Scrapbooking my life...one page at a time

Look What I Found ....

- Reindeer Cake Pops -

OMG, are these not the cutest little Christmas munchies ever!  Rudolp is just too cute!

- Sheep Cake Pops -

Look, here's some more ...

 
Sesame Street Cake Pops

I'm totally in {love} with these little guys ...

 

- Hello Kitty Cake Pops -

 
- Santa Hat Cake Pops -

These oh-so-charming and oh-so-yummy-looking little inventions are the brainchild of Bakerella over at www.bakerella.com. 

- This whole box of chocolates is edible -

Talk about creative!!  The great thing about Bakerella is that NOT ONLY DOES SHE GIVE YOU STEP-BY-STEP Baking INSTRUCTIONS for making these little pops & bites but she also gives you step-by-step instructions for decorating them TOO!  And, if you can't find the 'nuts & bolts' needed to create these little wonder-pops ---- she'll hook you up with the the supplies too!

 

Hey J ~ another SUPER Fan!

These creations actually look fairly easy to make -as in - easy enough for Nancy to try!  Come-on, it can't get any easier than that.  I'll show you what mine look like this weekend after I give them a try.  If they turn out even half way decent than I am going to be BRINGING some Rudolph's & Santa Hats to the 'Annual BOULANGER  Christmas Eve Gathering. 

 
- Jack-o-man Heads! -

HELLO, Okay, well - what's everyone waiting for???  Let's head over to www.bakerella.com for a look.  I guarantee you're gona be inspired!  I know I was!  Okay, see you over there ....

 

I'm so excited to be sharing something great I found floating around in cyberspace ....

I hope everyone has a Cake-Pop kinda Day.

-N-

I'm still here ...

 

One of my favorite experiences at Disney ... Mickey Mouse Beignets
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Today, January 12, 2009 is kinda a big day for me ... I finally got CHRISTMAS stuffed into various boxes & tubs and stashed back in the attic for another year.  Whewww ....  I must confess that I have never ... ever .... taken that long to put Christmas away and bring in the New Year!! I normally have the tree & decorations up around Dec 5 and all put away by the New Year however I must admit that I wasn't really moving a full-steam ...

Although there was no 'jet lag' involved in this holiday / vacation I, nonetheless, feel like I can not get over the adjustment from 'vacation time' to 'normal time'!!!   I never even know what day of the week it is anymore ... Actually - I know exactly what the problem is ... Mike is home all the time now and so everyday feels like the weekend.  Seriously, I haven't done anything over the last 2 weeks.  I just hang around, visiting with him, thinking ... 'oh, I'll take care of that on Monday'.  But - problems is - Monday seems to be stuck in the 'laid-off time zone' and never seems to come ... 

Cheers!

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Yesterday I decided enough is enough - I'm not laid-off.  I still have a whole lot of 'Nancy' stuff to do - so I told him that he had to start setting his alarm, getting up just like he was going to work, have a shower and head of to his 'office' [as in home office], close the door and I would just pretend he wasn't there.  I'm such a creature of habit & routine [but we are all - right?] that I can't function when things are thrown into a constant weekend mode ...

Anyhoo... I'm back on track - starting today -  which is great - except - we are leaving on Thursday for a 9 day vacation in Wash. DC for Mike's brother's wedding.  I am so excited but I just my vacations weren't happening in such a FEAST or FAMINE way.  All my vacations crunched up together in the same month and then for the next year .... nothing.

I feel like my New Year has started off with a bit of a WoObly wHeEl - I can't believe that I have only posted on blog 3 times this month and have only checked my email once or twice a week lately ...

 - Home -
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Chat Later
Have a great Week
- N -

Goofy's Dinner & SeaWorld ...

- Day Two -
Disneyland & Dinner with Goofy

Looks like Aidan is dressed & ready to go...
Woo Hoo - Disneyland here we come and as you can see Aidan was all dressed up and ready to hit the rides. Disneyland at Christmas is so festive and shiny- I guess you could say it's the  'Happiest Sparkly Place on Earth' during the holidays.




We puttered around Disneyland it was crowded but not massively.  We got Fast-trax tickets for  but the wait lines were only about 35 minutes for Pirates of the Caribbean and the Star Tour rides.  Aidan is loving the rides and is mad about everything  Disney!

