I am in Telluride, with Fatty and the girls and part of my family.  The skiing is good - the snow is soft, but man, it is cold outside.  It has been a nice getaway so far and we have a few days left.  Christmas was wonderful with the exception of a very bad cold.  In fact, it was so good that not only did Santa come, but the tooth fairy paid Kate a visit too.  Both of my girls have lost teeth on Christmas.  Crazy, huh?

So 2007 is ending.....and, geographically speaking, I am right where I was when it began.  I'mlooking forward to 2008.  I have a mental list of resolutions that I plan on putting on paper in the next few days.  I also have some handmade gifts to share and some new knitting on the needles.  Lots of good stuff - well, at least I think so.

Happy New Year to you.  I just have a feeling that 2008 is going to begood - really good.

Hello Monday.  It's always hard to see you after a long weekend.

We spent Thanksgiving in Chicago at my parents' house.  It was a lovely holiday and I ate too much.  Add a trip to Ikea, dinner with friends and a quick trip to Jo-Ann's and that about sums up the weekend.  Oh, and making lots of people into elves.  I highly recommend it.

Libby tagged me.  I am sure other people have tagged me too, but I generally ignore memes since I did the alphabet thing.  However, I am slow moving this morning so here you go.  Eight random things about me....

1.    My favorite tea is Chamomile Citrus by Mighty Leaf.  I love this stuff.  Second best is Passion by Tazo.  I like that one hot and iced.

2.    I'm in a huge nesting phase right now.  I just bough new sheets and some pillow shams are in the works.  I should be making Christmas gifts, but it feels right to get the beds in order for some reason.  It must be the cold weather.

3.   We still haven't raked our yard.  I was going to do it yesterday, but it started raining.  It is still raining.  There is just something wrong about having the Christmas decorations out and having to rake the yard.  I'm just saying.

4.    I am way behind on the Christmas gift procuring/making.  I am normally much more prepared.  Procrastination is about to rear its ugly head.

5.    Every spring I get mad at myself for not planting daffodils in the fall.  Looks like I will be cursing my own good name again in April.

6.    I bought myself some rain boots.  I have been looking for the right pair for a long time.  They came just in time (see number 3 above).

7.    I like eating leftover dessert for breakfast.  Friday and Saturday I had apple pie.  Yum.

8.    I like sappy chick flicks and teenage dramas.  I watched seasons 1 and 2 of The O.C. on DVD this summer.  I am about halfway through season 3.  Definitely a guilty pleasure.

I am not going to tag anyone.  Go ahead and join in if you want.

See you all later.

I made this t-shirt for an 8 year-old's birthday last week.  I finished at the last minute (of course) and gave it to her with the blue water-soluble marks showing behind the embroidery.  Her mom is in my craft swap and she laughed when I told her not to worry, the blue marks would come out in the wash.  See, my friends know me.  And so does my family.  They accept me for who I am, faults and all.  For this, I am thankful.

That is just one of my many blessings.   I am lucky to have many.  And so here I sit, the day after Thanksgiving with my pants a bit tighter than they were yesterday, grateful for everything that enriches my life and even some of the things that don't.  Because without those unfortunate events and unkind people, I really would never have grown to be the person I am right now.  Life's lessons are something for which to be thankful.  At least, I think so.  And so is the constant personal growth that comes from them.  I am growing and I like it.  Which makes me think that I am a happy camper indeed.

I'm loving....

my patchwork bag dispenser.  (Thank you Amy!)

fall-ish weather...jeans and sneakers.

city apples
hexagons
thinking about zucchini bread
everything in this one
puppy pockets
this color combo

Enjoy your weekend!

Dawn and I had a little swap.  One of her Love Creatures in exchange for a twirly skirt.  Well, imagine my surprise when I opened the package and found Gloria

and Brady!

Oh my!  TWO!  Indeed, I am a lucky girl.  I knew I was getting one made out of the green floral fabric, but the little patchwork guy was such a great surprise.  They are both so adorable - I just love them!  Of course, the girls thought the rabbits were for them.  Ha!  Well, I guess I should share.  I just don't want to!  There were some other little goodies in the package including some different teas and Pocky sticks (all gone - I did share that!).  Thanks Dawn!  You are so nice and extremely talented.  You really spoiled me.

While I was in the thick of the encyclopedia of me, Dawn tagged me for eight random things.  Although I feel that there can't be too much more to tell, here goes:

1.  I was a History major in college.  If I could do it all over again, I would study graphic art.

2.  During the school year I work five hours a week setting up and printing invitations at a very nice stationery store.  Yes, only five hours.  I have been working there since I was pregnant with Jane.  When the kids were smaller, I would work one Saturday a month.

3.  People pay me good money to address invitations and write out place cards.  I used to do calligraphy, but now I mostly just use my regular handwriting.  It's a great gig because if I am busy, I can say no to a job and heck, I get to work while in my p.j.'s.

4.  My freshman year college roommate is now on Saturday Night Live.  I lost touch with her, but she is a great person, very fun and nice.  She totally deserves what she has worked hard to get.

5.  I eat the same thing for breakfast every day.  Right now I am on an oatmeal with nectarines kick.

6.  It annoys me to no end when drivers don't use their turn signals.

7.  I go to the grocery at least four times a week.  At least.  I am not a good meal planner so I find myself shopping for one or two days at a time.  Sometimes I do big shops to get all the basics, but more often than not I just pick things up as we need them.

8.   I have seen Breezer in the back yard.  I wasn't convinced before, but now I really do believe in ghosts.

...is for zinnias.  They are one of my favorite flowers, especially in a tin can or a mason jar.  This McCoy vase works pretty well, too.

...is for zippers.  I love sewing notions and colorful happy zippers make me smile.  I am also working on a tutorial to show you how to put a zipper in a pillow.  I should have it up sometime next week.  It's easy.  Really.

Now you know my abc's....thanks so much for playing along with me.

X
...is for x-ray vision.  How cool would that be?
...is for xylophone.  Really, could you think of anything else?

Y
...is for yarn.  The latest purchase is slated for knee socks for me.  I haven't picked a pattern yet...any suggestions?  I am getting ready for the carpool line.

...is for water.  Best drink around.  Good for swimming, too.

...is for watermelon.  I like them with the seeds.  The kids, however, don't get the seeds so were dismayed by this lovely one last night.  I was doubly happy - it was local and so sweet.

...is for weight.  It's probably my biggest self-image issue.

...is for wine.  Also a good drink.

...is for winners.  I removed all multiple comments so the playing field was level and then had the random number generator choose 3:  Grace (55), Sarah (105)and Kristin (151)!  Congrats!  Please email me your addresses!