goodbye 2008

today is the last day of the year. 365 days have past and they have been filled with love, hope, happiness, sadness, births, deaths, beauty, adventure, marriages and miracles. here is hoping that 2009 will be as kind. before 2008 closes its doors forever i want to say thank you, thank you for everything. my life is large with happiness. love to all my family and friends. happy happy new year ! may 2009 bring all of us inner peace. xox

hanging out...

dear santa,

thank you so very much for my beautiful new camera. i love it. i bought a book tonight to help me be more creative with my picture taking. spent an hour or so at the book store just perusing the aisles. i love bookstores and i couldnt believe how crowded it was. m and i finished up with a yummy hot chocolate in the bookstore cafe despite the 60 degree temperature. the funny thing is last weekend it snowed and snowed this weekend was like spring. it's new england i guess anything goes. i have been hanging out for 3 days now. i am really not that good at this. i was extremly frustrated today. much as i think i like lots of free time i am really not that good at having it. i did make a big batch of chicken soup a little while ago so i plan to curl up with my soup and my new photo book and become inspired. hope you are doing something you love. xo

a glimpse of christmas....

hope everyone had a wonderful day - we did !

still snowing...

it is now 6pm and it is STILL snowing. i am not sure how much but it's a LOT. i had to share this picture from our back deck it's just so beautiful. and because it snowed so heavy all day i just baked and baked. so if you would like to come over I will share some of these with you

it's snowing agin...

and I have to tell you i don't think there is anything that can get me in the spirit more than a beautiful snow fall. i am sitting at my computer looking out the window it's spectacular. i just finished baking up a batch of yummy holiday cookies.they are a family tradition but somehow they never taste quite the same as my moms. she makes hers with so much love - spilling over the top kind of love. it brings me back to my childhood just for a moment sitting in our kitchen watching and helping her. i only make one kind of cookies she baked for days and days and delivered cookies to friends and neighbors with special little candies tucked inside. it's a secret recipe but i will share it because it's the season to - spread joy.
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup shortening
5 cups flour
5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 c milk maybe a tad more
2 tsp vanilla or almond extract
Set oven to 375
In lg bowl mix eggs, sugar, shortening. Add flour 1 cup at a time with a bit of milk each time
add baking powder and salt. Separate into 4 balls, shape balls into 4 logs, about 2-3 inches wide 12 inches long. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper bake for 12- 15 minutes. makes 4 dozen. for icing powdered sugar, milk and flavoring. slice and enjoy. they don't stay fresh very long so its best to eat them soon after you make them which usually is not a problem around here.
they will look like this.

one more thing... if you have a minute find josh groban's version of oh holy night on itunes it is amazing. he is incredible, this song makes me want to cry... have a great day.... and don't forget to spread joy...

countdown...

this is truly the countdown. it snowed all night and most of today. last night was really cold and very snowy and so, so christmasy. it was so beautiful out. we walked to our neighbors house for some holiday cheer. the air was so cold and crisp and christmas was definitely in the air. our neighbors always have this holiday get together and it's so nice to spent a few hours together. we had lots of laughs, lots of merry, and lots of fun. i gave out little packages of reindeer food for all the kids to sprinkle on their lawn on christmas eve. i ordered the digital labels from heatheranndesigns
hopefully i will get to show you some pictures tomorrow. you can put it together so easily and it's so much fun the kids love it, it's very magical.

today i crossed off lots of things on my list. a post office run first thing this morning. drove in a blizzard (which was not a good idea) to get some last minute things wrapped up and i was successful ! i have to plan my christmas dinner and wrap wrap wrap....

Cookie swap

I had one picture of this year's cookie swap presentation. Mine.


and also a sweet little cocoa box I made for a friend.

Oh Santa....

Well... I had my annual cookie swap last night and it was a big success. I had hoped to share lots of pictures. It is really a visual event. The cookie boxes/ containers are so much fun. But,my camera died and it won't come back to life. I tried to talk to it really nicely and it still won't open its eye. Then I tried to put SD card in my old camera but that would not work either. I am hoping santa is listening and knows how much i need that camera. I mean I know santa knows that I carry it around in my bag at all times and harass people with the amount of photos I need/want to take. People most often being harassed are my family. They might be glad I am camera free for a week or so. I think santa will know I am worthy of a new maybe even an upgraded camera. Santa I have been extra good.
well i will show you some pictures of last years cookie swap....




and this morning after yesterdays snowfall just dreamy...

scenes of christmas...

