Great Weekend

My weekends are always so valuable because there is so much to cram into them and so little time to soak in the pleasures of life. Last weekend was an exception as I was able to do quite a few things and still get some sleep.

The weekend started with Jenna and I making homemade applesauce (not the freezer version either-full blown canning). I have never canned anything without my mom or sister there, so it was a first for me and Jenna had never canned anything, period, so I was able to teach her the basics. We were very successful, with only one jar that didn't seal. Jenna will strongly dislike me for posting these pictures, but I thought they were too cute not to post.

peeling all the apples

getting ready for the hot water bath

pulling out the jars-no easy task for two clumsy people

Anyway, beyond the satisfaction of completing something useful, Jenna and I had many laughs and a great time. We went to a friend's house after to shop at her in-home-Christmas boutique and I found some really cute wine glasses, embellished with stones and wire, and a cute scarf.

Saturday, my mom came down and we went to an amazing house (like a castle) of a friend of mine from church and spent 3 hours making cards for our card exchange. The chance to spend a whole morning being creative does something to calm and soothe my soul.

My mom and I took off after that and did some shopping in Cedarburg and Bayshore and ended our evening at BD's Mongolian Barbeque (a favorite from when Julie and Randy lived in Arizona) and Kopps Custard. We also checked out Trader Joe's and I was able to find my elusive Lambrusco wine and some other fun food products.

Later that night, Jenna came over again and we hung/moved around some wall art and watched a decent movie-good times. We also broke open the Lambrusco, which I loved and Jenna liked.

Sunday was church and many hours in my classroom cleaning things up and planning for the next week. Bible Study at night was good too.

This is the kind of weekend that I wished came around each weekend-time to be with friends and family, time for creativity, time for fun activities, and time to get some stuff done. Anyway, I'm thankful for the times I had.