brought her... We moved her doll house out into the living room in front of the tree so she could set everything up... Her favorite gift is the digital camera Santa brought her with the cute carrying case... she clipped the carrying case to her purse and brought it to dinner at Rose's house and took pictures all day...

We had Christmas dinner at Rose's house with Linda, Ray and their kids... John and I commented how we can't get over how the boys are all adults now... And, how Shawn and his girlfriend Gia remind us of how we were when we were dating... We had a lovely time, dinner was yummy and afterward we all played bingo... Everyone won at least one game but Samantha was the champ winning 5 games...

Samantha got Littlest Pet Shop Monopoly... we had the best time playing it with her... we played in the living room with the tree lights on and a fire in the fire place... John and I both ended up broke, Samantha won with tons of properties, pet carriers (their version of houses) and money...

It was a beautiful Christmas and I am thankful for all our family and friends...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

These are some of the girls in Samantha's class. Samantha has her hands on Olivia's shoulders. Olivia is one of her good friends who is in her class.

Samantha and Tara with their reindeer at Skyline Kid's Night...

This is the blanket I made Mom for Christmas. It is a super soft green wool with a rust colored border...

And this is the blanket I mad Dad. His is brown yarn with a center stripe of a jewel toned yarn and the matching border.

Thursday was our work holiday party. I didn't take any pictures. It was very nice. Everyone was there, even Chris who was sick and Racheal who lives over 2 hours away. Oops, Jeff wasn't there but he was in Puerto Rico for work... Carla made her artichoke dip and Kim made her meatballs. Both are my favorites. Arlene made cookies and her marzipan macaroons are definitely on the list of favorites. We ate and then did our gift exchange. We gathered in Carla's living room where she had a fire in the fire place. Her house is great, she has the greatest colors, teal in the living room, gold in the entry way and rust orange in the kitchen. Anyway, Cary liked the scarf I made her. Lisa commented on how she'd like one of those so I will have to find out when her birthday is and make her one. Sue drew my name and gave me a gift card to STARBUCKS and some CHOCOLATE... my favorites. I left a little before 8pm. And, it was just in time too, I guess Stacey got really drunk and made a spectacle of herself.

On Friday I only worked a couple of hours, just enough time to hear all the stories from the party, and then I went to Samantha's class holiday party. On the way I stopped off at Starbucks for a peppermint mocha, yummy! Her Party was fun. They combined her 2 classes and there were all kinds of game and craft stations manned by the parents. I did the "pin the ornament on the tree" game which was a version of pin the tail on the donkey. There was one girl who hung around a talked to me a lot... remember these are third graders... and when we were leaving I wanted to make a point to say good by to her. I gave her a hug and she picked me up! It was the funniest thing, I was stunned... She picked me up! Samantha gave her teachers a candle we made and some cinnamon sugar pretzels she made. She was cute giving them her gifts. It was a really nice party.

Oh... and here is a Polly Pocket hotel turned Littlest Pet Shop house... I love the roof top pool and Christmas tree...

Last night we went to kid's night at Skyline. The girls made reindeer puppets. Tacey wasn't there this week but she had left a gift for Kelly and me, the prettiest pair of earrings that she made. I still can't believe it is Christmas next week! So, for 3 years I have ordered the exact same thing every single week at Skyline: a small 3 way and cheese fries... But, last night I changed my order and have found a new favorite thing. When we got there I passed by a table where a woman had a chili burrito with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream. It looked so good and I told Ciera that is what I wanted. She was so surprised to see me change my order after all this time.

Samantha had told me that she hasn't ever been the star student in her music class and it seemed like everyone else had. I sort of felt bad for her but didn't want to jump in and solve something that a) wasn't a problem and b) that I didn't have all the information about. I really want Samantha to learn to get all the information, process it and then be able to solve the issue herself or ask for specific help if she can't solve it herself. Anyway, she told me she is finally star student! She was very excited and the wait made finally being star student that much more special.

Tonight is our holiday party for work. We draw names for a gift exchange every year and this year I drew Cary's name. I finished her scarf last night. It is out of some super soft rust colored wool and I can't wait to give it to her. I also am giving her one of the candles we made.

The candles are a whole other story... We made them over the weekend and when they dried all the way they had big dips / holes in the middle. So, yesterday I heated up more wax and set about pouring it in to fill the holes... But, the wicks then sank into the new, hot wax. I had to pull them out and try to prop them up so they wouldn't fall back into the wax. They were already cut though which made it really difficult. But they are finally done and ready to be wrapped up!

