Christmas Cheer

After Nablopomo, I always have great momentum for posting more regularly, but I thrive under pressure, and I just can't seem to bring myself to post more frequently without the lure of PRIZES! even though I still have lots to say.

I am currently covered in threads from Christmas present-making, stuffed with cookies sampled during production, and very, very sad at the thought of going back to work tomorrow. With the bonus Monday gift of getting a cavity filled right before going into work. Fun!

Can't I just stay home and be Christmassy all year? (Aside: somehow, "Christmassy" is recognized as a real word by Blogger. Truly amazing.) I was a baking fiend, even if two of the five recipes didn't come out quite as planned and one whole batch of bars had to go straight into the trash.

Friends, check your nuts BEFORE you put them in the batter, because they may have gone rancid after sitting for years on the shelf. The good news is that after I get some fresh nuts, I think the recipe will be just delicious. And here concludes the most unintentionally dirty paragraph I have ever written.

The most wonderful time of the year

This not-having-finals thing is wonderful. This weekend, we put up most of the Christmas decorations, including the tree, which we decorated with the help of some small friends (all the ornaments on one low branch is definitely the Next Big Thing in decorating), I made some sinfully delicious shortbread cookies, and we even hung our stockings by the chimney (with care!).

We've had quite a bit of snow, which doesn't make it hard to get in the spirit! After posting this, I plan on making a few of the gifts on my list. I love making things, but it certainly takes a little time!

I have jury duty tomorrow, which should be interesting. Part of me is hoping to get put on a trial, because I think that would be really interesting, and part hopes to be dismissed early enough to still see my afternoon patients because I missed last Monday (and Tuesday) because of a bad cold.

Getting Back

Tomorrow, we all go back to work. Unlike in years past, I am not returning from Thanksgiving Break to face papers, finals, and the general mayhem that is the end of a semester. However, I am also not trying to make that final push, knowing that Christmas Break awaits me on the other side. No, I will only get a few days off for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, though I may end up taking an extra day off, just for my sanity.

We just got back from a lovely afternoon and evening with our friends Jill and Kyle. We did more Quilt Club, plus got to join in their family pizza night and enjoy delicious utterly homemade pizza and even play some Rock Band. Completely fun, but I am exhausted now. Off to bed to start the week anew tomorrow. Maybe the Christmas decorations will put themselves up while I sleep.

Crafty Day

I must confess, I am still feeling a little happy from the glass of wine at dinner, so if any of this doesn't make sense, I blame the vino. I also just mistyped three words in that last sentence before catching the errors, so you are hereby warned about spelling mistakes too.

Today was a lovely crafty day! Mom hemmed and hung the IKEA curtains that have been languishing in our bedroom since we moved in 5 months ago. They look lovely and I really should have taken a picture of them opened with the gorgeous snow covered trees just beyond. It was lovely. (Speaking of lovely, Mom got to fall asleep on the bed next to the dying fire. Doesn't that sound awesome?). We also finally had our first Quilt Club meeting, which was super fun, even though one of our trio couldn't make it because of the snow. Le boo. We'll just have to meet again sometime soon!

I also was able to submit an abstract for a big conference next year, the second one I have submitted to, so now we just wait and see. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful advisor because I really could not have done any of this without her. It makes a world of difference to have someone supporting me and guiding me through this crazy process!

Joy and Sadness

Joy: I have found a wealth of incredible new blogs that fill my heart and mind with wonderful inspiration for adorable and practical projects.

Sadness: I do not have the time to complete such adorable projects, no matter how practical (or adorable) they might be.

I will share the love in case you might have the time. In the meantime, I will download some of the patterns, bookmark sites and add feeds to my Google Reader and put them away for a rainy day (or after graduation).

How About Orange with adorable and FREE patterns, ideas, downloads, links, etc. etc. etc.! Already, I am desperate to find some sweet fabric to make my own bag like this:


I mean, how awesome???

Other sweet sites (mostly found through the above blog):
Free easy sewing ideas and patterns (The Sewing Republic)
More Teh Awesome sewing lovelies (handmade kate)
FREE lovely gorgeous print ornaments (Briar Press)
Fun things that I don't know what to do with yet, but I like looking at (and FREE!) (A Print a Day)

And if you do nothing else, look at the tutorials on How About Orange. I can haz some free taime?

Craftiness

I love JoAnn's sales. I now have a huge stack of scrapbooking supplies for not too much money (though more than I had anticipated). I'm pretty sure I would be happy just looking at all the pretty papers and never scrapbooking a page. But I did do 3 so far tonight, so I really am using them. I love inspiration!