Long time . . .no post

I can't believe Christmas is almost here. I'm loving getting my decorations out this year and putting up the tree. The last time I was pregnant during the Holidays was with Sophie and I was sick, and just not in the mood. We didn't even put lights on our tree, which was pretty much the only decoration. What a sad year! Not this year. I have a whole bunch of new ornaments and Brent did a FABULOUS job of putting 700 lights on our tree so that it looks great!

While I don't have the total amount of decorations I would like to have, it is enough. I've already been to 1 ornament exchange this year, and have 3 Christmas parties to go to, so things will be sufficiently busy. Not to mention the fact that I still have gifts to buy, make and send, as well as all the candy and cookies, but those are on the schedule for next week. I do have a few crafts that I have made, but no pics yet . . .maybe tomorrow. Thanksgiving was great; lots of great food and it's always good to spend time with family. Ben and Jocelyn were here for a few days before Thanksgiving and their new babies are so sweet! Heidi is holding Jacob and Vivian is hodling Zachary. My own baby is quickly approaching, I'm 35 weeks and starting to feel it. Tired and such, but for the most part, things are really great. This has been a surprisingly easy and quick pregnancy so far, which is good for me. Here are a few of my favorite pics of the girls from the last month or so . . . .

Vivian got all dressed up and even put on her own makeup (I'll try to post the video of that sometime) to watch Dancing with the Stars. We don't usually watch it, but she really likes it and thinks she has to look all fancy to watch. We even painted her nails and let her wear jewelry that night and she wanted to dance with Brent. It was SO cute, she told me "I'm dancing with my handsome daddy". I wish I had gotten that on tape!

This picture just makes me smile. Sophie is getting all of her teeth, and putting them to good use! She can really pack away the food, although we're not sure where it all goes! She's barely over 20 lbs. now, but she's getting all grown up now. Sometimes it makes me sad, but she gives hugs now, and kisses, and its super cute!This is another picture that just makes me laugh. This is Vivian's "sad face". We see this a lot. Usually when we turn off the tv, or explain that she can't have chocolate for supper. . .Sophie has discovered all of the kitchen drawers and the rotary beaters are one of her favorite things.

So, what do you do when you've just spent the last month practically chained to your sewing machine stitching up stuff that you hope other people will want to buy? Take a nap? Nope. You go to a few fabric stores and start beefing up your stash again!

Aren't they pretty. I just can't resist fabric. The second picture is all for a quilt for our new baby boy coming in January (I hope!), who will be named either Nathan or Gage (we think). the other stuff is just for fun, or for selling . . .time will tell. Also, did you know, its just a little over a week until Twilight? I don't think I'll be making the 12:01 am showing; I think I might opt for a Saturday matinee with a few friends. Sounds a bit more relaxing, right? And just for fun, check out my cuties! Vivian got AWFULLY dressed up to ride her bike up and down the sidewalk! And Sophie is showing off her long eyelashes. Yes, I'm jealous!

Whew!

Well, the Holly Days Craft Show is over and I'm glad. It was a LONG day (I woke up at 3 am - thank you pregnancy- and then after the show had to get ready for Stake Conference). I didn't sell TONS, but I made a nice little chunk of change and it was fun. I loved my table setup and wish I would have taken a picture of it, but I didn't. Anyway, now I have to put all the stuff that didn't sell in my Etsy shop, so that should continue to keep me busy. In the meantime, here are my cuties modeling some of the goods I had at the show:

Wicked Witches, Ruby Slippers and Pumpkins

I'm having problems with this post, it cut the pictures off, but if you click on them then you can see the entire picture.

Happy Halloween!!!

My creation
Originally uploaded by macyaugustus

It has been a good holiday. We got the girls dressed up last night for the ward trunk or treat which gave Viv just the right amount of candy. I'll get some pics of them later.

