Watching a great movie today

Watching a movie, All Dogs Go to Heaven, we got at Wallie World last week on a discount rack. We are being children right now and watching cartoon movies by the fireplace and I'm working on Northanger Abbey sampler while our Abbie (no pun intended) is napping off and on with BG, her fave warm spot.

She says for certain that all dogs go to heaven.

Reflecting on the day after

I slept good last night. Too good. I slept later than usual and guess who sneaked out at the crack of dawn to the After-Christmas sales at Walmart? Yup, Body guard. That man has an X chromosome somewhere and likes to take a sneak peak in those early hours after holidays. Me?
I'm just getting into good sleeping by 5am! ;)
And when 9:30am came around and I hobbled out of bed, he surprised me with a camera case from Walmart that I needed to go with my camera. He thinks of everything. I wish I could be a morning person like this but I am what I am.
We actually had a very good Christmas Day. Interesting day to say the least.
Very quiet and it ended with a fireplace and cozy warmth. Insomnia was not my friend as usual and I can't believe how much R and R recharges the body and mind.
We watched the Weather Channel over coffee this morning and decided to go to Pigeon Forge tomorrow for a couple of days! I'm so excited! I've got my Immodium ready! LOL
We boarded Ren at the Vet; however, they are very used to him after 8 years here and get excited when we bring him once or twice a year. We are taking Miss Abbie with us. Hopefully most places we go will accept pets and she will be bundled in her pink jacket and scarf. She is right now curled tightly in her blanket from Santa after scouring the kitchen floor for any possible Chex Mix crumbs.

I'm just lazing today and watching all the weather pictures of all the snow in many parts of the US. I just watched on TV a man leaping over the rail of his house and flipping in the air, landing in the snow drifts by his house. Doesn't snow just bring out the kid in all of us? ;)


My camera case this morning from BG's morning shopping. He said the store was not crowded at all. Now, I won't be afraid I will drop the camera. I have done that before and oddly, it was at Pigeon Forge last January......strange sounding as I write it......but I dropped it on a kitchen ceramic floor in the hotel and my Kodak never worked again. I cried but the damage was done.

So, here we are almost 2010. Doesn't that sound strange? Gosh, I remember when we all thought the end of the world would occur at 2000. People were storing bottled water and food for 3 months.

Well, back to some R and R, which includes stitching. I need to make my list of specialty threads so I will know what to get at Dixie Darlin. And packing.......remember I take the kitchen sink too! :0

A Big Thank You for a Secret Santa

A Fine Collection by Blackbird Design

In the email late last night, I got a surprise Secret Santa certificate for a website I've never seen before! I was soooooo thankful and so intrigued by who in the world did this. A 25$ gift certificate to use here:



http://www.ehandcrafts.com/



Mary Kathryn Handcrafts Online



Check it out. I spent 2 hours browsing through this wonderful site and dreaming of how I could use this Secret Santa certificate.

I decided to use it to buy a Blackbird Design book that I have been admiring a long time! The book is called A Fine Collection and has 13 designs in it.

A BIG Thank You for who sent this to me! This was so thoughtful and I thoroughly enjoyed looking through this site and now, I will be able to get this BBD book I've been looking at all year!!!!!! You know it's driving me crazy the mystery of this kind soul but I do thank you, thank you, and more thank yous! ;)

This afternoon was quiet and peaceful. We didn't cook.......again. Found a local restaurant open about 3pm and ate lunch/supper. Then we came home, ate Chex mix by the fireplace.

I played with my new camera.

I also decided to start into this piece. Northanger Abbey by The Sampler Girl. Remember when I posted about this one a few weeks back? I also have the fabric as pictured here to back a pillow when finishing.

I used some fabric I had in my stash. 28 ct cream Irish linen. I basted it to my scroll frame and started the border.

I counted 87 stitches in 2 rows and counted another time. And another time ..........until I was sure.

I have most of the DMC colors called for but there are several specialty threads that I do not have yet. We will be going to Pigeon Forge a couple of days this coming up week, so we will definitely stop by Dixie Darlin' Cross stitch store for those threads.

We turned off the TV several hours ago and with the fire place and no TV, I'm getting very, very sleepy.

Yes, time for bed indeed.

