Just Something I Made

Otherwise known as "Feature Me Friday." I just decided to change the name.

I have a few other projects to show you but since I just finished eating it for the second time, I am going to share a recipe for split pea soup.

We went to my Grandma and Grandpa's house for Thanksgiving this year and on Wednesday night they had split pea soup. My Grandma invited us to eat with them (we were actually staying with my sister Amanda) but I declined because I don't care for peas so I just assumed I wouldn't like the soup. Once we arrived, Adrian seemed hungry so, I gave him some soup to try. He didn't like it so I ended up finishing his bowl and boy was it good! This particular recipe had potatoes and it sort of reminded me of baked potato soup. It didn't taste at all like plain old peas.

This recipe comes from the T Family Cookbook.

Split Pea Soup with Ham (Tricia Johnson)

2 1/4 c. dried split peas, sorted and rinsed

8 c. water

1 c. onion, chopped

1 c. celery stalks, finely chopped

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 ham bone or 2 lbs shanks

1 1/2 c. carrots, cut into 1/4 in slices

Heat peas and water to boiling in 4-quart dutch oven. Boil, uncovered, for 2 minutes; remove from heat. Cover and let stand 1 hour. Stir in onion, celery, and pepper. Add ham bone. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 1 hour 30 minutes or until peas are tender. Remove ham bone; remove ham from bone. Trim excess fat and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Stir ham and carrots into soup. Return to boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes or until carrots are tender and soup is at desired consistency.

I also added cubed potatoes shortly after I added the carrots. Yum! Jeff was a little skeptical (he hadn't tried it at Grandma's) but he tried it and after a few bites I asked him what he thought. He replied rather enthusiastically, "I love it!" I'll definitely be making this again!



Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! I've always disliked that the Christmas greeting vanishes in the twinkling of an eye as soon as the day has passed. I say we keep spreading holiday cheer at least until the New Year! I hope you all had or are having a fabulous Christmastime! I know we did! There's really no such thing as a low-key holiday when we are with our families. Luckily for us, they live so close to one another (3.7 miles to be exact). That being said, it's also makes our visits more hectic. We count our blessing though, I prefer 3.7 miles over 37 miles! Like my mother-in-law said during this visit, at least we don't lose much time when we are traveling back and forth!
About half of my family made it for Christmas. With my family totaling 38 and counting (including spouses and their children) it gets more and more difficult to get everyone together at once! There were 19 of us staying at my mom and dad's house with an additional 6 coming and going at one point or another. Check the comments section later to see if I got any of those numbers right. ;)
Adrian opening coloring books on Christmas morning:

That last picture is as far as he went before he lost interest. He loved his tee pee though!

I'll show you a picture of the completed tent next week. I have it set up in his bedroom so he can play in it anytime he wants. He's been in it quite a bit!

More pictures next week! I actually took a decent amount this time so I have plenty more to share!

Feature Me Friday

Oh man, this whole keeping up with a blog thing is really getting hard this time of year! I think this will be my last post for the next week or so. We will be spending Christmas with our family. I, for one, cannot wait!



The only project I can show you right now is the garland above. I made it out of a men's t-shirt, it was super easy and fun and I want one for myself now! I gave that one as part of my gift for the ladies Christmas party on Monday. I used the tutorial here.

That's all for now! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas surrounded by family and friends, laughter and lots and lots of food!

[she's] makin' a list...

> Grocery shopping without the little guy is super fantastic. Even if he is really good when I do take him. Thanks Kate!
> I hate making nisu, especially rolls (Finnish sweet, cardamom bread). For real. But I did because Jeff carpools with some coworkers that are nice enough to pick him up from our apartment on the days he doesn't drive so I can have a car during the day (they usually meet at someones house). I figure they could use some incentive to continue doing so.
> I have too much that I should be doing right now to actually type a real blog post.
> I made chicken pot pie for supper tonight and it took me until 4:15 to realize that I had yet to cook the chicken. A whole chicken because that's the only kind I buy. We eat at 5. Today we ate at 6:15.
> We also had bible class tonight at 7 which means that the dishes are still sitting in the sink.
> I just drank a cup of coffee and yes, it's after 10. I have sewing projects to work on so I'll probably be up for a while.
> Adrian has yet to fall asleep. I don't know what's wrong with him. If you know, please tell me. I suspect molars have something to do with it. In fact, Jeff just set him next to me. We'll see how much sewing actually gets done...

