Happy Anniversary to Us

Five years. Holy moly. Five years! Happy Anniversary to us. We'll be in Baltimore if anyone needs us. Nobody better need us.

Made by e: Christmas Gifts

Splat mat for Angie's daughter. I liked it so much more than the one I did for myself that I was tempted to swap them. But I didn't. I know the backing is fairly hideous, but it's the bottom, so who cares?

A super-hero cape for Rachael and Andy's son Isaac. It's reversible. And thoroughly brushed after this wearing; I promise. (Rhett was asleep so he couldn't model it for me.)


A set of finger puppets for another of Angie's daughters and for Rhett. I think (hope) that they might be good in church. We'll see.


Stockings for my mom, dad, and brother. I didn't take pics of the ones for my sis, but I made them for her entire family. Now we all match.

Kimono for a niece from a tutorial on Habitual.

Rhett's "Go, Dog. Go!" shirt. You'll see why next week. This was another freezer paper creation. Every image I see is now rated on a scale of how easy it would be to freezer paper-ize.

Merry Christmas!

Last night we...
Sat by the fire Chuck made.

Ate homemade pizza on our nice china.

Opened one ornament present.

Then Santa...
Left exciting presents.

And filled the stockings.

This morning we...
Ate Christmas cheesebraid and drank wassail.

Opened the rest of our presents.







Merry Christmas everyone!

Announcing "Blizzard of Aught-Nine: The Contest!"

(This will be the last snow-related post; I promise. That is, until we get the next big storm.)

While we were playing in the snow again yesterday, Chuck and I were wondering when we'd see our grass again. You know, this grass:


As usual in our house, the debate came to us making a Mormon-friendly bet. Then I thought, "You know, I still have a lot of Etsy crap that I need to get out of the house. Why not run a fun contest on the blog and give some of it away?" So that's what I'm doing.

How to Win: Submit a comment to THIS post telling me the date when you think the small green square of grass (where the tree resides) will be fully uncovered with snow. (Chuck and I will be the judges.) I will moderate comments so that you'll know no one's else's guess. When the contest closes next Monday (December 28th), I'll release all comments so you can see who bid what date. I don't believe in Price is Right rules, so it'll be the closest, whether you go over the date or not. Winner gets a bunch of handmade crap made by yours truly. Remember next year's Christmas is only 367 days away! Good luck!

Here are the pictures that show the current amount of snow in our small green patch:

More Snow!

Because I can't help myself, here are more pictures from the "doggone-close" blizzard of aught-nine.

Chuck gets the final measurement: 20"! TWENTY INCHES! Awesome!

We went to the park because Rhett thinks he wants to go, but when we get there, he's not so sure. I think the snow was just a bit too deep for him. I, however, loved it. I even busted out the snowshoes my parents gave me five years ago that still had the tags on them. They worked great!

Chuck and Rhett sledding on the street. I love this picture. It makes me smile.

The snow in the front yard. Certainly this section sees more as we shovel onto it from all four sides.

The finished product. Beauty. I am so glad for the bluebird day that is helping to melt the driveway.

We even built a little cave for Bruno! I'm just glad it didn't collapse on him and scar him for life. Because that's just what this dog needs.

I Interrupt My Regularly Scheduled Posting...

...to bring you pictures of the snowstorm of December 2009 (or whatever equally unclever title the news media will find for this storm). We have about 18 inches and snow is still falling, even if it is tapering. Now, all you Utahans, don't go getting self-righteous on me. Eighteen inches is a BIG deal out here. Church has been cancelled for tomorrow, and Chuck thinks he might get out of school all next week. Already this storm has broken into the top ten snow-getting storms in DC and it's not over yet. Let's just say that this is big news out here. Forgetting about all the records, the storm has been absolutely beautiful. It's been a perfect snowy day and I can't wait for a repeat tomorrow. And the next day. And the day after that.

Ooooh wait! Breaking news from the Washington Post. Here are some of their suggestions for storm names:

I-95 Whiteout storm (meh)
The Great DC Blizzard of Aught-Nine (me likes)
Capital Crippler (sounds like a murderer, or just a crippler)
The Great Festivus Snowicane (what does this even mean?! I get festivus, but the whole thing together just doesn't work for me)
Snowpocalypse ("horrible" says Chuck)
Beltway Blizzard '09 (probably the best but oh-so-boring)








Update: As of Sunday morning, we have about 24 inches. And it looks to be a beautiful cloudless day.

Flashback Friday

Here's another gem from my grandparents' house in Idaho. They used to have this 50cc motorcycle until one of my cousins wrecked it. It's the size I'd ride today, if I dared ride. But I think a leather jacket would look great with the hair and jeans that go to my boobs. Sweet.

Input Please

Quick reader poll: What do you do for internet, phone, and cable TV at your house? Do you bundle them? How much cable TV do you get (just the ESPN, TLC sorts of stuff or do you imbibe in a little HBO too)? Do you have a DVR or a TiVo? And if you don't mind, would you tell me how much you pay for all three?

Comcast has wronged us (WRONGED us, I tell you!) and so we're trying to figure out what we're going to do.

(And by "wronged" us, I mean treat us the exact same way they treat all of their customers. Which is basically the same way that Verizon and all other large corporations treat their customers. Like poo.)

