There was a little partying at our house last night.
Some eating.
Some singing.
Possibly even a little dancing.

It was my husband’s birthday.
My idea for a celebration was a quiet dinner for two.
A little cake afterwards with the kids.

But no.
He had other plans.
A Nacho Libre party.
And the menu would be…nachos, of course.

If you haven’t seen this Jack Black classic,
You probably should.
You might have to turn your head away in shame a few times,
But it will be worth it.

We had a crew.
I think I counted 27 of us.
And here’s a little word of wisdom for you.
It’s not smart to let the teenage boys go through the food line first.
Because there’s not much left when they’re done!
Note to self.

What is it about being together with friends that’s so good?
Refreshing.
Life giving.
Belly laughing.

Add in a fake moustache or two.

The Lord’s cheeps
And some stretchy pants,
And you’ve got yourself a party.
I decided to save you all the visual on the stretchy pants.
You can thank me later.

It was a great night.
I believe fun was had by all.
And now we take a breath
And move on to the next celebration!

Have you ever been invited over to stay with friends
And their house is so warm and inviting that you feel right at home?
Like so comfortable that you can….
Kick your shoes off.
Lay on the couch.
Forage around in the kitchen for a snack?

Well, that’s what my family has been doing all summer.
You heard me right…all summer long.
We’ve been staying with friends while our new house is being built.

Back in the spring they invited us.
Hey…once your house has sold, you can come stay with us until your new one is done.
We declined, of course (it’s the polite thing to do).
And then we thought about it.
And then we talked about it.
And prayed about it.
And then we took them up on their offer.

Seriously, what kind of people would do that?
Offer to let a family of SIX invade their home?
The kind of people who have open hearts.
An easy way about them.
A gift for hospitality.

These people.
Scot. Lisa. Alex. Andrew. Danielle. Josh. Josiah.
We were adopted into their extended family this summer.
(They don’t know it yet, but once we’ve been adopted, we’re super hard to get rid of!)

Tonight is our last night sleeping here at the “Hallmark Hotel.”
And I’m thinking about the last two months.
And what I will remember.

Sharing meals together.
Birthday Celebrations.
Doors flung wide open for the breeze. And the sun.
Projects in the garage.
Waffle Saturday.
Kids sleeping under the stars on a warm summer night.
A chubby baby boy growing before our eyes.
Comings and goings…and climbing in windows.
Praying for our children.
Sitting on the deck, enjoying the view.
A seemingly endless supply of Schwann’s vanilla ice cream.

There aren’t any words to describe what the gift of this summer has meant to us.
And it’s not like we’re moving far.
Just up the road.

Just so you know, Priaulx family,
Our door and our hearts are flung wide open to you.
So you come on over anytime.
For waffles.
Or some ice cream.
Because we’re family.

I am not a huge football fan.
Never have been.
Never had a team I cared about.
Never made it a point to watch games.

And then there’s today.

Today I find myself
sporting a t-shirt that announces a football team’s winning record.
(12-0, just so you know)
And I am proud to wear it.
Even a little excited.

Because I live in Eugene, Oregon.
Love this city.
I’m not a native, but I’ve lived here 15 years.
All 4 of my kiddos were birthed here.
It’s my hometown.
I love the river here,
the track meets,
my church,
the friends who have become my surrogate family
since my own family lives so far away.
And today….
Today I love my Ducks.
The University of Oregon football team.
They are playing in the BCS National Championship tonight.

Somehow, in the course of this 15 years, we have become fans.
Huge fans.
Change our schedule to not miss a game fans.
Dress up in our gear on Game Day fans.
Screaming, cheering, crazy fans.
And we are not alone.

I don’t know if it’s like this in every college town,
But our town goes crazy for their football team.
I seriously can’t wait to go out to run my errands today.
Because I know what I will see.
A sea of people dressed in green and yellow.
Smiling.
Happy.
Hopeful.
Flags waving from car windows.
Duck fans.

