Our Christmas Advent Tradition

I think you all know what I'm talking about, but for those who are new or forgetful, check out this link, and this link, and this link. These past years have worked out quite nicely, yet it's time to change with the times. I now have a 10 year old. Which translates into busyness, she always want to be doing, going, making. A storybook is a 3 minute distraction, that's it! So my plan this year is to give each day of the week a theme:

Monday: Cooking/Decorating
Tuesday: Making/Crafting
Wednesday: Reading
Thursday: Playing
Friday: Watching
Saturday: Going/Doing
Sunday: Spiritual Meaning

Instead of packages - I'm currently making postcards, each saying something like:

Monday: Decorate a dozen gingerbread cookies with Mom and pick a family for us to deliver them to after Family Home Evening.
Tuesday: I've made a stocking for Roopert, I need you to decorate it! I have some special decorations ready for you on your craft table.
Wednesday: Pick your favorite Santa story to read with Dad tonight.
Thursday: I challenge you to a scrabble game using only Christmas words.
Friday: Pick your favorite Christmas movie from our home collection to watch with the family.
Saturday: Go to Fort Edmonton for the Christmas Reflections activity
Sunday: Set up the Nativity in the front room and read from the scriptures about Jesus birth.

There's an example of what I'm thinking of doing. Wish me luck! I'm making postcards in Photoshop and I'll get them printed out on Monday.

My Dog Ate My Favorite Ornament or Photos from the Exchange

An ornament exchange is a truly labour intensive event, but worth it when you have your wonderful pile of goodness. My favorite ornament of the night was a beautiful hand quilled snowflake, flocked with crunchy white glitter. It was so pretty. I say was, because this is it now:
My little turd ball of a dog that is banished to his suitcase bed for time and all eternity, ripped the blasted thing to bits and consumed some in the process for good measure to ensure I can in no way fix it. So I'm too depressed to share more ornament photos with you. Anyone want a dog?

Ornament Exchange and Scrooge

Two things that are filling my hours and days.

The Ornament Exchange being hosted by my friend Rachel is tomorrow. I thought it was Saturday, but it's tomorrow. There are 24 ladies involved and we make 24 ornaments to swap. For reals. I'm almost done. Not very impressive since I've had 6 - yes 6 months to work on this. Nothing like saving it to the last minute. (Shaking head in shame)

Scrooge, not the movie, not the book, I'm talking about the musical. Our ward is putting on the play/musical as our Christmas party, running two nights with a matinee. Have you ever heard of such a Christmas party? I didn't give it much thought until I was enlisted to sing and now I'm kinda gobsmacked at what a big deal this little project is. Trust me, I'll be updating you on this lots in the next few weeks.

Mmmmonday

Some points for Monday

• Did you miss this furry little face? Whether you did or didn't here's Roo from today while I was in the backyard photographing some Ribbon Wands. His nose is constantly crunchy with snow when he comes in from the backyard. The hair covering his eyes makes me mental, I want to cut it but I fear the consequence would be I blind the little wiggle worm.
  
• Okay, someone thinks I'm mad at them because of something I said on my blog. I'm baffled at what it could have been, but it's safe to say if I was I'm over it. Hope you are too!
• I'm working really really hard on getting all my Christmas shopping done by December 5th. I know there are some of you smiling smugly at the computer screen right now because you are already done, well on December 6th I hope to be just like you.
  
• Reading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card for the first time! I think some of you will find this crazy that I haven't read it yet and still others of you will wonder what I'm even talking about. Soon I will have all the answers.
  
• Kia came home from school today, walked in the door, was attacked by bouncing Roo and promptly said, "I want a chocolate sundae with whipped cream." Um, hi?
  
• Guess what we're having for our FHE treat tonight?
  
• My house smells of evergreen pine. Strongly. Like a Christmas tree was maybe murdered in here and someone hid it's body in the walls of my house. I like it.
  

Hollywood and Universal

Day 2 on our trip brought us to LA and Hollywood for one particular member of the family especially (that would be Kia).