Christmas morning at the Dalenberg homestead

We are so blessed this morning. It's a quiet morning and our dry creek that runs behind the house is flowing with water from the rain last night. Now, the skies look as though the sun is struggling to peak out but not quite. The village is lit.


And the animals are attended to first.

While I said goodbye to this! (even though I thought it was a great camera over the one I had before).

Santa left me this~~I shrieked and yelled and jumped up and down!!! He says its a better or best camera for close ups like stitching pictures. I was so excited I took a picture of anything and everything to try it out, including a picture of Body Guards belly button which he would be appalled if I posted, so I won't. LOL I thought it was funny.

Oh, I have so much to learn with all those buttons and stuff.

Santa also left BG a laptop case.

And the exact drill bits and tool box he wanted. That whole shopping experience a couple weeks back was another story. But, as I know nothing about tools he had to write them down for me on his wish list.

Closeup pics are much better with the new camera...........if I didn't shake with excitement so much.

Santa also left some nice shirts for BG. He always leaves a flannel shirt for Christmas.....just a given. ;0

And speaking of flannel, Abbie gave me these jammies. Soft and comfy and has pics like her on them! She would love to snuggle with them.

This was totally unexpected from BG. He had this whole story of gifts and in what order I should open them. He gave me this necklace and after I opened it, he said, "and don't you think you need something to better capture that tiny necklace?" That when he brought out the camera. How clever is he? And I love the garnet heart! As you can see I popped it out of the box in excitement!

To Brandon and Meghan this morning. I miss you so much. But I hope you read this sometime today if possible.............

We both opened this gift from a nice neighbor down the road and I felt so bad because we had to cancel our party and they left us this. It came with a stand and it's absolutely beautiful.

Ok, I'm still playing with my new camera. See my craft store? LOL

While visions of sugar plums/dog treats, dance in their heads..............Ren had his treat and breakfast and is sleeping through the excitement. He says, Man it's my 17th Christmas, let me sleep!"

Look who is attending the gathering and peeping through the windows this morning? They know their treats are just a minute away! Thomas is sitting on our chair outside and peeping in. When he is ready to eat (about 10 times a day now) he just makes the rocker bang on the window for our attention. Raven and Ruby are also taking their stances. Ruby is keeping her distance as usual and my girl, Raven, is lounging in a mud puddle.

And Miss Diva Girlie, is ready for the weather! She doesn't mind the scarf but the leg warmers were a bit big. She's so funny because as she grows and changes, the lighter brown has faded around her ears and she is mostly white with darker brown under her eyes like she has smudged eyeliner and mascara! ;)

She enjoyed one of her little bitty dog treats and is now taking a little nap. She says, "Have too much junk mail in your house? I'm the paper shredder......in minutes I will shred to prevent identity theft"

I hope each and every one has a peaceful and safe holiday.

Not a creature was stirring?

Well, the creatures at our house are definitely stirring.

Body Guard said he even saw a coyote this week. I've only seen one in my whole life and they run pretty darn fast is all I can say. Another reason I am in the house by nightfall!

But I had to show you a few Santa gifts this year. Thomas is getting a blanket (not made yet) but the material is flannel and has cats of every color. The long peanut butter and apple jelly treats/beef and cheese are for the Labs as well as the long rope toys. Ren is getting a new blanket. He has quite a collection now.

And Miss Abbie is getting a scarf and leg warmer set in Diva pink. It looks bigger here than it really is. She is also getting a little blanket too. We will see how this goes over tomorrow...........I hope to get pictures of her.

I'm pooped out right now after getting out and about in the Christmas Eve rush. We did get to IHOP and ate pancakes after taking loads of medicine to accompany it. BG ordered the largest plate with jalepeno peppers in eggs with cheese and sour cream AND a stack of pancakes. Of course I ordered a bland pancake but it was still so good. We saw a man taller than a man I've ever seen in my life. He had to be 7 and 1/2 feet tall. Everybody was just staring at him. His mama must have fed him pretty well! ;)

The weather was partly cloudy at first and really windy and then by 5p, it was blowing cold rain pretty hard. Just a quick glance at the weather channel looks like alot of folks have got a White Christmas this year. They are warning travelers to stay off the roads so I guess there were alot of reasons why we couldn't make the trip up to Chicago.

