Garage Sale

Andrea, Taylor and I spent Friday having a garage sale. I have had these boxes sitting in my bedroom for over a year. Mark finally gave me a deadline. I had to have all the stuff out by January 7. I need deadlines. Otherwise, I just put things off. Andrea and I sat doing Sudoku puzzles and Taylor spent the day playing with all the garage sale stuff. People didn't know that some of the things were for sale because he was playing with them.

After people came, looked and then left Andrea and I would say, "You didn't like any of our junk?" It also amazed us at what people would buy. They would buy the junky stuff and not the good stuff. Maybe because the junky stuff was only a quarter and the other stuff was dollars. I remember this one group of ladies got out of the car and said, "We want to know where the quarter stuff is."

On Saturday it was just Taylor and I hanging out together at the garage sale. He wasn't as active on Saturday. He sat and read a Harry Potter book while I did some more of my Sudoku puzzles. We had a good time together. He had this box that was called the free box. Many people enjoyed looking through that stuff than the real stuff. Taylor got a kick out of giving his stuff away.

When the day was finally over we boxed up the leftovers and took it to Goodwill. All in all it was a good garage sale.

Christmas in Destin

This year was a different kind of Christmas for me. I am one who likes traditions. I like to put up a tree, driving around on Christmas Eve to look at houses that are lighted up, waking up early to make Banucaco, opening up stockings, eating the Banucaco, opening up presents and then having my mom come up and have a Christmas dinner with us.

This year that did not happen and I was kind of sad. We left on Saturday, December 20 to go to Destin. We did some sight seeing, bike riding and shopping at some of the outlet malls. I read quite a few books while I was there. They have a library where you can check out books. I read The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Tuesdays with Morrie, The Christmas Box, The Timepiece, The Letter and The Last Lecture. They were all great books.

We had to check out on Christmas day around 10:00 so we decided to get up early and do Christmas. It was a light Christmas this year as things are quite tight. We didn't have a tree so we found a fake potted plant and placed that in the middle of the coffee table and placed the gifts around it. I have a picture but that will have to wait for some other time.

The hardest part for me was not having Christmas dinner. On the way home we thought we might find some restaurant open. Nothing, not even a McDonalds was open. So when we finally got home I made a grilled cheese sandwich. Andrea and I just sat laughing. I think sometimes when things are bad, you just need to laugh about it.

On Friday I went up to school and got my Charlie Brown Christmas tree - it's only 3 feet high. It's a beautiful little tree though. I brought it home and spent the day decorating it. I felt like I needed to do that for my mom who was coming up on Saturday. My family couldn't believe I was doing that. I spent the rest of the day baking cookies for the sisters that I visit teach. Later on in the day I got the stockings, filled them up and then we opened them.

My mom came up on Saturday around noon. We played Pictionary and just hung out together. I made a turkey dinner with potatoes, green beans, stuffing, rolls, cheesecake and apple pie. I usually make a ham but we didn't have our traditional Thanksgiving dinner either so I opted for a turkey dinner.

It was beautiful where we went but I like to be home for the holidays. I like traditions.

Weeds or Flowers?

Today was one of those days when you ask yourself, "Did I sit down once today?" When I began to make a batch of Christmas cookies around 4:00 I was a little touchy. I sort of got on Taylor for not having the floor swept yet. While I was putting all the ingredients into the bowl he came in and set something on the counter and walked away. I glanced down and noticed he placed a flower on the counter. Was he trying to get me out of my bad mood?
A little while later he came in from outside and Andrea walked through the kitchen. I said, "Look, a flower from Taylor." (I wanted him to know that I saw it). She replied, "It's a weed." I said, "No, it's a flower." She said, "It's a weed." I then said, "It's all in how you look at it."
Things were not going well and the floor still was not done. He must have sensed that I was in a bad mood again. He said, "I think I need to go out and get you another flower." I just smiled.
Now I have 2 flowers sitting in my kitchen.

