Not half bad

Admittedly, I generally dislike celebrating my birthday, and this year was shaping up to be no exception. With plans getting cancelled relatively at the last minute, and all, I wasn't thinking the weekend was going to turn out well.

In the end, I was pleasantly surprised! Here is how my birthday weekend panned out:

Thursday, as you may recall, I was waiting on PINS and NEEDLES for the results of my sister's sonogram. And, I got my birthday wish! I'm going to have a beautiful little niece to smooch on this summer!

Friday, I took the day off work to hit the Hill in St Louis with a girlfriend who had never had the pleasure. And trust me, if you cook and/or love all things Italian, it IS indeed, a pleasure.

We stopped in at my favorite markets, had a fabulous lunch, and then expanded our search to find a World Market, Trader Joe's, Schlafly Bottleworks, Penzey's Spices, and ABC Trading! A wonderful, wonderful day of shopping.

On the way home, we stopped in for a drink at Fast Eddie's BonAir in Alton, then went out with friends once we got back to our own stomping ground. Some friends I don't see outside of work often came out as well, including my friend Chris and his new boyfriend (who my semi homo-phob husband has been avoiding meeting), and my girl Kathy and her fiance....at whose wedding I will be officiating this spring. (that's a story for another post! With me at the helm and Chris as the Maid of Honor, it will be an interesting one, no doubt!)

Saturday and Sunday were blissfully calm, I spent most of the time at home, working on miscellaneous projects and tasks, including fixing the toilet (yep, on my birthday). I did manage to get a large mirror painted and hung, which was a good one to cross off the list.

Then, Sunday night for supper, I broke out the goods. I picked up some absolutely phenomenal Laguniga salsiccia at DiGregorio's on the Hill and whipped up a platter of sausage and peppers for me and the hubs. Doesn't this looks steamily mah-velous???

Well, that's all for the moment, I think....hopefully it is going to be a quiet few weeks....

On Pins and Needles....

Tomorrow is a very big day! Since finding out that I am going to be an aunt about six weeks ago, I have been anxiously awaiting the answer to one question....is it a boy or a girl? And, tomorrow is the day we find out! Naturally, I will be thrilled either way, but a girl in the family sure would be nice.....and my birthday is this weekend, so maybe if I wish real hard.....everyone cross your fingers!!!

New Brew

Well, it was deer season again this weekend, the last time until November. We always have fellow hunters come stay with us for the weekend, and there are 3 prerequisites for the weekend.

1. I make a full breakfast either Saturday or Sunday morning, consisting of biscuits and gravy, bacon, hash browns, toast, ad eggs to order.

2. Saturday night, we make reservations to go to our favorite steak place for the best filet you've ever laid your lips on.

3. Coffee. Must have COFFEE. The hunters are big coffee drinkers, for obvious reason when you are parked in the timber for hours on end in the dead of winter.

So, what happens? Saturday morning, at 5:15, I brew a pot of coffee. At 7:00, I go to brew a second pot....no go. Water? Check. Coffee? Check. Power light on? Check. No brew.

Well, we just can't have that. Since the women in the group hunt less and less every year, particularly in January, when its (as my husband refers to it) as cold as a well-digger's ass. So, it was a good excuse to go shopping.

We packed Little Man up, plugged in the dvd player and headed north to Springfield. Nope, a trip to the local Walmart just won't do, honey, their coffee makers are all junk. :) We stopped at Target first, went straight to the kitchen appliances. Has anyone else noticed that you can hardly find a coffee maker that uses the cone filters? I really prefer them...you need much less coffee for each pot, and since I like the pricey stuff, the less I use, the better. I eventually had to settle for the basket filter variety, but it was on sale from $41.79 to $30, so it was a good deal. My only complaint thus far is that the water level gauge is so far back on the right side, its not easily visible unless you turn the pot. But, other than that, she seems like a good investment!

Then we moved on to the clearance clothes. Why? Why not? I need some new clothes. As it turned out, they had just put out no less than ten racks, packed full of freshly marked down clearance. I picked up a half dozen tops for myself, and several maternity tops for my sister. Couldn't believe the deals. All told, with the coffee pot, new filters, 6 tops for me and five for her, I spent $95 and change. Can't beat that.

Moving right along, we hopped over to Circuit City. They are closing down and their liquidation sale started Saturday. I picked up a new bluetooth headset for my phone for $25 down from $50. Yippee! Now, if I could just get the darn thing to connect to my phone....hmmm....where did I put the instructions?

And finally, Saturdays are always "tasting" days at my favorite liquor store. They always sample a couple of wines in the afternoon, and this weekend was their "cold weather drink" tasting. So, we were also graced with a Cognac, and a Tawny Port. On top of that, the rep from a local winery that I like (actually very close to my house) was there sampling their newest varietals, including an unoaked Chardonel (I tend to like anything that is unoaked) and an Ice Wine! I ended up with a bottle of the Chardonel, one of the Ice Wine, and a bottle of the port, which I was very surprisingly impressed with! At only $13.99 a bottle, it was an extraordinarily good deal for a decent port. Anyone want to come share them with me this weekend? Or maybe some crab legs? The game plan for this Friday night includes an all you can eat crab leg buffet and an 80's band...

Adieu...

