The Sweet Shop is Now Open!

The shop is open! Go take a look!

Lunchtime at La Vida

I like to post to my blog while eating my lunch.

Occasionally I share a picture of what 's for lunch. Today it's the avocado sandwich.

I took pictures. It was supposed to be a progressive set of pictures that started with mustard on the bread.

They all turned out blurry. So you only get the cucumber smiley face, and the finished project.

Honestly, I was in a hurry, sometimes a grumbling stomach overrides a good picture. Plus, I was in a thoughtful mood. Not very deep thoughts, but thoughts all the same.

Have you ever thought about how much we could get done in a day if we didn't have to eat? There wouldn't be any grocery shopping or food prep, it would be glorious.

You know, when my kids were little and at home it was easy to break for lunch since I had to feed them too. But now, lunch sometimes feels like such a chore.

I like to eat, but when I am in the middle of things like cleaning, reading, running errands, sewing, and doing stuff, I often think about how much time (not to mention money) that we could save if we didn't have to eat.

Back to my lunch. When I finished making my sandwich I pulled an orange from the fridge. I peeled it, and the inside looked like grapefruit. I tasted it, and it tasted orangey and grapefruity. It was quite refreshing. I was thinking that some orange tree must of been standing too close to the grapefruit tree.

Thinking about cross pollination of fruit trees made me feel weird. So I thought I better hurry up and eat, and blog, and get back to work.

Happy Friday!

Random Sleepy Thoughts

Last night The Mister and I watched a documentary about the Badwater Ultra Marathon. The course is 135 miles from Death Valley to Mt Whitney, CA, in July, where the temperatures can be up to 130 (F) degrees. That's like running six marathons, all at once, in the oven.

I am not sure if these people are a picture of perseverance or craziness. Probably a little of both.

The documentary was fascinating, but when I tucked myself into bed, I felt uneasy. It's weird to see people push themselves past the point of well being. I kept thinking about how hard that would be on the body. Not mention dangerous.

Strangely, it also made me really miss running. I am trying my best to rehab my knee from the 10 miler in October. It's still not great, but it's getting better. I am hoping to have my knee back in shape by the time it warms up and the sun rises earlier. Right now it is still dark until almost 7am. I don't like to run in the dark by myself.

Anyway, my thoughts were on running when I went to bed last night and I didn't really sleep well. The Girl woke me up 4 am this morning with a bad dream and I never went back to bed.

I see much coffee in my future.

Today I will be doing my own extreme sport:An Ultra Clean-athon. I am thankful to have a full day to finish things around here and get ready for the weekend. Hurray for long weekends!

I better run...I need to drink another large cup of coffee, before tackling the bathrooms, but before I go I wanted to tell you that I found this link on Martha Stewart and it may save my sanity! Here is a great tutorial on making recycled notebooks. They are super easy and use all the supplies you probably already have. I have made two for each of my children already because they love to draw and write little stories. Their creativity is great, except we end up having papers ALL OVER MY HOUSE! Which drives me a little crazy.

These notebooks are really great for keeping things organized, and my kids love them. (they are also learning about reusable resources in school right now, so the timing was perfect for a little recycling lesson at home). The link also includes a video, which I think is a lot more clear than the written instructions!

Have Fun!

Stuff

Kona says, Happy New Year. Although she's not real thrilled to be wearing the ribbon. The Girl thought she needed to have some ribbons since we are allowing her to wear long hair during the winter. Kona prefers long hair, but until she learns how to sweep, she'll have to be happy to keep her long tresses for just the winter month. And yes, I mean month. Singular.

Here is another picture of her looking very stately, and alot less annoyed. The Girl loves this dog. So much so that sometimes it's painful. For the dog, not The Girl.

I have several things in the works right now. Mostly aprons that I wrote about yesterday. Unfortunately, it is Science Fair time and so all of a sudden my best-laid-plans are all being set aside as we try to figure out (using the scientific method) if vinegar will kill plants. I am not sure that we will be able to get a good outcome at all.

