Yes Virginia...

Christmasy Things

I am still acting like a baby when it comes to my Christmas decor and lack of style. But I am trying to not care and focus just on the things I like, never mind how they don't all gooooooo together.
These pine cones were one of the projects I did with the Parry girls when they all came out. Then I did them again with the girls down in Loomis. Then again last night, by myself. I really like how they look. They are simple and earthy, cheap and when grouped all together they look good. They aren't my favorite displayed with some my Santas but that is the best I can think of at this point. (I am open to other suggestions.)


I watched Martha do it here.

Sorry I am so bad at taking pictures.

My next project was something I really like. I like it because I would like more stuff like this around my house, vintage (or fake vintage looking) type stuff.

I found this fabric last year, after Christmas and I loved it. Didn't know what I was going to do with it, but like I said, I really liked it. Sometime during the year I thought it would be fun to make a Christmas banner, like the Happy Birthday banner I made, but for Christmas.

The fabric already had these images in squares, so I just cut them out, along with another square in the same size from the polka dot fabric, put the right sides of the fabric together, stitched around 3 sides, flipped it right side out, quilted a little around the image, then put them all on a package of bias tape. Easy peasy.

The reindeer is my favorite.

Then the last of my new favorite things is the nativity I bought this year.

I have been looking and looking and looking for a good nativity. I feel kinda "meh" about all of them for some reason. But I did remember Barb having a cute Little People's Nativity. (and boy does she have a lot to choose from) So if I couldn't find one that I just loved, why not get one we can all play with?

And I think Little People are pretty cute. (please note I am talking about the Fisher Brand people here and not real live little people, thought they are great too)

Looks like a shepard is standing in for Joseph, he is was too tan.

An often over-looked figurine, the innkeeper.

I see the danger in loosing some pieces with them so accessible this way, ie. where the heck is Joseph?, but we have been playing with it every night and Layla can retrieve most of the figurines if I ask for them by name. We'll work on the actually story next year.

Root Canal Tuesday

Don't worry, it was way more fun than it sounds.

And I'm not just talking about the seven-hundred dollar price tag or the four round trips I get to make to the dentist for this one tooth.

I have gained a wealth of knowledge and I am only on appointment one.

By the end of this experience I am confident that I will be able to take care of my families' root canal needs the next time this issue comes up.

We started a new dentist here in Tahoe.

Cute little operation. Wife works the front desk and develops the x-rays. Husband is the dentist/ heigentist/ assistant/ teacher.

I wanted to make a good first impression so I brought my daughter with me to my appointment. John had to work, and I had a major tooth ache. I was at a loss of one person I could ask. So I took a lot of snacks and the DVD player and really wasn't too worried about it. I can understand if they don't like other people's annoying children running everywhere, but Layla is cute. Who wouldn't want her around?

So the receptionist showed me where to sit. There is ONE dental chair in this joint. One.

I put Layla in the corner set her up and had a seat.

Then the dentist came in and his remark was, "We really aren't equipped for babysitting."

I knew Layla would be fine, but it just made me nervous that he was nervous.

But she did really good. Around the twenty minute mark she wanted to sit with me, which was fine because by that point he had already diagnosed the problem and I was on my way back up to the full and upright position.

And as he was explaining the root canal process to me he made sure to mention the appointments where Layla would be welcome to come and others, like the third one where I will be in the chair for three hours, where it might be good to schedule on John's day off.

But they were really nice. It has a small-town-Tahoe feel to it. And it's a little old. The light thingie that shines in your face was made the same year and month that I was born.

Don't know if he found that little fact annoying when I pointed it out to him, but I was just sayin'...

Today was round one and I was with him all the way. I didn't have any 'close my eyes and die' thoughts like I used to because I was so into what he was doing and how things were coming along.

John went in for a cleaning after I was finished, we switched kid watching in the waiting room. His gums were all bloody but he was cavity free- dang him.

No, actually it's good. Because after this one tooth is done I have four other fillings that need replacing. Awesome possom.

All I want for Christmas is all new teeth.

