here we are at the game

we lost, but it was still the best afternoon I have had in forever! we froze our little hineys off it was very cold. we each had quite the bundle up, it was Hh's first bronco game in the stadium and she had a blast. It is fun to see it through new eyes and we had great seat section 102 on the south west side of the venue, near the field and with a good veiw.

JUst a note to dash off quickly

we lucked into some bronco tickets for today, nice and good seats- will take trusty camera for my first visit to invesco at mile high. post more details later on. Just sufice to say I am a happy girl .

a christmas shot

SSD1 and Hh and J the bowl is one of two J turned on a lathe in shop class and made one for Hh and one for me. I love mine. The blue thing that D has is and Airzooka SSD2 loves this gift and the cats oh they hate it. basicly it shoots a big ball of air at you and it is very funny and cool at the same time.

and Here he is the reason for the season

a shot of our little baby Jesus

this is another pretty shot furthur up the isle

were you can see the pew candlabra they are brass and I like them alot, they have real candles in them and add such warmth to the service. I am gald we will kee the decorations up for about 3 weeks altogether and then back downstairs for another year!

the church all dressed up

on Christmas eve, we went to church and I took a bunch of photos. I love it with all the lights on and the candles all lit, the candalabras just twinkle and sparkle like stars. When our old rector was in charge- he didn't want the creche on the alter and our new priest in charge is o.k. with it and wanted it there- it is one made in itally with porcelan figuires and really cool wise men who are behind the alter currently until epifany - this is a very nice tradition to bring back. The acolyte even got to bring in the baby jesus it was very very cool.

I love this movie

Your Christmas is Most Like: Miracle on 34th Street

Sweet and caring, Christmas is about helping for you. While Santa may not exist, you try to share his spirit.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas and a very happy new year.

christmas interveiw meme

From Angie Petersen's blog of me

I love meme tags (definition) as "scrapbooking fodder". They make layouts so easy. Enter your answers, print out the list, slap it on some background paper and call it done, baby!

Angie a Christmas one on Wendy Smedley's blog, then got another variation emailed to her at work. So she smushed them together, and posted it . Anyone can play! Feel free to answer on your own blog.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?mostly wrapping paper.

2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial and now pre-lit

3. When do you put up the tree? sometime after thanksgiving

4. When do you take the tree down? sometime early in January ;)

5. Eggnog or Hot Chocolate? Either I like both!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Malibu Barbie ( she was so cool)

7. Do you have a nativity scene? yes a little one made of resin, very cute.

8. Hardest person to buy for? My Hubby, who likes expensive and geeky toys.

9. Easiest person to buy for? my daughter

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I don't remember anything truly awful for Christmas

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? mail, though I don't send many anymore. I like to send valentines instead.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Miricle on 34th street

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? November and December, unless I see something fabulous earlier, though I forget what I bought and where I stashed it.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? yep, I belive some things are better suited to some people.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? a cake called a yule log

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear for me

17. Favorite Christmas song? Oh Come , Oh come Emanuel, sung by Trisha Yearwood

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home with family

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Sure - I read the night before christams so many times I can recite it verbatim too?

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Santa

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? traffic and the crowds at the mall and every store.

23. What I love most about Christmas? The traditions, a tree, ornaments and lights.

24. What is your favorite holiday tradition? being together and opening presents on Christmas morning.

25. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? wraps them, then sits them under the tree, some times we know what they are if they are too bulky or big to wrap.

26. Do you hang mistletoe? used to keep it up all year round! haven't hung it a few years.

27. Favorite holiday memory as a child: the year before my little brother was born we went to my aunt and uncles house in San Antonio Texas, my great aunt and uncle showed us all a fabulous time

28. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I think I was 11 or 12 and we bought things for my little brother - I am note sure it really was said, it was just assumed.

29. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Lights, ornaments, garland and tinsel

30. Snow - Love it or dread it?Love it especially when we get snow days off from work/school.

31. Can you ice skate? I used to skate great , haven't been skating in years, HH wants to do this for her birthday.

32. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? I love gifts to give, but if someone wants to give me something, I'm happy to allow them that pleasure.

33. Candy canes? o.k. but prefer chocolate

34. What do you leave out for Santa? nothing now the kids are big enough

yeah!!! hh solo

What a voice!
Hh singing

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trying again with the video

celebration

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from the sledding hill / snowday

the kids are enjoying this time off, they closed all the schools in jeffco for 3 days now, hard to belive ussually we don't get any snow days.

Hh doing a big flop

in PJ pants and my coat last night! after dinner. what a blast to have so much snow and be at home. we made a pot roast in the crock pot and sat around and had a great night. Hh had said she wanted so much to have a white christmas and well sometimes wishes do come true.

for k8 hope this is coming your way

for Kate a bit of the white stuff and fluff, that is poor little samson the mini dachshund snowplow with hh in my coat! I hope that we will go sleding and have a fun day off before the holiday today

the mom van last night!

will be taking more phots this morning, I am off work today the
govenor has declared a weather emergency and the airport and roads are shut down here in colorado

well the movie clip didn't work

so here is still off Hh the Diva! she was great and what a voice go to love her

I hope this will play as a movie

Hh solo at a 5th 6th winter program at school

me me me

I am up at stupid hours and working a temp job, trying to get everyone settled for a long Christmas break.

I will post more soon, but dashing off in little white flurries this morning means I have to hurry.

everyone is good, but we definitely are struggling to make the ends meet. robbing peter to pay paul at times doesn't make me a happy chick.

well my Idea got taken and I didn't even get any credit for it

Here at Chatterbox is a post on Altered Drink Carriers
But gee mine was posted first so I think I should get a little Blog time and credit for a cool idea too!
Here is my Original Altered Drink Carrier

Hh in back

1st band concert at Pamona and she was 1st Chair purcussion!! way to go my Percussion Princess 

pantone stuff

here is a link to one of my blog pages http://creativechronicles.blogspot.com/2005/08/pantone-colorology.html

It is to a page on colorstrology by Pantone, but it is misspelled and funny as this is to me it is one of the pages I get the most hits on in a search that has these two words in it, and if the person misspells the word colorology then my link even comes up first in google!

I think a scrapper originally posted the links to this cool interactive Pantone tool online. But I think I have the corner on the misspelled market for sure. So you know you want to click through to see what I am talking about - and then go to the real web site to get your very own colorstrology.

High Tea + Holiday Market = Great Afternoon

The Ladies from St. James went to Georgetown today to the Christmas Market and we Had High Tea at the Grace Episcopal Church Ladies Parrish hall .

the High Tea was great, we had little sandwiches, Scones and cookies and cakes. Tea of course and nice conversation. This is a fund raiser for the church in Georgetown - and it was so sweet, I had a great time.

we visited the old church too, fantastic restored and re-done. The organ was fab I took some interior shots that I will post up too.

The Christmas Market had lots of little artisan vendors and good food. A fire pit and some reindeer I bought a cute pair of mittens and I had a wonderful time with friends.

typos

Randy K. Milholland

"Typos are very important to all written form. It gives the reader something to look for so they aren't distracted by the total lack of content in your writing."

You Were Born Under:

You have both a fiery energy and a warm heart. Your charisma and charm makes it easy for you to influence others. Lucky in life, you also have a reputation of being lucky in love. Power hungry, you are determined to get what you want - no matter what it takes. You are most compatible with a Monkey or Rat.

