May Pigs Fly in 2012!

Dream Big.  Believe the impossible is Possible!  

Happy New Years Eve Everyone!

Till next year... 

-m-

It's A Sweet Goodbye

bye-bye sweet tree

Yesterday I removed all the ornaments and lights, and Rhett and I wrapped our 2011 tree in a sheet, hauled her down the stairs, and back to the great outdoors.  Well, out to the sidewalk to wait for the Boy Scouts to come along and pick her up.  It's kind of sad when you put it that way. As I was packing away the ornaments, I spent extra time admiring the new 2011 ornament additions, and snapped some pics to share.

  This one is my very very favorite:

from Rhett to me.

How absolutely darling is that!?
He banked on my saying Yes when he had this made, before the proposal .  :)
Needless to say, this one got a few extra layers of bubble wrap.
I just love it.

from me to Rhett

He's the Ying to my Yang
when I saw this in Maui earlier this year,
 I grabbed it and tucked it away

from me to Tristen

we went to Maui in May.
I love how this ornament has the date we were there on it

from me to T

a surfing Santa.  I couldn't resist.  Another Maui find.

from Rhett to Tristen.

Isn't that cute!!  I love love how it is personalized, with the year.

from my co-worker Sandee

she knows how I love my Starbucks.  :) 

from Heidi

how adorable is that!  I love how it is so sparkly, unique, and the trendy owl!
I have secretly been harboring an obsession with the owl trend.

from Tiff.

Heidi, Tiff and I started a Supper Club earlier this year,
and Tiff found the perfect little ornament in honor.

Tiff is also the reason I actually took the plunge into Blog World!!
I will always owe her for this amazing medium of self expression I have become a part of.

Click here to meet Tiff yourself at her blog: In My Hindsight!

Our 2011 tree will live forever.
I love that we will always have a piece of her.
{the how-to here!}

I'd rather remember her this way.
She was a beauty.
Our 2011 Christmas Tree.

-m-

WIW ~ And Just Can't Take Off

my very favorite thing.  A VS pink and red box.

Rhett asked me what I wanted for Christmas

 and I told him something, anything from Victoria's Secret.

And this is what was inside that red and pink box.. 

A Black PINK Hoodie Sweatshirt! 

Seriously, is or is not a cute Hoodie the best thing in the whole entire world?  I L.OV.E it.  As I looked back at pictures of this week, I realized that I have worn it every.single.day.  Poor thing deserves a day off!  

ps.  Rhett said he went to VS and chose the item that he thought I would wear the most.  How Sweet and Unselfish is THAT!!?  :)  

Sunday.
Christmas Day.
As soon as I opened it, I put it on.  

Monday.
At Timberline Lodge.

ps.  See that folder in Rhett's hand?
That is a Wedding Guide for holding your Nuptials at Timberline.
It is officially the Dream Location for our wedding.  !!!

Later Monday.
At the Skyway Bar and Grill.
ZigZag, Oregon
Where we met.

Tuesday.
Still rocking the Pink while I untangled the Christmas lights

Right now.
As I blog.
Still wearing the Black PINK.

At this rate.
It may never come off.

-m-

Can't wait to see what all of you have been wearing this week!

Linking to Lindsey's WIW Party Here!

And with Marissa, Here!

It's Tippy Tuesday!

Does untangling Christmas lights make you see Red???

ME TOO!

Today's Tippy Tuesday Tip:

Save yourself some next Christmas sanity

 and before you pack away those lights this year ~ 

Strap em on some Cardboard!! 

Cut up a cardboard box and double it up

Cut a slit in the top

Put one end of the cord into the slit

Wrap the lights around and around the cardboard

Cut a slit on the opposite end of first slit and put the end of the strand in it

Christmas Light Untangling Insanity Avoided!

-m-

Brown Eyed Babies

well.

what?

whatever.

my niece Boston

Poor Boston was out of sorts by the time she got to Nana's house for the family celebration yesterday. Even on Christmas, a girl has her limits and needs a nap.  We did manage to tie her down for a quick shot of all the grand babies.. take a look at all these Big Brown Eyes.

[tid bit bout me: I am the only one of six kids, and 5 grand kids that have followed, that does not have big brown eyes.  I have green ones.]

Boston. Ryan.  Drew.  Brooklyn.  Tristen
Brown Eyed Babies.

we lost Boston for this pic.. 

my brown eyed, little but bigger than me, brother Shane

Brown eyed Brooklyn and our Blue eyed Jani

my beautiful brown eyed sister Melissa

Mel and her brown eyed girls, Brooklyn and Boston

Brown eyed B and me.

[see my Ring on B's finger?  i shared.  For about 90 seconds and then i made her give it back!]

big brown eyed Brooklyn

big and brown eyed Brooklyn & Ryan.

MY brown eyed boy ~ Tristen

10 day old Drew.  

Will Drew's eyes be brown like daddy's,

or blue like mommy's? 

I can't wait to see!

-m-

From My Clan To Yours

Merry Christmas!!!

-m-

The Eve Of Christmas

the last car in the parking lot
Target.  Bend, Oregon
Christmas Eve

My Mother had a last minute gift inspiration, so we headed to Target at 7pm on Christmas Eve to print TWO HUNDRED and EIGHTY-EIGHT pictures. It took just over Two Hours.  Lordie Lord.  But Mother had her wish, and got to give each of us a photo album of our 2011 Summer Fam Reunion for Christmas.

Late afternoon, my brother Shane called with a Christmas surprise ~ he and his family were in town!  Shane and my sister-in-law Jani had their second baby boy 10 days ago, and I'd yet to meet him, so I was over the moon ecstatic to head over to Jani's parent's home to see the family and meet my newest nephew, Drew Matthew.

Shane. Jani. Ryan. & baby Drew.
isn't he a doll.
and doesn't Jani look FAB!

As a surprise, Jani's family converted the old cistern under their house into a Dream Wine Cellar for Jani's dad as his gift.  They cut a door into the concrete, dried it completely out, and the day after Thanksgiving, they sent dear ol dad down to man their family store while the rest of the family converged for the cellar transformation.  In 8 hours they used their creative juices to create an Amazing Wine Cellar.  It is Rustic, and so warm.  We all hung out, caught up, and shared some Christmas Cheer together in the Cellar.  It was beyond fabulous.

The wine racks are made from wood pallets.  

Jani's brother took canvas, an old phone book, and some black paint and made these two pieces.  Jani's parents' name and number from the phone book is on one of the pieces.

The lounge under the art is the slab of concrete they cut out to create the door into the cistern. 

They took old tree stumps to create side tables and spray painted the top silver.

The bark on one of the tables came off in a big piece, with a hole where a knot in the wood had been. They sprayed it with silver paint and hung it on the wall.

Rhett rocking my new hat I found while shopping the boutiques earlier in the day.

my Mother and her newest grand baby

The electric fireplace isn't just for looks ~ it actually gives off heat!

how precious is that baby

Jani's brother and his wife had a little girl, just a few weeks older than baby Drew.  Two Christmas babies!  

I spent most of Christmas Eve afternoon with Rhett, downtown Bend, shopping Bend's Fantastic Boutiques.  There is one shop in particular that I l.ov.e.  They sell things made by local Etsy Artists, local merchants, and Vintage items.  I found a vintage looking, handmade crocheted hat made by a 78 year old local woman that I just fell in love with. The most fabulous thing were the sales women that told me all about her, how involved she is in the community, and what a wonderful lady she is. It made it so personal to know a little about the creator.

"What Lola Wants"
how flippin cute is that for a shop name!?

Christmas Shopping Success!

come come come Christmas
we are ready!


-m-