How horribly embarrassing... I got up from my desk at work and fell down. My shoe got caught in my long skirt and I went down. I skinned my knee and twisted my ankle. We all laughed but it was rather embarrassing.

And, this morning Samantha spilled an entire cup of coffee all over the Element. I wiped up most of it but the little cracks and crevasses will no doubt be sticky. So I guess it is just one of those days...

Over the weekend we finished up my parents Christmas presents and I got them off in the mail yesterday. Samantha finished her calendar complete with lots and lots of glitter. There was glitter everywhere... even in her peanut butter sandwich in her school lunch yesterday. Along with the glitter there is also wax everywhere from our family craft project: candle making. They came out great except for the few holes we have to go back and fill in with more wax. we will definitely do the candle making again.

last night I was in the bathtub and Samantha came in and asked if she could make the peanut butter cookies with the chocolate kisses in the center. I said yes and she made them all by herself. They were really good. i brought some to work today and everyone there liked them too.

Today is PJ day at school. The kids got to wear PJ's and slippers. Then this afternoon they are going to have hot chocolate and watch "The Polar Express". So, yesterday I realized Samantha does not have a pair of PJ's. She has PJ bottoms but not a whole set. I went by Target and got her a pair, really cute purple with snow men. She tried them on and said the medium pants were too big. (They really weren't but she's 9 and has strong opinions...) So, we went to Target, returned the mediums and she tried on the smalls. The small top was way too small but she said she liked the pants (which were kind of tight). We ended up finding a pair of bottoms only in small and we got those. This morning rolls around and Samantha comes into the bathroom while I was getting ready and says that her butt crack shows in the small bottoms when she sits down... Oh my God! So, she ended up wearing the old bottoms from the thrift store that she already had with the tee shirt I got her from the thrift store the other day and I think I will just stick to shopping at the thrift store! She also took her sock monkey slippers and her stuffed sock monkey, Holly, that grandma made her a few years ago for Christmas.

After we went to Target last night we went to Applebees for dinner where we saw Charlie from our days at City Center. It was really nice to see him but for the life of us neither John nor I can remember his last name. It is driving us crazy...

I am so glad that it's Friday! Kelly, Tim and the kids are coming over tonight for John's birthday. We are having pizza and cheesecake and will probably play charades. Then "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is on at 8pm so we will probably watch that too. Then this weekend I have to finish the blanket I am making for my mom and then get all their presents ready to take to the post office on Monday. Since I am in a time crunch this year with all the blanket making I decided to not make any Christmas cookies... But, this morning while I was on the phone talking to Mom she said she wants me to make her cookies to send this year... so, I guess I will be making cookies this weekend too!

John's 40th birthday was yesterday. We took him to Old Bag of Nails for dinner. He loves Rubens and they have a great Ruben. I wouldn't know as I don't care for them but he says it's good. They are totally remodeling the down town Gahanna area so it took us forever to find a place to park. So, after dinner we were walking back to our car and we found the coolest display of Christmas lights along the creek. We were all tired and decided to come back another evening to walk along the wooded creek trail and look at them.

I've mentioned the annoying little girl at school who waits with us in the morning. Well, I've recently discovered that she has a really bad home life. (So, even though she is annoying I have to realize that it is not her fault...) The other day we were all waiting at school and Paul had on a pin that said: I am loved. Paul had gotten a few at church and he gave one to the annoying girl and I pinned it on her. She smiled and it was quite touching. I hope it really did make her feel loved... It's not her fault her family sucks...

The other day John said they had to go to the high school because there was a report of a kid who had brought a gun to school. He said it's pretty weird walking down the halls of your alma mater carrying a rifle.

Today we celebrated Cary's 10 year anniversary at work. We had lunch and Carla read a poem she, Kim and Ellen had written and then everyone told funny stories about Cary. It was really nice.

Icky Sick

The pictures are from Dad's trip to Ireland. They went to a bird sanctuary. I just think the eagle and the owl are amazing. And, I can't believe how close they got to the birds.

John is going to take Samantha to the doctor tomorrow, she is really sick... complete with green snot.

We decorated the tree last night. I felt bad for Samantha because she really didn't feel well so she wasn't quite into it. I didn't take pictures because she looked so pathetic.