Took a trip to the mall tonight got a few more things checked off my list. done. done done. M and I had dinner at Joe's and

it was delicious we shared some fried calamari (her favorite) and blackened chicken pasta. We topped it off with a gingersnap latte for me and a caramel macchiatofor her.

We ae expecting some snow tonight and I am actually looking forward to it. I am taking tomorrow off well I guess seeing as it's after midnight that would be I am taking today off to get ready for my annual cookie party. It is always a lot of fun and I plan to post all about it tomorrow.

we're not happy tonite...

Walking in a winter wonderland. The winter wonderland turned out to be not so
wondrous. The damage that ensued has been devasating for some. We were without
power, heat, etc for three days and I can assure you I am not that good at being a pioneer woman. I actually suck at it. My heart goes out to the people caring for the elderly and those with young children. In an effort to get some heat in our frigid state we attempted to use our fireplace which has not been used for the last few years. It supplied us with a house filled with smoke which we are still trying to sort out. Any information on ridding a house of smoke smell would be greatly appreciated. School is cancelled again tomorrow as many people in our town and many surrounding towns are still without power. Prayers to all...
Weekend was not very nice and Monday turned out to be another kick in the stomach. Not so fun work situation that makes me feel really bad/sad/mad. all of that. But I intend to get up
tomorrow kicking and ready to make merry. Do you hear me ?? it's the holidays it's suppose to be happy, happy, happy, and I have a party to get ready for here on Wednesday night !!!!
So tomorrow I will be merry and bright. I promise.

walking in a winter wonderland...

We awoke this morning to an ice storm. I mean a real ice storm, the kind that knock the power out and knock down trees. The weight of the ice was unbelievable, scary, actually. BUT the sights were absolutely amazing. A winter wonderland for sure. The kind of day to snuggle up with cocoa on your couch and dream by the flicker of the fireplace.


but who has time to dream. So I thought I would share some stocking ideas maybe
ones your gift recipients are dreaming about.
1. night light funny that would be my first thought today.
2. sweet clementines, candy canes they just spell christmas.
3. lottery tickets maybe they will win and share the love.
4. pez candy - a must for stockings.
5. beef jerky don't guys just love beef jerky?
6. cozy mittens or gloves for days like this.
7. kitchen gadgets a fun spatula.
8. a fabulous cd you make yourself.
9. a handwritten note.
10. batteries, they always come in handy.
11. penny candy that takes you back to when you were a kid.
12. a new toothbrush who can't use a spare?
13. a magnifying glass for those of us who need a little help these days.
14. stamps and some note cards for sending those after x-mas thank you notes.
15. decorative wine stopper.
16. a favorite magazine rolled up with twine.
17. nail polish in a festive holiday color.
18. fluffy socks the kind to curl up in
19. new pens, pencils, markers or sidewalk chalk.
20. blank cd's to make their own music.
and remember whatever you give, give with all your heart.

the giving season...

This picture was painted by a friend of ours. We bought it about 2 years ago.
The painting was recreated and printed along with many other paintings to sell as a fundraiser in memory of their beautiful sweet daughter who left this earth much to soon. She fought hard but leukemia took her life when she was only 21 years old. She was a beautiful girl with amazing potential, she was bright and witty and kind and sweet. Her life ended much to soon. While here on earth she brought great joy to her family and friends. She made me laugh even in her darkest hour. I remember so many fun and funny times with her. Her spirit lives on in the hearts of her family and friends and we miss her everyday. It's a struggle for families every day who lose loved ones but I think it is especially hard during the holiday season. But I believe in this season there is hope - a hope that one day there will be a cure for this and many other diseases. While you are in the spirit of giving maybe you will take a small portion and give to a charity you believe in for the hope of a brighter tomorrow. i love you katie and i think of you often.

here and there....