Fi-Five! (High five!)

It's been a while since did a post about Adrian, who is now 16 months by the way! Where does the time go? Each month is more and more entertaining at this age. He is very quick to figure out what makes us laugh. I wish I had pictures of all of his expression but usually the only one I get on camera is his 'cheeser' face which he does all.the.time. He just learned a new face; there is a bell hanging on our door handle that he always plays with, I walked in from doing laundry today and didn't realize he was there. He walked backwards away from me before turning around with his mouth in the shape of an "o." Jeff and I were laughing so of course, for the next few minutes he kept making the face. And of course, whenever he does something funny I purposely exaggerate my laugh (maybe that's where he gets it from) so he'll do it again.

Adrian has babbled incessantly for as long as I can remember. So often he will say the same thing over and over and you can tell he knows what he is saying. We have been slacking on the sign language lately. Mostly because I can usually figure out what he wants or anticipate his needs so there isn't such a need for signing. Besides that, he seems to have stopped at "more." No matter what it is he wants, he will sign "more," even when he says a different word aloud. I think it's confusing for him to figured out different signs when they are each done with two hands right in front of your body. He does say the words "hep" (help), "uppa" (as in, pick me up), "dent-do" (thank-you), "uh-hi" (Finnish word for hug which I don't know how to spell) and of course "buh-bye." I know there are more but I can't think of them right this moment. He also shakes his head and for the life of me I can't figure out where he got it. I think he may have learned it when we were out of town visiting because I don't think Jeff or I have ever shook our head 'no' to him. That is until now. If I tell Adrian to leave something alone he looks at me and shakes his head. Very exaggerated of course and somber as can be. How can I disagree?

He has still been doing fine with the Christmas tree. I mean, he still keeps pulling things off but it hasn't been too terribly frustrating. Maybe because it's kind of funny at the same time. He will grab an ornament with two hands, depending on how securely it's attached to the tree the hanger sometimes pops off. As soon as I move an inch toward him he takes off running in the other direction. Interesting, it's as if he knows he shouldn't be pulling things off the tree...He also pulls the garland off the bottom branches which I usually tell him to put back on the tree. If he listens I tell him "thank-you for listening to Mama," that is, if he doesn't tell himself "dent-do" first (signing the word as he says it, which actually looks more like he's blowing a kiss).

I have been trying to teach him what Santa Claus says but the best I have gotten out of him is "hm, hm" with his mouth closed. That's the same sound he makes for a dog barking, he won't open his mouth to make the noise.
I posted this on facebook already but, Adrian hasn't learned to use a spoon or fork yet. I have been giving one to him at every meal for the past 5 or 6 months. I usually guide his hand for a few bites at first and then let him be. He will calmly take the spoon out of the bowl/off the plate and set it on the table, never to be touched again. Well, unless he throws it on the floor later on. Although he hasn't mastered that skill yet, he suddenly knows how to drink from a cup. Very well, in fact. I didn't even know he could, I just decided to try it again the other day when he was already covered in chili from head to toe. To my great surprise, he drank without spilling once. The last time we tried, he tipped the cup too fast and spilled all over himself.
He still loves small spaces. (But don't all kids?) When we rearranged the living room for the tree we ended up with a little corner for his toys which was perfect. There is just enough room for him to squeeze into it and he's content to play for quite some time. Again, I can't wait to give him a teepee for Christmas!
I can't wait to see what the next month brings!

Feature Me Friday

Today's Feature me Friday is for something I made last year. I probably already showed you but I'm going to show you again! I had this brilliant idea to make ornaments for Etsy and a craft show that I never did. I basically got in over my head, each ornament took so long to make because I never did find the perfect glue that went on easily, with no mess, dried quickly, and held fast. Nevertheless, I did make a few sets and I loved each one, even if they weren't all 'me.' I never did sell them on Etsy and eventually took them off, I was so worried about shipping. I know I was overly anxious about it, people ship breakables! I just never did, and I have to say, shipping something made of fabric is a lot less stress!

