Stuff

It is so easy to accumulate stuff! We are cleaning out some things before the move and preparing to live in a smaller space. The movers estimate that we have 4,718 pounds of stuff to move to California. It is weird to think about the amount of stuff you own in pounds!

Thanksgiving Weekend

We have really enjoyed the Thanksgiving Weekend!

Our Thanksgiving decoration was a turkey that Alex made at school. He likes that it is hanging on the refrigerator.

With the craziness of preparing to move, we decided to keep our Thanksgiving simple:
Thanksgiving Menu
Turkey
Gravy
Dressing
Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Cranberry Sauce (from a can)
Pumpkin & Apple Pies (Baked by HEB)

Everything tasted great and our meal was ready ahead of schedule. We have just enough leftovers to enjoy.

Alex watched a little of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but it did not hold his interest. He spent lots of time playing.

We found out that one of our neighbors was planning to have a garage sale on Friday. It was perfect timing, and we also had a successful garage sale. It is easy to ignore Black Friday sales when you are preoccupied with clearing out extra items for a move.

On Saturday, we had some time to rest and a fun play date with friends. We continue to organize and weed out extra things. I feel better about selling or giving away items when I know that someone can use them. I feel less sentimental than expected about letting go of baby items since I have so many photos of Alex from that time. I don't feel that I need the physical items since I have the photos and memories.

Thankful Thought #2

I am thankful for where I am from, where I am now, and where I am going.

Alex's Photos

Alex got ahold of the camera last weekend and took some pictures:
Uncle Shrek

Bearded John

I took a picture of our little photographer in Grandma's sunglasses.

Photos taken 11/20/11.

The Next Chapter

We are preparing the for next chapter in our lives. Over seven years ago we moved to San Antonio when I was offered a job at the University of Texas at San Antonio. I told John that the next move would be his, and now it is time for new opportunities. John has been offered a job with Apple in Cupertino, California.

I am excited and nervous, and we are still working on the exact timeline for the move. We accumulated some things in the last seven years to move, including a toddler and two dogs. We also have a house to sell.

UTSA and San Antonio have been good to us. It will he hard to leave behind our family and friends here! I expect to use technology (iPad... hint, hint) to keep in touch and will come back to visit. This has been a good chapter of our lives.

Congratulations on your new job, John! I am so proud of you!

A Little Bit of Fall

We got a little taste of fall on Friday. We went to Boerne for lunch at The Dodging Duck and a walk at the Cibolo Nature Center. We are enjoying a weekend of family time and football while my brother is in town.

My Craft Space

My craft desk was actually clean for a few days, so I took some pictures. We bought the desk at a local office furniture store, and I like that I can lock the drawers to keep little fingers out of them.

I really like the clear plastic drawers for organization. I've picked up a few sets over the years at Walmart. The striped box holds finished cards. I keep my basic supplies in the blue case, so they are easy to grab or take to a class.

The two accordion files hold 12x12 card stock and patterned paper, and they are more portable than other options for holding paper. The purple binder hold items for me to scrap, but if it is out of site I do have the tendency to forget about it. The clear bins hold a mix of items to be scrapped and some supplies. The black case holds stickers, and my magazines are next to it.

I divided up my punches into a couple of storage options. The smaller punches are in drawers and the larger ones are in the brown bin. I also have some acrylic blocks. I recently condensed some stamp sets. I don't want to part with wood mount sets, but the clear mount stamps take up a lot less space, which I love.

On the top shelf, which my husband made, I keep my Big Shot, dies, and some small embellishments. The large box holds paints, and the striped box holds photos.

I keep my inks locked in a drawer, and other items that I don't want Alex to get into.

I organize my 8 1/2 x 11 card stock and scraps by color in the bottom drawer.

I enjoy crafting in our family room and expect to keep my craft stuff in a shared space. I can relate to the Paperclipping Roundtable episode about shared crafting spaces.

My Stamping Buddy

Alex is learning to stamp, which is messy and fun!

In the video Alex is stamping a cupcake and saying "birthday cake."