So I got my new washing machine yeah !!!! I have already done 8 loads of laundry and much more can be done.

I took M to the doctor for the third time in three weeks it's awful sitting there with all these poor little sick kids hacking and sniffing.....so many viruses going around. I felt like I needed a shower after I got out of there. Everyone is getting hand sanitizer in their stockings. Maybe we should all bathe in hand sanitizer through the rest of the winter... Hopefully M is all set now.

I am making progress on shopping but i still have miles to go...

I keep getting distracted with other things i want to do like this...


so this mix has ginger and molasses in it and is absolutely delicious....maybe I should run out and get a gingersnap latte to go along with this.....

I also added another journal to my etsy shop see it here


I have some of my christmas cards done. We bought our tree but it is not up. The outside decorations are up and the candles are in the windows but I still have lots of things to do inside. I have some of everything done just nothing completed.

bye for now......

sweet december...

I love this picture it is so peaceful. I needed to take a moment to feel peaceful.
I had a great weekend. Got lots done. Had a couple of fun parties. But all the other stuff still has it's way of starting trouble with me. Like my washing machine decided to croak. Now I know it's old and it's had a long life and it was tired, but it couldn't give me a couple more weeks? I mean January is a perfect time to go look for washing machines - stroll along make a purchase with some thought. But no, the washing machine has to die right now in the middle of the holiday season when there is NO time for this sort of thing. When you have to run out and make a quick purchase - grab the first washing machine you see because you don't have time. I have been without a washing machine since last thursday I know this does not seem like a lengthy amount of time but trust me in my house a day without a washing machine is a very lengthy period of time especially when people are arriving home daily with smelly, hockey, lacrosse and gym clothes .... The washing machine is being delivered tomorrow. Who would have ever thought I would be so excited about a washing machine......

Buy Handmade - Make Your Pledge To Buy Handmade Goods.

Buy Handmade - Make Your Pledge To Buy Handmade Goods.

in the lane snow is glistening...

i just
had
to share a snapshot of my advent calendar. idea from ali edwards 2007. i hung them up last year and they were a BIG hit. when i took them out this year i wondered if they would have the same appeal and i still love them !!!! if i can't fit the gift in the box then i put a little note in the box saying where they can find the gift for that day....

december journal

Before I head out

I just wanted to share a couple more pages of the december journal. I have got to get out shopping.... so off i go in hopes of getting some things done. i have to cross some things off my list which right now is very long .... but it is lightly snowing and looks so pretty outside so it's a christmas mood for sure...

shopping...

I had added a sweet composition book to my etsy shop. See it here
deliveringlove







it is a great idea for teachers, gardners, writers, brides-to-be, artists.
It has endless options. It can be made in what ever color you wish and embellished with appropriate decorations.

just believe....

believe in what your heart is saying, hear the melody that's playing. there's no time to waste, there so much to celebrate. believe in what you feel inside, give your dreams the wings to fly. you have everything you need, if you just believe. trains move quickly to their journey's end. destinations...are where we begin again. ships go sailing, far across the sea. trusting starlight, to get where they need to be.
you can hear the song listen here

I heard these lyrics on my ride in to work today and i just thought it's so true if you just believe it will be ok it will. no matter what you might be struggling with at this time you have to believe that it will be okay. it is going to work out. i promise you. many years ago at this exact time of year i was going through a really difficult time and i honestly never thought i would ever be able to move forward and get over some of the pain. i always prayed that i would be strong enough to push myself through the detours in my journey and work it all out. at the time i had two very little people depending on me and there were days i could hardly take care of myself never mind take care of them. people tell you things happen for a reason, god only gives you things he knows you can handle etc. etc. well i am not sure i can go along with all of that but i do know that a positive outlook can go a very, very, long way. don't stop believing..... there will be times on this journey, all you'll see is darkness, but out there somewhere light finds you, if you keep believing .......

love...

make time for what you love.... seems like there is never enough time. i am always wishing i had more time. there are so many things i want to do like blog, and craft, and shop, cook, visit, plan, write, organize, read, and work gets in my way. oh yes that's right i can't do those other things like shop without a job. i write here to bring me to reality. i need more sleep but it's so hard to go to bed when there are so many other things i want to do. but.. for now i must. I did open my etsy shop tonight yeah !!!! it's called delivering love... there are only 3 items in it but it is a start. so love your children, snuggle your babies, hold your hubby, boyfriend, SO, pets, find the time for love.... it makes the world go around...

