Christmas, Final part

The final part of our family Christmas was going to my grandparents' to be with our extended family. Aunts, Uncles, cousins were all there. We had a nice cosy time together. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Joshua, his friend Nicole, and Matthew's wife Julie on the couch together.

Grandma and Grandpa surveying the brood.

Paddle really liked Nicole. The rest of us thought she was nice too. (Doesn't Paddle really, really resemble Jack? Except P's twice J's size.)

Aunt Gina and Tessa talking



Tessa happily opening presents---cousin Ben and his boys, Connor and Tyler were with mom Jessica's family that day, so she was the only little one.

Playing with AG

AG and cousin Collin

At home, she couldn't wait to start using some of her new gifts.

Christmas, Parts 2 and 3 of 4

Christmas morning, Tessa woke up at 5:30, and since her dad had just gotten to bed around 3 (waking me in the process) I told her she had to go back to bed for at least an hour. She didn't argue but said "I can't go back to sleep!" Standard reply to that is "then read a book!" I think she must have dropped back off because she didn't come back in until 8.

Santa came in the night and left (among other things) body wash and other personal care stuff for dad, coffee and truffles and some hair things for mom, a bunch of little personal care things and a few smaller toys for Tessa, and an Operation Game to which he forgot the batteries, catnip for the kitties, and a little cash with a note telling mom to get Jack a Nylabone.

Tessa loved her presents from us, which included some books and a couple of movies, including her "big gift" of the first season of Gilmore Girls. (When we got to my in-laws, Grandma had gotten her the next 6 seasons, which means she got the whole set in one day!)

We left for the in-laws right after opening our own presents and did more of the present thing there. (I have some new knitting books!) Jeremy's big gift was being loaded down with about 25# of change (mainly quarters!) plus a ton of smaller bills, so I'll be picking up paper rolls today for us to fill to make a bank deposit--which hopefully makes up the difference needed to make our December house payment!

We had a great day. Even the moody teenage boy was happy to be with the family and see everyone. Tessa got to play with her Aunt Kiersten and cousin Cadence, we watched Wall-E (which Daddy and Tessa love, I thought it was ok but got bored before the end), we ate mom's great dinner and mostly just enjoyed each other's company. We especially enjoyed the little ones, Candence and Cassidy--such funny little kids! Below are pictures of our day.



Opening Presents



More Presents!



Grandpa and his Grandgirls



Family Cat, Nature--he wasn't feeling good all day. :-(



Silly girl!



Aunt Kiersten and Cadence



Cousins



Uncle J teasing Cadence



Uncle Justin teaching Tessa how to use her recorder



Bobby with Natchie



Siblings Kiersten and J...Youngest and Oldest, 21 years between. There are more years between these two than between J and his mother. Which kind of blows the mind when you think about it that way...



Uncle J playing with C.J., his favorite (only) nephew!



C.J.'s first Christmas!

Christmas, Part One of Four

So we had our first of four christmases today. They go in this order: my family today, the three of us early tomorrow, J's family tomorrow late a.m./early p.m., then my extended family on Saturday. Phew!

My family came today and my folks brought dinner to us. We had a huge spread--dad's soup, sandwiches, macaroni salad, jello, pie, my sister's taco dip, Jesus' birthday cake, etc....lots of food. We had presents, not a huge haul (we're all fairly broke) but a very, very happy one. All the kids but Cory were there, seeing as we've no idea how to get in touch with him. Caleb brought his girlfriend Kylee, and I was able to pull something together last-minute for her (a fashion scarf and a necklace made by my friend Kristin which she LOVED) despite not knowing that she was coming. There was music and fun. No movies which is surprising, but that's ok. Mom and Dad got Tessa and Juel matching outfits--too cute.

Here's some pictures from the day, in no particular order. Sorry they're so blurry, I accidently had my camera on "slow" and they're all extended exposures. Stupid me.

Snow Day!

Today is a snow day! I woke up to a phone call from my boss-lady telling me that work was, well, cancelled for the day. Which is fine by me because I hate going out in the cold plus I still am not feeling so great from yesterday. After a few hours, the world looked like this:





So we were pretty happy to stay inside.


Tessa loves snow days. We get to stay in jammies, watch movies and do a little light cleaning. So far we've only made it to the first two. :-)





I like to knit on snow days of course....no different from any other day except I don't have work to mess with my knitting time (just housework and meals). Today I'm working on these:





Aren't they great? The purple is a super-soft merino/silk/cashmere blend and the white is wool. I think they're going to be fantastic house socks, as long as I don't walk in them--for wearing while watching TV, sleeping, etc. I have to sleep in socks or I simply cannot sleep. I'm looking forward to being finished with them, hopefully later today so I can sleep in them tonight.


