Tube Wars

Long ago...
In a household far, far away....
There were two parents awaiting the ripe age of interest to occur in their children so they could share Star Wars with them.
That time has come at last.
The inspiration started when the Father became a loyal fan of the light saber iPhone app. But he needed a young Jedi to train with, so he purchased two Light Sabers from the store and devotedly presented them to his children. After becoming educated by the classics, they are prepared to fight. Will they choose good or evil? Blue or Red saber beams? Paper or plastic?
THESE.
So much for destiny.
At least Scott can truly say, "Luke. I am your father."

Warm & Fuzzy

This is a great article a friend of mine just shared on Facebook. Take a minute and read it.
"Hope" is right.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Check it check it one-two...
Guess what!? I actually got our Christmas cards completed and sent out in the nick of time. So check yer mailboxes, my faraway friends! It's like a little toy for the kiddies where they can slide our pic and make us all look like Santa. The unfortunate result of my execution was I did not make enough.... so if you didn't receive one, consider this your digital version. The intent is the same: We wish you a Merry Christmas!

The great thing about blogs is every year we can have friends check in on what we are doing. But stay tuned because on January 1st, change is a-foot!

HolyCowChristmasIsInTwoDAYS!

Sorry I have not been updating as often but I am sure you all know why. Christmas preps and other drama. Much to do, much to do.
So I'll be brief in my update here:
I finally completed my Christmas cards, have done 98% of the shopping... now I need to get wrapping like nobody's business, get to the grocery store and finish my homemade prezzies. Good grief, Charlie Brown....
A couple of high lights from last week. After the snowfall I wanted to go ride the Red Rock loop and see it all dressed in white. I wasn't able to go until Saturday so most of it had melted, but I was surprised to still see how much there was. It was so pretty! I took lots of pics but will only bore you with one. :) If you squint you will see the area where I run back in those mountains. Looks coooold, eh?!
Last week also marked the end of School. Elliet had parties and all kinds of to-do that was crammed into Friday due to our "snow day". She went to school in her pajamas and was quite a sight when I picked her up with frosting in her hair from their gingerbread houses and candy stains all over her face. Sadie and Luke do a small Christmas program at one of their preschools where they sing and tell jokes. Usually I live the true twin odds where at least one is whiney, pouty or grumpy- but not this time! It was a Christmas miracle. They sang and looked rediculous, just as they should and it was hilarious.
Now the kids are out of school for TWO WEEKS! Fun? we'll see.

Snow Snow Come and Go

I am sure you have heard... as this has made some big waves in the news. Historic snow fall in Las Vegas! Like....an inch on the ground! I know, not a lot but it's been really fun and atmospheric to drive around in snow-globe size flakes and have a rare winter wonderland. Just like when I grew up in Utar. Unfortunately we didn't get to play around in it much because Luke has been sick, but we stood outside and let them fall on our tongue, utilized it as a back drop and put on holiday music through the house while making gingerbread cookies (Um.... yes, more of them. Yum) and commenting on everything we drove by. Last night Clark County declared school closed today due to the weather. Not really necessary since most of it was melted by this morning. Therefore, I had the kids home for two days with no school. It's time, my friends. It's time for them to go back tomorrow. A fort can only entertain for so long.
Yesterday school was out for Parent Teacher Conference. I went in and sat at a short desk and listened to her report. Elliet is doing awesome! Already reading at 2nd grade level and is doing well in all her subjects. Whew. She has even nick-named the teacher. I am glad she (the teacher) has a good sense of humor.....
Most Christmas preps are finally falling into place. Working on the Christmas cards now and then it's time to get wrapping the Patch way, all crazy like. With all of our free time, the kids and I watched 'A Christmas Story' yesterday and I got misty eyed when Ralph was opening his BBgun. It was his Dad that did it to me- so great! How he gets all giggly as Ralph is opening the box and then guides him as he pours in the bb's... ah charming. Sometimes you miss being a kid and being the one to receive, but it doesn't compare to giving something wonderful that you put your heart into. Now if I could just get those things DONE. Nah, I'll blog instead.