Can I tell you a secret?

I am a plant killer. I have tried, and tried, but I just can't do it.

I can feed and water my children and so far, so good. But don't give me a plant, cuz it's a guaranteed goner. I hope my black thumb doesn't skew our scientific method.

But I digress...just when I thought that we were down to the easy part of the science project The Girl came home with news that she has to do one too. Which is fine, it just means that I have to lay aside some of my own stuff for another little bit because I keep having to run into town to buy supplies (which eats a lot of my sewing time). This, my friends, is what you call Motherhood. If it's not one thing it's another. You think that when you stop breastfeeding at 12 months you will have all sorts of free time, and then Whammo! they are coming home with science projects. Well, you know what I mean.

So my little projects for etsy are coming along, but it may be the weekend before I am totally up and running. Here is a little preview:

Going Dark

I may have to give up trying to blog on Monday's.

Theater's are usually dark on Monday's. Maybe La Vida Dulce will be too.

Tomorrow I will post my thoughts on last week memory verse, which is typed but not spell checked. I also am going to give y'all a preview of what will be going up at my etsy shop. I have made a few really cute aprons for Valentines day. Both for adults and kiddos.

OK, typing at you for five minutes is almost worse than not posting at all. But I wanted you to know I was alive....cuz I just know you've been worried all day!

Random Friday Thoughts from Kellie's Brain

Just for the record, yesterday morning was pretty darn fun.

I loved the facial. Probably too much.So very relaxing.

Today has been just as much fun. Despite my best laid plans, I got absolutely nothing done around the house. I had planned to sew from the late morning until early afternoon, but better things kept popping up. On most days I like to keep to The Plan, but every once in awhile it's fun to live spontaneously.

On a whim, I hitched a ride to the gym this morning with one of the girls I work out with. Our kids go to the same school and we were headed the same direction, so it was fun to ride into town together. After the BodyPump class we decided that we should re-fuel by having some breakfast. I decided some girl-y bonding time would be way better than 40 more minutes on the elliptical, and since I didn't have wheels of my own, I was forced to go.

She dropped me off at home with just enough time to get cleaned up and then run out to get the kids from school. I was so surprised when that same friend stopped back by the house and asked if the kids and I wanted to go to The Dairy Queen for a treat. Again, I was forced to take my kids for a delicious chocolate dipped cone.

It's been such a tough day. You know, pumping iron, and socializing with girlfriends, and eating ice cream, is really tough. I 'm exhausted.

The Girl is having her first (non-related) friend spend the night tonight. As I type, I can hear High School Musical 2 and copious laughter in the background. I'm giggling a little bit myself just listening to them.

I hope we aren't all giggling too much past 10pm. Cuz' although I was totally being sarcastic in the paragraphs above, I do turn into a pumpkin way before that....

I hope you had a great Friday too.

La Vida Dulce!

Personal Latte

Today is going to be a great day because I get to have my hair cut and colored (one of my favorite things!). I also will be cashing in a gift certificate I received in October for a facial. For those of you who are seasoned salon goers, you may want to sit down for the next statement. I have never had a facial, so I am excited to get to the salon this morning and see what that's all about.

While I am being properly scrubbed, and neatly trimmed, and blessedly de-rooted, I thought I would share a fun little Coffee Survey I found (link is below). I have seen it floating around on several different blogs over the past weeks but reserved my survey for a time such as this.

On the way to the salon I will use the last 5 dollars on my Starbucks card to pick up a grande, non-fat, vanilla, extra foam, latte,...my stand-by beverage, and the focus of this survey.

What Your Latte Says About You

You don't treat yourself very often. You find that indulging doesn't jibe with your very disciplined life. You are a very frivolous person. You don't take anything too seriously. Why should you? You have a good deal of energy, but you pace yourself. You never burn out too fast. You're addicted to caffeine. There's no denying it. You are responsible, mature, and truly an adult. You're occasionally playful, but you find it hard to be carefree. You are expressive and friendly, but you are never pushy.

