Happy New Year!!

I just wanted to wish you and your families a Happy and Healthy New Year!!

I can't wait to start this new year and new decade. Thank you for sharing all of your wonderful ideas and techniques and I look forward to seeing everyone's new crafts. I can't wait to get started on my new crafts and trying out new techniques. I plan on making tutorials for the crafts I do. So, I look forward to your feedback. Thank you for all of your lovely comments, compliments and for being so genuine.

See you next year :-)

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas day with their loved ones. I just wanted to give you all a quick update. I spoke with my MIL and she loved the apron I made for her. My FIL even told me that it was a great accomplishment for my first apron. My brother also loved the pillows I made for him. I received wonderful gifts from my MIL. She knitted me a beautiful swing jacket. When I tried it on I felt like I was transformed back into the 1940's. I loved it. Also, she gave me one of those big recipe books that you get at Sam's or Costco and she filled out a page or two of every section with family recipes. That meant the world to me and I was thrilled. I was crying looking at every recipe and E telling me that some of these recipes were and are not ones that leave her side.

E was very thoughtful and spoiled me as usual. Of course, I was the same with him. We always try to give gifts to each other that enhances each others hobbies. He has his music, art and wood carving and he loves seeing me create with cardstock, sewing and mod podge. Holly and Patch loved their gifts as well.

Have a wonderful evening!!

Christmas Decorations

I just wanted to show you all some crafts I made for Christmas and some of our decorations.

For the wreath, I used a typical Michaels standard wreath and added various sprays and stems. I hot glued them in so they would stay in.

The centerpiece was made using a wicker sleigh from Michaels with various poinsettia, snow sprayed twigs, ornaments and berry sprays. I also added two ornaments because E loves anything Santa and I love Snowmen.

I took pictures of Holly's and Patch's ornaments that are always on our tree.

E took this picture of our tree. I loved how he worked with the lighting to get this shot.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy and Healthy New Year to you and your family!!

Apron for my MIL

Well, I finally finished my MIL's gift for Christmas. This is the first apron I ever made and I found the tutorial on the Living Creatively website. I tweaked it a little so it would be a full apron. I hand sewn her name and "Paris" on it. I also added a black satin ribbon to go around the neck and to be tied around the waist.

Hope you like it.

Gifts for my ND fan

My brother is a huge Notre Dame fan. The decor in his apartment is...you guessed it Notre Dame items. Thank goodness he is not as bad as in the movie "Fever Pitch".

I made 2 decorative pillows with the ND colors. E found on the internet patches that I sewed on. The bigger one was I did with the sewing machine and the smaller pillow I sewed on by hand.


I can't wait to hear his reaction. Hope you like them!

Whew...the pillows are done

Well, after some "spiced" egg nog made by E (you rock!!) all 8 pillows for our nephews room are done...alright it was just one egg nog. They headed back to NY today in my Mom's suitcase. I think her suitcase was heavier leaving then when she got here LOL. We had so much fun making all of them, we sat in my craft room laughing and talking. The new Singer sewing machine worked beautifully, it has a lot to offer and I can't wait to learn and do more on it. So, starting this week I will be starting on more presents and  I will post pictures after I'm done.

Hope you like them.

Thanksgiving Humor...How to Cook a Turkey

I once received this in an email and found it on the internet to give you all a good laugh.

How to Cook a Turkey

- Go buy a turkey

- Take a drink of whiskey (scotch) OR JD

- Put turkey in the oven

- Take another 2 drinks of whiskey

- Set the degree at 375 ovens

- Take 3 more whiskeys of drink

- Turn oven the on

- Take 4 whisks of drinky

- Turk the bastey

- Whiskey another bottle of get

- Stick a turkey in the thermometer

- Glass yourself a pour of whiskey

- Bake the whiskey for 4 hours

- Take the oven out of the turkey

- Take the oven out of the turkey

- Floor the turkey up off of the pick

- Turk the carvey

- Get yourself another scottle of botch

- Tet the sable and pour yourself a glass of turkey

- Bless the saying, pass and eat out


HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving!! I hope you will all have a wonderful day spending time with family and friends, eating delicious foods and scrumptious desserts. I know we will and we are really looking forward to it. I will be missing my family and friends up North and will be wishing that I could be spending today with them.

I am so thankful for my husband who makes me proud of the man and Army Officer that he is. He is supportive, romantic, giving, thoughtful, makes me a better person, loves me unconditionally and always makes me laugh. I am thankful that my Mom is down here celebrating with us. She has taught me so much about being the woman I am today, about life, love and happiness. Most importantly to wait for the right man to come along, how to be a good wife and friend. Thank you for being in my life! I love you both. I am also very thankful to have a wonderful sister and brother. We have all had our ups and downs...but that is what life is about and I just so love and treasure you both. Our nephews George and Matthew...both a gift. Thank you for being the sweet, loving boys that you are and always putting smiles on our faces. We love you both very much.

