anxious on sunday night

It's 10 pm and my son just got in a car with two friends for a 12 hour road trip.

We live in northern Illinois and they are driving all the way to Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

I am excited for Tim, as the reason for this trip is that he's photographing

his friend's mother's wedding. Tim's passion in life is art - particularly photography - 

and that's what he's majoring in, too. This is his first "big" photography job.

But my mama heart is nervous with Tim traveling a long distance in a car, especially overnight.

He's my "baby" and since Phil passed away, my one and only. So I tend to be a

bit over-protective and extra-anxious, unfortunately knowing that life can end in a split second.

The cats have been anxious today, too ~ especially Clementine. Animals know their human

is leaving when the suitcases come out, and they don't like it. Clementine immediately

took up residence on Tim's suitcase.

You should've seen her face when he walked out the door. She was perched on

the ottoman in the living room with a very worried look on her face, just staring out the door.

The picture below wasn't taken tonight, but it's a recent one ~ and one of my faves of Clementine.

Well, my dear friends, I'm going to bed now and hoping to get some sleep.

I told Tim that when I wake up in the middle of the night (and that's inevitable, because I always wake up at least a couple of times, and now with him traveling, I'm sure I'll be up quite often), I will text him to see how he's doing.

And...

I have contractors coming very early tomorrow morning to start on remodeling the bathrooms.

Since I haven't been working outside the home for 9 weeks now, I'm not used to getting up

so early (6 a.m.). I'm naturally a night owl and don't go to bed until midnight - 12:30, but then

I sleep in until 8 - 8:30. So, this will be a big switch for me this coming week - and maybe

into next week, too.

Goodnight. Sleep tight.

mexican hot chocolate cookies

Let the holiday baking begin!

 I made Mexican Hot Chocolate cookies today.

The chocolate dough is rich and flavorful on its own,

but right before baking you roll the dough balls in a mixture of

sugar, cinnamon, and ~ surprise! ~  chili powder.

The cinnamon and chili powder are what really adds the element

of depth and spice to this cookie without overwhelming it.

The recipe is from Jo-Anna at A Pretty Life in the Suburbs.

Do yourself  ~ and your friends and family, if you choose to share ~ a favor

and make these for the holidays. Jo-Anna says they're especially good

with a glass of Baileys, but I'll have to take her word for it.

I'm too full from dinner stuffed from sneaking bits of the dough

and a couple of cookies as soon as they came out of the oven!

Have you done any holiday baking yet?

quick and easy centerpiece

 I went in my back yard and snipped a couple of branches off a pine tree.

Stuck the branches into a clear, glass vase

and filled the vase with water...

Added some cranberries to the vase - they float!

And then topped with a couple of floating candles

that I found at Goodwill.

Ta-da!

Even looks pretty in the daytime when the candles aren't lit.

Vase ~ already had

Pine branches ~ free

Cranberries from a package ~ a few cents

Candles from Goodwill ~ $1

Linking up to Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House

the art of making things

 Papercrafting...cards, scrapbooking, mixed media ~

Do you indulge?

I don't necessarily consider myself crafty, especially compared to a lot of you

out there in Blogland. I don't sew, knit, or crochet. I don't make my own

ornaments or Christmas decorations. I think that's why I'm especially in awe

of those of you who can do any or all of these things!

I do enjoy my papercrafting, however. I've made a few scrapbooks;

I sometimes make homemade cards; I'm working on a Smashbook;

and I've also made a couple of pictures using scrapbooking papers,

embellishments, and rubber stamps.

 I made this bird picture a few years ago.

 And this picture, I made a little over a year ago.

It's temporarily on top of my secretary desk in the master bedroom, leaning 

against the wall in a vignette setting.

 Do you do any crafting? If so, what kind? Do you make things 

for yourself or loved ones?

Linking up to Claudia's Favorite Thing #14

 

red and white in the china cabinet

Keeping it simple in the kitchen...

Using  the red and white theme in the china cabinet

and accenting with just a few Christmas pieces.

Easy to switch out after Christmas to keep the red and white 

 going all winter!

making it merry and bright

 I caved to the Christmas decorating pressure.

Said I wasn't going to start decorating for the holidays until the calendar 

said December.

It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind, right?

I don't decorate half as much as what I did in years past.

When your child is almost 22-years old (and your other child has passed away),

decorating for Christmas isn't as much fun anymore.

We don't put up a Christmas tree, but I do decorate shelves and

make tabletop vignettes with Christmas decor.

Here's what I've come up with so far (you know how I like to change things around)

for the ladder bookshelf in my living room.

The photo frame in the background holds pictures of the boys from

when they were wee ones. Tim made the Christmas tree when

he was in Kindergarten. :-)

The ornaments in the glass jar are just cheap ones from Target ~

found them in the $1 section this past weekend.

Some vintage finds from years past...love the sleigh, pine cone ornaments,

and the three little mice.

I tend to decorate just the living room and kitchen,

and sometimes put a couple of Christmas whimsies in the bathroom.

How about you...do you decorate bedrooms, too?

Linking up to Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday

 

Thankful

for my mom - who came over early to help me with Thanksgiving Day preparations

(even though she froze because I had the window open)...

for a cool breeze while having hot flashes from cooking and mentalpause...

for my handsome, helpful hubby in carving the bird (my first one! - preparing and cooking, that is)...

for a small, intimate dinner setting in anticipation of a delicious dinner...

indeed, for the loves of my life...

for the bounty of food that God provides to nourish and sustain us...

for cute fur babies (my mom's dog, LuLu and Zippo)...

for my wonderful second-born son whom I love with all my heart...

and for the 21 years that I had my oldest son, even though it wasn't enough...

 I'm also thankful for you - my blogging friends.