This must be just like living in Paradise

I asked my parents for three different books for Christmas. I received all three, plus two more I didn't ask for which look good, too. I'm currently working on Suite Francaise, by Irene Nemirovsky. It's set in German-occupied France in 1940. I'm not loving it, but I had just read a review of it a couple of months ago right before I went shopping in Port Huron, MI (I will only buy books in America until they stop charging $5 more here when the Canadian dollar is at par with the American) and it was on a table with The Kite Runner - buy one get one half price. I wanted The Kite Runner anyway, so I bought the two of them. I read The Kite Runner right away, then it got to be report card time, then I read something else, so I'm just getting around to Suite Francaise now. I also asked my in-laws for three different books, and we haven't done the gift exchange with them yet, so I'm hoping there are a couple more waiting for me. And to top it all off, I received three gift cards from students for a certain big-name chain bookstore, so I have $40 to spend there. Sigh. What more could a reader ask for? Well, maybe a book like The Thirteenth Tale, and unlimited amounts of time to read. With tea and chocolate. Or actually, at this point in the holidays, just tea.

So, dear readers (assuming I have more readers than just Daph, and Jodi), any suggestions on what to spend my $40 on? There is a chick-lit book I've been dying to read since I was pregnant with Rylee, and I've just learned it's on sale for $4.99 at the big-name chain store, but what else should I buy? (Daph - I already looked into the Twilight series, too, and will probably get the first one of those with the gift cards as well)

PS The sacks were a hit. The girls thought they were pretty cool. The elves have already taken them away for next year. The stockings were also finished just in time, with me running upstairs to my sewing machine during commercial breaks during It's A Wonderful Life, which Ryan and I had never seen and therefore watched late Christmas Eve.

I finally figured out...

(it really is a song lyric...We're All in This Together, from High School Musical, which I performed with the grade 7/8 choir at our Christmas assembly on Friday)

It's almost one o'clock in the morning, and I've been working on these stupid stockings for hours...well, quite a while, anyway. I was having serious trouble with my sewing machine, which my mechanically/technologically inclined husband was able to help me with, then I just couldn't figure out how to make them look the way I had imagined them. But third time's a charm...on the third attempt, I succeeded! I just ran downstairs with the completed stocking and a big grin to show Ryan, who's watching a movie. He was appropriately happy for me and proud of me, and I think a little surprised at how well it turned out. Anyway, one down, four to go! Hopefully now that I've figured it out, the rest will go more quickly.

Here and now, it's time for celebration
I finally figured out...

I am strong, I am invincible, I am woman!

One last update on the day before I crash. I ended up going with option 2 and shoveling the driveway. After a few shovelfuls I looked around and said, "This sucks!" But I persevered, and managed to clear the entire driveway, including the pile left by the plow. When I talked to Ryan as he was on his way home, he asked if the plow had been by. When I said yes, he said, "Oh, that'll be fun when I get home," at which point I had the pleasure of informing him that he has the best wife in the whole world. He was happy.

I took the girls to gymnastics tonight and used some of the time to read, which I haven't done much lately. And once all the kiddles were sound asleep, I managed, in collaboration with Ryan, to create the template for the stockings and cut out three of them. I decided that's enough for tonight. I'm now either going to bed, or going to have a bath and then go to bed. I doubt I'm getting my snow day tomorrow, so I should rest up, but I think my muscles would thank me for the bath. Not sure when I'll get to the stockings, since no more snow days seem likely this week - hopefully I can get some craft time in the evenings. I just won't assign any tests or projects this week :)

I rock!!

I have finished all three sacks for Santa to leave presents in for my girls! They don't know Santa is going to do this - Ryan heard the idea on the radio and, knowing I've been looking for simple sewing projects, suggested it to me. So, if you're someone who might possibly be talking to my kids, don't mention the sacks! And after Christmas, once they know they have the sacks, they still aren't supposed to know who made them. Anyway, they're all done, and I've taken pictures, but as I said, I don't know where the cord is to hook the camera up to the computer, so posting the photos will have to wait until my resident IT guy comes home. I guess I don't totally rock, but in almost every case, almost every time, I do, and that's good enough, right Daph?

