Spoons & Stitches

Christmas came early this year to our family. We headed out on Christmas Eve to do some "last minute shopping." I put that in quotes 'cause I really had no need to shop. Michael wanted to grab a few more things and I didn't want to keep the kids home, so we all went to the Superstore. Michael split off while the boys and I went through groceries. Have just had lunch, Connor was still working on his apples and was sitting in the top cart seat. As he finished eating he started wishing random people a Merry Christmas. Connor gave me a look after a few times, kinda like "is that okay, Mom?" I told him immediate to feel free to wish anyone a merry Christmas as long as he's with me. And he did. That boy wished every single person we passed a Merry Christmas! I could see folks who were having a crappy, stressful day just brighten up after Connor's greeting. About 70% of the folks smiled at us and about 70% of those folks wished us one back. I have to say,...

So work is finally over for the year! Great thanks to my editor for meeting with me and working a plan to keep us on track. Now it's time to turn my mind toward preparing for Christmas. I don't mean shopping-I'm done with that really. I'm talking about crafts! The kids are out of school and we need things to do. I'm hoping to find some craft ideas for a table centerpiece the kids can make. Maybe paper angels or something like that. It's also time to restring my guitar. My twelve-string guitar is currently masquerading as an 11-string at the moment and I'm ready to fix that. Oh, and the strings are OLD. So what to do with the old guitar strings? My first thought is jewelry. I love beading, so I think I'll give it a try with the guitar strings. I'm thinking necklaces and bracelets. I've read some ideas such as making flowers, but most of those appear to require heat equipment. I'm going to try and find some time tomorrow to explore the pos...

It's been one of those days for me. Not a bad day. Just one of those days when you look up every hour and think to yourself, "WTF, I just got here five minutes ago!" at 3pm. I'm supposed to be on vacation starting on Wednesday. The kids will be out of school starting that day and someone needs to be home with them. However, when I got in to the office this morning I found my inbox overflowing. I might end up working at home on Wednesday to finish things up in a timely end of the year manner.I got straight to work-despite the plethora of sugary goodness sitting just outside my office-and before I knew it I was getting the alert for my 11am meeting. WTF? I felt like I'd just sat down ten minutes before then. Today was also a very special day for my department. I work in the Business Analytics Documentation department at SAS. That's right-the BAD department. so every year around this time we have what's called "BAD GOODie day." A big table sit...

So today was our Christmas Cantata called Down From His Glory at Union Grove Baptist Church . It's the first one I've ever sung in, so a wonderful experience. My beloved Mother was able to join us for it and that meant so much to me. The winks from Connor didn't hurt, either. lol Everyone was so good and Bea was almost giddy the entire time. I don't think Satan could have peeled the smile from her face with a carrot peeler! The best part was the true message behind it. It's not just what happened, but why. My wonderful mother took us out to lunch afterward and that was great too. We got a little shopping done after that. If you know my family, you know the Christmas season just isn't the same without some Beach Girl shopping. :) We shopped for exchange gifts, boots, coffee, ties and just had fun. All I could think was "this is what it's all about." Time. Time together. You could give me a peanut butter sandwich for Christmas if you just give me ...

So I am forming a theory that what I have is cluster headaches. They seem to hit me every single day for weeks. Then they stop for awhile. When they start up again they keep going for weeks again. IOW, my headaches seem to occur in cycles. Today seems to be day two of the new cycle. I'm keeping track of it here b/c I'm too lazy to do it elsewhere. I have an appointment with a neurologist and headache specialist in January. I don't want her to tell me " go keep a journal" as step one since I've waited so long. My apologies to those who aren't interested. But for those same folks, here's a little update for the day. This morning I headed out to Jackie's place so we could carpool to the women's breakfast. On  the way I had the good fortune to see a family of deer. They were clearly a family, with Dad, mom and two younger fauns. Beautiful as ever and a little hesitant to cross the road. They did though, right in front of me after I stopped on B...

So last month I resurrected a hibernating cross-stitch project. I had set it aside about five years ago after the birth of my second son. That time happens to coincide with when I learned to crochet, so you see what can happen. I pulled it out last month and have been making some great progress on it. I'm almost done with the first of the five large motifs. and I do mean LARGE. Each of these motifs is about the size of any project I have done before, so it will be a long project I think. I am hoping to stay focused on it for this year and maybe have it finished before next Thanksgiving-we'll see. I'd say more, but the intended recipient might be reading. lol (and no, that's not it to the left-that's just a cool one.) In the midst of my joy at being almost done with motif 1, I have been fighting off headaches all day. My doc says she's certain this is all allergy related. Really? Allergies in December? I guess I do miss one thing about New Jersey...an end to ...

Edith Poteat, March 2011 Those of you who know me are aware that my beloved Grandmother, Edith Corinne Winkler Beach Poteat, passed away on November 30. I am happy to consider that she is in a much better and happier place for her. I like to think she's up in Heaven now looking down on all of us, her children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, ready to have the best Christmas ever. For the last few years it has been tough for the grandchildren and great-grandchildren to come see Grandmommie for Christmas. It's tough for all of us to find the time off work or the ability to travel. Grandmommie only got to see those of us who could visit. But this year she can watch all of us at once no matter where we are. While she is not with us physically, she is here in spirit. She is in every holiday thought that I have. Her recipes are being made in my home and in those of my cousins, sister, mother, and entire family. I will enjoy trying to make her chex mix, figuring out ...