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Archive for December, 2007

Merry Christmas and I just saw Mars

December 24th, 2007

Despite the fact that it is below freezing outside, my husband and I just made a trip outdoors shortly before 2 a.m. for a breath of frosty air. It was clear and cold tonight as we stood in our bathrobes and gazed upon the unusually bright Mars, wished one another a Merry Christmas, and shared a kiss by moonlight. Yeah, we might be a little crazy, but the sky was so clear, the moon shone so bright, and the kiss warmed me clear to my toes. I almost forgot about Mars for a moment, and I did not even think about the cold. Then the kiss ended, we laughed a bit, and came back into our cozy little house.

Good night and Merry Christmas!

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Busy, busy, busy!

December 19th, 2007

Our house has been a flurry of activity over the past couple of weeks! I am trying to simultaneously finish my last days at my current job, finish up the last-minute Christmas shopping, finish some Christmas knitting and sewing, and hoping for some time to do Christmas baking as well! I must say that I do love doing my shopping on the internet. It is so much quicker and easier than braving the crowds of humbug-ers in the stores. Unfortunately the portion of shopping that I have left does involve stores. I will also be knitting in all of my spare time, and when I finish that I can begin sewing. I am determined to be done before Christmas Eve so that I can just relax and enjoy the holiday.

After Christmas, my wonderful friend Julie is coming to visit! Julie and I went to college together, and worked together in the dining hall on campus, along with her husband-to-be. She and I also lived in the same dorm. I remember conversations enjoyed over a cup of tea, trips to the mall, even a trip or two to the beach. She was a bridesmaid in my wedding and even caught the bouquet! The last time I saw her was five years ago at her own wedding. She will be traveling from Illinois to her home in Florida after Christmas and will be stopping by for a short visit! I cannot wait to see her again!

I hope that all your Christmas preparations are going well, and that you are able to take some time and reflect on the miraculous birth of Christ, the Son of God who lead a perfect life, died as a punishment for our sin, and rose again in victory over death. God’s wonderful love for us in sending his perfect son Jesus to be our substitute is the best gift one could ever receive.

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News, News, & More News

December 11th, 2007

arrival

This weekend was a busy one. I was hit with a case of insomnia not able to sleep on Friday night (I think it was a combination of adrenaline and knowing that I needed to sleep in order to get out of bed by 4 a.m.) We dropped off the newlyweds at the airport before 6 a.m. on Saturday morning. They made it safely to Chicago. Since we were already halfway there, my husband just proceeded to head into work for his Saturday job. He cannot get into the building until 7 a.m., so we stopped at Starbucks for coffee. We were still early, so we had egg souffles at St. Louis Bread Co. (That’s Panera Bread to those of you outside the St. Louis area.) I did some Christmas shopping and puttered around a few knitting shops while Benjamin worked. I was looking for the perfect yarn for some Christmas knitting and found it after a couple of false attempts. After my hubby finished working, we finally made our way home. I arrived feeling exhausted but jittery from too much adrenaline and caffeine from the craziness of the past 24 hours. After a refreshing shower, I crashed and slept hard until time to get up for church on Sunday morning. After church and a birthday lunch for my husband’s aunt, we even managed to not only get a new tree this year, but to decorate it as well.

Last night we picked up the new Mr. & Mrs. Smith from the airport at about 10:45 p.m. They came out of the terminal looking like the blissful newlyweds that they are. They said they had a great time in Chicago. They did a lot of walking and managed to visit Navy Pier, the magnificent mile, the John Hancock Building, and several malls. I probably managed to leave out some of the other things they told us.

Prior to all of these crazy goings on, I had other news to share: I both got a new job and consequently gave my two weeks notice for my current position!!!!!! I have been having shoulder problems for about six months now. I have seen doctors, done physical therapy, and had steroid injections. The only options my doctor can suggest for me are to either have surgery or quit my job (typing for hours on end). I definitely would prefer to avoid surgery at all costs. I had been approached several months ago when purchasing fabric in a local fabric/yarn shop. I was wearing one of my hand knitted shawls when one of the ladies in the shop approached me. She asked if I had knitted my shawl, and I replied that I had. She then asked if I would be interested in teaching knitting! Of course I replied that I would love to teach knitting! Long story short, life was busy and I had not been in to the shop in a while. When I went in a couple of weeks ago, I was instantly greeted and told they had been waiting for me to come in. They took down my contact information and I soon got a call from the owner. I had an interview last week and was subsequently offered a part time job teaching knitting classes and working in the shop! I promptly accepted the offer and gave notice to my current employer. One of the best perks of the new job: discounts on yarn and fabric!

freshcut

I also received some of Heather Bailey’s beautiful Freshcut fabric in the mail today! They will be making their way into my shop shortly. I have a very limited quantity of each of these fabrics, so I am thinking of offering a special limited edition of my bags with slightly different proportions to make the best use of the fabric.

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Mr. & Mrs. Smith

December 7th, 2007

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

I almost called this post “Shock and Awe.” My baby sister Sarah decided to surprise the whole family by getting married today. She called me AFTER the wedding to tell me.

Oh, I forgot to mention that they had not yet even announced their engagement. My parents at least found out last night and were present at the wedding. I really, really wish I could have been there. She was getting so much flack from her friends about it that she was scared of negative criticism and did not want to tell anyone. Her new husband said she was so scared to tell my dad that she nearly had a panic attack, poor girl. My husband and I both suspected something was up at Thanksgiving dinner and were expecting an announcement that day. Something in their eyes gave it away. When they did not say anything, we thought maybe it was coming at Christmas, but they just could not wait that long.

I was told they were planning to wait a year to get married, but he is in the reserves and is being sent to another state in January for nine months. They did not want to be separated for that amount of time, so they planned a secret wedding. They got rings and she bought a wedding dress. After the wedding, she called me from the courthouse and told me the news. Then they went to visit the photographer, so at least I will see pictures of her in her dress.

This evening the whole family gathered together for an impromptu wedding dinner at our family’s favorite restaurant. Sarah had changed from her wedding gown into a cocktail dress because she did not want to wear her wedding dress to the restaurant. At least my mom took some snapshots of them at the courthouse and I will get to see pictures when they get the proofs back from the photographer. I had heard that she did not have a bouquet at her wedding, so I hastily visited the florist on the way to dinner and had a bouquet of red roses, white baby’s breath, and Christmas greenery made for her. Every girl should have a bouquet on her wedding day; it was the least I could do. There were fourteen of us present at the dinner, and it was nice to congratulate them and wish them well.

Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Smith!

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Wintry Mix

December 6th, 2007

We are getting our first bit of winter precipitation in the form of wintry mix - a blend of rain, sleet, and snow. Bits of ice and snow have begun to accumulate in the grass and on car windows, and the streets are growing slicker by the minute. My husband built a large fire and we will stay inside tonight, cozy and warm, enjoying the flickering flames. The snow and ice will continue until after midnight tonight, but sadly will probably just turn to rain sometime tomorrow. We will have to keep waiting for our bare brown trees and dead dry grass to transform into a winter wonderland. Because it is time for a change, I decided to add snowflakes to my blog header to welcome the winter season. It just seemed a wee bit too cold for flowers and butterflies.

My husband also added a link to my Ravelry page over on the sidebar, so those of you who use Ravelry can easily find me there!

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