(For those interested, the purple yarn is Kathmandu from Queensland Collection and the white is a discontinuned member of the Joann's Sensations line. I am knitting them on 4.25mm needles, which is approx. size 6 U.S., and CO 48 sts in the regular Yarn Harlot Basic Sock Recipe found in Knitting Rules).


Even the critters like to get in on snow days. Behold, Annie and Jack:





The other night, Tessa had her school program. It was cute. She had fun. That's about all that can be said for most school programs. It was held in a local church because the school gymnasium is too small. Tessa looked really cute.





I have a few close-up shots of her as well, but a) my camera sucks at closeups, so they're blurry and b) you can actually distinguish which kid is which in them, and since I don't have every parents' permission to post photos, I'm not going to.


So the snow is coming down harder now and it's 1 p.m. and I've got to get rockin' if I'm going to finish socks. I leave you with one last snuggly Jack picture. Because I think he's really cute. :-)

What we did this week.

So, another blog in (mostly) pictures. If you're more interested in my job interview and how it went, just skip past this other stuff and go to the end of the blog. But if you don't mind all of it, read on.

Mostly this week, I worked. It was long but not as long as next week is going to be--when I work every single day including tomorrow (Sunday), most days a split shift of some sort. It'll be tiring but nearly 40 hours so I'm not going to complain....much.

Wednesday Amber got her tattoo finished. Shameless plug: Art completely by my husband's cousin, Mike Davis of Underground Ink. Same man who, of course, does all my family's ink (including my sister Missy).

Pretty, isn't it?

We also went to "family fun night" which Tessa was completely bored with until her 'boyfriend' Aiden showed up. He's really cute, I think I know his mom from the library.




Yesterday we had a birthday party for my dear friend Vicki's daughter Noel. Noel turned 12. She's such an adorable, funny girl who wants to knit and is doing a pretty good job learning. At least, I'm pretty proud of her. And she's got enough of a quirky streak that she really loved part of her present--a nosewarmer. Here's Jack (ownership of whom we still share with Noel's family) checking it out:

The party was at the local indoor-play-place, Fun for All Kids. It was a blast, the kids had a great time, and I would have taken lots of pictures if not for the fact that my camera batteries died right after this picture and the new batteries I bought weren't the right kind (you could view pictures but not enough juice to actually take pictures). Noel went nuts for all her gifts, and she really liked her nosewarmer--we also got her a book which I didn't realize that she was already reading for class, but she LOVES that book and wouldn't get to keep the class's copy so it worked out well. And, of course, a picture of Jack.

Noel's in the middle in the red shirt. Just trust me when I say she's adorable.

Ok, job interview. I actually didn't want this job. The night before I kind of was freaking out. Getting the job would mean 60 hours a week away from my family--40 at the job plus 20 at the library, which I am not planning on leaving. So I was dithering, freaking out, whatever you want to call it. Finally I'd decided to go to the interview. I turned it over to God, having faith that He would show me the best course.

And He did, as always--why do I ever worry?? I need to let that go more. In the course of the interview, the office manager revealed that there was one other person they really liked for the job and that she only wanted part time, which left them in the position of hiring another part time tech. For afternoons. Yes, seriously.

Anyway, it sounds like I'll be a good fit there, so if I get past the practice owners and get an official invite to the working interview and if THAT goes well, I expect I'll have a job offer by mid-January. And so then I'll be able to work in the job I love AND in the job I was trained for. Which sounds--simply--amazing to me. But I'm not there yet, and I'm still trusting that God will show me what is best.

Oh, and the tech job I interviewed for at the race track this summer, the one I didn't get and was kind of bummed about? Yeah. The racetrack is closed, officially. So I would have been SOL if I'd gotten that.

Thanks, Lord.

P.S. Here's a random cute Jack picture. I really like my dog. (Those are my legs under the blanket, he's always trying to crawl onto my lap but he's not allowed on the couch.)

wearing thin

Tired tonight and not much to say, so a couple of pictures for your/my amusement. First, what happens when a 6-year-old dresses herself for bed:

Also sighted this evening, that rare breed of husband, Laundrius foldemus:

Now, to business. I'm trying to sell stuff. Please call me or let me know via email or comment (asteve07 at sbcglobal dot net) if you are interested in purchasing any of the following. (Please, only ask if you're really interested, NOT if you just want the excuse to give me money, I'm not in the business of selling stuff just because the buyer feels pity.)

First up, an exercise/rowing machine:

$50 OBO. Works great, and it's fun.

The original Myst, with hint guide, blank journal, and sealed clue envelope. Goes for $45 on amazon, I'm only asking $30 OBO. Warning: this only works in 256 colors.

Finally, this photo printer. Comes with plug, 2 catridges, all manuals and driver. $60 OBO.