Well, folks, its Friday afternoon, and my brain shut off for the weekend hours ago. Its been a long, crazy, back-breaking couple of weeks at the office, and I am ready for some R&R, and quite probably some bonding time with my new wine fridge and its contents.

We have company coming in again this weekend for deer season, which will mean a night out tomorrow night, and me cooking a big breakfast on Sunday morning, but I am hoping for some quiet time to work on my quilt, or some new jewelry, or both. Maybe even some “girl time” with a friend, and lunch plus a wine tasting in Springfield. Who knows….maybe I’ll get some down-time for a change. In the mean time, I just wanted to wish you all a relaxing weekend, full of comfy clothes, warm feet, and good wine. Ciao!

The Visit

Well, I’m still working on getting caught up, but I am back at work after a 4 day weekend full of family, food, and fun. My parents, sister and brother in law came in for a long weekend and belated Christmas. I don’t get to see my family very often, so when I do, it’s a big deal. We didn’t have any big plans, partly because in my remote area of the Midwest, there just isn’t much to do. SO, we stayed around home, worked on a few projects, made some jewelry, and cooked.

I had quite a menu planned, and, completely uncharacteristic for me, I didn’t take a single picture of food this weekend, and we made some really good meals! My sister and I made some new jewelry and shared pretty beads from our stashes. We created new wine cork trivets. I made one a while back from my old wine corks that I have saved, and a couple of friends fell in love with it, so dad made new frames for them and we played with wine corks one afternoon. You can see my original one in this post. We finished the baseboard in my sewing room, which required us to move everything out of the armpit of my house, and therefore, put it back more neatly, so maybe I can work on my quilt again someday soon. My dad brought out the shelf for my new wine fridge. He fixed my headboard so it’s a little shorter and the pillows don’t fall behind the bed any more. He also put my cubby hole doors on hinges instead of hangers so they are more manageable. Plus, I put cup hooks on the back of one of the doors to hang all my jewelry.

Ty also got a nice surprise from Grandpa. Being the fantastic craftsman that he is, my Dad made Ty a very nice toy chest that he will be able to keep forever. He liked it so much he even tried to take a nap on it, but I’ll have to post that picture later since its on my computer at home.
Before taking my sis and BIL to the airport yesterday, I took them on a little tour of the Hill in St Louis (aka Little Italy) and had some wonderful pasta along with a bit of shopping at the little markets down there. I made the camera shy couple stop in front of one of the beautiful churches down there for a picture.
All in all, it was a wonderful visit, and I can’t wait until Ty and I fly out to the coast to see them again in April!

A Christmas Recap:

As I was wandering around the house this morning trying to take pictures of the things I need to blog about, I remembered. Oh yeah! CHRISTMAS! I mentioned that I had a good Christmas, but I didn’t get a chance to SHOW you!

First of all, my husband finally listened to me. FINALLY, he took the ever-so-blatant hint and got me what I actually WANTED for Christmas. For years now, I have been searching for a new sewing machine that was both what I wanted, and reasonably priced. A few months ago, I found it, and waited to see if it would show up for Christmas, although I had serious doubts about it. My current machine is the same machine that my parents gave me as a gift for my high school graduation 18 years ago. It was meant to be a starter machine, and I am far from being a beginner. The poor thing has been a good little soldier, but it really needs to be retired. These days, I break more needles than fingernails.
So, based on my sewing activities, I really just wanted a basic machine. A basic machine that is heavy duty for the many layers of denim I often sew through while mending the hubs’ work clothes. One that can also do quilting work (and as a bonus, this one has a 16 inch extension table!). And, what may seem easy to find, but really isn’t, a machine that uses a drop-in, top-loading bobbin. I hate front-loaders, I really do. I’ve tried them and I just can’t get used to them. So, here is what I have found. A Singer, “professional” heavy duty sewing machine, with a top loading bobbin and an extension table. What do you think of my new baby?
A month or so before Christmas, my mother in law frightened me by telling me that she had purchased my Christmas present, and that she was very excited about it, but it wasn’t something that was on my list. Oh LORD was I scared. I try not to let Matt’s family shop “off-list” for me. It just doesn’t work. I’m a picky bitch, and I know it, but they don’t understand the methods to my madness, so its just generally not a good idea.

The box was huge. I opened it carefully and with great trepidation. And then I discovered something I never knew. My mother in law IS capable of listening!!! On Thanksgiving, I pointed something out in a Black Friday ad that I “have always wanted, but will probably never have.” Something that usually runs $100 or more, but was on sale that morning only for about half that. She bought it. She went out on Black Friday and BOUGHT it!
Pardon me while I caress my new 8 bottle wine fridge….
Currently, it is residing on my counter, but while the parents were in town this weekend, my wonderful daddy installed a shelf under my counter top for its new home (also in the picture). I just need to put another coat of stain on it before it can take up permanent residence. Ahhhh…..life is good.

Ladies and Gentlemen...may I present .....

My NIECE! (ok, or nephew, but we believe in the power of positive thinking).
I’ve been trying not to blow my sister’s secret since she told us on Thanksgiving, but I have the green light from her now, and here she is in all her pregnant glory.

Yes, there will be more blogging later today, but I have tons of catching up to do at work after my long weekend visit with my family.