I gave the above ornaments to my sisters (sorry to those who wanted a set and didn't get it!) so these pictures were shot to get a general idea of how they all looked.
The ornaments below are the only ones I held onto. They each belong to a set.

I have several sets of ornaments that have not yet been embellished. I'll be sure to show you what I do with them if I ever get around to making them! I'm thinking about paint, or feathers, or silhouettes, or fabric...

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

 (Warning, blurry photos ahead! And I'm still going to show you because I have no claims to being a photographer!)

I had wanted to put a tree up the day after Thanksgiving and we finally got one yesterday. I found a tree stand and Jeff found a tree. Then we made Lex's hot chocolate and decked it out. The tree that is, not the hot chocolate. (How many more times can I say the word tree?) We never put up a tree last year (ha, I said it again!) for whatever reason so this year I was determined to get one. (A tree.)

Now that it's up and fully decorated, or at least as much as it can be, I realize just how few ornaments I really have. I guess that's encouragement to start making all the decorations that have been swirling around in my head! I did make a few last year that were never displayed because we didn't have a tree. I absolutely love them, I just wish I had more! I was planning on decking the tree with chartreuse, teal, and turquoise only but Jeff insisted that we put some red in the mix. I'm glad he did or I wouldn't know how much I love that combination! Besides, it goes well with the garland that I made last year.

So far Adrian has been okay with the tree. Most of the ornaments are unbreakable or at least hard to break. He keeps pulling two particular ornaments off but other than that he doesn't seem too obsessed with the tree. I hope he'll get used to it and ignore it more and more each day although I'm not counting on it.

I gave Adrian some hot chocolate and he loved it! It's really thick so we used a spoon for him. He kept doing this hysterical laugh, he's becoming such a clown! This age is so fun!

Here's a video so you can actually see what I'm talking about (it's kind of dark):

Boy, that hot chocolate sounds so good right now...

I want to blog...

Really, I do! It's just that this time of year gets so busy! Like today, I ran to Goodwill to find a tree stand (I found one for $1!), and met a friend at the salon so I could watch her little guy while she was getting her hair cut (and so I could get my bangs trimmed). Then we went to the dome to walk, then I had to pick up groceries, and then I had to bring a sippie cup back to the store to see if the crack on the top was covered under the one year warranty (it wasn't). By the time I got home, it was the middle of the afternoon and I was starving. Plus, I had only done half of the running that I had planned. Of course, considering the time, I had to start making supper (a frankensteined version of broccoli cheese soup, still in the process as I type).
 I am a bit disappointed that I forgot to pick up more thread today in my hurry to get home and eat. I started sewing Adrian's teepee last night and got as far as I could before running out of thread. I am so excited to get it put together! I wasn't going to put a window on it but, now I think I will. I wouldn't want to miss Adrian's sweet little face peeking out! I plan to put a cover over the hole that will Velcro closed. I can't wait to show you the finished product!
A little update on Adrian: he is doing much better! He finally stopped throwing up, I'm still not sure what the was all about. Have you ever heard of kids throwing up when they are teething? I haven't but maybe some do? Either way, I've been giving him Camilia and it has been working great! He has at least two molars pushing their way up, poor buddy! Also, I think dairy might be the cause of his eczema. Bummer!! I noticed that the entire week he was sick, his skin was so smooth even though I hadn't put lotion or shea butter on him. Coincidentally, he hadn't had any dairy all week. Now that he's back on dairy, his skin is all scaly again. At least I know what is causing it now!

So sorry, what is this, the third post without a photo? Sadly, I have not taken a single picture this month. I will work on that!

reestablishing the flora

I'm still occupied with getting my little guy better so no Feature Me Friday today! Perhaps, tomorrow. Maybe I should change it to a Saturday feature...Or just get on the ball!
I really wish Adrian would get better already! He seems fine for parts of the day. He gets animated and talkative. Then, for other parts of the day, he's quiet and tired and snuggly. He has still been throwing up once a day for the past few days. I ran to the co-op the other day to pick up some acidophilus (per my chiropractor's recommendation). I had to ask someone for help because there were several different kinds but they all said 'keep out of reach of children.' The Health and Wellness guy told me he had something in the back for babies. I took it home, opened it, gave some to Adrian...and then, read the ingredient list. No acidophilus. Even though that's what I specifically asked for. Either way, it has plenty of probiotics and I can give it to him every day so it's good to have. Still, not what I was looking for. Then, I remembered that I had yogurt starter in the fridge. Sure enough, it has acidophilus! We'll have yogurt ready by morning, hopefully it helps my little guy! I also found some water with electrolytes at the co-op that I can give him instead of Pedialyte. No artificial colors or flavors. Woohoo! Bonus: it's cheaper than Pedialyte! Sweet!

