Another day in Wonderland

Man I wish I had taken pictures today. Just when you think it can't get any prettier it does. We had another inch or so of snow today. With absolutely no wind outside the snow stays on the trees and makes for a magnificent landscape.

We had to babysit for Scott's kids today. It was a short day so that was nice. It's also nice that Will is almost two and not near as needy. I love that he talks, even if sometimes I don't catch what he is saying. Summer should be fun with him and the girls. The girls always come up with games for Grandma to play. Mind you these are not your usual games, like Monopoly or Sorry. No siree. We have to have a Princess Party and I had to graduate from Haley's school for the Creative Mind. I laughed so hard at the Princess Party. Haley made Hannah a bra out of paper. Hannah was Ariel mind you. Hannah being the ham she is kept saying "my bra, my bra" and doing this weird dance. You had to be there.

My Christmas tree is coming down tomorrow. Grady has rediscovered it and the ornaments are now new chewing toys. So before anymore are chewed, the tree is coming down. And all the decorations around the house. I will probably leave my village out for a little longer, but I'm even ready for that to be gone. This is definitely a first for me.

I have just been a scrapping fool these past couple of days. I could do one layout after another if I didn't have other things to do. I came up with an idea that I'd like to work on for the coming year. A book about the great grandparents for my grandchildren. They will know so little about them, that I thought this might be a fun idea. Kind of keep the family history alive, kind of thing.

Well even though today wasn't too tough. I'm tired and ready for bed. Hard to believe I've been off from school for a week now. 5 days left of vacation. yucko

TTFN

Living in a Winter Wonderland

I just thought yesterday was beautiful. Today we still had all the snow on the trees, but we had some fog too. The fog made the trees even more wintery and then the snow was like someone had put cotton balls all over the trees. It was totally gorgeous. Of course I didn't take any pictures. And it wasn't even extremely cold. I don't mind the snow so much but I hate the bitterly cold.

I did two layouts today. I finally have the pictures and the time. It was nice to do it. I forget how much I like doing it. And when I don't worry too much about it I can actually crank them out pretty quickly. I loved this picture of Will and Hannah. I'm not sure this is the final layout. I want it to be special just like the picture.

Other then being on the computer it has been a couple of lazy days. I had visions of really deep cleaning out the spare bedroom. Unfortunately the after Christmas doldrums have hit. Still have a few days for some spark to strike me. Steve and I went and looked for dressers for that room. I would like a nice one (but not too expensive), so I can put my seasonal clothes in it and even have some room for toys. We found one but I think I'll wait awhile. I would like all my clothes purging done first.

The Christmas tree is still up. I almost caved and had Steve bring up the boxes. Tomorrow we babysit, but Saturday I think it's going. Why does the tree always look fine until the day after Christmas and then it starts to look disheveled and tired? Mine is even an artificial one. One of the major mysteries of life.

We've had two tragic car accidents in the area this week. One was a young father. He and his wife and 10 month old baby were heading to Huron for Christmas. No seatbelt. Just sad. The other one was last night. An eight year old was killed in a two car collision. An unbearable tragedy for some family. So heartbreaking at this time of year. These should be reminders to us all the appreciate what we have each and every day. Give everyone an extra hug today.

TTFN

Christmas Recap

Christmas was wonderful, weird, funky and a bit sad. I'm not sure how else to describe it. First and foremost it was wonderful. It always is in my book. Christmas couldn't be bad no matter what, because Christmas is in the heart. So no matter what any of the other variables are, if Christmas is in your heart nothing else is important. I love every aspect of Christmas.

So this years Christmas was great. We all sit in my uber tiny living room like a full can of sardines. We laugh, we eat, we open presents, and then we laugh some more. Just fun stuff. This year Kyra added to the hilarity. She bought her uncle Scott underwear. Not just any underwear, but underwear with words and a zombie printed on the butt. Too funny. (on a side note he wore them later at the great grandparents and displayed them for her). Christmas was weird and funky because I didn't label the kids presents and then forgot which paper was Kylers and Haley's. And the presents I gave this year were not the best. I'm not sure why. Maybe they'll be better next year. The bittersweet aspect of Christmas this year was at the great grandparents. It was so evident this year that Grandma won't be there next year. Her alzheimers is getting to the point that I think she'll be in a nursing home next year. It makes me nostalgic for the old days and grateful for one more year to be together. I think once we can't go to their house anymore, we won't be able to get together as easily.

Mother nature cooperated beautifully this year. We had 4.9 inches of fluffy white snow. It came down so nice and gently all day. It was absolutely gorgeous. Of course we didn't have to drive any further than across town. I took this picture today. It really was a Currier and Ives scene.

I'm experiencing a little of that Christmas letdown this year. I have the urge to take down all the decorations and return things to normal. But I'll resist. I know I'll be sad if I do. I hate when everything returns to normal and those blah and gray January days take over.

Scott brought the kids over today to go sledding on the hill across the street. We let Grady go over and sled with them. What a riot! But how cool is it that you can take your kids to the same hill you went to all the time. And that hill is just across the street from Grandma and Grandpa. When I think I want a bigger house, I need to remember these small details. Maybe they're not so small.

TTFN

Hard Work Often Pays After Time, But Laziness Always Pays Off Now

My new mantra.

Hard to believe there is someone else out there who shares my philosophy and had the wherewithall to make a picture of it.

