What a Week!

This has been an unbelievable week. I am beyond exhausted. It's been a rough week at work (to put it mildly), plus I added another 150 miles of driving because the schools were closed Friday. Hate to say it, but public school teachers have a nice vacation schedule!

The good news is that I'm finally feeling almost up to the challenge! True, I went to bed early every night this week to get through, but I did it. I even plan on going to Jazzercise tomorrow morning--first time since Nov. 21, the Saturday before Thanksgiving when I started coughing. It's been soooo long!

Here's something that gave me a laugh:

I used "Old Bay" seasoning for a Christmas eve recipe. I knew my tin of Old Bay was getting a little old, so I bought a new one.

The old one:

The new one:

Ok, I know time flies, but it is impossible that 20 years elapsed since I last bought Old Bay! Impossible!

Mindless Eating

by Brian Wansink, PhD

This title, with its subtitle "Why We Eat More Than We Think" intrigued me, along with the cover quote that his "discoveries might very well change your life." 

The End of 2009

It's the last day of 2009...a decade since the Millenium. I've read some great posts already today--fellow bloggers looking back over their years, the highlights, the regrets, the hopes and resolutions for next year. I'd like to do the same, but somehow it seems like such a task! How did they do it? Look back over a whole year and pick out the best, the worst, the most memorable? It would take me a very long time--and I'm not great at looking back, anyway.

Two thousand nine was a busy year, I realize now as I look back on it. It was a year of travel and health issues for me, growth and change for my son. We went on our second trip to Italy--the Amalfi Coast and Rome; we took my son out west to the Grand Canyon and surrounds. We celebrated our anniversary one month, then visited family the next month in Virginia. Over the summer, I drafted my son into working at my office, and it had a very positive effect on him in several ways. We started driving lessons around the cul-de-sac. He's continued to progress with his music and schoolwork. For the most part, the teen seems to have found balance between his father and me, without the love/hate thing that used to go on.

In mid-July, I started this blog--my first--and with this post, will have 61 posts in 2009. There were some times I wished I had written more, but I'm content with how it's gone. I love my new blogging friends, too!

Health has been an issue this year (my mother used to say you fall apart after 40--maybe it's a family trait.) I started the year with what used to be my constant wintertime sinus problems...then went to an ENT, an allergist, and soon started allergy shots, which have been a godsend. Then came the newly diagnosed hypertension, sprained ankle, and abdominal surgery...which took forever to get over. Finally, the bronchitis/asthma double whammy for the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years season.

As for the world, I've had to cheat a bit and look at summaries in the net news. (There are summaries of the year for almost every category out there--news, politics, deaths, celebrity news...you name it!)

We started the year with the Blagojevich scandal--(trying to sell Obama's Senate seat, if you can believe that!) and the inaugeration of the first black president of the U.S. Soon, '09 brought us Octo-mom, with her six other kids; the bank bailouts; and brought Slumdog Millionaire 8 Oscars. This walk down memory lane is getting fun! Soon came the collapse of AIG amid huge bonuses to executives; the exposure of Bernard Madoff's ponzi scheme which lost $65 billion for investors (many of them charities) and Chrysler declared bankruptcy in April and then GM first declares bankruptcy, then ditches Saturn, Hummer, and later Saab.

We still haven't forgotten "Swine Flu" (H1N1) which first hit the news in April; Justice David Souter retired from the Supreme Court and Sonia Sotomayor is sworn in. There were the Somali pirates, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford "hiking the Appalacian"...really with his Argentinian lover; Sarah Palin resigning as Alaska's governor. This past year brought the deaths of Walter Cronkite, Edward Kennedy, Farrah Fawcett, Patrick Swayze, Michael Jackson, David Carradine, Billy Mayes, and John Travolta's son Jett.

Also in 2009 "Jon and Kate Plus 8" fell apart but two very good TV shows began: "In Plain Sight" and "The Good Wife;" the "Beer Summit" at the White House after the Henry Louis Gates Jr. incident; pythons in the Everglades; "balloon boy" and his lying parents; Tiger Woods has a scandal; the healthcare debate; the Air France jet which was lost over the Atlantic near Brazil; the space shuttle mission to repair the Hubbell telescope (previously determined to be too expensive--so glad they did that!) while the two Mars rovers continued into their sixth year exploring the red planet (they were expected to last mere months); we were bouyed by the heroic work of Capt. "Sully" Sullenberger putting the Airbus A320 down in the Hudson; and the Phillies returned to the World Series but lose to the notorious Yankees.

It has been an eventful year all around! Happy 2010 to All!!

Homemade

Something about the holidays says to me "homemade" and calls for "handmade" things. Except for the unbelievable time crush, this meshes perfectly with my personality. This year, I really wanted to find something nice to make, so I spent some time searching the internet for projects. While I didn't find anything that really excited me, I saw some pictures which I adapted into this years' project. (Spoiler alert to family members who have not received theirs yet: photos included below!)

As you'll see below, I made cardinal Christmas ornaments. This project was perfect for me for several reasons. First, I like to sew; second, the year before last I taught myself a number of embroidery stitches which I have yet to use; and I love to try new things (in this case, beading and use of sequins.)

The first photo is a look at the contents of my "bag" laid out for use. I sketched the main pattern on yellow paper (one with tail up, one lower) while the white paper is the wing pattern.

The rest of the ingredients are red felt, embroidery floss, a fabric marker for tracing, pillow stuffing, ribbon for hanging, and beads, sequins and metallic thread. If using beads, don't forget beading needles, which are much thinner than regular ones (I normally use #9 or 10 for sewing and the beads do not fit over them).

After tracing the pattern onto the felt, I sketched some seasonal designs, such as holly leaves, stars and snowflakes and then embroidered/sewed them on what would be the front of the ornaments. The upper bird has holly leaves with sequin "berries." The lower cardinal is a design of beaded stars of yellow/gold glass beads.
I found that decorating them first, before cutting the precise design worked better, as you have more fabric to work with and do not ruin the sharp edge of the bird as cut out. As you see above, the next step is to cut an identical piece of red felt for the back of the cardinal. Below, I went for a more "flashy" look by tracing a wing pattern onto the bird, outlining it in a chain stitch in blue, then sewing on blue, silver and gold sequins. Next are two more, one with a green edged wing with green, silver and pink sequins, and the other is snowflakes embroidered with silver floss and two strands of gold metallic thread (I changed this to one strand on subsequent snowflakes because that much thread is difficult to work with).
Finally, I wanted to do more actual embroidery, so below are blue flowers highlighted with the yellow/gold beads. After embroidering the front, I sewed the plain back on using a blanket stitch. This is a really simple stitch which gives a decorative, squared-off edge. Before beginning, I determined where the ribbon for hanging would be by sticking a needle at the edge of the felt, near the center of the back and let it balance (head to tail). If it tilts too far forward, move the hanger forward and vise versa. While sewing the back, just add a few extra stitches to hold the ribbon on for hanging. I stuffed each bird as I attached the back, making sure the head and tail were adequately stuffed. Here's a photo with several of my Christmas cardinals, all but one finished. I am happy with how they turned out; hope everyone likes them!