I'm Dreaming...

...of a White & QUIET Christmas. UNFORTUNATELY, all of my dreams are being shattering by the coming weather & the SE neighbor's thump'n music annoying my head - What is the deal with RAIN IN THE SE of Michigan in December?!?! The drive down induced a bit of melancholiness (whatever.) in my psyche. We left billowing banks of snow, tufted trees, & the certainty that St. Nick would have plenty of wintry white landing strip for his sleigh. As the evening clipped along the sky became darker & lighter at the same time as the cities grew in size...Midland... Saginaw... Flint... DEtroit. Peering out the side windows, it appeared there MIGHT be a skiff of snow & we were NOT disappointed - almost an inch! ;) whoa. Anyway, a quick stop at Target & 66 feet of little white lights later (we skipped buying the Christmas pig, THIS year...), we were in the process of creating the feel of Christmas in Gram's front picture window. Complete with tiny angel ornament at the top of the towering light-tree we constructed, we felt cheery (thanks Cycles Gladiator!), warm (after bumping the heat up about 20 ticks), and full of HUMMUS, Pirate's Booty, & tortilla chips. Yep, here we are, awaiting the Jolly Man. Too bad we left our stockings hung by the Lucky Cats with care in the North. Perhaps The Willow will direct the big guy in a southerly-easterly direction for us???

So, off to dabble with some buttons & thread, a possible sushi lunch, & the sights and sounds of the bustling SE await. Oh-Oh Christmas Tree! Thank goodness I am spending my 3rd Christmas with the G who doesn't mind our silly lit tree or... ME! :) bye.

My Friend

	Biz Markie - Just A Friend .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Off to the Mill House with my friend for gifts of spice.
Off to snowshoe with my friend at the 7 bridges.
Off to blah, blah, blah... with my friend.

Oh, he's just a friend.

Do YOU Know?

Does this help?


plus

Secret #2?

Sew What.

The date stamp is wrong on the camera.

Who wants date stamp? Not me. I have no idea why it is there after all these months.

The pavement is there......

Remember the cows in the mud?

These trees are important to me. On the rare occasion that I rode the bus home from school, I would sometimes have to walk the 1/4 mile home on desolate road with wind whipping across the field, NOT uphill.. anyway, these BIRDS lived in THOSE trees. Well, they were evil. I ran. I ran A LOT past THOSE trees.

Leaving my parents but never leaving. Those memories stick. Stick whether you want them or not. Mostly I want them, but I have some I'd rather not...

Like sewing 4-H. The anxiety it produced was evil-mad for my timid nerves.

She was nice, but she was tight. Strict. A family friend. AND, she pretty much taught me a LOT! Thanks.

I hated ripping out progress. I really hated fashion revue? REVIEW? Whatever, it was modeling my goods. Yah, oy! Stage fright at it's finest. I used to HOPE that I wouldn't advance to round 2 just so I wouldn't have to hit the stage again. Did I ever tell you how close I was to being salutatorian of my class.... & the prospect of having to give a speech at graduation? Uh huh... I'll confess later. I don't think my family knows. Nor do my teachers. I think a few wine-night friends might know.

How about that little fur ball? Don't worry, I hooked him up with a more WINTER style jacket. He's cute, he's brother. (Great sentences tonight, huh?)

So, it was a long day in paradise. Kids are Christmas crazy, cookie crazy, cranky crazy, and simply emotional wrecks this time of year. Highs are higher.. lows are lower and I am just crazy.

And have a hobby that is making me very happy & consuming all my time...

No time for beautiful photos ... as you will soon see. ;)

NO time to snowshoe, ski, or look up...

And The Willow? Just sits patiently & waits for meal time, sleepy time, or .... night out time.
(another fabulous sentence, thanks.)

Who wouldn't want an oven mitt from moi?

Let's see that again...

How about that one?

Oh, this one has a matching apron... both in the final phases.

The Willow has a new stocking... focus on the stocking, this house is a DEEE-Zas-TRrRrr!

G designed, I poked my fingers.. a LOT!

How about that little brass bell? Not sure how long it will hang on by the few threads... that little guy is HEVVVVV-Y! Do you know what the A stands for??? .... Awesome. That's RIGHT!!!

While GoodWill-Hunting, I found this 4-drawer, 16 buck treasure. SEriouslY, gives me shivers to find a vintage bargain like THAT! G likes the storage space. I made sure to pack it full of my new hobby before he could get his papers in it.... after all, I was here first. ;)

What's this I see? The little village that I grew up on? Pure plastic 1960 style. Man, I loved this set. LOVED it. Openings in the back for little lights.. that will happen tomorrow. I hope.

These make the cutest birds.... wait until you see them! I can't find the one I sleep with... seriously, did G take it SE with him?????? BIRD??? BirrrRrRRrdDDD??? G!!!

That's an apron. I found my grandma's super super super seriously early 1900's apron pattern. Nothing more than a classic farm apron.. but, so cool to cut these aprons from THAT pattern.

Great photo huh? Here's that matching apron. Lined with the silkiest water-resistant fabric and cute pockets!
Yah, I was losing patience after 5 minutes of taking photos of these things... wasting time when I could be CUTTING and stitching!?

Oops.. distraction! I have a real rabbit fur hooded coat. Boy, I'm loving these tangled adjective-mess sentences with hyphens tonight! The salon chicas LOVED It last night. It's a little luxury and shiny coat for my needs.. but it certainly is WARM and G loves it. The end.