What Year Were You Born Under?

one more view

by the stove looking to back door, baker's rack was here before, I think we will put the little cabnets that don't take as much room here. not sure yet of final config, will post more photo later on.  

looking from the dining room door now

we moved the stove and did a temporary plug that is what you see here, S is going to re-wire it to the window side of the room until we get a new stove ( some time in the future) Check out the gray paint on the cabinet fake fronts- tell me what you think, we may do this white base gray front to all the door and drawer fronts, still thinking about it. Leave me your opinion.  

corner where J was standing down below

this corner used to have the fridge in it- but turned to face the room. this opens up the kitchen in this direction quite a bit, you can see the floor and the trim - we painted all the walls white and the trim gray.  

more tail

one more tail shot. Gabby here and that is General and Samson in the photo below.  

puppy dog tails -

to tide you over. I will take more kitchen photos soon. the trim is almost all up and the floor looks great.  

Nov. Roundup

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?

I read my Creating Keepsakes and Finished off The Great Divorce By C.S. Lewis. Have my Memory Makers Magazine in my Bag I took to work but didn’t get to read too much of it, I bought a Real Simple and Everyday with Rachel Ray. I made it through most of them too. I love my magazines.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?

We rented a bunch of movies this month. But CARS was the cutest one we watched. I didn’t like the Da Vinci Code too fractured, the book was much better than the movie. I liked Superman returns. I liked Nacho Libre with Jack Black, He makes me laugh.

I really don't watch too much T.V. Just Bronco Football.

What special days did I celebrate and how?

We celebrated S’s birthday and He has gotten lots of things for a month and more , we enjoyed time together and we even made him a cake. It had cherries and chocolate and was great.

We had an outstanding thanksgiving with friends. I am so thankful for my family, my friends and good food! We had 12 for dinner and dessert, and we all ate laughed and had a great time.

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

I coughed for a while into November, the cold I had in October just hung on and on. S had a little scare and went to the ER- he had such a bad neck pain, that he drove himself to the ER and they did a blood draw and decided at least he was not having any heart issues, gave him muscle relaxant and pain killer, and sent him on home.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?

We tore up our kitchen and moved out all the stuff and replaced the flooring and, painted and bought new trim and lots of other stuff, ( we won’t talk about the bathroom) , it is starting to come back together, we moved the stove and swapped it with the fridge, so it is strange new working triangle. But I think I am going to like it just fine. All the kids helped with this whole thing, cause S got another neck pain on the second day of working, He and J replaced all the sub flooring, D painted his heart out and Hh too, really painted.

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?

We didn’t do any new restaurants this month. Kale and assorted mushrooms came into our kitchen and we enjoyed to them fullest. I made a mushroom and beef stroganoff that was sooooo good we all oohed and awed.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

I bought an 8x8 all about me album

What were this month’s disappointments?

Losing my job! The boys are driving me crazy with their stinking thinking, and teen-age antics. I wish there was more to be able to do except keep on loving on them.

What were my accomplishments this month?

I made 2 thanksgiving centerpieces from my used sonic drink carriers and lots of nice floral and thanksgiving scrapbook paper. I made cards and sent them to friends and family with my best wishes. I got a new kitchen floor installed. We did it DIY!

Anything else noteworthy to record?

SSD1- pinting trim the gray color that the

fridge and dishwasher are. it is a nice contrast to the white walls and the compliment the gray tiles 

J working on trim paint? see the new sub flooring

he screwed it all in place - my litle carpenter boy.  

wow look at these plants!

green, but you never really know for how long... :) see 6 weird things below for the explaination  

my little photobug with camara in hand

Hh taking self portrait on the work day  

I am not the only crafty person in my house

this is DSS2- craft project for halloween- a very cute witch.  

tiles that are on my floor now!

more photos coming of the floor naked and done! moss slate- gray and stone looking 

6 weird things

I've been tagged. Seems I have to admit to being weird. Even have to list a few ways in which I am weird. Not a problem cause that is a long list! If I tag you, be sure to play the game.

According to the rules… each player of this game starts with the “6 weird things about you”. People who get tagged need to write to their blog their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly:

“In the end you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment in their blogs that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments section and tell them to read your blog for more information.”