Christmas is progressing along nicely. I've wrapped about 7 presents and have 30 more to go. Christmas cards are being shipped here waiting for me to get the letter written and the stamps bought. April 15th seems like a good deadline for those. I made a wonderful white chocolate popcorn concotion. I'm sure that will be gone by Wed. I've come up with 2 projects that should only take a week or so to finish. So you see things are right on schedule.

On a serious note, we had major fun Friday night. We rented a 14 passenger limo bus to go look at Christmas lights. It was so nice to be able to have the whole family together to do it. It wasn't even about the lights. Of course I didn't take a picture nor did Scrapbook Amy. I hope the kids will have a wonderful memory of it anyway.

For some reason bed is calling my name. I think I'll listen to it.

First Big Snow

I wish I had taken pictures yesterday. Grady had such a good time playing in the snow. He would find an apple and then throw it in the air. Then he would dig to find it and start the process all over. Of course for a dog any excuse to dig is a good thing.
We had 4 inches of snow. Just the right amount if you ask me. Enough to turn everything white, but not enough to stay forever if we get some warm days. Snow's great if it doesn't last all winter. I hate it when we get a big blizzard in November and then the snow stays until March or April. Makes for one long winter. This is just perfect. It adds the right touch for the Christmas season.
Speaking of Christmas, I seem to have lost the umph. I finally put all the decorations on my tree and Steve put up my village, but otherwise I'm not psyched to do much other decorating.
I hope I haven't hit that old age, Christmas bah humbug age. I always thought even if it was just me I'd still do all the Christmas hoopla, but sometimes it really does seem like alot of work for such a little time. I haven't even worried about the shopping. Now that's a good thing actually. Sometimes I obsess over that too much.
At school we go to Sertoma tomorrow and then we're taking the kids to the mall. That should be interesting. When we used to go to Target with all the kids that always put me in the Christmas mood. So hopefully this will too.

Hello again

Another ordinary day in an ordinary life. I took Kyra to Special Edition this morning. I love doing that. It seems like a weird thing to have to leave home 40 minutes earlier than usual and actually look forward to it, but I do. First off I get to spend some time with just Kyra. Second I usually go to Starbucks, so that's a treat in itself. And thirdly I get to see some of the most amazing things. Like the sunrise this morning. Even if I had stopped and tried to take a picture it wouldn't have done it justice. Absolutely breathtaking the way it broke through the clouds and shone through the parking ramps downtown. Definitely one of those never to be repeated moments. By the time it took me to go about 8 blocks the clouds were coming in and obscuring the view. You had to be up and out early this morning or you'd never know what you missed.
I haven't knitted in about 5 days. I'm not exactly sure why, except that I haven't had the urge. I need to get back to it though.
Otherwise this was just an ordinary day in an ordinary life. Just the way I like it.
Good night all.

Where does the time go?

I wish I had some cool pictures for my long lost blog, but alas I've been neglect on picture taking along with blogging. Haley just informed me she has a blog now. Maybe that will be what I need to get back to blogging.
Back to school tomorrow. Where did my 4 day weekend go? Well Friday I went to the doctor in the morning. I'm not sure what I did the rest of the day. Oh I did go to Walmart with Amy later in the day, but overall it was a wasted day. Saturday I babysat Haley, Hannah and Will. Poor Will was sick so we didn't get to do anything, but hang around the house. Sunday Amy and Kyra and I went to Starbucks and Target. Nothing too exciting there. Today Steve and I worked outside and played with Grady. Later in the afternoon Amy, Kyra and I went to Hobby Lobby looked around downtown. Love Zandbros. I should do all my Christmas shopping there.
Speaking of Christmas shopping, I should write down all my ideas and just go shopping. If I set my mind to it I could probably be done in a day. Unfortunately I always try and second guess myself and end up spending way too much time shopping. Christmas should be interesting with Grady and all his shenanigans.
I'm watching dancing with the stars. I don't think there is a really good one in the group this time. It really is more of a popularity contest this time.
Hopefully I'll get back to blogging more regularly.
Goodnight all.

Fall

Today was an absolutely beautiful fall day. Too bad it's already the first of October. Somehow I think Christmas will just sneak up on us this year. It was 75 degrees today with crystal clear blue skies. Not much wind, which considering this weekend is absolutely amazing. We went to KMart tonight and it looks like it is clouding up a little. That's fall though one nice day, one not so nice day. Eventually the not so nice days take over.

I'm in the mood for fall. Fall decorations, fall food, fall clothing etc. I love fall. It always has been my favorite season. Back to school, cool evenings, sweaters and all that. I loved it since I was a kid. I don't even mind that winter comes after. I don't mind winter all that much it just gets so long. I should probably live in Denver where they have winter but it isn't as severe as ours.

Not much is going on around here. Grady is still in his terrible whatevers. He is a counter surfing fool. Nothing is safe anymore. He doesn't even wait until I'm out of sight. Tonight I made french dip sandwiches. I sliced the foccacias and was getting the roast beef ready. I was right there (my kitchen isn't very big) and within a split second he grabbed one of the foccacias and was going to snarf it down. Oh no I thought, you're not going to have a morsel of this. I grabbed him and fished my hand down his throat and retrieve my foccacia. Of course it was inedible at this point but he didn't get to enjoy it at least. I just hope he lives long enought to enjoy his old age.

Happy Birthday

Fall is definitely in the air.