We had our second snow day on Friday. So Samantha is having a 5 day weekend because she was home sick on Thursday. She is so congested that she is choking on it, gross, I know...

I am having a purse crises. I want a new one, a black one because the one I carry now is brown. It's actually more of a brown leather tote bag that is nice and wide on the bottom. Anyway, I got one at Target the other day but it wasn't quite right so I returned it. But, the second one isn't quite right either so it will go back on Monday. Maybe I should just stick with the old one...

Snow Girl

Samantha wanted to go out and play in the snow so we got her all bundled up...

You couldn't make snow balls as it wasn't packing snow but she didn't care...

I gave her Jello to mix in the snow like my mom did when I was a kid. She had watermelon flavored...

"Mommy, I'm done, my hands are frozen... Let me in!"

Snow Day

John woke me up this morning to say that school had a 2 hour delay but when we woke up around 8:30am they had decided on a snow day! And, there is a Law & Order: SVU marathon on all day today, what could be better.

Samantha had her class visit to the school's holiday shop yesterday. She went to school with her envelope of money and her list of who she wanted to get presents for and she came out of school with a big brown grocery bag. She showed me what she got: a pen for Grandpa, a Santa ornament for Grandma, an angel ornament for MaMa and a golf ball engraver for BaBa. I just love how big she is and how she puts thought into things.

It's been a while! Every free moment I have had has been spent working on our hand made Christmas presents. I am almost done with the throw I am making for my Dad and am about to start on the one for my Mom. Samantha is busy making calendars and John is going to make candles. Actually, the candle project is going to be a family activity. I went to the thrift store and got lots of cute containers for candle holders.

I have recently discovered that I have an addiction to yarn. I see beautiful yarn... I buy beautiful yarn. Oh my!

John got the bid sheet for his shift next year and for the first time there was an opportunity for him to go to day shift and he took it. It has been different having John home in the evenings but not as big an adjustment as we thought.

This past Friday Samantha and I went to see "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" at the Columbus Children's Theater. It was great. The Herdman children were perfect, exactly as I had imagined them in my mind after reading the book. Samantha loved the play and started reading the book over the weekend.

On Saturday we all set out for our town's Christmas in the village. It was sleeting a slight bit but it was still fun anyway. They had Santa ride in on an antique fire truck to light the Christmas tree. There was a bon fire and a guy carving ice sculptures and all of the shops were open with games and refreshments. We had fun even though we froze our little noeses off. Afterward we went to dinner and warmed up.

Samantha was looking at the things on John's dresser. She was asking about all the stuff that he puts on his uniform. The next morning John called me in to look at how she had lined everything up. Too cute...

Oh my God, I was so very very tired this morning after having been awake until after midnight. Even though I went in to bed around 11pm I couldn't really fall asleep until after Tammy left. Extra coffee for me today...



It was absolutely freezing when I dropped Samantha off at school this morning. I think it was something stupid like 28 degrees and there was a wind that made it worse.



Boy, I am Miss Complainer today. You'd think I was having a bad day but actually it's a quite pleasant day.



So, while I am complaining I will tell you that my fingers are numb from all the crocheting I've been doing. I finished Kelly scarf for her birthday and will post a picture soon. And, my Dad's blanket is sort of close to about half way done. I am planning on embellishing it with felt cutouts when it's finished and Ellen had a great idea, hand prints. Mine and Samantha's. That's a beautiful idea, I love it and that is exactly what I am going to do.

Monday was Kelly's Birthday but I didn't finish her scarf until today. I wrapped it up and took it to Skyline Kid's Night for her. I had the perfect card too... it was about how she is such a good friend that I consider her family. It was funny because Kelly told me a story: Sean asked if he could take to new dog, Grady, to his friend's house. Kelly told him no, that you don't just show up at someones house with a big dog who wasn't invited. Sean said something about them bringing Grady to our house uninvited. Kelly told him that was different and he said:"that's because they are like family."

I think I've mentioned the little girl who sometimes waits with our little group at school, the girl who is quite annoying. Anyway, I was thinking about her today and how much younger she seems than all the other 3rd graders. It made me reflect on how thankful I am that we didn't start Samantha too early.

After work I cashed my Birthday check from my parents. I put half in our saving account and then bought the Jessica Seinfeld Cookbook and a really cool map with part of the rest. I can't wait to read through the cookbook and make some of the recipes.