Note: If you're wondering what the heck yogurt and acidophilus have to do with anything check out this link!

we're taking it one day at a time

These have been the events of the past few days:

Day 1: Adrian throws up breakfast...hmm, that's odd, maybe he just choked on his Cheerios and it made him throw up? (Crossing my fingers) By the time Jeff calls several hours later I report that Adrian has the flu. Jeff comes home early, also with the flu.
Day 2: The boys seem to be recovering, a little worn out from the previous days 'activities.' I'm feeling fine but have a nagging feeling that my turn is soon to come.
Day 3: I wake up feeling 'okay' but try to convince myself that if I sleep in really late the flu will pass me by. Hmph, right. It got me too. Adrian, who had been 'feeling fine' for the past 24 hours is now throwing up again. Boy am I glad it's Jeff's weekend.
Day 4: Jeff is completely better and now it's my turn to recover. Except Adrian doesn't seem to be getting better as fast as us. He hasn't thrown up all day--or had diarrhea--but he's not drinking much either. The day before he was begging for drinks and we could only give him sips and now he doesn't even want it...not good. Finally, after getting very little into his system all day, he throws up. We give in and Jeff runs out to get pedialyte and saltines.
Day 5: So far, so good. Adrian hasn't thrown up since last night and he's been getting plenty of fluids. He's more talkative and alert than yesterday. I'm still puzzled as to how he appears to have gotten the same flu twice. Let's hope he's really on the mend this time! I just hate when my baby is sick!!

Feature Me [Saturday]

My grand plans for the week at Amanda's went up in wispy plumes of smoke. I was hoping to come home with a bunch of projects done, including out stockings. We didn't even make it to the quilt shop for fabric until Tuesday! I had planned to arrive with everything cut out and ready to sew but nothing caught my eye at our local quilt shop. The first time we actually worked on sewing projects was Tuesday night once the kids went to bed. I can hardly say 'we,' I spent a looooong time cutting out all the pieces for our 3 stockings and Amanda very quickly cut out the quilted fabric she was using for 2 stockings and then got to work baking cookies for a party she was hosting. First off, let me just say, it is a very bad idea to start a project at 9:00 when you are already tired. I took forever cutting out my pieces, I'm slow at everything but that's fine because I love what I do. Wait, actually, i hate cutting out patterns, that is the worst part by far to sewing. Anyways, after an hour or so of placing, pinning, cutting, I started putting the pieces together to begin sewing. It didn't take long to realize that I had cut two of the same pieces for the outside of each stocking. I didn't get enough fabric so I had to cut everything out twice rather than fold the fabric in half. And I forgot to flip the pattern over. Luckily, I had just enough of each fabric left to get the right piece. Talk about frustrating! I'm not sure what I would have done if I didn't have enough fabric!


Earlier in the week, Emily had dropped her youngest off so she could run to the quilt shop. We were surprised to see her back in less than an hour. She said it was too overwhelming to try to pick something out in the amount of time she had (she had to get another kiddo off the bus shorty afterwards). She wasn't kidding either, I think we were there for a full hour before we finally decided what we wanted. Amanda took forever to find 2 different colors for her stocking cuffs and then got side-tracked by a cute baby blanket and spontaneously decided that her new baby needs one so she grabbed some fabric for that as well. I took so long to pick 6 different coordinating prints but I'm quite happy with what I chose. I asked Jeff if he liked them but he didn't seem to care. Apparently stockings aren't really his thing.


Oh man, it feels like I've been typing this post all day. I have to keep stopping to hold Adrian while he throws up and then clean up the mess...I think it's about time to call it quits. Maybe he'll be feeling well enough tomorrow for me to start pulling out my meager supply of Christmas decorations. I am certainly in the mood for some Christmas cheer!

just a quick 'hello!'