I can't believe that the last time I wrote was July 24. My has the weather changed. It is downright chilly today. I put socks on for the first time in months and I'm really contemplating turning on the furnace.





I spent the day cleaning house. Steve spent the day at work doing inventory. I haven't had a Saturday home alone for a long time. It was really nice in a way. My upstairs is nice and clean. I put a Yankee Tart Fall Festival on and the house smells so good. I just wish I had put some soup on. That would have made it the perfect fall day. As it is I have no supper plans, so we'll probably just order pizza.





Yesterday we were talking about the Germanfest that is taking place downtown today. I had thought that it might be nice to go. Have some brats and a beer and walk around downtown, but brrrrr!!! it doesn't even appeal to me now. Even with socks on my feet are cold. I'll bet my feet haven't been cold since March.





Speaking of socks, I'm in the mood to knit again. I have put it on the back burner all summer. I think I would like to try socks. Something challenging. I tend to get bored easily and if I've done something too many times I seem to lose steam for the project. I do have a sweater for Will I should finish before he totally outgrows it.





We had Grady neutered on Monday. We had a nice quiet puppy for a day. Now he's become brat puppy. Doctors orders were for no walks, to keep him on his leash and no jumping, etc. Well let me tell you a 5 month old puppy has a lot of energy to get rid of. If he can't use it up going on walks and running around the backyard, he's going to find someway to use it. Grady seems to think that taking things and having me try and get them back is the best way to use up his excess energy. Not fun. At least not for me.



School is going well. I think this could be a good year. The kids are good. I'm working with a good teacher. My old teacher retired last spring. So hopefully it continues.

Well I hope it isn't almost 2 months again before I post to this thing.

That time already??

Do not hit enter everytime you want to move down the page. I'm the worst offender of that and im'ing Amy has really proved that. Let's see what has happened in July so far. Three birthdays and the 4th of July all in one week. Steve's brother Bill came from Norfolk Ne to help his dad. Bill and Lori cooked a bunch of meals for them to put in the freezer. The weather has been hot and humid and no rain. The lawns are brown and my flowers are sad. But otherwise really not much has happened this month. Grady just keeps getting bigger and in more trouble. In fact I'd better check on him now. Maybe I'll post again tonight.

WOO HOO!!!!

I figured out how to change the banner on my blog. All by myself, I might add. Of course I used a premade banner from Shabby Princess but hey a girl has to start somewhere.
Well summer is more than half over. Time to get serious about all the things I wanted to get accomplished. Check - lose weight nope! Check - cook more Nope again. Check - read more books - I'm reading one now does that count. Check - have fun and be lazy. O yeah I've got that one down. Starting Monday it's the new and improved me. Going to get real serious about the losing weight. I'm thoroughly disgusted with myself. You know that feeling when even your skin doesn't fit right and your own bumps and bulges are getting in the way. I really know how those 600 lb people get that way. You can easily get to a point where the only thing that is easy to do is just to sit and eat. Everything else takes too much energy. My biggest challenge is going to be exercising. I seem to have developed a hip issue that really bothers me if I over do it. I know that losing weight will help that, but its hard to want to exercise if you know its going to hurt later. Hopefully Monday, Amy and I will get out and walk around the school again and Steve and Grady and I will get out again in the evening and walk around our block. It's a fair sized block and its uphill half of the way. My goal this weekend is to layout out my menus and buy groceries.

That's enough about that. It's been a fun week. Kyra and Haley's birthdays, a quiet 4th of July and lunch at the mall with Amy and the kids. Kyler's birthday is Monday. Summer singer has its last week of practice and it's last concert. I have a hair cut on Thursday. After that I have some relatively quiet weeks. Hopefully I can get some projects done. I've really been in a groove with scrapbooking this week. I hope it continues, but allows me to get other things done too. I tend to be an all or nothing girl.

Grady has been a little terror this week. He is starting to get into things. He chewed up 2 CD's. He loves books and papers. We really didn't puppy proof the house. Silly us!!! Over all though, he's a good puppy. He's very smart and seems to catch on quickly. He knows our schedule. Every morning while Steve is getting ready for work. Grady and I lay on the bed and talk to him while he's dressing. So today at 7 something Grady starts barking at the bed. Excuse me dog but it's Saturday. He also thinks Steve should get at 7 every day. Bark, bark bark. Grady could be a good thing for us, as sleeping in can't be good.

Well must get ready for the day. Kirby has a ball game at 9. I'd love to see his team win this mini tournament but that would mean playing all day. It's supposed to be 90 some degrees. Yuck.

Good Sunday Morning Trouble Dog

Back again so soon. Twice in one week. Whoa!!

It is such a beautiful morning. We have had the most amazing summer weather. Most days are warm and the evenings and mornings are just delightful. Today and tomorrow they are promising to bring back the heat and humidity but by the middle of the week it should be milder again.