What Does Your Latte Say About You?

I think this survey is a little twisted. I am not sure I am any of these things. Especially since #'s 1 & 2 are polar opposites. However, I completely disagree with #4. Addicted is such a strong word.

I would have said, really likes, or, passionate about, or, strongly enjoys.
But addicted? Come-on! ;)

Happy Day!

On Being Safe

Is it just me, or have the news headlines been more than horrible lately?

Last October, as part of a Beth Moore's Daniel study, I chose to stay away from reading the news headlines as part of an exercise that was to help get our focus on the Lord.

I like to read the news, but I was reading way too much, and I was filling my head with garbage. So I stopped. At first I really missed it, but when the period of time was over I was kind of relieved. I felt free, unburdened by all the ugliness in the world that I have no power to change.

I did go back to reading the news online after the exercise but limited myself to cnn.com and the local paper, and cut out the news groups that tend to sensationalize things.

I may have to "fast" again, cause the headlines are getting me down.

This whole thing with the young female hiker in Georgia makes me sad. It's a sad story anyway, but for some reason it's tugging at my heart because the La Vida Family are big hikers. Hiking is a great family activity. It's good, active, safe, and fun.

Not only do we hike as a family, but The Mister and I have had hiking dates together, and many, many times we have hiked on our own. I cannot even count how many times I hiked by myself when we lived in NC. There were at least five different trails within a three mile radius of our home. I always called and let someone know I was going out (and called again when I got home). I kept my eye out, and tried my best to be aware of my surroundings....but if a young woman, who was a black belt in karate, was apparently surrounded by enough people who knew who she was talking to, and was with her large dog isn't safe, I don't know who is.

I guess that is where the whole problem lies: the things I label in my mind as "safe". I want to think that I am safe. I want to think that I am picking activities, and places to be, that are safe. The truth is that life has no guarantee's, for anyone, where safety is concerned. I can take precautions, I can do my best to make wise decisions, but ultimately, I cannot make life entirely safe.

When I hear stories like this one my gut reaction is to be fearful. I want to hide and not engage in any type of activity where I cannot control my environment. The truth is, if I did that, I wouldn't be able to send my kids to school. I wouldn't be able to go running. I wouldn't be able to go to church. I wouldn't be able to fly, or drive, or really, live.

This morning I was praying this scripture for a friend:

Psalm 91:5
You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,

Perhaps I need to take another break from the news and pray that for myself too.

Lunchtime At La Vida

Tuesday's Leftover Menu:

Spaghetti (from Monday) &
Green Beans (from Sunday)

Aren't ya glad you're eating lunch somewhere else!

I'm having a quick bite in between "things" here, but I wanted to share some fun pictures of our hike last Saturday. The weather was amazing. Cool enough for the bugs and desert creatures to be somewhere hiding, and warm enough to wear tank tops! It was awesome! I must tell you that summers can be brutally hot, but it is well worth a couple months of sweltering for winters like this...would you remind me of that, like say, in July/August?

As Promised

This weekend I whipped up another blanket. Mitered corners and all. They aren't as horrible as I anticipated them being, and since there are four corners on one blanket, they get better with practice.

I forgot to get The Mister to take a picture of me wearing K2's contest prize, but the day I finished it my niece was here and I made her be my model so I could get a good picture. She is a long, lanky child, and this apron is made for an adult shaped like me (who has birthed two very large children). You cannot see the pink sides of the apron that wrap around. Which is why I included the last picture of the apron laying flat on my bed.

I was inspired by an apron that was made from two dish towels, but I wanted it to be longer, so I came up with a pattern using four. There are a few things that I will do to "tweak" my pattern, but all in all, I think it came out all right. I am also working on a bunch of other Valentine's Aprons. I have set up an on-line shop and will be placing a few aprons for sale (both for adults and kiddos) in the coming weeks. For those of you who have emailed me in the last month or two and asked about buying aprons and blankets and such, I will let you know when the shop is up and running.