It’s been a long time coming….
And we are excited, people.
My 11 year old son couldn’t get to sleep until late last night.
Too much nervous energy.
And let me tell you, he popped right out of bed this morning.
To don his gear and start the best day of the year.
I feel a little sorry for those middle school teachers today.
Trying to contain all of those boys…
Come to think of it,
I’m going to say a little prayer for them right now.

Here are my guys on the way out the door this morning.
In their gear.
(That’s an “O” for Oregon…just in case you were wondering.)

Here’s Hope.
When she first came out of her room this morning,
she was looking all cute…
wearing a t-shirt with a glittery heart on the front.
Her brother, Sam, took one look at her and said,
“Are you kidding me?
This is the biggest day in history for the Oregon Ducks and you’re wearing THAT?”
He promptly loaned her a jersey and she went back in and changed.

I guess I’m telling you all that to say this.
There’s not going to be a lot of work going on here today, I’m pretty sure.
Not at school.
Not at home.
Lots of businesses here in town are closing early.
We need some time to get ready, people.
There are snacks to be made,
Pre-game shows to watch.
Whew, just thinking about it makes me a little antsy.
So I think I need to go now.
And buy some chips or something.
Go Ducks!

I love making homemade gifts for Christmas.
It just seems like the right thing to do.
I never seem to have enough time, though.
Every year I have such high hopes that I’ll start early.
Like in July.
Then when August rolls around, I think,
“I should get some stuff done NOW, because once school starts, it’s going to be so busy.”
But in August there’s too much vacationing, and swimming, and such.
So then September comes, and with the buying of the school supplies,
And getting ready for new classes and teachers,
No preparation for the holidays gets done.
And this is how it goes.

So I get to December.
And I start thinking about all the people that mean so much to me.
And I realize I can’t buy gifts for all of them.
But I want them to know how special they are to me.
So a homemade gift would be just the thing.
Because I can put a little of myself into it.
And let the recipient know I really care about them.

But it’s December, people.
And everyone knows how crazy things get in December.
Who in their right mind would start a bunch of homemade projects at this late date?
Ummm….that would be me.

This is how it goes down.
I get an idea.
Then I say to my husband,
“I think I’d really like to make such and such for all these people for Christmas!”
I say it real cheery-like and hopeful…like I can get it all done.
He looks at me with a worried expression and says “Really?”
He’s such a good husband, because I know what he’s thinking is,
“You are crazy, woman.
Don’t you remember last year (or the year before)
when you tried to make a thousand homemade gifts
And it all ended up in unfinished projects
And much weeping and gnashing of teeth?”
That would be me (weeping) and him (gnashing of teeth).
But he doesn’t say all that.
He just says “Really?”

So this year I tried to explain it to him.
My craziness.
Why I like to make homemade things.
How it’s a tradition that’s been passed down.
My Mom always did homemade things.
It’s a value that I hold.
It means a lot to me to be able to do something for my friends.
He looked at me all understanding and said “Okay!”
I’m not really sure he said it like that, with an exclamation point,
But that’s how I heard it, I think.

So I need to set this up by telling you that the neat idea I found this year
was on the Martha Stewart website.
That should have scared me off.
Because Martha I am not.
But did it?
No! It just energized me more!
(Can you sense my enthusiasm?)

Secondly, this project included using a candy thermometer.
Candy making is a tricky proposition.
Seriously, someone should have said,
“Erica, back away from the thermometer.”
Because a project like that is just asking for trouble.
If you know what I mean.

But I already had it in my mind what I was going to do.
And plus, Martha had such cute ideas for packaging.
I was hooked.

To be completely honest, I have to say that Martha’s recipe turned out terrible.
I made a whole batch.
Lots of butter, sugar, and pecans were tossed
when the whole thing turned into a gritty mess.
But I was not going to back down.
So I found a new recipe and soldiered on.

And what do you know.
We had success.
Just look at those lovely little candies.

And all lined up in their little box.
Adorable.

I told you the packaging was cute.

