Superfluous Fluff

Winter Wonderland

Upon waking up to this:

the dh decided to work from home today.

By mid-afternoon, I had to face facts:

We're snowed in.

Cancel the sitter, call our party hosts, pout a little.

The sad part is that we only hire a sitter and go out to party one night a year.  All we needed was a little consideration from Mother Nature.

On the other hand, it's prettier by the minute out there, and my family is all warm and happy in here.

And we have lots of hot chocolate.

I guess we'll have our selves a party petit :)

However you're celebrating, big or small, Happy New Year everyone!

Silly Santa

The jolly old elf brought a Littlest Pet Shop playset and pets to the girls and a play castle to the boy.

Gender typing?

Of course, as soon as the girls saw the castle, they were super excited by all the possibilities.

Like the prisoner cart.

Exactly what they needed to deal with delinquent pets.

(and the boy is equally thrilled with the pets, of course)

What Day is This?

With the holiday season seeming to sneak up on me, with all the family home, with relaxed schedules and fewer dinner decisions (leftovers, of course!) I am having a hard time figuring out what day it is.

It's almost like there's a baby in the house.

With trying to decide what day it is and getting my ducks in a row for next year, I decided I need to do some scheduling and get stuff onto the calender.

That's when I realized--

I DON'T HAVE A CALENDER FOR NEXT YEAR.

This may not seem monumental, but it's unheard of in this house.  Every year since we got married, my mother has sent us a calender for Christmas.  Up until last year, it was even one that fit into the cute wooden calender hanger she got us that first year.

This year, no calender. 

Last year, that would have been fine.  Last year, thanks to various mailing lists I somehow got myself on, I received 5 different wall calenders, a pocket planner and 2 fridge magnet/calenders in the mail.  Totally unsolicited.  It was calender overload.

This year, I have received one fridge magnet/calender.

Don't get me wrong, I am not completely without calendering device.  I have the cute planner that I purchased and even altered back in September, that sits moldering in my church tote, waiting to be put to use.  I have the calender here on the computer, ready for me to start scheduling so it can remind me of important dates.  My children each received wall calenders from Granma this year (which may explain why dh and I didn't get one) and I can go up to their room any time to check the date.

There's just something about a big, family calender hanging on the wall, ready to be scribbled on (in colour-coded pens of course) and consulted at a glance.  It steadies me, reassures me, helps me feel confident that the most important appointments/events of the day will not be missed, even if everything on the to-do list doesn't get done.

I need a calender; therefore, I think I'll be doing a little shopping on Monday.

How about you?  How do you keep track of your days?  Do you like the big family calender or do you prefer some other system?

Great Gift

For Christmas this year, the dh and I broke down, bit the budget bullet, and decided to gift ourselves with a high speed connection.

What a difference.

Now most of you have been high speed (or DSL or whatever) for a long, LOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time.  We live out in the country and the option has just not been available. 

Back in May or June though, our sweet neighbours across from us gave us a call with the amazing news "They're extending high speed out to our corner!"

I was ready to jump on the bandwagon right that second until I found out...$40 a month.  Now for some people that's not a lot, but that's my book and scrapbooking allowance.  We could afford it, but the money had to come from somewhere. I decided I could continue living with dial up. 

BUT

Many of my favourite websites started including video interviews.  Interviews that would take me hours to download.  I discovered ScrapHappy and Lain's fabulous podcasts...but it took me 3 or more hours to download each one. 

This I could have lived with, but when you have dial-up connection?  You cannot be reached by phone.  IRL, people were getting increasingly frustrated by their inability to ever reach us.  I would go on first thing in the morning, check email, read my favourite blogs, then set the computer up to download podcasts, etc and walk away.  I'd go do things with my kids and around the house and come back later in the afternoon.  Sometimes when I got back I'd check my email again before finally disconnecting from the internet for a few short hours.  Then dh would get home from work and go online to do all his stuff.  Sometimes he'd leave the computer connected all night to download his own podcasts, etc. while we were sleeping. 

The grumbles started getting louder and louder, and I began to worry.  What if there was an emergency? 

So, we explored the options.  Second cell phone for use at home?  Second phone line?  High speed access?  Call answer?   Stay off the internet?  (this last one would have been easiest...but...)

High speed seemed the most cost effective as well as the best fit for our lives. 

We've now had it for about a week.

WE. LOVE. IT. 

How did we live with dial-up for so long?  I can make and receive phone calls while blogging.  I am watching videos and rediscovering websites that I had given up because it just took too long to load the pages.  I can look at online galleries without having to wait 10 minutes every time I want to look at a new page.

Part of the fun has been "discovering" YouTube.  I mean, we knew it existed, but didn't even try watching on the dial-up.  Now we've been having lots of fun finding favorite tv clips, brilliant speeches, even slightly off-colour antidotes to too much Dora. 