Grady is really a very good puppy, but he is most definitely a puppy. His favorite thing to do in the morning is to go into our closet and take Steve's shoes out to the living room. He then tosses them all around and chews on them. We've yet to see a tooth mark on any though. Yesterday morning he had five shoes out. It's really quite cute but needs to stop before he starts that puppy teething. His other favorite thing is chewing on baskets. I have quite a few baskets around. I put magazines in them, yarn, dog toys, potatoes, whatever. Quite handy little things until you have a puppy. I now have baskets up on top of TV's, chairs whatever. One basket in particular that's in my den is his favorite. He's chewed off most of the handle. (It was broke anyway.) It's full of magazines and not that easy to move so I bought some bitter spray. This morning I'm in here playing on the computer and he starts chewing on the basket. Ah ha I remember I have that bitter spray. I come back with the spray and start spraying the basket and the magazines in it. He goes nuts. He really wants that basket now. I'm like "wait until you taste it dude." I put that basket down and sure enought he goes over to it. But instead of backing away he starts licking it all over. Stupid dog likes the taste of bitter spray. Wouldn't you know. Allergic to his shots and likes bitter spray. I really know how to pick them.

I spent all day over at Scott's yesterday. It was a good day. The girls played really well and Will was very good. Kyra came over later to watch the kids after Will went to bed. She brought a bunch of things from her room. She's been cleaning. They had a makeover. We have next weekend off. Yeah. Hopefully we can get more things accomplished.

Again so soon!!!

See I knew I wouldn't even make 3 days in a row. This is still better than once a month or more. We had a great weekend. We didn't have to babysit on Saturday and the weather was soo nice that we accomplished a number of outside tasks. We often aren't very motivated and we get sidetracked so easily that it was surprising we finished almost everything on my list. There's still lots to do and with babysitting this Saturday nothing will probably get done this weekend.

Grady is doing great. He is such a puppy though. Everything goes in his mouth. It's really fun to watch him though. Life is such a great adventure to him. It's like having a kid. Some days you want to keep them little and some days you can't wait for them to grow up.

Went to watch the boys ballgames last night. Wednesday is the last day of the regular season. How did that happen. Summer goes by much too quickly. Just when you get the hang of it school starts. I think the kids are getting bored though. Wish we could take them back to my childhood. I'm sure we got bored too, but there was so much more freedom. My brother and I and our friend Chip spent everyday outside coming up with one adventure or another. I'll have to blog about all the great things we used to do to pass the time at a later date. Oh the good ole days.

We have had such nice weather this summer for the most part. Yesterday and this morning are hot and humid but overall it's been good. It is firefly season. Last night in our backyard there were literally hundreds of them. When our kids were little we used to have to drive out in the country to see them. I would never see more than one or two in our front yard. City growth must be driving them into town.

Well I have to get ready. Another day of hauling kids and then babysitting this afternoon. Not much will get done around here. Can't complain though. Summer singer ends soon too and then I'll probably get bored staying home all the time.

New puppy!!!!

Time to blog again. Wish I could make it a habit. I so believe in journaling everyday, but I can't seem to get into the habit. 3 weeks to a habit they say. What if you can't make it 3 days?

New puppy. Yeah!!!!!! I've been struggling ever since Sam died. I can't explain it. Common sense told me that being petless was really the right thing. Both Amy and Kirby have allergies. Pets tie you down. We just bought new living room furniture. I could make a list alright. But after a few weeks of being home this summer I found myself obsessing over getting a puppy. And Amy didn't help matters she showed me this cute maltipoo. While the maltipoo probably would have been a smart choice I just couldn't find an adult small dog that I liked. So here's my new puppy Grady. 18 pounds of golden energy. What was I thinking!!!!

OK I'm an idiot. I forgot to rotate the picture. Just tilt your head you'll get the idea.

Other than training Grady, all I've accomplished is transporting grandchildren and going to ballgames and babysitting. It's all good. Summer is just going by way to fast.

Maybe if I make my blog entries short I'll do them more often. Yeah right!

Phantom Blogger Returneth

Last post was the first week of March. Whew time flies when you're having fun. It is true that April and May are extremely busy months but come on now. And you'd think with all that fun I'd have pictures to post. Nope. I do have pictures but there is something about posting month old pictures that doesn't seem right to me. So what has happened in almost three months. St Patricks day, Easter (which by the way was such a none holiday this year), Will's 1st birthday, Steve and Scott's birthday's, Mother's day, a plethora of school activities(go Kyra almost a 4.0 student), the end of the soccer season and the beginning of the baseball season, Hannah's birthday, and school getting out.

Let summer vacation begin. I haven't started a plan. I'm just enjoying the do nothing part of summer. The weather has been cloudy and rainy the last few days so that doesn't help. Today's plan is to clean up the spare bedroom, the kids this weekend totalled it. Do some scrapping. That's been on hiatus too. Hopefully the weather will clear enough for the boys ballgames tonight. I also plan to get some quality reading time in.

Goals for the summer:
Read more.
Lose weight.
Get rid of all old clothes.
Scrap lots.
Take lots of pictures.
Get better at taking pictures.
Cook more.
Be more organized.
Blog every day.

Wednesday Wonders

We went out to eat tonight at Red Lobster. Wonder when the last time was that we had been there. They had remodeled. It was lobster fest so of course we had to have something that has lobster in it. I don't know how people who eat out all the time do it. They give you so much food. Our seafood came on a bed of rice pilaf but we also had a baked potato and those cheddar biscuits. No wonder people are getting fat these days.

I wonder how some people get so much done in one day. Even when I stay home I don't get everything done I want to in a day.

I wonder why the practice of foot binding was done. I wonder who decided that to be a attractive woman your feet had to be as small as your big toe. I'm reading a book Snow Flower And The Secret Fan. I'm only 50 pages into it and it's already making me sick thinking about what they used to do to those poor women.

