The Sewing Mom

I was at the mall the other day with my girlfriend and we were walking the a department store and noticed all the sparkly, sequined dresses and outfits. My friend made a comment how, even though it’s been years since she and her husband have gone out for a New Year’s Eve celebration, she still enjoys looking at all those neat clothes.

Truthfully, I can’t even remember the last time I’ve been out on New Year’s Eve. I mean, we’ve gone to friends or family, but we haven’t actually gone to an actual, big, shin dig where you dress up and all that. We tend to stay home and watch the Times Square celebration on T.V. My daughter is even in the habit of making homemade confetti to toss when Dick Clark (or whoever is substituting for him) does the countdown to midnight.

It would be so amazing to really be in New York City for the New Year’s Eve celebration. Before the evening celebration we could do a Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise for a tour of the Manhattan Skyline.  For the evening festivities, since I’m not a big fan of crowds, and I’d probably have a panic attack having my daughter in that huge crowd, it would be really cool to have a hotel room with a view of Time Square! I’d probably even stay up to watch them clean up the streets afterwards, it’s always amazed me that they have all that confetti cleaned up by morning. My daughter throws confetti in our family room and I find it for years afterwards!

On New Years Day (or the day after if I drank too much celebratory champagne) we could use a New York CityPass to visit other sites like the Empire State Building or the American Museum of Natural History. My daughter loves museums and some of the most amazing museums are in New York City, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I might need to start planning this trip now and maybe even invite my mother-in-law. I think she would really enjoy all the hustle and bustle of New York City.

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My husband and I attended the Veteran’s Day Celebration at my daughter’s school this afternoon.  It was fabulous.  The school had invited veterans who were friends and relative of students to attend their celebration.  I think they had about 30 or so show up.  Some were even still active duty.  It was so awesome to see them with all those little kids looking up to them.

The boy scouts were the color guard at the beginning of the ceremony.  Then they had two 6th graders (one was my daughter) read their essays.  Good thing I was focused on my video camera, I would have been crying tear of pride otherwise.  After the essays, the choir sang two patriotic songs, it was so nice.

At the end of the ceremony, all of the students were taken out in lines and lined both sides of the hallway.  The school is centered around the library with a hall creating a square around it.  Then they had all the veterans and their families march in a parade and the students cheered them all the way!  It was amazing.  The kids had made streamers and banners and everything you would see at a real parade.  It was all very touching.

I think it was an amazing event to show those veterans how much they are all appreciated and it was amazing to the young students to learn how important those veterans are to our country.

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I’m starting to obsess about shopping for the holidays. I did manage to pick up my first few gifts yesterday, they’re hidden away all ready. Most of what I bought will be used as stocking stuffers, but I know the gifts will be liked. My husband is the most difficult to shop for. When I can actually figure out what he wants, it’s usually beyond my budget.

One thing I know he likes very much and even collects is watches both new and antique. My daughter might give him a nice watch case to keep his collection of watches in. I think he would appreciate that.

As for me, a few years ago, for our 15th wedding anniversary, my husband replaced my diamond in my engagement ring with a larger one. While we were at the store picking out that diamond, looking amongst all the beautiful engagement rings I found an anniversary ring. I would love to have that on my finger and maybe he’ll consider getting me that for Christmas!

This is the time of year I keep my eyes and ears open for anything that my husband and daughter might be wanting. It makes it so much easier to purchase gifts when I know it’s something they really want.

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About a year ago I bought a new video camera.  I really love the camera, it’s very simple to use and provides excellent recordings.  My main reason for purchasing it was because my daughter had an upcoming band concert, her very first.  I wanted to make sure to capture it on video. 

At the time I bought it I thought about buying an external microphone for it to provide better sound quality when recording functions in places like school gyms.  I opted to wait.  Now I’m kicking myself.  I can’t find one anywhere and my daughter is reading her essay today at the Veteran’s Day celebration at her school.  My husband and I are going and of course I’m taking the video camera.  We just got this news on Wednesday and I’ve spent so much time since then trying to find a store that carries that microphone, unsuccessfully.

Guess I’m just going to have to order it online.  Unfortunately that means I won’t have it for today, but if I go ahead and order it now, I’ll have it for the next event, whenever that may be.

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This is a picture of one of my favorite pieces of furniture in our home. It’s the grandfather clock I inherited from my Grandmother. It’s the only thing I have from her and I’m thrilled to have it. It’s a Ridgeway clock and I’ve never had any trouble with it. I’ve owned it for almost 20 years and it’s been through one local and 4 interstate moves. It’s always one of the first items to be unpacked because it really is such an integral part of our home.

When my in-laws used to visit, my father-in-law would always comment on how much he enjoyed listening to the chimes of the clock. He took as much pleasure in it as we do. Many times we considered purchasing a mantel clock for him as a gift. They lived in a condo so it would have made a very good fit size wise. He has since passed away, but I still think of him enjoying our clock. My own mom has an very old, beautiful mantel clock that I would love someday to have in our home. It would look great on our mantel!

I know that someday our grandfather clock will be passed on to my daughter who I know will enjoy having it. Ridgeway clocks and Howard Miller clocks not only make great gifts, but become wonderful heirlooms. I hope that our clock will always find a home in our family through the generations.

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EEWWWW!  That’s what I think of anytime I see or hear Michael Jackson.  There is just something psychologically wrong with that em,…. man?   I just saw that Jesse Jackson (another questionable personality in my mind) was celebrating his birthday with Michael leading a chorus of Happy Birthday.  They went on to show all the children riding rides at Michael’s Neverland Ranch.  Who in their right mind allows their children to go to his ranch?  Is it morbid curiosity? 

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