Cherie Mask – Page 20

the orange of my eye

January 7, 2010 2 Comments

i love this time of year. oranges are in abundance and trees dot the neighborhood. i want one. really bad. our neighbor behind us has a tree packed with the sweet citrus goodness. and every once in a while, one or two will hang over the wall and tempt me to go pick it. i ask jeff if it is legal and he usually just laughs without answering. which probably means i should go over and ask them for permission. but i haven't. so there it sits. always tempting.

i'm even so smitten with the little round lovelies that i went outside and took this photo of them yesterday after being inspired by a new favorite. mmmm…. (p.s. no oranges were stolen in the staging of this photo :))

what makes this time of year even better is the memory of ten years ago today. sometimes i think i even like today better than our anniversary. the day we met changed everything.

smitten? indeed.

digital design

happy happy

January 6, 2010 42 Comments

let's do this again, shall we?

for those that missed it the first time around, here is the 2010 calendar to download again. have fun!

and remember the little UPS debacle? i had ordered a bunch of calendars for gifts but not everything came on time. they are here now and i have some extras that i'd like to give away! it is press printed on linen paper with a case…really cute if i do say so myself. 🙂

so if you're interested, go ahead and leave a comment. i'll draw 2 names on friday, jan. 8th.

with a new year ahead, there is so much to look forward to. so much to experience and so much to learn. i will say that i've never been
really good at the whole resolution deal. i'm the type that doesn't
want to commit to anything in case i don't follow through. it's that
whole fear of failure thing. a weakness for sure. but this year i'm
keeping it simple. along with some of the usual things i'm working to change
about myself, i am setting one goal

….to keep my bathroom counter clean! pretty silly, no? but if i can do this one thing, i will consider it a miracle. here's hoping your new year's goals/resolutions are better than mine! 😉

our family

back for 2010

January 4, 2010 6 Comments

utah: i miss you.

snow: i miss you more.

family: i miss you the most.

don't get me wrong arizona, you are so good to me. and i love your charming qualities. but utah does give me a few things that you can't. like this…

but don't feel jealous, arizona. because we are back to have a wonderful 2010 with you and whatever you have in store for us. i can already feel it. it's going to be a great one!

——————-

i hope you all had a lovely Christmas and new year's celebration. i have a little more celebrating to do with the 2010 calendar as well. check back here on wednesday for the goodies!

our family

i believe

December 23, 2009 5 Comments

minus my previous little grumble, this christmas season really has shaped up to be delightful! we've had our share of fun traditions both new and old.

a few to remember:

reading a christmas book together each night.

snuggling on the couch after kids are asleep, hot chocolate in hand.

meeting the real santa.

i've met a lot of santas during my lifetime. some have been a little creepy and others have smelled like beef and cheese. but a few nights ago we met him. the real deal.

ella asked how i knew it was him. i told her he had a twinkle in his eye. she said she saw it too.

some friends of ours invited santa over to their house for the evening. lucky for us, he even brought mrs. claus along with him. they must be busy this time of year. i knew santa was kind-hearted but i was even more amazed to hear that he gives anything he receives right back to children's charities.

to think, it took more than 33 years to finally meet him in person.

do i believe in santa?

definitely.

our family

ahh, phooey

December 22, 2009 9 Comments

i'm mad at UPS.

mad. mad. mad.

i had a super duper important package that was supposed to arrive yesterday. when it didn't show, i checked the tracking to see what was up. to my surprise, it overshot arizona and ended up in tennessee somewhere. now it's scheduled to arrive the 29th. lame.

i cried on jeff's shoulder after i found out.

don't they know it's Christmas? i moaned.

his response…

they are probably saying, doesn't she know it's Christmas? she should have ordered it two weeks ago.

well said, jeff. well said.

——————–

on a happier note, here's a picture of an arizona christmas. out in the backyard having a picnic and reading books. white christmas? not so much!

digital design

merry merry…

December 17, 2009 45 Comments

christmas to you!

i've got a little something to share. i decided to whip up another desktop calendar this year! i debated doing it but i decided that 1) i love looking at it all year long and 2) i still need to make some christmas gifts…so it's a win win sitchy.

then i decided i might as well share it because it's more fun that way.

you can download it here for FREE! there are 100 available so have at 'em!

i've included the individual pages and also a printable pdf. to make a desktop calendar you can print out the pdf, cut the pages, and put it in a CD case. just detach the cover of the case, flip it inside out, reattach it, and prop it up like this.

you can also buy calendar cases here. or you can skip the case and hang them all up side by side on a bulletin board or something. if i can answer any questions, let me know.

merry christmas! enjoy!!

🙂

-cherie

edited: thanks for your sweet comments about the calendar! 🙂 if you'd still like one, just leave a comment and i'll hook you up!

motherhood

the nativity project

December 13, 2009 6 Comments

i'm still figuring out how to be a mom. a good mom that is.

i think i will always feel like i'm in training. and i'm pretty sure i will feel like that forever. that's just part of the deal of life. try. fail. learn. grow. repeat. i think it's a good deal. it keeps me on my knees. and there is no better place to be.

a few days ago, i had one of those "what kind of mom i want to be" epiphanies. during this time of year, i start to think about traditions and how i'm teaching my children and what i want them to remember about our family when they start their own.

i was walking past our nativity and stopped to look at it. all of the figures had been arranged neatly in a circle with baby Jesus in the center. i smiled. i thought of the deep significance of the arrangement. i'm sure the little hands that placed it that way weren't contemplating teaching me a lesson that day. but i'm grateful i stopped and took time to recognize that i want the Savior at the center of my life.

a few years ago, my natural response to seeing a rearranged nativity would be to carefully put all the pieces back the way they were "supposed" to be. as i thought about it, i realized i want my children to touch our nativity. i want them to play with it. i want it to be something special in their lives, a tradition they treasure. not something off limits or just a display. i want them to hold baby Jesus in their hands and in their hearts.

i've been grabbing the camera every so often and taking pictures of the nativity just as it is. should be a fun new project for me this time of year… to see things as my children do and to have a good laugh as well.

family photography, our family

new favorites

December 11, 2009 4 Comments

i want to blow these up HUGE and put them on my ceiling so i can see them first thing when i wake up. 🙂

Uncategorized

i once was blind

December 10, 2009 7 Comments

and i basically still am.

but today i see a bit better, well maybe a lot better. my last glasses broke over a year ago due to some 1-year-old hands snapping them in half. and it really did take me a year to finally get to the eye doctor. after the exam, the good doctor told me i should let him know when i'm driving on the road and he'll stay off it because i'm completely illegal. oops.

loving the new specs though. they're purplicious!

photo idea from here

family photography

style and grace

December 7, 2009 2 Comments

i've got a boatload of pictures to edit from the weekend. i always love my first glance at the images once i download them to my computer. truth be told, i'm usually all nervous hoping that i will have captured something good. and then i look through them quickly and get excited. usually one or two will make me giddy that i caught a moment or a look or a relationship.

this shot did just that. this is my fabulous sister-in-law. she has graced my blog many times! she is the epitome of style and she is known in our house as the aunt with jewelry. 🙂 this photo is so them to me. gorgeous amy and cool garrett. just them. and i love it!