I wonder how Amy can do 3 layouts in one night and it takes me 3 nights to do one.

I wonder if I'll ever be able to stay on a diet for more than a couple of days.

I wonder if when the weather turns nice, I'll actually get out and walk.

I wonder if I can stay awake past 9 tonight.

I wonder if this is enough of I wonders.

TTFN

10 Things I did today

1. Took Kyra to school
2. Stopped at Starbucks
3. Took pictures at school (Photographers make more money than me, I need to change professions.
4. Emailed my husband from work ( first time )
5. Listened to Gordan Korman the author. He wrote his first book at age 12. I need to change professsions.
6. Talked to Amy
7. Bought cool new products from Funky Playground
8. Made a good supper of fish, asparagus and Texas toast
9. Made cinnamon struesel muffins.
10. Blogged

Monday, Monday

Well for a Monday today went fairly well. The kids at school were quiet, not yet back to their usual selves. That always happens after a break. I started WW again. It's only 6:30 tonight, but so far I'm still in my point limit and a snack planned. I was even going to exercise after school, but my right hip, leg whatever it is that is giving me grief, wasn't up for it. I'm hoping by losing some weight that it will help that issue.

I did come home after school and put a ton of CD's on my Zune. I'm really sick of TV and my CD player in my den has been acting up. I know I could put a CD in my computer but I don't want to slow my computer down when I'm scrapping. I don't know if that would do it but just in case. Tomorrow I have to take Kyra to school by 7:00. Love doing that. I don't know if it's because I often go to Starbucks or I like driving through downtown when hardly anyone is there. I also like being at school that early even if I don't have any work to do. Being there when it's quiet is just so nice

Boy did I do some major damage digi shopping this weekend. I did find a few things that were free too.
Of course I had to buy the Lilypad's spring collection.

And my daughter's Teen Extreme Collection. And that was just the beginning. I have this need to own all the digi stuff. Sad but true.

That just one of the Teen Extreme kits. There are 3 kits for boys and 3 kits for girls.

But I could have easily gone to the mall yesterday and dropped a few hundred dollars. So I look at it as saving money. Good logic huh. The really sad part of all this is - even though I have 6 grandchildren - I look at all the layouts of kids doing just normal everyday things and I have to create play dates to do that. Oh really I'm not complaining, I like my quiet little life. I know!!! I should get a puppy. That would give those day to day pictures. Not this year though. Maybe in a couple. I have been looking at Schnauzer web sites. No shedding, small, intelligent. But my heart still really belongs to Golden Retrievers. I'm nuts.

Must go do something constructive. TTFN

Quiet Sunday

Here's another view of the snow from our deck. This was taken yesterday when the snow was still pristine. Today it is 33 degrees and the snow along the roads has become brown and yucky.


Now we can endure a couple of weeks of slop. Unless of course we have another 2 day blizzard. I was hoping that this no school would continue for a couple of more days. Oh well 2 and 1/2 more months until summer vacation.





I can tell you one thing though. We are definitely lazy people. I have become perfectly content to just sit around all day in my pajamas. I did do alot on the computer but somehow that really seems more like playing than working. And it's just sitting. Gotta get more exercise. I heard that to really lose weight you have to workout 60 to 90 minutes a day. Ok one more reason to quit my job. Tomorrow being Monday time to start the ole Monday diet thingy. I can not seem to get my act together on that. But I'm really uncomfortable in my own skin these days so something has to give.

I did another layout today. I'm hoping to develop my own style here one of these days. I'm also hoping that it won't be another 2 months before I scrap again.

Here's a the layout I did today. I finally got one to move to where I want it to. S

Steve's vacuuming. I should probably look like I'm doing something. Hey I cooked today. That should be good right!!

TTFN

The Phantom Blogger Returneth!

This is the view from my front deck. We have been snowed in since Thursday morning. A real true 2 day South Dakota blizzard. I have not ventured outside (minus the 2 minutes it took to take a few pictures) since Thursday morning. Can we say yeah no school for two days. A four day weekend. The wind is still blowing and it's only 15 degrees so I see no since going anywhere yet. Tomorrow it's supposed to be in the 20's or 30's. Tomorrow would be a good day to go somewhere.

So what does someone do for 3 days? Well they sit in front of the computer most of it. I did me some digital scrapbooking I did I did. Since yesterday morning I've done 5 layouts. Go me!! I keep saying I'm an all or nothing girl and I guess this proves it. Anyway it really is an amazing hobby. No matter what I do I can't get blogger to put a picture where I want it in my blog. I'll have to get some advice from Amy.

I just talked to Scott. He was on his way to work to clear out a little snow there. He can't seem to drive anywhere without talking on his cell phone. They have fix up house fever at their house. They bought paint for their bedroom and I'm sure that Wendy is home painting. I can have paint for weeks before it gets done around here. In fact our bedroom needs painting and I have looked at paint chips but haven't picked a color yet. I might change my mind.

I'm really liking this being home thing. Work has been awful this year, with next year not looking any better. Makes me think that early retirement might not be so bad. I'm sure I could find a job where I would only work a couple days a week. Heck a grocery clerk wouldn't be terrible. Actually a job share in a little office somewhere would be good. One with summers off. If I could just give up my summers, it would be easy to say goodbye to my job and find something else. But oh I do like my summers off.

Must get back to scrapping! TTFN!!!!

