making Valentines

The weekends go fast don't they? After church yesterday we had some people over for lunch (which included jerk chicken). After sunset my husband went out to get a few things and I requested ice cream (didn't I just say something about healthy snacks?)
Well I ate a bowl of rocky road last night as I surfed the web, then I knitted a little and finally went to bed. This morning the girls were telling me that we needed to go to the store today to pick up their Valentine cards for their school parties tomorrow, but I suggested that we make some cards instead. I have a stash of stuff, paper wise, that needs to be put to use- so today we did some cutting, gluing, and a little stamping~

making cards, originally uploaded by *nichole*.

cut-out, originally uploaded by *nichole*
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making cards, originally uploaded by *nichole*.

making cards, originally uploaded by *nichole*.

now we just need to add candy to the cards, wonder if I have a stash of that around? (does extra dark chocolate count, I don't know since its full of anti-oxidants and all:)

hanging out

~perler beads

~making a star

~basket by the couch

We've been hanging out at home these last couple of days, just relaxing-eating easy meals. Next week we will be back to our regular schedule plus I will be starting Master Gardening classes. The class meets once a week (for about three months) and will cover all aspects of botany, horticulture, and other key aspects of gardening. I'm excited about this class and hopefully can keep up with the weekly reading and class work, but really I think this challenge will be a good one for me. In the meantime we'll enjoy the last few days of just hanging out at home, being lazy, and bringing in the New Year.

Happy New Year!

makin' something for Christmas

Remember this post, about wanting to make small knitted gifts for the family? Well I got around to it and knitted these for the girls~

slippers, originally uploaded by *nichole*.

The pattern is found in Knit Simple.I like to think of them as "peppermint slippers" because of course they are colors of peppermints. For my youngest daughter I used smaller needles and decreased the number of rounds knitted-also a crocheted draw sting was also added so that the fit could be a bit more snug. The girls tell me that the slippers are cozy, which of course makes me happy.

I also did a little sewing for the small pillows on the couch~

patchwork style, my seaming could have been a bit more precise, but I still think they add a colorful touch to the living area.

In the kitchen~

Swedish fruitcake, originally uploaded by *nichole*.

fruitcake-Swedish style, I made this last year-I love it, it's light and not as dense as the traditional fruitcake. I didn't have all the dried fruit that was listed in the recipe, so I just used what dried fruit I had in the cupboard, which included dried cranberries, dried apricots, candied ginger, and raisins.

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to all the new possibilities of the New Year.

festive lights

Two days till Christmas! I could ask how did that happen, but really what's the point now, I still need a tree! The girls are out of school and have been getting their fill of the Wii and computer games. Today however, they took a little time out from all that electronic entertainment to do a little crafting with me~

~recycled glass jars and tissue paper


~tissue papers all cut up (into strips and squares) and put through a gluey water bath


~strips of tissue paper placed on jars, overlapping the tissue paper is a good things! Smooth papers down along countour of the glass.


~Allow the tissue paper to dry completely (which most likely will take overnight or longer). For extra shine add a extra coat of Modge Podge, and let jars dry again. Add a small candle or a flamless tea light (which is what I used for these jars) and now you have a festive candle display.

Happy Christmas Eve Eve!

Sunday talk

small house, originally uploaded by *nichole*.

well lets see what we did this Sunday~

~realized that making my bed at the beginning of the day gives me the feeling that the rest of the day may possibly be organized, (possibly of course is the key word).

~got a little more Christmas decorating done, however I'm looking for a particular set of ornaments that I just can't find- maybe I'll continue the search tomorrow.

~did some knitting while watching football, the 49er's beat the Seahawks!

~ate waffles for dinner, including some curry onion waffles made by my hubby.

~washed and twisted my youngest daughter's hair-the tangles were aided by this product, so glad I found it at the local co-op.

~got some of these water globes for my plants from Ross. In all actuality I think they are a little silly, but I like the colors of the globes and they were of sale, I mean deep discount.

~realized that tomorrow needs to be my down day, because the rest of the week is going to be hectic-tutoring,piano practices, school Christmas play (two performances in the same day), church Christmas program, and some baking to do (or maybe buying-just depends).

