Getting My Mojo Back!

Made a pan of Blondies today! Fabulous!


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What's Up!

Hello friends~ I've been missing for awhile here in blog land.  It's been quiet and relaxing on the home front.
Just enjoying the calm after the Christmas hub bub.  This year I just was not in the spirit.  I hardly baked, I didn't want all the festivities, I didn't want all the work!  I was pretty shut down.  It's behind us now and looking forward to moving on!

New Years Eve will be spent in the quietness and charm of home.  It has become a tradition.  The hubby meets his brothers in the afternoon at STAN'S for a toast (or two) to the new year.  He is home early.  We celebrate with a candlelight dinner.

 

Nice steak on the grill, crab legs, salad, and baked potatoe

and

my new favorite

Barefoot Bubbly

We talk about the year that has passed, the new year  looking forward and then it's to bed fairly early.  Can't remember the last time we saw the ball drop at midnight!

For us, it's the perfect way to end the new year and begin anew!

New Years Day, if the weather is clear, we will head down to Portage to see our little bundle of happiness.

She will be down there celebrating Christmas and New Years with the Grandparents!

Wishing all of you, my faithful followers, love, peace, good health and happiness in 2012.  Be safe on New Years!  What are your plans for celebrating the new year?

Love - Babs~

Christmas 2012

This is where I want to be.



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Merry Christmas

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The Best Christmas Gift of All!

My little sweetie pie! Six months old tomorrow!




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Sums it up!

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Winter Sow

I could handle this look right now!




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Lovely Creation

My friend, Lynne, stopped over to deliver this lovely Christmas arrangement for me.

The mercury glass container is awesome.  The greens and berries are from her  yard.  The pine cones in the arrangement came from the state park at Lake Michigan.

A dear, dear friend indeed!  We've renewed and rekindled our friendship this year.  Hurts have been healed.
Such a wonderful blessing for me!

Christmas Cookies

Every Saturday, we have coffee and donuts at my Mom's house.  Today, we mixed it up a bit and had coffee at Maggie's.  After coffee, we started in on some holiday baking. 

From this to this.....

An all time favorite....Pecan Balls

We all were in on the fun.  Don, Phil and Mom unwrapping 48 kisses for the Peanut Butter Blosoms.

Lucy was there to help also!

Grandma had fun rolling cookies in sugar.

It's amazing how much we got done with all these helping hands.  We left Maggie on her own and what did she do?  Made another batch of Pecan Balls and left out the flour!  She needs us around.

Richie was happy he was home working on the camper, Lila Jane!

How is your baking coming along?

Love, Babs

Take A Moment

Please....Take a moment from the holiday pressure and soak in some relaxation and reflection.




A fire, warm blankets and wine!

Photo courtesy of greenlikebathwater.

Christmas Dance

My nephew Jacob attended Mona Shores Christmas Dance last week. He was excited when he was telling me about his red bow tie. He said he would be the only one wearing one, but he didn't care. He thought it was neat. Way to go Jake.... I applaud you for being your own person!

Rare Evening

How often in mid-December, in Michigan....can you sit outside and enjoy a campfire?

Last evening, Maggie, Don, Richie and me sat outside for three hours enjoying the greatest campfire and a few martinis. WOW, it was awesome and so relaxing.



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Farewell

Today we will bid farewell to our dear Carl.  We will gather at the cemetery to lay his ashes to rest.

This picture was such a favorite for Carl.  He thought it was the greatest picture ever taken.

May the road rise to meet you

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face

And the rains fall soft upon your fields

Until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

We'll miss you Carl!

Thank you for adoring our Mother!

Most Pleasant Surprise

My brother Mike called this afternoon and asked us if we could meet him for dinner this evening. Catch is, he lives in Orlando, and he we are in Michigan. Come to find out, he was flying into Grand Rapids at 5:30 pm. He will be here just for the night and heading to see a fraternity brother tomorrow in Northern Ohio who is very ill.

Anyway, Mike wanted to see our Mother and give her a hug. She's been through a lot this past week. Richard, Mother and I drove to GR and picked up Mike at the airport and went to Longhorn Steakhouse for a nice dinner.
Our visit was short but oh so sweet! Great seeing you Mike. Thanks again for dinner!



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Holiday Cheer

Tonight, I will be ringing in the holidays with two very good friends, Lynne and Kathy.  Lynne will be hosting us at her home.  Lynne's home is so warm and cozy.  She has fabulous taste and will have all her holiday finest touches scattered throughout her house.

This is perfect timing for me....I need to totally relax and visit and I have to get into the holiday spirit.

Cheers!

First of Many

Carmel Cashew Clusters. My first batch of Christmas goodies. I saw this recipe on Pinterest and it spoke to me. Yum.Yum. And pretty darn easy.




Just the first of many. Gotta get my Christmas spirit going!

RIP Carl Lund

January 20, 1921 - December 5, 2011
We will miss you Carl. The love that you had for our mother was remarkable. You adored her and filled her days with great companionship. You touched our lives Carl! May you continue to smile upon us!

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Steps

I haven't talk much about these two lovelies on my blog!




Meet my step nieces, Staci and Sarah. Aren't they adorable?   Staci and Sarah live in Florida so I don't see them often. Their Mom, Marlene, is my brother Mike's love!

Staci and Sarah blend so nicely into our family. They are fun loving, easy to be around, curious, and so very kind hearted. They are just as sweet as they can be.  They in turn, love our family and love being part of us and our family activites. They love Michigan! They have so much fun with my nephews, Mike's boys. Never a dull moment when all five of them are together.





I'm excited to see them again this winter when we visit.

Happy Birthday Drew

Nephew number 2 just turned 27 over the weekend. Our rocket scientist.
Looks like he had a great time celebrating! Best wishes, Rocket Man!