NKOTB4EVA

Alright, so the New Kids on the Block concert was AWESOME! Natalie and I had so much fun. We thought we'd have no voice the next morning, but we did, so that's a good thing. The girl sitting next to Natalie got sick though and threw up at the end of the concert. It smelled nasty and got on Natty's shoe, pants, purse, etc. GROSS! Why didn't she just leave???? The girls sitting behind us were big Donny fans, so whenever he was up on the big screen or singing they would go nuts. I never liked Donny; we always thought he was kinda dirty and nasty and it turns out, things haven't changed much. Although he has stopped wearing pants so ripped up that we're all in danger of seeing stuff we don't want to, so for that, I'm grateful. We had awesome seats and when they came to sing at the piano we were like 30 or 40 feet away, which was awesome! It was the best. Thanks for going with me Nat!

Countdown

37 days . . .Can you wait?????




And in just 9 days I'll be seeing this:


My boys still have it . . . I should be sewing right now.

2 New Nephews and More Busy

Well, things have been uneventful, but busy. I finished the quilts for Ben and Jocelyn's babies, who are SOOOO cute! Not the quilts, the babies, although the quilts aren't bad either. I was even able to squeeze out some burp cloths from the extra fabric! I went to the Vera Bradley outlet sale this last week with Natalie and got the cutest umbrella, for dirt cheap. Just the way I like it. I also started work on my first craft show. It is Nov. 8, which means I honestly should have started work a long time ago. I got my first round of dresses done, which means I only have 40 more to make . . . yikes! Plus countless headbands and pins. I'll be busy busy. Also, here are a few pics from the Johnny Appleseed Festival and some other fun stuff we've been up to.

I told you it was Autumn!

Well, it is official: fall is here. I got out a few of the decorations and I'm getting rid of the rest, because they don't feel like "me" anymore. This will require getting some new ones (sad, I know!) and making some new ones, which I have a few pictures of. I put a flower garland on the dining room light and am really loving the way it looks, and I've assembled a few garlands. I have another one with glittery letters that spell "spooky", but I was an idiot and assembled it with the ribbon in the middle, instead of the top, so the letters all flop over, which means I have to rip it apart and re-glue it here one of these days. I even got some mums out on the porch and I'm pretty sure I'll be raking leaves next week. Have I mentioned that I LOVE this time of year?! I'm making some pumpkin bars this weekend, and if everything goes as planned, some apple dumplings too! Oh, and I'm going to the Johnny Appleseed Festival, which I'm so excited about and the Fall Fest is going on here in town this weekend, so hopefully there will be lots of good pictures . . . and food!!!

Done and on to something new

I finally finished Whitley's quilt for her wedding gift. It only took me a month longer than I had planned, so that's good I guess. I've had the top pieced together since early July, but I just hate quilting and binding, plus this one was so big it was very cumbersome to work with on my little machine. I'm glad it is done and I'm really pleased with the results; I ended up with only 2 puckers on the back, which is like a miracle for me. The other bonus for finishing it is that I get to start a new project. Ben and Jocelyn's boys will be here in a matter of weeks, so I better get cracking on this little pile of fabric!

Enjoy this little bit of cuteness! Sophie is making her "kissy" face.

The days are changing . . .

My creation
Originally uploaded by macyaugustus

Fall is my favorite time of year, and I can tell that it's just around the corner. The light has changed, if you hadn't already noticed, and the trees are starting to show the slightest hint of change. Last night the air was cool and crisp and it felt so wonderful. I took the girls for a long walk today and it was so refreshing to feel WONDERFUL in the sunshine. It wasn't too hot, and there was a nice breeze, and it was just perfect. I made some apple dumplings last week and I'm making some more today. That might be my FAVORITE part about autumn . . .apples! I think I might even make my own applesauce and can it this year . . .how Martha!

Last minute stuff

I have so much to blog about, but I'll post the pertinent info now, minus pictures . . .


WE'RE HAVING A BOY!!!!!!!!

Randomness

So, I was inspired by reading some great blogs and decided to share a few things about myself that some or most of you may not know, or quite frankly, even care about, but here they are:

1. I LOATHE un-threading my sewing machine to wind my bobbin. I NEED a bobbin winder that runs independently of my machine.

