It seems that each year flies by faster and faster, and that the upcoming year approaches more rapidly than the previous one. I can hardly believe that we are already in 2014! The holidays at our home were especially sweet, with showers of unbelievable blessing falling upon us. It was a wonderful end to a rather difficult year for us, and I am thankful for God’s miraculous provision.
We had a first – a Christmas eve party. It was just our family, and a low-key, fun time for everyone. Of course, we had all kinds of yummy party food that everyone enjoyed.
Then we opened a mystery package which contained goodies for the whole family – new PJ’s, a special ornament for each child, and a movie to watch together. I think it will be a new tradition.
For New Year’s Day, we spent some time with new friends, and enjoyed getting to know them better. We also enjoyed getting to know this yummy dessert pizza.
This is our last school-free weekend, so Monday, we will hit the books again. Trying to keep a smile on my face as I think about this… The kids are no more excited about it than I am, but we will all manage just fine. I know they will be glad when summer comes and they get out in the beginning of May.
In addition to all of my holiday baking and traditional sewing (doll dresses for each of my girls each year), I spent a great deal of time sewing, crafting and brainstorming with my friend Kristen while we were home. We set up an Etsy shop for all of our goodies, so if you are looking for some nice handmade items, visit us and look around a bit. We are currently adding to our collection, and not everything is posted, but keep an eye out for new things! Our shop name is AllThingsLovely4.
We left our house right after Christmas, so un-decorating was a bit rushed. After being out of the trailer for several weeks, it is almost like moving when we have to load up again. I always worry about leaving something important behind, especially when we are in a rush. Of course, that would never be because I procrastinated. Never. :)
Long road trips are great for making large projects, and I am almost done with my latest project – another rainbow ripple afghan. The colors are so happy and bright that it cheers me just to look at it. I have one more repeat and then it will be done. I might do two, if I have enough yarn. I ran out of yarn the other day and had to buy more of a weird shade of blue. Matching yarn is not one of my favorite things to do.
Speaking of yarn, I started a year-long project – the crochet mood blanket for 2014. Simply put, you choose a color each day (or week) that represents how you feel, and make a block. At the end of the year, you will have an afghan as well as a mood calendar. My husband just smirks when I talk about it. I can hear him thinking, “Females. A mood blanket?!? What will they come up with next?” That’s okay. He hasn’t actually said anything, so when it is finished, I might let him use it. Ha! I think the hardest part was choosing the colors I wanted. Michael’s was having a huge sale, so I got 13 different colors as well as white for the outside blocks and joining. I don’t know that I will actually have that many moods, but that is beside the point. I find it hard to resist a pretty yarn, especially when it is on sale, and I can justify using it for a fun project. The only thing that is killing me is that it will take a whole year to finish it. I do not like long, drawn-out projects. I understand that breaking it into small pieces makes it easier for some people to complete the task, but I can tell you that, around March, I am going to be so tempted to finish all the blocks and put it away. Forget March – I already feel that way. :)
I chose a retro circle pattern that is so adorable! I already love the blanket, and it isn’t even big enough to cover both of my hands!
The colors so far are bright and cheery, and I can’t wait to see the finished project. I was dragging the yarn around in a huge bag, spilling it on the living room floor, and getting it tangled around things. Something had to change. While I was at Hobby Lobby, they had all their Christmas things on clearance for 80% off, and I found a giant round decorative box (I have a weakness for those boxes, anyway) that I knew would be perfect for my mood blanket yarn. I also stocked up on wrapping paper and tissue paper for next year. I was feeling pretty thrifty after that trip! Here is my newly organized #crochetmoodblanket 2014 yarn. Hooray for adorable storage!
We are in sunny south Florida this week, and our meeting starts Sunday. We are praying for great things to happen, and know that God’s Word will not return void. In the meantime, I am enjoying the warm weather and the chance to wear sandals again. Of course, I had to repaint my toenails, since it had been about three months since my last paint job and I had about a half inch of paint on my big toenails – all the other toes were bare. Shameful, I know. It gave me a good reason to stop everything and paint my toenails in a fresh new color for the new year!
Well, this has been a huge catch-up post, since it has been forever since my last blog post. Hopefully things will settle down a bit and my news will become regular again. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas season and a Happy New Year! Looking forward to what this year will bring.
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