We began the day in the original part of LA called Olvera Street. It's a beautiful spot with a traditional Mexican style plaza area and street style shopping.
We wondered through the Mexican shops looking at beautiful handcrafted wares and admired the culture (which has an alarming penchment for wrestling masks).
Then we headed to downtown Hollywood, where we posed at the Wax Museum, people watched the folks dressed up like dead celebrities, tried to fit our hands and feet into the prints at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and walked around the Kodak Theatre (home of the Oscars and Idol) which is surrounded by a lovely outdoor mall. We surprised that directly across the street from the Kodak Theatre is Jimmy Kimmel Live, interesting location we thought.
I liked seeing Kia's hands fit into Judy Garlands spot, but she had her sights set on on another pair of hand prints...Michael Jackson's star was the hot spot of the block for sure, Kia was more interested in Queen Latifah's which is right beside Michaels and of course Mickey Mouse was also a happy find. We drove around Rodeo Drive, the Sunset Strip, and Beverly Hills. For lunch we stopped at the Farmers Market located right beside the CBS studios, it not a Farmers Market it is THE Farmers Market. Much to Kia's delight one of the three American Girl stores that exist in North America was there and she was thrilled to go check it out. We had a fabulous lunch there of sandwiches with fresh sliced hot turkey and ham right off the bone, yummy!
We drove around Beverly Hills for awhile, learned a few things about where various celebrities died (um who cares?) and then we hit the Santa Monica Pier. Russ, being the ever faithful Baywatch viewer recognized the area from the show...cue wife eye roll. We had a great time checking out the hot spots, with the beach being the perfect ending to our day.

A couple days later we headed to Universal Studios, it was really quiet there and we were able to do all the rides and shows with zero wait time. Russ and Kia even managed to get me on the Mummy's Revenge ride and I must admit it was really fun.
We saw the Backdraft Show, Waterworld and the one on Animals in the movies, which Kia liked the best. She hated the Backdraft show, simply because she holds a strong fear of fire and that's kinda what it's all about. We went on the Universal Studio's Backlot tour, I won't bombard you with photos, but here's one I snapped when we were going by the Bates hotel and Norman came out to see us. Watch out Russ!

Shrek 4D was awesome and so was Terminator. Some of the best 3D I've seen yet. Kia and I were all over the Shrek and Donkey characters in the park. Donkey actually was interactive and talked, though it looks like he's completely still in his waffle cart, trust us he's not.

The Simpson ride looked so bright I had to snap a photo, though the ride was kinda boring in comparison to the outer appearance.

The House of Horrors was probably my favorite. I laughed so hard as we rounded corners and were terrified by people dressed as Mummy's and murderers. So fun. I don't know why being scared is so entertaining but this place rocked. The last photo above is from City Walk at Universal Studios, it's a really big California outdoor Mall thing-a-ma-jig, so save some time to check this place out. There you have it a couple more days covered!

Disneyland

Wow, what a trip! 11 days of fun packed in a blurring swirl of memories. Here's a few images from our first day at Disneyland:
We arrived bright and early on Monday morning to light crowds at the park. I managed to score this photo of the castle with not a soul in sight. Unheard of! Mind you if I had turned around it would have been a stampede of people. We rode at least 4 rides the first hour with not a minute wait time. Pirates, Haunted House, Splash Mountain and something else I have forgotten.
Can you tell we found Pooh bear right after splash mountain? Them are some soggy clothes. Tigger was just around the corner and me and Kia got our picture with him, I'll spare you the shot though because I look like an opera singer in it, in size and mouth.
While we were in the park they were filming the Christmas Day parade which is airing, when else? On Christmas Day on ABC. Plug Plug. We sat around for a bit and watched Ryan Seacrest work the crowd. Taylor Swift, Stevie Wonder and Demi Lavato are all in the special...so it was kind of fun to see how it all works. Sorry, the only star I got a shot of was Ryan Seacrest.
One of our favorite character couples of the trip was Mary and Bert. They were hysterical, bossy, fun and completely memorable. Kia got to hold her umbrella...she was thrilled.
Kia scored some fairy autographs in pixie hollow and we did some classic disney rides, like the jungle cruise and the Tiki room.
We truly had a great day and managed to do about 70% + of the rides in Disneyland that first day thanks to the light crowds.

