My new addictions...

A few of the things that are occupying my time lately (because I obviously have not been spending it blogging !  I do have an excuse - my laptop has been broken for almost a month now.  It has squashed the normal in bed blogging I was doing)

• I am positively drooling at all of the goodies over at Knock Off Wood .  She looks at different Pottery Barn, West Elm and other lovely furniture looks, and then makes plans to make that same item at a fraction of the cost.  I've already received promises from Ben to make a couple of the pieces, including the Hyde Coffee Table.

• I'm in love with my new Olfa Circular Cutter .  That thing has seriously changed my crafting life.  I used to hate cutting circles - trying to find the right bowl in my house to make a good template etc.  I now sit in front of a movie with Ben at night and cut out all my circles for felt food like tomatoes, cucumbers etc.  Zip Zip Zip.

• We're knee deep in working in my New Year's resolution of getting rid of/donating/selling one thing a day.  It's been very successful and I dropped off 3 bags/boxes at Salvation Army this past weekend, and have sold quite a few things, earning several hundred dollars in spending money.  Yahoo !

Catching up..

I'm going to be posting frequently to catch up on the topics I've been meaning to cover.  Let me skim over the Pre-Christmas-Trip-Home bit.

I won a lovely giveaway during the Sew Mama Sew blog giveaway from  Angie over at Quilting Melodies .  She had chosen my sewing tip as one of her favorites, and said she's send me a surprise.

Sure enough, a few days later, these beauties appeared in the mail:

Two delicate, beautiful, crocheted snowflakes for our Christmas tree.  They hang beautifully and are a much appreciated addition to the tree ! 

We also took advantage of a community event where they were given horse drawn wagon rides around the GreenWay in East Grand Forks.  It was bitterly cold, but enjoyable.  Eli really liked the horse and their jingle bells.

While we were waiting for our turn to ride the horses, we went inside the mall, where Eli got to ride a horse all by himself.  He LOVED it.

In the next edition of catching up from a month ago - our trip back to Michigan and Christmas !

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming

I know there's been a gap in posting - I've just been so busy !  We drove home to visit family in Michigan for 10 days around Christmas.  It's been a busy few days recovering from the drive and getting our family up and running again.  Highlights from the break:

-  We drove through the winter storm (known as Blizzard Alvin here in the Dakotas).  It was a very long trip and a couple of more difficult bits, but all and all not a bad drive back from Michigan.

-  We visited twice with my beloved friends Andy and Joanna and their little guy Jordan, and the second time we saw them we also spent the morning with Jo's parents, and one of my best friends, Bill.  It was a blessed time and so wonderful to be with people who know your 'back' story and you don't have to explain everything to.

-  Got to see my beautiful niece Cora several times and be enchanted with her whimsical personality.  She is such a GIRL compared to Eli, I could scarcely believe it.

-  Speaking of my Eli, at my parent's house, he liked to drive their toy size shopping cart around the most. He also enjoyed their child size table that is perfectly set up for coloring.

I need to close this post now, because I could type for hours to detail all the wonderful aspects for spending over a week with family.  I have lots of my current sewing projects to show off tomorrow, including a peak at the giveaway I won during the Sew Mama Sew Dec. 2 giveaway !

Advent

I love the weeks of Advent, leading up to Christmas.  Coming from a family that didn't have many Christmas traditions, Advent was one of a few things that happened every year, whether we celebrated Christmas in any other way.  The Protestant church has such little pagentry compared to the Catholic tradition, and the ritual of lighting one more candle each week of Advent has such a deep meaning to me.  There is something so beautiful in that most churches do relatively the same ceremony, and it gives such a feeling of continuity to my Christmas celebration.

The anticipation that builds up to the celebration of Christ's birth, symbolized by the gradual addition of a candle each week, reminds me of the greater anticipation that His birth began - a longing for His perfect creation.  As my family continues to prepare for Christmas, I hope the Advent season finds you being restored in hope and anticipation for the celebration of Christmas, and the eternal hope that it symbolizes for all those who believe.

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see"  Hebrews 11:1

"The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. " Romans 8:19

Helper

Here's a quick shot of my little helper, watching the bread machine make the dough for our pizza.

  We've been doing a tradition since October that every Saturday night (it's just what works in our life, with Ben on night shift during the week) we hang out around our house and we make pizza together.  It's so nice to not worry about what is for dinner once a week - it's an easy meal for mama to make !

Saturday Night Pizza:

3/4 t. salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 t. active dry yeast
1 and 3/8 cups water
3 T. olive oil
Optional:  Good shake of garlic powder

1.  Combine all ingredients in bread machine pan and follow machine's directions for dough setting.

2.  After dough is completed, press it out in pizza pans (we make this into a regular crust, regular size pizza, and then make another thick crust one in a 9' cake pan.   There's probably enough dough for 2 full size pizzas).

3.  Prick the surface of the pizza all over with a fork, and brush it with an additional drizzle of olive oil.  Season surface liberally with a pizza or italian seasoning, and another shake of garlic powder (only if you like garlic !)

4.  Add sauce and toppings.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Enjoy !

Yummmm.