2. Just about the only thing that REALLY irritates me is when people are late.

3. I love, love, love shrimp cocktail. We've been to the Bellagio Buffet in Vegas and I eat my money's worth just in shrimp. Here, let me show you the math:
1 shrimp cocktail (6 shrimps)= $8 (that's a cheap one too)
Bellagio Buffet = $26
Last time I went I ate roughly 30 shrimp = 5 shrimp cocktails = $40
$26-$40 = $14 savings
SAVING MONEY BY SPENDING MONEY. THE BEST FORM OF MATH.

4. I wear black almost every day. I feel uncomfortable wearing very much color.

5. I didn't start wearing flip-flops until I was 25. They were a necessity of pregnancy and now I really like them.

6. I secretly (and now publicly I suppose) want a Blythe doll to dress up. They are seriously the coolest dolls ever and when Vivian and Sophie stop ruining things, I'll get one for them. Blyth would kick the American Girl doll's trash.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well, as you can see, Whitley got married. I didn't get her quilt finished; the day I had put aside to finish things up I got sick, and then the next day we had to head up to Chicago, so it still sits at my sewing machine. Hopefully things get finished up this week. The wedding and both receptions were really nice, there was a lot of good food and it was good to see people that I don't see that often.

Next on my list is 2 quilts for Ben and Jocelyn's little boys, which will be here in a matter of weeks, so I better get cracking! I already know what I want to do, now I just need to buy the fabric and do it. Buying fabric will be the fun part!

Vivian and Sophie have been keeping me super busy. It seems that in the past 2 weeks Sophie has really grown up. She says "eyes" and talks and just seems more like a toddler and less like my little baby every day. Sometimes it makes me sad, but I love watching the girls grow up!

Just a little update

Just a few things, first of all, I finished Breaking Dawn at 1 am. It was awesome. I wasn't sure about some of the things, and there are at least 2 things that bugged me, but they're minor and trivial. Second of all, BRENT has his latest blog entry featured on the Consumerist.com and it was the top story.

Midnight release parties and such

I am currently 1 day, 10 hours, 18 minutes and 43 seconds away from owning this:





Yes, I am obsessed, but that's okay. Brent likes to make fun of me for reading my "vampire" books and swears that if he were reading something similar I would make fun of him and call him a geek. He is right. In the meantime, if you haven't already, check out the new trailer for Twilight.

#3 is on the way

Well, baby #3 is on it's way here. We're expecting in Januray and are pretty excited. I think Brent is really hoping for a boy this time, but only time will tell (actually about 5 weeks!) Things have been really crazy around here, we've had Brent's family here all last week and we went to the lake, got sunburns, went to Chicago, Shipshewana and hung around a bunch. It was lots of fun to have all of the cousins together and its been nice to have Brent's mom stay an extra week so she gets to spend some more time with the girls. Sophie had her 1st birthday while everyone was here and also started walking and got her first tooth! All exciting stuff.

10 years . . .yikes

So, I just got the invite for my 10 year high school reunion. I don't really know if I want to go. It's just like back in high school, what if nobody talks to me? What if everyone thinks I look weird? You'd think I don't care, but just ask my husband and he'll tell you I do. Sometimes I obsess about my appearance if I think I might see somebody I haven't seen for a while. Anyway . . . .10 years makes me feel kind of old.

Nothing much, just a little bit of everything

Well, things are pretty much the same as always around here. I've been doing some more hair recently and I have a HUGE wedding job coming up, so that's pretty exciting. I'm watching the Celtics school the Lakers right now . . .so that's pretty satisfying.
On Sunday we celebrated Father's Day at my parent's house. I got my dad knee pads and I think he was actually glad. It's probably the first time I have ever gotten him the "right" thing. We got Brent a weedwhacker. It's a good gift for him, and me too :) Brent is the BEST dad in the entire world, and I'm not exaggerating. He always takes time to play with the girls and do the yucky stuff too. When Vivian was still a baby, he was the one who got up with her in the night to change and feed her. What a great guy, huh? He's the BEST!!!!!! We love you!!!!
I went to book club tonight and we reviewed "The Bee Keeper's Apprentice". I didn't read the book, but it sounds like I should. I meant to. It was on my kitchen island for 2 weeks, I just never got around to even opening it. That's the way things go though sometimes. I really love book club; it's been a great addition to my life. I feel like it is the one really grown up activity that I participate in. There aren't kids (usually, althought I toted Viv along this evening) and lots of really stimulating and thought provoking conversation. If college had been this stimulating for me, I might have actually finished . . .but maybe not.