I'm very pleased with myself, and am now going to tackle one of two projects:
1) Stockings - when I bought the stuff to make the Santa sacks, I also bought material to make stockings. However, i want to have a sort of template to cut the material, and I'm not sure I'm up to the task of drawing that. I did one on paper, and Ryan mocked me, so maybe I'll just let him do it for me (he's the artist anyway!)
2) The driveway - it really needs to be shoveled, especially the pile at the end left by the snowplow. However, I seem to have done something bad to my back when I first tackled the driveway this morning, so I'm not sure this is a good idea. And IT'S STILL FREAKIN' SNOWING!!!

My one consolation is that maybe the continuing snow will keep the plows busy in town, and they won't get to the rural areas, and the buses will be cancelled again tomorrow. A girl can dream, right?

Walkin in a winter wonderland

So, 25 cm and the snow is still falling (for Daph, Ismail and any other Americans reading this, that's about 2 ft) I know we hardly got anything compared to my friends in Ottawa (can you open your front door yet, Jodi?) but it's quite a bit. Enough that the buses in the rural areas aren't running, which means my rural school is closed for the third time this winter, but Sammie still has school and they're all at the sitter's right now. I walked them over there this morning, because it was pretty and not too cold and they like to walk, and anyway, I didn't want to drive on the driveway before I shoveled it and even if I wanted to, I don't think I could have gotten past the snowbank at the end of the driveway that the plow left there. SO, I walked them over, and then walked back on a completely snow covered path and through knee-deep snow in my backyard. It looked so inviting that I had to drop down into it, whereupon I laughed hysterically, then made a snow angel. And that was so much fun I jumped in it some more and threw it around a bit. Finally I headed back toward the house, making sure to walk through the deepest part of the drift between our house and the house next door. It was good for my soul, I think.

I decided to shovel the driveway next, which may not have been a good idea, as my back now hurts. We'll see if ibuprofen helps. Next up is my Christmas sewing, which may get put off as the sitter just called with Rylee screaming in the background. Poor little thing is, um backed up, to put it delicately, and the sitter wanted to know if I had some prunes or something. I don't. I may need to go get her to spare the sitter listening to the screams of pain. I think I have suppositories but I don't want to go that route :(

Okay, more to come later, I'm sure, hopefully with pictures of my craft space and crafts!

edited to add: The first sack is done! And the sitter called back and said the plumbing has been cleared, so to speak, and the wee one is no longer howling in pain. Unfortunately, I can't find the cord that attaches the camera to the computer, so I can't post the photos I've taken. Maybe later.

I'm so excited!

I was going to say that I was too excited to even think of a song lyric for the title, but then realized that IS a song lyric - thank you Pointer Sisters. I guess I'm too excited to recognize the lyrics!

Anyway, I am excited because I have my very own craft space! Not a whole craft room or anything, but tonight we cleared a spot in the office and dragged up a big ol' table that was always intended to be a craft table but has been sitting mostly unused in the basement. And then Ryan brought up a chair, and I brought up my sewing machine, and some sewing and scrapbooking stuff from the basement, and I'm so excited! Yesterday I bought material to make stockings for all of us, and some to make Santa sacks, in which Santa will leave the kids' presents (shh! they don't know about the sacks!) I was going to set up my sewing machine on the table in the basement, even though I didn't want to be way down there by myself crafting, and Ryan said he was planning to bring the table up as soon as we cleared some boxes from the office. So I cleared them, and now I have a craft space, and I'm so excited about it I'm rambling incoherently. Yay me.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

We decorated the tree and the house last night, and it looks pretty good. We kept all the decorations high so as not to tempt the wee one, and cut back on glass ornaments on the tree out of safety concerns as well. We made a trip to IKEA yesterday (yay!) and while we didn't buy much, I am once more inspired to look at my house and figure out what it needs to make it ours, and to make it a home. Fortunately IKEA is not far away and we weren't late getting back, because we got a LOT of snow last night. Ryan went out to "do a quick shovel" this morning and was out for about an hour! We all ended up outside - Rylee loved the snow, and Sammie and Hailey played with the little boy from next door quite happily.

What else? It's been a long difficult week, with Ryan putting in a lot of overtime. This results in me putting in a lot of overtime as a mommy, and not nearly enough time for me. It's also report card season, and holiday season, of course, both of which require time, effort and action on my part. I'm doing my best. Ryan took Sammie to hockey today and took Hailey with him so I'd get a break, but of course Rylee is waking up now! I still have much to do - laundry will not put itself away, no matter how hard I wish for it, and there is marking and planning to do, and lesson prep, and...I'm getting worn out just thinking about it. Must go get started, and get the bug from her bed before she starts wailing.