Author: Faith

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I hope you’re having a lovely Christmas day with family or friends or doing something you enjoy. So far our Christmas has been very nice. The only issue we’ve had is that E still has a nasty cold he came down with earlier in the week so he is a lot more clingy than normal and we weren’t able to make it to Jan’s house last night as planned (we don’t want to get the new baby sick). But E is soldiering on and having a wonderful time despite not feeling 100%. (Funny how new toys will help with that.)


I’ve really enjoyed getting to know new people and sharing the doings of our little family with friends and family through this blog. Thank you for reading. I’m going to take a little break from posting but will be back after the New Year. In the meantime, enjoy the end of 2009!

Photos with Santa

Like a lot of two-year-olds E is not a big fan of seeing Santa in person. I had thought about taking him to the mall to get a picture of him with the big guy but E freaked out so much when he saw Santa at our little neighborhood party that I didn’t have the heart to drag him to the mall. Also, I just kind of ran out of time (see also: sending out Christmas cards).


This gallery of terrified kids with Santa is pretty awesome. Pictures #30 and on are “bonuses” and are their own special kind of awesome.

A new nephew!

My sister Jan had her baby on Sunday! The delivery went smoothly and both Jan and baby are doing well. Little P weighed 6 lbs, 12 oz and was 18 inches long. He is breathtakingly perfect and adorable. (What’s that? You hear a strange sound? That’s just my ovaries squealing in envy–never mind them.)



I am going to spoil this kid rotten.

Last Chance

I’m closing comments on the cutting board giveaway at midnight tonight, so if you’ve been meaning to enter, now’s the time.

I’m already registered for woodworking class next semester but I’m pretty sure I won’t have time to make an another extra project. So this is most likely it regarding woodworking giveaways, at least for quite a while. But if you’re in the Utah county area you can always take the class with me and make your own cutting board!

I know taking a class like this can be a little intimidating but it is really fun and satisfying to make something with your hands, we have a great instructor, AND you already know at least someone in the class!

Let me know if you sign up and I’ll save you a seat 🙂

Christmas Lights

Earlier this week I went with our church youth group to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square. I was with my friend Stephanie (she of the $9 designer jeans fame) and some of the older girls so it was a lot of fun to hang out and chat. We have a lot of great kids in our congregation.

Tonight N and I are planning on taking E to see the lights at Thanksgiving Point. It’s right by our house and you can drive through the display in your car and stay toasty and warm. E has really been enamored of the lights this holiday season and I think he’ll have a blast.

The assembly hall at Temple Square.

The Salt Lake temple.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I still have a few last-minute Christmas tasks to take care of (and some that I’ve given up on, like Christmas cards) but I’m hoping to make time for some low-key fun with N and E.

As graceful as always

I almost forgot to post today. I’ve been in a bit of a funk since this morning when, carrying E, I slipped on the ice outside of his daycare and fell. My right knee and elbow took the blunt of the fall but poor E fell on his back and bonked his head lightly. It freaked him out quite a bit and upset me too. I felt horrible about dropping E (mother-of-the-year!) and then really embarrassed since my graceful landing was witnessed by several people who then kept asking if I was all right. Le sigh.

Also, E ate a chicken nugget at daycare that contained something he was allergic to and so when I came to pick him up the skin around one of his eyes was red and covered with little hives. But on the plus side, he was still having fun playing with the toys and didn’t want to leave. I gave him a teaspoon of Benadryl right away and in about an hour and after a bath he was back to normal. When I had dropped him off I had asked the cook to check the ingredients of the nuggets for milk and eggs so I’m not quite sure where the breakdown occurred, but obviously something went wrong. The next time I drop him off I’m going to bring a bag of E-safe chicken nuggets for the daycare to keep in their freezer and feed to E if there’s any doubt about the food they’re serving that day in the future.

I know it’s wasn’t like anything super traumatic or even horrible happened today but I still feel like I’ve been put through a wringer. (Because I am a delicate flower like that.) So it’s nice that I have an outing scheduled with some girlfriends tonight for dinner and some Christmas shopping. I’m still a little concerned about E’s reaction. If E was going to be left with a sitter I would probably cancel but since N will be home so I can go out without feeling burdened by worry.

Now I just have to go clean my house like mad before my friends show up.

Cutting Board Giveaway!

Remember this cutting board that I worked on last semester?


Well, it’s finally finished and ready to find a new home!


The cutting board is made of solid maple, walnut, and cherry glued together with the end grain facing up so it should be durable but also easy on your knives. The glue I used is food safe as is the finish (mineral oil) that I rubbed on it. It measures approximately 10.5″ by 14.5″ and is almost 1.5″ thick so it’s pretty hefty.

Giveaway Rules:

  • Family members that received a cutting board last year are disqualified (sorry!)
  • Everyone else, leave a comment on this post to enter. If I don’t know you in real life or online (i.e. I’ve left a comment on your blog before) please introduce yourself in your comment.
  • Readers outside the states are welcome to enter.
  • Comments will be closed at midnight this Friday (the 18th) and I’ll use a number generator to select a winner at random.