So you don't think I quit my blog or anything, I've been up north for the past week and gave myself a break from blogging. I have something to share for Feature Me Friday but I've been keeping busy today so I'll show you tomorrow! I made a list of things to get done this weekend and I'm on a roll. I made it pretty manageable so I would actually stick to it. The idea of making lists sounds fabulous but my follow through can be kind of pathetic. Check back tomorrow to see what I've been up to!

Friday Feature: Adrian

In the past few days, I finally became sick of Adrian's longish hair. I feel like I'm constantly snipping pieces because it's so long and I couldn't bear to go short. He still seems like a baby! Well, he is my baby! His hair is so super fine and poker straight that I've been afraid to cut it because I feel like I'll give him a horrible chop job and then I'd have to buzz it because I'm way too cheap to bring him somewhere to get it cut. Seriously, he's only a year old. Then a couple days ago, I said 'what the heck.' Well, I probably didn't literally say that, I just started cutting. Or chopping. I have to work fast with that boy, he's too busy to sit still for long. He would sit in his booster seat for a few minutes if I gave him something to play with. I didn't really know what I wanted to do at first, I just wanted his hair a lot shorter. And then, two days into the haircut, I finally thought, 'duh! I'll just cut it like I cut Jeff's hair but, slightly longer." So I did. Of course, once I decided that, I quickly chopped two or three little sections shorter in the back and then he was done. Oh well, we weren't going anywhere. That is, until about 15 minutes later when I realized I needed to get to the grocery store. I dropped Adrian off with Kate and told her about the haircut, 'don't worry I'm not done.' She said right away, 'It looks fine!' Ha. By the time I came to pick him up she was laughing at it. I think I finally finished today. For this week anyways.
My big boy:


Honestly, I touched it up once more after taking these pictures. Hopefully I can leave it alone for a few weeks now! (I don't know if you can even tell what it looks like in here, I was having a hard time getting a picture of the side of his head because he kept turning to look at me.)

Santa Claus is Coming to Town...But first, Tom Turkey!

I realized Thanksgiving is just over a week away so I guess that means it's time to put some Christmas music going! I am so not a music person (I think I'm the oddball in my family) but I really love Christmas music, it just puts me in the holiday spirit! Now that I hear jingle bells ringing I feel like I should be making Christmas gifts or decorations! Oh wait, I should be! Jeff is going hunting this weekend so I'll be spending a few days with my sister Amanda and we have plans to sew away the weekend! I'll be bringing my old reliable sewing machine, I can't wait! Adrian will have a cousin to play with so hopefully they are both good and we can crank out a few projects! My stocking pattern came in (and fabric.com never asked me to return the dress pattern!) so I need to run up to the quilt shop and grab some fabric and hopefully get all 3 done this weekend! Like it's that easy, this is Miss Wishy-Washy-can't-make-any-split-decisions. I'll be lucky if I walk out of the shop with fabric for one stocking. I had originally planned to make all of the stockings with various printed cream fabric but now I'm leaning more toward turquoise for the me and green for the boys. We'll see what I find!

it's good to be home (sort of)

I'm so glad to see Jeff again after being away all weekend (I mean really, he's vacuuming as I type, I love that guy) but it's such a letdown that we only had 1 full day out in Minnesota with my sisters and my Mom. My Mom drove up here and picked me up before heading out (she spent the night) so I actually got to spend the most time with her and my younger sisters. We were split between Sara's house and Jennifer's. My Mom, Amanda, Kendall, and Molly stayed with Sara while Emily, Kirsten, Keeks, Gretch, Jeanie, Adrian, and I stayed with Jen. We were visiting at Sara's on Saturday night and left at 10, I can't believe we left so early, I thought it was later than that until I saw the time in the car. Once the kiddos were settled into bed a few of us stayed up visiting until 3:30 or so (which is 4:30 our time). Adrian did not sleep well the entire trip which isn't unusual. I had to rock him to sleep both nights which is incredibly unusual. Besides the sleep he's was really good and had fun playing with all the kids. I was so glad to see little Orrin (Sara's) who was only about 3 months old last time I saw him, he is about 5 months older than Adrian. He was cruising all around and boy is he a cutie, I just wish he wasn't so shy for all of us! I bet if we were there for 1 more day he would have warmed up to us.
We keep calling this a "Sisters' Trip" since this is the first time all of the girls have gathered together in so long but I think it's agreed that the next "Sisters' Trip" should be without all the kids, it was a little loud and crazy! But, I'm glad the cousins had fun seeing one another! Or maybe the next time we all get together like that, the dads should be there too. Oh wait, that would be called a reunion.

