this could take all day

Have you met my friend Sasha?

 

She goes by "Lemonade Makin' Mama" on ye old internets, but I feel fortunate enough to know her in real life. We met back in the day in Bellingham when I worked in children's ministry and her family attended our church. I fell in love with her creativity and talent when she volunteer to coordinate decorations for Vacation Bible Camp. And I fell in love with her dear spirit as we become closer friends through the book club she started.

Her blog is absolutely delightful. Filled with creative crafts, decorating ideas, and stories, whenever she writes I seriously feel like I'm just sitting on her couch laughing at another one of her antics. It's no wonder that she's been blogging for just about a year and has a million (or so it seems) followers already. She is charming people all over this world-wide-web of ours in ways my little blog only dreams of.

She's also giving something gorgeous away this week. So really, go visit. Enter her drawing. And tell her I sent ya. (Maybe that will up my ju-ju for winning!)

December 23

Before tucking her into bed we watched her cousins dance as elves, and had a visit with Santa Clause. Yea internet!

rethinking the holidays: Christmas Cards

Every year I love making Christmas cards. I start dreaming about the design in November, and can't wait to shop for just the right papers. This year my design even required the purchasing of a new tool!

And then my husband needed to get his wisdom teeth removed, and our already tight budget became a little tighter. Something had to go.

So we made a compromise and I'm pretty happy with the results.

I found a link to some free beautiful holiday cards. I simply inserted a great family photo taken last month at Anne's wedding (yea for not having a stage a special photo shoot!) and then uploaded to scrapbookpictures.com. (My favorite place for color. Costco is my favorite spot for ease, but I had some time.) I ordered the 5x7 size and hit Paperzone for some matching envelopes. I'll share the finished product with you soon, but here's the card we picked.

Another free download and I had a nice sentiment to print out and glue to the back of each photo.

And our annual Christmas Top Ten letter will be a blog post appearing in a day or too right here. Saving money by adding a link in the card, rather than printing out 50 newsletters.

Can't wait to get them in the mail tomorrow!

dodge vs. kodak

Have you seen this hilarious video properly titled What Old People Do When They Get Bored?

Well, my parents (who I might clarify are not yet old) have taken to making some fun of their own.

My favorite part is my mom's helmet and gloves!

some thoughts on pregnancy & babies

for all my pregnant friends out there (including Becca, Jen & Rae)

something funny first

then something philosophical

(And those of you not pregnant, feel free to enjoy as well. Although, you'll probably have to be a Mom to really appreciate them.)

follow up

So this post not too long ago sparked some controversy in the comments. I sure didn't see that coming!

And, of course, today I find the site I was looking for. It's called edivvy.com and it allows folks to chip in for gifts. They can even use their credit cards for payment. And all chipper-inners are included for the recipient to thank.

I knew such a concept existed! And they even have a stroller section!

So there you have it next time you need it.

still sick

Today is Saturday. Darin's off with Daisy buying a new camera lens!!!! (Yea for Craig's list which sold Darin's one-man tent [not sure why he was still holding on to that thing] in order to purchase this lens.) And I'm still at home. Still resting. Still hoping I'll be getting better soon.

I went to the walk-in clinic yesterday because I couldn't get in to see my doctor. Darin joked as we were watching Daisy play in the waiting room that it likely would take just as long to get in to see the doctor there as it would if I had an appointment at my regular clinic. Yeah, let's just say they don't have the greatest track record of getting to us at the appointment time.

Doctor took a strep culture and looked in all my orifices. Yup, just a rotten cold. Made even rotten-er by the fact that I'm pregnant and can't take the good stuff. Sudafed doesn't seem to be doing anything to help, so I'm just using the tylenol to keep the throat and ear pain at bay. And my symptoms are changing, so I'm still hoping this darn thing is on its way out.

Pray for my family. I'd hate to see Daisy get this funk. And Darin too, but he could probably manage better.

Just so this post isn't all pity-party, I'll share a couple of recommendations with you.

Last night we watched Son Of Rambow and both gave it two thumbs up. A sweet adult film about kids (tough to do I think) with great humor and a really touching story. I think it will appeal to lots of different kinds of people. (And if you have older kids, it might be a great film to watch as a family. Could spark some really interesting discussions about friendship and creativity.)

Old Navy is having their baby sale! Too bad my new nephew has more clothes than he'll ever need.

