Projects to keep me busy in this cold Detroit Winter!

During the month of December I worked on a lot of fun projects I wanted to share. I had to wait until after Christmas since most of them were Christmas presents. Here are some of the things I worked on. I made an advent calendar using mini muffin tin and magnet cards. Ainsley would pull off the number and find a treat inside each day.
Everytime Tricia and I get together we do a craft together. She taught me how to make designs using Freezer Paper stenciling. I cut out the images on freezer paper then painted them with fabric paint. So I made these onesies for some friends' baby shower.

My mom's scrapbooking company came out with a new tool called the iRock. It is a handheld tool that heats up and melts jewels onto fabric or paper. Kinda like the old "Be-dazzler" infomercial you used to see. I've had a lot of fun using it in my scrapbooking and bows. Here I made a 'Hello Kitty' onesie for a friend.

For Christmas, I made my nephews this quiet book. It was similar to the one I made Ainsley last year but in some ways I think it turned out cuter. I learned a lot of things from Ainsley's and I was able to improve upon them. I used thicker felt so things wouldn't stretch or rip off the pages. Ainsley's has already started to fall apart and it needs to last through all our kids, because I don't want to have to make another one! (Unfortunately when I try to upload the pics, they automatically turn sideways and I can't figure out why, so you'll just have to turn your head to get the idea;)

My latest project has been learning to bake bread. I aspire to be like my friends Chris and Tanya who are pro-chefs at their houses. I decided to try to learn how to make homemade bread instead of buying it at the store. Tom bought me a 50 pound bag of bread flour at Costco in November and challenged me to finish it before we moved next July. It's only been two months and I am already half way through the bag. We may have to buy another one before we move! I have tried many different recipes of both wheat bread and white. It's been a fun project and Ainsley loves to help. I make two loaves every Monday (it is also laundry day and the heat from the dryer helps the bread raise in my cold apartment:) My favorite wheat bread recipe came from my friend Tanya, I don't have any pictures-but here is the link. Tom and I have had a lot of fun experimenting making breadsticks, pizza crust, rolls, breadbowls, and different types of breads. Here are just a few that we have tried that we really like.

This is Martha Stewart's White bread and cinnamon bread recipe. The cinnamon bread makes excellent french toast...almost reminded me of Kneaders, which I have missed so much!

No-Knead Artisan bread-super easy and but you have to plan ahead considering it has to raise for about 20 hours. But it is so worth it!

Ciabatta Bread

Sister's Cafe-Grandma's White bread

Macaroni Grill Rosemary Bread

If you have any great bread recipes you would like to recommend, let me know! I am always looking for a fun new recipe to try!

Detroit Auto Show

Tom went to the Detroit Auto Show with his work last week on Supplier Preview Day and saw some neat stuff. Below is his summary of what he saw:

The show itself was incredible. Each automaker had a large and very expensive pavilion and most had brought their entire car lines to show off. The concept cars were were very impressive.




The photos above are, in order: the Honda Civic concept, Hyundai Equus, Hyundai Curb concept (front and side photos), and Hyundai Veloster prototype. The Civic concept was similar to the production model but had much more aggressive styling and looked like a race car. The rest of their lineup was not as exciting as the concept, but were still some nice vehicles.

Hyundai was in my opinion one of the standouts of the show. The Equus is a very impressive luxury vehicle and can easily go toe to toe with a Lexus. The Curb concept had suicide doors and styling that I think would appeal to younger folks if it ever makes it to production. The Veloster is not a true concept, as it will most likely be in production soon. It has three doors (four, if you include the hatchback), and, again, styling that will appeal to younger folks. The three doors (one on the driver's side, two on the passenger's) are a surprise. Hyundai has done a fantastic job building their brand in the last few years and I like that they are willing to take risks like this.




In order these are: Porsche Panamera sedan (front and rear), Audi R8 Spyder, Tesla Roadster, and Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell concept. The Panamera is Porche's answer to the four door sedan. Interesting vehicle.

The Audi is a beautiful car and showed off a couple of recent trends in high end vehicles: carbon fiber and matte finish paint. You can see the black, carbon fiber paneling and spoiler on the car, which does a great job of reducing weight without sacrificing strength. The matte or satin finish paint does a great job of being expensive and making hand prints more noticeable. Without a glossy overcoat it looked a bit dull. This is a fantastically beautiful car, but I don't get the matte finish trend.

