Day 364 [S.A.M.]

Today the husband and I ventured into the city for a visit to SAM.

That's the Seattle Art Museum.

They are hosting a special exhibition of Picasso!

The first ever exhibit of Picasso in the US! 

It was quite something to take in...this is all work that is usually housed in the Musee National Picasso in Paris, which is currently under renovation. 

There is no photos allowed of the Picasso exhibit, but some were allowed in the main area of the museum.  

This particular piece is amazing!

It's made of 40,000 military dog tags.

Just stunning to see in real life.  Takes your breath away.

We had a lovely day taking in the art at the museum, strolling around the city, having dinner and then a hot drink after seeing the Picasso. 

Our last date for 2010 = a good one!

Day 363 [White Blanket]

This morning we arose to this.

We were expecting it, as they discussed it on the news last night.

Just more then a dusting.

Enough to make everything look pretty for a few hours, but it certainly makes for not ideal running conditions!  We are hopeful that the sun will melt it on the sidewalks and it will warm up enough for us to make it out for a run today.

Day 362 [Movie Date]

Yes, another picture of paper!

Honestly, the camera has been sitting the past few days as the days have been less then exciting.

Today was spent trading out cable boxes and modems, hooking up the new ones and undecorating Christmas.  We went for a run in the afternoon, our first in 4 days!  Talk about feeling sluggish!

Bailey had a sleep over at a friends, so we headed to the movies.

We attempted to see this on Christmas Day, but because I took too long making my hair look pretty, we missed the start time and bagged it that day.

We were delighted to find out that Tuesday is $1 small popcorn night at our movie theater....$2 if you upgrade to the bucket.  We stuck with the small...that really is more then enough for 2 people!

We really enjoyed The Tourist.

Made for an enjoyable evening out.

Day 361 [Lunch Date]

Michel and I headed out to meet a friend and his little girl for lunch today.

I failed to bring my camera out! Boo Hoo!

We enjoyed a good lunch with them at Claim Jumper, even though our waitress was less then chipper.

After lunch Michel and I headed over to Barnes & Noble for a stroll through the book aisles, then decided to 'pop in' over to the mall for a quick look.

NOT a quick pop in or quick look!  Parking was a nightmare! 

We really should have just left when finding a parking spot proved to be difficult, but no, we had to be victorious.  Once we got in the mall it wasn't too bad, but there was nothing of desire to purchase.

So after about 30 minutes of looking around we left, empty handed, and headed for home.

Day 360 [Friendly Competition]

The day after Christmas we had some friends over for a visit.

Chris and Stanley are two of Michel's childhood friends.

When they get together they revert back to those boyhood days and play video games.

It's cut throat, smack talking, competitive play!

We are talking serious business!

It's always a good laugh for Laura and I to take in this boyish sight.

Good times!

Day 359 [For REAL]

As I was about to post this picture as Day 360, I started to realize that my calculation was off! 

I went back and realized my mistake dates back to day 187....if you look, you will not find day 187!  I went from 186 to 188...so I've been off since July!

Anyway....

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Today's post is about the BEST gift!

This is a gift that was not purchased in a store for me, rather a gift that came way of my Mother's china cabinet.  My Mom's Mother, my Grandma Severson, passed away when I was 10 years old.  I have very fond memories of the short time I was able to know her. 

One of my most vivid memories is of the day, not long before her passing, that she bought out a tea cup in her kitchen, showed it to me and said that it was mine.  Her Mother had given it to her on her 9th birthday (i don't recall if is was purchased new for my Grandmother or not)  and she wanted me, her eldest Granddaughter, to have this tea cup.  Her hope was that one day I would pass it down to my Granddaughter.

She told me that she would give the tea cup to my Mother to keep for me until I was grown.

It has remained in my Mother's china cabinet since that day, 30 years ago.

I have requested my tea cup many times since I have been married, but left sad and frustrated when I was told not until I had a china cabinet to house it in.

Since I have no need for nor plans to purchase said cabinet, I've been left without my beloved tea cup.

I requested the cup at Thanksgiving but left empty handed.

Last night, during gift exchange with my family, there was one box that was unmarked.  My Mom said it was for me, but it was not a present.  Confused and intrigued, it was the first item I opened. 

Inside was a note from my Mother, which brought me to tears, explaining why she had kept the cup for so long, due to her being very close to her Mother and having a hard time letting go.  She was sorry for keeping it from me for so long. 

This was by far the most touching and best gift I received last night.

I will be soon looking for a case for my tea cup so I can safely display it in my house.



Day 359 [Peace Be With You]

On this Eve of the birth of Jesus, I wish you a Joyous Day.

