Santa - by Crafted by Lindy - Fab Finds from Etsy

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1. Vintage Christmas Seals 1951 Vintage Paper Ephemera Santa - dishyvintage

2. Vintage Santa Paper Mache Candy Container - 5gardenias

3. letterpress holiday cards (set of 10) - red santa with gold stars - shortgrassdesigns

4. Antique Christmas Santa Clause Ornament - VintageScraps

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5. santa mugs Japan set of 4 vintage holiday santa claus cups - TheGinghamOwl

6. Santa and Reindeer Silver and Gold Polka Dots Christmas Washi Tape Set - chickydoddle

7. Christmas- 5x7 Card- Santa Claus California Christmas Beach - Maddenphotography

8. Folk Art Santa Claus Hand Carved - TriestePrusso

[Lindy lives in Alberta, Canada, with her husband, son and daughter. Besides blogging, she enjoys running her stationery business and creating new designs for her Etsy shop. You can read her own blog here] 

Laughter and sunshine - OM [one moment] meet up #39

I went back and forth on which of two moments I'd share this week until I found this quote.  It touches on both subjects, so I'll share both with you.

"Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face."                                           -Victor Hugo

Laughter:
I mentioned, a few weeks ago, that the family has been enjoying episodes of Lost together.  During one episode this week C fell asleep and the kids decided to have some fun with a marker.  They drew a thin mustache under his nose.  We snickered and continued watching the show.  After some time, we forgot about it.

Bedtime...kids routinely ran upstairs....

C and I proceeded upstairs to our room as the kids readied themselves for bed.  C started to tell me a story about his day (most certainly death related) and when he turned to me with seriousness written all over his face, there it was...the thin red mustache.  I gasped and told him to go look in the mirror.  I was laughing so hard tears welled in my eyes.  It was the kind of laugh that releases (ding, ding, ding, my word of the year) stress and makes time stand still.  It was laughter I needed.


Sunshine:
I grew up in South Bend, IN,  (home of Notre Dame) just 80 miles east of Chicago and 20 or so miles east of Lake Michigan.  If you think Chicago winters can be bad, SB is the tundra by comparison.  SB gets lake effect snow.  Right now, we have maybe 20" of snow on the ground here in RI.  SB has 42".

Growing up, we would have 15 foot drifts and piles of snow that would allow us to dig caves and build forts (fun when you're a kid).  

Living in Chicago for so many years, I came to really hate winter by January.  The snow is dirty and the sky often gray.  There are many days below freezing and getting to work by public transportation was a *itch. RI winters have been mild by comparison, but none the less tiresome.  It is safe to say that I'm sick of winter, cold, and gray.  Certainly by mid to late January, I'm over it.


Although we've just weathered two storms, it has been relatively bright...cold, but bright.  Today, as I drank my morning coffee, I snapped this photo with my iPhone.  I am grateful for the sun this January.  It has saved me from the winter blues.

OM is a weekly meet up that promotes living in the moment.  Whether funny, sad, ridiculous, or banal, actively looking for and sharing these moments will promote balance in our lives.

Share in the blog comments here, on your own blog (and link back below)  or on my Facebook fan page. If you are on Twitter,  use hash tag - #omMeetup so we can converse if we'd like. We'd love to hear your moment this week!

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Happy Monday!

Well, it was an eventful weekend indeed. Starting with Friday night, I went to my first wrestling match. My oldest son is on the middle school team. I must admit, I don't understand it and I don't like it; but I must support my boy.

On Saturday we celebrated my son's birthday. Dad made his favorite dish of pasta and seafood while Nana made a favorite family cake.

On Sunday, we had our first snow. It was pretty. The kids went sledding, built snow people, and had snowball fights. My older son had a bit of an accident while sledding requiring 4 stitches inside his upper lip. Believe it or not, these were his first stitches in his 12 years. My husband insisted on stitching him up at home, much to my dismay. Turns out we bypassed the emergency room, saved some $$, and will even likely avoid a scar. My boys are pretty brave to let their father do this. Don't worry, dad was able to numb the area. Be assured, however, that I'll be going to the ER if I ever need stitches.

I was able to clean up our dining room a bit, much to my husbands surprise. I even began cleaning my office/studio. Word has it that both shows, the Foundry (http://foundryshow.com/) and Craftland (http://craftlandshow.com/), have been successful. I will be doing my shifts at Craftland on Wednesday and Foundry on Thursday and Saturday. A friend told me I need to restock my handbags at the Foundry, so that is a good sign. However, it also means I have to continue to sew, sew, sew.

Here's an aerial picture of the Foundry: