writing itself

this post practically wrote itself.

quite a few people mentioned they liked the Paris gift tags and wondered where I bought them. so rather than keep the beauty to myself I will share.

A few weeks ago I blogged about Cavellini gift tags. I fell in love with some holiday bird ones they sold at Anthropologie the last few years, but this year they aren't carrying them. Bummer. I love them.

So, guess where I looked. Amazon.com. Sometimes I feel like my blog is a commercial for Amazon.com. Because almost everything I buy comes in the mail from Amazon. Seriously. You don't believe me?

The gift bags I used for the hot cocoa were from Amazon, as was the bakers twine I used to tie the bags, as were the tags i used to embellish the bags, as were the garbage bags that all my scraps went into, as was the Christmas music I listened to while making the hot cocoa, as was the coffee press that made the coffee I drank, as was the book I finished reading after I made the hot cocoa............. I could go on and on but I will spare you.

You see a while back I received an offer to upgrade my account to Amazon Prime which means fast, cheap shipping. So I can order it and have it to my home faster than I can get to the store.

I also order my groceries online and then drive-thru to pick them up......... as I mentioned last week I have even been having fresh fruit shipped to my home. This means I have more time to spend with my cute kid, and the time I do have for shopping I can go to fun places like this one or this one.

How do you save time? Any tricks you can share?

(and before you comment about my expensive garbage bags, let me tell you that they are worth every penny. I used to hold my breath and cringe every time we took out the garbage as we always managed to stuff our bags so full they would burst or drip through the house....... but not these bags. I have yet to see one leak. Really. And you can ask my mom, I have a horrible habit of over-stuffing garbage bags. Not to mention I would always run out, or I ended up double bagging. Problems solved, I just order them and they don't ever need double-bagging.) Maybe you should add a simple human trash can and bags to your Christmas list this year. )

i want to squeeze him

conversation at my house last night

Me : "Aidan, what I am going to do with you, you are getting bigger every day! I don't know what to do about you!!!!"

Aidan : "Mom, what am I going to do with you? You get more beautiful every day."

Me: "Oh, don't be silly Aidan. Don't worry. I will keep feeding you healthy food and vitamins and let you grow bigger."

Aidan: "Mom - I am serious! You are! Even when you wear ugly clothes!"

Not making that up. It really happened. Spontaneously. And if he is smart, (which he is) the next time he really wants something, he will remember the way I swooped in and thanked him with a giant hug and kiss because right then if he would have asked me if he could skip his homework to go play, or for some candy or a giant pack of Pokemon cards you know I would have been all over it.

snowed in

A day for creativity and contemplation.

Pardon my random blog thoughts today.

So yes, we are snowed in, not just because of the snow, but Aidan is sick. I am actually thrilled he is sick on the weekend because between the snow and Aidan I can excuse myself from all social functions, errand running, etc. I hadn't really been in the mood to "create" this season but after last weekends Crafternoon I am again feeling inspired, so a weekend in is just what I needed!

Aidan must be feeling it too, even in his flushed cheek/feverish state he is busy coloring and creating.

Since I was snowed in I thought it would be a good chance to finish up the little gifts I wanted to give the nurses I work with. Now, I manage 44 nurses. Why I got it into my head to make them all a bag of homemade hot cocoa mix I will never understand. Not to mention, there are a few people who work closely supporting my nurses and a few other nurses who I don't manage but they work closely with us as well........ I didn't want to leave them out. Why do my ideas always end up being more work and money than I had planned???? My intent was to show them all that they are appreciated - if it wasn't for the good work they do I wouldn't have a job - so I wanted to write them all a little thank-you and give them a token of my appreciation. However, the treat bags I ordered were a lot bigger than I pictured them in my head, so even though I only filled the bags half-way I ran out of cocoa mix.

So far I have made 50 bags of hot cocoa, and I am still about 20 short. (Aidan wanted to give some to his teachers as well, and I am still missing a whole department's worth!)

This is the view from my front door. A kind neighbor came over last night and helped James snow blow out the end of our driveway. (note to self, buy a snowblower when they clearance out next spring!)

This picture was supposed to be on the top. I have not seen this much snow in years, many years. The last time I remember this much snow was in 1988. (I am sure the Midwest has had that much, but for many years we lived in PA and MO so I may have missed out.) I just have a vivid image in my mind of shoveling our sidewalks with my dad on January 12, 1988. My dad had a big, blue puffy jacket and the snow was higher than his waist. I was the "big helper" so I was able to shovel with him while my little brother stayed indoors. My dad silently shoveled and wept. My sister had died the night before in the midst of a blizzard. When we woke up on the 12th the sun was shining bright- all was serene, and we were blanketed in the fresh white that sparkled in the sun. No one could really visit us that day, the roads were snowed over. So we just stayed home, the 4 of us, and shoveled and prepared for the busyness of the days ahead.

Snowed in.

A day for creativity and contemplation.

Crafternoon

Last Sunday the lovely Jessica invited some ladies over for a "Crafternoon." I was a little tentative. I had met Bethany before - which was a good meeting - but you never know what you are in for....... what if I am the only one who doesn't know anybody? What if I am the least talented of all? What if????

I don't know why I was worried. Jessica is even better in real life than she is on her blog- can you imagine that?????? Her house is adorable, her crafts were perfect for crafters of all abilities. She had thought of everything, including bags for you to take your crafts home in. I didn't bring my camera because her and her husband are professionals, so I thought I would just wait and enjoy their pictures. So rather than listening to me drone on about the afternoon, I will direct you to Jessica's blog and let you see/read for yourself!!!!!! You can click here, here or here, on Liv's blog)

I did make this yarn wreath that afternoon. I love it -and I could seriously get addicted to making more. So many color combos to try.... but what would I do with all of them??????

So thank you Jessica for taking a chance and opening up your home to a bunch of bloggers you had never really met! I had so much fun and I would love to do something like that again in the future! I also learned (twice now) that meeting fellow bloggers is fun. (And it usually works out -isn't that how life usually goes?)

Thanks again!

Today

Blizzarding.

We have received a foot of snow thus far, with more expected to fall throughout the night.

I braved the roads this am because I had a hair appointment that I did.not.want.to.miss.

Maybe wasn't a good plan..... while the roads were

somewhat safe at 7:00 am, three hours later I could barely make it home. The visibility was so bad I seriously debated just getting a hotel in Maple Grove. (12 miles from my home.) But I had a sick little boy at home who needed me............ and he also needed some "Jewish Penicillin." (Little does he know I made the "authentic kind," complete with parsnips, turnips, leeks, lots of onion and garlic.)

I kind of played hookie one day this week and betwen naps I caught the show "The Doctors." They were giving lots of tips on how to avoid colds or feel better when you have one and Chicken Soup and Gargling Salt Water were both on the list. I have a hard time admitting this, but those are both things my Dad always recommended.............. he also gave us blackberry brandy but can you believe the Dr.'s didn't condone that one?

So James shoveled twice, while I worked on Christmas gifts, made soup and watched Christmas movies with Aidan.

You know, I think I wouldn't mind having a blizzard once a week!

Photo here.

I love the art prints from "A Bushel and a Peck."

I want to hang one in my office but I am having trouble picking one.

Any ideas?

at my house......

...............the upstairs guest bedroom gets turned into a "wrapping center" and "gift holding station" this time of year. I had purchased a few vintage buttons pins at the Nokomis Craft Fair a few weeks ago and had most of them wrapped and under the tree but I kept one in the spare room just in case I needed a quick gift.

Turns out I did - for myself. I decided it was the perfect accessory for a grey sweater I wanted to wear today, the only problem is that when I

went to open the guest bedroom door it was locked.

What? Who locked the door? What is going on? My mind immediately starts to whirl with questions and run through scenarios (which involved either secret gifts or huge messes!) Then I notice Aidan sitting on the couch with a strange wire in his hands. A wire? Suddenly a little light bulb goes on in my head as I remember him asking random vendors at the No-Coast if they have a paper clip to spare. He was concerned we might need to unlock a door somewhere and wanted to be ready. (and yes, one kind vendor donated a paper clip to his cause and he proceeded to try and open every locked door he saw for the rest of the evening. )

So back to my living room conversation.

Me -"Aidan, do you know anything about this locked door?"

Aidan (nonchalantly) "Oh yeah mom, I was practicing breaking into doors. So I locked it to see if I could get back in."

Me - "Well, could you?"

Aidan, "Nope, my trick didn't work. Sorry."

So Aidan tried, James tried, I tried and the door remains locked. What I don't understand is how my sweet friend Steph was able to break open that very same lock after googling instructions during a babysitting-incident-gone-bad a few months ago. (Don't worry, she is a great babysitter, she didn't lock my kid up in a bedroom, she accidentally locked her dog in there and frantically starting calling people for help eventually finding the answers on Google. So no offense Steph, but if you can do it under emotional duress than I would think that James, (an engineer) myself, (a pretty self-sufficient handy-women) and Aidan (a budding criminal, er, scientist) should be able to get in..........

In the meantime someone (that would be you, Steph) had a broach waiting under the Christmas tree so guess what I wore to work today. (that's the beauty of gift bags, if I hadn't told you would never have known!)