I'm Still Learning

Isn't it amazing that I can be 32 years old and still learning new things about me? I mean, really, I thought I was done when I was 15 because really, I knew everything then.

Anyway, I recently returned from a work trip to San Antonio, Texas. It was the first time that, as an adult, I went beyond a Texan airport. I really liked this town. I stayed right on the beautiful riverwalk (that's my hotel on the right) which meant I got to take some lovely morning runs. I explored a lot of the city and enjoyed getting to know it a little bit.

Here is the Alamo, which was only a couple of blocks from the hotel. It was much cooler at night, but without a steady hand, my camera does not do dark well.

See? This is what happens in the dark. Although in this case, it kinda works.

Okay. So what did I learn? I learned that after all these years of thinking I am not shy, well, turns out that I am. I do NOT like being in places where I know no one and am not good at engaging people in more than blah conversations.

This is a problem at a work conference because networking should be a big part of my trip. But rather than go out to lunch and dinner with colleagues, I'd much rather buy some cold cereal and milk (for lunches in the room while watching cable) and eat a quick dinner alone. And really, this is what I do best. I am really good at being alone. Even at 5'1", I can use more king sized bed than most people. Mind you, I still get out, but I do it alone.

Had I spent too much time outside of my hotel room, I might not have figured out that my trouser socks stick to the wall! Think of the horror of going through life not knowing this?! I am shuddering now even as I type. The Horror.

Made by e: Latest Projects

Ack! My sewing machine is in the shop and I'm going through serious withdrawals. What do you people do with yourselves once the kids have gone to bed?! Kidding. Seriously. Kidding.

Anyway, here is an up-close picture of the shirts I made for our Turkey Trot. Genius me forgot that I didn't actually have to wear the shirt in order to get a picture. This after I had already strained to get a picture of the backside. Oh man, sometimes I kill me. But these freezer paper stencils are so satisfyingly easy. Love them. Tutorials abound on the internet, but here's one from a blog I like. Don't you love Rhett pleading to watch a video he's never seen? Especially since he's never even seen any video?! I do.


More oven mitts. These were Thanksgiving gifts for for my sister and my mom.

And drum roll please...here we have quite possibly one of my most favorite things I've ever created. I don't know what it is about this pillow, but I just love it (made from this tutorial). I would love to decorate an entire room from this pillow, which would be easy because it's got everything on it. I created it using scraps, and so I love looking at the pillow and remembering what some of the fabrics originally made. In fact, I bet some of you can look at this pillow and see gifts that I've made for you (I'm talking to you Angie and Linda).



I've got a couple of other things that are in the process of being made and some that are Christmas gifts and can't be shown. Now everyone send wishes of (affordable) healing to my sewing machine.

Magic Goggles

A couple of weeks ago Chuck and I happened upon some magic 3-D glasses. So what's so magic about them? Well, only the fact that they turn Christmas lights into snowflakes! Hello!

I picked up a couple for my sister's kids and they seem to like them and we're now enjoying them in our house as well. If I lived in Alaska with my brother and it was dark all the time in winter, I'd totally wear these things all day.

I mean, who could not be happy when these trees...

...are transformed to this?
If you're placing on order on Amazon soon, let me highly recommend these for everyone's stockings this year.

Thanksgiving Report

(I'm still trying to get caught up on everything. I hope to never time-zone hop like this anytime soon.)

We spent Thanksgiving week at my parents' house in Utah. I can't say enough about how awesome Rhett did on the planes and with the time change. He was perfect. Many people around us on the plane didn't even know there was a toddler in a row near them; he was that good. And he slept in beyond our wildest dreams--no 4 a.m. wake-up calls! It made me confident that we could do it again in June for a family reunion. Here's hoping!

We arrived in Utah before my sister; this gave Rhett and us some time alone with his Utah grandparents. One day we wandered around Park City.

Given that my parents live "out there," we spent a lot of time in cars. Here Rhett is multi-tasking so his inbox isn't too full when we return to Maryland.

One day we were able to spend time with my dear friend, Angie, and her two sweet girls. We went to Wheeler Farm and watched the kids enjoy the animals. Rhett LOVED the pigs and was the only kid throwing a fit when we had to leave them.

On Thanksgiving morning, Emily, Chuck, and I ran a 5K race (or slightly greater than a 5K) in Park City. It was hosted by a ward there and didn't have t-shirts so I made our own. The shirts have our names on back. I had forgotten this when running and was surprised when a fellow runner on the course cheered, "Go erin and emily!" Fun times. Freezer paper stenciling is my new favorite thing.

The Thanksgiving meal was awesome. I started a new plan of attack: eat only what I want to eat. So that means no turkey. I just don't like it. Why eat it and take up valuable stomach space that could be filled by sweet potatoes? I won't do it. We had dinner at my parents' house and some aunts, uncles, and cousins joined us. What you see here is Jonas wearing a woman's wig and his face when I tell him to give a "nice, woman face." This kid is a character.

After dinner we posed all four cousins. Rhett just started making the infamous "face." It's part smile and part "I'm not going to do what you want me to."

And on the day we left, we had some professional family pictures taken as the entire Jim and Dixie family was there. We're a pretty good looking group.