Because Dirk was insisting he got the munchies every time he visits. LOL
Why does it seem that when one is already sleep deprived the universe takes it upon themselves to keep that person up?????
DH, DD & I have all had colds that we're dealing with. I've forstalled mine from becoming any worse than a stuffy head, but it's enough to require cold medicine to get any sleep. Well, I was feeling so good last night by the time I went to bed, that I forgot to actually take the meds. Which means that by 3 am, I was up getting a dose. Ok, except that obviously DH also forgot, and he's not only stuffy & snoring like a freight-train, he's also coughing up storm. So, even if I COULD have slept, he was being so loud that sleep wasn't an option. (I'm fairly religious about DD's meds, and she's got a humidifier which helps things, for her.)
Then, as soon as I lay back down to try to get back to sleep, I hear this pop, pop-pop-pop, pop. A few minutes later, more of the same. Not sure if it was gun-fire, if it was fireworks, or what. Doesn't really matter to Puck, who started moving about the house very agitatedly. *sigh* And it'd stop for a bit then start up again. *BIG sigh* Well, finally got DH to roll over (so at least he was facing away from me, which SOMEWHAT muted the snoring) and dozed back off again.
Wouldn't you know it, 6:45 AM, Alaska time, and the phone rings. WTF?!?!?!? I answer it, too bleary-eyed to really look at the caller-ID, and find myself listening to a voice recording asking that I please hold for the next available operator to speak to me. Suffice it to say, I hung up promptly with some VERY not-nice language for the computer-system who decided I needed to listen to a telemarketer at 6:45 in the morning.
15 minutes later, DH's alarm clock goes off and he's up and getting dressed & letting Jenny out to do her business. Because the front door of our house sticks in extremely cold weather (did I mention it's about -30 F. this morning?), it took two hard slams for DH to get the door shut all the way.
Back to sleep, except for Jenny sticking her nose in my face to ask when I was going to get up, till my alarm clock went off at 9 am. *sigh* I'm more tired NOW than I was when I went to bed last night. And Monday's are my long day at work. I work from 12:15 to 9:15 tonight. Then it's the half-hour drive home, a quick bite to eat (assuming DH already has it ready when I get here), my shower, then bed. *sigh* I'm exausted just thinking about it.
The first thing I did this morning, upon getting online, was find the website for the telecom company that called me at 6:45 this morning and sent their legal dept. a letter requiring that they place DH & I on their DO NOT CALL list, and requesting that they adjust their computer systems to NOT dial Alaska numbers before 8 am, ALASKA time. What's REALLY bad is getting one of these rediculous calls at 6 am on a SATURDAY morning and listening to the chipper voice of some person on the east coast who INSISTS that it's not too early, as it's 10 AM their time. *sigh* Maybe not early for THEM, but Alaskans are 4 hours BEHIND!!! *grumble*
Ok, I figure I've got the clam-chowder pics far enough down now that Dirk probably won't see them next time he visits. *Waves at Dirk_Star*
Thanks to the others who've visited. It's nice to see new faces. Next time I make clam chowder, I'll be sure to make extra so y'all can have a bowl. ;)
Have a Blessed Day!
Monday, January 08, 2007
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Clam Chowder!!!
Ok, pics looks like they're all out of order again. Sorry about that. I try uploading them in the order in which they're supposed to happen, and then this blogger rearranges them all wonky on me. *sigh* Maybe one day I'll have time to play around with it. Not now though.
So, here's my Clam Chowder recipe.
Dice then fry up 1 pound of bacon in large dutch oven. Remove bacon and most of the drippings, leaving about 1/4 cup drippings still in the pot. Dice up 1 onion and 1/2 celery heart, lightly salt (though I forgot this step last night) and saute till translucent. Dice up (bite-size chunks) 3 scrubbed but unpeeled potatoes & toss into pot with onion & celery. Drain 2 cans of chopped clams, reserving the juice. Pour clam juice over the potatoes, and then top with enough chicken stock (I use the good quality store-bought stuff) to cover the potatoes. Cover with lid & simmer about 20 minutes, or till potatoes are tender, but not mushy. If needs be, take the top off the pot & simmer some of the broth down (you want room in the pot for the half&half). At the last minute you're going to want to add in at least 1 pint of half&half (or cream, if you REALLY wanna heart-attack) and the clams. Give it a stir to heat the clams & half&half, but don't boil (or clams will become rubbery). Ladle into bowls, top with a handful of crumbled bacon, and enjoy!
I go really light on seasoning, usually just a dash of salt & pepper to taste. The bacon & onions & clams have soooo much flavor you really don't want to do too much, or you'll take away from the simplicity. And this makes a big ol' dutch oven full of soup, enough for about 6 servings or so (depending on how much you put in each bowl). As you can see, it's not a terribly thick & creamy soup, it's got half & half, but it's not extremely heavy. It's just perfect. And it really is best right off the stove-top. It's good the second day, but it's best fresh.
To store, stir in any remaining bacon, & refridgerate. Reheat carefully & slowly.
Oh, and in case anybody looks at those pictures and thinks "That looks like a heck of a lot more than 1 pound of bacon" or onions, or celery, etc.... That's because I doubled the batch so DH could share some with his best buddy. *grin*
****************************************************************
Well, gotta go get ready to go out. DH decided that in celebration of his new job (he's warehouseman for a local chemical company), we're going out to one of our favorite resteraunts for dinner. They've got incredible nachos that'll feed a family, for VERY reasonable prices. I mean, they fry up the tortilla shells when the nachos are ordered, top with your chosen toppings (chicken, beef, or no-meat, cheese, fresh tomatoes, onions, olives, jalapeno slices, sour cream, guacamole), stack another tortilla shell & more toppings, then cut into wedges. Last time we were up the 3 of us ate & were full (ok, we did have desert, also) for 11.95 for this huge platter of nachos. For the 3 of us to eat well, and enjoy the meal (and a drink each, including DD's "Shirley Temple") we spent just under 30 dollars with a 5 dollar tip. Anyway, it's been over a year, so we're going up tonight for nachos at Ivory Jacks. YUM!
See ya!!!!
Have a Blessed Day!
Friday, January 05, 2007
Well, we didn't win....
Ok, here's the run-down on our tournament, for Dirk_Star and anybody else who wants to know.....
The tournament outcome was not so grand. We played against 2 teams that we've played against previously, and 2 new teams from out of town.
The first game was against a previously-played team. I don't think we've ever beat them. One little boy on that team has a really nice breakaway/deke and has a tendency to get most of the goals. Of course he's also a spoiled little piss-ant who's daddy is coach for that team. He gets away with a LOT of crap because of this little fact. Like throwing temper tantrums on-ice when he gets called on something, or when he goes "off sides", or when the goalie stops one of his goals. (He esp. hates DD because she's a girl, and she's got a really good save ratio.) At one point this week he was given a penalty for out-right shoving a player on the opposite team, which should have landed him in the penalty box for 2 minutes for pushing. (It wasn't a cross-check, it was a face-on shove.) After only about 30 seconds in the penalty box, Daddy-coach said something to the ref. which resulted in the penalty being dropped & Jr. sat out the last 2 minutes of that period. Daddy-coach put him back in the line up immediately after the break between periods, and Jr. played out the rest of the game without even a penalty for his bad behavior. Even the parents on his OWN team were outraged!
Anyway, we lost to this team 7-3.
Second game was against a team from Delta. And they were a good team, played really cleanly. There's one thing that some of us were somewhat upset about, however. All the children playing in this league are supposed to be 10 and under. There was one little boy on the Delta team that stood 5'6" tall. At 10, supposedly. The league & tournament coordinators said they were going to check into this & ask to see the kid's birth certificate. Not only was he incredibly tall, for 10, but he played at a skill level WAY beyond any 10 year old anybody else had seen. Even the 10's on the comp (traveling) teams from here in town aren't as skilled on ice as this kid was. Which means, 10 or not, this kid should have been in the next league. His inclusion on THIS league means that our kids were at a disadvantage. It was like pitting a Junior A. hockey player (early 20's semi-pro's) with a team of 10 year olds against another team of 10 year olds without the same advantage. Just not fair to ANY of the kids.