1. I am a control freak, and a sorting fool, though it may not appear to be that way to the casual observer, my house is a messy piles kind of place on first glance , but I know where everything is, I sort and re-sort and have no doubt where things are.

2. I like to sit on the potty and read! sometimes I am in there so long I get a red mark on my thighs. this is the only time I have for me sometimes and I take advantage of it. I get up pretty early and I spend about 15 minutes of that reading. this is funny to me!

3. I am a magazine junkie- this goes along with #2 as this is my favorite kind of reading. I have several subscriptions but i buy lots of magazines too. I like books and read them too, but if i had to pick I would choose magazines over books.

4. I love plants but hate to water them. so this love hate relationship can cause them the failure to thrive and then I act like I don't know what happened. I think this stems from having to dust and water the plants as a kid , those where part of my chore list and I never liked doing either.

5. Ever since I had a rear-end accident ( I was rear-ended) I have anxiety being a passenger in the car. I really hate when anyone drives to close to another person's bumper and I really don't like being right up on any car's tail especially at a stop light . this happened a long time ago. almost 9 years now. I still have fear about it.

6. I like to sort m & m's by color and number and eat them in combinations bordering on OCD this goes back to #1 on my list. I eat all the odd ones first and then make pairs and combinations of others. I will do this with other little candies like skittles and jelly beans, but not to the extent I an compelled to do it with m & m's

so I am tagging, grunt, swampangel, Kate, Scott, AngieP and Katie the scrapbook lady.

one of the best thanksgivings I have had in a long time

Well I am post meal and post early A.m. black friday and I can tell you it was ALL good!!

We had Friends with Kids over! a couple and thier three children who are close in age to our four children. and we had a single guy from S's office- who doesn't have family here and we invited another but too bad he was a no show.

I made two turkeys- one traditional roasted and stuffed with French Mama's stuffing- this includes chestnuts , sausage, lots of shallots and bread and a bit of grand mariner liquor and one Fried Turkey.

we actually cooked 4 turkeys three in the fryer and one in the oven. so everyone got leftover turkey, all of them weighing around the 13 pound mark. I have to say the oil was the most expensive part of this fun ( we have done this in the past). to get it right you must not give in and use cheap oil, only peanut oil will do and it did do just fine., in fact we are thinking of frying a couple more to put up in the freezer too.

also on the menu was mashed potatoes and turkey gravy- excellent and a must for a traditional meal.

Drunken sweet potatoes ( yams) - these were very wonderful. made with brown sugar, jim beam, maple syrup and a bit of small pineapple tid bits and juice. I made a syrup, cooked the yams in the microwave first and then, cut them into a casserole dish and covered with the drunken syrup, yum !

my friends brought- the best green bean casserole- the kind everybody loves with the fried onions

a carrot dish- with lots of buttery goodness,

great rolls - dinner wouldn't be the same with out rolls.

Jello Salad- yeah.

there was Harry and David Cranberry sauce- with whole cranberries and a jellied cran-raspberry sauce.

a bottle of Shiraz wine from Australia and a bottle of chardonnay from France. I picked these wines and they were excellent.


and then after we rested a bit from dinner- with x-box and game play and t.v. thrown in we had pie!! oh my did we have pie....... we had a chocolate cream pie, a mince meat pie, an apple pie, a pumpkin pie and a cheesecake with cherries and an carvel ice cream cake! all served up and enjoyed - everyone got something they liked- and coffee to finish off the night!!

what a blast - everyone had a great time and no pressure to show off or feel like they weren't there to have a good time. wonderful lovely meal with friends. 12 of us all together.

lots of folks coming to my jouse

house , my house, for a meal. will post more later.

See I have got my mo jo back

will you be a lucky recipient of one of these cards? I have a list going and you may be on it,


If you would like to be on it leave me a comment as to where I can email you at and I will get you address and send you a card.