That's My Girl!

For the second year in a row my niece Anna Kathleen has made the cut!  She is just too stinkin' cute!

Anna in Parenting 2008

Anna in Parenting 2009

Coasters and Burp Clothes

I actually have a lot of things to blog about.  Joel and I have been super super busy!  When are we not?  But I thought I would do a quick post to show you all something I made recently!


I recently took a stab at making quilted coasters for my secretarys birthday gift.  Sue always makes me something for my birthday. In the past she has made me two sets of earings and my last birthday she made me a beautiful bracelet.  I wish she sold her stuff online so you guys could all enjoy it. I actually had her make me a pair of pear earings to match a necklace my husband bought me.  :-)  She is so talented.  She even made jewlery for a whole bridal parties.  The cool thing she also does is makes the boxes she puts the jewlery in.  Se is a skilled lady at origami and makes beautiful boxes for her masterpieces. 

This year's bday present

Last year's bday present.

The earings she made me to match my necklace.

Here are the coasters....

I also made some burp clothes for my friends baby (the one I made the quilt for)!  These were fun to make.  I'm not happy because the set is not all pink.  I ran out of time and wanted to do pink ribbon, but I made a purple one made a long time ago, so I just threw it in there.  They are so easy and fun to make and are great gifts.

I've always thought about making some blog posts tutorials on how to make some of the things I'm venturing into.  I love how other people blog about their creations and share how to do it.  However, like the way I cook, I look at the directions and then wing it myself. :-)

Elementary Days

Everyone seems to be reconnected with their friends on Facebook. I've found old High School friends, College friends I've lost touch with, and even friends I've made through other church connections. But recently, I've been receiving friend requests from my Elementary School friends. It has been awesome. I moved after Bloomfield, NJ when I was going into 7th grade. So I actually was able to graduate from Elementary School there and then move NY for middle school. Back then I kept in touch with a few which then dwindled down to one. Last week there was a Brookdale Elementary School reunion about 40 minutes away from where we live now. So, spontaneous me (hahah) decided I should go and see everyone. We had a great time. We talked for hours and reminisced about teachers, kids we haven't seen for a while, funny things, softball games, birthday parties, and of course what we were doing now. I'm looking forward to seeing them all again.

The Girls

Class of 1995...atleast those that showed up :-)

Now for funny pictures of me in Elementary School...

My softball days

 Me and my favorite teacher, Ms. Booth

       My best friend Anna from Elementary School's wedding Last September

My attempt at creativity!

For a while now I've been baking and cooking for fun. I love it and it's relaxing for me. I love cooking for other people. It is fun to do things for people that I know they will enjoy and especially make their bellies happy. I've recently been trying to get a little more creative with my cooking, but especially with my baking. In the past I've made several cakes for my nieces' and nephew's birthday parties, which has been really cool. My niece always has special requests. :-)

Eliza's 2nd Birthday - M & M Butterfly Cake

Eliza's 3rd Birthday Party at the Carousel in Central Park - Carousel Cake

Hudson's 1st Birthday - Number 1

Just recently, my very good friend was having her god daughter's dedication and wanted to do cupcakes for the party after. She was worried she wouldn't have time etc, so I offered to do it for her. I made 60 cupcakes, but not just any cupcakes...marshmallow flowered cupcakes. They were so much fun to make. It took me about 5.5 hours from start to finish. AHH...but how cute are they???

People at the party loved them so much that someone asked my friend if I would make them for a baby shower the next weekend and they would pay me! WOOHOO...So I made more cupcakes for the next weekend. So much fun :-)

Hungry now?

The Search is on!!

Since my beloved Dog Cosmo went to doggie heaven the end of June, the debate has been about how long to wait before you get another dog. How long is the grieving process? Is there a dog code? Is this like how long do you have to wait to date again after a break up? (good thing I don't have to worry there)

Putting my dog down was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. He was getting old and losing weight rapidly on top of other on going medical issues. We had to take care of him in the most humane way possible, even though it meant losing him. My parents and Joel stayed in the room with Cosmo till the bitter end. I cried for days after that.

Cosmo was my first dog. We bought him when I was a freshman in High School. We took him home from the breeder on Valentine's Day 1998. My mom, brother, and I all shared him. We shared the love, the responsibility, and the vet bills. Even though he was an expensive little guy he was part of our family and anyone who has lost a dog knows that when you lose a pet it leaves a big hole in your heart.

It's been about two months since then and my husband is constantly sending me links to different dogs. My family is pretty allergic to animals so that really limits our choices and we could never get a dog from the pound because they are never hypoallergenic. :-( but the pound does break my heart.

So the doggy search is on! I have no idea if we are ready for a new dog. I keep telling Joel we can look after we go to Ocean City or after another event is suppose to happen. I guess there is no good time, so we might as well bite the bullet. I once had a friend say, referring to another couple, that a dog is not a good idea as a first child. I beg to differ! Bring on the pooch!

I made the count down as of four days prior to this post because that's really when Joel and I started emailing some sites and people about their dogs. I'm also secretly looking for a dog for my parents as they miss Cosmo so much and are not keen at this point about another dog. But I know I can win them over with some cute little guy!

So we shall see...We'll keep you posted.

Quilting!

Well it seems like my friends just keep having babies! It's so exciting! :-) Congrats to all the new moms out there and the moms to be. So I ran out of gift ideas and decided to start making quilts! I've crocheted in the past a blanket for my niece when I was in college, but I wanted to do something different.

My mom is part of a sewing class on Wednesday nights here at work which is a perfect time because the Hubby places basketball every Wednesday night! And what a perfect mother daughter bonding time! (brownie points please) My wonderful friend Pam is having a little girl the end of August so I decided to make her a quilt. Check it out! :-)

Close Up!

The Front

The back

The quilt!


Here is a beautiful quilt my mom made for my Aunt's birthday. My Aunt Brenda loves butterflies.