HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hope you are enjoying your New Year's Eve celebration! We drove to Austin today, stopping in New Braunfels first at the Outlet Malls! Sonny was a good sport - he took his book and sat in the car and read while Ashley and I popped in and out of a few stores. Surprisingly, we only bought a couple of things. But, Ashley did find a great TV armoire piece that she will probably go back and buy. I just love spending other people's money!! I think I would be a great personal shopper.

Tonight we went to a Draft House movie theatre and saw Sherlock Holmes. Sonny and Ashley loved it. It was ok to me .... just not my type of movie. The theatre was neat though. Each row of seats has a table in front of it. Menus, order cards and pencils are placed on the table. A waiter will come by to take your order (beer, hamburger, appetizers, wine, etc.) Throughout the film you can order food and drinks. About 30 minutes prior to the film ending the server will come by and do “last call”, at which point they will find out if you would like any final items before closing your tab out.

So now we are waiting for the ball to drop on Times Square! Ashley called it "Old Fogey New Years!"

However you celebrate, enjoy and be safe!!

Celebrate with SALE-A-BRATION!

SALE-A-BRATION 2010!!

Available January 5-March 31, 2010!

Customers:   Receive a free Sale-A-Bration product for every $50 purchase (before tax and shipping).

Hostesses:   Receive a free Sale-A-Bration product for every $300 in workshop sales, in addition to our regular hostess benefits.

Recruits:   Choose any retail stamp set (valued up to $47.95) from the current catalogs when signing up during the promotion.   Plus, get 15 percent off your Starter Kit (Standard or Digital+)!

All Sale-A-Bration products (except the Scallop Trim Border punch) are exclusive to this promotion and will never be offered again. The Scallop Trim Border punch will be available for sale in the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog, but now is your chance to get it free!
 S

Inking a folder and going to the movies!

Here's a video  from Gina K. on inking a Cuttlebug folder.  I sometimes have to review these techniques so I thought you might like to also!

It's been raining all day and cold!!  I don't think it got about 45 degrees today.  And, I heard it snowed again in Dallas - none here in San Antonio though!  But tomorrow is supposed to get up to 60 and Thursday to 70!!  Gotta love it!

We took advantage of the dreary day and went to the movies when Ashley got off work.  We saw It's Complicated.  It was just good entertainment.  Sonny went with us and had a few laughs although, truthfully, it was more of a chick flick!  With Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin in a romantic triangle, you really don't know who Streep will end up with in the end.  Alec Baldwin has a "full moon" scene that is hilarious!!

Christmas on the Riverwalk

We got a lot of work done today on getting Ashley's house organized!  She and I started in her office / craft room.  Sonny put up shelves in her closet yesterday so we were able to put all the stuff that was sitting around the room on the shelves.  I lined her stamps up in a loose alpha order as she rolled her eyes at me!  Then I took each set (about 50) and stamped them out on copy paper to put in a notebook so she will know what she has.  Again, another eye roll!  I guess I forget that she is young and probably doesn't forget what she has like I do!!  After getting that room organized, we headed to her den.  We took down the Christmas tree and stored away all the Christmas stuff.  Now, to find a place for that tub.  Then we unpacked a large box of treasures she hadn't unpacked yet.  What treasures we found!  She is a big Beatles fan as well as Curious George.  Every year she get something related to either the Beatles or Curious ... usually from her Aunt Marianne who is able to find the most unique gifts!  In her den, she has one whole wall that has shelving with a window seat in the middle.  I filled 3 of the shelves with Beatles stuff.  Every time I thought I had it all arranged, I'd find something else.  Hopefully, tomorrow we'll finish with the den and the rest of the shelves and I can share a nice neat picture!

We went out to dinner and met up with a friend and colleague of Ashley's and her family.  It was yummy .... Mi Tierra Market Place and Restaurant near the Riverwalk.  The restaurant looked so festive with all the lights and Christmas trees. 

After dinner, we walked around the Riverwalk and had a couple of drinks at Durty Nelly's Sing A Long Irish Pub.  The Riverwalk looked beautiful all lit up also.  It was hard to get good pictures of it though.  Here is a shot of the Alamo with the Christmas tree in front of it.  It was pretty awesome!

Designer Box

Too late to wrap this year's Christmas presents, but you can use this Designer Box to wrap presents all year.  Here's a good solution to making gift boxes for all those odd shaped gifts.

DESIGNER GIFT BOX

Just click in the top left corner to download the instructions.  You have the option to open the file or save the file.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ME TO YOU!