Wandering around Disneyland

Aidan was so excited to get Buzz Lightyears autograph and to see the Jedi Training Camp.  As you can see in the photo - Mike helped him make a Jedi Light Saber (or whatever they are called).  I bought him an Autograph book when we arrived (thanks for the great suggestion Sarah) and he has been collecting signatures & photo's for it.

Mike's impression of Mickey Mouse!

We had our DINNER WITH GOOFY today.  It is at the Disney Hotel in Goofy's Kitchen and the food was actually not bad for a buffet.  Aidan is not a big fan of any Dressed up Characters and was made sure he sat in the corner behind Jessica so they could not get near them.  It seemed like most of the little kids were climbing all over the characters but he had a ton of fun watching them from a distance though ... 

Katy getting Chip's autograph

Aidan doing his 'Jedi Ballet' for us


- Day Three -
SeaWorld
 
The bus ride to San Diego ...

Aidan LOVED watching Shamu ...

We had lunch with Shamu and were able to sit beside the whale tank and watch while the whales did their morning exercises with their trainers.  It was very exciting ...


The Orca's got their lunch too ...

Then we went to the 'Believe' Shamu show.  Aidan was excited because we all sat in the splash zone! (click on each picture to enlarge)


After the whale show we went on our 'Behind the Scene's' tour and we were able to feed  turtles, touch some sharks and see many other behind the scenes stuff ...

Aidan - swimming with the manatee ...

Katy touching one of the tiger sharks ... not quite a great white but still




Mike & Katy looking for the dolphins ..

Jess & Kate looking for the dolphins ...
 
Aidan splashing the water trying to lure the dolphins down to our end of the pool ...
 

and finally they arrive ...

we also bought some sardines ...

so we could all feed the Bat Rays ...

I must confess - they were slimy & ugly ... disgusting!

A seagull came and tried to steal Kate's fish ...

We also went and saw the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdale Horses ...
 

They were beautiful in their Christmas blankets ...

We were pooped by the time we got home!

- N -

Disneyland - Day One ...

Okay, so we were all a little tired (and grumpy) about waking up at 5am and almost everyone  went back to sleep awaiting for the shuttle to arrive.

Well, here we are in sunny California at the Disneyland Resort and we are all LOVING it.  Aidan loved his very first airplane ride - he sat by the window and was amazed at the sights, especially the cars getting smaller & bigger when we took off and landed.

Our hotel is nice- surrounded by 'Birds of Paradise' and other beautiful plants ...

It just goes to prove that we are not born instinctively afraid to flying - it's only when someone tells you that 'its a big scary deal & the plane might crash' that we become afraid.  Pity - isn't it!  I hope nobody Aidan never becomes afraid to travel because he loves it! 

 
Me, Jess, Aidan & Kate in front of the fountain at our hotel
(Thankfully everyone seemed tseemed to wake up when we got here)

We arrived at the hotel (The Annabella) around 1:30pm - anxious to get going.  The hotel is very nice - very California resort - palm trees, birds of paradise and bougainvillea everywhere!  Beautiful.  Sun - Sun everywhere and zero snow to be found!

 

We wandered down to DownTown Disney for a look around, dinner and to pick up our Disneyland passes for the week. 

On our way to Downtown Disney ...

They never feed you at my house at 5am, they don't feed you on the plane anymore and apparently they don't feed you on the shuttle either so by the time we got to DownTown Disneyland we were STARVING ...

Kate, Jess & Aidan waiting at the Rainforest Cafe
Smiles, Chuckles & Cheers ...
 
Volcano Madness ...

 Crashing at the hotel ...

As you can see Katy & Aidan made special 'Disney' Build-a-Bears ... they have little hearts inside them that you can feel beating ...

Well off to bed ...
See you tomorrow

- N -

Disneyland Here We Come ...

As you read this Mike, Nancy, Jessica, Katy & Aidan are all on an airplane on their way to the
 HAPPIEST
PLACE
ON
EARTH
because we are spending the rest of Christmas & New Year's with Mickey & the Gang!

I'll be posting later to let you know what it feels like to be without
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a great day
- N -

Santa Came ...