Here's my current favourite that I can't stop watching:

Clearly, this is one of our better Christmas gifts.  But if you were looking for something a little more CHRISTmasy, you should definitely go over to Toddled Dredge and follow Veronica's TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS posts.  They'll make you think, and feel, and remember why we have this holiday.  It's a great gift she's giving to the internets.

It's even better than high speed internet access.

 

Christmas Project

So now that Christmas is over and all the packages are in the mail, I can safely tell you about my special Christmas project.

This summer we had our first trip "home" to Ontario in 5 years and saw many of our friends and family.  In 5 years there have been births, marriages, new homes, new styles, etc., etc.  Being the scrapbooker that I am, I had the camera at nearly constant readiness, capturing the beautiful faces of our loved ones.

...HAHAHAHA.  Wow.  Almost said that with a straight face.

Ok, the camera was close by.  I took a lot of pictures. Sometimes I even got lucky and they turned out well.   

On the other hand, we tried all year to get a good family photo for our photo wall (which hasn't been updated since 2004) and to use as the Christmas photo.  We did not succeed (again).  But the bloopers are kind of funny when viewed all together.

So I had this bright idea that instead of cards, this year we'd send Christmas CD's.  I thought I would put all of our best--and worst--photos from the year into a nice litttle slideshow presentation and send it in the mail along with our Merry Christmas wishes.  Hold that thought.

I started with the jewel cases.  I got some really, really pretty Patterned Paper from Imaginisce called Hello Holly and some matching cardstock.  I measured my jewel cases...

...then cut my paper to fit.  Then I started mixing it up.  I had the double sided PP, red cardstock and green cardstock.  That gave me 4 different "backgrounds".  From there I played with stripes, circles, even stickers...

(like my messy desk?  I'll give you a full tour soon but for now you can just wonder how I work amongst the clutter).

Here are some of the "finished" products (with our names all whited out--I really need to learn how to blur objects):

They all turned out really cute and each one was just slightly unique.  I wrote personalized Christmas greetings inside them all and included the Princess' school photo and they were ready to go! Yay! 

Well, except the photo cd. 

We have this nice CD maker software that is supposed to create video photo cds.  You should be able to pop it into any computer and watch the show.  Having never used this feature, I read the help instructions.  I realized that if I wanted any text I would have to pre-edit the photos (don't really have the software for that, as you can see above) or create .gif or .jpg files for the "show".  I started creating files in PowerPoint, which I also had never used before.  It was so easy!  I was really zipping along.  Then dh, my computer expert, came along and pointed out that Powerpoint was saving the files as Powerpoint slides, not images.  So we played around a bit and I finally ended up creating the slides in Powerpoint, copying the image, pasting it in Paint, then saving the image.  It was time consuming, but it was the best I could do.  We barely computer literate people just make it up as we go along. 

After an entire morning of this (about 5-6 hours), I was ready to start creating my "video".  I had to import the files one by one.  You would think that would be a piece of cake, but the program insisted on rewriting everything every time you inserted a file, and as the show got larger and larger, it took longer and longer to do each file.  With over 300 files to insert, it ended up taking me the rest of the day, until after 8 PM.  Thank goodness for dh and his willingness to feed and entertain the children that day! 

At this point I had been on the computer for 14 hours with only a couple of quick restroom breaks and hardly anything to eat.  I asked dh to finish up the program and start burning the cds while I took a much needed supper break. 

The program wouldn't work.

Yes, internets, you read correctly.

THE.  PROGRAM.  WOULD.  NOT.  WORK.

All those hours, all that work, and NO pretty christmas cds.

At that point I gave up for the night and went to bed.  In fact, I gave up for the week.  I did not want to think about all those empty (but pretty) jewel cases mocking me from my desk.  DH offered to search the internets for another program we could download, but how many hours would that take on our sad, sad little dial-up connection? 

I eventually decided to just go with a Powerpoint slideshow.  I started all over again and eventually started having fun with it.  Dh worried that not everyone would be able to view the show (hello to his LINUX using family!) so he included a PowerPoint reader on the cds.  He's such a nice guy.  I was past caring.  Family, I love you, but even braving the malls would have been easier than this.

If it's the thought that counts, I was thinking of all these people and how fun this little Christmas treat would be for everyone.  I still think it would have been awesome, if only it worked. 

And if no one minds, I THINK I'll come up with something simpler next year.  Like....I don't know...maybe a card.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

With my guy at home I've been finding it pretty difficult to wrestle the keyboard away from him and get logged in.  We're having a great time though and Santa was very good to us this year (as were the grandparents).  We hope you're happy and safe and having a wonderful time wherever you are.

There will be posts soon!  Until then, enjoy your holidays.  And don't forget BooMama's tour.  Hours of holiday fun!

My head is full!

Full of blog entries to be written!

There is so much I want to say, Blog posts I've been writing in my head, but these holidays, they are crazy on the schedule! 

