Make a difference

This is perhaps my favorite story. Get a tissue, watch it, and then go do something kind for someone.

I always tell my kids, "You never know when you are the answer to someone's prayers." Your kind words, actions, or just your presence may be exactly what someone has been praying for.

A few of my favorite things

It's not raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but these are a few of my favorite things.

Playing with Zachary is my favorite thing to do. It is so fun, that I don't get the cleaning, bookkeeping and cooking done that I would like to. But I'll never get another chance to play all day with Zack, so we play a lot. He is awesome.

Some other favorite things:

Odd-sized measuring spoons.

I can't tell you how many times I have used the 2 tsp. spoon. And the 2 TBSP. Maybe because I'm always doubling recipes?

The Magic Bullet. A TV joke? No, I really love mine. Mostly we use it to make smoothies.

My Rowenta garment steamer.

I love that the boys will steam their own church shirts because for some reason they think this machine is really fun to use.

Sanitaire commercial vaccum with extra-wide brush.

Nothing vacuums faster, or better. We've had it forever, and will have it forever more.

Babyliss Pro hair straightener.

A little spendy, but worth every penny. How else could I spend only 2 minutes doing my hair in the morning?

Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner.

I started wearing makeup when I turned 32, and this was the magic product that got me hooked. I love that you use a brush and can make the line as thin or thick as you want. And it stays on all day. Seriously. ALL DAY!

My Sorel boots.

Sure, I have some of the big clunky Caribou ones, which are great for a snowstorm. But for a cold, rainy day, you just can't wear the big brown snow boots around. These cute Sorels fit like shoes, and they are warm and completely waterproof.

As long as I'm on the subject of shoes, take a look at these glamorous Sofft heels.

I bought them in August to wear to my high school reunion. Mark is only about 1/4" taller than I am, so I have never bought heels. But Mark didn't go with me, so I figured I could wear these. I have tried on heels before and always took them off within about 5 seconds. No, make that 4 seconds. I could never figure out how any one could stand to wear heels, as I instantly would get a severe cramping pain in the ball of my foot any time I stood up in a pair. But these Sofft brand heels are genuinely comfortable--as comfortable as flats. No joke. And because Mark sits on the stand at church, and we go in 2 different cars, I usually wear these on Sundays now as well. Who cares if I look like a giant if we happen to stand next to each other. These shoes are just pure heaven.

I love David Kahn jeans.

It may sound a little vain, but the first time I tried these on, I looked in the mirror and seriously said, "Is that really MY butt?" I had never heard of the brand, and I was at Marshall's, so I figured it was some obscure, strange designer. And then I got home and looked online and discovered what a treasure I had found for $30. Those jeans became a bit too loose over the next 6 months, and I replaced them with the same pair--one size smaller, and about 4x the price. I've looked at Marshall's many times since then, but never have I seen them there again. It's the only pair of jeans I have worn for about the last year. I've tried on about 50 pairs of other jeans of all prices, but nothing compares. I'm going to have to break down and buy another pair.

This post is getting long, but I'll just end with a new favorite. The Roll Pat. It is the perfect surface to roll out cookies, cinnamon rolls or bread on. Nothing sticks to it, and it wipes clean very quickly. I love it.

Pictured with the Roll Pat is the lovely new rolling pin I just got from Williams Sonoma. My old 1990 pin disintegrated a few months ago, and I have loved this one I replaced it with.

I'm a runner

This made our family laugh so hard. Mark could be this guy. Seriously. Every word from his mouth we have all heard a million times.

Reminiscing

Searching for that old picture of the day I got my sewing machine has led me to a treasure trove of our old photo albums. I don't really have the best or most convenient set-up for scanning pictures, but I have to do it. There are some really great memories of moments gone by, and some good stories that need to be posted. Some are funny, and some just grab your heart and tear it out as you realize how quickly time has gone. It makes me more than ever want to live up to my mantra for this year:

Make every day count.

Seriously. Every day. Do something that makes a memory.

These pictures of Aubrey make me laugh and cry at the same time. I remember her fat cheeks, her huge eyes, and her unbelievable giggle. All rolled into a little package with an independent and feisty personality. She was, and still is amazing.

So now I need to just get cranking on scanning these excellent pictures and telling the stories that go with them.

Just wait until you hear about the day I got my serger!

The pictures, from the top are:

Halloween 1999

Spring 1998

Aubrey's 3rd birthday 1998. This was the day she woke up and said, "I'm 3 now. I don't wear diapers anymore." And sure enough, she never did again.

March 2010

The first costumes

This picture is from 1995. I had made the skunk costume for baby Abram the year before, and then when Aubrey was born the next year, I added a bow to the head. Abram was in love with Winnie The Pooh at the time. We watched Winnie The Pooh and the Honey Tree every day. At least 5 times. But this was before Pooh was everywhere. There were no Pooh toys, no Pooh blakets, shirts, or bedsheets. Certainly not Pooh costumes. So I had to make my own.