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The First Week of Advent

I picked some greens and berries from around the yard.Placed them in an old wooden box and inserted four candles in florist foam.

A candle for each week of Advent will be lit as we enjoy our evening dinner. I think I'm going to like this new tradition.




Babs....
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Chuckle

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Location:Home

Lovely

Cashmere Fingerless Gloves aka texting gloves.   Made by Babs.  What a perfect gift!  Contact me if you may be interested in a pair.  Turquoise (dark or light), lavender or navy.

Yum Yum

JoJo enjoying a tasty morsel of goodness!





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Thankful

Our thanksgiving day was relaxing and delicious. We enjoyed a small gathering at my sister's with family. She is such a great hostess.

This guy, my nephew Jacob, is someone Aunt Barb is thankful for.






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Please Join Me!

JUST SAY NO TO

BLACK FRIDAY!!

Please join me in boycotting this ridiculous initiative.  People get sucked in every year.  This year it's ruining and infringing on family time.  These sales gimmicks are luring people away from precious time from their families...trying to get them into the stores beginning Thanksgiving evening.

It's just too much.  What next.....After Christmas sales begin Christmas Day at 4pm?

Do  yourself a favor and stay home and do something with your family!

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Blessings to you and yours!

I

Upcycled Sweater - Felted Mittens

I took a class yesterday at my local JoAnn Fabrics.  I learned step by step how to make and assemble wool mittens from wool sweaters.  I made some last year but struggled with finishing techniques.  Now I have it down pat.  These babies are fun to make and oh so warm!

Guess what you might be getting for Christmas!

Say Hello to newest family addition

My husband came home from his deerhunting weekend with this baby!  What a surprise it was.  Her name is Rosemary.  I have wanted a "Canned Ham" for sometime now. 

Rosemary is going to be our winter project.  She is being moved inside the garage soon.  Richie's garage is heated so we can work on her during the winter months.  She will be ready for "Glamping" in the spring.
Lots of work to do....Richie some woodworking inside and checking electrical and gaslines and all that...painting the outside.  Me....the fun part.  Cute-ifying the inside.  Picking out colors...fabric for cushions and making curtains.  I'm making her all girly!

I'm so excited!  What a dear my husband is.....surprising me like that!
I promise I'll keep you updated on the progress!
Babs~

Thought for the Day

It really is that simple!

The Week in Review

Time flies.  I received gentle reminders from followers that I haven't updated my blog in a few days.   I guess that is a good thing in that people read it!

As you know, the hubby left me for a few days to deer hunt.  As usual, he came home empty handed.  That's the good part. 

I accomplished quite a bit while he was gone.  I cleaned all the kitchen cupboards and threw lots out.  I got my spices in alpha order....I love when I do that....it's such a feeling of organization!

Met niece Jessie in Grand Haven for a glass of wine,  dinner and conversation.  We had a very nice visit and we were able to catch up with one another.  I had a first hand JoJo report as she visited her this past weekend.

 Let's see, I cleaned the master bath from ceiling to floor and wall to wall.  Even got in the corners with a qtip.  That's good for the winter......(of course, weekly cleaning but deep cleaning has to be spring now).

I did some crafting.....I see an idea on the web and just got to do it.  How's this cute little number?

It's just a little lined travel bag....jewelry, phone chargers, camera chargers, camera, whatever you want it to be.  I have so much fabric and have so many combinations I could use.  If anyone would like the pattern, just give me a shout.  It's so fun and easy!

Crafted with Lynne yesterday!  She is making sweater pillows for a group of her friends for Christmas.  We cut, and sewed, and handsewed, and knitted flowers for embellishment.  It was great.  Had a fabulous cosmopolitan along the way also.  It was a warm, fuzzy feeling.....just laughing, talking, crafting, and having a great time with a friend.  The way it should be~

Coffee and donuts this morning at Mother's!  Visit with another friend, Dawn and here I am.
Time to think about Thanksgiving next week.  But first, I have two classes - one Monday and one Tuesday.
One at the knit shop and one at JoAnn's.  Can't wait.  In between my busy-ness, I'll work on Thanksgiving prep.

So there you have it.  That's what I've been up too.  Hope you all are making your preparations for Turkey Day.
Babs~

I Got Threaded Today!

Eyebrow threading is a depilation technique which originated in India, although it is also widely practiced in the Middle East. Salons in Western nations offered the service to Middle Eastern clients for decades before European and American women became interested and the popularity of eyebrow threading skyrocketed. The hair removal technique is not just for the eyebrows: threading can be used to remove other facial and body hair as well.
The technique is sometimes listed on salon menus as khite or fatlah, which are both Arabic words for threading. Eyebrow threading involves twisting a piece of thread, usually cotton, into a double strand. This double stranded thread is used to pick up a line of hair and then remove it, creating a very clean, precise hairline. Eyebrow threading is the technique preferred by Indian movie stars, who are often distinguished by their crisp brow lines.
Eyebrow threading can be used to eliminate a unibrow, raise the arch of the eyebrow, or add shape and definition to the brow. Because it removes hair by the follicle, it is a reasonably long lasting hair removal technique as well. Repeat visits after three to four weeks are standard. The technique is also not terribly expensive because it is easy to do quickly and does not require costly chemical ingredients. For women who would like to pursue a more natural beauty regimen, eyebrow threading is a good choice, since it does not use harmful products.

So....I did it.  I did my brows and upper lip.  The process isn't pain free.  I must say it doesn't hurt as much as waxing and it is quick.  The upper lip was sensitive...but it's unbearable almost having it waxed.

I will definitely do again.  The brows were $10 and the upper lip was $6...can't beat that and I didn't get burned from wax.

What do you think? 
Babs~