So…mission accomplished.
First batch of homemade gifts done.
No weeping.
No gnashing of teeth.
You realize this only fuels my fire.
And I am thinking of what I should make next.
I haven’t told Van yet.
I don’t want to scare him.

Did you know that almost every Bonbon Charm can be customized?
That’s our specialty.
Making a piece of jewelry that’s personal.
One that’s special to you.

Remember this charm?
Originally meant for two initials.
So sweet.

I got an email a few weeks ago asking if I could stamp a date into the charm instead of the initials.
We made a few adjustments and created the charm.
Personal.
Special.

I got another email yesterday.
Laura (who bought the charm) wrote to tell me about the charm and her friend, who received it.
Her friend was diagnosed with cancer last spring, at age 43.
She endured major surgery to get rid of the cancer.
And then the chemo began.
8 rounds of chemotherapy.

All the while, she stayed strong.
With a positive outlook.
Continuing to care for her family and friends and the students that she taught.
Amazing.

Her last chemo session was on October 28, 2010.

This is what her friends gave her.
To commemorate the last day of chemo.
They told her that the rings were like the rings on a tree.
Representing all the years of life they had left to spend with her.
What great friends.

This is why I love what I do.

Blog posts have been a little sparse around here lately.
We’ve had guests at our house.
The Best. Guests. Ever.
Grandpa and Grandma were here.

We’ve never lived in the same city with grandparents, so whenever we get the chance to be together, it’s like gold.
My folks were here this last week and we had some fun.
Their visit just happened to coincide with some big events at our house.

Sam got to play a football game in the college stadium in our city.
It seats around 60,000, so it’s kind of a big deal to get to play there.
He played a night game under the lights.
His  team won.
And he recovered a fumble and made a couple of really great tackles.
It was quite a night.

Homecoming was that same night and Claire went with her friend David.
Aren’t they cute?
They went with a bunch of their friends.

 
Okay, just a quick question here.
What happened to the days of being all awkward and gawky in high school?
Since when did kids start looking all sassy and cute like this?
I know I am totally sounding like an old person right now,
but I’m pretty sure I got short-changed in the high school sassiness department.
Shoot.

We even were able to schedule an outing that our whole family attended.
Together.
Did you know how hard it is to get your whole family doing something together when two of those said family are teenagers?
And have access to their own transportation?
Almost impossible!
But on Saturday we went to the neatest family orchard about 30 minutes away.

It’s apple season, and we were determined to do some apple picking.
This is Grandpa and Sam getting some tasty golden delicious apples right off the tree.
Nothing like it.
We sampled a few, just to keep our energy up!

It seemed like the perfect way to spend a fall morning.

Hope came home with a pumpkin and a balloon.
Nothing wrong with that.

Now it’s Monday.
The Grandparents have left to go home.
We are readjusting to real life again.
It sure was fun while it lasted.
We are already counting the days till we see them again!

Did you know that Bonbon Charms has a Facebook page?
You can see it if you click here.

A place to find out about new blog posts, new charms.
Sometimes there’s even a discount or freebie there.

Well, we are close to a big number of fans (or “likes”).
As of this morning, we had 949 fans.
I think 1,000 would be good.
It’s a nice round number.
And it’s big.
And who wouldn’t want to have 1,000 fans, really?

So here’s the deal.
If you’re not already a fan of Bonbon Charms on Facebook, become one today.
You can go to our facebook page to do that.
Then, leave a comment (on the Facebook page, again) saying something like,
“I love your charms so much I just became a fan!” or some other equally encouraging note
and you will be entered in a drawing for a $50 gift voucher to our website!!!
$50!!!

Now, if you are already a fan on Facebook, you may be saying,
“Hey, how do I get in on the action? I’d like $50 to spend on this….

or this….

 or maybe even this….

So, if you’re already a fan,
you still have a chance to enter the giveaway.
Just invite your Facebook friends to become fans of Bonbon Charms as well.

Invite the ones who you know would like our custom handmade jewelry.
Or the ones who like to be able to customize or personalize gifts.
Or the ones who need new ideas for birthday and Christmas gifts.
Oh, alright…just invite them all!