The Tesla was a neat car and a very popular pavilion. They were also showing off their new sedan, to come out sometime in the near future. But, they only could display an unfinished body hovering over a frame, with the battery pack, motor, and powertrain visible.

The Mercedes I believe will be in production in the future, so lookout for a yellow highlighter colored sports car rocketing past you on the freeway. It is a pretty car, aside from the paint job--which, incidentally, was also matte finish--but, I wish they had been displaying it with the gullwing doors open. Electric vehicles like this were a big thing at the show.



These are: the Venturi Buckeye Bullet, Chevy Volt, and an LCD cluster display in a Lexus. The Venturi is an electric test vehicle that set the land speed record of 302 mph for an EV on the Bonneville salt flats near Salt Lake City, Utah. The Volt photo was an obligatory one for anyone who went to the show. The Lexus display is very cool: it is an LCD cluster that is customizable to show any number of things, along with speed, fuel, etc.


These are: the 2011 Ford Explorer and 2012 Ford Focus. Ford had probably the most crowded pavilion at the show and made some of its most exciting vehicles. These photos don't do the cars justice. They are both very good looking vehicles.




In order, these are: QR codes used at the Audi and Subaru booths and an augmented reality display at the VW booth.

The marketer inside of me was impressed by the QR codes that Audi and Subaru used in their displays. With one quick scan I was able to download brochures and product info that was much nicer than walking around with a bunch of print materials in my hand. I was also impressed by VW's augmented reality display, where you would hold a cube with text printed on the sides up to the screen and it would then build the technology in front of you. It is hard to see in the photo, but there is a TDI engine being shown to the left of the reflection of my hand. Very cool stuff.

2010 in review

2010 was a big year, full of lots of changes in our family. For memory purposes, here is a short summary of the year:

January
Tom received and accepted his full time job offer from Bosch

February

Definitely the low point of the year...full of medical visits and not so fun medical news

March

Trip to North Carolina for Spring Break to visit Tom's mission
Visit friends/cousins the Winders at Duke University

April

Lot of time spent with friends, celebrating the end of MBA school.
Visit Nauvoo, IL to see church history sites with Ben and Chelsea Bauer

May-High point of the year

Tom graduated with his MBA from Indiana University
Ainsley turns 2 years old
Grandpa and Grandma Reese come to Bloomington to visit
Ainsley goes to Utah for two weeks by herself
Tom and I go on a Caribbean Cruise to celebrate graduation
Movers pack up our apartment
Tom and I drive cross country stopping at Rocky Mountain National Park on our way to Utah

June
Spend 6 weeks with family in Utah
Visit Zions National Park to go hiking for the 6th time in our marriage
Go to the Reese family ranch

July
Say good-bye to family in Utah
Tom and I drive cross country to our new home in Michigan
Annie flies out with Ainsley and spends a few days in Michigan with us
Tom starts his new job at Bosch in the Corporate Marketing Department

August
Getting to know the area
Find out we are expecting Baby #2

September
Travel back to Bloomington, IN for Tom to do "Roundtable" presentation at Indiana University
Travel to the Upper Penninsula to visit Mackinaw Island and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

October
Working, playing, making new friends
Grandma Butler and Cami came to visit, we visited Frankenmuth, Greenfield Village, etc.
Ainsley goes trick-or-treating for the first time

November
Have 20 week ultrasound to see baby, but decide not to find out the gender
Visit Niagra Falls and Palmyra, NY touring Church History sites for Thanksgiving break

December
Spend our first Christmas on our own

Overall 2010 was a great year for us, we can't wait for the changes that are definitely going to occur in 2011 including the birth of our second child and moving to yet another state or even country next July.

A Very Merry Christmas Indeed!

