Missing the Blitzy Boo

For nearly five years I lived with one of the coolest and most awesome person I know, a colleague named Ann. I can't say enough good about her--she was the perfect roommate for me as we are matched very well in personality and became very good friends. I still miss talking with her All The Time!

One of the best things about living with her (besides the constant conversation) was that we shared a zoo of animals (shocking, I know). Her chocolate lab Blitz, also known as The Boo, was one of the sweetest dogs I've ever know. She was Cloud's best friend--they adored each other. Blitzy passed away when she was 12 and it absolutely broke our hearts. I still miss her.

One of my favorite Blitz stories was how she would sometimes sneak out of the house, run around the neighborhood for a few minutes and do her business, then appear back at our front porch scratching on the door to come back in. She had a breathing problem which made her pant heavily and breathe really loudly at times. She also had rough patches on her elbows from laying on the the hardwood floors. One time she scared one of our neighbors so bad appearing on her back porch she called the police saying there is a rabid dog foaming at the mouth with open sores on her arms at my door! Poor Boo, that was so far from the truth!

Recently I found some pictures of Blitz on my computer and thought I'd share them here. It's been 7 years I think since she left us and I still miss her, as I'm sure Cloud does too. Cloud has never quite bonded with any other dog the way she did with Blitz. Love you Boo!

Callie loved Blitzy too---this picture was taken when Callie still had all four of her legs! She used to love to play with Boo's tail while she ate!

Secret Santa Fun

I recently did a Secret Santa exchange with some internet friends, and I have to say I was pretty excited how my gift for my partner turned out! I wanted to do something handmade and the price limit was $20, so this little embroidery project fit the bill perfectly. Check it out:

I used the same crayon-and-embroidery method on this that I did in my Nancy Drew quilt. This is by far my favorite method of sewing; there's no end to the possibilities--especially now that I have a cool new die-cutter that can cut any shape my little heart desires!

Treats for Teachers

Here's another fun use of my awesome Silhouette die-cutter! Bill and I are on the board of my stepkids' PTO, and also on the Hospitality Committee. I signed up to deliver "sweet nothing" treats for the entire faculty and staff at the school....at the time I signed up I didn't realize what a task this would turn out to be! I was also dumb to pick my son's first birthday as my day to deliver treats--I thought it would help me remember the date (which it did) but didn't completely think through that I might be wanting to do anything besides making treats for teachers on that day! Oh well, it all worked out in the end, and I hope the teachers enjoy their sweet nothings.

I made my Rosemary Butter Cookies (they sound gross, but trust me--these are DIVINE!), mostly because that's the one cookie recipe I have that makes a TON of cookies! I wanted each of the 60 staff members to have 5 cookies a piece so that's a lot of cookies!

Add a cute little tag made with the help of my Silhouette, glue the recipe to the back of the tag, put it all in a cute little decorative goodie bag, and voila! You have treats for teachers. What do you think?

Birthday Fun!

I've mentioned before how much I loooove my Silhouette Cameo die-cutter. I was so excited to make the invitations for Kirk's birthday party all by myself! I have a bunch of ideas for party decorations and favors too. I think the invitations turned out so cute if I do say so myself!

(read about the giraffe theme here)

Also my stepdaughter pulled out her creative hat and made her brother the sweetest little gift--look how cute and creative this is! I'm always so impressed with how her mind works. And I also want to add that I'm absolutely THRILLED, over the moon, with how much my stepkids love their brother. We've been SO lucky in this regard. They genuinely adore him and are huge helps with his care, and he definitely loves them too. I know someday soon he's going to start getting really sad when they're not with us. But anyway check out her project:

Happy Birthday, Kirk!

One year ago today I was suffering from a broken tailbone and 40% blood loss after a pretty traumatic birth. It was the best day of my life! I can't believe my sweet baby boy is a year old already. It's gone by so fast! I can say with total confidence and honesty that being a mom to this boy is the best thing that I have ever done, and I feel more and more lucky every day. I was born to be this child's mom. I'm kind of sad that he is growing up so fast but I'm enjoying every minute of him!

The two Kirks (my boy is named after both of his terrific grandfathers):

 And the day before his first birthday:

We love you so much Kirk Michael!