Time To Write . . .

Image by louvieciennes via flickr.

We will open the book.

Its pages are blank.

We are going to put words on them ourselves.

The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.

Edith Lovejoy Pierce

What will you write in your book this year?  I’m busy contemplating what I’d like to accomplish this year as a mom, a wife, a daughter, a friend, a writer.  Lots to improve.  Lots to change.  Some things to remain the same.  Isn’t it great that we are beings capable of change?

Happy New Year friends.

My 2010 Top Ten . . .

S is for suckage.

It seems there’s a blogging phenomenon going on right now.  Something about doing a ‘year in review’ or ‘top ten favorite posts’ type of thing.  The idea appeals to my obsessive compulsive anal control freak list making mentality, so I started thinking about ideas a few days ago.  And after much contemplation, this is what I came up with:

The Dragonfly’s Epic Fails of 2010

10.  Weekly Date Night With The Hubby.  Even with an eligible built-in baby sitter, I just wasn’t able to pull this one off.  Too many other commitments for both of us and our kids.  But in good news, we did end up falling asleep together on the couch with the TV on at least 32 times this year.

9. Weekly Phone Call To Best Friend In Utah.  Our phone messages to one another play out back and forth like some sick joke: “I thought I’d catch you at home right now. I guess you’re busy.  I’m out running errands and then have piano and basketball and dance and violin and tennis and the play and scouts and activity days to drive to right after school.  Try to call me at 4:53:22 for a quick thirty second review of my crazy life.” And on and on. You know who you are friend.  I am determined to do better this year.

8.  Daily Scripture Study With Family.  Actually, this isn’t so much an epic fail as a weekend fail.  We are rocking the Monday through Friday reading.  On the weekends we are 0 for 52.  Sad.

7.  Basement Re-do. I had some serious energy around May and June.  I got the whole front room painted.  Then the Hubby helped me clad it in board and batten.  We got a new couch and bookshelves and I refinished the TV piece. Then I ran out of energy.  Which is really uncool seeing as how the playroom has been taped off for painting for almost four months now.  I don’t even notice it anymore. Crikey.

6.  Exercise.  This could really be number one.  A year ago I was six months post baby and ready to rid myself of the many jiggly parts gracing my body.  I did walk a few times around the neighborhood with Ollie in a stroller.  And there was that time for a week when Jillian Michaels kicked my butt on DVD.  But then I got tired.  So I stopped.  Lame.

5. Drinking Lots of Water.  After joining my sister-in-law’s healthy living blog, I was really doing great at this. I’m not going to lie - I had to pee a lot, but my skin looked great and I felt really good! After about three months however, the thought of drinking another ounce of water made me want to cry (which I could do because I was properly hydrated!)  I recently got a chewing out by my doctor for not drinking enough, so I’m back on the H20 bandwagon.  Yay.

4. Monthly Blog Giveaways. My intentions were good.  And I did manage to pull together giveaways for January, February, March, April, July, October and December.  But those other five months? Well, you deserve more. Sorry.

3. Clean Bathrooms.  My goal was every Saturday.  The reality was that I cleaned them (or had my minnions ‘clean’ them) when I couldn’t stand to see things growing in the toilets any longer.  I have come to the brilliant epiphany that I really hate this job above all other household duties.  Wanna come be my maid?  Email me.

2. Learn to do cool things with Edward. If you’re not in the know, Edward is my camera. And though I said I was going to go through the manual and figure out all the awesome possibilities, I did not.  I did have a few quick lessons from my Photobro, but I’m learning challenged and quickly forget what he taught me. Stupid me.

1.  My Photoblog. Could there be a bigger disaster?  I think not.  I was inspired by my friend Lee who has successfully accomplished a photo a day for a year two years in a row.  And after doing a family photo each weekend last year I felt like I needed to up my game.  But it was not to be. I missed out on a full one third of the year – the majority of it happening since November.  I could blame the whole birthday – Thanksgiving – birthday – Christmas thing, but really, I just got overwhelmed after missing a week of photos.  It became like my ironing pile, growing bigger and bigger until I couldn’t face it. So, I’m working on a different angle for next year – something more doable for a girl like me.

