Lucy has discovered that laptops make good heating pads;) She decided to migrate from my lap to the laptop... didn't last for long, kinda hard to type around all that fur. I suppose this was a vain attempt for attention since Tom and I are busy working on show stuff and ignoring her.
well it's my birthday too:-) 35 years young today. Tom and the kids fixed me breakfast this morning and gave me a cute pair of warm slippers that I love:-) We aren't really celebrating until this weekend so I guess this means it's my birthday for the rest of the week;) My dad is cooking dinner for me on Saturday (my favorite fajitas!) and the kids are baking me a cake. yum-o! I am so lucky to have such a great family.
It snowed yesterday all day, and it's still snowing today. The trees are beautiful with all that soft white powder... I am seriously regretting not having a camera with me today. Can't wait until the lake is frozen enough to skate on!! The pond behind our house looks almost ready, but the real fun is when the lake (in front of the miu office) is frozen because all sorts of activity happens- hockey, ice fishing, etc.:-) Unfortunately it is supposed to warm up over the weekend and rain so it may be another few weeks before the ice is thick enough to play on... counting the days!
We've morphed our retired 810 OIF/OEF paper into our new 827 Current Events paper. Sweet!
12 inches (more in the drifts of our steep driveway!!) It is taking two shifts of shoveling to get to the bottom of our driveway... then we get the pleasure of digging out at the MIU office tomorrow. I think I will take some cookies for our Fed Ex guy so he won't curse me for having to wade through the snow to come get boxes;)
ps... don't forget our Etsy shop still has a few ornaments left (Air Force, Army, Navy, Coast Guard and Marines! Go to Etsy and search for memories in uniform:-)
take a look...
Come see & book mark it... I plan on adding several other items over time:)
Memories in Uniform Etsy (handmade military themed items by Tom & Amy;)
here's a peek...
Marine Corps Front... the ornaments have two sides and the center image floats in between:-)
Two important MIU announcements!
In other news I just wanted to say Happy (belated) Thanksgiving:) I decided that I would share my top 5 things I am thankful this year... in no special order:
1. Tom is home and able to do holiday preps with us this year (like putting up the tree!)
2. My kids are loving school. They have made some neat friends this year which makes it even better.
3. Memories in Uniform is growing, stretching and changing.
4. I am looking forward to being well this holiday season thanks to my recent surgery and quick recovery:)
5. My parents home is almost completely done. We've been helping them paint and move for several months now and things are finally coming to a close:)
6. okay, I know I said 5., but my last addition is that I am thankful to be living so close to my family. I am just enjoying each day as it comes, appreciating that we have people so close to just drop in and spend time with. For all the years of being active duty military I am glad to finally have more than just one week out of the year to spend 'at home.'
just sharing the last little bit of fall around here... almost time for real snow and ice skating on the lake:-)
I feel like it has been forever since I sat at the keyboard and updated everyone on what's been going on with our family, life, and the business. In that spirit I will try to fill you in on the highlights over the past few months...
our family/life:
Tom got his transfer (woohoo!) from the Air Force Reserve at Langley over to the Air National Guard in Ft. Wayne:-) (this is especially cool since they fly F-16's;) In October he also pinned on Major (another woohoo!) which has been also pretty dang cool. The civilian job hunt has been a slow process (much slower than we had hoped) so while he is in between jobs he has been organizing the basement/job hunting/working on Memories in Uniform/job hunting/taking the kids to the orthodontist/job hunting. Yeah, he's been job hunting... who knows what the next few months will bring. Best case scenerio is that we stay put and he works in Ft. Wayne (in addition to the Guard gig) so let's just pray for that one;)
I had surgery last Thursday for my sinus, tonsils, and deviated septum... the first four or five days were pretty rough but now that I can blow my nose things have improved greatly :) Whoever said getting your tonsils out as an adult was horrible was lying... it was a piece of cake (coughcoughNOTcough!). I am almost fully recovered, still a bit of a sore throat but all in all I'd say I'm about 80% of the way healed. YAY that I was able to get it done now and get the recovery over with before the holiday and CHA:-) !! And... btw, I had the BEST nurse ever! Tom was/continues to be the best caregiver. Awe:)
our business:
holy cow. wow. we have been just nose to the grindstone. so many, many amazing things opening up for us. Did you know that we are now in NOTIONS Marketing? YEEHAW! I have to say that we have been working towards that goal for a couple of years now and can't wait to see how that opens up even more doors for us in the future. CHA is coming like a freight train right now so it is a little difficult to juggle shipping so many orders and focus on getting our new product release ready for the show... it will all get done, I know, and I certainly wouldn't want to slow down!
last but not least... I thought I would leave you with a few pictures... a few pictures of my swan friends that visited the lake where we have the office and a couple fall pictures too:)
this was taken in front of our MIU office... these little dudes decided to get out of the lake and trot up to the front door to see if I had any good Cheerios left;) The male hissed at me a few times which made it a challenge to hold the camera steady while slowly backing away.
keeping a watchful eye on the yellow box in my hand;)
a few shots of the fall leaves at the lake...
Just thinking today of all the many, many sacrifices made by our nations military. As a military family I want to also thank those who have served in the 'Silent Ranks' as military moms, wives, and families so that their loved one could serve. Today is a day of rememberance and reflection, honoring those who have seen the front lines, those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice, and to those who help make it possible from the homefront. From our military family to yours we salute you.
after many, many delays (mostly due to us changing the design, the fabric, improving details here and there, whew!, we are now in production! Woohoo!!!!! Basically what this means is that the sewing has begun, book board is being cut and pretty soon cartons of olive and tan GI Jacket albums (part of our new {Life} Jacket album collection) will be in our hot little hands. Right now our best projection is the second week of December.
Here's a jpg of the latest ad:-)
for weeks now I've been meaning to share pictures and stories with you about my new friends... 7 lovable swans have adopted me:-) 2 adult swans and 5 young-lings have taken up residence at the lake where my office is located. For several months I've watched them grow and had the opportunity to get some great close up photos of them feeding and swimming in the water. It has been a privilege to have this little family choose our lake as none of us can remember ever having swans around.... watching them change from fuzzy little grey squirts following their parents everywhere, to large white elegant independent birds is amazing. (It doesn't take much to impress the city girl;)
As they've grown and gotten a little more used to me I've been encouraging them to swim to the pier by tossing out cereal for them. (I learned quickly that they will eagerly accept food long as it is tossed out underhanded- anytime something is tossed overhanded they hiss and scoot away from the pier, and I have to admit that anytime a bird of that stature hisses it is just plain intimidating!) Most days the troop eats whatever I've tossed into the water and leaves as soon as they're done feeding... so imagine my surprise this week when I saw them swim across the water, hoist their webbed feet onto land and march across the pavement in formation and into the yard of my office! 7 swans hanging out in my yard waiting for a handout. I fear that I've created a monster- I have gone so far as to buy them brand name Cheerios instead of store brand because I thought they would enjoy them more (have mercy!) As wondrous as it is to have them coming to me I will say that it is a little intimidating to have them so close... I feel that at any moment they could turn into an angry mob and peck me to death lol. Don't bite the hand that feeds you (I repeat this to them as they get closer and closer and chase me into my front door!). I did take pictures of my new little pack but alas I can not find the usb cord to the camera! I will try to have Tom download them from the camera card and send me over a file so I can share their inquisitive eyes and ginormous webbed feet with you:-)
