IT HAS BEGUN....

Happy Day Post Thanksgiving, otherwise known in my house as Week O’ Christmas Decorating! 🎅

Thanksgiving was a very quiet day in the Nielsen house. With the mega-cold having hit both me and Nick, we spent much of the past two weeks just trying to get over it. While I had pretty much kicked it out of my system, Nick was still going through the last stages, so we decided to stay home and keep our germs to ourselves. But that doesn't mean we skipped Thanksgiving! Even with just the two of us (and baby in belly), we celebrated with turkey and trimmings, whipped up by yours truly. And it was good! There was no traveling, so we didn’t get out our pajamas. The day was quiet, even the dogs were mellow; we watched the Macy's Day Parade and a couple of movies. Thanksgiving dinner was fantastic and we ate way more than we should have, then we drifted off into cozy turkey comas. 

We also realized that this was the first and probably only holiday that Nick and I will ever spend, just the two of us. With the baby on the way (and hopefully another one in the next couple of years), it’s doubtful that we will ever spend another holiday by ourselves, but I’m okay with that. The thought of having my own little family to create memories with during the holidays thrills me to no end! I can’t wait to go all out and make Christmas as magical for my children as my mother did for me. Even now, just seeing the awestruck look on Shorty’s face every year whenever she looks around the house at the decorations, confirms for me that I’m doing it right! But we typically don’t get her on Christmas morning, so we miss out on that excitement. One day soon, when we have a house large enough for everyone to come to us for the holidays, we’re hoping we’ll get to share Christmas morning with her.

We didn’t do Black Friday…we don’t ever do Black Friday. Crowds make me angry and sleeping in makes me happy, so for the sake of every shopper out there, I stayed home, kept my road rage (shopping carriage rage) to myself and rested. 

And again, the day was good! I started decorating the house, too. I got through a couple of totes…okay, only two out of ten. Yes, I’m that crazy Christmas person. Now I do know crazier Christmas people, but I love to decorate! I still have to clean off the top of the entertainment center for boughs and decorations, and the top of the roll-top desk for my abundant Christmas village. Annnnd the kitchen table, which will serve as tree central for the next month. 

With our house being so small, it’s hard to find space for a full sized tree. But we bought one anyway, with the intention of cutting the first 4 feet off the top to serve as a mini tree, then the rest will be clipped into boughs for decorating. Having it on the table will also keep it out of Ripley’s range! The cats will still get at it, but we’ll tie it off to the window frame to avoid knock overs and secure the ornaments tightly to each branch, with plastic and soft ones on the bottom half of the tree. The two older cats just like to sit under it, smell it, occasionally rub their face on the branches. Sid likes the garland. Ory is the only one that we don’t know about yet. Fingers crossed that she leaves it alone.

Memories of Christmas Past

Little Nymbus in 2007

And here he is 9 yrs and 15 lbs later

Sadie the Reindeer - I miss this baby.

Plato the Reindeer - I miss this big lug, too!

Happy Thanksgiving

From my family to yours, Thanksgiving wishes for a peaceful and joyous day.

Kool Aid Dyeing...Oooooooooh Yeah!

After finally…FINALLY…turning the corner with this cold, I attempted something that I’ve wanted to do for about a month now.  Kool Aid dyeing!  It’s more simple than I imagined.  I read a bunch of different tutorials, to see how others were making it, then finally just said to “heck with it” and just jumped right in.

I pulled off several yards of Patons Classic Wool Yarn in Aran color (creamy white) that my Dad's cousin in British Columbia sent to me and tied it off in about four places with a small piece of the same yarn.  I soaked that in clear lukewarm water in the sink for a few minutes, while I mixed a packet each of Berry Cherry and Black Cherry into a pot with lukewarm water.  Once every thing was mixed fully, I gently laid the yarn into pot and gently pressed down with a spoon to fully immerse it, but not agitate it (didn't want it to start felting!).

I turned the heat up on the stove to just over midway and waited for it to just start to bubble.

I turned off the heat and let it cool for about an hour (I was doing something else and actually forgot about it...oops!).  The color in the pot had turned almost clear, as the yarn had absorbed it all.

I poured the water out and gently rinsed out any leftover color in the yarn in cold water.  Then let it hang off the facet to drip dry above the sink.

It lightened up considerably more than I expected and is almost a pinkish color now. Its not a horrible color, mind you, but not the color I was going for. I think next time I'll use more than two packets of mix and see if that results in a deeper color.

Oh, and note to self: don't leave yarn where a bored black lab puppy can reach it. She didn't chew it up...but she did pull it and another skein apart, so I had this lovely yarn display stretched across the living room to the kitchen door. She also chewed apart a plastic cord that was hooked to her training clicker, a bottle of cold medicine (that she thankfully didn't puncture), a bag of Funyons that was almost empty.  All of which HAD been on the coffee table.