Then come back to our facebook page and leave your comment.
Something like…”I invited everyone I know to become your fan, because you’re so spectacular.”
Or something like that.
And you too will be eligible for the $50 gift voucher!

Now how will we confirm that you actually did invite your friends?
We’re using the honor system, people.
I think you can handle it!

We’ll leave comments open all weekend.
I’ll randomly draw the winner on Monday morning,
so get cracking!
Oh, and have a great weekend!

I love these boys.

My son (Sam) and his good friend (Sam).
They go to school together.
Play football together.
Laugh together.
Look different, but couldn’t be more alike.
Both conscientious. Good guys.
Hard workers.
Like to be on time.
Fast runners.
My friend (the other Sam’s mom) and I were talking at their football game this weekend.
Commenting on how cute they are together.
Like chocolate and vanilla.
I like to call them Sam squared.

I love a big event.
I’m not sure when it started.
It may have been when I was in high school.
My family took a trip to the East Coast and we happened to be in Boston on the 4th of July.
With 250,000 other people.
I’d never seen such a crowd.
We heard a Boston Pops concert and watched fireworks.
We sang patriotic songs with thousands of strangers.
We held hands in a big long train so we wouldn’t lose each other.
It was historic, and bigger than life, and wonderful.

Ever since then, I can’t seem to pass up an opportunity to go to a big event.
My parents lived in Washington, DC, for 15 years.
There are several big events that take place in that city.
Fourth of July on the Mall in the shadow of the Washington Monument?
Yes, please.
We were there twice for that.

One Christmas when we were there for family time, Gerald Ford has just passed away.
The word came that his lying in state would be at the capitol building.
Did we want to go?
Historic.
Of course.

A couple of years ago, the Olympic Track and Field Trials were held in our city.
Did I want to work selling programs?
And get to see olympians compete.
Ummm….let me think….YES.

This weekend we had a big event take place here in Eugene.
Our college football team is doing well.
Winning all their games.
They are ranked #3 in the nation.
Now, I like watching football as much as the next person.
Especially when there are snacks involved.
And you can’t really live in this city and not root for our team.
It’s like a fever at this time of year.And so when ESPN Game Day was coming to film their show here and showcase our city,
we had to go.
Now, I don’t get up for just anything at 6:15 on a Saturday morning.
I love my sleep, people.
But this Saturday I was up early, in my Oregon Duck colors.

We were part of the crowd,

we cheered for our team,
We watched the taping of the live tv show.

Was it historic?
Probably not.
But to be with a crowd of other people all cheering for the same thing…
To feel pride in our city and the attention our team is getting…
It was a big event.
And it was fun getting up in the dark, waking up sleepy kids, eating donuts in the car,
And doing something a little out of the ordinary.
Something to remember.
And then we went home.
And took a nap.

Once upon a time there was a girl named Jeanne.
One year, her husband encouraged her to take a bunch of her friends for a girls weekend away at their lake cabin.
That is some kind of wonderful husband, I think.

She invited 8 of her closest friends…some had been in her life for a long time, some not as long.
They didn’t all know each other, but they knew Jeanne.
And who wouldn’t want to spend a weekend at a cabin on the North Shore of Lake Superior?
So they went.
And when the next year rolled around, they decided to do it again.
And the next year too.

Around the third year, they decided that their group of girlfriends should probably have a name.
The Fine Nine seemed to fit.

They do look pretty fine, don’t they?

It might have been that same year that Jeanne contacted me.
She wanted to give a gift to her friends when they gathered and wondered about a charm bracelet.
I jumped at the opportunity to help out such a fun group of ladies.
That first year they all got a sterling bracelet and a starter charm.
They have added a charm every year since.

This is what their charm bracelets look like now. 
Cute, huh?

I kind of want to be an honorary Fine Nine member.
What do you think, Jeanne?

This is just an example of how creative you can get with your Bonbon Charms.
Do you have an idea that you would like made into a charm?
Just email me and we’ll get it in the works!