it's hammer time

Bret and I are preparing to witness history this Friday at the Mckay Events Center. We hope to see you there too so we can all do the bump (not to mention, stop collaborate and listen together).

my (not so) evil twin

While at the convention in CA, a girl from my work found this pamphlet at another booth (one of our competitor's booths actually). She concluded that I was either a double agent if you will, working for both companies or I have a long lost twin somewhere. You be the judge.
I can't deny the resemblance but she's probably 14 and that doesn't make me feel too good about myself.

Groundhog Day

This is a video that we put together for a ward activity a few years ago. It tells a tale of a young rodent in search of what he treasures most...his shadow. Follow him through trials of heartache and through the ultimate of pleasure. Thanks to Eric Chambers for editing it.

anaheim

This past week I went to Anaheim, CA for the Craft and Hobby Trade show (or CHA) for my job. It's always fun going there and seeing what's new in the world of crafts. There's not just scrapbooking stuff but paints, paper, beads and jewelry, yarn, supplies for knitting, quilting, sewing, art and other random hobbies that people have. I didn't have too much time to wander but it was cool to be there anyway.

The girls. Yes we're matching.
Give-aways at our booth.
Somewhere in that huge convention center someone burned their microwave pizza and we all got to evacuate the building.


The QuicKutz crew (in bright orange :).
And you thought you had to go to Sundance to see celebrities. Turns out they're all at craft shows.
Yes this is Paris. Apparently she released her own line of scrapbooking paper. I'm sure she designed it herself and uses it all the time. It may not look like it but there was quite a crowd to see her.
Hanging with my new buddy Jane Seymour. Some may know her as Dr. Michaela Quinn the Medicine Woman, but the Udall family knows her best as Marguerite St. Just from The Scarlet Pimpernel ("they seek him here..."). She was nice. I just hope I look like that when I'm pushing sixty.

Although I could see Disneyland from my hotel, I never made it to that magical place, which is probably good because it wouldn't be nearly as fun without Bret. Despite that, missing B and all the hard work involved, it was a fun week.

Downtown Disney. This is as close to the magic as I got.

catching up. again.

Once again I find myself trying to catch up on recent events. I won't spend too much time doing this but I thought it might be fun to throw in a few pictures from this past month.

My niece Norah sitting in the Bumbo chair with the hat I made her for Christmas. We loved having the Bowens in town so we could play with her.

My family at my grandpa's funeral

Fondue party with the Scotts and Rigbys

Quicky get-a-way to St. George with the Scotts. Bret's parents are down there for the winter months so we paid them a quick visit. You can go to the Scott's blog if you want to see more.Our version of Elizabeth Bennett on the peak cliffs

Matt drowning Bret

I also feel like I should mention something. I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but in my last post I mentioned that we lost two members of my family on Christmas Eve, one being my grandpa. Well the other one was my sweet little puppy Rosie. She wasn't really a puppy I guess, being almost 16 years old. I wish I could have cloned her before she left. She's been such a good friend to me over the years and I miss her very much. I get comfort however in knowing that she left the same day my grandpa did. They were buddies and I think they would have wanted it that way. I imagine they've taken good care of each other since they left.

Spokanite World Christmas

Laura and I went to Spokane for Christmas. It was everything one could expect from a trip possessing immense pleasure and bounteous joy. The majority of our time was spent indoors - snow in Spokane was at unprecedented levels this year. A man named Father Christmas surprised us all by landing his flying sleigh on top of our roof, entering our fireplace shaft, and placing consumer products underneath of a tree in our family room. (It is important to note that he wrapped a number of these products with paper.)

Other important events in our adventure to the the Pacific Northwest include a visit to the famous Hu Hot Mongolian Grill and a Lord of the Rings Movie Marathon (while playing L.O.T.R. Risk). My father and I shoveled snow for hours, Laura crocheted beanies, Father Miller worked on his train set and Mother Miller prepared for their temporary move to St. George, UT. Melinda slept in and hung out with us when she arose from her slumber. The Hudsons were busy with baby Ty, but when he was sleeping we enjoyed hanging out, looking at their remodels and sitting in their massage chair. Lynette visited from Seattle on Christmas Eve, we always love her nachos and the youtube videos she shares with us.

Happy Holidays everybody! You're the bestest friends we could ever ask for.

Waiting to rush the stockings & tree

Dancing while decorating tree with ornaments (to Amy Grant's "Emmanuel")

a true gentleman

It was a different Christmas for me this year. Not only was I away from home for the first time, but my family also suffered the loss of two well-loved members on Christmas Eve. One was my grandpa, James E. Sabine. The last couple of days have been bittersweet as my family both mourned and celebrated a life well-lived.

I've particulary enjoyed looking through old photo albums (and finding neat pictures like the one above), sharing fond memories and reading the book of memoirs that he and my grandma wrote about fifteen years ago. They were both born in the first decade of the twentieth century and have seen so many changes and interesting events in history throughout their lives. It's been really neat reading about it through their words.

I've heard some great things said about my grandpa the past few days; the words " a true gentleman" were repeated several times, and he really was. I feel so lucky to be his granddaughter. We'll miss his loving concern for us and his playfully witty nature. And yet I can't imagine a better Christmas for him than one spent reunited with his lovely wife.

in the land of bing

As I've already mentioned, we're enjoying a very white Christmas up here in Washington. Well, as we were watching the movie of that very title this Christmas morning, I found out some incredible news from my in-laws. Mr. Bing Crosby, born Harry Lillis Crosby and the man behind my favorite Christmas movie, was actually raised right here in Spokane. That new bit of information made my day all the merrier and I thought you'd probably enjoy it too. Merry Christmas friends!

Thanks Bing, we owe you so much.