Wow. That is a long list of failures.  But strangely, I feel better having publicly outed them.  Hmmm. . . Anyone else want to share today?

Goings On . . .

Here’s a bit of what’s happening at my house today:

Some wake up happy, others wake up grumpy.

Did you make our Wall of Fame this year?  If so, Ollie has surely ripped your card down at least twice.

Playing catch up while staying home ALL WEEK. (Sigh)

Laundry, you are my nemesis and must be destroyed.

Our Christmas book collection has outgrown its box.

This toy was made to torture parents.

Although when he’s wielding it, it is kinda cute, unlike that nasty forehead gash courtesy of a trip into an armoir corner. Ouch.

Happy Wednesday. 

In The Kitchen . . .

This is what Ollie got for Christmas.  We tried to find the least girly looking kitchen around. It’s small enough to fit in his room but has lots of fun features.

He’s been very busy washing dishes, cooking up delicious meals for us and doing laundry in the little washing machine on the side. 

I’m busy doing the same, but for reals.

From Christmas . . .

Just some goings on around here from the past few days.

Merry Christmas 2010 . . .

Photograph by Sue Richardson

From our family to yours, a Merry and Bright Christmas filled with love, laughter, family and friends.

Samantha

Play More, Blog Less . . .

{Jennie & Ollie baking Gingerbread Boys.}

There are only two more days until Christmas. We’ve got lots of plans. Today we will ice skate and go see a movie.  We will eat delicious soup and have hot cocoa with homemade marshmallows on top. Today we will wrap the last of the presents and place them under the tree. Today we will laugh really hard and maybe even cry a little.

There seems to be a general consensus that it’s time to blog less, read blogs less, be with family more and play more, so I’ll be posting the briefest of brief through the rest of the holidays. 

Look for a family greeting tomorrow.  Merry, Merry!

And They’re Off . . .

The kids just left for their last day of school before the Christmas break, armed with homemade caramels for all their teachers to enjoy, each box tied up in twine with a merry greeting. Have I mentioned we’re addicted to the caramels? Dangit.

Meanwhile, I’m going to spend the last day tying up all the loose ends while accompanied by my friend Jennie who is with us for Christmas all the way from California.

As we were crafting, wrapping and laughing hysterically yesterday Hannie B. commented, “Mom, I can’t remember you being this lively.” It’s true.  Jennie brings out the best in everyone.

Are you ready for Christmas?  Do you have a million things left to do? It’s definitely down to the wire here. On my list today:

• Buy one last present for a certain boy who insists on wearing the same pair of sweats every day.
• Make ANOTHER batch of caramels to take to my sis-in-laws annual cookie exchange party tonight.
• Bake Jennie’s Gingerbread Boys.
• Go get Jennie professionally fitted for some awesome running shoes.
• Hit the Target for last minute stocking stuffers, food items and the like.
• Open the mailbox to find oodles of Christmas cards.
• Call my sister Melissa for a needed phone chat.
• Make Corn and Leek Chowder for dinner.
• Make arrangements to go ice skating tomorrow. {Jennie is a pro and brought her own skates.}
• Keep my fingers crossed that it really is going to snow on Christmas day like the forecast is predicting.

Here’s hoping you are getting it all done and remaining in a jolly mood where ever you are!

Thrifted: Old Sweaters Into Stockings . . .

Remember how I purged my Christmas decorations of red?  Well, that meant selling six Pottery Barn stockings in a garage sale this summer.  I’ve combed the stores looking for knit stockings with that vintage homemade look. Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot out there unless I want to spend a whole lot of money. Which doesn’t exactly bode well with my cheap mentality.

So I did what I do best – I hit the thrift store on half off clothing day.  I ended up with four sweaters for $1.50 each in the colors I like for Christmas – greens, blues and browns.  That, my friends, is a SERIOUS BARGAIN.  You should have seen the look on the little old worker lady’s face when I told her I was going to cut up some perfectly good sweaters to make stockings.  She could not comprehend it.

Here’s what I did {sorry for the bad lighting – it was late at night}. I hand drew a stocking pattern. Then using the hem of the sweater as the stocking opening, I cut out a front and back from the existing sweater. Since the hem of the sweater is already finished, it will not unravel and makes a perfect stocking top.

