1 year later...

So it has been almost a year since I have posted. I'm trying to decide if I should even bother changing the background. I am considering changing the name too. But I cannot decide. I will try to be a little more involved with my blog this year!

Brady's Valentines

Yesterday was Brady's Valentine's Day Party at school. I really, really do not like the pre-made, mass produced Valentines that you can buy at the drugstore. So while I still have a say & Brady doesn't care, I decided that we would make Valentines for his class.

I knew I had all kinds of scrapbooking paper, markers, glue, etc. And that I had a bag of Dum Dum suckers. So I googled "Dum Dum Valentines."

I found some good craft blogs: The Crafty Crow, Zakka Life, New Green Mama

I found this one on Zakka Life. I think it turned out really cute. You download the picture of the snail and then print it out. Brady cut it out with some scrapbooking scissors, glued it on the cardstock, I cut the hole for the sucker and he taped the stick to the back. I signed his name because he got frustrated with that (that's what happens when you are 4).

We were the only ones in his class that made our Valentines. But almost everyone gave goody bags loaded with candy.

Hello! I haven't blogged in forever. I want to but I just can't think of anything interesting. But let me just ramble a little and see what comes out...

I started school on January 4th. I am taking Algebra and Psychology. As I have mentioned before, to say that Algebra is not my strong suit is an understatement.However, I got a 93 on the first test and an 87 on the second. Yippee!!!!! I had a Psychology test last week and I got a 96. Double Yippee! Justin has been very busy doing a finished basement and he has booked several more big jobs. 2009 is looking like it could be a good year for us!

I watched the inauguration on Tuesday. I am always so blown away by the pageantry of that day. It is amazing how smoothly things happen. No matter how you feel about President Obama or our country, we are so lucky to live where we do. i got so choked up during Aretha Franklin singing My Country Tis of Thee (after I got over being startled by her hat). Patriotic music always does it to me. My 87 year old neighbor, Mary, came over to watch it with me. I know that she only watches TV maybe once a week and for some reason when she turns it off she messes it up and usually Justin has to go over to fix it for her. So I thought I better call that morning to see if her TV was working. First thing she said was, "I CAN'T GET IT ON MY TV!". So I told her to come over so she didn't miss it. She missed the swearing in but saw the speech. She just smiled and smiled. Again, no mater what you think of him, think about what that day meant to my 87 year old black friend.

Justin scored a huge box of boy dress up clothes this week. Brady & Bowie have been in heaven.

I keep checking my blog everyday hoping that there is something new posted here. But yet, nothing. So I guess I should do something about that.

We had a good Christmas, New Year & Brady's birthday. We started at my mother-in-law's on the 20th. Justin made her an adirondak loveseat for Christmas and it is really nice. The plan is for him to make one for my parents for their anniversary too. He wanted to make one for them for Xmas but ran out of time. Anyway, we just relaxed, ate and played games (Taboo & Bramble). Emma, Brady & Bowie got to spend some quality time together which is great. They don't get to see each other very often because of Emma's busy schedule. And did I mention that we ate? I did, a bunch.

Then on the 24th we had Christmas with Justin's dad, Granny & Pop, and the Heards. That was nice too. This year we had a new baby to celebrate with- Avery. He slept through the presents. Brady got some noisy guns from his Grandpa. He loves them. And we ate.

Then Santa came. Brady & Bowie both got bicycles. Brady was thrilled. Bowie's legs are a little short for his. After that we went to my parents. That is always fun and now that there are 5 kids running around it is kinda crazy. This year mom timed it perfectly. Presents, dinner, relaxing. It was very nice. Erin & Joe got a Wii for Xmas so that was one of the highlights. I didn't manage to play it but it seems like fun. Brady got a Leapster and Bowie got a baby 4 wheeler. And I believe that I ate from the moment I walked in the door until the moment I walked out.

New Year's Eve is Brady's birthday. He was born at 12:16 a.m. on 12/31/04. I think that he thinks that the fireworks and noisemakers are for him. We went to the park, because that is what Brady wanted to do. Very cold but we had fun. Then we had Mexican with Cristen and Avery. They came over and we did fireworks, opened presents and had birthday cake. We just hung around the house and drank champagne and watched the ball drop. On New Years Day we went to Justin's grandparents for dinner. I ate a bunch of black eyed peas and collard greens. I hate greens but I need some green in my bank account so I went for it. That night I made up a new New Years Day dish that was delish and guess what, it has greens & black eyed peas in it. So I doubled up on the greens- lets hope it makes a difference.

