Plans

Roy and I just got back from spending Christmas in SC with his parents. On the way home we talked about several things we want to do. We've chatted about these things at some point or other, but we finally laid out everything we want to do around the house.

The sunroom has been a temporary storage, catch-all sort of area. We never wanted it to be that, but things happen. We are going to get some of the junk out of there and put into the garage (AKA the major storage room). We have started growing herbs and will make a table in there a little grow space. We have cilantro and chives in a little starter box. We have lemon grass, sage, and some other herbs from SC. We also have a poinsettia I am going to try to keep alive and then plant it in the spring.

In the sunroom we have a plastic conference table. It's fine for now, but a console table will replace it; the narrower table will be much better for the space. I'd also like a small chair or two out there, as the sunroom gets, well, sunny. It would be a great place to hang out and read.

In the back yard we are making a compst heap. Roy is designing it and I'm kind of just helping right now. We want to start composting everything we can. The first things in there were the decorative pumpkins and gourds! We also got a small, metal trashcan (with removable insert!) for collecting kitchen scraps. The bunnies will even help, since we can throw their litter in there!

Another 'green' thing I want to do is recycle more. We haven't recycled many paper products (although we don't have a ton) so I am going to make a point to recycle paper.

Getting off the topic of being green, Roy and I have decided to move a dresser currently in storage into the house. It will replace two table/storage things we have in the dining area. We really like this idea because it will creat more storage and will just look better. Right now we have three different things all lined up, and it just doesn't look great.

Our kitchen is pretty small, so one idea we are playing with is moving the book cases we have to separate the dining and living areas. It's just an idea right now, but we'll see. Once it is separated, the dining area would kind of become an extended kitchen prep area. This idea is still an idea, though.

So that's what's up! Fun changes. :)

Achoo?

I can't stop sneezing. Every few minutes I sneeze. It's annoying. On the bright side, I've been steadily improving since Monday. That was the worst day of my cold.

The worst thing is that I'm going to SC to my in-law's house. I hope I will be done sneezing by then.

Stuffed

Today I took a long shower. It may have been 10 minutes. For me, this is long. In general, I like to be in and out quickly; maybe I will stand there for a minute enjoying the warmth. Today was different. I have a cold or something. My head is stuffed. My nose is clogged. I took a long, hot, soothing shower. For a few minutes, I could breathe. Then I got out. A minute later, I couldn't breathe again. (Insert long sigh here.)

It's annoying being sick. I've been taking cold medicine and allergy meds for a week now. Why allergy pills? The last time I was sick it turned out to be my sinuses; this relization came after a week of cold meds not working. This time, I'm doing both. The allergy pills cleared up the pressure in my eustachian tubes, thank goodness. My nose is just going down hill. It's bothersome.

However, I can look on the bright side. A couple of people at work got the flu. I don't have that, and I am grateful.

I'd like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. I hope that you are not sick for Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

This yaer Roy and I will be spending Christmas day at his parent's house. They live about 6 hours away. Because of this, Roy and I opted to give each other our Christmas presents early and only do stockings for each other on Christmas day. I got Roy's presents a few weeks ago, and I was particularly excited about one. Roy can be very picky when it comes to gifts, but I was pretty sure he would like this.

I got him a nice long-sleeved, button up shirt from Old Navy. That's not the cool gift. The cool gift is a Lodge Cast Iron stove-top griddle. It's flat on one side and has ridges on the other. Roy likes to seek out Christmas gifts, so I wrapped this one quickly. He didn't even try to guess until we had to move the presents and he chose to move his. He wasn't sure what it was, because it's a really weird thing to hold and pretty heavy. He got that present last night, and tried to reheat pancakes on it today. It didn't work out well (it got too hot).

Roy got me camera items! He got me a remote control, which I've wanted for a while; UV, circular polarizer, and florescent filters (awesome!!), and a second battery! I'm excited. The remote control is great because you don't have to touch the camera: Perfect for long-exposure shots and pictures that you can be in. The filters are awesome and I'm excited to play with them. And who doesn't need an extra battery? Gotta love my man! PLUS I apparently have another gift coming on Monday! Woo!