I made 24 paper cranes one day... Don't worry, I wasn't teaching. The conference was GREAT, really it was! So, the cranes are gifts for my students. They love to puff the final breath of life into the bellies & make 'em fly.. and crash.. and well, my efforts last about 1.25 minutes in the hands of 7/8 year-olds. ho hum.

Oh SOooooo LONNnnnneeeLLYYyyyyy.... hehehe poor guy. gal. girl gayl. Whatever, it gets sick of my sweat dripping on it's shinyness.

So, my latest... ? creating custom reusable sandwich bags... everyone's doin' it.

***Yes, that was my first Secret. Glad you stuck around for it?

I have a Secret... or 2

So, a couple of weeks ago I said something like... na-na-nana-na .. i have a secret and I'll tell you later? Maybe? Well, I never told you. AND.. ANDDDDD now? I have 2 secrets. I plan to tell you in 4 hours. Can't wait? Right?


Here is a non-secret. This blog is getting a MAJOR makeover in 2 weeks. I can't stand to visit it let alone share all of this "important" stuff here. uh huh. bye.

Incoming

Yesterday's morning drive was simply outstanding. Sky/ground all the same color. Calm. CALM. Like, too bad I was making so much noise, calm. The cloudy blanket in the sky didn't seem to be moving... but it was preparing.

G prepared too. As I did some shopping, the G did some decorating. Thank goodness... today it just would be a nightmare to try to put lights out.

The miniature living pine tree became decked with pink balls, pink long-tail bird, and chili peppers in red 'n yellow.

Willow watching .. this morning (camera date is all wrong) while snow continued to drop from the blanket of white found in the northern sky.

I peered outside... considering the day's options: snow shoveling, playing with little E and her sled, finishing a couple of sewing projects on my spank'n new machine... lunch with my dad at the local Loon... ahh, snow days are heaven sent.

G mentioned the "chair of truth." Now, some of you may remember, I have the TABLE of truth in my yard? Well, G thought this chair would be a nice replacement. ah, ok G... do ya think you live here or something? ;) Click here for a stellar photo of THE Table of Truth 1 year ago.

Willow in disbelief. His days..errrr nights of frolicking with coyotes & stray tom's are OVER for 2009.

Heading back!

That was a short trip. More to come... 8 inches and falling.

Getting Better

Sick as a ...

CAT! That's where we're at, Hitt'n the sack, Feel like a soup snack.



Ok, I quit. And I need to either just GET sick or get over this bi-weekly RUN DOWN feeling. Went to bed last night with a killer headache that put a serious wrench in my 25 days of cycling plan. Looks like one day I'm doing double duty to make up for the lapse, however, it probably won't be today since I just crawled out from under the covers.

Awoke at 4 with a gurgling tummy & a cat puking on my bed. Yes, on MY BED! So, I slumbered for 2 hours dreaming of a snow day that didn't happen, but a SUBSTITUTE day did.

Unfortunately, my cat puked 4 more times.
Fortunately, it was NOT on my bed.

Unfortunately, I couldn't use the online SUB requester.
Fortunately, I have great school friends who notified the secretary.

Unfortunately, I still had to drive to school to prep the room for a sub.
Fortunately, my SUB template was pretty much RIGHT on!

Unfortunately, I had a massive, embarrassing pile of papers enveloping my desk area.
Fortunately, my FAVORITE sub appeared 5 minutes after the bell.

Unfortunately, I had to drive home in the lake effect.
Fortunately, I drove right THRU McDonald's for a sugar-laden smooooothie.

Unfortunately, I regret the smoothie lapse.
Fortunately, I am feeling better & the smoothie won't happen again... until...


Hope your day is splendid. Time to make good use of this SICK day:

1. Finish putting the bedroom together so I can actually FIND the floor.
2. Write sub plan for next Monday-Tuesday.
3. Write weekly newsletter for tomorrow.
4. EAT Mrs. Grass soup... MMmm
5. Take a shower... eventually.
6. Ride that living space bike all the way to Albuquerque.
7. Rejoice when G arrives bringing back routine, good breakfasts, packed lunch, & vitamins on the counter.
8. Pack for a weekend away ....

Oh, wanna know something super secret GREAT!??

I'll tell you tomorrow!

On the Road...

Again. Well. Not really. Just riding through the living space. Trying to get to that new telly set without any LUCK! The Willow thinks I'm crazy. That decade old feline is so used to the antics and my talking to myself ... (nevermind, he can't hear)...

So. Night one of 25 is officially over.

Can't wait for tomorrow.

Can you believe it's snowing? Seriously. What happened to snow BEFORE TDAY? I'm hoping for a day off tomorrow OR at the VERY least a little more snow than the 2 inches that's going to happen so I can roll a snowman with E tomorrow!!! Love that girl! Now, time to rest.

So, this is...

I washed some windows ... inside & OUT today. Yep, it's THAT mild. Right now I am looking at the main door WIDE open with only the storm door blocking the chill. The Willow wants to go play & I have serious spring fever. It may appear to be manic behavior. Ok, it does appear to be a bit of mania from the looks of my house. I have been to every room, purging, sorting, disinfecting... pitching stuff! Wow, does it ever feel good. Maybe this is my way of procrastinating. Ok, who am I kidding. I am procrastinating. Procrastinating on thinking too hard. My mind has been in a tailspin lately, reeling from the crazy days of fall in 2nd grade and no races to train for in my immediate future. However, that is all gonna change. Monday. Serious. This lazy November is coming to an end fast. REAL fast. And these added pounds? OFF! by Christmas. No Joke. HEAR ME!?

Now, back to the spring cleaning weight loss plan.