Day 358 [Ho! Ho! Ho!]

I have been looking for some fun little treat to make up for Christmas, like I did for Thanksgiving, and was coming up empty handed.  That all ended yesterday when I was looking at a friend's photo album on Facebook of her cookie party.  When I saw these little guys I knew I had to make them! 

How stinkin cute are they!?!?

SO easy too!  Nutter Butter cookie, tube of white frosting (for the 'glue'), pretzel antlers, chocolate chip eyes and an M&M nose.

Bailey and I worked together on these and had them done in about 10 minutes.

Fast, easy and CUTE!

I plan to package a few up for my nephewn to take home tonight to leave out for Santa. 

Day 357 [Classy Dining]

After a long day of shopping...I did all the holiday food and present shopping today!

Nothing like waiting until the last minute.

Michel took me out for dinner.

He wanted to go someplace different then our usual choices, so he chose the roadhouse in the next town over.  They have good food and the environment is very casual.

So casual in fact, there are peanuts on the bare wood floors.

I looked down during dinner and saw under our table the sight of this reciept, fork and peanuts.

I, quite honestly, couldn't have created a better picture to capture the place!

Since my camera goes everywhere I do, I pulled it out and got to snapping! 

Day 356 [Sugar Rush]

Today I picked up my little buddy and spent the day with him.

We baked and decorated cookies.

He did his fair share of finger licking the frosting off his digits.

We talked and talked, played SpongeBob Monopoly, had lunch, shopped for Legos and then said goodbye.

It was a fantastic day with my buddy!

Day 355 [Dreamy]

It's not quite as good as I was hoping for, but with practice I'll get it right.

I love the dreamy effect of the twinkle lights out of focus. 

Day 354 [Pretties]

I'm working on two albums for a client.

She has two kids, a boy and a girl.

I've been moving right along with what she's requested for their books and today I was so happy with this layout I made for her daughter.  I added some stickles to the center of this flower and glossy accented the rest of it.  I'm looking forward to see how it looks tomorrow after it's dried overnight.



Day 353 [Tree Debris]

This picture sums up the aftermath of the wind storm we had last night.

We have had a lot of windy/stormy nights this winter, but last night's was one of the worst!

It gusted winds all night, no rain, just wind.

The noise kept me from getting a good night's sleep...which makes for a grumpy lady in the morning.

We were a bit shocked by all the tree debris, missing for sale signs from their posts, and downed fence panels around the neighborhood.

Thankfully we never lost power!  We live a stones throw to the lake, according to all the patrons in Starbucks this morning, who live on or around the lake, we are lucky.  There were several trees laying on power lines on the roads around the lake and no power was to be had.

Day 352 [Sofa Effect]

Same sofa, different kid, different day, same effect! 

This boy was tuckered out this evening and fell asleep while watching the Jingle Ball on TV.

I do find it endearing, even as a teenager, there's still that sweet innocence when they sleep.

Day 351 [Sleepy Doll Baby]

Little Morgan came by for a visit today while her mommy had an appointment.

She had fallen asleep on the way over, so her mommy told me she may take a snooze if I set her up on the sofa.  After snacking on her orange and playing for a bit, I set her and her dolly up on the sofa with Nick Jr. on the TV.  5 minutes later, this was the scene. 

I love her little girl hands, her bright eyed baby doll and how peacefully she slept there, just like that!

Day 350 [Running Crew]

We've been at it for over four months and I'm so proud of the fact that we've stuck with it!

It's not easy some nights...with the cold, wet and dark, but we push on and get a run in.

We average 3-4 nights a week.



Day 349 [U-G-L-Y]

Took this one on my way home from a quick trip to Costco and the bank.

It was one ugly errand run.

The weather has been unruly at best since November.

We had high winds, loads of rain, thunder and lightening last night.

I was awoken by the sound of debris hitting the house then laid awake fearing the tall fir tree in the neighbors yard would end up in my house.  Thankfully we woke up with everything in it's place.

The rain was gone by run time tonight, just the wind remained and that left for a rather slow run into the wind. 

Day 348 [Peek-A-Boo]

It was a low key Monday filled with Lifetime movies and laundry.

I rather enjoyed the downtime and quiet, while my boys were at school and work.

With all the activities the season brings, it's nice to take time to be still for a day.

Day 347 [Friendship]

Today I went over to my friend's house to scrapbook.

It's been a while...too long, since we last got together.

We had lots and lots to catch up on.

creativity, sharing, chatting and friendship.

That's all the makings for a good day.

Day 346 [Cookie Exchange]

Today I co-hosted a cookie exchange party with a friend.

