Doing the Happy Dance...Wooot!

Why are these guys so happy? Well, I'll tell you why. Our favorite couple got themselves engaged. James & Dani got engaged last night. James took Dani to the place they first had dinner together and popped the question. We are trilled and happy and misty-eyed. OMG...My baby is getting married. But not for a while. They have promised both sets of parents that they will wait until Dani has finished her education. So that's my best news of the day, month, whatever. We all love Dani so it's wonderful news all around. James has come to love the large Italian family that Dani comes from. It's not surprising since he's an only child and really enjoys being part of the large family unit.

As soon as I can pin them down for 5 minutes I'll take a picture of the happy couple. I knew this was about to happen since I was the one to pick up the ring from the jewelers where it was being re-sized.

It's snowing here-a lot. We will probably be snowed in for a day or so but since it's Friday, who really cares. I've done everything but clean the house and get the Christmas dinner. I'm making Shrimp Scampi for Christmas Eve dinner and we are tossing around ideas for the Christmas meal. Could be turkey, could be leg of lamb, could be duck. We'll have a vote tonight. If James is with us it will most likely be turkey. He will most likely be at the in-laws-to-be so lamb may win out.

I must go and get some things accomplished before long or the day will be over. The weather has given me a really bad case of sciatica and my foot feels like it's throbbing but if I get a few things done I can coast for the rest of the day. Hope you're save and sound and warm.

Jingle Bell Buzz

Sorry for the lack of posting. I am just buzzing with stuff to do and I haven't even written out any cards yet. HELLO...Christmas is next week! Here's a shot of the tree-please don't look at the surrounding mess-I promise to clean it up before long. This was right after we finished a day of tree decorating and finding a place for all the stuff that usually sits where the tree is. Got to find the tree skirt. I just need a day without shopping to manage that. That day was not today. I hightailed it to Macy's this morning because they are now open at 9am. The place was nearly empty and I accomplished a lot. I am always amazed at the mark-up of items and how far down they can go and still make a profit. I got two pair of earrings that were 50% off and then another 20% for using their card. Good grief! They are really nice earrings too. Not crappy or cheap but 70% off for cripe sakes. So that was one of my stops today. Yesterday I made a number of other stops as well. I finished up at Tarjay and headed home with my sleigh full. It's not that I purchased so much but I did a lot of wandering and seeking. I'm really tired.

When I got back to the house I made myself a cuppa and a bagel and made the mistake of putting my feet up and turning on Desperate Housewives, which runs at noon for two episodes. If my life depended on it I could only tell you the first 5 minutes and the last ten of the second episode. ZZzzzzzzzzzztwo hours went by. Now I'm making Pasta Sauce from scratch since Roger can't have a lot of sodium. I make it a kind of Arrabiata with red pepper flakes, good red wine, and a lot of seasoning to make up for the lack of salt. It's not bad. If I had any energy left I would tackle a couple of other tasks but I have admit, I'm a little pooped.

I just haven't had time to take many pictures of anything but I did manage to get a shot of the little quilt I made for Dani's Mom Cheryl for Christmas. I had this top for a while and finally decided that it would look nice in her new house. I just used the walking foot and finished it in a simple stitch in the ditch manner. Better done than perfect and I just haven't had time for hand quilting. There's also the whole problem of the eyes, grrrrrrr.

I must go and finish the sauce. Hope to be back soon with exciting family news.