This past Sunday we went to Chuck E Cheese for Brady's birthday party. As usual it was fun and he had a great time. I think he was getting the "Too Much Christmas & Birthday" attitude by the end. Ripping through presents without even looking at them. However, at home he has played with each one and seems to really appreciate them. I guess he just gets a little rush ripping through the wrapping paper.

So now the holidays are over and we can get back to normal. Which hopefully means normal eating too. I gained 7 lbs over the month of December. Yikes! So I am back on track and hitting the gym. I exercised throught the month but not as much as usual and I really ate anything that I thought i might want.

I started school this week. So far so good. I had Algebra last night. Algebra is my Achilles heel. But I must conquer it. I think that if I can get a good/decent grade in there it will be a load off my shoulders. It all started back in high school, I just have not been able to do well in it. But this time is different. Before when I took it, in high school & college the 1st time, I did not know that there were harder things in life than Algebra. So maybe if I have to be older, maybe I get to be a little wiser too.

I will post pictures later. I have to compress them so that it doesn't take forever to upload.

Hey, Bathroom Lady & Polluted Air, this is for you!

This is an excerpt from the latest post from Heather Armstrong's blog, Dooce. She is writing to her 4 year old daughter, Leta.

"Mostly, I am excited that this baby will have you as an older sister, and not just because you will both need someone to call to complain about the fact that your parents are nuts. Sure, there will be times when you'll both try to kill each other either through physical brutality or embarrassment, but I know that at some point this baby is going to look up to you and think you are the coolest thing that ever walked on the planet. And while there is no way to predict the lasting dynamic of a relationship between siblings, I can only hope that you will have with this one what I have with my own, a bond so strong that it doesn't even matter that we have nothing but our parents in common. They are lifelines, people who were there, who were witnesses to everything that made me who I am, and I am the same for them in return. Is the relationship perfect? No, but we all know that we would sacrifice anything for each other, and one of the many reasons we decided to have another child was to give you the possibility of that friendship."

Merry Christmas, I love ya!

Thank You, Laura!

I got my Swap goodies today! I was so excited to see this nice surprise on my front porch. I discovered after coming home from dropping off Laura's treats at the Bethelehem, GA post office. It was a mob scene. The TV news was out there. Crazy. The Bethlehem post office is the closest to me, I use it all year long. But lots of people drive to this tiny little place just to get the Bethlehem postmark on their Christmas cards.

But I digress...

(Laura, when you get your box you are going to think I copied you with the note, but I promise I didn't.)

I got a beautifully written recipe for Hot White Chocolate in a velvet stocking, an adorable box with Santa on top and chocolates inside, some popcorn, a cute Noel decoration, a sleeve of Girl Scout Thin Mints (Laura, never apologize for not having homemade when you are sending GS cookies), spiced cider, a Yankee Candle tart in Christmas Berries scent and some super cute Christmas notecards.

I cannot wait to see what everyone else has been working on! The deadline is Wednesday.

I suck because I have not blogged in forever.

We had a great Thanksgiving and it was so great to see my Gram. She came over to my house and I made lunch for her & my mom. I made a version of Leslie's tortellini soup. Actually, Leslie's soup has raviolis in it so I turned it into tortellini soup. I also made a pear & blueberry cobbler. I invited my neigbor, Miss Mary, over to meet Gram & have dessert with us.

That was really nice. Mary is 87 and lives alone across the street from me. Her son used to live with her but he died of cancer last year. So we have adopted her and she has adopted us. She takes her voting very seriously too. She told me that the first time she voted was for JFK. I asked her if she ever thought that she would see a Black president in her lifetime. And she told me that it never crossed her mind, that she didn't know that it is possible. Mary is African-American and I cannot imagine what she has seen in her lifetime.

Anyway, it was wonderful to have gram here for Thanksgiving. I only wish that we lived closer.

I want to know- Where is my Christmas Spirit? I have none. I am trying so hard to get that feeling but I just can't. My mind refuses to believe that Christmas is 2 1/2 weeks away. I am playing the music & movies that I love and I have decorated the house but still nothing. I will be glad when 2008 is over. Hopefully 2009 will be a good year.