Catching up on Christmas

Wow, I totally disappeared over the holidays, didn't I?
I assure you I had a lot of fun. I need to do a big long picture post. As it stands, I don't feel like it right now.

Christmas Eve I got some yarn in the mail. I'm going to make this sweater!!
So excited. I've never made a real sweater yet.
So guess what I did Christmas day? I crocheted. All. Day. Long.
Christmas night I finished the back of the sweater. It looked kind of small.
I measured it. It came way short of the size it was supposed to be.

Pretty much ruined my night. Totally ruined the next day. I couldn't stop thinking about how I had spent all of Christmas day working on something that's going to have to be undone. I haven't unraveled it yet, but I've let go of the pain. ;-) I can't decide if I should just be more conscientious about my tension, or up my hook size - cuz my gauge swatch was spot on.

The Looneys came over on Christmas Eve and we shared finger foods and exchanged gifts. That was awesomely fun. I say, this year was the best gift-giving year for me. Practically everything came from Etsy, and everyone was thrilled with their stuff. Then Katey, Laura, Alicia and I took silly pictures of ourselves. For as long as we've been friends, Katey and I have very few pictures of us together, so... yay! we have one now. Even though I'm smiling weird. lol


Christmas Day we leisurely opened gifts in the morning, then headed over to Mema's house in the afternoon for Christmas Dinner. So yummy. I got my cooking genes from Mema and Mama. They're the best.

So, it was an uneventful, relaxing, and fun holiday. Just how it ought to be. Wally (that's Laura, for the uninformed) and I took a picture in front of Mema's tree. (which is always lovely - She and Alicia have been the official Mema's Tree Decorators for the past couple of years)


As for today I've made 2.5 hats, put away some of the Christmas decorations, and made peanut butter rice krispie treats for the New Year's Eve party at the Looneys' house tonight. We're going to go over this evening and eat more junk food and play games and be crazy again. Yay!

So, Happy New Year to all my friends out there, and perhaps I'll actually get around to doing a New Year's post too... Or maybe that should wait til I post Christmas pictures? Or not. I don't know. We'll see. :)

Enjoy the rest of your holiday!!

Caitlin

More Christmas Fun

Hello people!
It's a week til Christmas!! I'm so excited. I may have said that already. :D

Last week was the Sunday school class Christmas party. Anna Leigh and I teamed up to decorate a table. We got there and the other two teams already had their tables done, and quite splendidly at that. It scared me. lol But Anna brought some stuff from her family's Christmas village, and I brought some lights to illuminate it, and it turned out really pretty. So, yay!


We did a white elephant gift exchange, for which I brought a radio-football-pillow. Emily opened it, but I got it back from her when my turn came. Which means she was forced to open my package... and we won't even go there. Broken tiles, squished cans, duct tape, multiple knives... I'm not even kidding. Thank you Matt. lol But it was tons of fun. For the rest of us. ;-) My Sunday school class is a bunch of awesome people. Oh! I almost forgot to mention that Emily ended up getting the football back from me at the end of the game.


For the record, catchphrase is underrated. Best game ever. Actually, I guess it depends a lot on the people you're with.

"If you're not short, you're ....?"
"undecided!"
...**puzzled**
"You know - if you're not sure, you're undecided!"

The last few gifts I ordered are coming in the mail this week!! AH! The anticipation of giving all these people all this stuff is getting to me. :D

I hope you liked the pictures... I haven't had a picture post in a while. Now, I think I'm going to go to bed. I wish you all a happy weekend, and a merry Christmas. Again.

Caitlin

P.S. Check out how long my hair is getting!!

Praise the Lord for our freedoms,
and God bless those who have lost the ones they love in defense of them.

So, I hope you all had a nice Memorial Day.
I did. It was lazy. My family watched the Land of the Lost marathon on TBS.
Then we went and chilled at Mema and Pepa's house for a while. I finished reading Bachelors Anonymous by P.G. Wodehouse. It was hilarious. The humor in it was fantastically sharp and random.

Today I shall take the Little People to Six Flags. Little People = Abby (12), Emmie (9), and Ben (6).
It shall be fun!

I finished the green vest thing. I sewed some buttons on it, and then didn't like the way they looked. So I gave in. I got my favoritest buttons and sacrificed them for the vest. It's beautiful now.

And I made a sale today! Huzzah!

I have nothing else to say. :)
Happy Tuesday.
CaitiJo

Post Number 101 at Caitlinesque on Blogger

Guess what?


...wait for it...



...mhm...



It's 2009, people!!
2009!

Just making sure you got that.
Don't forget to get it right on your papers and checks and stuff.

You know why this year is going to be awesome?
First off, it began with coffee and hilarious, friendly sarcasm. That's a blast any day.
Secondly, because we have season passes to Six Flags. Did I mention that before? yeah, I did.
Thirdly, because... well... It just is.
Fourthly, because I'll be turning 20 eventually. Wait... that one doesn't make sense.
Fifthly, because my friends rock, and as long as they keep being my friends, 2009 can't be completely horrible.
Sixthly (say that a couple times fast), ... this list is pathetic.
But you know what?
God is on my side. And as long as I stay with him (cuz he sure ain't leavin' me - He said so :D ), 2009 can be good.
Maybe not all fun.
Maybe even really tough.
But good. And I'm excited to see where He takes me!