I GOT MY TICKETS!!!!

Yay! Oct. 24th Natalie and I will be at the New Kids on the Block concert! AWESOME

Mmmmmm, Pie!

Okay, so I love pie. This should be no surprise. We ate a lot of pie growing up. I assume that is because my dad also loves pie and my mom is awesome at making it. I remember that when we lived in the country when I was younger, we had a huge stove and mom would make 4 pies at a time in it. That is amazing! Anyway, my 2nd favorite pie is Rhubarb Cream- nothing beats fresh peach pie. It's so yummy and fairly foolproof and pie is NOT hard to make. I used to be intimidated by it, but not anymore. Here's the recipe I used and some pictures.

2 Crusts (this is from the OLD Betty Crocker cookbook, and is my favorite)

2 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

3/4 c. vegetable shortening

5 Tbsp. COLD water

* First, you combine your flour and salt, then CUT in the shortening. If you don't have pastry blender, I'm sorry. Two butter knives will work in a pinch, just pull them back and forth across eachother, it's kind of the opposite of tossing a salad. Cut in the shortening until you have a rough crumb texture.

* Next, add your water. If you live in a drier climate, you will probably need more water. When I lived in Utah I would sometimes use up to 7 Tbsp. water. Stir everything together with a fork. You can only get so far with the fork, and then you will need to get your hands in to finish the rest. Be careful with the dough, you don't want to over-work it. Once everything has come together, you're done and can divide your dough. (I'm saving my other half for a sugar cream pie on Sunday).

* Next, roll it out so that it is slightly larger than your pie dish, place it in and crimp your edges. There are a multitude of ways to accomplish this, but I like a basic thumb and forefinger crimp.

There, you have a crust! Now, let's fill it!

2 1/2 c. Rhubarb

1 1/4 c. sugar

1/3 c. PLUS 1 Tbsp. flour

1 c. whipping cream

Mix and pour into your pie shell. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 min. and then at 350 degrees for 30 min. Cool and enjoy!

The best Dad ever!

Okay, I LOVE this picture. The girls obviously have Daddy wrapped around their little fingers!
I've been pretty busy lately just working on things. I have my living room to get in order, and let's just say, it is not in order. So . . .I keep the door closed, waiting for an evening at home when Brent isn't busy to work on it. Vivian is wearing one of my newest projects. I made her a dress the other morning and she loved it. She wore it for two days in a row, and when I informed her this morning that she could not wear it again, she had a major meltdown, so I made her another one to wear today. Then I made another one for her to wear tomorrow. Sounds very productive of me, but I must admit, they require very little skill and time, so it is just perfect for me! I've also started another purse, but this time I did it without a pattern (admittedly, not the smartest move) so now I'm stuck about 2/3 of the way done really wondering what to do next. I'll post pictures of that. I've also been doing some more hair recently, which I always love. It's the one thing I don't have a problem saying I am really good at. The hair I do looks good, even close up. Most of the other things I make look best from about 15 feet away, so that you don't see all the "wonky" stuff!

Twilight Trailer

Unbelievable!

I was in Chicago for my anniversary this weekend while tickets to the New Kids concert went on sale. They went on sale Sat. morning at 10 am. I planned on buying my tickets when I got home Saturday evening.

It is sold out :(

Dreams Really Do Come True!

So, I finally get to live out one of my dreams from when I was like 10! That's totally exciting right?!!!! Natalie and I are getting tickets to the Oct. 4th show in Chicago. Anyone else wanna go with us?