Merry Christmas!

Crafty

I consider myself a creative person. I am not especially crafty, although I could be if I really wanted. For the past several years I have made homemade Christmas cards. I like doing it, because it's a fun and creative outlet and I love Christmas. In the past, I have made all the cards over winter break from college. It's the perfect time to bang out tons of cards, and cookies in between. This year I am not in college. I'm a married, working girl. I don't have the time to just make Christmas cards. So, I made about 20 for some key people: parents, grandparents, best friends. I don't have time, right now, to make enough cards for my whole family, given that I just gained half a dozen aunts and uncles through marriage. Well, there's always next year! I get the feeling that I am going to have to start way earlier, or do them in summer, or something, in order to make enough for everyone.

I realized that I have no pictorial evidence of past Christmas cards. How this happened is beyond me, but I made the point to take pictures today. Here's a handful of the cards I made.

The ribbon and simple background really stands out to me. I love the how simple and elegant it is.

I think these two are pretty modern and commercial. I love them.

Adding a fun background and those colorful beads are an easy yet awesome way to make a card.

Nothing says homemade and fun like pom-poms!

Another card I really like. I love the big star. I love doing torn edges. I love the festive background.

Do I have to send these?? Haha.

The other crafty thing I do is make presents if I have to make a bunch. This year I made penguin ornaments for my sorority family (my littles, grandlittles, and great-grandlittles). There are so many! I ahd a lot of fun making these ornaments. Sorry they are off by 90 degrees. I fail.

Happy Holidays

Whew. I'm not sure about you, but holidays can be crazy! Last week was Thanksgiving. For the first time ever I didn't attend a Thanksgiving fest; I worked. I work at a Ruby Tuesday, and every Thanksgiving our location is bombarded with Turkey Rod Run: A week-long event where hundreds of antique cars, their owners, enthusiasts, and the curious come together. Right in RT's parking lot. So, no one is supposed to take time off, because RT (and the plaza) is very busy. Well, we certainly were! I really hope we made good money; I managed to get 43 hours, so that's a start!

I did get some cool pictures from the event. Here are a few favorites.






It's my own tradition to make Christmas cards. I'm too busy to make all the normal ones I do yearly, so I'm scaling back. This week I've baked enough for a classroom of hungry teenagers, which is a delicious yet bad idea.

For Christmas we will be visiting Roy's family in SC, then going to NH in January. I'm excited! I love seeing my family.

Decorations at our house are pretty simple. For one, we don't have a lot of room for them (yeah, we have too much stuff, oh well!). Also, we don't have many decorations! We have some penguins up, I put up a garland, got some pinecones, and bought some shiney balls to put into vases. We got a four foot tall Christmas tree to decorate, as that makes the most sense for us and our space.

My stocking is above the little tree. Roy's is at his parent's house. I just realized that I have to fill it. Good heavens. I don't know what to give the boy for a gift, let alone a stocking! This will be nuts.


Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas!

Baking Extravaganza!

For me, the holiday season means friends and family, love and laughter, fun... and BAKING. I love baking. You all know this, because sometimes I write recipes here. Well, not today; just picutres. This past week I was on a baking frenzy. I made a ton of baked goods. Then yesterday, I made cheesecake (a deliciously bad idea!). I actually want to eat some now, but I made myself blog first. (Aren't you lucky!) Here's what I made:

Linzer Cookies (cookie sandwiches with jam filling)










Chocolate Chip Cookies













Toffee Cookie Bars (OH how I wish I liked toffee/milk chocolate!)









Sugar Cookies (a MUST in my family)








Koulourakias (Greek butter cookies)









Crackle-top Chocolate Balls








For my Mum I baked no-flour, no-sugar cookies, which are basically banana, walnuts, raisins, oats, and some milk. They are interesting, and really grow on you! I nice, healthy recipe to play with.