SANTA CAME
TO BRING JOY & GOOD WISHES ...

 Christmas Canada Eve Dinner

Another visit with Santa has come and gone but the great thing about Christmas is, if you believe, if you truly believe, then he will never really be gone.  The magic & spirit of the season - can and will - last throughout the year!  It's everywhere for anyone who cares to seek it out ...

Mike & I

After the pass being closed for several days Katy & Cory finally made it home and we were very grateful for that!  Cory usually takes SR84 home from school which traces  the Columbia Gorge along the Washington / Oregon border but it was still closed when they left Pullman due to extreme weather conditions and so he followed Katy home over  Snoqualmie Pass.

Katy, Cory & Mike

Cory really wanted to get home and see his Mom and so he decided that he was going to try and head down to Portland after dinner with us.  We had a yummy prime rib dinner  [Surprise - I made it] and then Cory left and we began our traditional Christmas Canada Eve. 

Christmas Canada Eve is a tradition we started about 5 years ago.  Crossing the border has become so much stickier and dragging all our gifts for each other all the way to Canada and then back seemed silly ... so now we celebrate Christmas Canada Eve at home the night before we leave for Canada with dinner & our gift opening.  

 

Christmas Wish Jar

Another Christmas Canada Eve tradition that we started is our Christmas Wish Jar (above).  Before dinner we read aloud the Gratefuls, Wishes & Goals we each made last year at our Christmas Canada Eve dinner and then we all write one thing we were Grateful for this year, one Wish for the each other, one Goal for ourselves for next year .  Cory actually took part in our Wish Jar  this year.  We had a good laugh when Mike said it was a good thing Katy didn't wish for a new Boyfriend last year ... Ha!

About an hour after Cory had opened his gifts and left to head down to Portland - just as we'd finished cleaning up the dishes and settled down to open our presents - he called and said he would had to come back because  of the extremely icy roads - they were like a sheet of glass!   Unable to drive home  he ended up sleeping over and leaving early the next morning.  I know he was disappointed to not make it home ... but better safe than sorry and HEY 'the more the merrier' RIGHT!

Katy & her new Kitchen Aid

Katy's favorite gift this year - her Blue Kitchen-Aid from Grandma Stetar! Kate enjoys cooking and so she was so excited to receive this SURPRISE from Grandma!  She also got the Ice Cream attachment with it and was REALLY excited about that.  She was really anxious to use it and so she used the next morning to make scrambled eggs for Cory before he left ...

SANTA CAME AGAIN
TO BRING MORE JOY & GOOD WISHES ...

The next morning after Cory had left we packed up and headed up to Canada.  With all the snow that had been falling for days both in Seattle and all the way up to Chilliwack we were worried but the drive proved not too bad. 

 

Cathy, Me, Mom & Sandra

With this Christmas being one of the snowiest of my lifetime Christmasw inside felt much like Chrismtas outside - insulated, cozy, quiet & very serene!  On Christmas Eve day at Mom & Dad's we were supposed to have a family get together but it snowed and  it snowed and it snowed and it snowed  ... until it had snowed us out of our get together. Sarah, Todd and the kids and Jenny & Jay and the kids were all housebound due to the snow but Cathy, Wayne, Sandra, Brent & the kids all lived close enough to make it over.  We had a very nice time albeit quieter than we had expected!

 

Dad & Aidan

Still, the day was fun & full of Merry!  The kids played , opened parcels and everyone visited.  Over the years I have found Christmas doesn't need to be big, noisy or grand to be overflowing with Good Cheer and Love - it just need to spent with people who bring you joy & good wishes -

Aidan and Claire spreading laughter & joy

Later in the evening we laid out the traditional SANTA & REINDEER FEAST before heading off to bed.  

AND AGAIN ... SANTA CAME
BRINGING JOY & GOOD WISHES ...
 

Stocking were filled with fun ...

Aidan, Me, Mom & Kate

I hope everyone had as wonderful a Christmas as I did ..

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!"

- Longfellow -

White Christmas ...

 
Mike playing in the snow yesterday!