Good Morning

I crawled in bed last night to watch NCIS(my favorite show) and though I didn't fall asleep until close to nine I didn't get up to write in my blog. Since there's no rule on when a person can blog maybe I should blog in the morning. I'm more of a morning person anyway

All right already. I'm sick of winter. I'm tired of the cold but even more I'm tired of the mess of snow. You know that dirty salt ridden snow that is all over the streets. My car is a mess. Everytime you come in from anywhere there's tracks of it all over. Yuck. Yesterday I took 2 of our students grocery shopping. Love taking the kids shopping. You learn so much about them away from school. BUT we have to take a taxi. Not that romantic New York version you see in the movies or on TV. The ones where the taxi's are all clean and the drivers charming and comical. Oh no we have the dirty as in ooo don't touch anything dirty and the drivers well lets just say charming and comical are not the two c words I would use. This year in particular we've had some doozies. I can't imagine if you didn't drive in this town how often you would get out and about. I would definitely think long and hard about my trips if I always had to take a cab.

Do you know how you can tell it's winter in South Dakota? There's a table set up in the living room with jig saw puzzle pieces all over it. Yep we got one.

Friday is Kirby's birthday. I am at a total loss as to what to get him. 9 year old boys should be relatively easy. It must be because it's still so close from Christmas. I just am not ready to do the money thing yet, but it's getting closer and closer.

Must get ready for work. Good morning all!!!!!

Another cold day.

All winter I was thinking I'd feel cheated if we didn't have some good ol' South Dakota winter weather. Well we've had about 5 days of bitterly cold and now I'm thinking maybe I wouldn't have felt cheated after all. Really even though it's plenty cold I think it could and has been alot worse. We really haven't had much wind with this cold so it's tolerable. Hard to believe a month and a half ago it was Christmas and I don't think I was even wearing a coat most days. In another month and a half it will be toward the end of March and we'll be thinking spring. I'm not sure I have all my spring and summer clothes put away. Time really does fly when you get older.

For a Monday today went really well. Sometimes I think it all has to do with me and my attitude rather than all the things happening around me. Duh! The teachers at school in our Cluster program are getting stressed over the Dakota Step tests. The hoops that they have to go through to test whether our kids are proficient is unbelievable. And the time lost out of the classroom surely will lead to more kids not being proficient. Those who make these rules never come out and see whether they are actually practical and if its worth all the effort. They sit in their offices in some capitol somewhere and decide what will or won't work. It should be required that all policy makers should have to go into the field and implement those policies on a regular basis. Oh well so much for my soap box. But it is frustrating.

I cooked again. I made chicken tenders. They were quite good and really simple. I got the idea from tv this weekend. First you roll the chicken tenders in mustard and then in seasoned bread crumbs. Bake until done. Easy peasy and good. By the way who started that easy peasy thing anyway.

I've also done 3 layouts in the last day and a half. I did one of Sam tonight. Tears through the whole thing, but it was good to do one. I'm really in search of some good vintage elements. I have so many old pictures that I would like to do something with but I want the elements to fit with the picture. So many are elements from now made to look older or they are old things that aren't fitting with the style that I'm looking for. Someday I'll find something. I tried talking Amy into designing something for me, but it's not really her style. Too bad.

I need to take more pictures. I like blogs that have pictures in them. Note to self. Do something exciting so there's some pictures. No we're not buying a puppy just so I have something to take pictures of. But don't think that hasn't crossed my mind.

Goodnight all!!!!

Another cold day.

All winter I was thinking I'd feel cheated if we didn't have some good ol' South Dakota winter weather. Well we've had about 5 days of bitterly cold and now I'm thinking maybe I wouldn't have felt cheated after all. Really even though it's plenty cold I think it could and has been alot worse. We really haven't had much wind with this cold so it's tolerable. Hard to believe a month and a half ago it was Christmas and I don't think I was even wearing a coat most days. In another month and a half it will be toward the end of March and we'll be thinking spring. I'm not sure I have all my spring and summer clothes put away. Time really does fly when you get older.

For a Monday today went really well. Sometimes I think it all has to do with me and my attitude rather than all the things happening around me. Duh! The teachers at school in our Cluster program are getting stressed over the Dakota Step tests. The hoops that they have to go through to test whether our kids are proficient is unbelievable. And the time lost out of the classroom surely will lead to more kids not being proficient. Those who make these rules never come out and see whether they are actually practical and if its worth all the effort. They sit in their offices in some capitol somewhere and decide what will or won't work. It should be required that all policy makers should have to go into the field and implement those policies on a regular basis. Oh well so much for my soap box. But it is frustrating.

I cooked again. I made chicken tenders. They were quite good and really simple. I got the idea from tv this weekend. First you roll the chicken tenders in mustard and then in seasoned bread crumbs. Bake until done. Easy peasy and good. By the way who started that easy peasy thing anyway.

I've also done 3 layouts in the last day and a half. I did one of Sam tonight. Tears through the whole thing, but it was good to do one. I'm really in search of some good vintage elements. I have so many old pictures that I would like to do something with but I want the elements to fit with the picture. So many are elements from now made to look older or they are old things that aren't fitting with the style that I'm looking for. Someday I'll find something. I tried talking Amy into designing something for me, but it's not really her style. Too bad.

I need to take more pictures. I like blogs that have pictures in them. Note to self. Do something exciting so there's some pictures. No we're not buying a puppy just so I have something to take pictures of. But don't think that hasn't crossed my mind.