Silk Scarf

"I just think that's pretty." Dave Matthews, Live at Radio City

Several months ago, a friend of mine on the RTH board on Ravelry was dealt some really life-altering, devestating news. (What that news was is something I will keep to myself to protect her privacy.)

She did what some women, including myself, tend to do as a coping mechanism (at least, when it's possible to do so): she went shopping. While shopping online she found some beautiful silk roving. Being a very accomplished spinner (as in, she does this as part of a way to make a living), she bought the roving, spun it into yarn, plied it into a beautiful bulky weight and felt (some) better after.

Now, what to do with this beautiful yarn? She said it wasn't particularly her colors or style, it just served its purpose in helping her cope. So about a month ago she sent it along with many other items in a care package for me. I don't think I put it down for hours; I walked around with the skein sticking out of my shirt so that I could feel it against my neck.

Which led me to what the yarn was to become. I was scared to wind it into a ball by myself, so the next time my BFF Nikki came home I asked her to bring her swift and ballwinder, and the two of us oh-so-cautiously wound the precious silk into a ball. Then, using a "pattern" suggestion from the Yarn Harlot (look at the entry for 10/12/06), I cast it onto size 15 (you read that right) needles and in a night and a little bit of a day, I had my scarf.

It's not long, just enough to wind around my neck once, a little bit of warm fashion in the cold indoors that Michigan always leads to. I wore it to work the other day and while I think it's the most beautiful thing in my wardrobe, there are those who hardly noticed it. That's fine. This was a gift from Alice to me, and I know when the time comes I may pass it on so that it can share its warmth with someone else. But for now, this silk has warmed my heart and my neck, and I am so thankful that when I feel it around me it's like getting a hug from a friend--spun in sorrow, passed on in love, wound with care, and knitted with hope. A truly hand-made object.

for a reason

I've never liked the phrase 'everything happens for a reason' but I'm making a concious effort to see God's hand in my life lately, and I'm starting to understand why it was coined.

Example 1: Last summer I had a job interview for a vet tech position with the state. It would have involved going to the Jackson Harness Raceway to draw blood for drug tests on the horses. There would have been a minimal amount of travel involved to the other raceways located in the state, but not on a regular basis. I was really nervous at the interview and attributed that lack of grace to me not getting the job. I didn't feel too awful about it though--in my rejection letter they told me that out of over 200 applicants for the position from all over the state, I was one of only seven interviewed. So I had the interviewing exprience and the knowledge that my resume and references are sound.

Today I read in the paper that Jackson Harness Raceway is officially not opening next year. I would have either had to travel or be out of a job.

Example 2: I was invited to attend a party this evening, one I wanted to go to very badly. But with the stress of the week I was simply too tired to go, and additionally Jeremy would have been very uncomfortable--the only two people in that "crowd" he'd know and be able to talk to would not have been there as they are living in Washington, D.C. Also, I do not get paid until next week so the gas we have to get through is what we have, period, and the party was quite a ways away. Events conspired, basically, and I could not attend, which I was really disappointed about.

A few minutes ago a friend called needing a couch to crash on for the night. We would have missed that call and he would have no place to stay.

So I'm trying to keep this in mind as I go for my second job interview for a tech position next week. My boss has said that if I get this (it would be a full time position) she is willing to work out scheduling problems so I can remain in the library. That has set me at ease enough, I think, that I'll be able to relax more for this interview. I'm trying hard to let it go and let me be myself so I can shine. If it's a good fit, great, if not, I want to remember that despite the cliche of it, God does work all things together for good.

Decorating for the Season

So, we decided today would be the day to put up the Christmas decorations. It's the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and it was snowing outside:

Tessa was really eager to start!

J, not so much, but he helped anyway (and smiled while doing it):

There were a few mishaps, of course. Tangled fairy lights and tinsel:

And always we have at least one broken glass ball (this year it was two!)

Tessa enjoyed putting up the nativity:

Poor Jack was completely confused by the whole process:

but, he's just a dog, so it's hard to explain things to him. Finally we were done! The stockings were hung (we don't have a chimney, so it's "on the piano with care" in our personal poem):

There are a few decorations to lead one into the family room:

We even hung some outside, including our "outside light sculpture" that sits on a table on the porch:

I think, in the end, that the tree looks great!!

My favorite ornaments are these two from my BFF Nikki, one is a knitting mouse that says "Friends-Forever" (she has the opposite one, they're like a best friends necklace) which, ironically, she bought in 2000, BEFORE either of us knit on any kind of regular basis! I also like the one she got for Tessa last year, it's a cat that looks like Clee with Tessa's name inscribed on it.

And both J and Tessa were pleased to be done:

Let the Christmas Season begin!