I also did a couple of pages in my december journal.... see them here.
thanks for looking...

i have tasted christmas...

run to your nearest starbucks and order a gingersnap latte, take a deep breath and you will hear sleigh bells. I am not kidding this beverage speaks christmas, there are little pieces of crystalized ginger that float to the bottom. yum... savour your drink while you are making your list and checking it twice.....

crafting day...

been crafting most of today.
had so much fun. went to pick out a christmas tree it was lightly snowing and we went for a peppermint hot chocolate after we were done. life is good!

off to a nice dinner tonight with some awesome friends we don't see often enough. great way to end this wonderful weekend.

here is some fun stuff from today.....

Happy Birthday Mom.....

As you celebrate another year I want you to know how very much we love you and how much we wish we were there today. We are sending BIG wishes and BIG hugs to you. I know you will be celebrating for the next month this is just day one.
For those of you who know my Mom I don't have to explain, for those who don't it's hard to sum up what she is really all about. In this picture she has just been teaching her grandaughter the fine art of making pasta sauce.

There are no real measurements - it is 3 shakes of this, a pinch of that, a handful of something else. No one will ever be able to make sauce, lasagna, meatballs or most anything as good as she does. She can rival the best chefs out there. She is kind, loving, caring, thoughtful, pretty, smart, brave,compassionate, forgiving, sensitive, sweet, special, fiesty, stylish and so much more. When you go to her home you are made to feel like a celebrity. She would give you her last nickle and forgive you for anything except if her Mother's Day card is late. Mom as you head into another year may all your dreams come true... you certainly have made sure so many of mine have. Happy Happy Birthday i love you !!! xox

So grateful...

I have an amazing family, one that is filled with lots of love and caring for eachother.

I am so grateful for it all, so much to be thankful for. We are deep in tradition and food is always the main focus so you can imagine the food on Thanksgiving ... yes there was a lot !

We had lots to share, happy to see you's, we found out it's a boy, congrats on a marriage, a new job coming in a new state, old roomates, blockus games, searching for oprah's new christmas gifts on the internet, football games, safe flights (even if you did spend the day at the airport eating a cheeseburger instead of turkey). We even threw in a little oven fire for excitement .. yup that's right (this will be talked about for many, many, years to come) you will be happy to know the turkey was saved.... next year there will be no triple basting for extra juiciness even if you did see it on t.v.

my darling husband loves food and is not about to stop eating because of a little smoke.. he just happened to have this in his car. This man is an eagle scout and his motto is "be prepared"
















my sister on the right is the one with the triple basting turkey skills.
Thanks Elaine for such a wonderful fun filled day.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve

My niece just married (see previous post) a southern boy. So in the spirit of a new family member even tho they will be spending the holiday in Alabama I have decided to make this yummy sounding southern recipe for our thanksgiving table. This year is a year of new traditions, as we move on to some new beginnings I know the old ones will remain forever in our hearts.

Recipe thanks to…

http://stacysbigpicture.typepad.com/



Happy Thanksgiving everyone… enjoy!

Anticipation.....

I am anxious to finish up this day. I am looking forward to a nice long weekend coming up. Hoping it is filled with lots of eating and fun time with family. Maybe some hanging out in front of the fireplace with my favorite someone – cozy up. I am planning on hopefully making a dent in my shopping. I will be out there with all the other crazy people, only thankfully I don’t have any one item that is an absolute must find. We are going with the flow. Every year I have great plans of everything getting done early
which never happens and I can assure you it will never happen this year either but hey, I can dream right? I know I will be painting something, or crafting something, or baking something right up until the last minute it’s just my nature.
I have lots of parties coming up so there will be lots of fun things to share. Cookie swaps, ornament parties, country decoration swap, we got all kinds of parties coming up. Starting with tomorrow nights annual night before thanksgiving party which I wouldn’t miss ever. Lots of friends, lots of fun, lots of food.