Goodnight all!!!!

Long lost blogging!!!

Will I ever get to everyday blogging? Hard to tell. I think about it just about everyday but don't seem to get to it.

Well one of the reasons I haven't blogged is because it's very sad at our house. We had to put our dog Sam down last week. He had cancer. He seemed fine at Christmas but shortly after I noticed he was drinking more than usual. Pretty soon he was drinking all the time and drinking so much that he would vomit. We took him in thinking he might have diabetes. Not uncommon for a dog his age. They ran all sorts of tests and finally did some xrays and found a mass between his heart and his lungs. It progressed really fast and we just didn't want him to suffer, so last Thursday Steve took him in. It has been extremely hard. I should have known it would be bad since it's just been the three of us in the house the last almost 9 years. It is the first time Steve and I are truly empty nesters.

On to some brighter topics. I had a very productive weekend. I got up early Saturday and cleaned and then proceeded to make two batches of soup and some muffins. Today I made another batch of soup and a casserole. We took over three containers of soup and half of the casserole over to Steve's folks. I've been meaning to do that all fall and winter and this is now the first that it happened. The soups I made were a beef and barley, Rachael Ray's double chicken stoup and Bree's tomato lentil. I may be the only one who likes the tomato lentil one. The casserole was a chicken tetrazzine. So now I have some meals for the week and Steve's dad won't have to cook much either.

I even scrapbooked some. I've buying all these cool digi scrapping things and thought maybe I should use some before I convince myself I need to buy more. My daughter and her new store could put a dent in my budget. Like I told Steve though, it's cheaper than going to the mall, which I used to do about every other weekend.

It was really cold this weekend. Down in the 1o below zero range. We're just not used to that. It's been a very mild winter until now. The weather people said it's the coldest it's been in about 10 years. Yeah global warming.

Well it's half time of the super bowl. Should watch a little of the half time show.

Goodnight all!!!

Whatever happened to regularly scheduled posts?

I had such good intentions. Oh well, last year at this time I wasn't journaling at all. So really this is still an improvement. Not much exciting since last Monday. School was much better than I expected. Sometimes that full week back goes so slow. Kids were good and the much needed break from the coworkers helped. My dog is still sick. He's peeing up a storm and drinking all the time. He also seems to think that his dog food isn't any good anymore. He'll eat canned food and the hamburger rice mixture I make him. The vet was supposed to call today with the blood results, but Steve and I realized that with the holiday, they probably won't get the results back until tomorrow. Other than worrying about him making it all day without a bathroom break, he seems fine.

I scrapped today. I posted 3 layouts at DST even. And I commented on a couple of layouts that I liked that didn't have any comments. Whoa! Look at me go.

We finally got some snow. Steve got to play with his snowblower. Did I take pictures? No!!! It was too freaking cold to go out there and take pictures. Really it is very cold.

Back to last week. Kyra made the play at school. She's just in the general cast but it's soo cool that I'll get to take her to more early morning practices. It makes my day and often gives me an excuse to go to Starbucks. Last Sunday we took Amy and Cameron to Royal Fork for supper. Saturday we took Scott and Wendy. Seriously the grandkids are going to think supper at Grandma's means Royal Fork. We went over to Steve's folks yesterday. Grandma seem to have a good day. She talked to me. Grandpa said he had some health issues. Scares me to think about if something should happen to him. His kids really need to sit down with him and talk about some things.

I have to sit through an all day inservice tomorrow. What fun!!! At least it's closer to home than some of them have been and they're providing lunch. At least we won't have to go out in the cold. But since everyone else lives on the other side of town, I'll have to drive there by myself. Whine Whine!!

Well, I really haven't done much in the housework department this week. I should probably dust and vacuum. Then a nice hot bowl of chili sounds good.

Goodnight all!!

Ramblings

I tried to post a couple of times in the last few days and blogger was just plain weird. It wouldn't let me put periods in. I lost my typing a couple of times, so finally I just said Oh forget it. I really had intended to blog everyday.

Well the first day back at school wasn't too bad. The kids were good for the most part. Mr. W. had to wail when we took his music away before lunch, but that is just par for the course. We go a full 5 days this week and then there is a 4 day weekend for the kids. We have inservice on Tuesday. January used to be the longest month but not anymore. March has taken over that title.

I made a very good supper tonight. Hearty minestrone with barley, kale and beans. Quite tasty and very healthy. Of course we had to have texas toast with it so I'm sure that negated some of the health benefits. We took Amy's family out for supper last night to our favorite place. A buffet. But everyone can have what they want so it works well.

I've been organizing all my scrapbooking things in ACDsee. What a overwhelming task!!! I just got through all of Corina's things and I think I'll call it a night on that. Maybe I'll knit awhile. There sure isn't anything on TV.

I had to take 2 full anti anxiety pills today. I'm not sure what's up with that, but if it keeps up I'll call the doctor and see if I can go on Zoloft. It's no fun to feel like your heart is going to beat out of your chest all the time. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to them either. I can be home or out. Doing nothing or at the mall. Weird, huh? Oh well it's always something.

Think I'll call Amy and see if she's home yet. Wouldn't be a complete day unless I talked to her. Goodnight all!!!