I hope you had a fun filled joyful day today.  Ours was quiet and peaceful.  We just ate, opened presents, ate, watched TV, ate .... you get the picture!  We brought our Christmas tree to Ashley and it looked really nice in her new house!  Here are a few of the special ornaments that are on our tree:

from the National Cathedral in DC

This one is my "most favorite" ornament and always has a special place on my tree. It is a picture of my son when he was in pre-school. I didn't know it when I sent him to school that morning, but he was sick and the picture really shows it! My kids have always kidded me and said I made them go to school even when they were sick and this picture just proves it! Since I don't get to see him often ever, I really love this ornament.

Last night we drove to Austin and had Christmas dinner with my niece and her family, my nephew and his fiance, and my brother in law and his mother.  It was nice to share the time with family that I don't get to see very often.  We gave Melinda's boys the gifts we brought for them and it was so fun to watch them open their presents and get so excited about Santa coming!!  It has been a long time since I have been around young children at Christmas since I don't get to see my grandchildren.  I knitted both the boys scarfs and hats.  Zach wanted orange and Jake wanted red so that's what I did.  We also gave them some Legos and a set of Fisher Price Trio Blocks which were a big hit!  Here are a few pictures I took last night.

Zach with his orange knitted hat and scarf on.

Jake looked like a little elf with his hat and scarf on!

The boys with my nephew, Jack and his fiance, Katrina.

Ashley trying to construct the tower like Zach saw in the picture.

Of course, I had to get on the floor and play with the blocks!

Here are the boys in their Christmas pajamas just after they left the milk and cookies on the hearth for Santa even though Zach said Santa had his own special key to come in the door to leave the presents!

Crafters Twas the Night Before Christmas

*Twas the night before Christmas, I’m glued to the tree.


I’m wondering what Santa brought just for me.

Could it be cardstock or inkpads or lace?

Or some stamps, I said, with a smile on my face.

And that’s when I heard him……

“Hi Santa, ” I said

He replied, “You know….good girls should be in their beds”.

“I know I should Santa,and now I’ve been caught.

But I was just so excited to see what you brought.”

“Well, let’s take a look in this room where you work”.

He shook his head quickly, and left with a jerk.

I heard him exclaim as he put it in gear.

“You’ve got enough crap,

I’ll see you next year!”*

Who Knew?

If you stack one million US $1 bills, it would be 110m (361 ft) high and weigh exactly 1 ton.
[ Actually, for the nick-pickers it would be 109.22m (358.3 ft) high, and weigh over 2,200 pounds)
Of the more than $50 billion worth of diet products sold every year, almost $20 billion are spent on imitation fats and sugar substitutes.

In 1932, when a shortage of cash occurred in Tenino, Washington, USA, notes were made out of wood for a brief period. The wood notes came in $1, $5 and $10 values.

In 1955 the richest woman in the world was Mrs. Hetty Green Wilks, who left an estate of $95 million in a will that was found in a tin box with four pieces of soap. [According to the New York Times, she died February 5, 1951 at the age of 80. According to Time, her will only left $5,000 to her closest relative and the rest to charities and schools. 

Resource: ~~Who Knew? by David Hoffman

A Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,
"Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."
" So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq

We Made It!

We made it all the way to Texas ... in two days!!  So much for taking our time and stopping along the way!  We probably drive about 10 hour on Thursday to arrive at Ashley's house about 8:30.  We have been busy ever since we have been here.  I've been unpacking boxes (pretty much all done!) and finding homes for her stuff while Sonny has been Mr Fix-it.  And, we've made various trips to Lowe's, Home Depot, Wal Mart, Target, etc.  Yesterday my niece and her two little boys, my nephew and fiancee, and my brother in law came down from Austin to help.  My niece, Melinda, is a whirlwind.  She finished decorating our Christmas tree, had us all moving furniture, cleaning mirrors, arranging, etc.  My head was spinning!  But, I have to admit, we got a lot done in just a few hours.  While we were doing all that all the guys worked on putting in a vent in the guest bathroom which involved my nephew (who is about 6'5") climbing up in the attic and positioning the vent while the bigger guys (girth .... not height!) worked from the inside of the bathroom!  Today I am going to tackle her study/craft room and try to get it organized while Sonny installs some shelves in the closet.  We're getting there!!

We were able to watch a little bit of the Steeler game yesterday.  My sister, Marianne, kept me up to date on my cell phone during the first half.  Then we found a Steeler bar (they're everywhere!) to watch the second half.  And believe it or not, our team WON!!  It was in the final second but they're famous for that as evidenced by last year's Super Bowl!  It was nice to have a win again after so many losses!

Well, gotta get to work!  Maybe I'll even get a chance to make a card today and post it for you tomorrow.