Today was the first day back to "normal-hood". I went to the gym for the first time in 15 days. It wasn't has hard as I thought it would be, but then again, I didn't lift as heavy as I usually do either.

After my workout it was back to Monday mornings at the office, where my Mom eased me back to work by only assigning a small handful of things in which to administratively assist (since my title is administrative assistant, a fancy work for secretary).

My Dad made me the loveliest avacado sandwhich for lunch, made just the way I like it: avocado, lettuce, tomato, 7 grain bread, mustard (no mayo!), and a quick dash of Lawry's seasoning salt.

All in all, a good Back-To-The-Routine kind of Monday.

Sunday Summary - John 17:4

Three weeks ago I said I was going start the year by memorizing a new scripture verse each week. I'm still going to do that, but with one change. I had planned to use the church bulletin for their verse of the week but my bible has several different lists from which to choose, and it's always available in the event that we don't make it to church. *It is my intention to write brief thoughts about my weekly memory verse on Sunday's.* Mostly because it will help me to solidify some of the thoughts scripture produces, but also as a means of accountability. This is because from start to finish, a whole year is a long time, and I want to finish this goal of 52 verses memorized this year....Which brings me to this weeks thoughts:

Week 1- John 17:4:

I have brought you glory by completing the work you gave me to do.

These powerful words of Christ had me deep in thought throughout most of the week.

It's in this first week of the New Year that I find myself looking to the horizon and the opportunities of a clean slate. It's always this time of year when I am motivated and ready: Lists must be made, plans written out, goals set. There are workouts to complete, menu's to be made, chores to be done, people to see, money to be made, and Christmas pounds to lose. There are things I want to do, have, see, and make. I know you have them too.

But here's the thing, often times the things that sound great right now are the things I give up on sometime in February. Have you ever been in the middle of something and realized it was ten times more difficult and twice as messy as you thought it would be?

As I began to have this little bit of scripture in my head, I soon began to remember that a strong start is a dime a dozen, but a strong finish is beyond price.

Christ was the ultimate Finisher. He brought glory to God here on earth with His finished work: Undeserved death on a cross (settling our debt for sin, one and for all.)

How much more should I seek to be a finisher in the things He sets before me here on earth!! From thoughts of how I am going to deal with the mountain of laundry on my living room couch, to how to handle ministry, and everything in between, I am to be a finisher: To seek God for wisdom on the work He has given me to do, and do it. Not because I can cross it off a list, (Disclaimer: I love me some lists, they make me feel like I have a modicum of control) or say that I have "been there, done that", but so I might bring glory to God here on earth.

