Never Ending Grout Project

New Haircut and New Vacuum

We had an exciting weekend. I got a new haircut (with bangs!) and we got a new vacuum! And I love it! It's one of those roller ball ones and it just glides across the floor. I might just have to vacuum every day.

Grout Project Update

Here we are, hard at work. Jason is REALLY happy with the results so far and I am too. It isn't a huge change, but we won't have spacers showing, that shouldn't be there in the first place. And it won't look dirty anymore because we are going to seal in this nice new color.

You can see the difference in this picture. The new grout is on the left and the old grout is on the right. We ran into one more obstacle...we are going to run out of grout. And we still don't know if the vacuum will make it through the whole project. Other than that, we are in good shape...about a third of the way done now. A little nervous for the handyman to come on Friday and help us with the tile in the tub. Wish us luck.

Thank You

I want to thank everyone for making my birthday great! We had a nice weekend.


Jason made the best apple pie ever.

We painted pottery and went out to eat with Machelle on Saturday.

We took a jewelry class. This is the necklace Jason made me (The long one. The short one is the necklace my dad made me for Christmas).


We went out to eat and had guacamole made at our table (one of my favorites), we got lots of yummy treats...it was great.

Today we are starting our tile/grouting project. One set back so far...our vacuum overheats every so often and we have to wait about 30 minutes before starting again...gives us lots of breaks.

Handmade Holiday

Each year, my mom and I make handmade gifts for Christmas. This year even more people had the handmade holiday spirit. Here are some of our handmade gifts:

Earrings and pendants made by my dad. Made out of beach glass collected in Hawaii.


Key chains made by Jason.



Wedding scrapbook made by my mom.

Table runner made by me, with fabric from my dad's cousin in Hawaii.

Table runner made by me.

Table runner made by my mom with a pattern from Hawaii. Yes, it was a table runner and Hawaii themed handmade holiday year.

Quilt made by my mom, with my dad's help.

Neck warmers made by Lori.

Paintings by Aunt Susan.

Shawl by my mom.

Jewelry by me.

More Family Time

We had our last Christmas party today.  My dad's family came over to celebrate.  We didn't get a group photo, but I did take some pictures.  It was really nice to see everyone!

Family Time and Fun in Frankenmuth

Every Christmas we spend the day with my mom's family in Bay City. This year we set the camera timer and got a great picture to remember the celebration.   

We also saw my cousin, Lisa, and her baby, Elizabeth.  Here is Elizabeth and her great-grandmother, Elizabeth.  

While we were at my Grandma's house, I wandered into her bedroom and found this beauty. Isn't it something?  She loves it!  She told me that she bought it 20 years ago for $5.  And she says that it works so much better than the new plastic ones!  She even pulled out some scrap fabric and showed me how it works.

We spent today in Frankenmuth and had lunch with Katie and Rob.  We started this tradition a few years ago and we really enjoy seeing them.  We have a routine...we meet at Zehnders for lunch and then we go to a few of the little shops.  Last year we discovered a shop that had 40% off the entire store!  And they have fabric!  Katie and I love it.  This year we went back and we were so lucky again.  We both got some great new fabric to add to our stash.  Happy sewing Katie!