The busyness of this time of year can catch me up in a whirlwind, but really this year my perspective is that what gets done will get done and what doesn't, doesn't- (or it can wait) because in the grand scheme of things I know I should be focusing on my loved ones and not on my expectations of what the "right" holiday should entail. Letting go (which isn't necessarily easy for me and my control freak tendencies) is perhaps the biggest gift we can give to ourselves and to others.

bringing in Christmas color with plants

forcing paperwhites, originally uploaded by *nichole*.

Christmas cactus, originally uploaded by *nichole*.

poinsettia, originally uploaded by *nichole*.

These plants really brighten my day, especially when most days are a bit rainy and chilly. Hope you are finding ways to brighten your winter days as well.
Have a great weekend!

Three years of celebrating Advent

We have been officially celebrating Advent for three years now, in which I have actually put together a calendar for the family. Now today as I meet December 1st, I'm totally unprepared. Ideas have been floating in my head, but nothing is sticking. I think I may use the same calendar from last year, with a couple adjustments (gotta look in some more boxes). The holiday season finds me at this moment in not such a festive mood, but I've got Christmas music in my car, on my i-pod so hopefully the cheer of the season will get to me soon!
In the mean time I thought I would share with you our Advent calendars/crafts from the three past years~

2007

Advent Calendar, originally uploaded by *nichole*.

I think I purchased most of the materials of this calendar from Hobby Lobby. I glued those wooden stars on that felt material (glue gun, love) and wrote the dates on the wooden stars with a marker-very homey!

2008

Advent calendar 2008, originally uploaded by *nichole*.

What I like most about this calendar are the girls drawings and the wooden clothespins that we generously dipped in glitter.

2009

Advent Calendar 2009, originally uploaded by *nichole*.

The story behind this calendar is here.

Crafts we've enjoyed doing....

for the tree (eventually), originally uploaded by *nichole*.

Button wreath, originally uploaded by *nichole*.

popsicle sticks, construction paper, glue, beads, buttons, random pieces of fabric makes for great Christmas crafting.

Tell me what are you crafting, making, cooking up for this holiday season?
Happy first day of Advent!

this evening

Our Monday night consisted of the usual-homework, dinner (squash soup with turkey salad sandwiches-yes still eating turkey), showers and chores.
I did however find a couple of moments to sit on the couch to look at a Josh Groban dvd (checked out from the library), knit a few rows-really just a few, and browse thru a couple of magazines~


~aren't these slippers so festive, maybe I could knit two pair, for the girls knitted gifts




~look at those cute animals and owls!


Josh on stage singing (I'm kinda silly to take a picture of my tv :)



~ribbed hat in progress, can you see my copy of MSL magazine peeking in there? I somehow just can't resist her Christmas/Holiday issues


~sweater, coming along slowly

so from now until Christmas, I'll get in one stitch at a time (hopefully more) whenever I can, wherever I can-because realistically I'm no jack rabbit when it comes to knitting, I'm more of a "tortoise" speed (perhaps tortoise and speed shouldn't be in the same sentence, huh?)
Have a wonderful evening!

giving thanks

~making biscuits



~pear bundt cake,recipe in this book


I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving day. Although we didn't make it out to visit our extended family (on the East Coast and in the South), we had a nice time with new friends. Really I have so much to be thankful for, and I want to embrace this thankfulness not only on Thanksgiving, but daily.

I'm not looking to do any major shopping today (I may go to Jo-Ann's and Borders, and we need two bedside table lamps (maybe shop online for the lamps) but that's about it. After viewing this it really puts in perspective about how we engage in the consumerism cycle (and I find it amazing that Thanksgiving is now so closely associated with Black Friday). Lots of times I think all of these "new gadgets" keep us conveniently distracted-distracted from others and mostly from ourselves. Now don't get me wrong I think technology can be a good thing-in small doses. Just the other day we were all home- I was sitting on the couch looking at television with my youngest daughter, my oldest daughter was upstairs on the computer, and my husband was downstairs on his computer. We were all home, together-but really were we together? Something for me to think about.