Somehow that helps me want to finish, even, when in the finishing, the prize doesn't seem so grand (for instance, I know I will be folding that same laundry next week!). Christ has given us the perfect picture of being a finisher. We can be finishers by looking to Christ. Realizing that I can bring glory to God, in both the big and the little things, helps me to want to start this New Year not by making a long list of things I can start this next year , but really focusing, on the things that come my way, with the intent of being a finisher.

~~~

* If anybody wants to try this little Year of Memorization with me, let me know. I can send you my list for the year (or it will be updated weekly on the blog each Sunday).

Pink & Blue

I wanted to get some sewing in before all of life goes back to our normally scheduled program. I always make room in the schedule to do the creative things I enjoy, but the large chunks of time to sew and glitter are definitely drawing to a close until summer.

There are a couple of friends of our who had babies before Christmas and so I have been working on a couple of blankets. I am making two of these blankets: one in pink, one in blue. I have made several blankets like this in the past but this time I thought I would try my hand at blanket binding. Since this is a friendly blog I won't type what I have thought and said out loud while trying to make a mitered corner, but I will tell you that it isn't anywhere near as innocent as this blanket looks.



Sometime this weekend I want to show you another project I have been working on this week. But since it is the prize for this contest I don't want to post until I can get a decent picture (like when The Mister is home to help take it). In the interest of getting you to come back, I'll leave a teaser...


Happy Weekend!

It's Gonna Be A Great Year!

I think that this year is gonna be a good one.

I'll tell you why.

Before Christmas, on December 30th, 2007 to be exact. My hunk of a man, (you might want to be seated for this one) went shoe shopping with me. I needed something high heeled and, maybe opened toed, and in black to wear with my dress to a wedding. As you can see I had a plan. Of course, I didn't exactly put the plan into action until about 2 hours before this wedding because I was not looking forward to shopping at shoe warehouse the week after Christmas.

Normally, I do not take The Mister shoe shopping because his profession jades him.

I am going to tell you a secret that is just between the Internet and myself:

The Mister doesn't believe in high heel shoes.

He says, "they're too hard on a women's body. Specifically the feet, knees, hips and back".

He doesn't believe in the oh-so-popular-and-cute ballet flats because "if you have jacked-up feet (like mine) or you pronate, a flat shoe has no support."

That leaves tennis shoes and a lot of other shoes that are functional, supportive, and good for me, but not really very cute.

To quote our friend (and former graduate studies classmate), R.G:

When I see women wearing high heeled shoes, I see job security.

The Mister feels the same way. So when it comes to shoe shopping, I leave him at home. Plus, I am married to him, so I figure that if I get all messed up then he can fix me.

Anyway, we went to my favorite shoe store in town to find a pair of black pumps and while I was there I found the cutest maroon, patent, leather moccasins. I really wanted to get them but I decided to wait and see how I felt about those shoes in 48 hours. Sometimes shiny things make me feel all needy inside. I don't like to buy things when I'm feeling needy, because 9 times out of 10 I will have remorse. Maybe not while I'm wearing them, but definitely when I see the bank statement at the end of the month.

Well, I thought about those shoes all weekend long and I decided that I would go visit them today. You know, make a call. See if they needed anything, or any...one.

It turns out that 'anyone' wasn't me.

The store was having a huge sale. For heavens sake! they were practically giving shoes away. The maroon moccasins were, of course, not on sale, but I immediately went to them, picked up a pair in my size, and walked back to the sale racks.

This is where the happy part comes in...

I lost my lust for those shiny maroon moccasins because...I found something better. Two somethings better.

Here's the deal. I really did need black shoes. I had shoes to wear with everything in my closet, except black shoes that would go with things that were more casual. While I was carrying around those moccasins I was feeling that same funny feeling I had had all week about spending a big chunk of change on shoes, that I really couldn't wear with the majority of my wardrobe...but then again, shouldn't every girl have a pair of shiny shoes?

Pictured above is what I found.

Not only could I get a black pair, but a red pair too! For just a few dollars more than the pair not on sale!