And you know what else?
I'm not making any resolutions. HA!
You know why?
Because I always break them. Shortly.
And there's no point making resolutions that I'm not going to keep, and then beating myself up about it.
So there.

I had a whole big list last year. Failed every one. I think I did improve on some of the things, I just didn't follow the list to the letter.

Are you making any? Do you usually keep them?

Forgive the scatterbrained-ness. :)

Have a happy 2009, folks!
Love, ME!

(Oh, and it's also going to be good because I have 4 new C.S. Lewis books to read. All bound in one hugemongous, lovely hardcover volume!)

It's Christmas!

I had just typed this whole lovely post, and went to add a picture, and it vanished. The whole thing. All brilliantly typed at the last minute before I was to go to bed. Gone. The page froze, and I waited and waited, hoping against hope it would come back to life. It was a good post.
Alas.

Tis gone.

But I had just been saying that Christmas eve was productive and relaxing. The annual viewing of It's A Wonderful Life was quite satisfactory. So was dinner.

Now, I post this beautiful song to serve as a reminder.

Start at the manger on a cold winter night
Look for the star in the sky
and follow its light
It leads to a Savior for a world that is lost
Start
at the manger, then go to to the cross

Start at the manger at the
child in the hay
The gift of our Father in heaven,
the price He would
pay
To save all His children no matter the cost
Start at the manger, then
go to the cross

Imagine that you own the wealth of the world
All
of its silver and gold
What good will it do when tomorrow arrives
And
your heart is empty and cold

Start at the manger where redemption
began
When Jesus stepped down from His throne to die as a man
All of our
riches we will count them as loss
If we start at the manger, then go to
the cross.

Youth choir's singing that this Sunday. It's going to be so pretty. How amazing that Jesus chose to come down here and live like us, and with us to show us how we can live like Him, and with Him. He came, he lived, he died, he rose, and he lives again! We have such cause to rejoice!

Speaking of rejoicing, one of my (lesser, but great) reasons is .... *drumroll* Six Flags season passes!! My favorite!! That's what this family's getting for Christmas. I can't wait til they open! I'm so excited!! **squee!!**

I'm also getting a set of super great period dramas - think Jane Eyre, and Pride and Prejudice. (I picked it out myself, but it's wrapped and under the tree, so I think I'll pretend to be surprised just for the fun of it. I'm a terrible actor, though.)

Anyways, I've rewritten most of my former post now. **yawn** It's Christmas day!! The tree is twinkling in the dark, and the metallic gift bows are sparkling underneath it. There's a balmy breeze blowing in through the open windows, and the sound of the gentle rainfall is making me drowsy. (nothing like a Georgia Christmas) I've already got a pot of coffee ready to be turned on in the morning, so I think it's time to snuggle down in my bed, and drift off to sleep with my Josh Groban christmas music playing... Visions of sugarplums and rollercoasters, Mr. Darcy, and all that sort of thing, you know. ;-)

Wherever you are, whoever you're with, and whatever you're doing, I wish you a very happy Christmas. We are so blessed!

Love, Caitlin

It's not Thanksgiving any more!

So, my thanksgiving post is late. But just because it's not thanksgiving any more doesn't mean we should stop being thankful. What if we all remembered to be thankful ALL the time?
Counting my blessings takes ages.

A - Awanas. Apple cider - which would be good right now. My throat hurts. Advent -which we're celebrating this year!
B - Boys (and I mean that in a totally innocuous way. Boys of all ages. They're fun!)
C - Church. Coffee. My name. Choir.
D - Daddy.
E - Evening time. Email
F - Friendship, Food, Fun
G - God's Grace
H - Holy Spirit. He has to remind me of so many things so often. Hugs.
I - Intercession. I love knowing that I can help my friends through prayer.
J - Joy.Real joy. Not circumstantial happiness. :)
K - Katey and Alicia. (they just go together like that)
L - Laughter, Love
M - Music. Mama. and my "other mothers," Marmee and Mom.
N - New friends!! I gained a couple of new friends this year. Yay! (Rae, Becca, and church peeps.)
O - Orthodontics. ... I WILL have pretty teef one day.
P - Popcorn. PEACE. Peace comes first, actually.
Q - Quiet.
R - Rain. Relatives. Random rambling. Reading.
S - Singing!! Sunshine, Stars, Siblings.
T - Tall shoes. Teaching.
U - Umbrellas. **I'm siiingin' in the rain, just siiingin' in the rain..."
V - Vincent, my crazy little green bird.
W- Walking. Waiting. Yes, I can be thankful for waiting.
X - X. I'm thankful for the letter X. ... mostly because I can't think of any X words. It's a nifty letter.
Y - Yogurt? I'm thankful for that. ... I can't think of many Y things either.
Z - Zippers. Where would we be without them? Zippers and Zeros.