Lastly, I wrote a couple of book recommendations on the blog of my much missed Bellingham book club.

Hope your weekend is better than mine!

The Twilight Before Christmas

For my sisters, and Miss Molly.

today's favorite finds

Today my friend Stacy and I had the pleasure of taking Daisy with us and enjoying a local holiday bazaar. I love going to these things and finding unique treasures and gifts, as does Stacy, and our husbands Do Not. So they were more than happy we went without them.

I found a couple lovely and creative things I wanted to share with you.

My favorite booth of the day was "Softoys". I recognized some of their toys from our library play bin and I just think they are the coolest. Plus they are hand made and machine washable! I ended up purchasing a soft nativity set (which Daisy played with for quite a while tonight) and a Christmas surprise for Mr. Sam, but I wished I could have walked away with one of each of their products.

Here is their ABC block that we've played with at the library, and I also adore the Bed Time Book and the Safari Set. Seriously, if you have small children on your Christmas list, you MUST check this stuff out.

 

Just down from the toys was the Maiden America booth and I just LOVE their non-slip barrettes. They've got this cool suede on them and they actually stay put in fine toddler hair. They have so many adorable sizes and styles (we have a few already) and I'm just kicking myself for not buying a new one there for Daisy's stocking.

 

Lastly, Stacy bought a really cool cheese tray from this artist at Edge Expressions. He melts down wine bottles, adding extra glass for color, and they are just beautiful. He includes a little hanger on the top so they can be function art in your kitchen as well. With a brick of cheese and a bottle of wine, I think this package is going to be the hit of the gift exchange Stacy's attending.

 

I also bought some delicious scented candles and saw some lovely jewelery that I wished I could buy for myself or for some folks on my list (just a little out of the agreed-upon-spending-limit). Stacy and I enjoyed a wonderful lunch and Daisy was an angel. I can't wait to do it again next year! (Or next week!)

free photo book

I was thinking about making a photo book or two for Christmas presents this year. So when I heard about THIS offer from Oprah for a free Snapfish 8.5x11" book, I jumped on getting it done before I left this weekend.

You can make a free book too. It's pretty easy to do, although took me a couple hours due to delays (lots of people are taking advantage of this offer, I'm sure). You have until tonight at 12:00 pst to reedem the coupon, and until Sunday to actually place your order. And if you already have a snapfish account, make sure you're logged out before you click the link.

Have fun!

really cool project

Stumbled upon this project, a project of reconciliation and hope after such a tumultuous election cycle.

From the website:

Considering that our differences are real and based on deep, unwaivering convictions, it can be hard to imagine that reconciliation is possible, or what it might look like if it is. We can hope that our government tackles this problem responsibly, but we also have to decide how to treat each other as individuals, as neighbors, and as citizens.

The photos in this project are small gestures of reconciliation from ordinary people: from McCain supporters, from Obama supporters and from those who voted for a Third party. Perhaps this is a start. The fringes have dominated our political discourse for too long.

A few of my favorite images:

   

 

   

for Jen

"He is like a mounty...He always gets his man"

Saturday post

So our external hard-drive is currently out of commission. Which means all the cute photos I've taken this week to share with you will have to wait another day. I'll definitely be shooting some more this weekend, as a trip to the Pumpkin Patch is in our future.

Until then, how about a link to a video that had Darin and I rolling last night?

Happy Weekend!

Friday Funnies

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

happiness

Can't leave that sad post up for too long. So how about a new video that makes me tingly all the way down to my toes. I'm very impressed at the coordination it took to pull this off.

The dad-in-law part is the BEST.

Greatest Man of Honor Speech EVER! - Watch more free videos

Now Darin and I are already talking about me getting involved in a show this fall. Yipee!

keep the romance alive!

Remember the power of a good mix tape? The power is back baby!

Look!

We made it on the ikea hacker blog!

contemplating marriage?

Charles Darwin's works are now all online for public access. Not a site I'm all that interested in exploring (there's hardly a scienc-y bone in my body), but I did enjoy hearing about his marriage "pro/con" list on the radio this morning. So I tracked it down for you. Try to read it without a chuckle or giggle. (And Darwin, it's probably more "nagging" than "chit-chat"!)

movie choices

I haven't been around the 'ole work blog lately, but I put some time into today's entry and thought it might be helpful to you guys here too.

a new reaction to screaming children

Heather puts it perfectly here.