I put the moccasins back and left with the "on-sale" items.

Let me introduce you to the little black loafers:

They were 40% off and are the most comfortable shoes I think I have owned. They are like butter, I tell you! Butter! Personally, I have never worn butter on my feet, but if I had I am sure that this is what it would feel like.

Just when you think there could not possibly be one more reason to like these shoes, there is! These are certain to win the The Mister's professional Seal of Approval! Glory!

The red ones were 70% off and they make me feel the same emotion I felt as an 8 year old when I got a beautiful, pleated, Sky Blue skirt, that twirled up perfectly when I spun around. If you are a girl, I know you know what I mean.

When I got home I couldn't bear to have those beautiful red shoes just sitting in my dark closet, all lonely and forlorn, so I am wearing them now as I type.

So here it is the, only the 2nd day in the New Year, and I already have one fantastic shoe shopping experience under my belt.

2008. It's gonna be good. I can feel it!

PS: I want to know what you received as a girl that made your heart swoon. What was your Sky Blue Pleated skirt (or patent leather shoes!)?

New Year Fun!

Happy New Year!

The Mister and I had the perfect New Years Eve last night. We dined on Italian at a small restaurant here in town, had an amazing conversation about goals for the coming year, and then hung out with some dear friends, playing games and laughing. Then I convinced him to take me to the grocery store at 11:00pm to buy Chex Mix ingredients and the toilet paper that was on sale.

We were tucked into our cozy bed, underneath the heating blanket, as the neighbors honked horns, set off fire works and made some happy noise at midnight. The kids were safely tucked in at Grannie and Paw's house.

All was right as we entered 2008.

I saw this great idea for today's post over at Musings of a Housewife, so I thought I would steal it. I have taken the first line of the first post of every month last year and linked it to the original post. I then have a favorite picture from that month (which sometimes doesn't match the post and it was VERY HARD to pick just one).

It was incredible to put this post together because in the last year my children have been to three different schools, we have moved across the country, changed jobs, made new friends, and heartachingly missed the old ones. In the stress evaluation test there are only three things we have not experienced this year: A new baby, divorce, or death (although we have done our share of grieving the loss that comes from moving).

And yet, life here in the desert is sweet. I wouldn't trade anything for where I sit right now. Sharing life with family and friends, and typing at the computer, on January 1, 2008, in a tank top. I LOVE this winter weather!

Without further ado...New Year Fun!


January:
I've got my big hair and blue jeans and the captain has just come over the intercom announcing that our flight will arrive in just over an hour.

Snow in the Carolina's

February:
Yesterday was a day that started with me seeing things through glasses that were selfishly colored, but the day quickly changed my view.

Saying goodbye to my amazing co-workers.

March:
Whew!

Trek across the country: Memphis on the Mississippi

April:
Last Saturday my mom and I took The Girl to a local nursery to buy some seeds and flowers for The Girl to plant.

J and I complete the Komen Race for the Cure 5k

May:
So it seems I am now a once a week blogger.

Celebrating Paw's birthday.

June:
The movers have dropped everything off and we officially have our stuff in the new house.

All our stuff packed in crates.

July:
*Thou shall not go to the Costco on a Saturday.*
(Especially on the Saturday before a holiday.)

My dear friend, Jen-with-One-N stops by with her family while on vacation.

August:
"I know you have just been chomping at the bit to hear this news.

The Lemonade Stand

September:
Yes, I caved.

Moofish Cousins (minus the baby!)

October:
I was exhausted as we pulled out of our driveway for our trip to Northern Arizona; to cooler weather and beautiful views.

The Sisters I Had To Wait 30 Years For
(Are they beautiful or what?)

November:
It is really hard to post a blog one handed, but I refuse to put down this fun size Snickers Bar.

Soccer!!!

December:

All righty!My biggest little guitar groupie.
I love him.

New Year, New Look

Happy New Years Eve!

I am trying to change things up around here at La Vida Dulce. I am also seriously thinking about joining June on her exodus to Typepad. But I am still researching stuff. It seems like the people on Typepad can do a lot more with their blogs....but anyway. I will be adding back the side bar widgets eventually as I couldn't get them to move when I put this new template up.

