A new...or just resurfaced...hobby

Since Chris has no time to play lately...I decided I needed to start working on some personal stuff. I have been craving time to spend doing crafty things like making purses, pillows, quilts, etc. for years it seems like. Growing up, my mom was super talented...she made all my clothes for years when I was really little, then when I was about 7 or 8 she opened her own quilt shop. I got dragged to every quilt show, shop, worked booths and in the shop, etc...for years and got tired of it! So it is funny to me that now, I want to quilt. I think I am getting old, or domesticated, probably both!

About 2 years ago, I mentioned to mom that I wanted to start sewing again (I made a few quilts when I was younger but have not touched a machine in years) and she got excited and bought me this really nice Bernina sewing machine. This thing is great! I can do all kinds of stitches...course I will stick to the straight line for now. Anyways, now that we are here and I have a little bit of room, I set up a sewing area and have started on a quilt. I will post pics once I get it a little farther along...it is really simple, just squares for now! I am so excited to finally have some time and a place to do this!

Time to catch up

I know, the postings have been few and far between lately...have not had much to say. We went home for Thanksgiving which was nice, got to spend some QT with the families. I am excited about going home for Christmas since we will hopefully get to see some of our friends. We are going to be in town Dec. 19-26 at least.

I have been busy with freelance and Chris has been insane with PC work. I still cannot get over the amount of work he has accomplished this quarter. Can you believe that he will be done with his first quarter a week from Monday? It still seems a little surreal that we are here and doing this. Our lives have changed quite a bit from this time last year. It is exciting to think that we finally went for it. We finally just decided that this is what we wanted and we were going to do what it took to get us here. And it worked. I am so glad everything has worked out like it has... the job, the house, everything.

Max is doing good. Both him and Samus had a bit of a stomach virus this past week but they are both better now. It was a little chaotic at my mom's house...6 dogs, 2 birds (1 that talks constantly!) and a cat. Now you know where my love of animals comes from... Max was facinated by their bird Alex. I think he would have liked to eat him. Every time he would walk away from the cage, Alex would make a "whew" noise then tell him to "come here!" That bird is a riot. I'll try and get some video at christmas to post. He imitates my mom and dad...sounds just like them, southern accent and all!

prayer request

I would like to ask all of you to keep my sister Amanda, brother-in-law Greg, and their kids Samantha, Jordan and Ben in your prayers today and this week. Greg's dad passed away last night from a massive heart attack. Out of nowhere, no warning or anything. They are absolutely heartbroken...they were very, very close to him. They have not told Ben yet, he is only 6 and very attached to Papa Louie. It's going to be a very hard day and week for them. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks guys.

TIme to go home

Tomorrow I am on my way back home for a week... Mom is so excited. I am ready for a little bit of time away from this place...don't get me wrong, I love it here, I just miss home. Samus gets to go play with her boyfriend, mom's german shepard, Magnus. Every time we say his name, she cocks her head sideways like she knows just what we are saying. They are so cute together, kissing all over one another! Max usually feels a little left out...

I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and be safe!

Running the race

Lately I have been crazy busy so I have not had much time to update... BUT I did get to go out with some very good friends tonight who I miss so much! Amy and Leigh Ann came to Atlanta today for a conference so we went to dinner at this place called Six Feet Under. They have great seafood and the deck looks out over a giant cemetary, hence the name! I think the girls were a little worried when we pulled up but it was great food and great times! Good friends are the best...one of my favorite things in life.

Condo life...