I used a basic pattern for Pooh, but I enlarged the belly. Then I bought a cheap red t-shirt, cut it short and made the neck hole larger, and used the satin stitch to embroider POOH on the front. Next step was buying a big piece of foam, which I cut into a circle and cut pie shaped slices out of. Then I glued the remaining edges together, making a convex belly for my little Pooh bear. Abram loved it.

Those were happy days.

R.I.P sewing machine

A couple of weeks before Christmas, I had a sad, sad day. I had a brainstorm for a couple of great Christmas presents for Zack, and when I sat down at my machine to make them, I discovered that my machine had died. The whole feed dog mechanism had given out, which made sewing impossible. It was so sad. The machine had been acting up a little funny, and to tell you the truth, it was never the same after I made the above gorilla costume last year.

I remember the day I got that beautiful machine. Let's go back in time to 1992.

Mark and I had just gotten married, and we had no money. He was in dental school, and I was finishing up my degree also. I would drop Mark off at school at 7:30am with a lunch and a dinner, and pick him up from the library at 11:00pm. In the meantime, I was going to school and working, but I still had some free time, and I longed for a sewing machine. Instead, I had to be content with knitting, because a sewing machine was a long way off for us.

One day Mark dropped me off at school and drove the car to Creighton. Now, the rich kids whose parents were paying for dental school had parking permits to park in the dental school parking garage. But the guys who were paying for school on their own just parked on the street near the dental school. Unfortunately, Creighton University is located pretty much in the 'hood of Omaha. When Mark went out to our car, he discovered that somebody had broken into it and stolen our stereo. One thing you should know about Mark, is that he has always appreciated premium audio, and the car stereo system was something to make any audiophile happy. Also, it was something that a common criminal could easily pawn for some quick cash. Anyway, the CD player was gone from the dashboard, and the window was smashed. It was a really creepy feeling.

The next day, we took the car to the insurance agent in town, and were given very pleasant news. In addition to the stereo completely going to be covered, also they were going to have to replace the entire dashboard. Seems this hoodlum with his crowbar had left a 1" indentation in the dash as he pried out the CD player. The dash couldn't be repaired--only replaced. As we had the title to the car, we were given the option of taking it in for a repair, or to be handed a check for $900. That was a lot of money to poor, newlywed students. There wasn't even a thought about replacing the dashboard.

We went shopping.

First we ordered the new CD player. This was in the days before the internet, so you had to go to the library and get a copy of some weird stereo magazine. In the back pages, you went through pages and pages of mail order electronics stores. Then you had to call around to get the best price, and finally order your goods.

Once that was done, we split the $900. I bought a sewing machine.

Mark bought a Beretta 92FS. He is wearing a shirt I made him in this photo.

I got right to work sewing. I made this stylish nightgown.

I made Mark a bunch of fancy dress shirts for school. I made prom dresses for high school girls. I made skirts. I made curtains. I made hideous crafts. I loved my sewing machine.

Although I was sad that it died, I sure used it a lot in those 18 years. Now that I found the old photo albums, I should scan some of the pictures of my fine creations from those early days.

And, as they say out with the old....in with the new. Guess what I got for Christmas? I bought myself a new machine. Janome 2010. So far, I'm in love with it.

Christmas

Wow! Is it over already? Today Zachary and I are the only ones home, and the house is soooo quiet. All the decorations are put away, and the house is relatively free of pine needles. I am normally so ready for the tree to disappear the day after Christmas (or sometimes late on Christmas day), but this year the tree was so beautiful and amazing, that it didn't bother me at all to leave it up until New Year's Eve.

We had a big party at our house on Christmas Eve. I swiped the above pictures from my sister-in-law Kristy. I haven't yet uploaded Mark's memory card to see what pictures we have from Christmas. There were 34 people here, and it was really fun. We first fed the kids pizza for dinner, and then banished them all to the basement while the adults had a sit-down delicious prime rib dinner free of interruptions. I loved it. After dinner, the kids did their traditional nativity program, performed musical numbers, and then devoured gingerbread cookies and ice cream. 12 adults and 22 kids makes for a very exicting time. And that's putting it mildly.

Mark and I had 99% of the Christmas prep done before the party started, so when everyone left, we just had to wrap a few presents, fill the stockings and go to bed. We let all the kids sleep in the basement together in the game room. It was fun to listen to them as they tried to fall asleep but couldn't. I think I was more excited for Christmas than they were, though. And so was Mark. He woke me up at 5:30 AM because he couldn't wait any longer.

Maybe later today I will get the pictures from Christmas and the rest of last week uploaded. There are sure to be some excellent ones.