Got a little too into it....

So I'm working on few Christmas gifts still, yes you heard right, Christmas gifts. I had asked Zach's mom what she wanted me to make her while she was out here and be both decided on a table runner. So on Christmas morning I gave her a little note saying that one was on it's way. I had to order the fabric yet and find a design that we both liked. Once that was found/decided....well, it took me some time to get the gumption the cut into the wonderful Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow fabric. It's all good though, I'm going to get it done, I have a deadline. I've officially found out that I'm an "under the gun" kinda sewer. I like having a time/date when things should be done so that I have motivation and have to just start. Zach's brother and his fiance are coming for a visit in a few days and I have to get it done by the time they get here so I can send it with them. Perfect for me:)

So I got to cutting my squares the other night and I found another thing out about myself...math is not my strong suit. At all. To make a long story short, I cut twice as many squares as I needed! Oh well, now I have the makings of another table runner that I can give away:)

Sad thing was that it took me until the next day to figure it out! I was cutting away on the second day and then had the realization. Man, I rock.

So here are the right amount of squares....

And the pending layout of the table runner. Now I know that it looks REALLY big, but I have a midget Ikea table and if I had a big table it'd look right!

Sick and Snow...

Not to be confused with 'sick OF snow'...just wanted to make that clear. Again, I am not sick of snow...I love snow. The end.

So as I said before, we had a dump of snow from our latest blizzard and Aubrey was itching to go out and play in it, well eat it really. But I got sick the day that Zach found out where he matched(can you say stressed?!?) and was house-bound....ergo(yes ergo) Aubrey was house-bound. And no, she was not a fan of this, not at all. So I improvised and let her hang her head out the window like a dog to catch some snowflakes. Yes, you heard right, hang her head out like a dog....with me holding on to her behind for dear life! Yes, I am going to win mom of the year award, why do you ask??

As Promised...

We had another huge blizzard the other day! We haven't seen the ground in over a month, crazy! I'm just so thankful that I don't live in New York(never thought I'd say that!), could you imagine having to be stuck in your teeny-tiny apartment, having to walk everywhere you go in the snow...for over a month?!? No thanks. As each new blizzard/storm/snowfall hits, the road clearage(that a word?...is now) gets worse and worse. They used to be so on top of the plowing/salting and now we are lucky to see any of them late into the next day. I know that is way better then what they are dealing with in New York. And having to deal with mass transit?!? We keep hearing horror stories of passengers being stuck on shut down trains over night! Blech. I'm happy to be in my little NJ apartment not dealing with that and just being able to enjoy the snow!

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Anyway, as promised, here are the pictures that I took in Lancaster:) I still haven't figured out how to get the pictures to show up on my blogger up-loader thingy, so I drag-n-dropped them all onto my desktop and did it that way. FAR too time consuming, but y'all (I'm practicing for the south;)) are worth it! I'm so happy with how they turned out! Like I said, this trip has reignited my love for taking pictures. It's funny because a few years back we went on a road trip with Zach's mom and she was so excited about all the covered bridges and I was all, 'meh' whatever. And here I am now and I get it! They are beautiful and just plain old cool! A bridge that you can move?? And they're old?? So cool! And don't even get me started on how it sounds when a horse'n'buggy goes clomping over them....An amazing sound!

I keep thinking this one looks like a long crab leg!




Even the insides are beautiful!

I took this one for Zach, there are hockey skates hanging off the back!
Amy and I loved this!! How funny?!?


I. Love. This. Cow.





Amy and her "creeper" lens:)
I think this "reserved" sign might be my favorite shot/thing I saw! So cute!



We went to the "Bird-in-Hand" market and everything was displayed so beautifully!

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Just wanted to let everyone know that my weaning process is over(remember the Christmas decor??) I'm officially taking it all down today! It hurts, but it's gotta be done:(

Fabric Fabric Fabric!!!!

When Amy and I were in Amish Country(Lancaster PA) on our great adventure, I was too into the fabric/quilt shops to think of taking pictures of them! Ooops! But Amy got tons of fabric shots and you can see them on her blog here.... http://thelittlebeansprout.blogspot.com/2011/01/wonderful-good.html

I took a shot of my haul the other day and here it is!!!!

Aren't they glorious?! I'm so happy with the fabrics I got, most of them fat quarters and half yard cuts. Pretty much all of them were on sale or had a coupon and the Menno in me was giddy over that! I spent every last penny of the Christmas money I had left...not very Menno of me.... but very "fabric addict" of me! I'm seriously trying to figure out when Amy and I can go back because we never got to go here... http://www.theoldcountrystore.com/ ! Ahhhh! It looks so amazing and we got so caught up on the way there in other fabric stores namely this place http://www.burkfabrics.com/Store/pc/viewContent.asp?idpage=4 ! Having all the fabrics you've ever lusted over on the internet in person in one place???? HEAVEN!! Both of these stores have online shops and they are so cheap compared to other online options...trouble!

Georgia???? Georrrr-giaaaaa.....