There are more pictures on Jennifer's blog.

Feature Me Friday

This week I made two more toddler belts. That's it. I wish I could have at least made a few more belts if nothing else but it just didn't happen. I really need to figure out a better routine for sewing. The mornings are tricky because I know I should be outside with Adrian, and other times I'm working out with Kate which takes up most of the morning if we go to the dome. Then there's lunch and nap time. My sewing machine is in Adrian's room so I can't sew when he's sleeping. Once he wakes up, I'm usually starting to make supper, then it's eat and clean up and by then I don't feel like doing much at all. I've thought of taking my machine out of his room and sewing in the kitchen but then it will probably stay there forever. The only other space would be my bedroom but there is so much more space in Adrian's room. What to do, what to do. I'll probably end up moving it eventually just so I can feel like I have some quality uninterrupted sewing time. For now, I should actually go outside in the mornings instead of just thinking about it!


Have a good weekend! I know I will, I'll be spending it with my Mom and ALL {8} of my sisters!

Hiking up the Mountain

Jeff was off work on Monday (his usual 'weekend') so we made a plan to hike up Sugarloaf. It was an easy climb and it was a beautiful day. I seriously love it here, it's so easy to do active, physical outings when there are so many places to choose from! This 'hike' is a quick one if you want it to be, we didn't stay long at the top because it was pretty windy and we weren't dressed very warmly. We went after Adrian's nap and still had time to grocery shop before going home for supper!

living like no one else

Remember how I said we are working on getting out of debt so we can one day live debt-free? Well, when I got home on Sunday night we were discussing our financial plans and decided that we wanted to speed up our progress. Our car payment was the next debt to go. Jeff drives a truck with a stick which I don't know how to drive and that doesn't fit all of us very comfortably. Or, he did until several hours ago. I love craigslist. He listed the truck last night around supper and sold it before lunchtime today. He immediately went to the bank and paid a huge chunk of our car loan. We've been grinning all day. Well, almost. I'm sure it will sink in over the next few days that we are a one car family once again but for now it feels pretty darn good. I know it is all worth it in the end. We have to "live like no one else so later [we] can live like no one else." If purposely living with one car will get me there then I'll do it.


Once Jeff sold the car, I worked on some sewing projects. After Adrian's nap, we went to the Isle and walked through the woods. There were plenty of deer to be seen, It was so peaceful. I almost stayed home when Jeff offered to take Adrian with him either way, I thought it would be nice to sew without interruption. But then, Jeff reminded me that we won't have many more days like today to wander the outdoors. I'm so glad I went, he is absolutely right. Seriously, it snowed a few days ago. And that wasn't the first time.

To top it all off we had Chicken Paninis for supper. Yum! I just reread that post (from just over a year ago) and I can't believe I used boiled chicken. Yuck. It's amazing how much I've learned about cooking in a year, and I still have so much to learn. At the time, I had made soup and boiled the chicken to make the broth. I probably used a whole chicken and didn't need all of the meat so I saved it and didn't use it in another soup. I always, always buy bone-in, skin-on chicken. Waaay tastier. And I almost always bake it, even for soup, so the leftover meat actually has some flavor. I rub it with salt, freshly ground pepper, and garlic. Sometimes I brush it with bacon fat. It is so good, trust me, and don't think about how bad that is!

It's been a good day!

What a blast! I spent the weekend in Appleton Wisconsin (and Oshkosh, and Green Bay...) with these ladies. I didn't go for the shopping (and that's what the trip was for, I mean seriously) but I had so much fun! I haven't laughed that hard in way too long! These girls are some serious shoppers, we actually went to 3 different malls in 3 different cities one day. Yikes! Talk about shopping until you drop! For all the different shops and department stores we visited, I only bought from Once Upon a Child which is a consignment shop. Ironic isn't it? Adrian needed mittens and boots which I found there along with a beanie and a clip-on tie that I just couldn't pass up. I think most of the other girls bought enough to fill up their cars and had most, if not all, of their Christmas shopping done. That must feel good! I, on the other hand, have only just started.