Last night we went to a beautiful wedding. My friend T. got married and it was awesome to be in the church we were married in, sitting next to our friends who participated and came to our wedding. Not to mention watching a dear friend marry someone whom she has waited along time to find. It was a really fun and beautiful wedding!

Tonight The Mister and I are going to be together to ring in The New Year. The kids are going to Grannies and we are going to catch an early dinner and a movie. We have a New Years Eve tradition to ring in the New Year all warm and snuggly under the heating blanket (Cookie) and snoring very loudly. I am sure we will not be breaking tradition this year. That is what happens when you hit middle age, your knees start aching, you complain about loud music, and the only time you are up at mid-night on New Years Eve is if you have to get out of bed to pee.

On New Years Day we are going over to my Mom and Dad's for Albondigas.

Albondigas is a wonderfully delicious meatball soup. And my Dad's recipe is THE BEST. This is a great improvement over the traditional hispanic soup eaten on NEw Years. I will never forget the years I lived at home when my Dad would wake up very early on January 1st to start cooking the Menudo.

If you have never had the privilege to experience Menudo cooking all day in your home, I will explain it for you: it smells so awful while it's cooking that as a kid I used to shut myself in my room, stuff a towel at the base of the door (to keep the odor from getting through the crack), and light a candle (which was forbidden because my Dad was always afraid we would burn the house down). The broth and the hominy always tasted good, but I just couldn't ever eat the tripe (see definition #3 if you are uncertain what this is) .

Albondigas is much better, and more aromatically pleasing, in my humble opinion.

What are you doing for New Years Eve? Whatever it is I pray that your New Year is terrific!

Christmas Recap - Part 2

Christmas Day:
On Christmas morning we headed over to celebrate with The Mister's parents house.

This is The Girl, who is patiently waiting with her brother and cousins, to open another round of presents.
This is my dear friend and sister-in-love, Mrs. Moofish.
I love this picture because it gives you an idea of how beautifully The Mister's mom decorates her tree. It's always lovely. After spending the first half of the day there, The Mister and I packed up the kids and drove the wonderfully short 13 minute drive to our house to do our own Christmas with the kids...and more unwrapping.

The Boy had guessed, immediately, what his present was by the size of the box. This is the "surprised look". I actually caught both he and his sister practicing the "surprised look" the day before Christmas.

The Girl opened up her gift but was actually surprised.
One of the reasons I loved this Christmas was because it was my first year to receive a gift, bought by The Girl without my help, from the school Christmas Shop. 2007 will go down in the books as the first year I received a 'Mom Mug'. I was very excited to receive it, but not as excited as The Girl was to see me open it.
I included this picture only because it shows The Mister's sense of humor, and his ability to wrap a good gift. My husband is a firm believer in duct tape. He feels that a man without duct tape is like like a women without shoes (A note from the Mister: Although if you are married to a man with duct tape, he can make you a pair of shoes.) If you'll notice, my gift (from him) is wrapped with duct tape. That gray corsage I am wearing was a bow made with duct tape. This was not the only gift he duct-orated. I almost didn't want to open the gifts because they made me laugh. But I am glad that I did, because one of the gifts he gave me is the new Martha Stewart cookbook. Yay!

OK, as I type The Mister is placing all the Christmas boxes back into the garage. The Christmas decoration are packed and my house is back into it's pre-Christmas state! Whew! I love to decorate, but when Christmas was over, it's time to move on. Now I can focus on making some Chex Mix for the New Years Day lunch at my parents house!

La Vida Dulce!

Christmas Recap - Part I

We had an excellent celebration this week. It was great to be here with family and not have to drive for 3 days to get here! Here is a recap in pictures. Since my family has always celebrated on Christmas Eve, and The Mister's on Christmas Day, I'll post in two parts:

Christmas Eve:
The scene: Christmas lights on; tamales cooking in kitchen; children saying "When is Santa coming? When is the party starting? When do we get to open presents?" for the 80 bagillionth time.

While we waited for Santa's arrival....

We played.

We Danced...

Well, most of us...

Finally, right on schedule, Old Saint Nick came to call...

We laughed.....

We cried...

And Santa asked me, as he does every year, if I have been a good girl.
Of course, I am always a very good girl.

The only bummer this year was that The Boy had a fever of 101 and felt pretty miserable.