We had an amazing Christmas. We were unable to travel to Utah to see family, but we did our best to make it a great Christmas, and was it ever! We are lucky to have Tom's cousin Scott and his wife Tricia living just a half an hour away. We spent Christmas Eve at their house with two other families. We had a delicious dinner and then had a nativity program. Scott played the piano while Tom narrated the story. The kids were all dressed up in various costumes they brought or found in Sydney's dress ups. If you asked Ainsley what she was, she would tell you a "Ballerina Fairy" when in fact she was meant to be an angel. But it was really cute. We sang Christmas carols and then the kids each opened up one or two presents. Ainsley opened up pajamas from Grandma Butler and a Belle doll and blanket that Daddy had picked out. She put on her pjs and we bundled her up to go see Christmas lights. People here don't go all out on their Christmas lights like they seemed to back home in Utah, but we still managed to find a few houses. We listened to Christmas music and enjoyed being together as a family. Then we headed home for Santa to come to our house!

On Christmas morning, we got up and opened presents. This was the first year she understood what Santa was and so she was really excited. I will try to post the video of her opening presents later because some of her exclamations as she opened gifts were absolutely priceless. She would say things like, "Wow, this is what I always wanted." and "Santa made this for me, its just for me." We did have one minor Santa scare...Ainsley was with me when we bought the shopping cart at a thrift store back in November. In fact the only reason we got it was because she wouldn't put it away after a quick trip into the store to look for something. When I saw the price of a whopping $2, I decided to get it for her. I had stuck it in the trunk of our car, and then we've never talked about it again. I figured she would forget...but even little minds remember. When she looked at the shopping cart, she said, "Look Santa got this out of our car for me!" Oops, oh well. She won't remember:)

Santa brought Ainsley a set of Disney Fairy Figurines, a baby crib, a Christmas dress for Bitty Baby, a play shopping cart, the newest Tinkerbell movie, and a Disney Princess book, along with small stocking stuffers.

Daddy got a Wii this year and we have had a lot of fun playing it while Tom had the week off.

After we opened up all of the Santa gifts and gifts to one another, we had breakfast together as a family. We made a combination of traditional foods from both families including cinnamon rolls, strata, slush, and sweets. Then we got on Skype to talk to our families. We were spoiled by family! Both sides sent us huge packages of gifts. We waited to open them over skype so they could watch. It felt like we were altogether. They loved watching Ainsley open her gifts and see her expressions. She was absolutely spoiled by both families!!!! She got a whole set of Princess Barbie dolls from her aunts, a tea set, and play food set as well as clothes and books from the Reese side. From the Butler's she got several new outfits, shoes, a beautiful Paperdoll quilt, a cupcake set, stickers, and a Sunday bag with coloring books, crayon cady, and books. She was in heaven! We spent the rest of the day playing with all our new toys. That evening we went to our friends the Martinez family for dinner. They are in our ward and just live in the building next to ours. There was another family there as well. We had a wonderful dinner and were entertained by the four little girls giving us a fashion show. It was a wonderful Christmas!

Holding all of her new princess Barbies from Aunt Annie and Aunt Susie!

Ainsley lined up all of her princesses and fairies on the couch, she was spoiled! Later she watched Beauty and the Beast in our bed and Ainsley insisted that all seven princess, six Disney fairies, Bitty baby, and her Belle doll all watch the movie in bed with her. It was pretty crowded but she was extremely happy.

Having a tea party with all of her princesses on Christmas night

Decorating cupcakes with the play cupcake set Aunt Cami gave her!

My mom made this awesome quilt for Ainsley. Each quilt block is a paperdoll and on the back of the quilt there is a pocket full of clothes for each doll. Ainsley loved dressing up the dolls. It is so cute!
Modeling one of her new Christmas outfits and the "cowgirl boots" Daddy got her

One of the many tea parties we have had over the break
Ainsley and Bitty Baby wearing their Christmas dresses

What did Tom and I get for Christmas this year? A new car!!! We've only had one car since moving to Indiana two years ago. Although it has worked out great so far, Tom starts his new Bosch rotation in a couple of weeks. It is a little farther (about a 20-30 min drive) and I did not want to be stranded at home everyday or have to drive an hour to go drop off/pick up especially with a new baby coming soon. So over the break, we spent a lot of time car shopping. We picked out a 2011 Subaru Forrester and we love it!

A special thanks to our families for all they did for us! We missed being with you and spending the holiday together. We appreciate all that you did for us though and how you made our Christmas wonderful. Thank you for all of the amazing gifts, we love you so much!