We lost that one 13-0. Everybody else lost by similar ratios as well. It wasn't a fair "fight" by any means.
Third game was by the second local mixed (ie: boys & girls) team. We've played them before with mixed success. Sometimes we've tied, sometimes we've won. This is the first time we'd ever lost. They're a good team, though, and play a clean game (or, at least when they DO get penalties, they do spend their time in the penalty box).
We lost this one 7-1.
Fourth game was against a team from Healy. A good game here as well. Nice team, clean players. The one penalty they had against us was spent with good grace in the penalty box (and we still didn't get a goal on that power play). I've heard good things about this team as well, that they love having teams from Fairbanks come down to play them on home ice, that the usually have 2 games a day, and that they always throw a big potluck for the visiting team's benefit. In fact, one lady (hockey mom from team 3) told me that she's never been to a church potluck that's as good as Healy's potlucks are. More food, tastier food, than she's ever seen. *grin* She strongly recommended taking them up on their offer for a road trip game, if invited. LOL
We lost 10-3 against Healy.
Now, DD's shots-on-net/save ratios were pretty good. Of 1st, 2nd & 3rd games, the shots on net were 25, 44, and 25. That means she saved 18 of 25 shots in the first game, 31 of 44 shots in the second game, and 18 of 25 shots in the third game. I didn't get to see the score sheets for the fourth game. But that's still a really good ratio. We were all a bit bummed that we didn't do better, but it's a learning experience, for sure.
We need to remember to "pressure the puck" better. (Ie: The girls need to remember that the kids on the other team will not just HAND them the puck, we need to get in there & go after that puck, if we want it.) We need to remember to "play our positions" better. (Ie: the girls who are defense need to focus on keeping the other team AWAY from DD, and yet don't block her from seeing what's going on, so that she doesn't see the puck to stop it.) And we need to remember to pick up the pace. (Pretty much what it means, skate your heart out & keep up the pace, slow doesn't win the game in hockey.) And DD needs to figure out how best to block a deke. At least 3 of the kids on the other teams had really nice dekes (watch the first Mighty Ducks movie, for what I mean by a "deke"), and they were the players that got most of the goals on DD. If she can figure out how to block a deke effectively, she'll dramatically improve her shots/saves ratio.
Now, here's hoping the 2 coaches (that were able to make it to the games) take what we've learned from these 4 games & apply them to coaching our girls (because DD plays on an all-girls team) to greater heights.
****************************************************
Now, I've gotta head to the grocery store & pick up some necessities. Among which will be onions, celery, bacon, half&half, and canned clams for tonight's clam chowder. DH really wasn't kidding when he said he wanted me to make clam chowder every other weekend. LOL Only, this time he's asked that I double the batch so he can take some to his buddy at work, who's wife hates clams & refuses to try making home-made clam chowder. If I can get a decent shot, I'll take a pic to share. Taking my camera to the kitchen RIGHT NOW, so I don't forget later. *wink*
Have a Blessed Day.
The tournament outcome was not so grand. We played against 2 teams that we've played against previously, and 2 new teams from out of town.
The first game was against a previously-played team. I don't think we've ever beat them. One little boy on that team has a really nice breakaway/deke and has a tendency to get most of the goals. Of course he's also a spoiled little piss-ant who's daddy is coach for that team. He gets away with a LOT of crap because of this little fact. Like throwing temper tantrums on-ice when he gets called on something, or when he goes "off sides", or when the goalie stops one of his goals. (He esp. hates DD because she's a girl, and she's got a really good save ratio.) At one point this week he was given a penalty for out-right shoving a player on the opposite team, which should have landed him in the penalty box for 2 minutes for pushing. (It wasn't a cross-check, it was a face-on shove.) After only about 30 seconds in the penalty box, Daddy-coach said something to the ref. which resulted in the penalty being dropped & Jr. sat out the last 2 minutes of that period. Daddy-coach put him back in the line up immediately after the break between periods, and Jr. played out the rest of the game without even a penalty for his bad behavior. Even the parents on his OWN team were outraged!
Anyway, we lost to this team 7-3.
Second game was against a team from Delta. And they were a good team, played really cleanly. There's one thing that some of us were somewhat upset about, however. All the children playing in this league are supposed to be 10 and under. There was one little boy on the Delta team that stood 5'6" tall. At 10, supposedly. The league & tournament coordinators said they were going to check into this & ask to see the kid's birth certificate. Not only was he incredibly tall, for 10, but he played at a skill level WAY beyond any 10 year old anybody else had seen. Even the 10's on the comp (traveling) teams from here in town aren't as skilled on ice as this kid was. Which means, 10 or not, this kid should have been in the next league. His inclusion on THIS league means that our kids were at a disadvantage. It was like pitting a Junior A. hockey player (early 20's semi-pro's) with a team of 10 year olds against another team of 10 year olds without the same advantage. Just not fair to ANY of the kids.
We lost that one 13-0. Everybody else lost by similar ratios as well. It wasn't a fair "fight" by any means.
Third game was by the second local mixed (ie: boys & girls) team. We've played them before with mixed success. Sometimes we've tied, sometimes we've won. This is the first time we'd ever lost. They're a good team, though, and play a clean game (or, at least when they DO get penalties, they do spend their time in the penalty box).
We lost this one 7-1.
Fourth game was against a team from Healy. A good game here as well. Nice team, clean players. The one penalty they had against us was spent with good grace in the penalty box (and we still didn't get a goal on that power play). I've heard good things about this team as well, that they love having teams from Fairbanks come down to play them on home ice, that the usually have 2 games a day, and that they always throw a big potluck for the visiting team's benefit. In fact, one lady (hockey mom from team 3) told me that she's never been to a church potluck that's as good as Healy's potlucks are. More food, tastier food, than she's ever seen. *grin* She strongly recommended taking them up on their offer for a road trip game, if invited. LOL
We lost 10-3 against Healy.
Now, DD's shots-on-net/save ratios were pretty good. Of 1st, 2nd & 3rd games, the shots on net were 25, 44, and 25. That means she saved 18 of 25 shots in the first game, 31 of 44 shots in the second game, and 18 of 25 shots in the third game. I didn't get to see the score sheets for the fourth game. But that's still a really good ratio. We were all a bit bummed that we didn't do better, but it's a learning experience, for sure.
We need to remember to "pressure the puck" better. (Ie: The girls need to remember that the kids on the other team will not just HAND them the puck, we need to get in there & go after that puck, if we want it.) We need to remember to "play our positions" better. (Ie: the girls who are defense need to focus on keeping the other team AWAY from DD, and yet don't block her from seeing what's going on, so that she doesn't see the puck to stop it.) And we need to remember to pick up the pace. (Pretty much what it means, skate your heart out & keep up the pace, slow doesn't win the game in hockey.) And DD needs to figure out how best to block a deke. At least 3 of the kids on the other teams had really nice dekes (watch the first Mighty Ducks movie, for what I mean by a "deke"), and they were the players that got most of the goals on DD. If she can figure out how to block a deke effectively, she'll dramatically improve her shots/saves ratio.
Now, here's hoping the 2 coaches (that were able to make it to the games) take what we've learned from these 4 games & apply them to coaching our girls (because DD plays on an all-girls team) to greater heights.
