Five Foot Two

One unhappy jester....

The four legged boys in my house,

 know that at halloween they must endure some humiliation.

 They take part in the annual costume contest that the dh and I run.... 

(okay, the only two contestants are our two boys, if the truth be known).

  Usually this brings up fun and laughter and great photo opportunities.

Like in 2005,

(Can't you tell they love this tradition!)

Or in 2008,

(Spencer makes a great wizard!)

 NOT THIS YEAR.

 We had a costume meltdown. 

It involved a new costume for the orange cat. He was supposed to be a court jester, 

 and HE clearly did NOT LIKE IT.

 

So much so,

 that it ended up under his chin in a matter of minutes  seconds....

 

(that is Jake's really ticked off-squint)

hee-hee

I hope everyone else had a happy costume contest this past halloween. : )

halloween around my house in polaroids.....

 I {heart} my iphone.

No doubt about it.

Yesterday, I told a woman in a scrapbooking class that,

 "i have a love affair with my iphone."

 She looked at me and her mouth dropped open.

 I just smiled.

Okay so my language could have been less severe, but I do.

Sorry darling hubby.

 Well, he already knows that. heck, he bought it for me. 

Anyhow I downloaded a new application called shakeitphoto. It turns the pictures you take into polaroids!! All while you shake the phone, as if you were shaking a old polaroid waiting for the picture to show up!

I love the look of the photos, so here is a sample of some of my halloween decorations around the house. (I was practicing the new app).

 

 

Opps, he's not a halloween decoration. He is just orange.

By the way.... As far as he is concerned.... kitty toilet training is in stage 3! The litter box is at the height of the toilet. The point is for the cat to get used to jumping on the ring of the toilet seat. We have had success. I think we may have had a little spill while I was at work the other night, so he seems to be a little bit shy about trying again, but keep your fingers crossed.

handmade holiday gift ideas....

(This is a wedding quilt I am working on for my best girlfriend) 

Let's hope I can finish it by her first wedding anniversary!

The end of September means the holidays are around the corner. yikes..

My mind starts working overtime

 trying to find great homemade holiday gift ideas.

I just ran across this post that has a handful of useful project downloads for the holidays, for free!! 

I don't have a steadfast plan just yet for my holiday gift ideas. I really want to do quilting on a small scale. So kitchen accessories might be the way I go this year. 

Friends and family beware- you may be the proud owners of yet another potholder!

 Can you wait?

UPDATE on my Kitty potty training:

It has begun,

 Yahooo!! 

And someone has been going with the program! 

Let's hope he can stick with it!!

(He looks really stressed out about it, doesn't he?)

 

our freedom...

Just a little note to say.....

THaNk YoU!!!

to all the men and women who have dedicated their lives for my freedom.

It doesn't go unnoticed.

I appreciate you.

I am the one who walks up to you when you are in uniform and say's 

"Thank you for fighting for my freedom", 

with tears in my eyes.

yep.

That little blond stranger who is crying for no apparent reason, is me.

Some day I will be able to thank a uniform without the tears in my eyes.

(i hope)

I wear my emotions on my sleeve.

and

You are appreciated by me. 

I love this country. 

I thank you for making it a safe and happy place to call home.

Happy 4th of JULY!!

(I took this photo of the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco)

happy easter....

hee-hee

check out these darling cake pops..... from bakerella.....

these are the cutest ones by far...

i heart the sheep. 

Have a hip hoppity easter weekend!!!!!

ps. it is master's weekend too. that almost makes this weekend holier than thou at my house....

review of some favorite things...

Here are a few photo's of some favorite things I did this holiday.... 

a little card-making.....

(thanks go especially to my mom and the dh)

I had bigger ideas than I had time for this year.....

The cookie exchange sneek peek....

(everyones cookies were really yummy this year)

except mine-----brown sugar buttons, not how i wanted them to taste.

but they still looked cute....

Every one's goodies all together.....

What is a family holiday without a little double dutch?

lead by your six year old niece....

and a good night story to our one year old nephew....

Did i mention the peppermint bark i made...

i can't stop eating it. yum......

it was so easy and so delicious... thanks mimi for the recipe.

our storm chaser escapade in scottsdale...

with a nice pinnacle peak hike the next day when it was not snowing in the desert...

A little glitter at home...

+mistletoe (of course)

we can't forget a neighbor's rendition of rudolf....

he is GI-normous in their front yard!

So we had a fun and different Christmas this year. What will next Christmas bring??

hopefully an iphone. 

but i am not bitter. not at all.....

shopping, baking, and decorating.....

Well, I did something this morning that I don't think I have ever done before.....

I was the first customer at Macy's at 6 AM!!

It was dark, and cold, but inside it was bright and the employees were cheery. It was a very pleasant experience overall. I went because I totally forgot about the sleigh-bell ornament collection that I started for my god daughters. I buy a silver plated sleigh-bell from Wallace each year for each of them.... By the time they are old enough to have their own tree, they will have quite a gorgeous collection of silver bells to decorate with....

So needless to say, I had to run out and pick up a couple before they sell out. I found them, and I found them on sale. even better....

i don't really think my god son would appreciate such a thing at 18 years old....i really think his friends might tease him terribly too.

happy... tightening up loose ends before the holiday. i know i am..... 

cheers....

This is my 100th blog post.....

i can't believe it.

time flies.....

three cheers for five foot two!!!

What started out as a fun way to scratch my proverbial creative itch, turned out to bring me closer to friends and family. 

i love it. 

i have no intention of stopping now. 

i don't know how long this will last, but it has been fun and entertaining for me. : )

Thank you for your kind readership. 

TODAY:

I have been attempting to deck the halls at home and at work. I must say I have been just scrapping by with both. I have so many holiday projects lined up, i needed to make a poster just to keep track. i think i may be loosing my memory all together. If you could see my home, there is holly, garland, glitter from one end of it to the other.....

where does the time go....

let's get it together...

i am going to clean up my Gi-normous mess. glitter for one and all!!

thankful...

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

Melody Beattie

Today i am thankful for......

my freedom, my health, my family, my profession, my work, my earth, and my home.

happy turkey day!

TrIcK or TrEaT!

 

SmELL mY FeET.....

free candy...

a crisp breeze in the night air...

friendly neighbors....

and soo much candy......

I only wish I was ten again. 

Can a 33 year old go trick or treating without children? 

How about with a cat or two?

(photo note: no animals were harmed in the taking of this photograph.... it just happens to not be their favorite holiday. ; ) 

Because I would really like to eat all that candy. yummmmm. just not the chocolate stuff. The dh can handle that.....

Note: This is the witches fourth year. I really need to name her. Tonight her cauldron will be brewing.... (the kids love it, and some parents think it is boiling water.... so lame.) Like I would have a pot of boiling water in front of my halloween door......

 

I can't wait to see all the little fairies and superheroes walking down the street....

ding dong......