My Instagram

My artistic photography is, I guess, a thing of the past. I rarely pull out the old Canon anymore. It's partly because I'm lazy. It takes effort to assemble it. Another reason I've slowed down taking pictures is because I have absolutely nowhere to store them. I'm completely out of space on my computers and I don't want to delete anything. I need to do something differently.

So, my phone camera usage has increased. The only plus is that it makes Instagramming easier.   Here's what's been going on lately:

I'm not much for selfies, but I've been taking a lot of them lately.  With Hubby away so much, I want to remind him of what he has at home.  It doesn't hurt him to miss the kids and me once in a while!

Something else Hubby has waiting at home.  She's so adorable, I couldn't resist!

A not-so-pretty picture of Baby Girl.  At choir practice one evening she got into an altercation with a church pew.  The pew won.  She got a huge shiner and swollen nose.  It's been over two weeks now and I can still see traces of black & blue.

My cousin got married in August.  Her nephew sat on the top step and entertained us the entire wedding.  He went from making faces, to waving at friends, to rolling around.  It truly enhanced the entire ceremony!

On Labor Day, I insisted on riding our bikes downtown to our favorite pizza place.  I must mention that it was over 90 degrees and downtown is 10 miles away!  This photo was taken after we had eaten but before we realized we were too hot and tired to bike all the way home!  We made it though.  My legs were jelly afterward.

Homemade cinnamon rolls.  Enough said.

Our kids got the opportunity to play instruments and sing in front of the church congregation.  They practiced all summer.  Big Sis got to play her keyboard and she rocked it out!  I was so proud!

Son #1 is playing bass at youth service now!  Since adults aren't welcome at youth service, I had to sneak in.  I took this photo from the church foyer, through a window. I was so glad I got to hear part of the service.  He did a great job!

I just don't even know what this is about.  Son #2.  

Instagram Recap

These were my Christmas packages this year. I got the great idea to combine a couple ideas I found on Pinterest. Yeah, that turned out to be way more work that I thought. They were gorgeous though. I wrapped each gift in brown kraft paper that I bought in a 30 lb. roll. I will be using this paper for the next eighty years, as I have so much of it now! Then I tied each box with burlap ribbon that is supposed to be used for wrapping tree trunks. It made a bit of a mess, but it was so cute. I have quite a bit of that left too, but not 80 years worth. I used red and white twine to secure the burlap. Then, I donned each present with the recipient's initial cut out of a page of an old book. Of course, my English major buddy tried to read her letter, filling in the missing areas with her own words.

The women in my family made Butterhorns every Christmas when I was growing up. I was jealous because they never waited until school was out. They counted the cookies, divided them equally, and fought over who got the burnt ones. My aunt always accused my other aunt of sneaking more into her bowl. When I was old enough to help, I felt like I had achieved a right of passage. When Grandma's health got bad, we quit making them. My mom & I tried a couple times on our own, but couldn't quite get it right. This year, I googled the recipe to get some better directions. It was a great idea because the cookies turned out absolutely perfect! I can't wait until I add my own daughters to this family tradition!

More Christmas cookies. I didn't even make these until after Christmas, but I couldn't allow the season to pass without my famous iced sugar cookies. AND that's why I'm so fat now. :) I also made Monster Cookies, chocolate fudge, Chocolate Crinkles, and Nutroll. (Many of these recipes can be found in my Recipes tab above.)  We had some good sweet eating during the holidays!








And, a bit more of She's craftiness. I bought a huge box of chocolate covered pretzels at Sam's Club for $9. My intention was to give the entire box to the office staff at the elementary school. When I got home, I realized how many pretzels were actually in that box. I made up a canister for the elementary school and one for the middle school. Still left with a couple dozen pretzels, I decided to wrap up 4 pretzels each for every one of the boys' middle school teachers. I don't usually buy them gifts, since they have 5 teachers each. But I had everything I needed, so I decided to be nice. I even got a hand drawn thank you card from a certain math teacher with a reindeer saying "Happy Mathmas." The crayon colored card made the whole chore worth it!

The kids really enjoyed the massive amounts of snow we received over Christmas break!  We live high on a hill with a winding driveway.  It makes for perfect sledding, as long as there is no traffic on the road.  The kids (and Grammy) took turns standing on the street, letting sledders know when the coast was clear.  I enjoyed standing at the window, warm with a cup of tea, watching them.  I don't sled.  I enjoy the use of both of my legs, thank you.

Instagram Photos

She begged me to take her outside this morning because she wanted to "get a wish!"