****************************************************
Now, I've gotta head to the grocery store & pick up some necessities. Among which will be onions, celery, bacon, half&half, and canned clams for tonight's clam chowder. DH really wasn't kidding when he said he wanted me to make clam chowder every other weekend. LOL Only, this time he's asked that I double the batch so he can take some to his buddy at work, who's wife hates clams & refuses to try making home-made clam chowder. If I can get a decent shot, I'll take a pic to share. Taking my camera to the kitchen RIGHT NOW, so I don't forget later. *wink*
Have a Blessed Day.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Wish us luck!!!!
DD's got a hockey tournament over the next 2, possibly 3, days. Her team is about mid to upper range in skill level in age group (7, 8, 9 and 10). And this is the second year practicing/playing together for about half of them (13 girls total), so they're starting to really get the hang of how to play well together.
DD is, of course, goalie. She's excited, and nervous. Understandable.
And it's going to be a very long day. Two days, actually. I took off till work today till 6, so I can haul DD around for the games. There are 2 each day, with the play-off on Thursday if her team makes it that far. So, we start out at noon today with our first game. Should be over by about 1:15. Then to bum around town for a couple of hours, find something to eat, waste time. Then back to the rink for the second game, at 4:45 I believe. I've got to leave by 5:30 (by which point DH should be there from work) to head to work myself. Fortunately my library is just down the road from the rink, so it's a quick drive. Unfortunately it means I won't get dinner till I get off work at 9:15 tonight & get home. DH already knows he's making Sloppy Joes for dinner, so that's taken care of.
Then tomorrow I've taken off the whole day (as I'd work from only Noon to 6, anyway), for the tournament. We'll know by the end of the second game, tomorrow, if DD's team makes it to the play-offs.
I'm kinda (I know, Bad Mommy!) hoping she doesn't. I mean, it's not that I don't want them to do well. I do. And I know how thrilled they'd all be if they DO make it to the play-offs. But I can't take off that last day this week. I haven't put in for Thursday off, and I have already got soooo much time off this month already, between this tournament, and taking my birthday off. *sigh* Of course the play-off game actually starts at 5:45 on Thursday, if they do make it, and runs till 7, so DH & I wouldn't be able to start out the game with DD, but at least we could watch the last of it. I don't know. We'll see.
*****************************************************************
DH was feeling queezy & woozy all day yesterday. Was planning on having the Sloppy Joes then, but he decided he wasn't up to much more than a bowl of ramen noodles. DD wasn't home from the best friend's house yet, so I had a salad. DH & I DID finally get to finish The DaVinci Code. Though not without several long pauses, arguing with DD as to coming home & spending time with her family. She's like 9 going on 16, she'd rather be with her best friend doing ANYTHING than spend time with her Dad & I. *sigh*
I don't know if I really liked "The DaVinci Code" all that much. I mean, it was ok. But there were a few things wrong with it. And not the bad-guy's self-mutilation that really got to DH, either.
First off, Sophie was portrayed as little more than a pretty face. In the book she did quite a bit of the puzzle solving herself. It was almost like Langdon's character, in the movie, was walking her through remembering first that her grandpa had a thing for puzzles, then solving them himself. As I said, in the book she was quite a bit more involved, from what I recall.
Sooooo many little tidbits & ideas that were presented in the book didn't make it into the movie. Like the importance and symbolism of the pentacle and the rose. And they never touched on the Merovingian kings of France & the possible blood ties between them & Jesus. It was never explained, except in a couple of fuzzy "memory" shots, the voilence that Silas grew up with, that contributed to his angry soul. And except for one confusing shot of a "Pagan" ceremony, Heiros Gamos was never touched upon, even when Sophie was trying to explain her seperation from her grandfather.
I felt like I had to explain everything to DH, like if he hadn't read the book then how could he really understand what was going on in the movie. And that WAS the case in the first self mutilation scene with Silas. I had to explain to DH about a celice, about the whip, and the purpose behind them. I really wish there had been considerable more explanation given for so many different things. It's a movie, I know, and they've got to keep it to a decent length, but I really felt like the movie didn't quite do the book justice.
Though I did get rather a chuckle out of the scene in which Sophie & Langdon are pulling back from Sophie's apartment, and behind them is an opera poster of Les Miserables, and Fache turnes around & sees the car pull off and starts yelling to follow them. A nice little insider joke there, for those who've read Les Mis. about the intensity with which Fache tracks Langdon & Sophie in respect to Inspector Javert in Les Mis who relentlessly hunts the prime character, Jean Valjean. I did appreciate that little tidbit, that obviously wasn't in the book. (At least not in the form it appears in the movie, though I don't recall if it was referenced in the book. I don't believe it was.)
So, there is my rather bummed review of "The DaVinci Code".
*********************************************************************
Well, I must get going, get something to eat for breakfast & wake up DD.
Have a Blessed Day!
DD is, of course, goalie. She's excited, and nervous. Understandable.
And it's going to be a very long day. Two days, actually. I took off till work today till 6, so I can haul DD around for the games. There are 2 each day, with the play-off on Thursday if her team makes it that far. So, we start out at noon today with our first game. Should be over by about 1:15. Then to bum around town for a couple of hours, find something to eat, waste time. Then back to the rink for the second game, at 4:45 I believe. I've got to leave by 5:30 (by which point DH should be there from work) to head to work myself. Fortunately my library is just down the road from the rink, so it's a quick drive. Unfortunately it means I won't get dinner till I get off work at 9:15 tonight & get home. DH already knows he's making Sloppy Joes for dinner, so that's taken care of.
Then tomorrow I've taken off the whole day (as I'd work from only Noon to 6, anyway), for the tournament. We'll know by the end of the second game, tomorrow, if DD's team makes it to the play-offs.
I'm kinda (I know, Bad Mommy!) hoping she doesn't. I mean, it's not that I don't want them to do well. I do. And I know how thrilled they'd all be if they DO make it to the play-offs. But I can't take off that last day this week. I haven't put in for Thursday off, and I have already got soooo much time off this month already, between this tournament, and taking my birthday off. *sigh* Of course the play-off game actually starts at 5:45 on Thursday, if they do make it, and runs till 7, so DH & I wouldn't be able to start out the game with DD, but at least we could watch the last of it. I don't know. We'll see.
*****************************************************************
DH was feeling queezy & woozy all day yesterday. Was planning on having the Sloppy Joes then, but he decided he wasn't up to much more than a bowl of ramen noodles. DD wasn't home from the best friend's house yet, so I had a salad. DH & I DID finally get to finish The DaVinci Code. Though not without several long pauses, arguing with DD as to coming home & spending time with her family. She's like 9 going on 16, she'd rather be with her best friend doing ANYTHING than spend time with her Dad & I. *sigh*
I don't know if I really liked "The DaVinci Code" all that much. I mean, it was ok. But there were a few things wrong with it. And not the bad-guy's self-mutilation that really got to DH, either.
First off, Sophie was portrayed as little more than a pretty face. In the book she did quite a bit of the puzzle solving herself. It was almost like Langdon's character, in the movie, was walking her through remembering first that her grandpa had a thing for puzzles, then solving them himself. As I said, in the book she was quite a bit more involved, from what I recall.
Sooooo many little tidbits & ideas that were presented in the book didn't make it into the movie. Like the importance and symbolism of the pentacle and the rose. And they never touched on the Merovingian kings of France & the possible blood ties between them & Jesus. It was never explained, except in a couple of fuzzy "memory" shots, the voilence that Silas grew up with, that contributed to his angry soul. And except for one confusing shot of a "Pagan" ceremony, Heiros Gamos was never touched upon, even when Sophie was trying to explain her seperation from her grandfather.
I felt like I had to explain everything to DH, like if he hadn't read the book then how could he really understand what was going on in the movie. And that WAS the case in the first self mutilation scene with Silas. I had to explain to DH about a celice, about the whip, and the purpose behind them. I really wish there had been considerable more explanation given for so many different things. It's a movie, I know, and they've got to keep it to a decent length, but I really felt like the movie didn't quite do the book justice.