It snowed again off & on yesterday and last night.  We are now almost knee deep in snow and while I am loving that we are going to have a 'White Christmas' for the first time in a long time I am afraid because we (as in the Burr's) are still spread all over the place.  Travel will have it's challenges.

Kate is still on the other side of the pass.  It was closed most of Saturday and yesterday.  I finally opened again about 2pm yesterday but it was already too late in the day for Kate to attempt.  It is snowing in the pass and pretty much everywhere so her 5 hour drive home will probably be more like 6 - 7 hours. 

Tomorrow, we will all drive up to Canada - while the roads look ugly in some areas they are definitely drivable.  Today Mike & I will take Buster & Sneaker's into Renton to the Vet's to be boarded [Kate will be so sad to have missed seeing them and they her] and then we will will load up the sleigh and prepare to set off early tomorrow. 

The tree is loaded up with Christmas Cheer!
 

How cute are these two little antique Elf stocking hangers! 

The SnowFlake Family

Today's view from my Scraproom

Enjoy one of my favorite Christmas Songs Alan Jackson's - "Let it Be Christmas"

Have a Very Safe & Happy Holiday

- N -

Peace on Earth, Good-Will to Men ...

I love the Christmas poem, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and it also happens to be one of my favorite Christmas Carols [the Sarah MacLachlan version].  It is a poem / song so full of emotion - immense sadness, pain & sorrow  ... an emptiness that brings tears ...  but yet, in the end, the human spirit rises up and ....

‘God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!’

Both the poem & the song always bring to mind the 'true' meaning of Christmas - the understanding that we must carry Christmas with us all year long by being kind, caring and by helping others and sharing our hope with everyone.   Those tender feelings of forgiveness, peace and generosity that we allow to flow so freely at Christmas must be carried with us every day  ....

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote Christmas Bells on Christmas Day 1864 during a moment of great sadness when he learned that his son, a soldier in the American Civil War, had been seriously injured.  As he sat at his desk listening to the church belling ringing out - he, at first thought, God has forsaken us, humanity is beyond redemption but then as the bells continued ringing on and on he came to believe that  ..

Christmas Bells

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all  Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The Carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my  head;
‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said;
‘For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!’

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
‘God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!’

-          Henry Wadsworth Longfellow -

Have a Safe & Happy Holiday

- N -

Snopocalypse ...

Look what Buster found outside this morning ...

We have about 8" of   Winter Wonderland and it is soooo beautiful ...
Here's a look at life in Wonderland today -

• Buster is feeling a little down because Sneaker's won't come outside and play ....
• Mike is glad that he doesn't have to even think about going to work today ...
• Sneaker's is proceeding as normal - sleeping on the couch ...
• Nancy is jumping up & down & forcing Mike to go for a walk with her ...

Come on - let's go for a walk ...
 
Out the Door ...
 
Through the Gate  ...
 
And off we go ...

Hey  ... Where is everyone?

Oh, here they are  ...

Well, what else do you do with the day off school & 8" of snow ...
(they must be riding in the HOV lane)

Slipping, sliding & lots of sled riding ...

I think Mike might have found a temp job ...

It's definitely a Marshmallow World out my door today ...
 
 Enjoy the day ...

- N -

Movie Madness & a Snowflake or two ...

Original 1951 Movie Poster

Finally, after what seems like an eternity ... there was a movie playing  that I wanted to go and see [and I say "I" because Mike really had no interest in seeing this movie which I found surprising] but he came along for the ride anyway. 

The movie is a remake of the 1951 Classic of the same name  - it  is considered by many to be a ground breaking movie because it's aliens are more benevolent and less 'flesh-eating'  than the usual creatures from outer space and it is seems more of a parable than monster movie.  Enough said ... If you haven't seen the original I won't spoil the movie by telling too much about the story ...

Flying Saucer in original 1951 movie

... but I will say that I did enjoy the remake - it was good, but not great!  I especially enjoyed Keanu Reeves in the film [actually, I like most of his films] and it is a good movie to spend a Saturday afternoon at the theater with.

2008 Remake Poster

Whoo Hoo - Old Man Winter has finally arrived in the PNW - we had few flakes of snow last night!  An icing sugar dusting ... but snow nonetheless!

You can see it if you look carefully ...

Have a Great Night
- N -