Simplify

Treat

n:  1. A source of a special delight or pleasure

Example:  Spending an afternoon sewing while enjoying the company of a four year old turned comedian.

 

A:  Mommy, where do pirates like to eat?  

Me:  I don't know. Where? (I knew. I swear my dad tells this joke. Dad?)

A:  At Wendys!  Errr... I mean ARRRBYS!!  he he he...

n:  2.  Something completely delicious

Example:

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

makes 2 dozen

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (plus a tablespoon)

1/4 cup shortening

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

2 cups all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Combine flour, baking soda and salt.  In another bowl, combine softened butter with shortening, sugar, and brown sugar and vanilla.  Beat until creamy.  Beat in egg.  Gradually add flour mixture and mix well.  Stir in chocolate chips.  

3.  Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 min or until they are BARELY starting to brown on top.  

4.  Enjoy. 

5.  Repeat.  Make them at least 8 times a month.  I do.  Seriously.  I'm a very exclusive chef (baker?), it turns out.  As in, I only make cookies.  These cookies!  

You're welcome, or I'm sorry.  Either one.  ;-)

A case of the "wish I's"

Once in a while, I get a case of the wish I's. You know, when you look at other blogs and see what everyone else is doing, or just IS, and you think, Gee I wish I....

could take pictures like Shelly and Ashley

was an amazing mom like Cori

could cook AND take beautiful SMILING pics of my kids like Sherelle

was as all around amazing as Sandi

was as talented as Lissa at what I do

could decorate like V

was as cute and fun as Lacey and while I'm at it, I wish I had her coat too...

could respond to comments and be as sweet as Thimbleanna

heck, just BE Heather! She's amazing!

...you get the idea. And seriously, that is just scratching the surface... pretty much every blog visit, I wish I could do something as well as that person can do it. Kinda like how every time I pull my no longer white whites out of the dryer and I think of my aunt Anne and her always WHITE whites. I mean, how does she do that??

Anyway, I think sometimes it is easy to get caught up in what others do so well and we forget who we are and what makes us US. (Or am I the only one crazy enough to suffer from the wish I's??) Let me reprhase that. I think sometimes it is easy to get caught up in what others do so well that I forget who I am and what makes me ME.

Those of you who are new, or relatively new to my blog may have missed some of the snippets about who I am. So, let me introduce myself, if you don't mind.

Hi everybody, I'm Camille. I love my family, I have two darling little boys, a sweet husband, and I love to sew and just create in general. I started my own business last year and have really enjoyed it so far, even though it has been a ton of work. I stay up until about 3 am most nights (sorry, no changes there...yet...maybe ever), and I love to sleep in in the morning. Luckily, my kids aren't in school yet, and they love to sleep in too. They are really good kids, I couldn't ask for better. That doesn't mean that we don't have fights, tantrums or lightsaber battles gone bad, but all in all they are amazing little guys.

My house is almost always clean, but mostly because I drive my family crazy trying to keep it that way, also I make my bed the second I roll of it in the morning. I get tired frequently, so I drink a lot of Dr. Pepper. Too much! I love it though, and blame my dad. He quit drinking it when I left home. I guess he didn't need it anymore. I don't cook. Most of you know that. I'm not good at it. I've started more than one oven mitt fire. (???) We eat out a lot (can you say In-N-Out Mondays?), or my husband Jarom cooks. However, I make a mean PB&J for the boys pretty much every day for lunch. I eat a bowl of Cheerios with bananas every morning for breakfast. I'm really boring like that. I'm always freezing, and I hate the snow. I am a crazy multi-tasker. I clean my bathroom while I'm waiting for the shower to heat up, I pay my bills while I'm eating dinner, and I am incapable of just sitting down and watching a movie.

I love taking pictures, even though a lot of them come out blurry. I really don't have a clue what I'm doing, but I'm learning a lot. I hate pictures of myself. I think that is pretty normal though. I stay in my PJ's most days until the absolute last moment (aka 4:50 when I have to go to the Post Office). My hair is always pulled back in a messy bun, and I have more jeans than I know what to do with. I love jeans. And short sleeve hoodies. And polka dot anything. Oh, and fabric. I love fabric. And the gospel. And my family. I really, really love my family. I hope they know that.

I do have a good life, and I am grateful for it everyday. I do not have a perfect life, and I have had some pretty tough struggles to get through. I have good days, and bad, but I choose to focus on the good in my life on my blog, because it is what I try to focus on too.

That being said, Isn't blogging great? I LOVE blogs, and reading what other people choose to write about their lives. It is such a great outlet to share your creative abilities, your families, and your thoughts on life. Not to mention it is such a great place to make friends and be inspired to try new things. I don't know what I would do without it, without all of you! Even if that means I get the occasional case of the wish I's.

It's a Wonderful Life

I don't like "It's a Wonderful Life." I watched it again late last night while I was working on a few Christmas gifts, and came to this conclusion near the end, after crying through the last 20 minutes. I think anyone could identify with George at least I little. Do you? I know I do. There have been an awful lot of George Bailey moments in my life, both the good and the bad. If the choice is to be George during the show (how come it takes so long for him to believe Clarence? Geez Louise...) and the George at the end, I hope I'm leaning more toward the George at the end.

