Where is My Little Girl?

On December 16th Christy became 14 years old?

I, for one would like to know just how that happened?

Where did the time go?

We took her to Red Robin, the local "big burger" place and everyone ate until we could eat no more.  We all got big and fat!  On the way home we stopped to buy a cake to finish up the celebration.  But rather than buy a big ol' cake, Christy decided that she wanted cream puffs.

 

Of course, I had no little candles to stick in the puffs, so I improvised, just like Martha Stewart would have.

Is she not the cutest 14 year old ever?

Okay, I know you all think I'm on the odd side because of my love of aprons.  After all, now that I'm working I have no time to be domestic.  I guess it keeps me from feeling too guilty about the lack of housekeeping and well prepared meals.

I received this beauty from a swap I participated in.  I made one (didn't take pictures, no batteries for the camera) for a fun lady in Florida and I received this from a very talented lady in Washington.  She also sent me a necklace (which I'm wearing in the picture), two pair of earrings, a rhinestone pin (I'm wearing that too), two types of candy, soap, a cool glass heart.... there's probably more, but the pictures I took got deleted and I'd have to get up from this seat to go find the other goodies.  My fault!  I'm still learning how to use this fun new computer.  Oh, and if all that wasn't enough, she sent the items in really cool fabric bags that matched the apron.  It was like Christmas a month early.  

We have a Christmas party to attend this weekend and I hope to have the guts to wear the outfit I have on in the picture above.  I let you know how it all turns out!

Sugared Walnuts

While at my mom's for Thanksgiving we made a quick batch of sugared walnuts.  Oh they are so tasty and way too easy!  I have so many nuts this year I think this will be the gift of the season from the Robertson's.

Here is my designated "taste-tester" Taryn.  She loves to help out in the kitchen.

Here is the recipe I used.. 

Sugared  Walnuts

                                                                              1 cup sugar

                                                                               3 Tbs water

                                                                             1 tsp cinnamon

                                                                Two or three big handfuls of walnuts

Boil to softball stage.  Take off stove and stir in walnuts till dry and powdered.  Let cool on wax paper.

Recipe by Aunt Ree Lopus Milne 

So Yummy and easy, please try it.

My New MacBook and His Tricks

I'd been having some trouble with my HP notebook and Maury took it to "Best Buy" to see what it would cost to have it repaired.  The cost turned out to be more than it was worth!  Of course!  That's how we've ended up in this throw away society, repairing an item costs too much.  Anyhow that's another topic and lest I stray, back to the original topic.  

So he comes home with a new Mac for me. 

Me: What, a Mac?  I don't know how to use a Mac! 

Maury: But you will, it's easy, and you can learn from me

Me: But....

Maury:  You'll love it, they are so intuitive, it practically teaches you by itself.

Me:  Umm, okay.  Is this my Christmas present?

Maury: You could say that.  Look why don't you think about it.  We can always take it back if you don't open it.

So I let it sit on the table for about an hour and a half while I tried to get my HP to turn on and working.  Then I calmly talked it over with Maury again and decided that I'd go with the  Mac. But I figure at least I didn't give in right away.  I actually thought about it and weighed the options.  

The next night Christy and I decided to see just what tools, aka toys, it had.  The first thing we figured out how to use was the camera.  SEE....

The Sketch Effect

Strange things...

XRAY

Body Heat

I don't even know what to call this one, how about "Shrek Effect"

Cartoon

"Elf yourself"

The bottom line.  This computer is super cool and does amazing things!  I'm still working on getting things transfered from the old computer on to this one.  Christy and Maury are helping me with that.

Two Posts, One Day

Here's what I came out to find tonight...

Taryn came to the table acting like a waitress, and took our orders. Then she made the food while we waited. Just like a fancy restaurant!

The results were super yummy!

Yes, I ordered the chili dog and now I'm stuffed to the gills!

I have a blessed life.

No Housework For Me...

Okay, so I'm boycotting housework for the day, big deal!!! It's not like the house is really gross or anything. It's just that with the rain outside and the fireplace inside, the cup of tea and the slice of pound cake, it was just not right to ruin everything by cleaning! The weekend only comes every 5 days you know.

Instead I decided I needed some quality time in my "Woman Cave". So I took this great oil cloth I bought in Sabastapol (I hope I spelled that right) a couple of weeks ago.


It became a new book-bag for work! I just was not satisfied with my old one. It was cute enough, but not useful. I didn't put any pockets inside and it was too small. This one has plenty of pockets and is bigger too. It's just right!So, now that I'm done what shall I do with the rest of the day? I'm not sure, but it's not going to be wasted on cleaning! I have a new Dean Koontz book that I just started and it's grabbed me already. How does this sound-rain, tea and a new book? Perfect, I'll do it.


Hold the press!
Taryn just came along and kicked me out of the kitchen! She says, "Since dad and Jake are gone for the evening, I'm cooking. We'll have a girls-night-out right here!"
Okay, now I'm a little worried, will she make a mess and not clean it? What will she cook? I plant an idea in her head. I say to her, "But I really wanted chili dogs for dinner." Her mouth curls into a smile. She's taken the bait. I can hear her working in the kitchen. It's only 4pm and she putting ice in the glasses. This is the kind of thing that makes being a mom so fun.

Update, she's just barged into my room and says, "Dinner is gonna be a little early."
"How early?"
"4:30."
"That's pretty early Taryn, I'm having tea and cake"
"Well, stop eating! I already set the table and put bread on it! Come look at it."
I'm too lazy to get up and I don't want her to know that I'm blogging about her. So I say, "Hey, why don't you take a picture of it for me."
"Okay"
Here's what she's done...What a kid! Candles, flowers and sparking cider. I hope she's making chili dogs, I really want a chili dog!

Life is good.

I Got A New Do!!

Look at me, all grown up!! I finally got my hair cut off, WHAT HAVE I DONE?? No more pony tails on a bad hair day?

Actually I do like it, although it is more work than I care for. You know the second day hair is much harder to make look good at this length. In the morning I have the whole "bed head" thing going, including this weird thing my hair does after I've slept on it... I end up having a part that goes half way down the back of my head, and no amount of water seems to help much, it just separates again when I'm not looking!

I was worried that having hair this short would make my bum look bigger, but I had one girl at work tell me I actually looked thinner. Maybe I should shave my head!

Well, what else have I been up to lately? Work. I really like my new job at the school, but the amount of work that needs to be done around here is eating me alive!! So what have I done to make things easier? Well, I volunteered our yard to host a "Fun Match" dog show for toy breeds on November 8th, now I need to get the yard cleaned up. I signed up for a fun Christmas apron swap over here.
I just couldn't resist this swap. I already have great fabric for my partner, and I really would love a "June Clever" type, fancy apron. Life is short, live hard.

I recently bought the iPod touch. Talk about a cool "tool". The applications that can be downloaded are helpful, educational and fun too. I can put tons of pictures on it, loads of music, books, movies. Many of the applications are free or very cheap. I have a Bible that came with several translations, this really cool shopping list thing and some seriously amusing games to keep the kids (and myself) entertained. I can even get on the internet on it and check my favorite blogs. How did I ever manage without one? lol