Georgia IS on my mind....{name that song!}
Our life is going to take another crazy turn in a few months...
Zach has officially matched in Urology!
I could not be more proud of my man, he works so hard and deserves every bit of praise he gets! And the lucky town/state that is going to host us for the next five years is Augusta, Georgia:) That's right, the home of the Masters...and peaches....
Not only did he match, he matched at his first choice! I wish I could even remotely translate what that means! He was going against the odds being a foreign grad, but top that up with being a Canadian?? Amazing! And it can wholly be contributed to hard work and God! The best combo out there:)
It's going to be a huge change and a mega adjustment, but it's happening whether we are ready or not! At least we have a few months to get used to the idea(he starts in July). I believe Zach's exact quote was, "I'm 28 and I finally know what I'm going to be when I grow up." Too funny, and so true! It has been a very long road and we are ready to take this next step.
Now if I can just wrap my head around moving away from this wonderful place.... We have made so many wonderful friends, found such an amazing church and have really settled here in NJ. We've never really felt that anywhere else and that's going to be a hard thing to give up. We are both having a hard time thinking of leaving, but we really feel that this is where God wants us and where he is leading us. For the first time...probably, well, ever; we have wholly, fully, prayerfully put something in God's hands. Seriously, you know when you think you are trusting God and really you are trying to do most of it yourself and when the end results happen, well, it all kinda feels off? That didn't happen this time. What an amazing feeling it is! Why don't we always do this?? As hard as leaving is going to be(and believe me... I'm dreading it), knowing that what we are doing is totally God's plan and pleasing to Him is going to really soften that blow.

All I got for ya...

So I'm not sure what's going on... I can't seem to get the pictures that I loaded up onto my computer to show up on my blog uploader place thingy.

Why do I get these curve balls thrown at me all the time?? For once I want to load my pictures up onto my computer and blog them....that's it! That's all I'm asking for!

Ok, rant over.

Now, I happened to have a bit of a lightbulb moment and remembered that I had plonked some pictures onto my desktop and here they are! Ah-ha! I beat the system! Victory....kinda:)

They're SOOC, which is a good thing because I went a little crazy with the "blurred edging" and "boosting" so these will be refreshing:)

My good friend Amy and I went to Amish country in Lancaster PA for a night this last weekend. We had a child-free, fabric buying, picture taking, amazing time, and it was glorious! I've never had a friend that had the EXACT same interests as me...seriously...it's kinda creepy! As the weekend went on, we found out more and more things that we have in common.

As Amy said, when you meet someone that is a "Kindred Spirit" like that, it's a complete gift from God! He put us in each others lives now for numerous reasons and I'm so thankful he did!

I seriously love this cow! How fluffy is he??

We called ourselves the Amish paparazzi;)

As soon as I can figure out my computer (ummm might be never....just warning you), I'll put up more pictures.

This weekend away did a few things for me.....

*made me rediscover my love of photography

*confirmed my obsession with fabric

*made me feel better about said obsession, I'm not alone...thanks Amy:)

*made me love my husband even more(if that was possible) because he took care of Aubrey and did nothing but encourage me to stay and have fun!

*and last, but certainly not least, confirmed that I have an amazing, loving, giving friend that I know will be a friend for life!

Fresh Snow:)

So we had another big dump of snow last night, something like 8 inches. This snow isn't ever going to melt! It keeps building on itself, crazy!
These pictures are not from today, they're from a few snowfalls ago.

Aubrey woke up in the middle of the night and had a fever, seems fine now, but she's not going to enjoy this snowfall today...wish me luck trying to convince her to stay in!

Couldn't you just squeese those cheeks?? I love the random pictures that you capture that make toddlers still look like the babies they used to be.... Who me?! Want another baby?? Noooooo;)

We had a big extensive talk with Aubrey about how she can only eat fresh snow.... she's having a tough time with that one, but this snowfall had plenty for her to eat! She was in her glory!

Oh man I love this kid! She's such a poser, everytime she sees the camera she grins! We went to take her passport photo a while back, we thought she'd have a rough time with the concept of not smiling. But luckily she's a brilliant kid(nope, I'm not biased) and she got it. It was sooo funny to watch too. She just stood there....not smiling.... not turning away from the camera.... with Zach and I laughing like crazy at the face she was making ... and she didn't crack! Not one bit, just stoic as can be. She's always surprising us! And when it was all done, she didn't smile for a while(strange for her) like she was scared to get in trouble from the photographer.

This was the bad storm that had NYC outta commission for four days. We had to wait until the day after the blizzard to have the snow plow come, which is so weird because they always plow over and over through the snow. It's hardly ever a problem to drive here because they are so good at it.

Aubrey was so excited to be able to make a snow angel! She made them all over the yard...when she wasn't busy eating snow....

I guess I had cold weather on the brain when we were playing with Play-doh after:) Everything I made turned into some form of winter wear!

*****For some reason my spell check is not working. So you're going to have to forgive me. Spelling is NOT my strong suit:(