On to other things, I have an ambitious plan of knitting something for my husband and my girls for Christmas. Right now I'm working on a ribbed hat for my husband, I haven't decided exactly what I'm going to knit for the girls yet. These knits are not going to be long and involved-just things that are short and sweet.
So hopefully today I'll get some knitting in and then tonight we are going to our towns Christmas Parade.

Have a delightful weekend, and enjoy the leftovers!

Advent-days 21, 22, 23, 24~in pictures

~Christmas cookies decorated with friends



~table garland made


~pumpkin pie ready for oven


~plaintains chopped, ready for frying


~brussel sprouts prepared for Christmas Eve dinner


Have a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Advent-weekend 18, 19, and 20

small felt balls, originally uploaded by *nichole*.

This past weekend we attended church and stayed close to home-and that's about it really. We looked at Charlie Brown Christmas on Saturday night-which I absolutely love. One of our Advent readings this weekend was from Revelation 21:1-7. My favorite verse from this passage is"Anyone who is thirsty may drink from the spring of the water of life. It doesn't cost anything" verse 6.
For Advent craft/gifts the girls and I made some felt balls and then the following evening they received a blank journal.
My candy making skills have been lacking lately. I have made two batches of toffee so far and both have been off. The first one was a bit salty-the second batch overheated and has a faint burnt taste. Last year I was on a roll with the toffee, so I'm a bit bummed out I'm having so much trouble with it this year. I even went out and got myself a new candy thermometer. I'm not deterred yet, but I am getting a little tired of not maximizing the loveliness of so much sugar and butter together-I won't give up, at least not yet (:

Advent-day 16 and 17

I feel like we have been all over the place this week-here, there, then here and there again. I'm so glad it's the weekend and we have a little down time. The girls had there Christmas parties at school today-they did secret gift exchanges which was alot of fun. The busyness of the week has lead to the kids falling to sleep particularly early (Wednesday). We did get our Advent reading after we got home from our dance class last evening (I'm joining the girls once a week in a dance class, they're naturals, me-not so much). Our devotional reading was from Isaiah 9:2-7, which discusses the coming of the Son. After the reading the girls each received a small puzzle.
My weekend plans include making some toffee and baking cinnamon cookies as well as finishing up some gifts. In my closet of ufo's I found a scarf I was working on a while back, so I'm going to finish it up to give as a gift. I knew those ufo's would come in handy.

~the scarf, now in progress


~our Christmas stockings


~lots of twine for gift wrapping and holiday decorating


Have a lovely weekend!

Advent-day 14 and 15

~amaryllis growing

~cinnamon ornaments on the tree

~homemade balm (made with coconut oil, lavender flowers, beeswax, and some essential oils
~a "snowflake"

~growing our tree
Monday evening our reading came from the book of Malachi, Malachi 3:1-4. These verses are about the Lord sending His Messenger, and how the Messenger will prepare the way for Him. After our reading, the girls had some tea and we read some winter poems from the book A Snowflake Fell.
On Tuesday night our reading came from the book Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon. We read the morning devotion for day 25 of December. My favorite quote from this devotional writing is~"The golden name, Immanuel, is inexpressibly delightful. God with us in our nature, our sorrow, our lifework, our grave; and now we with Him, in resurrection, ascension and triumph, and second advent splendor." ~how powerful these words are to me.
Things are slowly coming together as Christmas approaches. Most of my shopping for the kids is done (thanks in part to some online shopping). Flour, sugar, chocolate chips, nuts have been purchased for a weekend of baking.
What are you all baking up for the holiday?
Happy Wednesday!

Advent-day 13

Last night we had dinner with friends from the school our children attend-it was a great night of fellowship. We even exchanged gifts-my first time participating in a white elephant gift exchange-very fun. So another late night, but we did get to our evening reading when we got home. Our reading was from John, John 1:11-18. My favorite verse from this passage is "The Word became a human being. He made His home with us. We have seen His glory. It is the glory of the one and only Son"~verse 14.
After our reading the I read the girls a story from Richard Scarry's The Animals Merry Christmas. They fell right to sleep as I was reading. I love the illustrations in this book, (which I think I purchased two years ago) we also have this book, a wonderful book of poems about winter.
Leftover chicken pot pie is for dinner, I'm feeling pretty exhausted today-more sleep and a megavitamin should help for tomorrow.