Though I did get rather a chuckle out of the scene in which Sophie & Langdon are pulling back from Sophie's apartment, and behind them is an opera poster of Les Miserables, and Fache turnes around & sees the car pull off and starts yelling to follow them. A nice little insider joke there, for those who've read Les Mis. about the intensity with which Fache tracks Langdon & Sophie in respect to Inspector Javert in Les Mis who relentlessly hunts the prime character, Jean Valjean. I did appreciate that little tidbit, that obviously wasn't in the book. (At least not in the form it appears in the movie, though I don't recall if it was referenced in the book. I don't believe it was.)
So, there is my rather bummed review of "The DaVinci Code".
*********************************************************************
Well, I must get going, get something to eat for breakfast & wake up DD.
Have a Blessed Day!
Monday, January 01, 2007
Wow!!!! Is it REALLY 2007?!?!
I can't believe that it's a new year. 2006 seemed to pass soooo quickly, and yet the last couple of months have meant some rather interesting times.
I hope y'all had a GREAT New Year's Eve, and that none of my friends are hurting as badly as my hubby is right now. (More on that later.)
I also want to say THANK YOU for all the lovely comments the last few days!
Well, Saturday was another interesting one.... After finding out that the wedding would NOT be happening at all, I spent most of the day vegging, either on the computer or in front of the TV (finally watching my New & Improved DVD version of "The Little Mermaid"). DD & her best friend were playing in DD's room (both on their new Nintendo DS's) for most of that time, before they headed over to BF's house, then finally (about 6 pm) over BF's grandma's house to spend the night. DH brought home "The DaVinci Code" for me & him to watch. Well, about 8 pm, just after we'd settled ourselves down to start the movie (we were less 20 minutes into it), my Mom calls, asking if she & Middle Sis can stop by to say goodbye to DD, as they'd both be leaving on Sunday. Ok..... Except that DD was over at her BF's grandma's, spending the night.
So, DH gets dressed again (we were both in our pj's, chillin' & not figuring on going out again for the night) & runs over & grabs DD & BF from BF's grandma's. Mom & Middle Sis got here & we spent 2 hours just sitting around chatting & hanging out with them. They left, and DH took the girls back, at about 10 pm. Then, DH got back, popped a bag of popcorn, and we sat back down to return to our movie.
So, wouldn't you know it, not even another 20 minutes into the movie (we did skip the scene's we'd already seen) when the phone rings again. It's now 10:45. Caller ID says that it's BF's grandma's house. I answer & BF is there saying that DD has cut herself on a mirror, and could we please come get her. Ok..... Now DH & I are BOTH getting dressed again (well, actually, it was the first time all day I'd actually BEEN dressed in something other than pjs) and running over to get DD.
Turns out, some how, DD has brushed/bumped her arm against a mirror that was hanging/leaning (not entirely sure) against the wall in BF's cousin's room at the Grandma's house. And sliced it. Looked something like a torn-open blister, with the flap of skin folded up under itself. But, it was bleeding pretty good. So.... BF's grandma tells us to take her over to the Fire Dept (where BF's dad works) and have them take a look at DD's arm. We did. They said that as shallow as it is, there's nothing to stitch, so they cleaned it up, bandaged it, and sent us back on our way. DD got dropped BACK at BF's grandma's house (DD stopped crying once she realized she wouldn't need stitches), and DH & I came on home.
It was just after 11 pm by this point, and since I had to work yesterday (Sunday) I decided that I wasn't going to tempt fate by trying to get through that movie again for the night. I headed in for a shower then bed. And of course spent the next few hours tossing & turning something horrid because my shoulder was killing me. (Long story short, after years & years of carrying heavy school bags, heavy diaper bags, heavy purses, and now heavy totes, I believe the cartilage in my left shoulder has worn away. It hurts. Quite badly. After having surgery this summer we're not quite in a position for me to see a Dr, yet, about this new issue. So, I'm biding my time. Sometimes it helps when DH gives me a good long shoulder rub, but not always.) So, I popped a percaset leftover from DH's ulcer problem this summer (having had percaset earlier this summer myself, I knew I could safely take it) and finally got some sleep. Dh, though, hearing that I had to rely on a percaset to get ANY sleep, has decided that it's time for me to call insurance and see what they'll cover as far as chiropractor visits, and to get myself in for a looksee at my shoulder.
*************************************************************
Yesterday, I worked my regular Sunday schedual, then came home to meet up with DH & DD before going over to the Inlaws for New Years. DD called & asked if she could continue hanging out with BF for New Years, that they'd be back over at BF's house, instead of the Grandma's. Ok. I suppose so..... So, DH & I went over to the Inlaws by ourselves, and joined SIL and her Ex (the father of her two sons) and both of the little boys, and MIL & FIL for some Shimp-Pasta salad, a shrimp cocktail platter, and OMG Yummy Alaska King Crab with melted butter. DANG! I ate a little more than I should have, but oooooh well. FIL kept dishing it out, I kept eatting. *wink*
We left there at about 10:45 as MIL had to be to work this morning. (She's an in-home care assistant to this 102 (or 103) year old lady. So she doesn't get all the holidays off, necessarily.) DH & I decided to stop over at the BF's house & wish the Parents & all their guests (Grandparents, aunts & uncles, GiGi -great-grandma-, and cousins) and DD a Happy New Year. Before we knew it, we were being served custom-mixed drinks, a little heavier on the alcohol than I like 'em. I stopped after the first because I knew SOMEBODY had to get the truck home. (BF's house is on the same strip of land as ours, but around the next street & two houses down. So, it's not like a LONG drive home.) DH kept drinking, and DANG is he feeling it this morning.
Fireworks were shot off. More alcohol was drunk (I was sticking to sparkling apple cider after that first drink). An Engagement ring was produced by the best man from OUR wedding for HIS girlfriend. DH was asked to officiate at THAT wedding. Hugs and congratulations all around. Little boy excitedly told his soon-to-be Mommy that he couldn't wait till she married him & his daddy. (As a matter of fact, this little 4 year old was the one that presented the VERY big diamond to his soon-to-be mommy.) Drunk guests were laughingly slinging barbs & snotty comments back & forth. Kids were tiredly chilling on the couch. Dogs were freaking. Shy people were being considerably LESS shy due to the amount of alcohol being drunk & were saying things I don't think would NORMALLY come out of their mouth.
And at about 1:30 this morning I decided it was time for me to come home. DH said he'd make it home under his own steam, by walking the well-trodden path between our house & BF's house, behind our next-door-neighbour's house. So, I took the keys (which DH had given me about 2 hours before) and proceeded to go figure out how to adjust the seat so that I could reach gas & break pedals (in the dark, mind you, as I don't know where the interior light switch is in DH's new truck), put on my seat belt, and just as I was getting ready to pull forward & past BF's house, another guest pulls in right in front of me. So now I had the additional challenge of BACKING UP (fortunately NOBODY was parked behind me), to pull around this new vehical.
I wasn't drunk, but was incredibly tired, which has a similar effect on me to being drunk. So, I was being awfully careful. But DANG is that truck sensative. The slightest tap on the gas, and it jumped forward or backward (because I WAS backing out, first). The slightest tap on the brakes, and it'd slam to a halt. Considering how close I had to pull the seat in order to reach the pedals, it's a good thing I didn't give myself a concussion. And I was praying the entire way back around the block that no cop did their rounds through our subdivision, because drunk or not, I'd have been pulled over. And 2 house & one corner away, or not, I would have probably have been in trouble for trying to drive the truck home. Luck was in my corner, though, because I made it without issue, and DH's truck is actually even pulled into his parking spot next to my car.
