Our Snowflake Adorned Wedding Cake

Tonight, Steve and I will be celebrating New Year’s Eve and our fourth wedding anniversary. It’s hard to believe four years have passed since our New Year’s Eve blowout where we said “I do.” We had a spectacular wedding and it is a memory I will always cherish.

I wish everyone reading this blog a happy new year!

For my entire life, I have had cats as pets. When I was born, my parents already had Ethel and Lucy. Through my late childhood and teen years, I had two cats, Stocking and Thor. In my adult life, Steve and I have adopted two cats, Napoleon and Abe.

Our Beloved Family Pet

When visiting my folks last weekend, it was pretty evident that Stocking, now sixteen years old, was on his last legs. Once a robust cat with tons of personality, he was very reclusive,  light as a feather, and his fur was extremely matted. Given his condition, my parents decided to put him down yesterday, a decision that was likely best for Stocking’s well being.

Though it is sad that Stocking is no longer in our lives, he was the most wonderful childhood pet. I got him for Christmas in the fifth grade and he was a tiny little kitten with long hair and blue eyes. He fit into the pocket of my robe and would sneak into my littlest brother’s room and sleep on his neck at night.

Stocking taught me the most about living with cats, prepping me for life with Thor, Napoleon, and Abe. As many have said, cats are much more your roommate than your best friend. When Stocking was a kitten, I had scratches all over my hands and legs because he was so playful. And as he grew into his plump adult years, I learned how fat and lazy cats could be. Then, as he aged and I encountered him only on brief visits home, I learned about how cats slow down and pee all over your stuff but remain great companions.

Though I have moved on and live with my own frisky young cats now, I wanted to memorialize my childhood pet here, not only to come to terms with his passing but to remember the love pets have brought to my life and to reconcile the conflicted feelings that arise in ourselves as we grow older. Stocking’s passing is a reminder that I am not an eleven-year-old girl with a new kitten. But thanks to him, I will always have felines sleeping and purring in my home.

Well, it was a twenty-four hour trip to Idaho that included a night in a seedy hotel on Christmas Eve, but we made it to Boise in the afternoon on Christmas day. What a relief!

Steve and I have been enjoying all there is to enjoy about Idaho: the snowy mountains, the great coffee and beer, and, of course my family. It’s been way to long since our last visit and we are enjoying every second of our gathering right now. We’ve been working on a puzzle, planning a party for this afternoon, and catching up with some of our favorite people.

I look forward to posting some more of my finished projects in the coming days, but I just want to enjoy my time here for as long as I have it.

It’s been one of those weeks. Work hasn’t been great, the computer is infected with a virus, and there is a giant blizzard over the Midwest, which is causing some serious flight delays. Hopefully, we’ll be fine tonight as we navigate to Boise through Minneapolis. Believe me, I am anxiously watching the flight tracker on USA Today and trying to think positively about this.

God willing, we’ll be in Idaho in twenty-four hours and celebrating Christmas with my family. And then hopefully next week we’ll get the virus off of the computer. And there’s no work for eleven days!

Steve in the Snow!

Well, we got tons of snow! I think this crazy storm hit Philly worse than many places. It is always odd when the more mountainous parts of the state have significantly less snow than us.

My Care By Mid Afternoon

Here are a few pics of our crazy snowfall. Steve and I walked back from our holiday party at 11 p.m. last night and I made him stand in front of our house to showcase our snowfall total. Also note, we shovelled the walkway twice yesterday and still had at least seven inches of snow on the ground when we came home!

Lots of Snow By the Afternoon

Our holiday party was tons of fun. I am very excited because Steve got a Flip video camera from his mom so I can’t wait to start posting video to this blog soon. Also, I was able to give many handmade gifts, and I’ll start posting those projects on the blog this week! For now though, I am going to enjoy another snow day . . .

The Car at 11 p.m.

