Thursday, December 30, 2010
Hanging out in our pajamas
Madison and Emmalene were wearing some warm Christmas pj's and sliding around the living room on the floor. Had to take this photo as they passed by the tree!
Madison's First Job!
Madison was asked to serve as a hostess for one of Bruce's clients. They were hosting their annual Christmas party and needed two hostesses for their front door. Madison chose her friend Camille to help out. The girls were asked to be dressed in church attire and greet the guests by opening the front door for them and handing out small gifts to them as they left.
The girls were so excited. Madison and Camille would talk about it at school in anticipation of the big day. They were dressed so cute and got lots of compliments from the guests. The party was an open house event from 1-6 P.M. They were tired when they left, but excited about their rewards. They were paid $50.00 each and given a few small items for their appreciation. What an exciting first job!
The girls were so excited. Madison and Camille would talk about it at school in anticipation of the big day. They were dressed so cute and got lots of compliments from the guests. The party was an open house event from 1-6 P.M. They were tired when they left, but excited about their rewards. They were paid $50.00 each and given a few small items for their appreciation. What an exciting first job!
This photo was taken in the foyer of the home of their first job!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Annual Christmas Photos
As many of you know, my brother Mark is a photographer. He comes down to my house to take pictures for my photo Christmas cards. He has all the fancy equipment, lights, etc. that I don't have.
Mark had his photo taken too. He's wearing what he'll be dressed in for his chorus concert next week. He told us that he will be singing three songs that are all in different languages.
Isn't this the cutest Christmas photo that you've ever seen!
Madison looked directly at the camera, but we had to give Emmalene a Christmas tree ornament to hold to keep her focused. She's not used to the bright lights and really big camera that Uncle Mark has!
Madison was telling Emmalene to look at the camera when
Mark took this photo. Too cute!
This photo is of Madison and Emmalene wearing their Christmas pajamas.
Mark had his photo taken too. He's wearing what he'll be dressed in for his chorus concert next week. He told us that he will be singing three songs that are all in different languages.
Isn't this the cutest Christmas photo that you've ever seen!
Gourmet Girl
Back in March, I started a lunch delivery service on Fridays. I love to cook, but the point of being home is to spend time with Emmalene while she's a baby. So, I had to limit the lunches to only one day a week. It started a little slow, but quickly picked up once word got out. I make southern gourmet-style lunches that are homemade with a dessert. For example, one week I did chicken grape salad with sour cream butter biscuits and creamy cocounut cake. I package them in brown paper gift bags with a red tie and a label describing the contents, etc. I send out a menu via email each Tuesday and take orders until Thursday at 5:00 PM. Then, it's cook, cook, cook! Sometimes I'm up very late depending on the menu. I want it to be fresh and homemade so that means time.
I've picked up a lot of business from the schools. The teachers have supported me as well as local businesses. I've added cakes during holidays (Easter, 4th of July, etc.) which brings in a little extra too. For Christmas, I picked up a small catering job and have made many cakes for parties. As a matter of fact, I had to put a hold on Friday lunches for the rest of December due to cake orders and small catering jobs. I love it! It doesn't seem like a job because I get to do what I love, but it also brings in some extra money. It basically buys groceries each week. A little something never hurts!
This a photo of a recent cake I did for a Christmas party. It's a red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. I decorated it with a gingerbread theme. I took a quick photo before delivering it.
I've picked up a lot of business from the schools. The teachers have supported me as well as local businesses. I've added cakes during holidays (Easter, 4th of July, etc.) which brings in a little extra too. For Christmas, I picked up a small catering job and have made many cakes for parties. As a matter of fact, I had to put a hold on Friday lunches for the rest of December due to cake orders and small catering jobs. I love it! It doesn't seem like a job because I get to do what I love, but it also brings in some extra money. It basically buys groceries each week. A little something never hurts!
This a photo of a recent cake I did for a Christmas party. It's a red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. I decorated it with a gingerbread theme. I took a quick photo before delivering it.
Say Cheese!
An elf delivered a new camera to us a couple of weeks ago. We were very surprised and have been reading the directions to make sure we get full use out of it. Well, Bruce has been reading them. I read them for about 5.2 seconds and he's been teaching me. Madison will inherit my old camera. It's still in great condition, but this new one is fantastic! As you can see, the pictures are very clear and crisp.
It's not very often that you'll catch Bruce in a photo,
but Madison took this one. It came out great!
Madison took this self portrait.
Madison also took this one when I was giving
Emmalene a bath in the kitchen sink.
My girls are camera trained.
My girls are camera trained.
Anytime the camera comes out - they start smiling!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Animal Cell
Madison had to create a 3D animal or plant cell along with a key for a grade in Science. She chose the animal cell. Normally I help with nightly homework and Bruce has "project" duty, but I was actually excited about this project unlike my normal response to projects.
