Yummy goodness

Quite possibly some of the yummiest homemade chocolates come from Furlong's Cottage Candies. My mom worked for them when she was in high school, and could still identify what kind of filling was in them based on the swirls and/or drizzles on the tops.



My dad would always get her some for special occasions. He has been getting them for me and my sister for Valentine's Day, too.


They are quite good, the creme filled ones. I am a fan of the dark chocolate orange cremes; see the picture above. (the milk chocolate orange cremes are equally as good) My mom said she was at her heaviest when she worked there. Employees were allowed to eat whatever they wanted, as long as it wasn't in front of the customers! My gosh, I would always be in the back finding something to eat. I mean do.


Sadly, our box of 2 lb creme filled chocolates is nearly empty....(although, it is 13 days past Valentines Day, so it is amazing there are any left at all!)

Funny names

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car),
Baby Winstar

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie),
Chocolate Snickerdoodle

3. YOUR "FLY Guy/Girl" NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name),
J. Gom

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal),
Teal Swan

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born),
Marie Newton

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first),
GomJe

7. SUPERHERO NAME: ("The" + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink),
The Fuschia Chocolate Milk

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers),
James Francis (or Francis James)

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy),
Paloma Jellybean

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ),
Catherine Vincent

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter),
Pompei Providence

12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower).
Christmas Iris

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + "ie" or "y")
Banana Jammies

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree),
Croissant Magnolia

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: ("The" + fave hobby/craft, fave weather + "Tour"),
The Sewing Sunny Summer Day Tour

The things kids say...

Nate is getting very good at expressing when he likes something. For example, he'll say 'I li-ike corn' and he really sounds out the 'i' sound in like. Mama, I li-ike chocolate, I li-ike milk. It is really cute to hear him.

So, last night we were at a fast food place eating dinner. A family is sitting in the booth behind us. Cassie commented on how pretty she was (Cassie liked her long hair and barrette) Nate looked over and asked "Who's that" (about the dad at the table) "A man" we say. He looks at the lady. "Who's that?" He asks. "A lady", we say. Nate: " I li-ike ladies!"

It was so funny. That little singsong voice, I li-ike ladies. Lino and I just laughed and shook our heads. I think the lady heard Nate, she smiled and said Hi to him as they left.

Funny stuff.

To etsy or not?

So I have been trying to work on more things for etsy. I don't have a dedicated sewing space/room. That means when I want to work on something, I unload my stuff from the closet and take over the kitchen table and island with my stuff.

I made these test bags, and Cassie and Maggie claimed them. I just don't know how they might do. There are a ton of bags on etsy. They stand about 6 inches tall. The pink is maybe 3 inches deep. The purple is about the same height, but closer to 4 inches deep. I think the pink one came out very cute though. The purple one is a bit bigger, more basket like than bag like.

I could have done the handle better. I used scrap fabric for this purple bag. If I do put any on etsy, they will be 'perfect'.

The pink bag outer fabric has embroidered butterflies on it ( I bought the fabric that way) The lining is fabric from my scrap bag. I did outfits for the girls with it and love it. The handle on this one has grosgrain ribbon on top, which I thought was cute. Though since my photog skills are lacking, you cant really see it in the picture...

So, more things to work on. Maybe I can get a better system. Cut a bunch of stuff first, and then have a big sewing day. Then work on pictures to list them.

Minnie

My cat passed away today. She was about 14. I know she lived a long time for a cat, but I am really upset. She was my best pal when I was going through some really tough times. She was such a good cat.

She liked pasta. She enjoyed the occasional rice cake. She tolerated the arrival of TC and Josie, nearly 9 years ago. We think she did enjoy being a mama cat. She was so funny when she had cat nip, she would get all crazy and run around, then sit up against a wall, just watching.

She was my friend and I loved her. I am really sad.

Train Crash

Well, it was a fantastic ride while it lasted. The New England Patriots had a perfect regular season (16 games) and then won 2 more in the post season, they were the AFC Champions on their way to the Superbowl again!

I was expecting a challenging game, but Lino and I both thought that the Pats would prevail, and have that perfect season. Wow. Were we ever wrong! The Giants played a really good game. The Patriots looked like a completely different team out there!

What happened?!? Brady got sacked and pressured more times in that 1 game than the whole rest of the season. Seriously, he can stand in the pocket for what seems like days, taking as much time as he needs to find his receiver. It is truly an amazing thing to watch. The offense normally does a fantastic job allowing him that time. And Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Kyle Brady, they have all been Tom's go to guys. Tom and Randy both set records this season for throws and receptions! And the defense is usually great at shutting down the other team.

We were stunned by the game. Didn't understand some of the plays the Pats made, and why they didn't do some others.

However, they are a fantastic team, they have a great coach and I am super excited for next season. I love football. (Not so much baseball, though it was exciting to watch the Red Sox win that first pennant after 86 years. I could root for either the Sox or the Yankees (my dads team).) But, I love football. I will even watch Arena football during the NFL off season.

Little man's birthday party

We had Nate's birthday party yesterday. We had postponed it one week, both my dad and my sister had the flu. The kids have had flu shots, Lino and I have not. I was completely ok with changing the date of the party and keeping the flu out of the house.

As it was, changing the date gave me more time to get the house from 'out-of-control-clutter' to 'able-to-have-parents over'. I have discovered the existence of kitchen counters! Who knew? Now the test will be maintaining the clutter-free environment.

Back on Nate's actual birthday, we had cupcakes and sang to him-he cried. He cried at last years party, too, when we sang Happy Birthday, so no singing this year. As it turned out, he napped later than I thought he would, so I had to wake him up for cake and ice cream, and it took a while for him to warm up. He wanted Maggie and Cassie to blow out the candles, and they were more than happy to help! He was ready to go at present time, though!

He had fun, got some neat toys, and enjoyed playing with the balloons. Lino got a small helium tank from the store, so we did them ourselves. Cassie collected all of the pink and red balloons and claimed them for herself. Maggie used her purple and green ones in an experiment, she was trying to lift a toy off the ground. Nate was very happy with his yellow 'bloon'.

After everyone left, I tried to get a good picture of Nate for his official birthday portrait. We had no luck at the studio 2 weeks ago, and it is too far of a drive to randomly attempt it. I also don't think it is worth it to stress him out about it, so if I can get a nice picture at home, then that will do! Here are some of what I got.

It was a fun day, but a long one. The kids were up very early due to the excitement, so by bedtime, they (and I) were ready for sleep!