So, I came in, surveyed the damage Puck did to the carpet (the dog absolutely flips out over fireworks). Jenny was in her cage, so she didn't do any damage, but Puck pulled the carpeting up from the flooring in front of DD's bedroom door. So, more carpet padding to replace, hopefully we won't have to replace the carpetting itself. Because it's one BIG swath of carpet from the bedroom doors through the living room, to the master bedroom door. After getting both dogs outside for potty breaks, and back into the house, I sat down to watch TV until DH came home. Good thing I did, too.
He didn't make it home under his own steam. After I left BF's house (at which point DH was pretty well sloshed), he had another 2 or 3 drinks which landed his ass in a chair, unable to get out. Unable to put on his own shoes, barely able to walk out the door. Another sober guest (and family friend) gave DH a run home & up to the door. I had to help him out of his jeans & socks as he was almost passed out on the bed. He, suprisingly, didn't puke (though it would probably have been better for him if he had, as he's still rather drunk this morning, after 9 hours of sleep). And off to the land of Nod. For both of us.
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Now, here we are on Monday morning. Jan. 1 2007. I feel pretty good (except I need to get something to eat), and DH has been sipping a glass of water & slowly eatting crackers, trying to soak up the rest of the alcohol in his system. DD is still over at BF's house, hopefully still sleeping, as I'm sure they didn't get to sleep till VERY late this morning. And I'm hoping that nobody else out there is feeling as poorly as my DH is. (As he stumbled from the bedroom at 11:30 & planted his ass on the couch to watch football, I brought him 2 tylenol & a glass of water. But he's turned down coffee and is slowly munching on crackers. At least for now.) And fortunately neither of us had to work today. LOL
So, I'm going to spend the first day of 2007 vegging & reading blogs, and hopefully finally watching The DaVinci Code. How about you????
Hope you didn't party too hard last night.
Have a Blessed Day!
I hope y'all had a GREAT New Year's Eve, and that none of my friends are hurting as badly as my hubby is right now. (More on that later.)
I also want to say THANK YOU for all the lovely comments the last few days!
Well, Saturday was another interesting one.... After finding out that the wedding would NOT be happening at all, I spent most of the day vegging, either on the computer or in front of the TV (finally watching my New & Improved DVD version of "The Little Mermaid"). DD & her best friend were playing in DD's room (both on their new Nintendo DS's) for most of that time, before they headed over to BF's house, then finally (about 6 pm) over BF's grandma's house to spend the night. DH brought home "The DaVinci Code" for me & him to watch. Well, about 8 pm, just after we'd settled ourselves down to start the movie (we were less 20 minutes into it), my Mom calls, asking if she & Middle Sis can stop by to say goodbye to DD, as they'd both be leaving on Sunday. Ok..... Except that DD was over at her BF's grandma's, spending the night.
So, DH gets dressed again (we were both in our pj's, chillin' & not figuring on going out again for the night) & runs over & grabs DD & BF from BF's grandma's. Mom & Middle Sis got here & we spent 2 hours just sitting around chatting & hanging out with them. They left, and DH took the girls back, at about 10 pm. Then, DH got back, popped a bag of popcorn, and we sat back down to return to our movie.
So, wouldn't you know it, not even another 20 minutes into the movie (we did skip the scene's we'd already seen) when the phone rings again. It's now 10:45. Caller ID says that it's BF's grandma's house. I answer & BF is there saying that DD has cut herself on a mirror, and could we please come get her. Ok..... Now DH & I are BOTH getting dressed again (well, actually, it was the first time all day I'd actually BEEN dressed in something other than pjs) and running over to get DD.
Turns out, some how, DD has brushed/bumped her arm against a mirror that was hanging/leaning (not entirely sure) against the wall in BF's cousin's room at the Grandma's house. And sliced it. Looked something like a torn-open blister, with the flap of skin folded up under itself. But, it was bleeding pretty good. So.... BF's grandma tells us to take her over to the Fire Dept (where BF's dad works) and have them take a look at DD's arm. We did. They said that as shallow as it is, there's nothing to stitch, so they cleaned it up, bandaged it, and sent us back on our way. DD got dropped BACK at BF's grandma's house (DD stopped crying once she realized she wouldn't need stitches), and DH & I came on home.
It was just after 11 pm by this point, and since I had to work yesterday (Sunday) I decided that I wasn't going to tempt fate by trying to get through that movie again for the night. I headed in for a shower then bed. And of course spent the next few hours tossing & turning something horrid because my shoulder was killing me. (Long story short, after years & years of carrying heavy school bags, heavy diaper bags, heavy purses, and now heavy totes, I believe the cartilage in my left shoulder has worn away. It hurts. Quite badly. After having surgery this summer we're not quite in a position for me to see a Dr, yet, about this new issue. So, I'm biding my time. Sometimes it helps when DH gives me a good long shoulder rub, but not always.) So, I popped a percaset leftover from DH's ulcer problem this summer (having had percaset earlier this summer myself, I knew I could safely take it) and finally got some sleep. Dh, though, hearing that I had to rely on a percaset to get ANY sleep, has decided that it's time for me to call insurance and see what they'll cover as far as chiropractor visits, and to get myself in for a looksee at my shoulder.
*************************************************************
Yesterday, I worked my regular Sunday schedual, then came home to meet up with DH & DD before going over to the Inlaws for New Years. DD called & asked if she could continue hanging out with BF for New Years, that they'd be back over at BF's house, instead of the Grandma's. Ok. I suppose so..... So, DH & I went over to the Inlaws by ourselves, and joined SIL and her Ex (the father of her two sons) and both of the little boys, and MIL & FIL for some Shimp-Pasta salad, a shrimp cocktail platter, and OMG Yummy Alaska King Crab with melted butter. DANG! I ate a little more than I should have, but oooooh well. FIL kept dishing it out, I kept eatting. *wink*
We left there at about 10:45 as MIL had to be to work this morning. (She's an in-home care assistant to this 102 (or 103) year old lady. So she doesn't get all the holidays off, necessarily.) DH & I decided to stop over at the BF's house & wish the Parents & all their guests (Grandparents, aunts & uncles, GiGi -great-grandma-, and cousins) and DD a Happy New Year. Before we knew it, we were being served custom-mixed drinks, a little heavier on the alcohol than I like 'em. I stopped after the first because I knew SOMEBODY had to get the truck home. (BF's house is on the same strip of land as ours, but around the next street & two houses down. So, it's not like a LONG drive home.) DH kept drinking, and DANG is he feeling it this morning.
Fireworks were shot off. More alcohol was drunk (I was sticking to sparkling apple cider after that first drink). An Engagement ring was produced by the best man from OUR wedding for HIS girlfriend. DH was asked to officiate at THAT wedding. Hugs and congratulations all around. Little boy excitedly told his soon-to-be Mommy that he couldn't wait till she married him & his daddy. (As a matter of fact, this little 4 year old was the one that presented the VERY big diamond to his soon-to-be mommy.) Drunk guests were laughingly slinging barbs & snotty comments back & forth. Kids were tiredly chilling on the couch. Dogs were freaking. Shy people were being considerably LESS shy due to the amount of alcohol being drunk & were saying things I don't think would NORMALLY come out of their mouth.
And at about 1:30 this morning I decided it was time for me to come home. DH said he'd make it home under his own steam, by walking the well-trodden path between our house & BF's house, behind our next-door-neighbour's house. So, I took the keys (which DH had given me about 2 hours before) and proceeded to go figure out how to adjust the seat so that I could reach gas & break pedals (in the dark, mind you, as I don't know where the interior light switch is in DH's new truck), put on my seat belt, and just as I was getting ready to pull forward & past BF's house, another guest pulls in right in front of me. So now I had the additional challenge of BACKING UP (fortunately NOBODY was parked behind me), to pull around this new vehical.