More Disney and California Adventure photos:
Daytime shot by me, nightime shot courtesy of flickr user jdhilger. The place was decked out for the holidays. In fact the holiday season started on November 13th, so we got to see the Haunted Mansion, It's A Small World, and Sleeping Beauty Castle in all their Christmas glory, which is quite impressive! Daytime shot of Small World taken by me, nightime shot taken by Loren Javier. There were so many sweet little spots around the parks to discover. The white rabbits house, toon town, and the river boat to just name a few.
We loved California Adventure...I'd say my favorite rides were there...Flying over California, Bugs Life 3D, Toy Story Midway Mania and Kia and Russ loved the rollercoaster California Screaming and the Tower of Terror, all of which they did multiple times. The Muppet Theater was awesome, Russ talked to Crush in the interactive show (where he coined the name, Rockin' Russyl) and the Aladdin show was so good we saw it twice. The parades were amazing, especially the Christmas parade. Wow, it was jaw dropping, but my favorite favorite favorite thing of all was Fantasmic. So not original, but I crazy, over the moon loved every moment of that show. Worth the crazy long wait, and crazy crowds.
photo by PeterPanFan.

One of my favorite memories was on our first ride which was Pirates of the Caribbean. As we rounded a corner, a distinct memory of being in that exact place with my parents hit me and it was cool to be repeating the experience with Russ and Kia by my side. And before I start getting in trouble for not being in the photos, trust me, I was, just not so much on my camera. We used the photo pass for some great family photos. Can't share 'em till I buy 'em.

We're home!

Safe and sound and our dog still loves us. Will update with photos and stories when I get my act together...the one above is from our last day at the Disneyland Park. With days at California Adventure, Santa Monica Pier, Hollywood, Universal Studios, Knotts Berry Farm, San Diego Zoo, Disney and so much more, I really could bore the snot out of you with photos and such, so I'll try not to go overboard.

We truly had a great time.

Commercial Pilgrimage

Hours away from...

Photo from Mastery of Maps

Later dudes!

Lots of new recipes

I've been adding new recipes lately to the Workman Family Recipe blog. No cinnamon buns yet though! Check it out if you're interested. The cooking links on the side are worth the visit.

Through the Eyes of a Child

Cleaning my studio and I found this old quiz that was about me through Kia's perspective. Made me smile today and I figured it was worth saving and sharing:

What's the funniest thing I do? Robot mommy is pretty funny. When you sing Opera like you were a boy. The way your hair looks when you get up in the morning.

What's my favorite TV show? Lost, but I've never seen you watch it. The show I see you watch is Oprah.

How tall am I? How should I know, you're tall enough to ride anything you want at Galaxyland.

What's my favorite thing to do? scrapbook (wow this was a long time ago)

What makes me sad? When Daddy doesn't listen. (har har)

What make me laugh? Funny things in books. (yes I'm one of those people that burst out laughing when I read)

How much time do I spend on the phone? I think maybe you talk to Heather too much on the phone.

Am I a better driver than Dad? You're the same - except at night, Daddy is a better driver in the dark.

What do i do when you're at school each day? Make ribbon wands and go to the post office.

What should I be famous for? making cinnamon buns.

Halloween Catch-Up

Our Halloween tradition of homemade chicken noodle soup (link is to recipe I shared back in 2005) was especially welcome this year. Oh so yummy! Sorry the photo looks gross, but trust me it was delicious. I pureed the vegetables that I had used in the broth and put it all back in, which added tons of flavor. The noodle recipe is as follows:

2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 TBSP boiling water
1 TBSP Oil
Flour to make a stiff dough.

Flour board and roll into a large circle very thin! Let the rolled dough dry just a little, then slice in long rows and stack your pieces. Dice thin noodles. You can also roll it up jelly roll style and cut thin strips. Place on a clean cloth and continue drying till you add your noodles to the soup. I usually double this recipe.
Here's our little Roo in his brief but cute eye patch.
Some shots from around the house:
Kia adds to her potion collection every year. She displayed it in the front hallway this Halloween.
Here's the skull that has been gracing our door for the month of October and Kia just before she hit the streets with Dad for round 1 of trick or treating, then soup, then more trick or treating.
This is what I did, while they were out...

Yummy caramel apples that only I have been enjoying! 1 down three to go!The traditional after Halloween game...Candy Store:
I'm her best customer.

One of these things is kinda the same

All these things come in dozens...



Happy Anniversary to us! Russ left the sweetest card on the counter in our room today, made me all teary. Love this fella! Can't think of a better companion to have spent the last dozen years with.

