Top 10 Things I Wish Isabelle Would Understand

1. PJ's are not called bathing suits and should not be used that way
2. It's not safe (for many reasons) to pull the knitting needles out of my lace project and run down the hallway - laughing
3. The television has more than one channel
4. Blankets do keep you warm
5. Rain is made from water - not acid.  The screaming is unnecessary.
6. The toilet brush is not a tool to clean the couch with
7. Batteries don't make everything light up
8. Closing the door so I can't see, doesn't mean I don't know what you're doing.  I'm on to you.
9. Hanging from the ceiling fan only looks fun
10. The sound the cat makes when you step on his tail is not laughter

Knitting Olympics

Michelle and I are entered in the Knitting Olympics at the Yarn Harlot.  Michelle is knitting the dog in this pattern and I'm knitting this shawl.  We have to cast on during the Winter Olympic's opening ceremony and we have to be done before the torch goes out in Vancouver.   It's going to be fun and a challenge to see if we finish on time.  There are only Gold Medals awarded for knitting - meaning you finished, and prizes to randomly picked Knitting Gold Medalists. 

It's going to be challenging for me because I have this project going...

Doug's Birthday Socks, and this one...

Dad Shearer's birthday socks, and this one...

A baby sweater for Doug's Boss's Boss.  He had a baby in September...

I'm a little behind :)  I also just started another pair of birthday socks ( for she that cannot be named - yet ).  I'm hoping the knitting fairies will help at night while I'm sleeping.

On a side note, I have been searching for the perfect Cinnamon Roll recipe to go with the Shearer Spanish Rice.  The two go together, it's weird, but true.  After five years, I have found it!! It's right here.  It has cream cheese inside the dough, which makes it really rich.  The recipe says it makes eight, but I make it into 12. It's just too filling to have any room left over for the Shearer Spanish Rice.

The Opening Ceremonies start in a few hours.  I have a little bit of time to load up on some coffee and do some cleaning so I can sit down and knit like crazy.  Dinner's easy tonight- waffles:)

Lame-ness and Whales

As usual, when I planned Christmas projects to give away, I didn't allow for a realistic timeline.  I'm not sure why I always do this. Maybe I need a distraction from all the Christmas excitement or maybe I think I'm faster than I am.  Either way, there is always one late present.

This year it happened to Arielle.  I crocheted this all the way to Tempe when we picked her up.  I had it hidden in a Trader Joes cooler bag.  She never suspected.  I crocheted furiously whenever she wasn't around, but since I haven't seen my gorgeous girl for awhile, I made sure she was around most of the time.

After Christmas, I pulled it out and told her that it was hers.  I just needed to "finish it up."  On the way back to Tempe, I madly crocheted in the car.  When we dropped her off, it still wasn't finished.

A few weeks later.....ta da.   Finally done!  I sent it to her and she loves it.  I kept waiting for "Mom that was lame,"  but it never came.  It's still lame that it didn't get done by Christmas.

Here it is....

 

Sea World

We bought Sea World tickets.  They were having this wonderful sale; buy for one day and get the rest of the year for free.  We are going back today because we can, but I'm not taking the camera.  It's hard enough wrangling a toddler, a stroller, a purse, a camera and a cup of coffee.  Better to leave the purse and camera at home.  Here are a few pictures of our first trip to Sea World this year...

The artic penquins

Is it a seal or sea lion?  Anyone know the difference?

Michelle at the Shark tank.  I don't know why the camera couldn't capture the fish.

Isabelle at the Shamu show

These dolphins were so funny.  They kept jumping up and looking over the rocks.  The dolphins in the next tank were getting fed.

Please think happy thoughts for our wonderful Charlie.  He ran out of the garage tonight, and has not been seen since.  He's done this before, but it always makes us nervous.  With any luck, he'll saunter home.  It's a bit chilly outside.

New Year's Resolution

I don't know about you, but I always try to avoid making resolutions because only about half of my resolutions are ever accomplished, but I guess it's better to have half than none.

So, this year I sat down and wrote down 10 resolutions.  They all started with two words...

Do more crafting with Michelle
Do more knitting
Do more reading
Do more playing outside the house
Do more blogging

Okay those are the fun ones, and probably the 50% that I'll actually do.  But...

Do more cleaning out (a feng shui master would have a field day with my closets)
Do more exercise
Do more doctor's appointments for myself
Do more repair work
Do more yoga

And hopefully while I'm doing more, I'll find 10 more hours in my day.

I don't have a picture for this blog entry, but here are a few pictures from Christmas...

Isabelle in her Yoda hat Arielle gave her

Arielle and Michelle making "gingerbread houses" out of graham crackers and Isabelle painting

She's wearing a dress her Grandma Fink gave her for Christmas

Catch Up

I have been remiss in my blogging. In my defense, my camera is acting up (or my computer is) and it's difficult to pull the pictures off of my camera for the blog. I'm hoping that I'll get some time to investigate and this problem will be resolved soon. I have managed to download some.

So now I have to play catch up...

Halloween

It was a lot of fun. Linda (Doug's sister) and her two teenage children flew in for a few days. They helped put the rest of Doug's haunted house up.

The haunted house was over six months in the making. Doug slowly gathered his materials together, from the plywood to the cheese cloth curtains. He planned, erased, discussed and redrew the plans. We all helped. I painted the front of the house to look like weathered planks. It took me a week and a half to shade, let the paint dry and then "weather" them.

The girls had a lot of fun. Michelle looked like a scary zombie and Isabelle was a cute little Tigger. Isabelle got the "trick-or-treat" down pretty fast.



Here's Isabelle running to catch up with Michelle, Miranda and Dakota.



Click here to see the Halloween slideshow

Michelle's Socks



They are FINALLY finished. Michelle says they feel like rich people's socks. Not sure what that means exactly, but I know it's compliment - I think.

The Garden

The veggie garden has been replanted with lettuce, cabbage and onions. We are already impatiently waiting for our first garden fresh salad.




Thanksgiving

We flew Arielle home for Thanksgiving on Tuesday. Wednesday, we drove nine hours to my father's new home in Lakeport. Traffic was a nightmare, but we eventually got there - hours late.

We stayed at a wonderful hotel on the lake. I woke up on Thanskgiving morning to this...

This view distracted me from my traditional Macy's Parade watching. It was worth it. I wasn't the only one... everyone went outside to enjoy the view and feed the ducks.




I made all of the desserts - of course. The cheesecake really stood out though. Thank you Paula Deen and the Food Network.




It was sooo good that Arielle requested it for her birthday. I wish I could find the recipe online. I can't anymore.

Isabelle had a horrible cold and was a bit miserable. After we went home, we were all sick for about three weeks. But, we are all healthy now; just in time for Christmas.