I turn my back for two seconds....

:: Seriously?!....
:: Michael has been working non-stop for the past few weeks...so much so that we went out to dinner for the first time in I can't remember how long last night, and I felt compelled to re-introduce myself to him....Anyways, I thought I would bake him a carrot cake today as a "hey, thanks for putting in so many hours". It was cooling...so I was doing things around the house. I hear the back door open (which is a funny all in itself, because really our "back door" is on the front of the house...I'll explain some other time) and think oh, he must be home. I find him cutting in to the cake! OMG! He looks at me with a smile like, Oh, was I not supposed to do that?....I just replied with NICE! }:-/
:: So much for making his surprise look nice....dork! He hasn't seen the cake frosted yet...it should give him a chuckle! Its the thought that counts right?

She's back to feeling like her old (young) self...

:: Anna was sick for what seems like forever, but really only about a week and a half...she had me pretty concerned. I missed her laugh and smile. The other day we went to visit Linda, and she gave Anna these glasses. I'm not sure if Linda was Elton John in a past life, or maybe Anna, or both?....they seem to have a thing going with sunglasses. Linda finds all kinds of different ones for Anna. This is the latest model~
:: And, notice the quilt?....(insert self indulgent smile here). I'm so happy to see her using it:0)

A rare occurrence...

:: Why am I showing you a picture of our living room couch you ask?...That might be what most people see when they look at this picture. The actual purpose of this picture is to show you something that I don't often see.....THE FLOOR! No toys, no pillows, no blankets....just a nice area rug....aaaahhhhhhh.....
:: Look!....here's another view....careful you don't trip, oh wait...that's right...there's nothing to step over or trip on! Bring your eyes up to the mantel shelf....see my new cute barn stars. I bought them online from Etsy from a seller called lil' miss crafty pants (you can click to see her stuff). I noticed she doesn't have many stars left, but I'm sure she'll be making more.

Project Complete!

:: Well I'll be!....I finished it! I am usually one to start a project and then get side-tracked on to something else and end up with a few unfinished projects laying around. I'm so happy to say not this time! And, what's even better....when I gave it to Anna, who has been patiently waiting for "her quilt", she immediately threw it over the piano bench and made a fort out of it! Success!

I started another one...

:: What's that?....have I finished the last quilt I started for Anna? Well no, silly! That's not how it works....have you ever met a creative person who only works on one project at a time?....I sure haven't! We like the chaos of more than one thing going at once after all! :0)

::I saved 8 of Anna's receiving blankets from when she was a baby with the intent on making a quilt out of them. Well here I am actually following through with my plan....pat on the back for me!
:: Do you cheat like me and use the Shape Cut?....its so easy you SHOULD!

:: Here are the strips I cut with the Shape Cut guide. It seems even with a ruler I can mess up a straight line, so I love the Shape Cut guide. Where can I get one you ask?...I found mine at Hancock Fabrics, but if you search it on-line you can find them all over. There is also the Shape Cut Plus (the one I really wanted)...its 12x18 I believe.
:: And whalah!....here are the quilt blocks all ready to be sewn together. I haven't forgotten about the other quilt I'm working on....I'll probably finish that one before I get back to this one.

Amy Butler & Heather Bailey Fans...Check this out!

:: I just had the most exciting morning! I found a new little shop called "The Top Stitch". I was searching for Amy Butler & Heather Bailey fabric and ran across this little shop right here in Spokane. Imagine my delight! Something cool and funky in Spokane...almost seems hard to believe...I know! The owner, Carrie, is so nice and helpful. She answered all of my silly questions and didn't make me feel ashamed of my lack of sewing knowledge. She even offers classes. I am so happy I stumbled across this place.

Check out her website: www.thetopstitch.com

Thank you Super Bowl!

:: Lookie what I did during the Super Bowl! Well okay, I had the game on, but I don't think I watched a single play, because I was sewing my guts out! Um yea, I did look up from my sewing machine to see the commercials though.

:: There is still a lot to be done, but at least the quilt top is together. I'm pretty excited that I'm this far.

:: And, as you're admiring my little project, please keep in mind that I do this for the pleasure of creating something. I'm not looking to win any contest with my sewing...in other words, look, but not that close! ;)

How long should it take?

:: So I've started a quilt for Anna...heavy sigh! Why the sigh? Well, I'm wondering how long this is going to take.... snicker! It seems like when I have an idea in my head of a project I would like to finish, and the family gets wind of this idea, then it is sure to be derailed. Therefore I have decided that this is going to be one of those projects like many others who will sit and stare back at me each time I walk past it....saying, "you whoo!....remember me?...you ever going to finish?" My answer: YES I AM!....may just take a few months:0)

A few blog pages I simply love...

I love wasting what could be a perfectly productive morning looking at my favorite blog pages....here are a few that I return to every time...(after I've cooked, cleaned and organized of course...wink wink):

www.thefarmchicks.typepad.com (Serena is my organizing country girl hero!)

www.kwernerdesign.com (Kristina is my mac loving crafty girl hero!)

www.frugalchicliving.com (Crystal is my coupon clipping professional who saves me money hero!)

