Be happy it's not your birthday in my office

A common tradition in my office is to "decorate" the desk of the birthday gal or guy while they are out enjoying their day (we get our birthday off). With some of the more expected ideas already used up (rearranging furniture, covering the cube in Post-its, wrapping desk items, filling the cube with balloons), people are getting a little more creative...

Gifts for my nephew, part 2

And now, for my newest favorite project...Kelly bought some canvases for Baby Hami's nursery and asked to have his name painted across them by giving them to "the aunties" at Christmas. After perusing an inspirational website, I got to work and painted a beachy, seaside scene complete with fish, a boat, a lighthouse on an island, and a few other sea creatures.

I don't want to sound too boastful, but I am really pleased with how they turned out! Hmm...another addition to my Etsy shop, perhaps?

Gifts for my nephew, part 1

I have been axiously waiting to get up to Atlanta to share some gifts with my sister for her baby shower. Now that the shower has happened, I can finally post some pics!
I have really been trying to test out my sewing skills, so I wanted a project that I could give as a gift rather than just buying off a registry. I found some adorable flannel fabric in the remnant bin at Joanne's and decided to make a baby blanket. After finding some matching blue satin and embroidering my nephew's name on the flannel, I whipped it all together and made (what I'd like to think) is a super cozy, personalized blankie.

Stay tuned for part 2...I am really excited to share!

M.I.A.

I know, I know. I have been completely absent from blogland lately. It's been a crazy week! Work has gotten a bit overwhelming (staying late and dinner meetings), and I have been prepping for a long weekend up in Atlanta to celebrate my sister and soon-to-arrive nephew. I promise I will be back soon, with a full recap of my days and the long awaited pics of my homemade gifts for my sis. (Well, at least I know she has been long awaiting them...not sure anyone else cares.) ;-)

Tennis, anyone?

I. AM. SO. EXCITED!

That's right, I finally found a tennis league in town and Ryan and I are now signed up to play winter mixed doubles in a USTA "flex" league! I have been looking for ages to find tennis locally and happened upon an open registration that ends today. Talk about timing!

My whole family plays, and I got a racquet for Christmas, so it's only fitting that we finally joined a league. I couldn't be happier and look forward to our first match - the season beging next week!

A bonus is that our good friends are also joining. We'll probably face them during the season, so I can only hope our practice with them has paid off and we've learned their tricks to be able to kick their butts. (haha, just kidding Lindsay!)

Wish us luck!

What I've been up to...

I saved up enough vacation time to take the last week of the year off from work. With time off for Christmas the week before, I ended up with 12 whole days off in a row! It was amazing, and so nice to have time at home after getting back from Atlanta.
Now, what did I do with all that free time? Well, aside from some errands and housework, I spent the majority of my time crafting and loving it! I can't show you what I did just yet - it's all for my soon-to-arrive nephew and my sister's baby shower coming up in a couple weeks. But let's just say it involves paint and ribbon and fabric and thread and glue and brushes and...you get the picture.
I can't wait to share photos!

Brrrr!

We had to turn the heat on - we just couldn't stand it any longer. It's been so chilly here! There must be a cold front settling in, because the forecast for the next week still shows highs in the 40s-50s (very low for us) and lows in the 30s!I even took drastic measures, broke down, and covered some of our plants so they wouldn't freeze. I've already replaced those crotins once - I don't want to have to replant again next season! Hopefully, as ridiculous as it looks, the sheets will help and we'll get to keep these shrubs through the winter. (no, no, I am not keeping the sheets on that long - just until the freeze goes away, probably in a week)

Rounding out the holidays with a birthday party

Ryan's good friend turns 30 (!) today so in honor of the big event his girlfriend threw a surprise party for him at his parents' house yesterday. A big group of us pitched in and brought food and gathered to help him celebrate.
It was gator-themed (yuck!) and there were footballs and gators everywhere. A lot of folks even sported blue and orange, but I couldn't resist and wore red to support my own team!

Some of the girls, so colorful. Don't let the pool fool you - it was chilly out!Some of the guys (sans birthday boy)There was a gator pinata filled with tiny bottles of alcohol - it took all of the guys to finally get it open!Ryan and meRyan and the birthday boy, Mike

Happy New Year!

It was a low-key NYE for us this year, but it was just perfect and a fun night to ring in 2010. We went to a friend's house and met another couple there for a "grown-up" sit down dinner (potluck style - I brought lasagna and the other ladies split a salad, bread and dessert) and a night of games. We had a lot of fun testing out a new game called "Smart Ass" and then the ladies challenged the guys to one of my favorites, "Pop 5". While we got interrupted with the stroke of midnight, we were definitely in the lead before the game ended!

Sitting down to dinnerIt was a delicious meal and nice to all be togetherRyan and Mike, ready for a challengeI wore my "party shoes" - the pic is a little blurry, but I love them!

The girls

Looking back, 2009 had its share of highs and lows but overall I think the highs overshadowed any low and that it was a pretty good year and I am looking forward to an even better 2010. Happy New Year!