House Tours

I love seeing peoples homes and gardens. I love going through show homes, but would much prefer going through lived in homes. The web always finds a way to fulfill my whims. Hooked on Houses has a great Fall house tour which can be enjoyed here! It's mainly focused on Autumn and Halloween decorating ideas. Here were a few of my favorites from the above mentioned site as well as others!:

This one from Emily at Timeless Paper:

Diane Keaton's Home - YUM!Umm, Reece can I come and live with you? You won't even know I'm there, I'll just lurk around the grounds.

The Quilt

I love quilts. I've done some quilt piecing in the past, mainly block work that never really amounted to anything but a random, fray edged block sitting in a box with my other abandoned sewing projects. Awhile ago jean rag quilts were all the rage, and really, the process seemed super simple even to a novice like me. When I saw some minky/cotton rag quilts on Etsy, with bright modern cottons I knew I was going to give it a try.

Thus the idea was born to make Kia a quilt for her birthday. This kid of mine loves homemade things and I had no doubt she would appreciate the time and effort as well as the outcome of a project this size. I chose a palette of pink, blue, green and white - all her favorite colors and then slowly accumulated fabrics for the quilt.

I started with some basic fabrics: a vintage fabric that my mom had purchased in hopes of making something for me as a baby, white eyelet that I double lined, various Joel Dewberry's Ginseng fabrics, various Amy Butler fabrics I have collected over the years with my favorite pattern of hers ever Sky Lotus, some from Sandi Henderson's Farmers Market line, and in honor of her love of owls who could resist Alexander Henry's spotted owl print? and various quilting cottons I've collected over the years. Then the cutting began.
The original squares are 6.5 inches squared. The cotton batting inside was cut at 5 inches. The quilt is 10 squares (symbolic of her 10th birthday) x 12 squares for a total of 120 squares which translated into a total of 390 squares cut when lining is considered. Once the squares and the pattern or lack of pattern is decided the quilt comes together really quickly. One of my favorite memories in the making of this quilt is of course the vintage block in the top corner that was from my Mom's fabric collection. The other is the memory of Russ helping me snip the seams for the ragging effect. I'll always remember him crawling around the floor in his Sunday suit as we snipped and talked. Truly making this project a family affair.

Here are some more shots from our evening:
The quilt was a huge success. Yay! Between the dog, Dad and the birthday girl, everyone was vying for a turn. The next photo should make my SIL, Amy proud of us (even though we bought ours at Michaels):
And here's the standard shot of blowing out the birthday cake candles. I had big plans of making an owl birthday cake...clearly I downsized, but this ganache covered chocolate heart cake was pretty darn yummy!We celebrated her birthday a day early because tonight Kia and her entire grade 5 class have won tickets to the Oilers game. Tough times, eh?

The last day of the number 9.

Double digits loom on the horizon tomorrow and I have to say out loud, online and over and over again in my aging mind, "where has the time gone?" Poof. Ten years. In the blink of an eye.

I think back to the birth, and all the surprises and worries that came after wards, to Russian missile like oxygen tanks in the living room, pumping for six months (you Mom's know what a big deal that would be), a baby who I tried to fatten up, blonde little curls that I adored at the back of her neck, snuggles, giggles, drawings that have made me melt, 7 pairs of splash boots, countless lost socks, obsessions with: Rolie Polie Olie, Bearnstain Bears, Sleeping Beauty, Anastasia, Shakespeare, Disney Princess, Fairies, Hannah Montana, and now, Taylor Swift.

You can't even begin to fit it all in a post like this, because as small as it is, it's vast and deep and wondrous even at the cusp of being ten years young.

Okay, so maybe ten years have not gone by in the blink of an eye. Perhaps it's been more of a hard stare because I realize something as I write this post, I haven't missed it. I've been right by this little girls side as she's made her way through the world for the past 9 years and 364 days and she's been right by mine in return. I've been the one waiting at the door, zipping up the coat, walking through the cool morning air, and holding growing hands with as we journey together. I appreciate that today and it feels more like an opportunity than a task.

Being Kia's Mom is a pretty phenomenal gig.

I always talk about how one child is so bittersweet. Everything is the first and the last. First day of kindergarten for her is also quite possibly the last first day for me and Russ to experience that with a child. You can be sad about it or you can just choose to live in the moment and not take these little milestones for granted.

Goodbye single digits, thanks for a great decade.