Monday, November 21, 2011

The wait is finally over...

What is the longest you have every waited for something?  20 mins? 1 hour? 1 week? 1 year?  1 decade? 2 decades? 1 quarter of a century?  Wow...that last one actually sounds dramatic!  Even in print...  What would be worth waiting that long for?  Your college graduation?  Your first set of china?  Your one true love?  Some of us get lucky and find our one true early in life - like at age 14.  Then at 18 we marry them and the next thing you know, it has been 25 years that you have been married to your one true love.  This December 27th - I will have been married to mine that long.  But that isn't truly what this post is about...

Since I didn't go to college, let's go back and look at that 2nd item on the list...you know the one about china.  Now let me tell you a little story...since you already know a little about my marriage from the first part of this post, I will keep this part brief.  Girl meets boy, girl dates boy, girl marries boy...that was brief huh? lol  Now fast forward a bit.  Not a lot..just a little.  Maybe a year or so.  Girl's mother-in-law informs her that she gets to pick between the two sets of china that she has.  She purchased 2 sets years ago so both of her sons would one day have a set.  Although I married her youngest son, we were married first so, I get to pick which set I wanted.  One set was more contemporary with small flowers and more pastel colors.  The other was more traditional with lacy edges and a flower pattern in steel grey blue color.  For me there really was only one choice.  I picked the later of the two sets.  What I didn't know at the time was that the set I picked also came with a complete set of enamel pots and pans!  And a fondue set! Bonus!!!

Now comes well, life.  We moved from Norman, OK to Phoenix, AZ then back to Dallas, TX and a few other stops along the way before finally landing in Allen, TX for 13 years.  At all of those locations we never ended up having a dinning room large enough to have room for a china hutch.  So during all these years my china continued to reside with my mother-in-law.  Fast forward to well..2011.

After another move from Allen, TX back to our home town of Ada, OK and a short stint in a rent house, we finally found a house we fell in love with and purchased.  The time had come...I finally had a dining room large enough for a china hutch.  But I didn't have a china hutch!  I noticed I friend of mine was selling a beautiful extremely large dining room table!  It was large enough that my entire family would fit at it.  Even once they each find their own true love.  The only down side was that she did not have a china hutch to match.  So I did some rapid research and actually located the china hutch that matched it!  I now have both pieces and they look awesome.

Now the question comes, how to you get an entire set of china from Phoenix, AZ to Ada, OK without any of them getting broken?  You count on a wonderful mother and father-in-law...and they deliver them to you just in time to use them for Thanksgiving!  Some girls have everything! Well, at least I do...

Unpacking my early Christmas....12 place settings.  :)

Aunt Donna had to much fun thinking of me unpacking these with all this shredded paper! lol

I also have lots and lots of extra pieces...2 sets of salt and pepper and the candle stick holders.

The pattern...



2 gravy boats!

A fondue and a crystal piece that matches some I already had.

Love this piece!

Tea/coffee pitcher and the sugar and creamer.



All unpacked and put away...

And the aftermath... 

And the end result is one happy momma.  Stay tuned for more pictures from this years Thanksgiving dinner....  Creating new family traditions in our new home is worth waiting for....even 25 years. 

Friday, November 18, 2011

***WARNING*** You might gain weight by reading this post...

I have a confession to make and I know this is going to surprise some of you.  This is something I need to say...I like to bake!

I think my family will be the ones most surprised by this disclosure.  I am sure they will be trying to find out why I don't do it more often if I like to do?  I guess I really don't have a reason...just same one that get used for everything.  No time!  Like with everything I do...I have a tendency to get carried away.  I like to take things that one more step and some would say (although not to my face!) that one step is one step to many. Don't believe me?

I like to set the table with elevations..I don't like a flat table.  Levels make it more party like to me!

I love to make pretty pies...not just ones that taste good!  And I make them all from scratch.

This one has "lots" of little tiny hand formed leaves placed around the edge of the crust!  And I pick out as many unbroken pecans as I can to layer on the top.  I like them unbroken! :)

Now that being said...I found a new toy that I can't wait to play with.  It is the Cricut Cake!  Wait..let me try that again...It is the Cricut Cake!!!  You guys must not be listening...I said...IT IS THE CRICUT CAKE!!!!!  There really should be more applause and maybe a standing ovation here people!

Apparently you don't know what one is so I will provide the link and let you self educate!



Now that you fully comprehend the awesomeness that is the Cricut Cake...I am sure you are all feeling the appropriate about of reverence now!  And that you all share my eager anticipation for the arrival of mine!  I knew I should have sprung for the rush shipping...dang it dang it dang it!!!! 

So, stay tuned for more from me and Kylie; as I can't wait to share what I am sure will be pure creative holiday goody awesomeness over the next few weeks!


Follow up on planet...

Kylie really liked her planet when we finished it.  Although I still think it looks a bit more like a spaceship! :)


Thursday, November 17, 2011

Out of this world school project...

Why is it that all school projects are forgotten until the very last minute?  You have to get really creative at 8:30pm in Ada, OK to come up with the supplies you need if you don't have them in your craft stash already! ( I know..you guys thought I had EVERYTHING in my craft stash didn't you!)  So...what do you get when you mix a nerf ball, 6 toothpicks, a paper plate and some spray paint?  Pause for dramatic effect.......

What do you mean you don't know?!?!?!?  Saturn of course!!!  Kylie's class is making the solar system and her planet is Saturn.  As you all know, I am a expert on Saturn and what it looks like.  NOT!!!  So I went by what Kylie said and we got it as close as we could with what we had.

Hot glue to hold Saturn's "rings" in place takes way to long to dry!

 We couldn't find a smooth nerf ball so Saturn has a really strange topography!

Saturn is more than a tad over exposed from the flash in this one!

This picture is for my friend Deann...I don't think she got to get her hands dirty with a craft project today!

Oh! I almost forgot the best part...we added glow in the dark spray paint!  That got me the way cool mom of the day award with my daughter and that is worth a few paint specks on my fingers any time! :)

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Dust bunnies and cobwebs....

Wow...would you look at the cobwebs in here!  Who is supposed to be keeping this place up? Me?  Are you sure?  I am pretty sure I told someone else to do it!  Oh well, if you want something done right...

I can't believe it has been as long as it has since I posted regularly.  Life seems to have been such a whirl wind this last year and a half or so.  I don't know if I will go back and "relive" the whirl wind in detail here, but I do want to try and MAKE more time for "me" stuff.

Blogging, scrapping and who knows...my kids might even let me take a new picture of them every now and then since they are getting a little older.  I am not going to start my family update tonight...but I promise to be back soon to do that.

In the mean time, for your blog reading entertainment...I think it would be fun to revisit some of my old posts on occasion.  So I will start with one of those tonight!

I thought I would find a old post from a previous November...but I settled on one that talks about a serious subject for all of us who are no longer 18 years old!

Enjoy...Kicking and Screaming...