Next I pinned the two pieces together with the wrong sides facing out and ran it around the edges {except the top opening, of course} with my sewing machine.  I used any spare hem to make a loop for hanging the stockings.  And a final step  before turning the stockings right side out was to drive over to my mom’s to have her run the sewn edges through her serger to prevent fraying.

Now my kids have fun, vintage sweater stockings. I still have to find two more sweaters for the Hubby and myself, but I’m out of time until after Christmas.

What do you think? Am I crazy? Or are these stockings awesome?

Dressing Up For The Holidays . . .

This weekend was the Hubby’s work Christmas party. Okay, they called it a Holiday Party, but I changed the name.  I had nothing fancy to wear so I put on my trusty LBD and a black cardi, added a sparkly gemstone headband and some purple tights {yes, mom, purple} and threw on the highest black heels I own.  It all worked until the DJ manipulated the Hubby, me and 40 other co-workers and their dates into doing two ridiculous line dances in front of the other 200 people. My feet were screaming at me to stop!

Anyway, wanna see what else is getting dressed up around here for Christmas? Have a look:

My girl Hannie B. all dressed up for the choir concert at school. She is growing up and I need it to end immediately.

This bottle of sparkling pomegranite apple juice, a little gift for a wedding anniversary, got dressed up in an old sweater sleeve and some ribbon.  I’ve been collecting old sweaters for a project I’ll share tomorrow.  I had to come up with some way to use all the leftover sleeves, and a little bottle warming sweater seemed like the right thing to do, being I’m so green and all.

My kitchen is all gussied up too.  Can’t you tell?  This is my daily reality. Forget what you see in pictures on this blog. This is what it’s really like during the Christmas season – messes everywhere and no way to stop it!

Just keepin’ it real folks.  Hope your Monday is off to a good start! I’ll be making more caramels {for teachers}, cleaning up the messy house to get ready for a special guest coming tonight, and crafting some lapel flowers.  What are you up to?

And The Winner Is . . .

Aiketa! {Hope you don’t mind if I borrowed your photo}

Have you ever hoped for something and then it immediately happened?  After I put all the names – many twice, so thanks for ‘following’ – into a bowl I said in my head “Please let it be Aiketa.” Then I stirred the names around two or three times and pulled one out. It was Aiketa. So, sweet Aiketa, I hope you have a Merry, Merry Christmas.  You have constantly commented on my blog from all the way over in Spain making me feel like I am connected to a part of the world I may otherwise never know and I am grateful. Please email me your address so I can send you some warm goodies.

PS. Is it even cold in Spain this time of year?

Neighbor Gift 2010 . . .

Do you do neighbor gifts at Christmas? We have since we moved here seven years ago.  Though we are close with several of neighbors, this is the one time of year we reach out to more of the families on our street to let them know we’re thinking of them and grateful they make up our community.

Usually a neighbor gift involves me making mass quantities of something, like The Ginger Snaps or Cinnamon Rolls, which we take door to door while singing carols as a family. It might be considered borderline obnoxious since the Hubby and I can’t sing, but oh well. 

This year some of the people we’re sharing with have dietary restrictions so I decided to do something easy that would fill our neighbor’s homes with the delicious smell of Christmas: a simmering potpourri.

You’re looking at the ingredients right here – a whole orange, a fourth of a cup of fresh cranberries and one heaping tablespoon each of whole cloves and cinnamon sticks.  Like I said, EASY!

After searching around locally for bulk cinnamon and whole cloves, {which were ridiculously priced} I found an online retailer up in  Pennsylvania with really reasonable prices. Oranges and cranberries were purchased in bulk from Costco.  Not only is this gift easy to put together, it is also easy on the wallet!

We assembled all the bags, attached instructions and a festive ribbon, and now our neighbors can enjoy the heavenly smell of Christmas for up to two weeks.

I wish I could send one to each and every one of you.  Instead, I’m going to give you free stuff! So don’t forget to enter the December Giveaway.  It closes tonight at 5 PM EST.  I’ll announce the winner tomorrow so I can get the package in the mail pronto! So check in tomorrow to see if you’re the lucky winner.  Happy Friday!

