Creepy...

While working to winterize our back yard on Friday DH discovered this lurking under one of our fountains...

Of course, then he called for me and the camera!

Take a closer look...

See that red hourglass on the underbelly of this HUGH black spider. Take a look at this picture I found on the internet...

It is a Black Widow Spider!!!
I was freaking out...I hate spiders. Especially dangerous ones like this one that can cause painful and medically serious bites! But of course...that didn't stop me from snapping away with the camera. Don't worry...I kept my distance...I used the mega telephoto zoom lens. :)

Post-turkey frenzy

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with lots of good food and time with family and/or friends. We had a wonderful holiday. It is hard to believe but this is the first Thanksgiving I have been able to celebrate with my family in 3 years! I am usually always the one on call on Thanksgiving Day...so this year being surrounded by those I love was an extra special treat. Plus, we had a huge Wii-fest after the turkey...it was great fun.

Since then, it has been a flurry of activity here at my house. I did venture out for a while on Black Friday (though I did not go to the mall...that place was a zoo!) to visit the sales at Jo-Ann's, Michaels and A.C. Moore to pick up some supplies for the many projects that I must finish before Christmas. Then, yesterday afternoon we went to pick out our Christmas tree - our annual day-after-Thanksgiving tradition. Gosh, does it make our house smell fantastic! We are letting the branches settle out and then we will decorate the tree this afternoon/evening.

All the while, between running errands all day yesterday we managed to clean more of our upstairs office and my studio, hang all the Christmas lights outside and start winterizing the back yard (more on that later...what we found during that adventure deserves a post of it's own). DH even made delicious pasta for dinner!

Well, I'm off to start working on a new advent calendar for us. I only have 2 days to finish it!

I'm thankful...

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Before rushing off to all the dinners with family and friends today I wanted to take a few minutes to reflect on this past year. I have been so blessed and I am so thankful for many, many things...health, family, a loving husband. I am especially thankful for my two little babies on the way! I decided to look back at some of my photos of this past year and put together a little post on some of the things that I am very thankful for this past year. Here goes...

2008 in review

I am thankful for the places I have been and the things I have seen...

Peruvian Countryside

Machu Picchu, Peru

Aguas Calientes, Peru

Great Smokey Mountains National Park, Tennessee

Camden, Maine

I am thankful for time spent with family...which also usually involved great food...

My grandmas "30-day" cake...mmm

Shepherd's Pie...one of my husband's favorites

Making brownies with So-so

I am thankful for my new camera and the way it (and this bloggy world) has made me look at documenting my life in an entire new way...

Egg delivery truck in Lima, Peru (non-refrigerated!)

This photo by my amazingly talented sister.

I am thankful for my kitty Chloe...she always is so loving and silly...

Bird watcher

Trying to sneak up on the camera

She is so funny when she lays on her back!

I am thankful for my sewing machine and all the crazy projects we share...

Teaching my nephew to sew

A softie...yes...it is a uterus with ovaries :)

I am thankful for the biggest blessing of the year...

We presented this picture to our in-laws as our way of announcing our surprise!

How cute are they??? This was taken last week and it is a picture of their two little heads resting side-by-side. A and B are labelled.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday...and take time to be thankful.

So, what are you thankful for???

Thankful Things Swap

Who doesn't love pulling in their driveway and seeing a package sitting by the front door???

I recently participated in the Thankful Things Swap (my very first ever swap...and my swap partner was a newbie too!) hosted by Adrienne. It was so fun! My swap partner, Curiouser & Curiouser, sent me the most amazing package of stuff she is thankful for...just take a look at all this awesome stuff!

A pack of assorted stationary, cute little stickers, handmade pushpins made of buttons (so sweet!), cookies, lotion, lip balm, grossgrain ribbon, a "green" shopping tote...

a mixed CD of really great songs, cute glittery little box (that now houses my paper clips on my desk), a handmade little pouch for my purse... It really was such a great experience. The swap made me really think of creative ways to express things I am thankful for...and reading my swap partners little cards attached to each token was really cool. It was like an early Christmas. I loved every little thing in my package.

It was all over the top. I'm loving this swappin' stuff.

Next up on my to-sew list

A diaper bag. This will be my first Amy Butler pattern...I have to admit...I'm kinda nervous about it! I wanna have a super hip and cute diaper bag but for some reason her patterns seem kinda intimidating.

The fabric for Baby Quilt #2. I am so excited to start this quilt. I am planning to do the same pattern as the other baby quilt (Yellow Brick Road) because it works up easy and looks beautiful no matter which fabric you use. I can't wait to show you all the finished product!

Crossing things off the to do list

This cake plate was one of my favorite bridal shower gifts. A couple of months ago when I pulled it out of the cupboard to use it the top came completely off of the pedestal. I was crushed. I sat it aside hoping I could salvage it later and piece it back together. Well, I finally found the time. Thanks to some E6000 my cake plate is like new again.

I also have had "try freehand quilting" on my to-do list for awhile. I decided to make a little thank you for my mother-in-law for having us at their house during the remodel. I whipped up these cute little hot pads/trivets and gave the freehand quilting a whirl. It was fun...must do this again. Though I couldn't imagine doing this on an entire quilt...I guess I'm a small projects kind of girl at heart.

I also made a set of 4 quilted coasters for my sister as a thank you for taking my belly pictures over this past weekend. They all have pieced tops and linen backings. Love how they turned out. Plus, I got to use my walking foot! I tied them up with a little antique lace in a lime-y green, attached a thank you and they were all ready to go! Hope they like their gifts cause I really appreciate them both so much!!!

