A Cowl for Your Computer

My husband has been wrapping his laptop in a tee shirt during its transports. I noticed that this wasn't working too well and when a knitting project I was working on wasn't working out as planned, to save face I decided the project was now going to be a cover for his computer.







Upon finishing the project another idea struck me. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the new computer cover can double as a cowl, or as I like to call them, neck gaiters.



Great, now anytime I want to go outside in freezing cold weather and my husband is at home with computer in use, I'm all set. That is of course unless he's doing work with the computer on his lap; it also works great to put under the computer on top of your legs so that your legs don't get hot.

Featured Crafters

Today I want to highlight some of my favorite crafts on sale at Etsy. Can you see the theme?

pendant by missficklemedia

wristlet by EmiShimosato

headband by Frosting Couture

coasters by 12fifteen

pony tail holders by MaryMarsh

hat by Two Seaside Babes

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1. I don't know where I've been, but I just discovered Amazon.com's wish lists. My birthday is in November and Christmas has come and gone, but I'm still dog gone excited about it! I've been browsing the internet adding things to my list left and right like someone's actually going to buy me all these things.

2. Yes, Christmas has come and gone and now I can finally share the handmade gift that I made for all my relatives.






Simply glue the flap part of an envelope to the back of another envelope. Repeat 5 times (or 3 or 4 or 7...). Accordian fold. Decorate, personalize, embellish, and voila. You could use this for many different purposes; keeping wish lists and gift receipts for each member of the family, saving/tithing/spending, the possibilities are endless. Honestly, though I'm not sure that they were a big hit. We'll try again next year.

3. Well, I'm sad to update on my fantasy football league. I turned out to be "that guy" that I made fun of the last two years who midway through the season played players who had byes and just stopped paying attention. Thanksgiving came and fantasy football went down the tubes. At that point none of my players had byes, but I'm pretty sure I didn't play Brian Westbrook the last couple weeks when he was on fire. I made it into the playoffs, so I hear, and played my brother-in-law for 3rd place and I'm such a fantasy football loser that I don't even know if I won that final game. Sigh.

God is Interested in Housework

As the holiday season dies down and life gets back to normal, usual, maybe mundane, I encourage you to invite God into your mundaneness. I know that's not a word because it's underlined with red little lines right now. A couple weeks ago I was feeling stressed, writing in my journal a list of all the things I had in my mind to do, but never seemed to think of them when I could take the time to do them. I told God that I just can't do it all. I need help. I'm learning to stop and listen when I pray and not just pray and go on with my doings. I could tell you the solution God gave me and how I tried it the next day and I got way more done than I expected to, but the solution for my problem is not the point. It would be a great tip for all, but I would rather you imagine Jesus walking into your house and putting his arm around you the next time you're feeling overwhelmed and gently telling you how you can remedy your stressful situation.

Year End Book Review

I've kept track of how many books I've read each year for the last 4 years now. I went from 43 in 2005 to 57 in 2006 to 67 in 2007 to this past year's whopping 29. I don't know if adding a person to our family had something to do with it or maybe that it took me about 5 months to read one of the books. I thought I'd compile a list of the top ten of the year, so I went down my list and marked ones that stood out to me with the intention of going back and narrowing down my big top ten. I shouldn't be surprised to find that I had only marked 9 because throughout the year I kept having a sense that I just couldn't find a good book. So here are my top 9 reads of 2008.

• The Breastfeeding Cafe by Barbara L. Behrmann~ The old saying goes that sex, religion, and politics are subjects that are off limits. Breastfeeding should be added to that list. With my very first newborn whenever asked if I was nursing or bottlefeeding I felt like asking, "Who wants to know?" It seemed there were few who didn't fall into one of two groups: the lactivists and the bottle feeders who have all been scorned by the lactivists. In all the hub bub surrounding how I fed my baby, this book was an encouragement filled with stories of many moms in their nursing ups and downs. Of course there is a strong lactivist bent (I believe there was a reference to formula as "crap in a can"), but it served as additional humor to me along with the anecdotal struggles in the moms' stories.
• What is a Family? by Edith Schaeffer~ Edith Schaeffer is a personal favorite of mine so I eat up anything she writes. The title is pretty self explanatory. This is a good companion book to another one of hers, The Hidden Art of Homemaking.
• A Light Affliction by Maureen Hay Read~I don't miss a day of writing in my journal, so the format of this book resonates well with me (it's mostly her journal entries). I also found it very interesting because the author was my high school English teacher. She journals through a time of sickness when I was her student. I remember her taking a long leave of absence and knew she was very sick, but had no idea the horrors she was going through. The rest of the book, covering a span of about 10 years, is encouraging and challenging as she faces the trials and struggles of everyday life.
• Mistaken Identity by Newell Cerak, Whitney Cerak, Susie Van Ryn, Colleen Cerak, and Don Van Ryn~ It's one of those books where you feel like you're invading someone's privacy, a People magazine cover story, but they wrote the book and it's an amazing story. God sure does work in mysterious ways.
• The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems by Tracy Hogg~ No, not everything did come naturally as a new mother. I had my intincts about some things and stuck to them and I had situations where I wasn't exactly sure what to do. This book helped give some direction and steady ground on those issues I was a little unsure of.
• To Own a Dragon by Donald Miller~ It's about growing up without a dad. I grew up with a dad, but just wanted to read it because Donald Miller wrote it. As expected he didn't disappoint. You'll just enjoy chewing on his thoughts.
• Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp~ This is one I want to own and keep as a reference for all time. Probably one to read once a year. I mean, sheperding your child's heart; what a responsibility and privilege! Wow, I have a high calling.
• To Train Up a Child by Michael Pearl~ A good companion book to Tripp's above. This one is more about training your children in the first year(s); training vs. discipline which is covered more in Shepherding a Child's Heart.
• Hundred Dollar Holiday by Bill McKibben~Highly recommended to anyone who is sick and tired of the rat race of the holiday season and is seeking something simpler. Our family is celebrating the 12 days of Christmas this year as a result of this quick little read because it's not all about the big day of presents. Don't worry, it's point is not to abolish gifts altogether, but to get you to think about the kind of traditions you want in your family for this time of year.

So there you have it; the 9 books I read this year that I truly enjoyed. What was your favorite read of 2008?

Egg Nog Tea Cookies

If you love egg nog and all 440 calories per cup, you'll love these cookies.

My Precious China

For the first time today, I shall post a video. I recently had to rearrange some things in my kitchen because of the antics of my son. We decided to capture his mischief and let him go at it since the plan to revamp was in place. We don't have a formal dining room in our house, so no hutch to put my china in. I rarely use it, but love it none the less, and had it stored in the corner cupboards; out of the way I thought. Enjoy.