Also, thank you to all my blogging friends out there who have been supportive since I started blogging in October. You have all been so kind with your encouraging and funny comments and I have really enjoyed reading your blogs and being part of your lives. You have definitely made it easy for me to enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Pillow for our other Nephew

Our youngest nephew M's bedroom is decorated with farm animals. My Mom brought down the valences that my sister couldn't use in his room. Mom suggested cutting them to make 8 pillows so they could be placed around his room. We sewed the side seams, filled them with poly fil, and also stuffed where the rod goes as well with poly fil.

Hope you like it.

Christmas Card 2009

Well, I finally finished my Christmas card for this year. I'm about halfway through assembling all them. I was extremely busy this week cleaning the house and doing laundry for my Mom's visit.

I used the "Joys of the Season" Cricut cartridge. I love how the snowmen came out, but I had difficulty cutting out the saying “Merry Christmas” and the snowflakes. The font gave me some trouble becasue I was limited to size it for the card and when I would remove it the letters would rip and this is the main reason I have taken so long with these. I found out from Robyn at My Pink Stamper that I was cutting the saying too small and that’s why it was tearing. Thanks for your help Robyn. I appreciate it. Let's just say I had glue all over my hands and I am usually very meticulous LOL. The snow flakes were cut on thicker white sparkle paper and that was difficult to remove, so, I had to use my exacto knife for all of them. Let’s see 3 different size snowflakes + over 40 cards = not happy crafter.

Hope you like it.

Getting ready for a special visitor

This week we are going to be busy little beavers around here. My Mom is coming in for a week long visit this coming Saturday and we are so excited. Of course I have a ton of things to do while E is at work...cleaning, laundry, etc. Then we will be doing our Thanksgiving dinner shopping or we just might wait and take Mom to the Commissary here on post.

We cannot wait to have her here for Thanksgiving. E is so pumped up, they both get along so well and he has the cutest name for her...he calls her "Little Momma." Although there is not much to do here, she is very excited to do some crafting and sewing. Most of all we are looking forward to spending some quality time together. We will also take her around post, the National Infantry Museum, and to Columbus. She loves to shop...so that will be a no brainer.

I also have to finish my Christmas cards this week and I will finally post a picture of it. I have been having a little bit of trouble with them and with me being a perfectionist that doesn't make life any easier. LOL I am using my Cricut Expression and  the Joys of the Season cartridge. Everything I cut out came out great except for one of the phrases I was trying to cut out. I will explain more when I post the card.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!!

Alisha

Apron Giveaway

I was blog hopping and came across Homemaking Honeys blog and she posted a great giveaway from another blog that the cooks and bakers out there will love.  The blogspot is called Suisse Scenarios and the blog address for the giveaway is http://suissescenarios.blogspot.com/

They are absolutely beautiful and with the holidays coming up...another apron would be perfect in the kitchen. Especially since E got us (because he loves to cook and bake too) a Kitchenaid mixer. Perfect timing for the holidays.

Have a great day.

Veteran's Day

I am quoting this from Miltary.com:

Veterans Day gives Americans the opportunity to celebrate the bravery and sacrifice of all U.S. veterans. However, most Americans confuse this holiday with Memorial Day, reports the Department of Veterans Affairs.

What's more, some Americans don't know why we commemorate our Veterans on Nov.11. It's imperative that all Americans know the history of Veterans Day so that we can honor our former servicemembers.

If you know a veteran or someone currently serving in our Country's uniform, take the time today to thank them for their service and sacrifices. Also, thank their Spouses & Families to for their service and sacrifice.

On a personal note, thank you E for keeping us safe and out of harm's way!! I love you!!

Sewing Class Update

Well, I was getting all excited about my sewing class starting tomorrow and I get a phone call today stating that the session for this month is cancelled due to low enrollment. I was so disappointed, for obvious reasons. The good thing is that they rescheduled it for this coming January.

I am feeling confident about using my sewing machine, but, I am making some presents for the holidays and of course I want them to be perfect. E says that he has all the confidence in me that they will come out perfect and my family will love them because they are homemade.

Well, here is another twist...E got me a new present...

wait for it...

E got me this beautiful Singer Professional 2010 Sewing Machine. He is so good to me and this is why I spoil him too. He said "I want you to enjoy making your gifts on a really good machine, that has more functions and gives you the ability to do embroidery."

Now, I already have a sewing machine that E got me last year for Christmas. The Euro-Pro X and I think this machine works beautifully too. E said "you can take the Euro-Pro X to and from your sewing class and the Singer can be the one used at home for your projects."

Well, since I will have free time I will be starting on one of my gifts for my MIL. I will post pics when I'm done. A few other gifts I plan on making will be curtains, pillows and maybe a blanket. Wish me luck!! Have a great evening!!

New York Yankees - 2009 World Champions

Congratulations NY Yankees on winning the 2009 World Series!! I am a very proud New Yorker and have been a fan since I was a little girl. The best part of watching them win their 27th championship was watching it with E.

Update on Holly

Holly is doing well and have been back to her old self...happy, loving, peppy and playful. The vet gave her a clean bill of health. The antibiotics worked beautifully and we are just relieved that it was just a cut on her paw pad and nothing else.

Holly would like to thank everyone for your well wishes and prayers.