I wasn't drunk, but was incredibly tired, which has a similar effect on me to being drunk. So, I was being awfully careful. But DANG is that truck sensative. The slightest tap on the gas, and it jumped forward or backward (because I WAS backing out, first). The slightest tap on the brakes, and it'd slam to a halt. Considering how close I had to pull the seat in order to reach the pedals, it's a good thing I didn't give myself a concussion. And I was praying the entire way back around the block that no cop did their rounds through our subdivision, because drunk or not, I'd have been pulled over. And 2 house & one corner away, or not, I would have probably have been in trouble for trying to drive the truck home. Luck was in my corner, though, because I made it without issue, and DH's truck is actually even pulled into his parking spot next to my car.
So, I came in, surveyed the damage Puck did to the carpet (the dog absolutely flips out over fireworks). Jenny was in her cage, so she didn't do any damage, but Puck pulled the carpeting up from the flooring in front of DD's bedroom door. So, more carpet padding to replace, hopefully we won't have to replace the carpetting itself. Because it's one BIG swath of carpet from the bedroom doors through the living room, to the master bedroom door. After getting both dogs outside for potty breaks, and back into the house, I sat down to watch TV until DH came home. Good thing I did, too.
He didn't make it home under his own steam. After I left BF's house (at which point DH was pretty well sloshed), he had another 2 or 3 drinks which landed his ass in a chair, unable to get out. Unable to put on his own shoes, barely able to walk out the door. Another sober guest (and family friend) gave DH a run home & up to the door. I had to help him out of his jeans & socks as he was almost passed out on the bed. He, suprisingly, didn't puke (though it would probably have been better for him if he had, as he's still rather drunk this morning, after 9 hours of sleep). And off to the land of Nod. For both of us.
*************************************************************
Now, here we are on Monday morning. Jan. 1 2007. I feel pretty good (except I need to get something to eat), and DH has been sipping a glass of water & slowly eatting crackers, trying to soak up the rest of the alcohol in his system. DD is still over at BF's house, hopefully still sleeping, as I'm sure they didn't get to sleep till VERY late this morning. And I'm hoping that nobody else out there is feeling as poorly as my DH is. (As he stumbled from the bedroom at 11:30 & planted his ass on the couch to watch football, I brought him 2 tylenol & a glass of water. But he's turned down coffee and is slowly munching on crackers. At least for now.) And fortunately neither of us had to work today. LOL
So, I'm going to spend the first day of 2007 vegging & reading blogs, and hopefully finally watching The DaVinci Code. How about you????
Hope you didn't party too hard last night.
Have a Blessed Day!
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Called off.....
Well, the Groom got cold feet, decided that baby Sis was rushing things, and that while he still loves her & wants to marry her, he's not quite ready yet. I had a feeling something like this would happen. Sis has attempted to rush several of her past boyfriends into commitments that they weren't ready to make. Her prime goal in life seems to be becoming somebody's wife. Very much a Hera archetype going on in that girl. (Read Jean Shinoda Bolen's _Goddesses in Everywoman_ for more on that. It's a great book anyway.) Well, once again she rushes things, pushing far faster than her boyfriend is ready, and he backs out.
I sincerely hope they do get marriage counseling, and start now. Maybe things will wind up with them getting married in May. Maybe not, but marriage counseling is not a bad thing. Definitely helps open the lines of communication, and brings up subjects for discussion that the soon-to-be-newlyweds might not consider on their own. Or might not, on their own, consider important enough for discussion.
Kind of ironic, as well.... A few weeks ago, when he got back from "over there", She rushed him & her daughter in for "family portraits" at the local portrait center. The last 2 times she's done this, her boyfriends cut things off with her and wound up quickly making their way out of her life. She seems intent on jinxing herself by pushing hard & fast for something He isn't ready for. (No matter who the "He" is.) Well, at the point of hearing about their "Family Portraits", I commented to DH & a couple of friends how I hope this didn't jinx their relationship, seeing as how the past 2 b-friends cut loose & ran as soon as they saw the pictures.
And I really hope my Dad & sis don't blame this on me & DH. We were all over at the house for dinner last night, and DH & I were ribbing the woulda-been Groom a bit. Not bad, certainly not as much as he's probably been getting from his military friends. Dad heard a couple of Dh's comments about the "ol' ball & chain". And my grinned whisper of "enjoy your last night as a free man". But the Groom seemed to be taking it all in stride. And, as I said, our commentary was not maliciously meant, and we aren't exactly bad examples of marriage ourself. (Mom & Dad are more likely to give somebody qualms about getting married, than DH & I are.) So, I hope Dad & baby Sis don't get peeved at DH & I. Because quite simply, if our couple of comments were enough to push the Groom over the edge to calling it off, he was awfully damn close in the first place. As Dh said, if a guy TRULY wants to marry a girl, commentary like that isn't going to stop him the day before, or the day of, the wedding. He'd be one to know. ;) And isn't that what bachelor parties seem to be all about, the Groom's married & unmarried friends trying to talk him out of it, or trying to give him one last good time before Groom becomes a married man?
Ok, so I feel a bit guilty about the comment last night, but I do know that woulda-been-Groom was feeling some serious qualms before I ever uttered that comment, if he actually called the wedding off on the day of. One or two comments is not enough to get somebody who TRULY wants to be married, to actually call things off.
Anyway..... Just had to post an update.
Have a Blessed Day!
I sincerely hope they do get marriage counseling, and start now. Maybe things will wind up with them getting married in May. Maybe not, but marriage counseling is not a bad thing. Definitely helps open the lines of communication, and brings up subjects for discussion that the soon-to-be-newlyweds might not consider on their own. Or might not, on their own, consider important enough for discussion.
Kind of ironic, as well.... A few weeks ago, when he got back from "over there", She rushed him & her daughter in for "family portraits" at the local portrait center. The last 2 times she's done this, her boyfriends cut things off with her and wound up quickly making their way out of her life. She seems intent on jinxing herself by pushing hard & fast for something He isn't ready for. (No matter who the "He" is.) Well, at the point of hearing about their "Family Portraits", I commented to DH & a couple of friends how I hope this didn't jinx their relationship, seeing as how the past 2 b-friends cut loose & ran as soon as they saw the pictures.
And I really hope my Dad & sis don't blame this on me & DH. We were all over at the house for dinner last night, and DH & I were ribbing the woulda-been Groom a bit. Not bad, certainly not as much as he's probably been getting from his military friends. Dad heard a couple of Dh's comments about the "ol' ball & chain". And my grinned whisper of "enjoy your last night as a free man". But the Groom seemed to be taking it all in stride. And, as I said, our commentary was not maliciously meant, and we aren't exactly bad examples of marriage ourself. (Mom & Dad are more likely to give somebody qualms about getting married, than DH & I are.) So, I hope Dad & baby Sis don't get peeved at DH & I. Because quite simply, if our couple of comments were enough to push the Groom over the edge to calling it off, he was awfully damn close in the first place. As Dh said, if a guy TRULY wants to marry a girl, commentary like that isn't going to stop him the day before, or the day of, the wedding. He'd be one to know. ;) And isn't that what bachelor parties seem to be all about, the Groom's married & unmarried friends trying to talk him out of it, or trying to give him one last good time before Groom becomes a married man?
Ok, so I feel a bit guilty about the comment last night, but I do know that woulda-been-Groom was feeling some serious qualms before I ever uttered that comment, if he actually called the wedding off on the day of. One or two comments is not enough to get somebody who TRULY wants to be married, to actually call things off.
Anyway..... Just had to post an update.
Have a Blessed Day!
Friday, December 29, 2006
And so two become one.....
Tomorrow is the day. The day my baby sis finally ties the knot with her fiancee. And, ironically, our Middle sis is going to be officiating. Turns out no preacher, pastor, chaplain, or reverend in town would officiate in a wedding in which the bride & groom did not go through AT LEAST 2 weeks worth of marriage counseling. Sis wants this done, NOW. So, she asked our middle sis to officiate. All it meant for middle sis was a quick trip to the courthouse to fill out the necessary paperwork, and she's legally ready to officiate at our baby sis's wedding. It's going to be in the fireplace lounge at one of the nicest hotel/restaurants in town.
