2012, a year in review

home school

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home study

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home purchased

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utah

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idaho

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portland

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19 quilts completed

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9 pairs of pajamas, made to order

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5 dresses, made to order

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6 skirts, made to order

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loaded questions

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dear spencer. we miss you terribly.

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dear walt mc/ you are greatly missed.

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new member of the mini van club

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primary presidency

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ensign ranch

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boise temple open house

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boise temple dedication (sans parents)

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disneyland and california adventure (sans kids)

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38,456 minutes on dedra's cell phone

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3,973 texts from dedra's cell phone

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many summer days at the lake

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5k run for virtue

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crab bake

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ryan moved to idaho

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garen moved back to the pnw

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no major illnesses

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anna can ride her bike!

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matthew got his braces off!

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nicole is in high school!

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ken didn't wreck any cars!

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dedra canned!

it was a great year. i hope yours was too.

finish it up friday

i have more finishes from christmas, but these two are my favorites. my kids' handmade gift this year were giant pillows. i totally copied the idea from here. nicole and matthew's pillows are 36" square. anna's is 28" square. they have been a hit!

my last finish is a doll quilt. a mini version of the quilt, up, up, and away quilt from sunday morning quilts. i really love it and my favorite part is the quilted umbrella in the bottom right hand corner. it measures 25" square.

this post is linked up to cmq's finish it up friday. thanks for leap blogging my way!

dear cotton headed ninny muggins,

just in case you were wondering, there's only

8 more days until Christmas!

maybe that tree can eat this elf...

is anyone else tired of their elf on the shelf?

*picture number 1 is brought to you by my sister gina.

*picture number 2 is dedicated to my friend, amy, who dislikes loves nothing more about the holiday season than seeing pictures of posed elves on their shelves. 

*yes. our elf, harvey, is riding the damn chicken.

finish (ish) it up friday

so this post is kind of a cheater finish it up friday.  you see, i have finished procrastinating and i am finishing my christmas sewing projects. here are my wips that will be finishes before christmas. i am sharing them with you all so i can hold myself accountable.

matthew finished wearing braces.

 nice safety glasses.

 i finished organizing my game closet.

i did not make this blanket, but i want to!!

here are my blocks i started. each hexagon took me 30 minutes to make. i am hating and loving this.

there you have. a cheater finish (ish) it up friday. thanks for stopping bye.

this post is linked up with cmq finish it up friday.

my two cents...or a quarter.

[although this may appear to be a duplicate to those reading by email or on google reader, it is not. i added enough to warrant reposting. you're welcome.]

• today i gave matthew [and my dad] a lesson on 2 bits, 4 bits, 6 bits, a dollar. i'm sure they were glad for it.
• that lesson reminded me of one of my favorite songs by roger miller. 

• now matthew knows what an 8 x 12, 4 bit room is.
• this lead my to two 'two bit' quotes...

swindlin' two bit thimble rigger.

auctioneer: how much are you willing to pay for this guy? 

old lady: i got two bits!

auctioneer: sold to the lady for 25 cents!

just in case you didn't know, the term two bits, comes from the spanish dollar, known as a piece of 8. this was a common u.s. currency during the colonial period. it took 8 spanish coins (or bits) to make that dollar. when the us currency changed from 1/8 of a coins (one bit) to quarters, the term stayed. 2 bits, 4 bits, 6 bits, a dollar. and now you know...the rest of the story. [and knowing is half the battle.]

merry monday!

in which i find out how much fabric i really have.

have you ever read those fabric blogs where people keep track of how much fabric they have in their stash, how much they use each week, month and year, as well as how much they add to their stash each week, month and year? {do you like my super long sentence?] i have read a few of those through out the last few years and yesterday i came across another one. at the moment i began to wonder how much fabric i have in my stash. i have maintained for a while that i probably have about 200 yards of fabric. i know that is a lot to some people and barely a dent to others. last night i started to inventory my fabric. i finished today, it took me about 4 hours. here is the verdict.

closet #1

fabric on bolts which are located on the closet listed above

closet #2

.

i also have an 18 gallons bin full of yardage and i folded and put away a 

bunch of fabric that was on my fabric table. neither are shown in photo.

total count

419 yards.

i have problems.

good idea, bad idea [thursday edition]

good idea: graciously accept a gift, even if you think it's lame.
alright idea: regift said gift to someone you think is equally lame.
bag idea: regift lame gift to equally lame person, in front of the giver of the gift.
dedra-guilty.

good idea: watching a movie your enjoyment and recreation.
bad idea: rewatch same movie over and over, hoping for a different ending.
good idea: therapy.
dedra-guilty. [i was 7 or 8 years old]

lightbulb: there should be choose your own adventure movies. i'm going to write to steven spielberg and tell him. while we are on the subject of movies, i also think there should be disney mash up movies. the little mermaid and finding nemo for instance. who would win if ursula took on bruce? between dori and skuttle, there could be a whole new world of stories.  someone get on it!

i digress.

good idea: fabric shopping.
bad idea: fabric hoarding.

good idea: getting a second job at a fabric store to occupy your time.
bad idea: spending more money at said fabric store than you make working there.
good idea: quitting your second job at the fabric store.
gina -guilty

good idea: go to disneyland
better idea: go to disneyland without your kids.
bad idea: get a terrible 24 hour bug the day you fly out to disneyland. [i felt better the next morning.]
ken & dedra-guilty...but not guilty. it was so fun!

hillbillies

this is me and my friend, carie. i love her. and our fake teeth.

for gina. and amy. and linda mc.

on my birthday

gina and i went to the library.  she took a long time.

 then she tried to recycle me.

 then she fell asleep while eating bean dip.

best lady date ever.

ryan's love note [written on his sky light]

lame equals awesome. i am awesome.

My time with Gina [10-22 to 10-26]

when spencer passed away i went to utah with gina and stayed with her until after his funeral. here are a few things we did while i was there.

dressed like a 'special' pirate

cookie smiles [and mustaches]

we tried long arm quilting. [i will own a long arm quilter one day. one day.]

we went to 5 fabric stores. here are some of my buys.

we made tiny quilt blocks using the paper piecing method.

we ate lunch at vivint [where gina works] everyday. it was like eating at a restaraunt. every day.

this photo is evidence of 100% insanity. the little boat, which has 8 pieces, is only 1 inch square. i love it.

most poorly sewing pin cushion ever. this is good for throwing at people named gina.

i made 5 of these blocks.

one more of spencer...for gina.

i was going through my camera and phone and came across pictures i don't know if gina has seen yet. these are for her. and you if you're interested.

spencer's final words to matthew. this was the last time i saw him alive.