Our Christmassy-ness in Pictures

Here are the two ornaments Ben & I made at a glass blowing class we took for our anniversary. Aren't they cool!?
Even the weather is cooperating with our Christmassy theme!

The super cheap and simple wreath for our door. I think it cost a total of $4. But it actually looks really pretty, especially in the snow!
Our stockings hanging on our stairwell. And yes, those are candy cane reindeer I made at a relief society function. :)
Snowmen place mats I made for our table.


And a close up of the place mats.A little door wrapping on our downstairs bathroom door, to help us display our cards and Christmas photos!

Our tree! With a super easy no-sew tree skirt I made.

Close up of the tree skirt. Here is the tutorial I used to make the skirt.
And finally, another apron I made as a gift.

Christmassy Lists!

Here are a few Christmassy Lists for you!

Christmassy Crafts Completed:

I have officially finished all the Christmassy crafts I wanted to do this year! I'll post pictures!

• Christmas Card Door Display Ribbon
• Christmas Place Mats for the table
• Christmas Lights in our windows
• Christmas Front Door Wreath
• Christmas Tree Skirt
  

Christmas Baking/Cooking!

Now that I have finished all of my Christmas crafts, I will be moving on to Christmas baking and cooking! Here is what I will make:

• Cheese crackers
• Oreo Truffles
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
• Sugar Cookies (I have new cookie cutters to try out!)
• Mexican Wedding Cakes
• Oatmeal Crispies
• Marla's Buns
• Cinnamon Rolls
• Loaves of Bread as neighbor gifts
• and duh, duh, duuuuuuhn! A TURKEY! (yup, I think that's what we're going to try to make for Christmas dinner this year. We'll see.)

Christmas Stuff We're Doing or Have Done:

• Watching the First Presidency Christmas devotional
  
• Stake Christmas Music Program
• Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo
  
• Two Sundays full of being in special musical numbers at church
• Ward Christmas Party (with a theme of "The Polar Express"--it was cute)
• A Girls Night White Elephant Gift exchange for Erin (in which I totally scored some Christmas kitchen towels and a mug with a Christmas tree on it that has lights that LIGHT UP when you put something hot in it!)
• A Christmas party at some friend's from church's house
• Caroling with the Activity day girls and the cub scouts
• I would like to go to the temple before Christmas, hopefully we can make that work in the next couple of weeks

And I think that's it!

We have a lot of Christmas going on in the Carper Household! I love Christmas, and I love celebrating the birth of the Savior! Don't we have such a reason to celebrate?! I love that people, even those who aren't particularly religious, tend to be a little kinder, or a little more compassionate during this season. I think the spirit of Christmas somehow touches the heart of everyone during this time of the year, and the rough edges on people tend to round out just a little bit for a few weeks.

Anyways, Happy Christmas to one and all!

Whew!

I'm finally done with my daily diabetes blogging!

That was crazy hard and ridiculous! But very rewarding! Thanks to any of you who read that blog!

So, what has been going on for the last few weeks? A lot!

• My diabetes blog was mentioned on the American Diabetes Association blog roll!
  
• Ben and I have been asked to sing in a double quartet for our stake Christmas music program. I've also been asked to play my flute in an ensemble for that same program. So, I've pulled out the ole' flute and have been practicing a bunch. And it feels pretty good. I have a love-hate relationship with music and musicians right now, but so far, I'm having fun playing again. We'll see what happens when I actually have to start rehearsing with people again.
• We went to North Carolina to visit Ben's family for Thanksgiving! It was super fun and super relaxing! We ate a LOT, played lots of games, raked leaves, and played with two nieces and a nephew!
  
• We've started decorating for Christmas! We bought a fake tree this year (mostly because it was only $20 which is cheaper than a real tree), and have put all the lights and ornaments on it, including the ornaments Ben and I made when we took a glass blowing class for our anniversary! I'll take pictures, don't worry. :)
• I'm getting geared up to start Christmas baking! Mmmm. I have a whole list of all the things I want to make this year, including some recipes I haven't tried before. If there are any favorite recipes YOU like to make, please share them with me! I'm always looking for more tasty things to bake!
  

And, that's about it. Hopefully I'll be updating more regularly now that I'm not writing the diabetes blog every day anymore!

Neglecting.

Since I'm blogging every day this month for diabetes awareness, I've seriously been neglecting this blog! Sorry, dear readers.

Let me say a few things, first off.

1) Last Sunday, Novemeber 7th, 2010 Ben and I were officially married for ONE WHOLE YEAR! That is like 2-3 celebrity marriages already! I think we're doing pretty well! In complete seriousness, though, it has been the best year of my life! He is the best man I have ever known, he is so kind, loving, and he puts up with all of my shenanigans (which are great in number, trust me). I would marry him over and over and over and over again.

2) Today was Veteran's day, and I want to publicly acknowledge all those who have served time in the military. My grandfather, uncles, and several friends of mine have all served in the military, and I know what a personal sacrifice it has been and can be for these men and women and their families. Thank you.

3) My sister-in-law & brother just had a baby! I have a new niece! She is adorable, and I can't wait to see her!

4) My brother is rad, and totally rocked his thesis defense. Congratulations, brother!

OK, that is all for now. Life is good, and I will try to keep you more posted on what is going on. But, in the meantime, you should read my other blog. :)

Halloweeining-Part II

As promised, here is a post about the rest of our Halloweening activities!


We had a ward trunk-or-treat party, and we dressed up as Tetris blocks! Ben was the brains & the engineering behind the design! He put those boxes together so expertly! It was very impressive! I was mostly in charge of painting and designing and making the game boy (which you can see behind us on the car).

Also, in appropriate Halloween fashion, we got a pumpkin from a pumpkin patch and tried to carve it. Unfortunately, we happened to buy a pumpkin with the THICKEST SKIN I have EVER seen on a gourd! We couldn't cut it with any knife, so we ended up having to use a hammer and nails to poke holes through it and then use them as guides for our knives! Sheesh!


But, after about two hours of blood, sweat, and tears, we managed to get a tiny little face out of our pumpkin.


In addition to a pumpkin, we also decorated the house with a door hanging, window decals, and graves! WE LOVE HALLOWEEN!!!!

Election Day Woes.

Well, now instead of having Big Government control my life, I get to let Big Business, Big Tobacco, Big Oil, Big Banking, and Big Pharma control my life.

Awesome.

At least I know I'll always have health care. :)


So, now what? Do the Dems get to get all crazy pants and start a Coffee Party?

Diabetes!!!!!!!!

For those of you who aren't aware yet, Novemeber is Diabetes Awareness Month, and I'm blogging here every day this month about diabetes to try to create more awareness!

So, go check it out, and please put a link on your blog, web-site, twitter feed, etc., so we can spread the news about diabetes!

Please check it out, add it to your RSS feed!

http://theinsulincrowd.blogspot.com/

Also, I'm drawing CARTOONS for the blog! Woot!

(And don't worry, Halloweening-Part II will be posted soon!)