To add to the fun, the kids are dropping like flies around here to some sort of sore throat/bronchial irritation/fever and the little tickle in the back of my throat warns me I may be next.

One of the posts in my head is a "To-Do" list for 2008 (I hate goal setting, but can make to-do lists; but that's another post).  Somewhere on that to do list is "learn to auto-post to the blog".  Until then, I'm afraid you'll all have to bear with the holiday randomness a bit longer.

While I work on sorting out all these posts in my head here are some crafty things you can do with the kids during these last couple of days before Christmas.

This "Santa Mask" is a new addition to our home this year.  We actually have two of them, which we created at our Library's Preschool Program.  All the cutting was done for us, we just had to do the pasting.  It's made by cutting the center out of a paper plate, then gluing on a construction paper (or cardstock) red triangle for the hat with a cotton ball tip and quilt batting for the beard and hat trim.  Rosy pink cheeks, a red cherry nose (paper again) and voila!  The kids really had a blast making these.  Especially when our librarian got crazy and ripped out the glitter glues.  Kids + glitter glue = win! 

Next, check out our awesome snowflake:

Isn't it sweet?  The Princess made it at Sparks last year. 

Know how? 

Ready?

White glue!  I kid you not!  Perhaps I'm the last mom on the planet not to know this, but you can EASILY make your own window stickies with cheap white paste.   It almost knocked me out when I saw this.  Genius!  And again, why didn't I think of that?

They both stick and peel better than the store bought window decorations.  Just "draw" your design on waxed paper with your glue (and a toothpick if you want to get fancy) and allow to dry overnight.  Getting your kids to allow it to dry is the hardest part, I promise.  When it's completely dry, just peel and stick to any glass surface.  When you're tired of it, peel it off again and stick it back on some waxed paper (or toss it, no biggie).  Not only is this fun and cheap, but you can use coloured glues (or glue with food colouring) to decorate for any season--flowers in the summer, hearts at Valentines, etc.  Let your imagination run wild!  We all know how much kids love glue, and this will keep them occupied for as long as the glue holds out, allowing you oh, 2 or 3 minutes of peace.  And every glass surface of your house will thank you for it's seasonal decor.  You could probably branch into stainless steel too.  Go wild! 

Are you on the tour?

Have you all seen this?

(If I knew any html at all I would center that for you)

Of course you have! 

I, on the other hand, am new to this blogging thing and had no idea that such an extravaganza existed.  Oh, sure, I'd seen the buttons on people's pages, but I had no idea what this "Tour of Homes" was and erroneously thought it was by invitation only.  Silly me!  That BooMama, she's so sweet, she invites the whole internet to participate. 

Anyway, I was caught totally unprepared, with a sparsely decorated house, when the tour started on Monday.  I don't think I'll be able to participate this year, but I'm definitely looking forward to playing along next year!  In the meantime, I've been having a grand old time touring people's homes and seeing all their beautiful Holiday trim.  There are elegant homes, homey homes, over-the-top homes, reverent homes, homes that remind me of Grandma's house...and that's just in the 50 that I've had time to tour so far.  My favourite part is seeing the special ornaments and hearing the story behind why they're special.  I'll admit I've misted up a couple of times.  And the recipies!  Oh my, do people eat and drink well at the holiday time!  So nice of everyone to share.  It's really sweet.

So head on over and enjoy the tour!  (That's where I'll be!)  You can start at BooMama's House and get some helpful advise on navigating the entire thing :)

Busy Days!

We've been caught up in the Holiday Happenings around here and are keeping busy, busy, busy!

When we get a minute or two, the elves like to goof around.

Hope you're enjoying the Christmas countdown and feeling joyful whatever you're up to. 

Powerless

Yesterday was a day like any other.  I got up, made breakfast, saw dh and the Princess on their way, tidied the kitchen, got dressed, turned on CBC Kids and came into the office for some quality time with you, my lovely internets.  I made some moves on Scrabulous, played some House trivia, started downloading the ScrapHappy Podcast and

Blooooop!

No power.

A call to the power company confirmed that they knew about the outage and hoped to have power back to us by noon.

Perfect!  No electricity=perfect tidy up contitions!  Win!

Except...well...none of us really wanted to tidy.

We read our library books, played silly games, did some colouring....and by 12:30 the power was back!  YAY!

We made lunch, tidied up....and the power was gone again.  BOO!

Since I could see the guys in their power truck working the lines from my window, I didn't call it in this time.  The trucks went from the lines, to our neighbour, to our other neighbour, back to the first neighbour, up the pole, back to the neighbour, and so on.  All afternoon.

Power was restored just before 5.

So did we rejoice in this day, this no excuses gift from the gods?  Did we finish cleaning the house and get all our decorations up? 

That would be a resounding no.

Seems the lack of power is within as well as without.