(Tom)and almost gone are the days of watching my not-so-little-anymore boys walk into the school in their Halloween costumes. I have been giving a little of the ongoing saga of the creation of the Halo 3 body armor and weapons on my Facebook page. What initially seemed like a fun little activity, something for the boys to do instead of playing the game on-line so often, turned into a full-blown, time-consuming, energy-draining, sleep-depriving, cardstock-gobbling and hand-wrecking process. I suppose its because I never saw the original pieces that Tom and his friend Matt worked on: how long it took, how many steps were involved and how many pieces they were actually going to be making…they just looked wonderful. They got started on this during the summer when they were looking for something to do, but then school started, and of course most recently, the play. I would see them cutting and taping the pieces together, but I had NO idea…NONE! I couldn't help but get caught up in the excitement and enthusiasm for it. (Mike) Halloween always comes around more quickly than I anticipate and I believe it caught the boys off guard as well. There have been days when other projects got in the way, like church responsibilities or commitments to the drama department (mostly cookies!). Nevertheless, I am happy to report that after a very long day Thursday that, included painting
Our favorite go-to sugar cookie recipe for cut-out cookies!
UCHS's production of Frankenstein..."a monstrous affair"!
Primitively speaking, of course! Meet one of my friends, Ms. Pumpkinhead. Dangling from her fine, fuzzy witch hat is the inspiration to my Not-So-Itsy-Bitsy Spider. I have mentioned before my old friends that I bring out at the holidays, and this is one of them. Her grin reminds me its time to smile. Here are some more of my old friends… This is Pretty Miss Witchie Poo Above is Raggedy Witchie and Pumpkin Angel A pumpkin turned into a witch! And a favorite early art piece by Mike! Have you noticed that the candy industry is constantly coming up with new and delicious treat? I remember when Hershey's started adding flavors, not just nuts, to their Kisses. That was fun! We especially loved the peppermint ones at Christmas. When I was at Walmart picking up some costume elements for Mike's creature character for the school play "Frankenstein", I was looking for the traditional candy corn for my pumpkin candy jar when I came across a yummy newbie…Caramel Apple Candy Corn! Made by Brach's/Milk-Maid, this little treat weighs in at 140 calories for about 22 pieces. As tasty as they are, I could easily stop at 8 pieces, so that means that I can enjoy their yumminess for about 50 calories! What a deal!
We had an amazing lesson in Relief Society today. It was based on the talk given by Elder Dallan H. Oaks in April General Conference 2009, titled Unselfish Service. He said: Our Savior teaches us to follow Him by making the sacrifices necessary to lose ourselves in unselfish service to others. In Matthew 16:24-25 Jesus said to his disciples: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it”. What an amazing truth this is! It is in our service to our families, our neighbors, members in the community and strangers that we find ourselves. I am constantly amazed by the service I witness from the ladies in our ward. They seem never to be weary of well-doing. But at the same time, I am not surprised by their service. They truly embrace the doctrine of our Savior. When He says, "Come follow me," they heed the call and follow His example in the gentle and tender mercies that He shows each of us. The Savior not only fed 5,000 that had tarried with Him to hear His words, but he healed the sick, one at a time. He knows each of His sheep by name, and that includes me! How grateful I am for that knowledge.