Just Hanging Out

Taylor has been working on a science fair project (I am glad this will be the last year for those). His project needed for him to construct two types of bridges. He had to conduct the experiment 3 times. So, that means 6 bridges. It was taking him forever to build just the foundation for one bridge. He then tried doing it another way. That didn't pan out well either. I told him to scrap it and do something a little easier. He is now measuring his shadow every two hours. This requires us to hang out around here.
So, it's hard for me to just sit around. I have decided to decorate the house for Christmas. I don't know when I'll have another "free" day to do it. And while I'm at it I might as well do a little cleaning as I decorate. Kill two birds with one stone, right?
Later on Taylor and I are going to see Bolt. I heard it's a pretty funny movie. I could use a good laugh.

Happy Thanksgiving

I would like to say Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends out there. This year's Thanksgiving turned out to be very different, but a special one in many different ways.
I got this idea to write a poem to my son and daughter this year. I have finished Taylor's and I am not finished with Andrea's yet. I thought that I would post it because who knows what will happen to it. I would hope that he would save it like I save special things. But, he is a boy you know. It goes like this.

I am thankful that you Try hard at school this year.

I am thankful that you Always want to be tucked in for bed.

I am thankful that ... You are my child.

I am thankful that you Like to play games with me.

I am thankful that you Often find ways for me to win games.

I am thankful that you Really like to be a kid.

I made a homemade apple pie for Taylor because he can't eat many sweets. When I was doing the top crust nothing was going right. It was all falling apart. Taylor said, "Mom, it doesn't matter what it looks like, it will taste great." How sweet.

A Day at Disney

Taylor and I spent the day (well half a day) at Disney. I was amazed at how many rides and shows we were able to see in half a day. We got there around 3:00 and stayed til 11:00. It was a beautiful day! I would have to say that my favorite was the Mickey 3-D show. We stopped in to see it as we were making our way to Space Mountain. I was glad we were able to get in. We arrived at Space Mountain around 10:00 and it said that there was a 70 minute wait. I thought, "Is this ride really worth standing in line for 70 minutes?" I mean, you stand in line for 70 minutes and then you get on a ride that lasts for what, a minute? Not worth it to me. Just as we were leaving a family came up and asked the couple in front of us how many were in there party. They said, "2." They said they had fast passess and wouldn't be using them. I then spoke up and said we have 2. So the couple in front got 2 and we got 2. We were in the right place at the right time. I think it took us about 10 minutes in total. It definately would not have been worth the wait.

Wendy Dress

My friend, Ashlea, asked me to come over and help her make a Wendy (from Peter Pan) dress for her daughter's Halloween costume. I gladly accepted the offer. This time I brought some scissors, my pins, a seam ripper, a measuring tape and a few other things. She told me that she went out and bought those things. I just wanted to be sure we had everything we needed. I got over there around 1:00 in the afternoon. I showed her how to lay out the fabric and get it all cut out.
Once all the cutting was done, we were ready to sew. However, the sewing machine wasn't ready to sew. It was not being very cooperative. There was something wrong with the stitching. We tried adjusing the tension and even rethreaded it. NO GOOD! The only thing we needed was a sewing machine now. I didn't think to bring that with me. So, I looked at her and said let's go to my house and get my machine. When we got back to her house we were ready to begin.
Everything worked out great! It was around 8:00 and the only things left were the zipper and the hem. I needed to go to Wal Mart and do my grocery shopping. So I told her that I would take the dress home and do the zipper there during the week. Grace overheard this and with the saddest voice said, "She can't take my Wendy dress home." She finally agreed to let me take it home, but I knew she wanted that dress. So I thought as long as I can get out of here by 9:30 I will be fine.
Back to sewing. I told Ashlea to look in the bag for a zipper foot. She said, "A What?" I explained to her what it looked like. She found it and we went to put it one and I realized she had the zipper foot for her machine not mine. What do we do now? I couldn't remember if I have ever put on a zipper without a zipper foot. Well, we had not choice but to try. It actually worked out quite well with a little improvising.
Grace was still awake when the hem was finished, which meant the Wendy dress was done. We had her try it on. She looked beautiful! She doesn't need a dress to make her look beautiful, but the two of them put together made you smile. I can't wait to see her in it with her hair all done. And of course, with Peter Pan standing beside her. Gavin will be Peter Pan.