To add insult to injury we asked him, a ten year old, to sit on Santa's lap for a picture.

And finally, we opened gifts.

Also, there was A LOT of tamale eating. I meant to take a picture, but I accidentally ate them before I remembered to take a picture.

La Vida Dulce!

Stay tuned for Part 2 - Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas Sweet Friends!

Dear Friends,

The cookies are made. The presents are wrapped. The preparation of the last month will soon be over. The anticipation is 95% of the fun isn't it?

I am going to be taking a blogging break for the next week or so. I may peek in sometime before the New Year, but then again, maybe not.

Before I sign off I have to tell you that one of the many things that has brought me joy this year is being able to communicate (even in tiny ways) with those who come to read this blog. I have kept up with friends that I might have lost contact with because of time and miles. I have also met new friends, and reconnected with friends that I would have liked to have known better.

I wish I could sit face to face with all of you together, even if you are lurker (both the lurkers I know about, that would be you CSG, and the lurkers I don't), and share some coffee (or tea, or hot chocolate)and laugh together over something warm from the oven. There wouldn't be child interruptions, or phone calls, or work schedules to keep us worried, and busy, and distracted. We could just hang out, The La Vida Gals, and really chat. Of course, that isn't how the blog works, but I am incredibly grateful for the way it facilitates relationship (and community) even in it's own interesting kind of way.

I pray that you have a Merry, Merry Christmas.

With love,
Kellie

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
~2 Cor. 13:14

And the Winner Is....

Thanks for all of you who particpated in the Sign My Mothers Cast post.

Our winner is K2 in North Carolina with:

Went to Bora Bora on a cruise, came back with a tora foota and a bruise.

You all were awesome and if I ever break a foot I want you all to sign it.

K2, you have won a prize of your choice. An Apron? A Ballet skirt (I know you already have one!) or coffee (although I know you don't drink coffee). If none of these appeal to you I may just surprise you. Let me know what you think.

Today was to be a post on making tamales but with all the broken feet and sick kids around here we bought them from a very good tamale making friend! The Boy, who was sick last weekend, managed to make it through the last week of school only to get sick again this morning, so we are keeping him full of decongestants and Gatorade, and praying that nobody else gets this stuff before Christmas!

Well, it feels late, although it is only 8pm. I will be posting tomorrow and then taking a blogging break until the New Year, so I won't say Merry Christmas until then...

La Vida Dulce!

The Last Thing

Y'all, I am totally procrastinating.

The cookies have been baked. The kitchen is tidied; my sewing/craft area has been organized and cleaned. The kids have cleaned their rooms and they are enjoying some R&R in front of a movie. I have been to the gym, and to Mrs Moofish's house where we decorated cookies with all the little Moosfishes.

In a last ditch effort to postpone what must be done, I even went to the store, with my children, on the Friday before Christmas! Although I did toss around the idea of getting up at 5 am tomorrow so I could shop in "without-the-kids" peace. But shopping with all the other grouchy Mom's who hauled their children to buy groceries won out. Hands down. No questions asked. We're talking critical, borderline desperate, avoidance here.

(And for the record, I wasn't even the tiniest bit grouchy. Oh no! Not me. When The Boy and The Girl decided that they should play the "shut-your-eyes-and-let-me-lead-
you-through-the-store-as-if-you-were-blind" game (they can't keep from running into people with both eyes open), I spoke to them in my sweetest tone and with the loveliest Christmas disposition.

I said, "THE NEXT CHILD I HAVE TO EVEN LOOK AT, MUCH LESS SPEAK TO, WILL NOT ONLY BE GROUNDED TODAY, BUT FOREVER!!" Of course this was done very quietly, and with a smile on my face, so that all the parents around me would think I was asking "Would you like brown sugar and cinnamon PopTarts, or Cherry?"

OK, so that might have been a bit grouchy. Grouchy enough for me to feel the tiniest bit of guilt as they very quietly and obediently walked on each side of the cart through the grocery store, as if someone had just canceled Christmas.

When we got back from the store It was still here, waiting. That one small thing that must be tended too. Why does It seem like such a huge undertaking? Because It isn't fun. It isn't creative. It isn't festive, or lovely, or sparkly. It isn't warm. It doesn't smell like coffee. Oh for goodness sake! I just need to hang up this keyboard and go.

I have to clean the bathrooms.

Don't you feel sorry for me?