Scott and I went shopping for pumpkins last night at WalMart (yes WalMart!) I came to the realization that gone were the days of the long treks out to the pumpkin patch/haunted maze/scary woods. Everyone is so busy getting ready for their respective projects that organizing an outing any further than the next freeway off-ramp seems highly unlikely. With Megan gone taking care of her big sister, Christie, there isn’t anyone to press the matter. I asked the boys on the way out the door if they would like a pumpkin to carve and they both said “sure” so we got to choose their pumpkins for them. Pumpkin carving has always been a fun tradition. I talked to a friend the other day…an “empty nester”. She said that they didn’t decorate for any of the holidays anymore except Christmas. That made me a little sad, but it also made me determined to decorate as long as I can access the decorations. My decorations are like old friends – even the new ones! I like to unwrap them and sit them around the house, like I would an old friend that might come for a visit. They only stay for a short while, but they will always be welcome! While at WalMart, I also picked up some canned pumpkin. I don’t make pies, but I love it in other recipes. One of
Definition: The pathological fear or loathing of SPIDERS! But who could be afraid of this cute little guy! Follow these directions for a quick and easy addition to a Halloween spider's web, hat, centerpiece or cauldron ingredient. 1. Cut out two circles for patterns: one 3.5" and a 5". Pin to felt; cut out. I actually used a black fleece for the body, and a dark grey wool felt for the head. It stuffs well when it has a little give. When I do hand gathering or stitching, I prefer to use DMC Perle Coton. I LOVE DMC Perle Coton! (It's another one of those things I gather!) It is twisted and offers a lot of color in a single strand. 2. Do a big running stitch around the edge of the circles. Sorry…the picture is a little blurry. 3. Gather up the edges and start stuffing fiberfill into the the middle of the gathered circle. 4. After the head and body are well stuffed, tie off stitching. Don't pull it all the way together – leave a little of the fiberfill showing. These open spots will cover up each other. 5. When stitching the mouth and eyes, start from the back side and end up on the backside. This makes for no loose ends. Once you add the first eye, anchor it on the back, pulling it tight so as to push the eye in a
I have admitted to being a collector of certain things: cool things like ribbon, buttons, cardstock, ink pads, stamp pads, paper flowers, paints, patterned paper, embellishments…mostly scrapbook stuff. I also have a fair collection of fabric, beads, vintage linens and felt. I like to have everything I need when the need to create arises. I generally can complete any project in the middle of the night without needing to go to the store. I generally stock up on things when they are on sale. Like when Cool Scrapbook Stuff in Poway had their “Someone’s turning 40” sale and I got the 2oz. bottles of Glimmer Mist for $4.00, I just had to stock up. Those who know me well know that I am fond of a good deal…the cheaper, the better. But free is best! This past summer, the family watched all the episodes of “Jericho” in marathon style. The good thing about waiting to watch a whole season of episodes this way is that there are no commercials. The bad thing is that you can find yourself watching with few or no breaks! This makes the intensity of the show greater. Like a good book is hard to put down, a good show is hard to turn off. Slightly off the subject: one of the things we learned on this show was that at times of disaster (which was of the
This week I was reading in the Book of Mormon and this particular passage really stood out to me. In 2 Nephi 2:17-18 it reads: 17 And I, Lehi, according to the things which I have read, must needs suppose that an angel of God, according to that which is written, had fallen from heaven; wherefore, he became a devil, having sought that which was evil before God. 18 And because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable forever, he sought also the misery of all mankind… It dawned on me – that old adage…Misery loves company! Isn't that the truth! When you meet up with someone and ask them how they are doing and they start down the laundry list of how bad life is, their rotten situation and how they would probably be better off killing themselves. I always struggle with this one. My immediate internal response is "How can I help rescue this person?" Sometimes rescue is needed, but I think that more than them crying out for help is that they want someone else to save them. That kind of rescue is generally short-lived and they find themselves back in a similar situation. Successful change comes when they figure out how to rely on Heavenly Father for the help rather than leaning on the arm of man. That is the expert help we should all learn
I love old things. Some go by the definition of antique, some vintage and others classic. I like antique furniture, vintage linens and especially old people. These are they that have endured the hazards of tangible existence and survived to be admired and loved by a new generation. They have a history. Then there’s classic cars. It’s not something that I have been able to collect, but I do so admire them. My way of taking them home comes in the form of photos. While the cars may not be wearing their original factory color, the restored models are bright and shiny and, well…classic and cool! It’s kind of like a whole body make-over! While attending a classic car show in Del Mar, I found myself particularly interested in the front of the cars. They looked like faces – headlights were the eyes, the hood ornament the nose and the grill the smile. And smiling was what it looked like to me! Can you see it? If I looked this good at their age, I’d smile too! Here’s to becoming a beautiful vintage person. I am not, however, getting a grill!