I almost hate to add a new post. I love watching that video over and over. It’s almost as good as the real thing. Funny thing about blogging is that once you fall out of the habit, it’s hard to pick it up again. So I guess I’m going to have to get back up on the horse and dust off the keyboard.

Lets see. Believe it or not, I am still finishing up my Christmas presents. Poor old Kat is still waiting for her gift. I am more than ready to pack away all my Christmas fabric and move on to something else. Anything that doesn’t involve red and green! But in retrospect, I really did enjoy making my presents. Mostly because as I made them, I was thinking about the receiver. At the mall, my thoughts tend to run along the line of, “Kat, Kat, have to find something for Kat. What could I get? This? This? That! Ok, next person. Liza, Liza what can I get Liza……” It isn’t a particularly warm/fuzzy thought process. More of a panicked grabby thought process. But this year, I found myself stitching or sewing or cutting away and thinking about my friends and family in a much more stress-free state of mind and is was oh so very nice. Although I meant to take a picture of each creation, I forgot. Sigh. So I don’t have a photo of all the goodies I made. The vast majority were seasonal banners or pillows.

Here’s a picture of the one banner I remembered to snap a photo of before wrapping it up. I got the idea from a similar one in a Pottery Barn catalogue. It was one of those, “that’s so cute – I could totally make that moments”. I like the idea that you can hang it to say Thanks Giving or Giving Thanks. The others I did were in a similar vein for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and 4th of July. It was kind of cool to channel all those other days in the middle of winter!

The pillows I made were especially fun. I took the idea from a post over at this excellent website and ran with it. I ended up with four very different pillows. This one was for sweet little Amelia, my 18 month old niece. I adore these fabrics and would use them all over my room if Kevin would let me. He has, unfortunately, outlawed pink in our/his bedroom. Sigh. The other three were true Christmas pillow and they came out perfectly. I just wish I had a picture. Ah well!

Once I finish the last lingering gift, I have a new pattern for myself (!?!!) I’m going to tackle. I have a feeling I should get some good juicy blog posts out of that endeavor. Ha!

And so 2007 ends.

We had a fantabulous Christmas this year, thankyouverymuch. I managed to finish all the gifts on time and they came out just as sweet as I hoped. The girls didn’t get lost in an avalance of presents. Instead, we had a very modest stack under our tree for which I was thankful. The big hit were the superhero costumes. I must post the pictures for you of Wonder Woman Leina and Baby Robin Kulia. They are to die for.

As I speak (type?), Kevin is pulling down lights and shelving boxes. Good bye Christmas decorations! Goodbye tree! Goodbye moving reindeer, snowmen, snowflakes, trees, signs, and house lights! (Phew.) I don’t know if I’m going to make a resolution this year. I never keep them, really. I’ll be glad if next year is as good to me as this year was. I really can’t ask for much more.

So tonight, it’s rootbeer floats and a new calendar to hang on the wall. Horray!

Kevin took the girls up to the mountain today to play in the snow. They looked so cute in their snow bibs and coats. It’s horrible cold and rainy down here. I made Kevin take chains. I hope they make it!

I have been working feverishly here in the quiet of an empty house. It struck me last night as I looked over my to-do list that I had forgotten Leina’s teacher. Ack! I immediately thought of a Starbuck’s gift card. But as I thrashed around my little desk, I came across an old neglected pattern for a candle coaster. And since I have all this wool felt and ample time, I thought I’d add it to my Christmas craft list. (Can you say fool of a Took?)

It’s done. Now I’m seriously behind. It’s also beyond cute and I covet it for myself. I’m thinking next year, this may be the present dujour. What do you think?

Of course, I have no cute tea light holder so it looks like I’m braving the rain to hit the Dollar Tree/Target. I have 101 tea light holders somewhere. Why is it when I need one, they have all magically disappeared?!?!

OK, back to the sewing machine. I have one last holiday banner to crank out. Wish me luck.

I was tempted to use this photo for our Christmas cards. The caption could read…

Merry Christmas from a tempermental 4 year old and a rascally 2 year old!

Thank goodness for chocolate santas. It put a smile on Leina’s face and focused Kulia’s energy just enough for me to get a money shot. Watch your mailbox for the final product!

Friday was Kevin’s last day at work until Jan 3rd! Can you believe it? As we speak, he is downstairs fixing me dinner and cleaning the kitchen. Heavenly, I tell you. I foresee much leisure time for me in the next few days. Yes!

On Saturday, I met up with Liza and Traci for breakfast at Mother’s and a Powell’s run. This was Traci’s first time ever at Powell’s. And I was there to witness it! I feel so blessed. A good time was had all around but the highlight for me was bumping into the Barefoot Contessa herself. Yes, Ina and her husband were buying cookbooks at Powell’s and I did a double take when I saw them walk by. It’s very odd when someone who lives on the TV suddenly appears next to you. Very odd indeed.

Driving up to Natalie’s for Owen’s 1st birthday, I started thinking and realized I like the number 3 for women. Now, shopping with your best friend cannot be beat but when it comes to socializing, I think women do best in three. Any more, and you get groups and odd girls out. But with three, there’s enough conversation and laughing to go around. Yes, it was very nice.

On the home front, we are slowly plowing along. We took our Christmas picture today so the cards may be late, but they are coming! Kevin finished hanging the lights on the house and my list of craft presents is moving along very nicely. Of course getting the girls to sit and smile was a real pain. Kulia, rascal that she is, was the most difficult. I’m almost tempted to send this as our Christmas card. That would teach her!

Alright, here they are. The big reveal of the kitchen re-do. I beg of you, please bear in mind that this is most definitely a work in progress. Kindly erase the piles of junk and the chaos you will see in your mind’s eye. Focus on the bones, as they say.

First, the new floors. I don’t find them “red” as Kevin and my dad kept saying. They have a very strong grain to them, however and I do not like how they look next to the existing cabinets. But that will be dealt with. Later.

Next, the bathroom tile. Which I adore. Absolutely. What a difference from the crappy, err, junk linoleum that used to live here. I’ve already decided Kevin is doing this to every bathroom in the house. Poor man.

And finally, the new cabinets that are half-way installed. I have called a truce on this project as it was far to destructive to deal with right now. We hung a new cabinet next to the sink in the former blank spot where the snack shelves used to live. This will be the size of all the kitchen cabinets -all the way to the ceiling, thankyouverymuch. The others, however, will have a sold panel door. My cupboard shelves tend to be a mite, err, messy.

Then, the new kitchen desk. The cupboards are final but the base is still unfinished. It will, eventually, have a countertop and be the same width as the cabinets above with some lighting. But for now, you get the idea. After putting this in, I realized that this unit is the exact amount of storage I have in my kitchen – four cupboards and two drawer units. So with this addition, I will have doubled my space. Is that amazing or what? I love the beadboard doors up above. Those are actually separate and getting this whole monster to level together was a nightmare and then some. Turns out neither our walls or ceiling are level! Who knew? But I’m pleased as punch with the result.

Now all I need is a countertop and I’m ready to go. Of course, I then have to replace the rest of the existing kitchen but that’s minor. Really.

Sigh.

Ok, that’s all I’ve got. You have work to do, Traci, so get to it! And Tutu, you seriously need to get Elmo to overhaul your bathroom. Seriously!