New Kids In The Box

It's done! Scott's present has finally come to fruition. The built in cabinet is complete as well as some much needed TV/Satellite upgrades. We played around this weekend with some of the features and got in more Christmas movies. We even have ways to watch movies outside in the summer. Oh boy! Fun for the kids and adults! I think a night of "Jaws in July" will come to pass, complete with watching from the pool. The very dark pool. I know, sharks could toootally be in our pool... just humor me.
Now, another very fun thing about home improvement is it usually involves big empty boxes. I love big empty boxes. One word: FORT. I told the guys to leave a couple of the biggest ones and made the kids this "castle". It's a huge eyesore in front of my tree experiment (more on that later) but it's the biggest one we've put together yet. I taped it up, made some windows (drywall saws are great for this) and stuck some large pieces on the top to support our blanket roofing. It's currently full of random toys, chairs, a possible sandwich from lunch a few days ago....who really knows. Quite fun, though.
Now- my upside down tree. Do you see it? Oh, you do? Is that because you can't MISS it?! So here is my story (it's short)... Big tree handed down to me from my parents, unlit and must be assembled. It's had some good years with me but this was the year I was going to get rid of it. But before I did, I decided to try this upside down thing that has been done with some display trees. Has anyone else noticed this? They look so cool all dripping with ornaments or ribbons hanging down over your head...it's like you are in the tree. So there is my attempt. And guess what it looks like? Um... an upside down tree. Yep. I realized at the end that I probably should have variated the branch lengths a little so it looked more organic, realistic, what-have-you. So I hope you got a good laugh from that strange sculpture. :)
Still some busy days ahead and things to get done but I'm hoping to have some time to work on my handmade gifties. Here's hoping the eggnog is strong enough.

HolyCowChristmasIsInTwoWeeks

Sorry for my lack of posting the past few days. Lots going on...
Our house is currently under mild construction as we're installing new TV's and cables and receivers blah-blah-blah everywhere... something Scott has wanted to do for over a year (he says is now his Christmas present). We even have a spiffy new built-in cabinet going in the main room so if you see remnants of destruction lingering in photos, that is why.
I've also been moving files from my old computer to a new one (hooray for freelance work!)... my iTunes library alone took over 5 hours to transfer. That is normal, right? Toooootaly. PS- External hard drives are the bomb. They are, like, the new black. I have so much media with my music, photo's, etc. and it didn't even put a dent in my modest box. It's a great holiday prezzie for any techie you love! Can you see me selling this in a big 50's ball gown with white gloves? "Buy Today!"
In addition to all this I've been cleaning out more closets and purging toys...all this overhauling is contagious and keeps spilling into new areas of my house. I actually had room in my downstairs closet for hiding most of 'Santa's' goods. Nice. But you know what? These accomplishments come with a price and some suffering has occurred. Tons of laundry to do, I'm behind on gift preps and haven't started my Christmas cards yet. I also want to make one gift for each of my kids this year and Scotty.... um yeah... with all the time I have. This is what I do! I have a list of things to get done and I go dust the ceiling fan, remember?

Anyway, the pictures. We finally put up our tree as we had to wait for some of this work to get done before it could go up. I think the bottom half looks especially cheery-they put 3 or 4 ornaments on single branches. We're starting to bust out our favorite Christmas tunes, dance around and watch Holiday movies. I feel like the Christmas spirit is starting to settle in.

One funny thing I have to add so I don't forget.
In addition to Christmas music, the kids keep asking me to play the song "Move It" from Madagascar (I'm serious, people- the first one was okay, but the second one was hee-larious. Go see it). So I downloaded the song and they all dance around like monkeys. But there we were, me and the twins on our way home one morning from dropping Elliet off at school and Sadie is preaching to me...
Sadie: "Mom... when they say 'we like to pahty, pahty', he means it like a party, like a parade, right?"
Mom: "Yes, that's right...." (waiting for the 'other' meaning.....)
Sadie: "Mecause it sounds like he's singing "Potty potty" like when you...havetogotothebathroomMOMINEEDTOGOPEEPEE!!!!!!"

Dude. You have GOT to be kidding me. The girl hears the word and it causes a Pavlov trigger. Classic.

