New Year's Eve

Oddly enough, New Years Eve has not been a concern of mine this year. My husband and I decided early on to skip the big parties that require over night trips in exchange for more money in the bank come January 1st. Our friends are all going on a trip to Shreveport, LA. Usually, I am all for a big New Year's Eve party. I love to be with friends while ringing in the New Year, but this year I really just wanted to take it easy. Originally, I wanted us all to have a dinner party at someone's house, which is usually what all of our friends want to do, too. But, for whatever reason, they all wanted to go out of town this year. So, my husband and I will spend a quite evening at home enjoying each other's company.

I will sign off with some scripture to think about in the New Year. Ephesians 1:17-23 and 2:19-20. Happy New Year to you and your family wherever you might be!!

Malachi and Aiden

These are my sister-in-law's cats, Malachi and Aiden. Malachi is the gold and black striped cat, and Aiden is the black and white cat. They are very funny cats! I loved taking pictures of them. They are quite photogenic, too.

Kyzer Christmas

Last night my husband and I celebrated Christmas with his family. While there I took some nice pics of their Christmas tree ornaments.

A little morning ice

I took the following pictures one morning while waiting on my cat to get her fill of being outside.

Christmas Cookies

I found this recipe for Christmas Cookies in a cookie recipe book today while I was looking for a good sugar cookie recipe. I decided to try it because it required less ingredients and time than sugar cookies. So, I cooked them up, and when they were all nice and golden, I took them out of the oven and tried one. They tasted like biscuits! I suppose that might be the reason why they suggested icing them. Weird taste, but good! I'm going to get some more powdered sugar tomorrow so I can make icing for them.

More Quilt Progress

These are a few close shots of my quilt. I am so fascinated with the feel of the material after you have done all the stitching.

Oh boy...

what a day! My students finally got their classroom Macbooks today! But, I must say the stress level on me was crazy! First, they did not deliver my computers until the middle of 1st period. Then, they only gave me a set of 20 instead of 30 like everyone else. My fourth period class has twenty-one students! I don't know what they were thinking! I mean...seriously! Why would have any less students than the other teachers! Somebody wasn't thinking on this one.

So, yeah...that's my soap box rant for the day. Now, I'm going to quilt some more. I am almost finished with the middle. I will probably be starting the edges before I go to bed tonight! I cannot wait to finish this one because I am going to piece the next one! I'm super excited about being able to pick out the colors!

My First Nativity Scene

My mom and I did a little bit of Christmas shopping this weekend. One of our stops was Hobby Lobby because I needed a canvas to paint a picture for my sister-in-law. While there I went ahead a bought a few Christmas decorations because they were on sale for 50% off. One of the decorations was my first Nativity Scene. I love it so much! Now that I am older, I respect the real reason for Christmas so much more than I ever did before. So looking at my Nativity Scene makes me think of all the things I am blessed with. It brings a little peace of mind. The visual reminder of our beautiful savior's birth is totally awesome. I've posted some pictures below. Enjoy!

Quilt Progress 12/1/09

These are pictures of my quilt process. It is going slow, but I'm still loving it. Molly love the thread!! Imagine that!

Christmas Tree 2009

Our Christmas Tree is up! I am so excited! I love Christmas time. It is one of my favorite holidays. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed putting up the tree!

Sore Fingers

I quilted some more last night and today. Boy, do my fingers hurt?! I cannot believe how painful it is to use a needle over and over again for about two hours! The process is so worth the pain, though! I can see my quilt starting to come together! It is a very relaxing process. I look forward to working on it more in the future.

My First Quilt

This weekend my grandmother came up to my house and helped me start my first quilt. Quilting is a little more complicated than I originally thought, but I Ioved the process. This first quilt is being made with the pattern pre-printed on the fabric, but next time I think I will start learning how to piece the tops together. All in all it was an amazing experience!

Playing Around

These are some photos I took one afternoon while playing outside with Molly. Enjoy!

The Great Flood Part II

About a month or so ago, it rained very hard in my neck of the woods. As you can tell from the pictures below, my yard looked like a pond. Our yard is always very wet. I call it the "Swamp." It still is very saturated from the rain we received. It will probably not be dry again until July of 2010!

New Art Medium

For some reason I have decided that a new art medium for me is going to be quilts!! I've been looking at tons of websites and blogs about the subject, studied countless pictures of traditional and modern quilts, and fallen completely in love with the aesthetics of the art form!! I have purchased the materials for my first quilt. I now await the arrival of my grandmother to help me get started. I am so excited!! I will post pictures of my progress as I go.

My Every Thoughtful Mind

Fall Pictures