Dh will be at work, but DD & I will be all dolled up for the occasion. Little Sis had a hissy when she found out her sweetie was planning on appearing in a button-down polo & jeans. She dragged his ass to Old Navy for some nicer duds. So, instead he'll be appearing sans baseball cap, in khaki's and a button down semi-dressy top. Sis has evidently gotten herself a white prom dress to wear. Hopefully the tailor was able to fix it so she's not popping out the top, as it sounds like it's either spaghetti straps or strapless. Purchased the usual 2 to 3 sizes too small, I'm sure. Niece will be part of the ceremony as well, actually receiving a ring from her new Daddy and taking part in the vows.
Finally, this day has come. I gotta say, I think I'm nearly as happy as the bride herself. For somewhat similar reasons, I believe. She can't wait to be married because she'll finally have somebody to take her away from this town that she hates so much. I can't wait till she's married because she'll finally have found somebody gullible enough to take her home with them, and get her out of my hair. ;)
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Mom & Middle sis have been here in town for about a week now, and it's been kinda cool seeing them. Though Mom did kinda tick me off, the other day. (For some reason I couldn't tell ya then, Mom.)
We were over and Mom & Middle sis were commenting on how long my hair's gotten (it's at it's longest point ever), and I commented that I'm going to get it cut as soon as they leave. Not a major cut. Just a couple of inches. It's too long, right now, and it's horrible to wash & condition. And I've got all sorts of split ends. But it's healthy. Something it wasn't, last time it was this long (in HS).
So, Mom sits there and starts saying that I should get it permed, and colored with the dark auburn that I used to use. I don't know.... That just isn't me any more. I've finally come to terms with being whom I was created to be. I don't need to try to change how I look, because then I'm not me. Right now, with my natural brown, long semi-straight hair.... This is who I was born to be. My blue/gray/green eyes with glasses..... This is who I was born to be. My freckles (which I have NEVER covered up)...... This is who I was born to be. I've finally come to terms with all that. I've finally come to the realization that I don't have to be a green-eyed, curly-red-head to be pretty. Heck, I'll never be truly pretty. But..... My blue/gray/green eyes, my long, straight, brown hair and my smile..... That's when I'm pretty. When I am whom I'm supposed to be. Maybe I've never been "The Pretty One". That was my baby Sis when she was little. I'll never be "The Smart One". That is my Middle Sis. But, I'm me. I'm Kati. I'm the book worm, the crocheter, the (some-day) Librarian, the Mom to DD, the Wife to DH. I'm the one who lives in Alaska. And I'm the one who gets complimented on her smile at work, by my boss, by the patrons who walk past me. I'm the one who gets complimented for her manner with unruly children. I have long, straight, brown hair, and blue/gray (green when I'm angry) eyes. I'm finally good with that.
And it kinda pissed me off when my Mom was telling me how I should change who I am. I'm no better when I have shorter, curly, auburn hair & green (contact lens) eyes. Hair color doesn't make me nicer to the patrons at work, or handle the unruly children better, or crochet better. I want to be who I was born to be. I'm tired of covering it up with hair color that isn't mine, and eye color that isn't mine (all the time). This is me. I rather like me.
And Mom, I may not be the most exciting of your daughters. I'm not getting my Ph.D. in anything, any time soon. I'm not moving away with a husband that's taking over the family business. I'm not going surfing & scuba diving & traveling the world (or, at least the country) at the drop of a hat. I'm rather boring by your standards, by M's standards, or by K's standards. And I'm sorry you have a hard time accepting that. But I actually kinda like me. I actually kinda like that my life is steady. I do have plans for travel, and an education, but for right now..... Yes, Kati still works at the library in Fairbanks. Yes, Kati will be staying in Alaska with her husband while the rest of the family moves away. I may be boring, and predictable by some standards. But I'm me. And that's ok. I'm just sorry you can't see it. That M. can't see it, and that K. can't see it.
Maybe you are all three searching, endlessly, for something that may or may not be there. And maybe, for now, I've found it. And I realize it. At least for now, this is enough. This is all I need. A steady job that I love. A man that I love. A child that I love. A home town that is comfortable & that, despite it's faults, I love. Hobbies that I love. And, ironically, while I've found something that I love in my very own back yard, I know that when I am ready, I have chances for growth. I'm not ready yet. When I am, maybe you'll write letters about how I'm doing in college, or traveling, or snorkeling in Hawaii with you. For now "Kati is still working at the Library in Fairbanks" and "Kati will be staying in Alaska with her hubby" are good. I'll leave the searching, the constant need for something new, to the rest of you.
Have a Blessed Day!
Dh will be at work, but DD & I will be all dolled up for the occasion. Little Sis had a hissy when she found out her sweetie was planning on appearing in a button-down polo & jeans. She dragged his ass to Old Navy for some nicer duds. So, instead he'll be appearing sans baseball cap, in khaki's and a button down semi-dressy top. Sis has evidently gotten herself a white prom dress to wear. Hopefully the tailor was able to fix it so she's not popping out the top, as it sounds like it's either spaghetti straps or strapless. Purchased the usual 2 to 3 sizes too small, I'm sure. Niece will be part of the ceremony as well, actually receiving a ring from her new Daddy and taking part in the vows.
Finally, this day has come. I gotta say, I think I'm nearly as happy as the bride herself. For somewhat similar reasons, I believe. She can't wait to be married because she'll finally have somebody to take her away from this town that she hates so much. I can't wait till she's married because she'll finally have found somebody gullible enough to take her home with them, and get her out of my hair. ;)
******************************************************************
Mom & Middle sis have been here in town for about a week now, and it's been kinda cool seeing them. Though Mom did kinda tick me off, the other day. (For some reason I couldn't tell ya then, Mom.)
We were over and Mom & Middle sis were commenting on how long my hair's gotten (it's at it's longest point ever), and I commented that I'm going to get it cut as soon as they leave. Not a major cut. Just a couple of inches. It's too long, right now, and it's horrible to wash & condition. And I've got all sorts of split ends. But it's healthy. Something it wasn't, last time it was this long (in HS).
So, Mom sits there and starts saying that I should get it permed, and colored with the dark auburn that I used to use. I don't know.... That just isn't me any more. I've finally come to terms with being whom I was created to be. I don't need to try to change how I look, because then I'm not me. Right now, with my natural brown, long semi-straight hair.... This is who I was born to be. My blue/gray/green eyes with glasses..... This is who I was born to be. My freckles (which I have NEVER covered up)...... This is who I was born to be. I've finally come to terms with all that. I've finally come to the realization that I don't have to be a green-eyed, curly-red-head to be pretty. Heck, I'll never be truly pretty. But..... My blue/gray/green eyes, my long, straight, brown hair and my smile..... That's when I'm pretty. When I am whom I'm supposed to be. Maybe I've never been "The Pretty One". That was my baby Sis when she was little. I'll never be "The Smart One". That is my Middle Sis. But, I'm me. I'm Kati. I'm the book worm, the crocheter, the (some-day) Librarian, the Mom to DD, the Wife to DH. I'm the one who lives in Alaska. And I'm the one who gets complimented on her smile at work, by my boss, by the patrons who walk past me. I'm the one who gets complimented for her manner with unruly children. I have long, straight, brown hair, and blue/gray (green when I'm angry) eyes. I'm finally good with that.
And it kinda pissed me off when my Mom was telling me how I should change who I am. I'm no better when I have shorter, curly, auburn hair & green (contact lens) eyes. Hair color doesn't make me nicer to the patrons at work, or handle the unruly children better, or crochet better. I want to be who I was born to be. I'm tired of covering it up with hair color that isn't mine, and eye color that isn't mine (all the time). This is me. I rather like me.