SIMPLIFY

That's my word for the year. I bought this black word SIMPLIFY at Hobby Lobby a while back. It is sitting on my piano now. Amy told me about Ali Edwards having a word for the year. I thought what a cool idea. At first I thought balance, I definitely need to balance things. I tend to be a all or nothing person. Then as I was looking at my newly reorganized pantry I thought simplify. Do I really need six different shapes of pasta? No it really needs to be simpler than that. SIMPLIFY!!! When I want to knit something, I don't need to buy 26 different yarns. Pick a project, get the yarn and do it. SIMPLIFY. When I want to scrapbook, I don't need to buy 26 new digi kits, pick one of the many I have, a picture and do it. SIMPLIFY. When I want to cook supper, it doesn't have to be a gourmet meal, a simple meal would be just fine. SIMPLIFY. How many clothes do I need? Pick 10 or so outfits and definitely find ones that are flattering and get rid of the rest. SIMPLIFY. It sure sound good on paper. Just the fact that Steve and I are cleaning out the closets in the basement is a good start.

Well Kyra got braces today. Two years of metal ones and three more years of the invisiline ones. That will make her 18 when she's done. That just can't be possible. In 5 short years she'll be 18. How can that be, my little Kyra girl!!! It wasn't that long ago that I was 18. OK maybe it was a few years back.

Kyler has strep. Poor guy. He wasn't feeling to well yesterday. Amy took him into Acute Care last night. 102.9 was his temp and his throat looked nasty. The quick culture came back negative, but they always seem to anyway. The put him on antibiotics. Hopefully by tomorrow he'll be feeling better. We want to go to Charlotte's Web.

I actually cooked supper tonight. Skinny turkey spinach meatloaf, roasted potatoes and baked squash. It tasted so good. Finally a home cooked meal. The meatloaf came from Cooking Light and was actually very good.

Well I've actually blogged everyday so far. Now if I can just add some pictures for interest I'd be doing good.

Think I'll go knit a little tonight. Goodnight all!

Worrywart!!!

I've come to the conclusion I'm a major worrywart. My dog drinks more than usual and throws up in the middle of the night, I worry he has some deadly disease. My grandson has a fever and a sore throat and I think he has influenza. I have anxiety attacks, but somehow I'm still not so sure there isn't something terribly wrong with me. Sure the anxiety pills cure it right up but I still worry. I worry about what people think. I worry about my kids everytime they go a trip. I worry about big things and I worry about small things. Is there anything good about worrying? I really don't think so. I need to learn to let a higher power take care of things that I have no control over and I take care of the things I can do something about. Now there is a new years resolution!!!!

I can't say I accomplished much today. Worked a little more on my pantry. Found more of my kitchen. Hopefully tomorrow I can actually cook supper. Of course I went over to Amy's to see all of my grandchildren. Tomorrow we might go to the movie Charlotte's Web. It will depend on how Kyler and Kyra are feeling. Kyra is getting braces tomorrow.

That's about it for tonight. Goodnight all!!

January 2, 2007

I'm on a roll. Two days in a row. Could this be a new year's resolution I can actually keep. Did you notice my new blog header? Cool huh! My most amazing and talented daughter did that. And the papers and the elements are her own designs too. I am soo proud of her.

Steve and I had a almost productive day. We started cleaning out our pantry. With what we threw away we could have fed a small African country. There were things in there from 1999. I could bake cookies for at least a year with all the chips. Chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips even cinnamon chips. What were we thinking? Neither one of us was born in the depression. I definitely need to cook more this year. Add that to my new years resolution list.

I meant to take a picture of my living room today. It looks so nice with the new furniture and all the Christmas things down. The upstairs of the house is looking good. Now we need to work on the basement. Another new years resolution!

I had to put a snowman in my blog header because we sure don't have any snow. This is the most unusual year. It is supposed to be in the 30's the rest of the week. Maybe a slight chance of snow again on Friday. I'm sure it'll rain like it has the last few times they've talked snow. I'm not sure whether I really want snow or not. If we don't get any, we'll feel like we've been cheated. Oh well.

Good night all!

Happy New Year!

A resolution for the new year. Blog more. Eat less. Now one does not have anything to do with the other, but if I accomplish those two things I'd be quite happy with myself.

We had a very nice Christmas. Nothing too special, just nice to get together. We had fun with Steve's brother and family. They always come with new games to play. We played Set and Quiddler and Catch Phrase 2 nights in a row. We laughed so hard at Catch Phrase. They are definitely some must have games. I'm hoping Set and Quiddler go on sale at a Christmas kiosk in the mall.

Last night we had the kids over for New Years eve. It's becoming a family tradition. We eat snacky things and play a few games and then the kids go outside and do poppers. Last year we still had streamers in our tree in July. Everyone goes home early 10:00 or so. Works well.

I did a little digi shopping today. Amy's store opened today. Had to go buy out the store there. It could become dangerous as they have ridiculously good stuff. If I knew how to get pictures of the things I bought in this blog I'd do it. Maybe another day. Hint hint Amy come over and help your old mom with that and a few other things in the computer world. I also did some scrapping yesterday. Now that Christmas is over I hope I can find a balance between knitting and scrapping. Might have to stay up later, when the bed starts calling your name at 8:00 it doesn't leave much time for getting things done.

Put the house back together today. As much as I love Christmas, this year I'm glad to have a normal house again. New furniture might have something to do with that. It looks really nice and all the furniture seems to fit well. It was a good choice to buy it at Christmas, so we would know if there was still room for a tree. That's important you know.