Congratuations! It's A....

First off...Baby A wanted to just say hello to everyone out there in blog land!

Now for the big news I'm sure you have all been waiting for...

Cute little profile of Baby A at 18 weeks.

Baby A is a GIRL!!!

Cute little profile of Baby B at 18 weeks.

Baby B is a BOY!!!

We feel so blessed to have two special little babies on the way. We are so excited to be having one of each...the blessings just keep getting better and better.

3D image of Baby A hiding her face.

Please continue to keep my babies and me in your thoughts and prayers though.

We really do need and appreciate them!

Quilt #2 Finished (this one is not for either of the babes)

I actually sewed this quilt top at about this time last year...then I got the bright idea that I would hand tie the quilt. So I did. And I didn't like the result. So then I ripped it all out and decided I could try to machine quilt it myself. So I did (part of it). And I didn't like the result. So a couple of weeks ago I sat down on a Friday night and ripped all of that out. Then the next day I took it to my long arm quilter. Love the result. While we were out of the house for the great bathroom remodel (staying at the in-laws) I hand-sewed the binding on. After pulling it out of the wash/dryer I was smitten. I love it.

So simple. But the medium stipple stitching with the rows of multiple different moda fabrics (from a jelly roll) with a simple cream/tan damask border is quite striking in person. The photos really do not do this quilt justice.

There is something so satisfying about completing a quilt.

Happy Anniversary Sis! Hope you had a great one!

Tomorrow is the big day...check back here for the gender announcement of my twins!

Meet me halfway...

20 weeks today!

Sweet Award

Adrienne from Some of a Kind awarded me with the One Sweet Blog Award. Now, all I have to do is give you guys some answers. Here goes...

7 things I plan to do before I die
1. Have my beautiful, healthy children and enjoy their lives and watch them grow and one day have families of their own.
2. Spend more time with my husband and my family.
3. Be published (either book or article).
4. Build my dream home.
5. Go back to Anguilla where we honeymooned.
6. Find someway to show my parents how much I love and appreciate all that they have done for me in my life.
7. Go shopping at least once and buy whatever I want and NOT look at a price tag.

7 things I do now
1. Work, work, work
2. Sew
3. Shop
4. Spend time with my husband and family
5. Clean the house
6. Surf the internet/blogs/etsy
7. Did I mention work???

7 things I can't do
1. Play sports (very unathletic)
2. Only take the stairs at work (my 19 week twin belly is getting the best of me...no longer can I take the stairs from ground to the 5th floor...)
3. Eat blue cheese (bummer...I've been craving it too)
4. Fit in most of my clothes (hence the need to shop for maternity clothes!)
5. Sleep in my own bed right now (remodeling will take about another week)
6. Get up in the morning without setting 2 separate alarms
7. Cannot stop thinking about my babies

7 things that attract me to the opposite sex (my husband)
1. His sense of humor
2. His laugh
3. His eyes
4. The fact that he loves me so much
5. The fact that he is an awesome housekeeper
6. His loyalty
7. The way he always makes me laugh
(there are way more than 7 things!)

7 things I say most often
1. Congratulations! (daily in my job)
2. Lovie (my husbands pet name)
3. I love you.
4. Awesome.
5. What do you think?
6. (to DH) Will you rub my feet?
7. Oh my gosh.

7 celebrities I admire
I don't have any...really. I admire real people. I really admire my mom who was an awesome mother and friend and I hope I can be just like her. I also admire my sister who is a fantastic mother and has become a beautiful woman.

7 favorite foods
1. Pinto beans and corn bread
2. Spaghetti
3. Biscuits and gravy
4. Wiener schnitzel
5. Alfajor
6. Air Heads
7. Peas

Sweet Weekend.

Despite being on a 24 hour call shift yesterday, it has been a pretty sweet weekend. Work is progressing on our bathroom remodel. Plus, much more has been happening over at our house other than the bathroom while we have been living with the in-laws. Since I'm pregnant and all I am banned from my house (by my mom & DH due to possible asbestos in things they are tearing out, possible black mold in the old bathroom, lead paint, new paint fumes, dust, overworking, etc. etc). However, my mom (who has been like the foreman of the job) filled me in on all the progress. So far, the nursery has been painted and all the new crown molding and baseboards for that room have been painted and will likely be put up today. The closet door in my bedroom (which never closed before) has been fixed and now closes! Plus, they installed a closet organizer - sweet! The bathroom (which was completely stripped down to the studs) now has a new tub, new drywall and a sort of new arrangement. Plans for this week are to paint, install tile, new toilet, vanity, sink and cabinets! Yippie. Can't wait to see the finished product.

I also picked out some fabrics for baby quilt #2 after several HOURS literally of internal debate. Order was placed on etsy today so can't wait to get these!

Looked around online for baby bedding and ultimately became very frustrated. Found NOTHING that I like. Decided to instead now focus my attention to finding perfect fabrics and make my own baby bedding. We will see how that goes...

We had our anatomy ultrasound on Friday and we now know what we are having! We are VERY excited...I've got special plans for that announcement but will probably have to wait until we are back in our house to be able to do that. Please continue to keep our babies in your prayers!

Also, Adrienne of Some of A Kind gave me an award! Thanks!! Now I have to give answers to some questions but since this post has already been kinda long I will post about all of that tomorrow!

Have a happy Sunday everyone!

Fall Friday

Have a great weekend everyone!