Hope you all had a great Monday!

Advent-day 11 and 12

Oh my-we are half way there! Less than two weeks till Christmas. I seem to always be amazed at the speed in which time moves, really I never get use to it.
Friday evening the youngest member of our family was so tired that she fell asleep right on the couch-her little snoring signifying the full day she had experienced. So last evening we continued with the calendar and for our reading we went to the book of Isaiah. In Isaiah 42:1-9 the Lord speaks of His Chosen Servant, which is His Son, Jesus. My favorite verse from this passage is~"A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth"~verse 3 (from the New Kings James Version). After our reading the girls got little bags that included colored pencils, candy, and some stickers. They then looked at the movie Eloise. We had a restful evening, which is what we needed. I have so much still to do for the holidays, but I keep having to put myself in check because I don't want to feel overwhelmed (which easily happens)~gifts still need to be purchased, food/desserts need to be made, and some tasks simply have to be delegated. But one thing about Advent is that it helps me to focus-focus on whats really important, relationships-with my family, with others, and most important with Christ.
focus-nichole-focus.

(p.s. remember the peppermint debacle well here's a little look~

I don't think using raw turbinado brown sugar in candy making is a good idea. But I used a chunk of this stuff to sweeten my coffee and it was pretty good, it added a shot of peppermint too (:

Advent-day 10

For Advent last evening our reading came from the book of Matthew, Matthew 1:18-24.
Again (like we had read in Luke previously) we are made aware of the obedience of Mary and Joseph. Obedience in such surprising circumstances. Mary to become a mother so young, Joseph to become a father to a child who is from the Father. Obedience is the result of trusting (having faith), faith in the Lord's will to complete the work at hand. So does faith result in obedience, or does obedience result in faith? Both work hand in hand. As I think about Mary and Joseph I admire tremendously their faithful obedience toward God.
After our reading the girls made cookies, chocolate chip in fact. After gobbling down a cookie each, they brushed their teeth and went straight to bed.
Today we managed to get out of the house. I warmed up my car for at least half an hour so it would be "thawed out". The girls went to school (I got them there by nine) and then I went to the big box store to get lights for the tree. I got the lights and also a couple of other things. One thing I notice about shopping at such big stores is how people have to often stand back to take in the selection of stuff. I was in one aisle looking for aluminum foil-but boy I had to really zero in on what I exactly wanted. Did I want heavy duty? lightweight? pop-up squares? 50 square feet? 75 square feet? recycled? which brand? and so on and so on. But of course this doesn't just stop with foil, its basically the same with other products. That's why when I go shopping at such big stores I feel like I spend so much time in them- trying to decipher through all the "noise".
I picked up the Reynolds wrap 50 feet, heavy duty, "same length in less packaging". Choice made.

Advent-day 9

a candle above the kitchen sink

Hey there. Is it possible to have cabin fever this early in the snow season? Well I think I'm getting a bit of the fever this evening. The girls have been handling staying in all day pretty well (we ventured outside yesterday, not today-the high was 10 degrees I think), -but of course siblings do what siblings do-disagree, then agree, then disagree-again, then agree-again. And I won't lie, it sometimes gets the better of me, but hey it's all a part of growing up (says the mother who grew up as an only child, to herself all. day. long.
Well we did manage to get some more Christmas decorations up and finally we got the tree up. Seems like the lights have gone missing though, so I've got to get some more tomorrow. We like to put the lights on first before the other ornaments of course, but at least the tree is up.
Our reading for Advent last night came from the book of Micah, Micah 5:2. This verse discuses how a Ruler will come from Bethlehem, from the nation of Judah. I love to see how passages of the Old Testament come to fruition in the New Testament, and understanding even more the connection between them.
Hubby was in charge of the Advent treat/gift last night so the girls got ice cream with chocolate syrup (yummy)!
On the knitting front I finished a pair of hand warmers for my oldest girl~

just in time for winter I'd say.
Hope you had a great Thursday.
Stay warm!