The cutest thing ever? Oh yes, I think so.

I saw a skirt similar to this on Pinterest, but again the instructions were lacking clarity for this old addled brain. It took me several sheets of paper, a calculator, and an embroidery hoop to get it all figured out, but it ended up working just like I thought it would, with a minor exception. Evidently I have lost some pounds/inches since the last time I used the pattern that I was using as a guide and thus the skirt is a little baggier than I intended. It's all good, though, since I got the fabric from the dollar bin at Walmart since I was experimenting, so this experiment only cost me $6. And now that I have it figured out, I will try again with accurate measurements and a fabric that I actually like. All in all, I would call the experiment a sucess, since I really like the floofyness of the skirt. I am, after all, a girly girl at heart.


I made a coconut cream pie for Thanksgiving. Sure, I used instant pudding, but it's the first time I've made coconut cream and I did toast the coconut all by myself. Note to self: DO NOT multitask when toasting coconut. It goes from not-even-a-little-bit toasted to WHOA-I-let-that-go-too-long in an instant.


Much to Lane's chagrin, I only did one apple pie instead of the two I had told him I would do. Now I owe him an apple pie since Jack almost single-handedly polished it off.

So, are you ready for THE CUTEST THING EVER???

Here it is:

I guess Hallmark started a Fisher Price series that I was unaware of. This is the 2011 ornament. I played with this when I was a little girl for hours and hours and hours. It was my favorite. So Hallmark has reproduced it in an ornament with all the details exactly perfect. It opens up, the car is in the driveway, all the people are just how they should be, and the doorbell even rings! The cutest thing ever!!!

Continued

Here are two of my Scarletts. I'm not entirely sure why Lane took the pictures he did.

And of course the Fra-Gee-Lay ornament. Yes, it opens, and yes, there's a Major Award inside.

Tree #2 - Lane's Tree. He likes white trees so we got this one a few years ago. The lights on it are more pastel-y and I really like the way it looks. This is the tree where we put the homemade ornaments, since it is in the family room where we spend most of our time. Hallmark may have my money, but the homemade ornaments have my heart.

And this year we have expanded to Tree #3. I got if for less than $10 on Kohl's clearance last year, and the downstairs family room really needed a tree too. I have to start out small and warm Lane up slowly to the idea of 3 full size trees. 'Cuz it's comin', baby. You know it's coming.

It's pretty much like Porn to me. And to Shauna.

Here we are at the 2nd Annual Shake Rattle and Run 5k sponsored by my friend Kendall. It's all just for fun, no "good cause," other than having a good time. He had a 5k for anyone who wanted to do it and a 1/2 k for the kids. This worked out perfectly because Addie has wanted to do a 5k with us, which just ain't happenin', and this was not only a short distance but also FREE (I do love me some free outdoor fun!), and also she could wear her Halloween costume. Lane did the 1/2k with her, and I think they may have been the last ones in, but you would never know that from how excited she was to finish.

Lane sat with Addie while Jack and I took off on the 5k. Jack went almost 1/2 way before giving up. I didn't finish because it got too dark for my comfort zone, but I did about 2.8 miles, according to Kendall's best guess. He had my time recorded at 40 minutes, but I don't know what it really was since I visited with Lane and Addie and ate a donut before I went and checked in, so 35-ish minutes maybe? This will go down in my running history as the Bloody Toe race since I sliced my toe open and bloodied up my lovely white running shoes due to poor toenail trimming.

I have finally discovered my own form of Porn - Pinterest. It's all craftiness and food and homemade wonderfulness galore. I've tried out a few things I've found on there, these cupcakes being one of them. Clearly I need to work on my piping skills, but you get the idea nonetheless. I took some to work and no one there seemed to mind that I'm piping-challenged. I really need to suck it up and take a class.

Addie had her birthday on Halloween and she had asked for a new Barbie with a horse, so that's what she got. The grandma's etc. came through with lots of clothes so her diva-ness was satisfied with both toys and clothes.

This is more Pinterest fun. I found a skirt on there that I really liked, but the posting was from a catalog, but then the poster had provided instructions for her own version of the catalog skirt. So I followed her instructions and it was really pretty blah, and not at all flattering on me, even though it looked just like her sample skirt (although not hideous orange). So I stomped around the house in frustration for a little while before I remembered that the pure genius of stretch knit fabrics is . . . wait for it . . . the STRETCH!!! So I zigzagged around the edges again, this time s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g it out as I went and, just as I expected, the knit curled right up. This little revelation, albeit delayed, made all the difference in the world and I have to say - I'm lovin' the new skirt. It's incredibly comfortable, as stretch knit tends to be. So yeah, I'm pretty much all that.