dog sitting again...

Christmas Morning!

mErRY chRiSTmAs!!!

Hotel Del Coronado

We drove down to Coronado Island before Christmas to check out Christmas lights and the decorations at San Diego's most famous hotel- The Del.  It was very beautiful- in a turn-of-the-century luxury beach resort sort of way!

The decorated streets of downtown Coronado.

The famous tower on the Del.

The beautiful Dining Room.

The Coronado Boat House.

And photographic proof that Mr. Incredible and I were actually there!

reason

See these smiling ladies?

And these gals too?

They're terrific!  I sent an email to them asking if they'd give a gift to one of these girls this Christmas:

These are the four girls living in the H2H Girls Transition House.  They grew up in the Romanian orphanage system and are spending this year learning life skills, receiving job training, and getting a lot of one-on-one attention.  They are also getting some really special Christmas presents this year:

This is only about 1/3 of the presents that my smiling friends purchased, wrapped up, and 'bowed' this week!  Like I said- they're terrific and I can't wait for our Romanian girls to unwrap these presents!

-CtF

Christmas Pics Take 1!

setting up the Christmas tree...

shiny baubles...

(I've never typed that word before... I don't think I've ever said it outloud either....

hmmm... I'm not planning on saying it outloud anytime soon either!)

gnomie...

Merry Christmas!

-CtF

Just Checking In...

Its been so long and I have no excuses...


...well maybe I could think of a few excuses...

...but I won't get into now.

Its Christmas time and while we will not have any of the white stuff on the ground in San Diego, we do have Christmas trees, lights, wrapping paper, and  Christmas carols on the radio.

Parties are being planned, gifts are being scrutinized over, cookies baked, and greetings exchanged with strangers- all because of this time of year.

I love Christmas... and not just because of my unnatural nickname.

Here's an un-Christmas picture of Nora...

...because I will have plenty of Christmas-y ones soon!

Yeee-Haww!

Can you see why I might be dreaming about cowboys-or at least one cowboy in particular?

Monster Sale!

I sold my first monster! And it wasn't to my mom!  Hurray!

If you need a monster- especially a Christmas monster (since I'll be adding them as they're ready) visit my shop!

Christmas Monster!

Christmas Monsters have arrived...

Check out my shop for more holiday monsters!

-CtF

The Blind Side...

Go see this movie...

...really...

...even if you know nothing about football and don't care to know anything about it in the future...

...because its not completely about football...

...its about family and faith and courage and honor...

...there's laughing and crying scenes...

...and yes- there's football too for you football fans (football fan trivia- which famous football player has a cameo in this movie?  Mr. Incredible spotted him right away- I had no clue, until we were walking to our car and he filled me in... then I thought it was pretty cool)

...you'll love this movie...

...I promise!

-CtF

I love butternut squash...

...I picked up a couple beautiful butternuts from a farm on my way home from work. The farm grows pumpkins, winter squash, tomatoes...

...they have a trailer parked out by the road with all the veggies and good- plus some homemade jams, flower seed mixes, and the occasional zucchini loaf.  Everything is farm fresh, pesticide free, and the best part is the honor-system method of picking and paying- you pick your veggies and put your cash in the bucket!

...I bought a couple butternut squash.  And mashed one up into a butternut gnocchi- yum!

I still have one hanging around my kitchen- look at those curves...

...and that cute little stem!

...and I don't really know what to say...its going to be hard to mash him up now!

-CtF

I gave in...

...and started an etsy shop. 

If you're in the market for something monster-ish, please visit Christmas Tree Face Creations.

Definition: Monsterish- of or having to do with monsters... like this guy:

I may add non-monster items... depending on my next phase!  We'll see what happens...

If you want something custom- please contact me!

-CtF

my dog hit a car

Yeah- she really did.

And it was a parked car.

And the car won.

Nora was running, leaping, doing her thing.

She leapt past the metal bumper of a parked car- and missed.

The bumper tore open her leg- very gruesome- from her hip to her knee.

Be glad I didn't take a photo.

So now she has 14 inches of sutures...

And a big vet bill...

And three different prescriptions...

And a t-shirt...

Don't worry- Nora doesn't act as injured as she looks in these photos...

And she should be back to herself soon!

Miles to Myles

When I was in college I was blessed with a group of close friends.  We were all majoring in music, took most of the same classes, and enjoyed many Starbuck's breaks during our four years of undergrad.  We laughed, cried, studied, and scarfed cafeteria food together.  As we've 'grown-up' we've stayed in each other's lives and have experienced many milestones together.

Today, I got to meet my dear friend's new baby for the first time.  She's the first of our group to have a kid- so naturally, this was a big milestone!

I brought the camera- ready to capture our group's first baby... when I got there, we cooed over him- admired his pink cheeks and spiky hair. His bright blue eyes gleamed at his mama and he hardly made a peep while my friend and I got a chance to catch up.

And catch up we did- we talked and laughed and had such a good time I totally forgot to get my camera out of the bag...

As I was driving home I realized this sad fact.  So to make up, I took pictures of the wonderful sights on the freeway.

I do believe the little guy and I will have to have another date with my Nikon... soon!

-CtF

A quick tour of our 2009 Halloween decorations.

We'll start with the inside...

A look outside...

our spooky front door...

front yard graveyard...

mummies!

fortune telling...

close up of the gypsy...

...and her customer...

and the green ring master...

evil dead clown...

...just wait until next year!

I think I have Mr. Incredible convinced to convert the garage into a full haunted house... one can only hope!

-CtF