2012 is...

the year to LEARN.

I will graduate in March with my Bachelor's of Science in Nursing (BSN).  It's been over a two year process, and I will be SO HAPPY to be finished!

For Christmas, I bought myself the Canon Rebel camera that I have been lusting after for a long time.  I am determined to LEARN everything I can to master it and take some rocking pictures.

Since I got the camera, I also bought Photoshop Elements 10, along with the "Classroom in a Book" guide to help LEARN the program.  I will conquer my computer-ignorance and figure this out in 2012.

My sister, Michelle, and I are talking about taking a photography class together this summer, but even better than that, we are planning a road trip to visit with Rebecca Jo in Indiana, so she can teach us a thing or two that she has learned since starting her own photography business.  We can't wait!

Another goal for 2012 (other than the typical "lose 15 pounds") is to vacation at a "new to us" spot and LEARN all about it.  Not sure where or when we'll go, but an adventure it is sure to be.

Do you have a word of the year for 2012?  Any goals or dreams?  Secrets to losing weight (other than exercise and diet...sigh)?

Happy New Year, blog friends!  May 2012 be the best year yet!

Twelve

The holiday rush is over.

The tree is down, ornaments packed away, another Christmas has come and gone and a new year is upon us.

In the midst of the shopping/hiding/wrapping/baking/celebrating/eating madness that defined December 2011, one special day stands out in my mind.

December 21st.

The day Isabel turned twelve.

My once non-sleeping/fashionista/determined baby girl has become this amazing pre-teen wonder, seemingly overnight:

Her spirit is just as beautiful as her face...she is kind, optimistic, loving, sweet, fun and intelligent, artistically and musically talented beyond words...simply incredible.

Our family is blessed.  I can't wait to see how the world is changed, just by her being in it.

Isabel, I hope being 12 in 2012 is your best experience yet!

Getting lost in the past

I got my love of reading from my parents, especially my dad.  We loved a lot of the same authors (Dean Koontz, John Sandford, Nevada Barr) but none more than Stephen King.  We would discuss the merits of  The Stand or The Shining; we watched Christine and Cat's Eye together at the theater; Dad marveled at the fact that I got to stand outside of Stephen's house in Maine on a vacation I took after I graduated high school.

I've been fairly disappointed in the last few books that he has published...they lacked the character development and serious scary-ness that I had come to love.  Under the Dome was not great, just okay, and I really thought maybe he had used up all of his good ideas.

Until now.

I am almost halfway through his new book, listening to it on CD while I scrapbook.  Oh.My.Word.  I listen to it in my craft room, then I take it in my van and listen to it while I drive to/from work.  I literally sat in Target parking lot and SOBBED at certain parts...it's that good.

There's not too much scary in it, but lots of freaky.  References to a previous book (IT), time travel, amazing characters that you love by the second chapter...I can't say enough about what an engrossing read it is.  I think about what's happening to the characters when I'm not listening to the book, like they're living people.  I love when an author makes that happen!

Over and over again, I have wanted to talk to my dad about this book.  He would've loved it, too...and it makes me wonder if maybe he already is; curled up in a big cozy library in Heaven, having a good old time and thinking that this is a book that we'll have to discuss when I get to where he is...

Cookies and then some...

Holiday traditions are the best, especially when they involve daughters and sisters and baked goods and homemade Chex mix.  Throw in a couple of novice photographers, and you have a well-preserved cookie-baking day!

The three bakers.

Cream cheese cut-outs, chocolate chip with whole wheat flour, chocolate-covered toffee.  YUM.

Isabel helping me roll out dough...a comical moment, for sure!

Me and my new baby, er, I mean camera :)

Elijah and Joe spent the day enjoying their Christmas present:  tickets to the Bengals/Texans game.  Gabe was our official taster and decorator, but really he kept busy building forts and Lego cities in the living room.  By the end of the afternoon, Isabel was passed out on my bed, and I was stuffed full of all the samples from each new batch :)

I'm not sharing my Chex mix, but I may let you try the toffee.  It was Kay's favorite :)

RWOP (finally!)

I have been wanting to participate in MEP's and E's Real Women of Pinterest (RWOP) for some time now, but Wednesdays always seem to get away from me.  Finally, I have a bit of free time on my hands (shhh, don't tell my husband), and I wanted to share an idea I originally got from Becky Higgins (scrapbooking guru) and recently saw again on Pinterest:  the floating ornament.

The idea is easy.  Get some screw-in hooks from Target, Wal-mart, or Lowes.  Measure the area you plan to hang the hooks, then divide by three or five to space them evenly (if desired).  Screw in the hooks (easy to do by hand).  Get some fishing line or other clear string, and use it in different lenghts to suspend the ornaments of your choice.  I'm telling you, this project took all of 20 minutes, and I love the results.  The challenge was getting a good photo...they're much more impressive in person.

I chose a combination of ornaments and snowflakes.

And there you have it, my first RWOP post!

Holiday plans

Christmas is such an exciting time full of shopping for gifts, making and sending of cards, baking of cookies, and celebrating with traditions.  Kids, especially, thrive on the continuity of tradition.  This past Saturday, Kay and I took the kids to see the horse-drawn carriage Christmas parade in town.  Over one hundred carriages participated, with horses of all shapes and sizes and colors leading the way.  Although Gabe was a bit bored by the 50th carriage, we girls were mesmerized by the Victorian costumes and the creative ways each group decorated their horse and carriage.

One thing Isabel and I hope to do this month is visit the local historic mansion with its halls decked for the holidays.  We have lived here for ten years, and every year we say this is something we want to do...this is the year for a new tradition, I say!

Gabe wants to go to Cincinnati to see the holiday train exhibit at the Museum Center and we already went to the local nursery to get our real Christmas tree this past Sunday.  Michelle is coming to bake cookies this weekend, and our family get-togethers are planned and on the calendar.  A month full of planning, spending time with family, and truly "getting" the meaning of Christmas...that's what I'm looking forward to.

How do you celebrate this month?  Any traditions you do every year, or hope to start this year?

Sappy mom

Three years ago, a moment was captured that I will treasure forever.  It embodies the magic and wonder of Christmas as seen through a four year old boy's eyes:

It still brings a tear to my eye.

I'm such a sap.

Do you have a favorite Christmas picture, of yourself or your own kids?  Do share!