These are always a fun holiday event.

Everyone makes a favorite cookie or treat and brings enough for everyone to take some home along with the recipe.  I made some Buckeye Balls and put them in some bags that I topped with these cute toppers I made.  All the recipes from this party are new to me, so I'm excited to give them all a try! 

Day 345 [Freebies!]

We love a freebie and this one was a good one! =)

Michel had the day off today so we used the bogo card I got from one of *my* barista's to kick start his day off.  We also have two Sweet 15 free drink cards that arrived in the mail yesterday to use for a fine start to our weekend.  Freebies everywhere!  We LOVE it!

Day 344 [Candy Making]

Today was a day spent doing household chores and a little holiday candy making.

I chose to do Buckeye Balls, a delicious peanut butter/powdered sugar/butter & vanilla 'dough' rolled into balls then dipped in chocolate.  They are absolutely devine and full of fat!

I also decided to dust off an old recipe of mine, Almond Roca.

When I went to make it I realized when I typed out the recipe a few years ago I left off the sugar in the ingredients.  So, not knowing how much sugar I needed I had to go in search of the original handwritten recipe.  Thankfully it was still in the box I had stashed on an uppershelf in the recipe cupboard.

The second layer of chocolate is currently setting up in the fridge, while my husband waits somewhat patiently for his chance to nibble on some.

Day 343 [Double Delight]

We broke in the new (back up) Jonathan Adler cup tonight.

I was hankering for a hot chocolate and decided to mix one up for myself.

Low and behold, my guy said, Hey, I would like one too!

So I broke out the cup in waiting and got to mixing.

I made his extra special with extra whip and Chocolate Jimmies.

It's the simple things in life.

Day 342 [Little Guest]

Today I got to spend some time with Morgan.

She's little Jarod's cousin and while her Mommy was at an appointment I got to play with her.

We had lots of fun playing with her toys, petting the kitty and looking at the ornaments on the tree.

She is such a sweet, tender hearted little girl.

Looking forward to getting to hang out with her again next week!

Day 341 [Commissioned Project]

Today I started on a project requested by a barista at my Starbucks.

She mentioned back in October that she would be interested in hiring me to make scrapbooks for her two kids.  I thought about it for a few weeks before I told her I would be interested.

We met up last week to discuss the details.

She wants a book for each child, nothing fancy, really a blend of an old school scrapbook with a bit of the flair newer generation scrapbooks have, without getting too artsy.

She wants it to span about 10 years of her kids' lives, a place to document their school years, which is what I started on today.  She wants it simple so she can just slap a few photos in whenever she has a moment, maybe write a note, include some of the kids' art work, ticket stubs to fun outings, etc.

I'm so excited to create something for her that she would otherwise never have.

Stay tuned for how the albums turn out!

Day 340 [Gift Me!]

This pretty little one turned 7 on the 30th.

I have not been able to get over to her house to give her the little mini album I made her for her birthday until today.  She was excited to see me and couldn't wait to see the album she got to add to her collection today.

I was happy to get over there today....her delight was worth the visit.

Day 339 [Commuter Art]

We went into the center of our little town for the tree lighting and holiday festivites.

We parked near the commuter train station and passed by some of the art that lines the street there.

I have always loved the metal art work scattered around the train station.

I took the opportunity to capture some while we were on our way back to the car.

Day 338 [Snowflake Lane]

Tonight we took a road trip up to Bellevue for the show on Snowflake Lane, just outside the mall.

They have it lit up beautifully, at 7 o'clock the holiday music starts and out come the drummer boys.

I assume they are local high school boys and they are amazing with their drumming skills.  It was a real treat to watch them.  We got a front row view of two of them in the area we were standing.

One of the boys really ate up the spot light, hamming it up and putting on a fantastic performance.

We saw the Snow Queen in her pretty white dress, a penguin, mouse, and reindeer.

During the music it SNOWS!  The expression on the little kids faces was priceless.  Makes me miss having a little wee one.

The 'snow' is really bubbles....but somehow it looks like real snow. 

A fantastically fun family evening!

Day 337 [I Drool For You]

If you pet her, she will drool!

She loves to be pet, she will show her appreciation by purring loudly and drooling all over you.

Her fur is so long it just drips off in strings.

Don't you love her little tongue peeking out?

This always makes me giggle.

Day 336 [Dinner Guest]

My baby girl came for dinner tonight!

Makes my heart happy to have both my kids at the dinner table.

It's been too long since we've all dined, just the 4 of us.

A nice treat for middle of the week.

We talked for hours after dinner, such a lovely way to spend the evening.