We are planning to start an early fire in the fireplace in the morning after sleeping late and just relax. I have a stack of books to read and many stitching projects to work on......plenty, plenty to keep me busy that's for sure. After reading Wednesday Letters, I picked back up on a book called A Good Yarn.

Well, Ren ate leftover jalepeno peppers/eggs with cheese (from BG's plate) and he is curled up in his freshly laundered blanket while Miss Abbie is almost falling asleep in BG arms right now. She evidently had a severe case of separation anxiety while we were gone and decided to shred her paper into the smallest bits as she could, poop in the wrong place and roll in it. So, we had our work cut out for us when we walked in the door. They are settled now for a long Winter's Nap.

Here's hoping Santa is good to you!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Christmas Eve means new traditions

Slowly getting better physicially but feel like I lost 10 lbs this week but I know I didn't. Haven't ate meat in 1 week. Yesterday was Mashed potatoes and crackers. Then my Gastro doc called in another med to help and it seemed to be helping more. I'm trying to drink alot of fluids as they say but I'm not a water drinker. There are some people I work with that do a great job at that and fill up their water cups frequently. Me, I prefer decaf coffee, or tea (hot or cold). Normally, I like Pepsi but that bubbly drink stuff is not for me this week. I have been drinking Gaterade alot.

So, I'm craving soft scrambled eggs and pancakes.........from IHOP (International House of Pancakes). If they are open this evening, we may go out and start a new tradition of breakfast on Christmas Eve nights.

Santa has been very secretive at hinting what he is bringing tomorrow. He gave me a hint yesterday that I had to open the packages in a certain order....... hmmmmmm.

He is also planning a small overnight trip next week if all things are well, to Pigeon Forge for some after Christmas shopping. I have been watching the weather on TV and seeing that most of the country will have some frightful weather this weekend so we will have to go when things clear up. It's only about a 2 hour drive from our house. We went last year. If you like quilt stores there's one to die for up there and also many outlets and of course the big knife store he likes. We are just going to take one day at a time and see. Of course the trip there means, going through the little town of Sylva NC where the old general store has the largest Vera Bradley selection I've ever seen and She Beads.....oh, my She Beads! There is also the best old bookstore I"ve ever, ever seen and you could spend easy 2 hours in it, buy 12 books for about 4.00 in there.

My shopping was pretty simple this year but I haven't wrapped a thing yet. Do you like wrapping? I know there are some people who love it and can make those corners perfect and bows home- made and beautiful. Me? I fold whatever way I can, slap a piece of tape on it sideways and if it has a bow, it's the peel and stick kind! I thought when they started using gift bags, that was the best idea ever invented for this very reason. So, usually I have alot of gift baggies around my tree.

Our Christmas Jar is still sitting there and tonight we decide who gets our change. BG estimates it's about 50.00 of change. I still need to check all my purses I've been switching around to and gather more change to put in there. I have a real good idea of who needs it and this will also be another 1st tradition for us.

I did bake some simple sugar cookies last evening, mainly for my hubbie with colorful sprinkles on them. Just the simple mix kind. Then I went back to bed. But he did like them when he came home from a long day of work.

I looked through my stash yesterday as well but didn't feel like starting to work on anything. I have so many projects to choose from that I realized that I need to get a bunch of threads and some cuts of linen. I'm excited that Terri, formerly from the Dogwood Patch, will be opening her new store in Buford, Ga. I think January 4th. It's a good little ride from here, about 50 minutes but I will try to go to her grand opening and maybe get some threads while I'm there.

Last night I learned something totally new about Body Guard that I didn't know in the approximate 14 years of being together. The Christmas Carol movie was on TV last night and I walked in half-way through the movie but he was intent on listening to the British accented actors and actresses and actually quoted along every script of it. Come to find out, he said he knew this movie by heart because when he was in elementary school, he was the "director" of the play each year! He was responsible in the background for all the sounds and directing it. I can only imagine him at 10 years old doing this! ;)

So, I learn something new every day.

Hope you all are having a good Christmas Eve and thanks again for all the support and kindness you've shown. I can't tell you how much it means to me.

Stay safe in your last minute shopping today and remember.......be nice.....Santa is watching!

My meltdown

I am overwhelmed by personal emails from people I didn't realize how much read my blog. I do not mean to cause upset but this weekend I think I had a meltdown, so I just shut down.

I do hope to get back to writing because I do miss it but right now I'm trying to get better physically and emotionally.