A piece of history

I love anything antique--especially radios, cameras and phones. I guess because I have my college degree in Broadcasting and Communications. While getting my degree, I took a class on Sunday mornings (ouch!) and it was worth getting up early every week. We would listen to old radio programs and how they always possessed that special sound. The sound that you hear in the throwback tv shows or movies like in "A Christmas Story" I always wanted to experience that. To be able to sit next to a large piece of furniture and listen...I mean really listen. Don't get me wrong...I love my iPod and the convenience of it. Trust me, I find technology fascinating and how it changes everyday to make our lives easier. But, there is just something really special about the two pieces we picked up.

Well, E and I found a place that sells these radios and we are so excited to have these two pieces of history in our home.

1936 Antique Arvin Tube Radio Model 518 Phantom Baby

Old 1936 Zenith Wood Tube Radio Floor Model 8 S 154

Our dog Holly

Today we took our yellow Lab Holly to the vet. She has been limping and favoring her paw since Thursday and at the time we said we would watch it for a day or two and if there was no change we would take her to the vet. I was able to schedule the appointment for today (thank goodness). The doctor checked it, said it was swollen and administered Lidacaine. The way she yelped just broke our hearts. Of course I started to cry, but, at the same time praising her, telling her that she was a good girl and that we loved her. E with his torn rotator cuff is lifting her onto the table with his good arm and holding her down. I know he is in pain for himself, feeling her pain too, but, he is also praising her and telling her he loved her. The doctor said that it was an infection. Holly was prescribed to oral antibiotics that work together and a topical antibiotic. We take her back next week so the doctor can take a look at it.

Holly is such an amazing dog. She is full of so much love, so smart, funny, full of life, so obedient and just loves to play. When she sleeps, she looks like she did when we brought her home when she was 3 months old. We so treasure her and she is spoiled and deserves to be spoiled. She has her therapeutic beds from LL Bean with her name embroidered on both of them.

I will keep you posted on her progress after her visit next week. Have a great day.

Table for our entryway

When I make a really silly mistake or do something goofy I always tell E that I just did something Polish. I can defend that remark because...my heritage is Polish as well as Italian, Welsh and Russian. I guess that makes me a true American (a mutt) LOL. So, this is what I am getting at, I forgot to take a picture of the mission doorway entry table before I painted it. My solution...I went to the company's website and downloaded the "before" pic. I think this is a backside of the table because ours has a little drawer in front to store small items.

I used red Milk Paint, which, I never heard of before and the great thing is that its water-based. It went on beautifully and I am so pleased with how it turned out. Here is the after picture.

Have a wonderful evening.

Injuries

Its been an interesting week here. E's torn hamstring is still healing and last night he was rearranging our basement and thinks he did some serious damage to his rotator cuff. So, he will be going to sick call on Monday. I hope it is not torn, if it is, he will need surgery. Feel better Sweetie!!

During the week Holly (our yellow Lab) must have caught her nail on something and got herself a little cut on her paw out in the backyard. Our poor furry baby now has a limp and if she continues to do so I will take her to the Vet on Monday. It breaks my heart to see my honey and our baby in pain.

Our backyard is horrible and not at all how E would like it. He is from upstate NY and loves a beautiful, lush, green lawn. Its basically dirt with weeds growing out of it. We have been trying to repair it, but, hopefully the management company here on post will lay new sod when they put in our cement patio...whenever that will be. Oh and did I mention that when it rains it pours in our basement...that is why we need the cement patio. The water has no where to go and seeps in through the walls of the basement. Thank goodness we have a kayak.

I hurt my knee during a Boot Camp fitness class here on post. E thinks I strained my ACL and MCL during one of our drills or sprints. So, I missed 2 sessions this past week and will miss the last 2 sessions next week. So, now I will have to ease up on my workouts and wait for this to heal.

So, here we are the 3 amigos...with some kind of gimp. Of course, the crafting bug is calling to me and I had to answer. We picked up this adorable unfinished mission doorway entry table. I painted it this beautiful red color today and will spray lacquer on it tomorrow. I guess tomorrow will be a crafting/laundry day. I have to finish my Christmas cards too. I will post pics of those when I finish.

Have a great weekend!!

Cooking & Baking

Have I mentioned that I love to cook? Tonight I made one of E's favorite dishes...Penne a la Vodka. Such a simple dish filled with so much flavor and the best part is watching him after his first bite. There are more favorites of his to add to the list such as: Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes and corn, Chicken Cutlet Alfredo and Chicken Cutlet with Cream of Mushroom Sauce. I love that being in love & married to my soulmate brings out the cook in me. E says that when I cook I have this smile on my face, that I look so content and at peace.

Its funny, when I was single, I thought I could cook the basics and I'd be fine. I thought of cooking as if it was a chore. I would always say that I love cleaning, so, it will be great when I find my soul mate he will (hopefully) love to cook. But, cooking with E is so much fun and I know he has brought out the cook in me.

I also found out that I have a love baking too. Every year, I make E his favorite birthday cake...yellow cake, with white icing and raspberry jam. I also have been wanting to make a cake that I saw in a magazine. It is an American Flag cake. It is make with sponge cake, cool whip, raspberries and blueberries. I made it this year for Memorial Day and July 4th.