Be thankful, people. :) I hope you had a great thanksgiving.
I'm looking forward to leftovers tomorrow.
<3

Random Ramblings of a Miscellanist Mind

Yes, that's the name of my blog.
And now it's the name of this post. Because I wanted to name this post, and couldn't think of anything.

Well, well, looks like I've done it again. It has been a whole 12 days since I blogged last! And so much has happened! I suppose instead of telling you all about it, I'll have to settle for giving you a little peek.

To begin with, Etsy has been huge on my brain lately. I'm up to 32 sales. And I can't stop spending hours looking at vintage dresses, and drooling over handmade soaps.
I just bought a bar of exfoliating cappuccino soap. With real ground espresso beans.
Imagine that! When I start craving a nice cuppa too late at night, I can just go take a shower, and smell like a cuppa. LOL I can't wait for it to get here.

I'm also eagerly awaiting the arrival of my plain jane white foam head. I have some hats that are ready to be listed - they just need a head to sit on for their photo shoots.

Not to mention, I'm pretty excited about the 3 packages sitting beside the door, waiting for me to send them across the US tomorrow morning. ;-)

Check out some of my new stuff:



So, anyways. Now you know about that.

But the MOST exciting thing EVER happened while I've been away from my blog.
Some of my super-bestest friends and I went to Wisconsin.
It's sort of a long story, but we basically all went up to see a girl named Rachel we got to know through online chatting and letters. She was having a huge going away party 2 days before she left to go to China. She didn't know we were coming, and she was SO surprised!
It was great.
Great big hugs to Rae and Becca. I miss you guys.


So, 5 girls and 2 moms in a minivan all weekend... going straight up to the other side of the US. Definitely very interesting. And memorable. I'm going to have to buy a new photo album, and devote the whole thing to pictures of the trip, we took so many. If you'd like to see some, check out my facebook albums.
On the Way
Tour of the Countryside
Metropolis

Sadly, I haven't uploaded the pictures from the party, or the ones from hanging out at the Rodriguez's house yet. I'll get to it. :) I think those 3 albums should keep you busy for now.
Until I load the others, here are a few favorites (I stole them from other people...):


It was a really amazing trip. Of course, we spent almost 3 days in the van, and only 1 day actually in Wisconsin, but it was totally worth it all around. :D

I'm glad school's out now. I got some pretty great gifts from my little ones. I'm going to miss them. My Julia isn't going to be back next year. She's going to "big school." ... Now I won't get to be Aunt Caitlin anymore! *sniff* I'll be okay.

:)
Hope you're all enjoying your Memorial Day!
Have a great week!
Love, Caitlin

Jesus is Alive!!

It's easy to just hear things and not give them much thought, isn't it?
For us "church people," it's so easy to tune something out, thinking "I already know this."

"Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures"

I've known that verse since I was little. But I'm guilty of only really thinking about the reality of it around holidays, or after a particularly convicting sermon.

It's hard to comprehend. Such a simple little verse, but absolutely impossible to fully understand.

He took ALL the sin, evil, sorrow, pain, and guilt of a fallen world; past, present, and future. All of it, into himself. That doesn't even make sense. People talk about how Jesus was tortured and crucified, and how they can't imagine what it must have been like, but I recently realized that wasn't the worst of it. The physical pain was probably bearable in comparison to the dead weight of thousands of years of guilt and pain inflicted on his perfect soul, shutting Him off from His Father. I mean, I hate it when I do something mean, and feel sick and guilty until I make it right. He took so much more than that. And so many can't even understand how it is that we really deserved to die.

But, the point of this holiday is to focus on his resurrection. I just wanted to expound a little on the "incomprehensible" part.

He rose again! He died, was embalmed, the stone was rolled over the door, and 3 days later, the stone was rolled away, his coverings were folded, and the tomb was empty. In the words of Julia from my preschool class: "His friends thoughted that some people had stolened Jesus's body, but they really hadn't. Mary was crying, and a man asked her "Mary, why are you crying?" and she turned around and saw that it was Jesus. He had rose up from the dead!"

Now THAT is pretty neat. He was dead, then he came back to life. And he's STILL alive.
The preacher this morning was saying that Jesus didn't die for us so that we could have a better life. He didn't. He didn't die for us to be close to us. He died for us so that we could have a completely NEW life, and so that his Spirit could live IN us. That is so amazing. And it doesn't even make sense. Not to a human perspective.

The fact that we serve a living God, the Son who was the ultimate sacrifice, the Spirit who dwells within us to give us power to live blamelessly and righteously, and the Father who loves us with a love we could never understand any more than the rest of the whole story, should so fully consume us that we should be as overwhelmed by it every day just as much as we are on Easter Sunday.

I really just wanted to post a short little reminder, but I have this way of turning things into sermons, without even making much sense. :D

The whole point is, Jesus is ALIVE! Let's live like it.

Happy Easter. :)