This evening Lee and Tammy came over for dinner. (Police department Tammy, not neighbor Tammy...) Tammy had never been over before. John had been talking about her a lot so we decided to have her over. I'm glad we did, she is really nice. We invited her partner, PJ but she was out of town with work so she will come over next time. Tammy brought us flowers, yellow roses. It was so nice.

It was nice to get to know Tammy better. She spent 14 months in Iraq, I did not know that. It was really interesting learning about what it's like over there.

Lee left around 10pm and Tammy stayed until 12am! I went to bed about 11pm and then she and John went down to the man cave to talk about work.

This is Samantha's Meat Eating Plant called a Speckled Spider Plant that she made for her science project. She got an A+! They were to create a meat eating plant out of recycled things from around the house. Samantha used a milk carton, lasagna pan and a dryer sheet.

These are the beautiful flowers Tammy brought when she came to our house for dinner tonight.

Samantha did not want to go to school today after having 5 days off for Thanksgiving break. She tried to tell us she had a stomach ache but neither John nor I bought it. Once she figured out that she had to go to school anyway she was fine.

After work I picked up John and we went to the grocery. John was sulking... I hate it when he is sulking. And, he wouldn't tell me what it was about. He'll get over it I suppose.

Kelly and Tim met us at school and we waited together for the girls to come out. Today is Kelly's Birthday. (I'm almost done with her present...) They have pretty much decided to keep the dog that's been visiting from the rescue group. And, they have decided that his name will be Grady. I got to meet him on Thanksgiving when Kelly and the kids came by. He is a great dog.

I fell asleep on the couch. I was so very tired when we got home and John made tacos for dinner. This evening Samantha took a bath, John straightened the basement storage area and I worked on the blanket I am making my dad for Christmas.

Not only is today Thanksgiving but it is also my 39th Birthday. Thanksgiving is my 2nd favorite holiday, my favorite being the 4th of July. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy is the absolute best meal there is. And pie, I can't forget about pie!

John worked today, 7am to 3pm so Samantha and I were still asleep when he left. We got up to make coffee in time for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. We love, absolutely love parades. After the parade there was a Law & Order marathon on in honor of my Birthday. (Oh ok, maybe it was in honor of Thanksgiving...)

Kelly and the kids came over to drop off my birthday present. She got me the cutest pig tin from Fern's Attic, one of our favorite stores in town. She said she knew she wanted to get me the pig tin because of the pig I have hanging in my kitchen. The kitchen pig is a rustic wood pig that says Hog Inn. I love my pig tin.

For Thanksgiving dinner we went to Deana's house. She lives right behind the police station and every year she and her sister, Amy, cook for their family and the officers. Her family is involved in town politics and her sister is a teacher in town so all the officers know her family so it's like a huge family gathering.

Before Deana's we went by the station to get John but he had to work overtime so we went on without him. He had 2 kids who stole a bike that he had to deal with. We were working on dessert by the time he got there. And guess what, he had a cake for me and everyone sang Happy Birthday. Yum, cake and pie!

We left about 6pm. We'd been home a few hours when we all decided we were hungry again. We seriously considered driving back in to Deana's for another round.

John and Samantha gave me a 2008 Get Fuzzy calendar. They give it to me every year and it is the best! They also gave me a food processor. I have been wanting one along with Jessica Seinfeld's cook book which I am going to go get next week. Tasey has it and brought it to Skyline one week so I could look through it and it's awesome. I want to make the brownies with spinach in them.

It was a great Birthday and Thanksgiving and I am thankful for such an amazing family and such great friends.

We looked out the window into the back yard this morning and saw that we had mushrooms! Naturally we had to go out an play with them.

Well, we've done something and I am worried that we have made some sort of major parenting mess up.

Last year Samantha played basketball. She was really good and she enjoyed it but, she cried at the beginning of every single practice and game and had to be dragged out on to the court. But by the end of the practice or game she would be perfectly fine and having a great time.

So, this year when she said she wanted to play basketball again we were totally surprised. We must have said, "are you sure?!?" a thousand times before we signed her up. Each time she said she was sure that yes, she wanted to play basketball. We explained that once she signed up that she would be part of the team and she could not change her mind. She said she was sure.

She has had 3 practices that have all been the same as last year. She cried had the coach had to drag her out onto the court.

So, John and I decided that if it is that terrible for her that she could quit. We had a really long talk about how you finish what you start and all that. She explained to us that she is so worried that she is going to make a mistake and everyone is going to laugh at her. This has never happened to her but for some reason she is fraught with worry that it's going to happen.

It's not just basketball either, it's pretty much everything that she is unfamiliar with. And, it makes me terribly sad because I don't want her to feel icky and I don't want her to be afraid to try something she might enjoy because she is too scared.

So, we told her she could quit but that she would have to pay us back the $75* sign up fee and that she would need to find another activity. The activity doesn't need to be a live long passion but I want her to do something.

After some thought she decided that she wants to learn to crochet and she wants to take up hiking.

I am pleased with her decisions as far as the new activities go. We decided that we are more the kind of people who like to watch the sports rather than play them and that is ok. I am just so worried (like mother, like daughter) that we have done some sort of damage by letting her quit.

*Note: paying back the money sounds harsh but not for Samantha. She could fund a small army with the money she has squirreled away.

So, I started the scarf for my mom for Christmas and I discovered half way through that I don't have enough yarn. The yarn I got was on clearance and I got the last 2 rolls. So, my plan is to get some different yarn for mom and use the really short scarf for one of my bears.

I talk to Mom everyday on the way to work I talk to my mom. This morning she wasn't home so I called my dad at his office and talked to him instead. Usually dad is not all that talkative but today he was. I told him about the show I watched on the History Channel about cities of the underworld. This one was on Hitler's Germany and the bunkers he built under Berlin. Dad said that during the war they had delivered a carrier of aircraft to France and they got to see one of the bunkers built by the Germans. He said it was so creepy that he went out that night and got so drunk that the guys had to carry him back to the ship and he missed going to Paris the next day. I love stories that put a personal face to history.

Yesterday we had a plumber come out to fix one of the toilets and something quite perplexing happened. to preface the story though I must say that someone coming into our house would probably be able to guess John's profession but not exactly where he works. So, the plumber comes in the house and says, "are you a police office for the city of ______?" John didn't remember him and the "dealings with the law" that he told John about didn't involve John so we are totally wondering how he knew. If I had been there I would have asked him but I wasn't home yet. John of course didn't ask...

I've started making several Christmas / Birthday presents. It seems like every one's birthday is around Christmas. Mine is is November, John's and my dad's are right before Christmas and my mom's is right after Christmas. Mom says she has the worst one because all the decorations are down and everyone is quite done with the holidays. Anyway, I have begun crocheting a scarf for mom with a green and blue fuzzy kind of yarn... so, back to crocheting now...

Tonight was home made pizza night. We had the best time loading them up with our toppings. No one wanted my spinach though... but little do they know that same spinach is going to get chopped up and added to their dinners next week. They will never even know it.

No matter how rich you become, how famous or powerful, when you die the size of your funeral will still pretty much depend on the weather. - Michael Pritchard

John is still sick and I'm glad it is almost Friday. I am so very tired today. I didn't sleep very well last night. John was snoring so LOUDLY that it was even too loud out on the couch so I had to go in Samantha's room.

John stayed home from work again today but he did want to get out of the house for a bit so I picked him up on my way to get Samantha from school. Then when we got home I got on the couch and stayed there for the rest of the day.

This evening John and Samantha played Battleship. I think it's so cute how Samantha knows all the names of the ships. She said she is going to take her Life game to school tomorrow for Fantastic Friday. Tomorrow they are going to play games the kids bring in from home.

Samantha has a big reading project due on Friday so she's in the big bed finishing up the book. She is reading a book called "Stone Fox" about a sled dog. I started reading it and told her I wanted to finish it up when she was done tonight. She told me that Brianna cried at the end. I cry at almost anything so I told her to forget it, I didn't want to read it anymore. So, she comes out and asks me about a sentence she doesn't understand: She died instantly. Oh my God, the freakin dog dies just as it crosses the finish line of the big race! I cried of course and so did Samantha.

I am so very thankful that she enjoys doing her homework and takes doing her work seriously.

Flurries were spotted in Columbus today. It's cold but I seem to be getting used to it even after only two days of cold.

John stayed home from work sick today. He thinks he is going to die. I told him to take some Airborne but he says he won't take anything "hokey" like that. I said, "what's the difference if you are going to die anyway."

Kelly and I took the kids to Skyline for kids night. We have a new friend who meets us there every Wednesday. Her name is Tasey. (Like Tasty but without the second "t".) We have the best time chatting while the kids do their thing.

Samantha had her first basketball practice of the season, voting was today, errands and dinner at Bob Evans so not much time to post...