Love the ending, and love the inscription in the book:

And here is where I get all sappy and sentimental and thank all of you for helping me to not be a failure. I can't thank you enough for your sweet comments and kinds words on days that are... less than wonderful. Simply put, you guys are the best. A huge heartfelt thank you to each of you.

Happy, happy Holidays.

c

This post is for you, Santa

Dear Santa,

Now that I have your attention...

I hope you got the letters we sent you. We were smart this year and didn't put our return address, so hopefully they don't make a reappearance. Just in case you didn't receive them (or you can't read pictures) AND you happen to read my blog, here's a summary.

C: "I yont Star Wars the Clone Wars toys. Darth Veeder, Obi Kan Obi, Geneyal Gevyus, R2D2, and Storm Droopers. And a space ship. And a yightsaber. And..."
Me: Have you been good?
C: Umm... No....

A: With his brother poking him in the side "I guess I want Star Wars the Clone Wars toys..."
Me: "And what do you actually want?"
A: Leans in and whispers "Art supplies."
Got it.

Jarom
Says this:

Means this:

Will probably get this ;-)

As for me? World peace. That's all. Okay, and maybe this:

(But if you find an extra one of these floating around in that big red sack of yours, I wouldn't complain)

Thanks Santa! Merry Christmas!

Love, Camille (and family)

PS- You've got 16 days 'til Christmas, so good luck with that.
PSx2- If only it were this easy...

Random

Every once in a while I have too many little tidbits floating around in my head, and they just all make it on one random post. Well, today is that day. Here goes:

*I made cookies yesterday and since I don't like cold ones, I made a bag of extra cookie dough balls and put them in the fridge for today. This morning I opened the fridge to find an empty bag. Which means someone got up in the middle of the night and ate my cookie dough. I have my suspicions....

*On Thursday I got the nicest email from Julie, who reads by blog enough to know how much I love 1974 from Urban Chicks letting me know that it was Fat Quarter Shop's deal of the day. How sweet was that? Thanks Julie, for thinking of me! I made a nice addition to my Urban Stash. I owe you one.

*Last weekend I took some pictures for our dear friends the Brandleys (not Brankleys) ;-) Aren't they cute? We are trying to convince the three front ones to buy the house next door.

*(I know you are getting sick of these but I had to record this one) After helping Aiden organize his blocks a few days ago he looked up at me and said, "Wow mom, you are almost as smart as a boy." Nice.

*Angela over at Moda*Home*Mom made THE most darling skirt, go check it out. If you are like me and have no little girls to dress in such finery, you might cry a little. Love it!

*In case you missed the last post, I (Finally!) have a new FAQ page up on the top left sidebar. Questions? Go there!

*Is anyone else having problems with Typepad's new comment setup? Just me?

*Is it really true that Pushing Daisies is canceled? I'm more than bummed. Good thing we discovered 30 Rock this weekend. Hilarious! Seriously. It eased the pain.

*Shelly is hosting a Holiday Recipe Extravaganza over at her blog, go check it out and if you make anything, please double it and send half to me. Shelly is one darn good cook, that's for sure.

*My friend Sheri is having a wonderful giveaway at her brand new blog. Check it out! And welcome her to blogging while you're at it!

That's it for today. Please note, it is only 10:51 when I am posting this. So far so good. Although, apparently I'm not the only night owl out there. So how about instead of improving my sleeping habits, we just start a middle of the night blogging club of some sort. Hmm....

Happy Saturday!

Sleep, birds, and leaves

Late, late and later. That seems to sum up my awful sleeping habits in a nutshell.

I'm exhausted every evening at about 6:00. Sometimes I fall asleep for 10 or 20 minutes after dinner, sometimes I don't and I just push through it. Oh how I love a power nap. Then I stay up until 3:30 or 4 in the morning, doing whatever my little heart desires. Replying to emails, putting orders out, blogging, sewing, eating, etc. There is no one tugging on me, no phone ringing, and cleaning makes too much noise so it definitely isn't allowed. I get so much done! But when my kids get up at 9:30 (Yes, 9:30, don't hate me) it feels like I just closed my eyes.

I've always been a night owl. Always. For years and years, I stayed up until 1:30 or 2 most nights. That was doable, this probably isn't. Although it is far more productive.... {sigh}

Tonight, I made a new page over there on my left sidebar under my updated family picture. See? Where it says Frequently Asked Questions? This is my first step toward normal sleep. You should check it out. Ask a question if you'd like. But don't judge the typos. For some reason, those seem to increase the later it gets... So does my sense of humor. he he he...

So this is scary looking nighttime (cheesy) me, saying goodbye to the 3:00 hour. My most productive hour, my favorite hour, the hour when I am the least tired all day. This is me, turning a new leaf. A normal person leaf, instead of a crazy night owl leaf. My goal is to sleep like a semi-normal person, 12-8. Yes, 8 is early for me. Don't push it.

(The month before Market is the only exception. There's a whole WORLD of us crazy quilters who go without sleep that month. That can't be helped. Shoutout to you, crazy quilters!)

From now on, if you see a comment/post from me after midnight, please feel free to drop by the blog and lecture. Except you, mom, you can call. Or rather, continue to call.

Goodbye night owl. Hello you awful, terrible (kinda) early bird...