As promised ...

Here are a couple of pictures as promised of things I made over the weekend.

First is an oversized clothespin that has been covered with fancy paper and I sanded the edges. Cut out 2 circles with my marvy punches, cut 2 small scraps of ribbon glued

the ribbon behind the circle then attached the circle with pop up glue dots.

The box is a small box I purchased at Michaels for .99 and again, I covered it with fancy paper, added some rub on snowflakes. I then used my cropadile to punch two holes and thread the ribbon through to tie a bow. You can use the clip to hold notes or a picture or maybe

a business card. The small box is perfect size for post it notes or any small treasures that you might have. A cute little desk set for your favorite teacher or colleague. Happy Crafting!

Happy Birthday Andrew !

my dear sweet boy this is one of my most favorite pictures ever.



















how is it possible that so many years have danced by. thank you for adding such joy to our lives and so much excitement, we love you so very, very, much Happy Happy Birthday - may you have a wonderful year to come. xoxo

wonderful weekend

It was wonderful, what a great weekend. Lots of getting in the holiday spirit, play time, fun time, friends. Went to a craft show where there were lots of vendors. Bought a few handmade gifts in the spirit of "give handmade". Lots of fun ideas, lots of inspiration. Once I was home I pulled together a couple of fun gifts you could give to teachers or perhaps someone in your office that you would like to give a little rememberance to. I will be back with pictures as soon as I can get them downloaded. I have so many ideas now to try out I dont want to go to work tomorrow. I would rather stay home and craft.

handmade holiday

I realized this past weekend that if I am going to be getting into this handmade holiday idea the time is NOW. As of today there are only
33 days left before Christmas. I have to admit I just scared myself when I counted that – wait, that can’t be right ….I have to check that again. um….
nope it’s right. I better get moving…….

Here to share with you is my number 1, not my number 1 as the in the “best” just as in the first idea… dutch kisses a.k.a. caramels. these are delicious - (don't tell your dentist - watch those fillings) you can wrap them up in brown paper bags with string or put them in fancy boxes, or in little chinese food containers… oh so cute….

and the recipe for your weekend entertainment is:

Dutch Kisses
1 pkg lg marshmallows
1 cup sugar
1 pt whipping cream
¾ white karo syrup
Cut marshmallows in ½, place sticky side up on wax paper and let dry out (I usually cut them in the morning before I leave for work and they’re ready to dip when I get home). You want to make sure that they dry out well.
Mix whipping cream, sugar and karo in large bowl (microwave safe). Cook on high 21-25 minutes depending on how powerful your microwave is. I start checking the caramel at about 21 minutes – what you’re looking for is the caramel to slowly drip forming a tear drop like figure – if it’s too runny – it’s not ready!
Butter a cookie sheet – dip marshmallow in caramel and place on cookie sheet (the caramel should slowly drip down the side of the marshmallow and making only a small puddle on cookie sheet. When you’ve finished dipping the marshmallows, go back and flip them all (this will allow the caramel to stick to the marshmallow as it’s drying). Once they’re dry wrap them, individually in wax paper (twisting the paper closed at each end). enjoy!

the family

Well here is the family! My TEAM, hence the reason for my blog name - Dee’s TEAM. 1st photo left to right is myself and my wonderful husband, Tony. He is a great guy and we have been hanging out together for a long time. He is pretty much my favorite person to hang out with, ok, well most days. 2nd picture is my hubby with our oldest son Eric, 3rd photo on top is our second son Andrew with 2 “friends”. The second row is my son Andrew with my daughter Michaela, dancing up a storm. The middle bottom picture is of the three of them. All my wonderful children, of whom I am very proud. I can honestly say the greatest accomplishment of my life! All of the pictures were taken a few weeks ago at my niece Beth’s wedding. We had a wonderful time. It is not often that we can get a picture of everyone together at the same time in the same place. So this was a big score! A Christmas card for sure!
The wedding was amazing; a fantastic time was had by all. The food, the band, the company, it was a wonderful day. Wishing Beth and her new husband Billy a lifetime of
love… Here is the beautiful couple.

a little bit of luck...