Edited to add: The directions read as follows:

Quarter the orange.  Place with all other ingredients in a small saucepan. Fill with water and simmer on low. Enjoy the smell of Christmas! Refill water as needed. Will last for one to two weeks.

A Green Christmas . . .

On a normal day I’m able to send my kids off to school, feed my little Owlie boy and sit down at the computer for a few minutes to write.  Today has not been a normal day.

Hannie B. had a solo in the 5th Grade Choir concert at 8:30 this morning, so I had to be showered and ready to go with baby bathed and ready to go at 8:00. Then I had a meeting for church that was full of laughter and cookies and delicious candles as gifts. During that meeting it began to snow.  And then the phone call came from school to say the kids would be let out two hours early due to poor road conditions. I had to race home from my meeting to beat the kids to the door. Hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls were in order for snack followed by quizzing for tomorrow’s spelling tests.

And now here I am blogging in the middle of the day, feeling a little out of sorts because ideas tend to pile up in a jumble in my brain if I don’t get them out. 

The title of this post may lead you to believe that I am going to save the planet one Christmas at a time.  Not so. It actually refers to the dominant color in our décor for the holidays.  Two years ago I rid my Christmas of red.  I know, I know. Call me a Scrooge. Whatever.  It’s just that there really isn’t any red in my house and it felt rather garish with the creams, greens and blues I already had in my home. 

Now I use mostly green, gold, silver and some browns and blues in my Christmas decorations and they seem more like a natural extension of our home instead of something I just slapped up randomly. Here are a few photos of our Christmas bedecked home.

Magnolia branches are courtesy of a great neighbor.  The beautiful Santa was made by the same talented woman that made my wedding dress. And the rest of the décor is either from Target, Wal-Mart or thrift stores!

Have you entered the December Giveaway yet?  It closes at 5 PM EST tomorrow! Just leave a comment on the giveaway post and get an extra entry by following my blog.

Oh Momma . . .

I think it is safe to say that for me food and the holidays are intrinsically connected. So many of my happy memories at this time to year are tied to a smell, like cinnamon and cloves, or a texture, like the crunch of a cookie.  What does it mean? It means that during the holidays, I eat.  And I cook. And I share. And I eat some more.  It’s pretty much fantastic.

Remember when I said candy making is tricky stuff? Imagine how I felt when a friend showed up on my doorstep this week with a box of chocolates. All handmade. By. HER.  She had just told me a week ago about her mother who was desperately in need of a job years ago and had walked into a chocolate factory and lied to the manager about her knowledge of chocolate making.  She knew nothing but told him she knew how to do it all. Then she went home and prayed to God to help her figure it out so she could keep the job so she could support her family. WOW. What a brave woman.

In time, mother passed her knowledge to daughter and both were able to claim the title of chocolatier. Then one day that daughter passed the fruits of her labor on to me.  And I could not be more grateful, not just because I got the box of beautiful {and help me momma, so delicious} chocolate, but also because I got to hear the amazing story.

Need a closer look? Here ya go:

My favorite was the almond pecan toffee {middle, far left}.

Hubby’s favorite was the turtle {right above the blue wrapper}.

But really, it was all so, so good.  Yes, I said was. Because all of the chocolates have been eaten. In two days. The holidays rock.

Thanks Angie.

PS. Don’t forget to enter the December giveaway before Friday at 5 PM EST!

PPS. Holy Cow. My first born became a teenager today. I am speechless.

December Giveaway . . .

It is cold here. Like 5 degrees. And I know, I know, some of you live in places like Minnesota and Montana, and it is even colder where you are.  But for Virginia, this is the kind of cold that brings tears to my eyes and has me running for my hot chocolate, heated blanket and fleece pajamas every night.

Whether it’s cold or not where you are, I wanted to send a little warmth somebody’s way. Here are a few things I rely on in the coldest months of the year:

1. A Good Smelling Candle. There is something about a candle that warms my soul.  Maybe it’s that one tiny flame can chase darkness from a room.  Maybe it’s the romantic mood it creates. Maybe it’s that I like things smelling good. This candle is in  a gorgeous Anthro-esque tin and is sure to bring a tasty aroma to your home.