Monday

AM

PM

Sugar Cookies - check
Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies- check
Left to make: Swedish Wafers and Magic Cookies


At the risk of being cliché, it really is the most wonderful time of year.

It's all gone

My hair that is.

Look.

Crystal did it.

It was an impulse thingie. Which is SO not like me. But after that first big cut. It ain't no thang.

But seeing myself from this view, I feel like it needs something...

Yes. This new do gives me attitude. I need to start wearing sunglasses 24/7. It's my new thing.

But they may throw my other features out of wak with things as they are. Just a little color here and...

Not too shabby.

But don't know if the sweatshirt is really the thing that highlights the new do and gives it all the glory it deserves.

That's much better.

Much.

But it still needs one more thing.

Perfect.

So there is my new do... and my new attitude.

Please note that I do not support or encourage smoking but Hyatt pens as props I'm cool with.

my cute girl who won't smile and look at the camera... and her blankie

Our Tree

I was going to deem our tree the most fragrent of 2009, but after the four days it has been in our house, I can't smell it anymore. Dang.

But that first day... oh man did it smell like Christmas up in here.

Last Wednesday we went and bought our tree permit (10 bucks!) and set out to find our perfect little tree.

Now I remember writing about how if you choose to go this route of obtaining a Christmas tree, you need to lower your standards... a lot.

Turns out Mother Nature doesn't produce perfect Christmas trees. That is what tree farms are for, or the Smith and Hawkins catalog.

The first place we parked and walked around was a total dud. Layla enjoyed walking around with Dad though.

I love this one.

She was smart to wear her boots, my stupid Vans made my toes freeze. We were about to just settle and get the ugliest, non uniform tree closest to the car. Conditions were not ideal. Remember my cold toes? AND I was really hungry. But we decided to drive to another spot and keep looking.

How do kids know to eat snow?

The map the Tahoe Forestry people gave us, was kinda hard to follow but we drove to this place, got out, and looked around again to see if anything here would work. Well we found one, but it may or may not have been within 100 feet of a residence. (that's one of the rules) Luckily John is really strong and can cut a tree down quick-fast so no one is the wiser... or madder.

Layla loves the tree.

It stayed on the car the whole way home.

Of course we had to trim 'her down once we got home, but the lights went up, as did the Hawaiian ornaments, and BOOOOOOOOOOOOYA it's officially Christmas time.

Watching Elf and waiting for Mom to be done with the lights.

Also last year at this time my baby girl was not mobile. So having the ornaments start two feet above the ground is a look I will have to get used to.

Kitchen Update

So this morning I got a call from the second company I ordered the kitchen from. The same company who called yesterday to tell me they were out of stock. When they called and told me that, I told them to just cancel my order all together. But today when the guy called he said that he was sorry and they weren't able to cancel my order before MY ITEM SHIPPED!!!

I said, "Are you kidding me?"

He said no sorry, just refuse delivery when they bring it and they will send it back to us.

I got crazy excited. I had him repeat to me about four more times that yes, they are shipping me the kitchen and it should be here in about a week.

I have never been so blessed for being slightly frugal in my life. $177 man!

BUT being let down and disappointed so many times, I am still skeptical. Either it hasn't really shipped OR the wrong kitchen is going to be delivered. This company didn't give me a tracking number... or an email confirmation.

I am crossing my fingers for A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE! ! !

Also there was a little victory dance that had to be done.

Hell's Kitchen. The Kitchen from Hell. or Lucifer is CEO of the Kidkraft company

So let me just blog this, release it out into the universe, heal, and then move on.

I have been planning on getting Layla a kitchen for Christmas for quite some time now. Probably right around the time I found out I was having a girl, I started searching.

The obvious choice is the adorable pink Pottery Barn Retro kitchen, but who am I, Rockefeller?
I found this one on Amazon a few months back.

A few things about this kitchen.
#1. It's frickin' adorable.
#2. Lots of doors to open and close, since that is her favorite thing to do in my kitchen, these are a must.
#3. It's compact. All the appliances are there, they are just in Ikea-living-in-322-square-feet-form.
#4. It's only $130 dollars, and for a wood kitchen, it ain't bad.
#5. It's red. Since red is in my own kitchen's color scheme, it was the last and final sign that this kitchen was made for me... I mean Layla. Layla would love this kitchen.