My dad sent me an email he doesn't often send emails we usually talk on the phone - most of his emails consist of jokes or some small message of warning for the latest scam out there. So this day when he said did you see your email? not yet I responded, but it aroused my curiosity so I immediately went to see why he asked...

First you have to know that he is a very quiet, humble man never, ever, speaks of any of his great accomplishments in life and there are many. How many people graduate from college at the ripe age of 43 ish with 6 small children at home? An engineer by trade but a fix it, build anything type of guy. A guy who took his young children food shopping all hanging off the cart, all hankering to be up front almost tiping the cart over every week. I am not talking about the hip fathers of today that do this I am talking about a father in the 50's when this was pretty much unheard of. He didn't have a lot of time for himself but on ocassion when he did it would be a little canoeing which he also brought us on many times - (it's a wonder no one drowned) and golf. The great game of golf. In his retirement years he got to play more golf than ever - always trying to perfect his game. He is a quiet but competitive man.

A little bit of luck is what the email subject read ... lucky that is how I feel when I speak of him. His latest accomplishment it's said to happen for the average golfer is 150,000 to 1, that is what golf digest says. I know nothing about golf but what I do know is I don't think they keep statistics on how often kids are lucky enough to get a father like him but I know it's less than than 150,000 to one. So Dad today I am telling everyone I know of your latest accomplishment - a hole in one at 85 !!!!! You are still amazing me... everyday... i love you.

Sunday Night Blues

Sunday Night Blues
I have really never been fond of sunday nights. Sunday nights mean weekends over playtime is over back to another crazy week, of work, work, work. But we did have a fun, productive weekend so I guess it's all good.
I did want to share a wonderful soup recipe that you might enjoy this cold long winter. It might warm you up inside. Yesterday while Tony and I were trying to decide what we might do that evening Michaela was working, a night to ourselves - a fancy restaurant? But it was pouring rain and we were not getting motivated to venture out so we decided to make a nice gourmet meal at home. We both like to cook and sometimes we can pull of stuff that is better than a gourmet restaurant. Well I must say that last night was one of those nights. It was awesome!!!

Butternut Squash Bisque

1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup diced onion

salt and freshly ground pepper

3 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup diced carrots

pinch nutmeg
4 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash

1. Heat oil and butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in onion and cook
until tender about 4 minutes.
2. Stir in carrots, squash and vegetable broth season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil
Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender about 5 minutes.
3. Puree soup mixture in a blender until smooth. Return to the pot and stir in heavy cream
HEAT through but do not boil. Serve warm, sprinkle with nutmeg. yum
This is very rich but very good.

So here is the whole meal from start to finish it was GREAT- a fun night for sure, romantic and we saved a bunch of money staying home it was a win all around.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

This is a little video scrapbook of a recent visit from my very best friend Lynne and her baby daughter Rielyn. Lynne moved with her family to North Carolina 2 years ago and I still miss her everyday. She is one of the best friends anyone could ever have. We had a fantastic visit and little Rielyn was amazing. Lynne is back in NC now but we shared so many laughs. She is amazing ..... please come back soon ok? Just having her here for a few days was such a great fix. love you Lynnie!

Finally

Well I have been reading blogs for a while and have been very intrigued by so many. Mostly I feel like I learn something everyday. So for a while I thought what would I possibly write in a blog that anyone would really want to read? Then I thought life - just everyday life, big events, little events, happy ones, sad ones, funny ones, etc... and maybe there might be a day that someone learns something from me. So I finally decided to venture out and have a blog of my own.

I am a mom of 3 almost grown kids and I feel so lucky - they have brought me so much joy.
Now that is not to say we have not had bumps and detours on the journey, oh yes, in order to enjoy the wonder you have to deal with the bumps... I have a great hubby that has joined me along the way and been there for me.. lucky, lucky me. I love my family and feel that with them beside me anything is possible.
I enjoy all kinds of crafts, sewing, scrapbooking, photography etc, etc i love it all and have found so much inspiration in so many places on the internet. I wonder how I ever lived without it...