Footprints in the snow...

So, the other morning Erik and I were walking out of the house and couldn't help but stop and check out all the footprints on our deck and driveway.  There were bird prints, raccoon prints (I think...), cat prints and a few others we could not identify!  Our backyard must be a pretty hoppin' place on a snowy night because the footprints were everywhere.  I can't wait 'till we get more snow!

Chicago!!

Here is a short slideshow/video of our trip to Chicago to see Brooke!

Holiday Movies

So, while browsing on JibJab the other night I couldn't resist making a few videos with their new "Starring You!" option.  They came out pretty good, so I had to post them on the good old blog.  My family and I got a good laugh out of them on Christmas.  Erik even made a disco video that will remain off the blog for now...but I'm hoping he will let me post it in the future, it's hilarious!  For now, enjoy the two videos on the right-hand side of the blog or view them at my page on JibJab.

Mr. Nutcracker says...

Merry Christmas!!

Wishing everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy new year!!  Sorry there has been a lack of posts lately.  I haven't been good at keeping up!  The holiday season has kept us quite busy and I will have lots of catching up to do soon!  Merry Christmas!

Weekend Getaway...

Last weekend my sister Mary and I hopped on a plane and flew out to Chicago to visit our cousin Brooke who is living there temporarily for work. It was a very quick trip, but we packed it full of fun! Snowstorm, good food, shopping, and skating filled our 30 hours in the windy city. Here are some shots from the trip...

up, up and away!!

The view was beautiful...

sweet home Chicago...

We went ice skating and saw Santa...

and ate some yummy pizza!

It was an amazing trip and I will be posting more pictures as soon as I can figure out a cool way to do a slideshow.  Mary and I had lots of fun visiting Brooke and can't wait to plan a trip to see her in Florida once she moves back!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

The first big snow of the year! The snows been falling all day, our backyard has been transformed into a winter wonderland, and I slept through the entire thing. :) I'm still battling bronchitis and took the snow day as a chance to rest and recoup...Erik on the other hand was busy as usual working from home and made a video of the snow around 3pm. This photo is actually a still frame from his movie. Neat huh? It's blurry but shows the pile of snow on the deck which has grown even more majestic as the snow continues to fall! Hope everyone had a safe and snowy day!

Move out of your comfort zone...

"Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new."
-- Brian Tracy

Turkey Day 2007

There was food...mmmm...lots of food...

There was family, friends...




and some fun...



...ok, lots of fun!



and at the end of the day we were all dog-tired!

On your mark, get set, SHOP!!

Welcome to Wrentham Village...

Mary and Mom at the start of the day...can you tell we were freezing?

Black Friday usually makes everyone cringe. Traffic, crowds, messy stores and long lines at the registers. For the past few years I have been going shopping after Thanksgiving with my Mom and sister up at Wrentham Outlets in MA. This year was actually quite tame. We left the house around 6:45am, arrived at the outlets around 8:15am and shopped 'till we drop. I picked up a few goodies and Mom bought us some early Christmas presents. A good time was had by all and we even got home before dark! Good shopping trips and bargains always make me smile :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues. ~Cicero

Fall Decor...

I love decorating for the holidays. I love "house stuff" as Erik puts it, and enjoy decorating the house each season. I don't go overboard, just a few things here and there. It gives me something to do and makes the house all warm and fuzzy feeling. Anyways, I don't have a fall wreath for our front door and decided to make a ridiculously simple one the other day. It's quite plain since I'm waiting until all the fall things go on clearance at the craft store so I can make a snazzy one for next year. But, until that happens, here's my "5-minutes-and-its-done-cause-im-sick-of-a-plain-door" wreath! (p.s.--I'm not loving the bow...but it will only be on the door for another week before I switch into Christmas-mode!)

Something for the birds...

In the spring I painted a few birdhouses for our backyard. Unfortunately, this is the only one that survived the wrath of the evil squirrels in our yard this summer. I don't mind squirrels, but these ones are quite annoying. They loved digging up my potted plants, eating all the birdseed and knocking the birdhouses off the deck causing them to crack apart into a zillion pieces. Grrr... Well, now that the squirrels have left our deck alone and are busy hiding acorns I have decided to paint a few more to add to the deck. I'm honestly thinking about anchoring these down, but instead I will take my chances and hope that the squirrels will leave them alone.

Sunday strolls...

Isn't Fall just beautiful? A few weekends ago we went out for a hike and on the way to my parents house for dinner we stopped at Soapstone Mountain and took in some gorgeous views from the observation tower. It was a bit hazy, but other than that the view from the top was quite colorful.

Beautiful Beads

Tonight after dinner I felt inspired to finish a necklace I started in June, yes folks, JUNE (yikes)! I received some lovely beads from Cassandra for my birthday back in June and tonight I put the finishing touches on the necklace. So...I present to you the first necklace I have made in quite awhile courtesy of Cassandra! Thank You! It felt so good the be making things again after a long creative siesta!

Jake thinks he's a fire engine...

So, this video is definitely not the best quality...I'm a bit crazy with the camera angles and for most of the video Jake and Rudy are sideways (sorry!!), but I think it's cute. The video shows how goofy Jake is every time a siren sounds in the town of Tolland. He loves to howl along with the sirens. He's done this since he was a pup and Rudy tries sooo hard to copy his cool brother...but he just can't pull it off. Sorry Rudy!

A day in the life of Ms. Anne...

I don't talk much about work here in the land of blog, but I took a few pictures of some projects Sarah and I did with the kids the past few weeks and thought I would share. Too bad I can't post the pics of the kid's making their projects...they are adorable! Anyways, here is a brief glimpse into "Anne-Land"...

Window art and hand print trees...

Apple taste testing and yes, I'm a nut!

Pumpkin prints w/silly stories and our goofy pumpkin creatures...

...one big happy pumpkin family!

So, there you have it...a glimpse into Artsy Anne's day job, at least the creative side of it! (trust me, not all sides of it are pretty--working with 3 and 4yr olds is always an adventure!)

Girl's night out!

Last night the guys had a surprise poker birthday party at our house for Ben (Happy Birthday Ben!) and that meant that Krystal, Jen, Lisa and I could finally have a girl's night out. We ate dinner at Sukhothai in Manchester and then headed over to the new and beautiful Blue Back Square in West Hartford for dessert at the Cheesecake Factory and a stroll through the gorgeous new Crate and Barrel. I'm in love with Blue Back Square and I'm sure this won't be the only time I write about it. Ahhhh....it was a much needed evening of fun, food and friends!

Meet Jack...

Here is the Jack-o-Lantern Erik and I carved at Ben and Jen's fall outing. Isn't he cute! We were going for a goofy-Cheshire-cat look, but he ended up looking just plain goofy. I love his smile. Happy Fall!

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween!! Here are the pumpkins I carved at school with the kids...their favorite part was "scooping out the goop" on the inside of the pumpkin! :)