So I knew what I wanted but I decided to wait.

That is the biggest regret of my whole 28 years of life. Waiting.

We still weren't, actually aren't, sure about where we will be celebrating Christmas. John still hasn't got the go ahead to leave for the holiday so we might be heading down the mountain to Loomis. And actually I am fine with being in Utah for Christmas, unlike my first Christmas away from home where I cried myself to sleep, but this year I just want Layla to have the red kitchen when she wakes up Christmas morning, our location is irrelevant. But we still don't know where we are going to be, so I was waiting to know so I could know where to ship the kitchen.

Last week I looked up the kitchen, for the millionth time, on Amazon.

They had gone up about fifty dollars since I last checked.

AND Amazon doesn't sell them, but they have independent websites that do.

Flash forward to black Friday. John gets caught up in the spirit of things, and ends up paying 210 dollars for the kitchen and has it shipped to our house in Incline. I figure, we will just take it with us wherever we end up. John was figuring we will just give it to her early or later, since she doesn't know the difference. It's times like these where it is so clear how polar opposite we really are.

So it was more that we originally thought, but it was in the mail and I was happy.

Then yesterday the company called and said they were OUT OF STOCK.

I wasn't too worried when I started my online search but soon came to be once I had realized that everybody was OUT OF STOCK.

There was one left on Amazon and they were charging 289 dollars.

There is also one on ebay for just as much, plus shipping.

I stumbled over one for 2 70 and I whipped out my credit card.

It must have been the hours I spent hunting this thing down, but numbers had lost most of their meaning and I was ready to buy it.

But as I was entering my expiration date from my credit card, a little voice entered my head, and it sounded freakishly like John, but it said, "Lindsey that is silly, and you know it."

It started off at $130 and will most likely drop back down in January. It is only a few weeks after Christmas. Do you really want to waste 140 dollars for a little girl who has no concept of time?!

So I called my mother, knowing full well that her past Christmas-impossible-present-finding experience could make me complete the transaction with a clear conscious. (Her resume is quite impressive: Cabbage Patch in '83. Furby's in '99. Wii in '06.)

Well she didn't answer.

Then I called Marissa. She has all girls, and already owns her adorable kitchen (see pottery barn picture) and she's thrifty. She hits black Friday every single year. Surprisingly, she wasn't that much help, she had compelling arguments for both sides.

Called Brie. She said wait until January.

Called Chels. She said wait until January.

OK. Fine. I knew in my mind I should wait. But my heart, and the spirit of Christmas, was telling me the opposite.

I just had such a vivid picture of Layla waking up to this awesome kitchen. I wasn't going to get her one other thing. This kitchen WAS Christmas.

And now, what have I got?

I have looked at other ones. I am not settling. I don't know why I can't, but it is not happening.

I think there is something wrong with me.

I decided that a fair thing would be to set a price limit.

200 dollars. If I found it for under 200 I would get it.

After a couple more hours of searching I found one.

Never heard of the company. Website looked shady. Oh you want my credit card number, here you go. $177 people. free shipping. booyah!

But after hours of searching I felt like it was too good to be true. So I called the customer service number to confirm. He told me he was pretty sure he had them in stock. I totally had the crazed-Christmas-shopper-persona going and I told him that I would need a little bit more reassurance for me to sleep at night. He said he would call me the following day after he contacted the manufacturer.

He called today. No kitchen.

Back to the computer. I was just praying to stumble upon some small warehouse somewhere who had one in the back. Someone who didn't have to contact the manufacturer, because heaven knows they don't have any.

Three hours in front of the computer. Countless phone calls to sites who don't update the status on their toys and in reality they are out of stock.

I hate those three words.

All this work. All this heartache, for sixty dollars over my price point?!

But now it's about my principles.

Without paying more money I don't know what else I can do, but pray. And you know by this point I have no shame about doing so.

Just Chillaxin'