I love this dog. I love this dog. I love this dog. She's just a puppy and this phase will pass.  I have to keep reminding myself of this!!

Snow

We got a little taste of winter overnight.  It lasted only a short time, but it was pretty and made me yearn for the holiday season.

We've been battling a pretty nasty sinus and chest cold in our house for the past week plus.  After 2 days of sleeping, I think I'll go back to bed and hope for a miracle.

Stay warm, all!

40

Yesterday was the day - the day, 40 years ago, that I came into this crazy world. 

And how did I spend my birthday...miserably. Not because it was my birthday and I had reached this milestone, but because Mother Nature's gift to me was a horrendous sinus cold that has made me realize that tissues and the cool mist humidifier are my soulmates!

But while yesterday was the worst, today I feel like I'm on the upswing.  And though it's a day late, my husband and I will be celebrating this evening with hearty German food and a trip to L.L. Bean for new birthday slippers (yay!).  And really, what sane person doesn't like extending their birthday celebration?

I used to dread the thought of hitting the 40 mark, but that was at a time when I felt stuck in a rut and lonely. I truly have so much to be thankful for this year:

• I celebrated my first wedding anniversary with the love of my life - a man who is beyond supportive, nurturing, and loving; who encourages me at every turn; who makes me laugh and see all the positive things in my life.
• I enjoyed my first year as Shorty's other mother and the continued experience of what parenting is really like - the simple joys, the frustrations, and the celebrations.
• We welcomed two new additions to our menagerie (Ory and Ripley), as well as a host of chickens.
• I found out that we would be welcoming another addition to our family in March...and have experienced the ups and downs of my first pregnancy. But my little man continues to grow strong and healthy every day within me and I can't wait to hold him in my arms!
• I have amazing friends and a loving family that have made me realize just how lucky I am to have such a phenomenal support network.

This is just a sample of the things that I am thankful for. I could go on for days, but I'll refrain.

So while I sniff and sneeze, cough and reach for the tissues for the 8,000th time on this first day of a new journey in my life, I will stop focusing on this cold, and think on all those things that I am grateful for.

No Politics Here

I have kept my blogging mouth shut about the election and now that we are post election...I'm still keeping my mouth shut. My daily job revolves around politics, not necessarily advocating one side or the other anymore (once upon a time, it was), but the makeup of our state legislature and the potential policies that will come from legislation in the coming year. 

I have friends with strong opinions on both sides of the isle. I have family members with strong views. Sometimes I agree with them, sometimes I don't. The older I get, the less I subscribe to either party.  It's not "all or nothing" anymore, nor is it "Vote the ticket and be a good D or R!"...no, it's about finding common ground, for the people that are being represented by the politicians.  

And that is all I will share about my political beliefs here on this blog.  This is a place for home life, creative ventures and family adventures. 

Meet Ripley

Two weeks ago, I emailed a rescue about two lab puppies and wanting to set up a meet and greet with them.  Only, they never got back to me. I was bummed, but I thought, "Well Nick's on call and I would have had to drive an hour to see them by myself. Maybe this is for the best."  Then a thought popped into my head - check the local animal shelter.  It's hit or miss with the animal shelter when it comes to dogs...only because once they get a dog in, that dog is typically gone in a day...especially puppies, so I wasn't holding my breath that I would find the lab puppy that we all so wanted.

But there she was - a 7 month old black lab mix, recently arrived from Georgia. I told Nick (who was getting bombarded with work) that I was taking Shorty and we were going to meet her that day.  We got there 10 mins before they opened and I just knew.  This 30 lb, hyper, happy, kissy, cuddly, sweetheart was supposed to come home with me.

It took us a while to come up with a name, but finally decided on Ripley, after Sigourney Weaver's character in Alien.

What she lacked in manners and training, she more than made up for in personality! She wasn't house broken. She chased cats (much to our fours' dismay). She fought with Ted...or rather, Ted fought with her (small dog syndrome!). It's been a challenge, to say the least.  

But here we are, 11 days into this journey and she's starting to get it. Ripley is so very smart! The potty training is getting easier. She's realizing that this is her home now and that we are her people. The cats have started to mellow out and understand that she's just a big goofball, who is often in need of a good smack on the nose with a paw to make her realize that they (the cats) are not play toys. Ted is...well, Ted is still adjusting.  He liked being the only dog and really hates sharing attention with this yeti-pawed oaf (his words, not mine)!

And Rip is really adjusting to her new home. As you can see, she's quite comfortable here.

We've all really missed having a big dog. Sometimes you don't realize just what size the hole in your heart is until you refill it. Apparently mine was the size of a black lab.