Something glorious happened today! We are in the midst of a giant blizzard and the best part about it is that it is happening on a Saturday! Yipee! That means we can enjoy a leisurely weekend amidst beautiful white fluffy snow and then resume the workweek normally. And the other great thing is that there is no snow in the forecast for Thursday when Steve and I fly to Boise to celebrate Christmas.

The other great thing about today is that we’re off to celebrate the holidays with Steve’s family in an hour. We’ll have a delicious meal, open presents, and play games all night.

Finally old man winter is cooperating!

Generally when I post something that says “finished” I review a project and post some pics. Well, since I haven’t celebrated the holidays with my many friends and family members yet, I can’t display my many creations. But I can gloat that I’ve finished all holiday-related gifts and they are all wrapped and ready for parties! Once you see how busy I’ve been, you’ll understand my excitement at this very moment.

As much as I cannot wait to see friends and family over the course of the next few weeks, I am also beginning to plot out my nonholiday time in January. As I mentioned earlier in the week, I am hoping to refresh my office/craft room and I look forward to starting some new projects. I mass-produced so many things for the holidays and am looking forward to spending some time on a few big-scale projects this winter.

I am also looking forward to getting back into my reading habits, going on dates with my husband, and finding some new hobbies in 2010. I also hope to find a bunch of new blogs to read and follow. I am always amazed by the number of fantastic blogs that there are. Do you have any ideas on blogs I should be reading?

It’s not often that I link to articles I read, but this one from The New York Times is perfect for this blog. Glad to know there are many of us out there battling with our sewing machines. Now that I’ve been working on mine for so long, I can’t imagine learning a new, more technical machine. I understand the writer’s intimidation! However, I am sure in a month or so, she’ll be whipping tons of projects out on this machine.

Handmade gift update: Just two more minor things to finish and I am putting the sewing machine to rest until after Christmas!

I made an uncharacteristic decision this year. No holiday baking.

I am always the cookie wife for my husband’s work, the homemade baking maven, the daughter who keeps up old traditions. But this year, with a determined attitude to diet and an explosion of fabric and thread that need to become gifts, I made the decision not to trudge to the store to buy pounds of flour, sugar, and butter; mix together my ingredients; and bake like crazy.

While it’s a Christmas tradition I miss, I am very happy I made the decision. I have now lost seven pounds (in December, no less!) and am having difficulty finishing all of my handmade gifts in the craft room (for the moment better known as Santa’s workshop).

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I am glad Christmas is only a week and a half away! We begin our family gatherings this weekend at my husband’s mother’s house and will have a great time with family. Steve and I decided to open our presents on the 23rd this year and will travel to Boise on Christmas Eve. I absolutely cannot wait to get home!

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While I am excited about Christmas and all that it will bring, I can’t help but look forward to January’s big project: a craft room/office makeover! Three years ago we painted what was once a little girl’s bedroom from pink to lavender. While purple is my favorite color, I have gotten to the point where I can’t stand to be in my creative space any longer because it is too dreary. I once remember reading that lavender rooms were traditionally in funeral homes . . . now I am finding out why!

Take a look at the current room. I think it needs a bright color, some fun shelves, and better storage. Right now I am thinking an orange paint on the walls (think cantaloupe) with red and yellow accents. That should give it a more vibrant feeling, don’t you think?

The "White Christmas" Poster

Have you ever seen “White Christmas”? I don’t think I had ever watched it before this weekend. Here’s my brief review: the movie is more than sixty years old, but is very entertaining and a good escape from holiday stress. There are some seriously crazy dance numbers and the plot’s simplicity and predictability makes it a fun Christmas movie. 

I am proud of myself this year: I am making a point to watch as many Christmas movies as I can. So far, “White Christmas” is the third holiday movie I have watched this month–much better than in year’s past.

Other news: Many of our gifts have been packed and shipped to their final destinations. Can’t wait for the opening of them! It was such a pleasure, as always, to make and purchase gifts for my favorite people.

Countdown to celebrating: We have two Christmas parties this weekend and I am leaving for Boise in nearly two weeks. So psyched for the holiday festivities to begin!