The above three women who create these pages are my heros! If I could be these three woman in one I would be my own hero!....tee hee ;0)

And, for the baker in me:

www.bakerella.com

Is it really January?

:: Wait, is that grass in the picture?....is this REALLY January?....because there would not have been trike riding last year at this time. I think we're all liking this winter over last year...and the year before.
:: January of last year....try riding a trike in that!

News Flash People....Michael put the snow blower away yesterday, so now you know what that means.....we're gonna get some snow!

I'm BACK!!!!

Well well well....look who remembered she had a blog! I know...I can hear you all yelling already....it has been so long since my last post I actually had to look up my password!

I'm not making any promises about how often I'll post, but I thought I would at least update you with a few Christmas pics :) You will notice this year I am actually in the pictures....after years of not being in any, because I am always behind the camera I released my control of my beloved camera over to Michael and "let" him take a few pics.

:: Anna was beside herself with joy to put together her gingerbread house this year....I was dealing with a cold that I was pretty sure I was going to die from (everyone said I had HINI to every other dreadful thing, but why go to the doctor and find out when instead you can suffer through it & let it kick your butt?) This picture makes me laugh, because you can almost hear me saying, "just take the damn picture please....cheese!"
:: Michael II (15), Danielle (17) & Anna (just days from the big 4!)
:: Normally you can't pay the kid to sit still for a picture, especially if she knows I REALLY want the picture....I don't know, maybe she got lost in the spirit of Christmas, but this time she posed and everything!
::Michael, Danielle, Mom (me), & Anna on her 4th birthday. I kind of felt like a failure as a mother, because I didn't bake her cake, but her favorite cake has always been the "Chocolate Costco Cake"....so, give the girl what she wants and give momma a break:) I was just happy to see her 4th birthday....(ya know, cuz I was dying from my cold....LOL!)

:: You all know how much I love taking pictures?....well I got a video camera for Christmas!...as soon as I get the Christmas videos edited I'll be adding a couple movies. Stay tuned!

First Day of Preschool

:: First day of preschool on her own. Last week we had a parent/child class and today was her first class without me. Yipes! She's a big girl all of the sudden.....I admit I shed a few tears as she was walking to her class.
:: Check out her new smile.....apparently she lost her teeth smile.

Anna and the Pink Trek Trike

:: There is a story behind this Trek Trike.....Michael (Daddy) just couldn't wait to buy Anna her first trike. Well she was about 16 months old when he came home with this trike with the biggest smile. So excited that she would have her first trike. Too bad she is just now at 3 1/2 years old able to put her feet on the pedals....tee hee

It was an exciting day the other day when daddy sat her on the trike just to try one more time to see how much more she would need to grow and BINGO she could reach!
:: I don't know who's more excited over her riding this trike, Anna or Daddy.

And by the way.....I bet all of you thought I had forgotten how to take a picture with a human in it.....LOL! Notice there are flowers in the back ground though......I made sure of that! :0) (snicker!)

Anna and the Red Trike

:: There is no in between with her.....you either get a full set of teeth smile or a look away from the camera.
:: This is singing her lungs out while riding as fast as she can pedal around my car. zoinks!
:: Check out the tongue action! (it helps a person think ya know!)
:: And here, just picture me begging her to look at the camera and she's not having it! Little turkey!

Oh But Wait......MORE DAHLIAS! tee hee

:: This Morning Glory has taken ahold of the Dahlias.


:: This one is SO BIG! I'm officially hooked on Dahlias. I am going to look for even bigger ones to plant next year!

Because I just can't help it!....more flower pictures!

:: These are some of the asters my mom-in-law started in her greenhouse. They are so delicate!
:: Big Pink Zinnia....I LOVE Zinnias! They are so easy and last a long time.

:: Now if you were a reader of my blog last summer you will remember that Anna calls these Black Eyed Susans "Black Eyed Snow Whites". I about peed my pants when she pointed at them last year and said, "Look mommy, Black Eyed Snow Whites!" My twisted mind could just see poor old Snow White sitting there with her black eyes.
:: Notice the bee and the spider.....they must be friends ;0) Okay, and look closely at the petals....it looks like brush strokes of a deeper yellow on the light yellow. I guess I'm so intrigued by this sunflower, because I didn't actually plant it......a squirrel did!

Ready, Set, DAHLIAS!

:: Yes, they're beautiful and they know it!

It might be hard to tell from the pictures, but these are all BIG ones! They are even prettier in real life!

:: Sunflowers are sure to make you smile! I (actually "we"....Anna helped) planted these in Anna's little flower bed in her play yard.
:: This is just to show my pumpkin vines growing in the pots. These were a last ditch effort after I had planted pumpkin seeds three different times only to have the quail come by and eat them each time they broke ground. ARGH! I even put netting over the seeds and the quail still prevailed! Finally at the beginning of June (which is really cutting it close to have pumpkins by Oct. in these parts) I planted some seeds in the pots just to see if the quail might leave the seeds alone if they were up in a pot. Well....turns out they will!