This Christmas season started off for me up and down, off and on. I was so inspired by so many people's blogs I read daily and kept pushing "the spirit" but we had some extreme change in plans and our holiday will be more different than I've ever known. I don't know how to process it sometimes but all I can say is that since this past weekend I have had physical issues with ulcerative colitis flaring (haven't had a major flare in 2 years), and try to work the 3 days till tomorrow with it.

We found out my daughter is not coming home for Christmas and still haven't heard lately of updates with Brandon in Afghanistan and I actually had to cancel our community party at our house Sunday night. Sunday, I just read an entire book, The Wednesday Letters by Jason Wright and it was inspirational.

After work today, had to go to the Urgent Care clinic because of the colitis not being controlled with the usual medicines and I am pretty dehydrated. They worked 2 hours on my arms to start IVS for fluids and couldn't get a vein so sent me to the ER and I'm a bad patient, didn't go but came home and will call the GI doc tomorrow. When they started talking about using my neck for an IV, I'm out of there. Yes, call me chicken. Cross my fingers, promise to drink more, but really don't like needles.....especially in the neck!

So, if I haven't been working, I've been sleeping.

The doc I saw tonight at this clinic was very nice. She was extremely thorough and insisted I stay at home tomorrow (today) due to the colitis so I can prevent maybe getting to the point of inpatient hospital stay.

I told her no, I have lots of patients to see and she stopped me and said in her European voice, "You are human. You are sick. You cannot work. I said so". She could here my stomach gurgling and I got some nausea medicine.

I was like "yes mam". She meant well by it and you have to know that medical professionals make the worse patients you'll ever meet. But, I'm heeding her advice so I can get better.

It's hard going full blast treating pelvic pain patients to lying on a table myself and being a patient. Gaterade and crackers just wasn't getting it anymore so I had no choice.

I have to come to acceptance that I can't take care of everybody's problems all the time, I am human and need to take care of myself better. Maybe this will be a good New Year's resolution.

Our trip to Chicago was canceled this past weekend as well and I felt responsible for it but shouldn't have. The big blizzard rolling through will prevent a drive there and sadly I was looking forward to being out of town on Christmas morning and seeing everyone in Chicago.

This is the first Christmas I can ever remember without seeing my kids faces open presents and it really bothers me alot. I know that sounds like I don't appreciate my husband because I do and look forward to being with him but there's just something about kids and Christmas no matter what their ages being home at that time of year. I will really miss that last minute shopping for stocking stuffers.

Speaking of kids, my chihauhaus are acting like kids now and Ren has actually brought some spunk back with Abbie. Abbie still doesn't understand that he is blind and old and doesn't want to play wrestle and toss with him but she tries hard and he is grumpy.

She's into chasing her tail now endlessly and teething/biting her Wingie Dingie chews quite regularly.

Tonight I got a picture of Miss Abbie with one of my bracelets I got a month ago at Walmart actually, very inexpensive but I loved the pink ice skates on them. I was joking that it would be a pretty necklace for her and it fit her perfectly. I got her pic and then took it off. Her eyes are again as green as Christmas bulbs and if anybody can help me fix that, that would be great. The usual remove red-eye part of the pictures in my computer won't remove the green, so bear with the emerald eyes in the pictures! But, she is quite the Diva with this on.

So, thanks for all the prayers and comments. I never knew so many people really read my blog regularly and I hope to be back up to speed at least by January 1.

Santa has given strong hints he is bringing me a better camera so I will have another good reason to post some pictures soon, hopefully, p-u-ll-e-a-ze....Santa! And I have to get my creative block dealt with, so I can get back to stitching too. But, through with Christmas stitching, that's for sure.

I love each and every one of you and I hope to talk with you soon.

Talk later,
Jennifer

Goodbye

I am taking an indefinite leave from blogging. I appreciate all your comments and love. It's more than I could have ever imagined to get in a lifetime.
Blogging every day was so much fun. But, there comes a time when you realize that all you do is cause pain and sadness and just being alive is a problem.
There are many blogs out there that really inspirational and I appreciate all who read my blog and thought it was worth the read. That's probably the most respect I've ever received in my life. Circumstances have shown me this week that I usually hurt those lives that make contact with mine. I am retreating back into my own world so that I don't ruin anybody elses's.