This is the item I got from UPS today. What is it, you ask? Well, I'd call it $100 worth of making your neighbors happy. Apparently Max has had 2 barking episodes, one on the day we moved in (of course, he was totally freaked out and really sick!) and then about a week ago. They happened when we were out and apparently continued for hours. We have a lovely (take that very sarcastically) downstairs neighbor that complained to management both times on us, instead of doing the neighborly thing and coming to talk to us about it first. Apparently she hates dogs and is a stickler for the rules (also complained that Max was peeing in the grass instead of the wood chips...gimme a break, the little guy has cancer and has to pee all the time!) But anyways... our landlord has been notified both times and first time she was ok but this time was kind of upset so we had to do something. Hence the $100 silencer that I really don't want to use at all. The lady suggested that we sedate him or get a shock collar but you know, I just don't feel right about doing either to a dog, especially a sick one. The only other solution was the noise deterrent. We tried it out already and he tucks his tail in and lays his ears down like he is in trouble. Poor guy! Maybe this will work...ahhh, the joys of condo life!

Ham & Cheese....YUM!

So, I have been trying new recipes lately. Most of them have been flops but I finally hit a winner last night. It is so easy and good, I thought I would share:

Ham & Cheese Stuff & Puff
prep time: 10 min

5 eggs
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup Sour Cream (I used reduced fat)
1 pkg frozen chopped broccoli (thawed & drained)
1 pkg (6 oz) Stove Top Stuffing for Chicken
9 oz chopped, boiled ham
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar, divided (I used 2 cups...3/4 in the casserole and 1 1/4 cup on top)

Preheat oven to 375º. Beat eggs, milk and sour cream in a large bowl with a wire wisk until well blended. Add broccoli, ham, stuffing and cheese and mix lightly.

Pour mixture into a 2 qt. baking dish and cover lightly with tin foil.

Cook for 1 hour. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake uncovered for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

courtesy of Kraft Foods.com

The state of things at home

This picture says it all...I was on the phone and he crawled up and scrunched in between me and the couch and fell asleep. What a cutie!!!!!
By the way, Max had x-rays last week and they said the cancer is responding to the chemo like it is supposed to! YAY! He has felt a little icky this week from the chemo but it was such a strong drug that they wait two weeks until he goes again. He is feeling much better today and does not have to get chemo again for another week.

Generation Z?

I thought I would share a interesting bit of info I read about today. Seems as if the marketing world is getting even crazier, with companies actually wanting to start targeting babies with brand messaging before they are even born. Being immersed in the advertising & marketing world, I have seen a lot of interesting things but I think this is almost scary. Read for yourself and see what you think...

Hauntings

So I know I am a day late but I just could not resist. I got all worked up last night watching "Most Haunted Live". It was filmed at Eastern State Penitentiary, a prison that was originally built in the early 1800's and used until 1970. This place is CREEPY! Every inmate was in solitary confinement 24 hours a day and a lot of them went crazy. If you like that type of history, you should check out the website, they have a lot of the history there. Anyways, there were all kinds of crazy things going on at this place. Noises, things being moved and thrown, people scratched and touched...you may not believe in that kind of thing but I have grown up around so many people who have experienced things that it is hard to overlook.

Growing up, I had several friends who had haunted houses. You would think my childhood home would have been, considering it was built in 1804 and had been through many years of turmoil with indians and the Civil War...but it wasn't, at least I never saw anything crazy...just creepy feelings when I was alone at night. My friend, Christina's, grandmother died in her house and she swore that it was haunted. Of course, being naive 12 year olds, we would get out the ouija board and really freak ourselves out. I never saw anything, that I remember at least, but one night we were awakened around 2am by the radio (no it wasn't a alarm clock radio!) and it was on static, really loud. We couldn't move we were so terrified. It went off after about a minute or two. In the morning, we checked the station and it was on one of the regular stations we listened to, not static. It was weird.

I have another friend, Amy, whose house was built on an indian burial ground. Her mom has some crazy stories about seeing ghosts there. One night she got up to go to the bathroom and when she came back, she saw an apparition of a little girl sitting in a rocking chair on the other side of the bed. She laid back down, terrified I am sure! A few minutes later, she looked back over to see if she was still there but she was gone! I love stories like that! If you have any good ghost stories, I would love to hear them! Post them in my comments or email me!