The Weather Made Me Do It

We had a little rain on Sunday night which helped motivate me to get moving early Monday morning (Well, that and all the seasonal goodies I've been eating/making/eating lately). Once I stepped out of my car in the dark gravel lot and smelled the damp sage air, I was really glad I went. It was one of the most beautiful runs ever. There was this great low ceiling of cloud cover that started to fade by the time I finished, but it made for a fabulous sunrise. Check out the pics if you are interested. I didn't edit any of them so you could see for yourself how real it all was. I only wish I could get some of the 'fall' tones from the plants... they turn deep rich colors after the rain. Anyway, enjoy!
PS- if you click on the bottom right corner of the page, follow the link to see the pics bigger

Call Me Weird

...I already know this.
Lately we've Tivo'd some old school Scooby Doo episodes for the kids and this came on. It's a short film made using an old Johnny Quest board game and I thought it was so cool. I kept the recording to show Scott and now we've been Tivoing some of these episodes. Cool old sixties art. Anyway, this film is really creative- I wish the quality was better on this YouTube version but it was all I could find. And don't forgot your sound- the music is great, too.... especially when Doc is punching in slo-mo- the flute is lights out! :) Rich, I think we need to collaborate and make something like this. You in?

Me Wanty

Design Within Reach should really be called "Design Not Quite Within Reach". But they still have some really cool, albeit smaller items that one can obtain and I want these.
A good tape dispenser is one of those things that has to be just right- heavy so you don't pull it along with the tape and sharp enough so you can tear it away without wrinkling and pulling so it will stick to your childrens mouth better.






And these routed, wood tops are SO COOL! There are five or so of them and look like art. And, well, it's like paying for art because they are not cheap. Still fun.

Have A Holly Jolly

So December is here! I feel like it has crept up on me this year and am still trying to get into holiday mode. Despite this, I took advantage of the great weekend weather and put up our Christmas lights. More and more neighbors are putting theri lights up and I love it. It's so friendly and fun. The brighter the neighborhood, the better. Even if they are all ghetto like mine with bulbs burned out and ending too early before the roof stops. Soon we'll take car rides with the kids and scope out what people have done. PS- The nostalgic girl in me nearly bought a big, plastic Santa figurine for my yard....not only is it a storage problem but it's probably tacky. Yes? No? What about thick rolls of white batting on my lawn?

Anyway, as we've been getting things decorated and up, the kids are remembering more and more traditions that go along with it. Gingerbread houses is one of them. And hey, I like cookies so we did some already. I made the dough (this is the best, btw- I use it every year) and used the molds from WS to make the pieces. Um... yeah. It might have been a great idea, but these need some modification. Modification which I am more than happy to help with. The little slots don't fit together no matter how careful you are when you slide that dough on the sheet to bake. So I ate them off. Each one. Yup. It was way good. I ate them and slapped the royal icing on there and they held together just fine and dandy. Elliet and Luke had fun decorating (and then eating) them. Sadie, as you can see in the picture, did not finish her dinner so her's is still naked, waiting to be adorned today... or eaten by me. Nothing is safe in this house. Ah... the holidays....

(I especially like how both kids have frosting on their faces)

They Are Like Cute Cousins

Okay, okay... I know this diminishes my maturity level a little bit but I came across these on someone's blog and couldn't help myself. I think these pictures ran in a recent issue of Vanity Fair (?) and thought they were some of the best. And now that we've all seen the thing, it's fun to see pictures post Twilight.
I think I have perhaps four male readers (S, Christian, Rich and Mark (Mark-I miss your comments btw!)) which will find this post tiresome, so by all means, move along.
Now female friends... let's discuss this a bit. Um, the black and white pic is great, no? I think Rob Pattinson looks esp. good here. I also thought Jasper was hot in the movie, more so than Emmet... probably because the skinny, interesting boys intrigue me more than the husky jock with his dorky hat sideways... and sweet sweet Jacob (on both pages)! I thought he was really well cast and think he'll mature quiet nicely... like a fine wolfish red wine. Even James. Is it those slightly whiskered chins? (okay-probably not on Jacob since he's, like, 11)
Now, page 2? Aside from another great image of Jacob, this is one of the LAMEST things I have seen. What's up with the shirt off and red dripping from Emmet's mouth? "How can you resist me and my alluring stare into your soul?" I'll tell you how- you look like a dork. This is the very reason men have a right to joke about this story/movie. Well, that and the fact that I am a grown woman in my thirtees and still swiped the pics and blogged about them.
I admit, that is pathetic. And...you're welcome. :)