When Madison was brainstorming her construction process, it reminded me of having to make a plant cell when I was in Mr. Durrance's 7th grade Biology class. My dad helped me make the cell on a sheet of heavy cardstock with window sealant as the cytoplasm. He helped me find stuff around the house to represent the other stuff in it. I remember having fun with my dad at the table trying to glue everything down. I told Madison about that and she thought it was funny.
So, Madison was thinking of different ways to create this 3D model when she opted for a cake. We made a two-layer cake so the model could be eaten later. The cytoplasm was the icing on top and the cell parts were all edible. She used red hots, a fire bowl for the nucleus, gummy worms, cotton candy, licorice, sugar strings, and jelly beans. She also had to create a key showing what each item represented. That was done on a sheet of neon pink cardstock. She was so excited that we took pictures to document her work.
The next morning she gathered everything and headed off to school. I don't know who was more excited, her or me, about finding out how well she did. Later that day, I picked her up from school. She hopped in the car saying that one other kid had made their project out of a cake, but that her's was a hit. They ate it in class and she turned in her key for a grade.
After the weekend, Monday finally brought the grade she hoped for. It was a 100!!! She grabbed my camera and took a photo of her grade and I took one of her holding it. (We had to throw the key away since it had food on it.)
You can see from this photo just how excited and proud she was!
When Madison was brainstorming her construction process, it reminded me of having to make a plant cell when I was in Mr. Durrance's 7th grade Biology class. My dad helped me make the cell on a sheet of heavy cardstock with window sealant as the cytoplasm. He helped me find stuff around the house to represent the other stuff in it. I remember having fun with my dad at the table trying to glue everything down. I told Madison about that and she thought it was funny.
So, Madison was thinking of different ways to create this 3D model when she opted for a cake. We made a two-layer cake so the model could be eaten later. The cytoplasm was the icing on top and the cell parts were all edible. She used red hots, a fire bowl for the nucleus, gummy worms, cotton candy, licorice, sugar strings, and jelly beans. She also had to create a key showing what each item represented. That was done on a sheet of neon pink cardstock. She was so excited that we took pictures to document her work.
The next morning she gathered everything and headed off to school. I don't know who was more excited, her or me, about finding out how well she did. Later that day, I picked her up from school. She hopped in the car saying that one other kid had made their project out of a cake, but that her's was a hit. They ate it in class and she turned in her key for a grade.
After the weekend, Monday finally brought the grade she hoped for. It was a 100!!! She grabbed my camera and took a photo of her grade and I took one of her holding it. (We had to throw the key away since it had food on it.)
You can see from this photo just how excited and proud she was!
O Christmas Tree...
O Christmas tree...Oh, has this been a tree! We bought this tree the year we moved in. We were very excited about it since it is prelit. That has been a great thing - until this year. We noticed a section of lights were out last year, but due to the new baby and our lives being hectic, we just dealt with it.
This year we realized the situation was worse. More than 3/4 of the trees lights were out. This meant one of two things, buy a new one or restring the whole tree. First we priced a new tree and then quickly (I mean VERY quickly) we decided to restring the tree. When I say "we", I mean "Bruce". He sat in the garage for several hours cutting the old lights away from the branches. The lights were attached with mini zip ties. Once again, a great idea knowing the tree was well put together when we bought it, but no so much fun removing them years later!
After several hours and many happy thoughts, the tree was ready to have new lights. We bought ten packages of lights (100 lights each) and Bruce busily went to getting this done. Trust me at $2.97 per box - this was way cheaper than a new tree!!
What does one do while the tree is being prepared you're wondering...well, Madison did homework, Emmalene played with her toys and I ...stayed out of the way! The tree is done (THANK YOU BRUCE) and it's all decorated now. It looks beautiful!
Emmalene tasted a burgundy glitter ball, but hasn't done that since. She's stayed away from the tree. We're pretty surprised considering the night it went up, she was wanting to touch it.
Another year, another memory made, and photos to document it!
This year we realized the situation was worse. More than 3/4 of the trees lights were out. This meant one of two things, buy a new one or restring the whole tree. First we priced a new tree and then quickly (I mean VERY quickly) we decided to restring the tree. When I say "we", I mean "Bruce". He sat in the garage for several hours cutting the old lights away from the branches. The lights were attached with mini zip ties. Once again, a great idea knowing the tree was well put together when we bought it, but no so much fun removing them years later!
After several hours and many happy thoughts, the tree was ready to have new lights. We bought ten packages of lights (100 lights each) and Bruce busily went to getting this done. Trust me at $2.97 per box - this was way cheaper than a new tree!!
What does one do while the tree is being prepared you're wondering...well, Madison did homework, Emmalene played with her toys and I ...stayed out of the way! The tree is done (THANK YOU BRUCE) and it's all decorated now. It looks beautiful!
Emmalene tasted a burgundy glitter ball, but hasn't done that since. She's stayed away from the tree. We're pretty surprised considering the night it went up, she was wanting to touch it.
Another year, another memory made, and photos to document it!
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