2. Herbal Tea.  I’m not a huge tea drinker. I’m more of a cocoa girl myself. But when I saw this Candy Cane herbal tea I had to have it.  It is perfect for a chilly night in December or to sooth a sore throat. Make it up for you kids.  They’ll love the polar bears frolicking on the front of the box. Don’t have kids?  Make it up for yourself and dip a Christmas cookie in it.

3. Socks. Okay, it’s time I come clear about something.  I have a little sock addiction.  More directly stated, I have a fuzzy sock addiction.  Have you tried fuzzy socks yet?  They are a cold girl’s dream come true.  I am notorious for having cold feet. All. The. Time. But fuzzy socks are helping me overcome my chilly appendages one night at a time.  I wander around the house in them from about 8 – 11 PM and then climb right into my bed with them on too.  The Hubby is oh-so-grateful that his legs are no longer my warming posts. And you need a pair of knee socks too.  Because they’re all the rage right now and look cute with a denim skirt or paired with some hip riding boots.

4. And lastly, I’m throwing in some of these bad boys. Because one of the things I love about Christmas is food.  And one of the things I also love is feeling supported by those who read this blog. So I’m going to marry those two loves together in a perfect blend of caramely goodness. You + caramels = happy me.

So, if you’re needing a little warmth in your life, and let’s face it, who isn’t, then you’ll need to leave a comment on this post telling me about your favorite holiday tradition, either from your childhood or current family situation.  For an extra giveaway entry, become a ‘follower’ of my blog by clicking on the little ‘follow’ sign to the right with a rainbow colored G on it.  Don’t have a Google account? It’s as simple as can be! When you click on the ‘follow’ button it will give you an option to open a new Google account.

I’ll close the comments at 5 PM EST on Friday and announce a winner Saturday morning so I can get the package in the mail.

I hope you’re staying toasty and warm where ever you are.

Why I Love My Town . . .

There are lots of things I love about living in a small town - the parade on the 4th of July, the Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving, the historic district filled with old shops in our downtown. And Santa on a fire truck.

It was Ollie’s first year.  We bundled him up and waited on the front porch once we heard the sirens wailing in our neighborhood. Hannie B. was ready too, dressed up like a minky blanky Mary despite recent confusion by discussions with classmates about the reality of the Big Guy in Red.

And then quicker than we could name all the reindeeer, it was time.  The lights and sound turned onto our street.  Ollie began to Ooh and Aah while Hannie B. and RedDog jumped up and down waving their arms.

Before we knew it Santa {who brought a reindeer AND Frosty along this year} had gone by in a flash of red too fast to be caught on film, leaving the kids with huge grins on their faces.

Man, I love my town.

Does Santa do a drive by in your town?

Edited to add: Santa drives down every street, in every neighborhood of our town over two weekends.  He rocks.

Paying The Price . . .

It has long been a dream of mine to make candy at Christmas.  Specifically the English toffee, peanut brittle and caramels that my Aunt Linda has sent our family for as long as I can remember. The stuff is divine.

Candy making is tricky stuff.  It involves complicated equipment like thermometers and temperatures that MUST be adhered to. And it has its own language like ‘hardball stage’ and ‘softball stage’. For years my fear of failure has been my undoing and instead of trying I have humbly driven to The Queen’s house to beg for some of Aunt Linda’s delicious candy.

Yeah, I’m that lame.

Yesterday I decided NO MORE!  Since the plague seems to have hit our home and I had another kid home sick yesterday, I was determined to conquer caramels in my homebound state. It took me three tries, but I’m happy to report that I did it. I made homemade caramels and I am in love.

I used this recipe from Emily over at Jones Design Company. She had me at sea salt.  She was kind enough to email me after my first batch boiled over and was ruined forever. I like that girl Emily. She’s got class, style and good caramel recipes. Check her out here.

A warning to anyone who wants to attempt this recipe:  you should use the biggest sauce pan you own.  My failure the first and second times was due to too small of pans.  Both boiled over and consequently I was forced to spend over an hour cleaning this:

{Sadly, this picture was taken after I’d already pried off half of the hardened, burnt sugary mess.}

My December giveaway is coming on Monday and I believe some homemade caramels will be included.  Are you in?