This weekend was the first time I was away from Adrian overnight. Holy cow, that's crazy when I really stop and think about it. I acted like I was ready to run out the door but when it came right down to it, I was ready to bawl like a baby. Jeff said he did great all weekend, he didn't even ask for me. Way to break my heart! I'm glad he was good though. Jeff did say that one evening, our friend Paul came over and when he opened the door Adrian went flying over and seemed slightly disappointed when he saw who it was.

By the way, Jeff is basically the best husband ever. I came home to a clean house and Adrian was in bed (although honestly, I had to get him up to say hi). Then, today he washed dishes and did laundry. I was kind of like 'what the heck??' but believe me, I wasn't about to complain. It's been a good couple of days!

Feature Me Friday

I have been wanting a reminder like this to help kick my butt into gear. I love to make things (surprise!) but I too often find excuses not to. The bathroom needs to be cleaned, bread needs to be made, groceries need to be bought...I mean really, I need to do all of those things but they will get done sooner or later no matter what. If I don't make a point to sit down and create, it gets put off for days, or weeks, or months. Okay, probably not months, I don't think I would last that long!


(I don't think this really "goes" here but I wanted to put it up so here it sits for now.)

Remember that belt I made for Adrian? I have a confession to make. It doesn't really look like you think it does. It actually looks like this:


Yeah, I know. The image in your mind was way cuter. You see, I ordered striped fabric to make a few belts. I ordered a half yard of several different prints thinking that I could use the width of the fabric for each belt. It turns out the stripes actually go the opposite way that I had originally thought so my idea wouldn't work at all. Bummer dude. I emailed fabric.com and they are so fabulous that they told me to keep the fabric they had sent me and refunded me the amount as well. (I only like portions of the stripes, not the entire piece of fabric so I really have no use for the other two.) I happen to love the fabric I used for this belt although I'm not sure what I'll end up using it for. (I think it's Brady Bunch by Michael Miller.) Anyways, that's how I ended up making Adrian's belt even though I don't really like it. I do, however, love the two belts I just listed in the shop:




And with that, I'm off for the weekend! The ladies in the area are going on their annual weekend shopping trip and this will be the first time I'm leaving Adrian for the night. I think you will all agree that I'm long overdue!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Wait a minute...

I thought I ordered a pattern for a stocking...


Oh wait, yes I did...


I think this is one time I'm glad that I'm so indecisive. I don't have the fabric to make the stocking anyways so it's no big deal that my actual pattern will be delayed. Off to email fabric.com!

I Voted!

This week is flying by! Okay, so it's only Tuesday but I'm going out of town this weekend and I keep thinking that trip is weeks away rather than days away!

I went to "the Dome" this morning with Kate after walking over to the elementary school to vote. Did you vote yet?? I feel slightly ashamed that I didn't even know who I was voting for. I basically just voted straight party. I keep telling myself I need to research the candidates...next time though, for sure! It's kind of pathetic really, I mean seriously, these things are kind of important! There's a nice old man that lives across the hall from us that has been giving us his paper every day since we first moved in. I appreciate it so very much but I don't always read it. Then, on the days that I do (today was one of them, although it was yesterday's paper) I think to myself, why don't I read the paper more often? I'm so clueless about what is going on in my dinky little town (that I love).

Yesterday, I said I would share some pictures from downstate. If you haven't seen them on facebook yet, here they are:
From Three Cedars Farm:




Matt and Wade share an October birthday:



Carving (and eating?) pumpkins and hanging out with Jeff's family:




These two (that's Auntie Katie, Jeff's sister) adore each other, I wish I had gotten a better picture of the two of them!




I was slightly better about remembering to take pictures this time, but oddly enough I have way more from Jeff's family than the time with my own. Usually it's the other way around, so I guess it's time to balance it out! Also, the pictures from the cider mill were stolen. (Eek!) Various people from Jeff's family took those and I forgot to bring my camera that day so I swiped them from facebook. Thanks! ;)