fire & light

in the hometown, there is a local glass-making company, fire & light, that creates the most beautiful items out of recycled glass.  they use 100% recycled glass materials, crush it up, and turn it into useable art.  i've long since coveted a piece from them, but it's always been pricey.  luckily, they started giving tours of their workshop and allowing the public to purchase their "seconds," (items with a slight imperfection or two that aren't up to the high-quality standards of the items being shipped to the various retailers).  kevin & i would love to have a complete dinnerware set from them, but it's totally outside the budget right now.  and for a good long while.  although maybe we'll start buying a place setting at a time whenever we go up there.  that could be fun.

buckets and buckets o' glass

they twist off the caps but leave the labels on.
that gets burned away in the fire when they melt it down.

pouring a bowl in the mold

pressing out the bowl

the furnace; it's over 2,000* in there.  just a little toasty.

they look bored.  and stoned.  but i promise, kevin was completely fascinated.
lily was mostly just along for the ride.

some of their finished products.  gorgeous, right?

shop away, my friends!

christmas scenes

we spent christmas with my parents at the homestead and had a delightful time.  there was a lot of relaxing, tons of sleeping in (lily slept from 6:30 pm to 8:30 am three nights in a row.  it was the most delightful christmas gift ever!!!!), lots of naps (and not just lily's), and some fun adventures.  and then she gave us the best gift of all, and was a gem for the whole car ride home.  seriously, it was the best week i've had in a really, really, long time.

a little iphone bonding with grandpa

this was her favorite pillow.
she kept throwing other pillows on the floor so she could reach it.

climbing on her chair, hoping dinner will come faster.

santa brought her a lily-sized chair.  best. gift. ever. 

she loves the chair.  and mama's shoes.  especially the glittery ones.

a play-date with the daughter of an old friend from elementary/jr. high school.

backyard adventures.  she kept looking for the chickens.

trying to get the chicken.  "chicken?  chicken?"
 followed by knocking on the door.  hilarious.

cheeeeeeeeese!

santa baby

lily's first visit with santa claus didn't go so well.  hopefully she'll warm up to him next year.  i don't know how she expects to get loot from the big guy when she acts like this:

at least she looks cute and festive.  better luck next year. 

ninja dog

there is a ninja dog in our midst.  maggie is spending the week with my in-laws since she and my parents dog don't get along.  at all.  today maggie managed to pull a disappearing act from the house.  no one knows how she got out, or where, but she managed to sneak away and play in somebody's front yard until she was discovered and returned to her stay-cation house.  the only explanation i've been able to come up with is that maggie is a ninja dog.

i mean, come on.  she's a ninja dog, fo' sho'. 

the grinch

i am feeling a distinct lack of christmas cheer this year.  i'm not hating christmas or wishing it were over, i just can't find it in me to do anything about it.  the house isn't decorated at all.  as in, we don't have a tree, didn't put up any decorations.  we didn't even pull the christmas tubs (we have 6 totes dedicated to christmas decor, and one dedicated to christmas ornaments).  i made an advent list, but so far we haven't done any of the activities listed.

i haven't gone fully to the dark side; we sent out christmas cards and delivered christmas goodies to some friends/co-workers/loved ones, and the christmas shopping has been done since the beginning of november.  so christmas is happening.  just not with the usual cheer and 5-year-old enthusiasm i usually exhibit around the holidays.

we head up to the hometown next week, so maybe the christmas decor at the homestead and the christmas traditions there will kick me into the spirit of things.  because thus far, nothing else seems to be working.

indoor fun

i found a little play structure/slide someone was selling, and snatched it up for lily (and the animals probably use it when we're not around).  she has been loving it; lots of up and down, over and over and over.  when she slides down, she claps and cheers for herself.  it's pretty cute.  it didn't take long for her to start multi-tasking on her way down the slide--she plays with her phone, drinks her milk, or holds a book.  lily has also discovered the joys of climbing up the slide itself, and has figured out bare feet are best, then shoes, and her footie pajamas don't work at all (but they are fantastic when she's sliding down standing.  seriously, this girl has no fear).  and, because we're such cool parents, we put it in the living room (for now; we'll see where it winds up later), so our days and nights have been filled with sliding fun.