And Mom, I may not be the most exciting of your daughters. I'm not getting my Ph.D. in anything, any time soon. I'm not moving away with a husband that's taking over the family business. I'm not going surfing & scuba diving & traveling the world (or, at least the country) at the drop of a hat. I'm rather boring by your standards, by M's standards, or by K's standards. And I'm sorry you have a hard time accepting that. But I actually kinda like me. I actually kinda like that my life is steady. I do have plans for travel, and an education, but for right now..... Yes, Kati still works at the library in Fairbanks. Yes, Kati will be staying in Alaska with her husband while the rest of the family moves away. I may be boring, and predictable by some standards. But I'm me. And that's ok. I'm just sorry you can't see it. That M. can't see it, and that K. can't see it.
Maybe you are all three searching, endlessly, for something that may or may not be there. And maybe, for now, I've found it. And I realize it. At least for now, this is enough. This is all I need. A steady job that I love. A man that I love. A child that I love. A home town that is comfortable & that, despite it's faults, I love. Hobbies that I love. And, ironically, while I've found something that I love in my very own back yard, I know that when I am ready, I have chances for growth. I'm not ready yet. When I am, maybe you'll write letters about how I'm doing in college, or traveling, or snorkeling in Hawaii with you. For now "Kati is still working at the Library in Fairbanks" and "Kati will be staying in Alaska with her hubby" are good. I'll leave the searching, the constant need for something new, to the rest of you.
Have a Blessed Day!
Monday, December 25, 2006
Merry Christmas to ALL!!!!
Hoping that those of you who celebrate, have a FANTASTIC Christmas. Just wanna pass around these half-empty cookie tins I've got, if anybody wants a couple. Don't much want any more cookies hanging around my house, after today. *wink*
It's snowing rather heavily right now. Thick, white, wet flakes when we ususally have a dry white powder this time of year.
Church was a bit of a disappointment, yesterday. We didn't sing any of the traditional songs, like "Come all ye Faithful", "Joy to the World" and "Away in a Manger". The church choir did, but the rest of the congretation sat there & watched. Instead we sang a couple that I've only heard 1 or two other times. It felt very impersonal. The couple of songs we DID sing were posted on a screen at the front of the Auditorium, so we couldn't tell the tune to sing. I found one of them in the hymnal that nobody ever uses, underneath the chairs, so I was able to follow along by looking at the tunes in the book.
Christmas morning was pretty good, so far. I got some new tunes from the DH, and the Keira Knightly DVD, and a little hand-sized heart-box with an agate set into the top. And a pressure-cooker/canner from the inlaws. DD got that Nintendo DS & some books. And the inlaws gave her a portable DVD player. DH got that Ron White book, and an Earnhardt Jr. hat. And the inlaws got him a George Forman grill.
We'll be heading over to my 'rents in a couple of minutes for gift exchanging there. Then back to the inlaws for Christmas supper.
Hope y'all have had a Very Merry Christmas.
Have a Blessed Day!
It's snowing rather heavily right now. Thick, white, wet flakes when we ususally have a dry white powder this time of year.
Church was a bit of a disappointment, yesterday. We didn't sing any of the traditional songs, like "Come all ye Faithful", "Joy to the World" and "Away in a Manger". The church choir did, but the rest of the congretation sat there & watched. Instead we sang a couple that I've only heard 1 or two other times. It felt very impersonal. The couple of songs we DID sing were posted on a screen at the front of the Auditorium, so we couldn't tell the tune to sing. I found one of them in the hymnal that nobody ever uses, underneath the chairs, so I was able to follow along by looking at the tunes in the book.
Christmas morning was pretty good, so far. I got some new tunes from the DH, and the Keira Knightly DVD, and a little hand-sized heart-box with an agate set into the top. And a pressure-cooker/canner from the inlaws. DD got that Nintendo DS & some books. And the inlaws gave her a portable DVD player. DH got that Ron White book, and an Earnhardt Jr. hat. And the inlaws got him a George Forman grill.
We'll be heading over to my 'rents in a couple of minutes for gift exchanging there. Then back to the inlaws for Christmas supper.
Hope y'all have had a Very Merry Christmas.
Have a Blessed Day!
Friday, December 22, 2006
Christmas Cookies & Excuses
Well, I have been doing some baking, some cooking, and some mixing. Here are most of the cookies of my labours. I made a double batch of cream-cheese pecan balls last night (mexican-wedding cakes, russian tea cakes, snowballs, take your pick for name). The treats pictured are peppermint patties (green), PB fudge buttons (in blue tin), and almond shortbread (octagonal tin). Would like to get a couple loaves of Cranberry bread made before THE DAY, as well.
Got all the Christmas shopping done, except for the books for DD, which I'm heading into town to pick up in just a bit. Found out that we've gotta shell out for a GC for SIL as well. She's actually living back at the inlaws again, so she'll be there for Christmas. So gotta have a gift for her.
DD's done well in hockey. She's had 4 shut-outs, now. And some of those games were close. The last game of note was 21 shots on DD, no goals. DD's team only had 6 shots on the other team's goal, and 1 of them made it into the net. So, it wound up 1 to 0, with DD's team taking the win. It was a tight game. She's got a game tonight that my Mom & middle Sis get to go see. They've been hearing me talk for months about DD's skill as a goalie, and they get to go see for themselves tonight. I think they'll be thrilled. I know DD is thrilled to get to see her Aunt Shelli & Maki (her name for my mom).
**************************************************************************
Now to the "Excuses" comments. As I said, SIL has moved back in with the inlaws. She's had serious problems in the past with a drug addiction, and it wound her up in MAJOR trouble this time. Won't go into details (shouldn't even be writing about it, as per DH's request, but I've gotta vent, so I'll leave out most of the details), just suffice it to say that she's not a nice person. Well, now she's claiming that when she had her younger son almost 3 years ago, she had "a tumor on one of her ovaries that required them to take out her ovary when the Nephew was born", and THAT is supposedly why she's become a drug-addict & bitch. And DH and FIL and MIL are believing that shit!
PLEASE. First off. If she had cancer almost 3 years ago, and she lives in the same town, WHY is this the first she's ever said of it? Why is she not still being treated/monitored for it??? I'm totally disbelieving about this little story she's concocted.
Secondly, I DID have an ovary removed this summer when I went in for my Tubal Ligation, because of a cantelope sized cyst, and I've got pictures to prove it. I haven't become a total bitch, and I haven't become a drug addict. It didn't alter my personality. What makes DH, FIL & MIL believe that this story is the reason SIL is a bitch & a druggie?!?!?!?!
Thirdly, SIL has been a bitch & a druggie for a LONG TIME. At least 10 years now, though DH said she was "dabbling" before he & I ever met. Granted it's only in the last 5 or 6 years that she's gone hard-core lifestyle & in just the last 2 or 3 that she's started getting in trouble for it, but it's NOT caused by some fictional tumor on an ovary that she's now saying she had removed. Please. I'm not that stupid, and I can't believe that DH & FIL & MIL can sit there & listen to her stories & believe them, when I'm proof that ovarian cysts/tumors don't cause drug addictions & bitchiness.
Excuse me while I knock my head against the wall. I hate excuses, and I hate people who use sorry excuses for their unpardonable behavior. DH is all for welcoming SIL back into the family, now that they've "discovered the reason" for her behavior, and seems a bit hurt over my disbelief & discustedness. He says he understands why I'll never trust her again (horrid treatment of myself, my daughter, my husband, MIL & FIL, the nephews & everybody else around her; nasty rumor spreading about me), but he looks hurt that I'm not willing to welcome her back to my life with open arms, like she's my best friend or some-such. I'm not that gullible. Haven't been in a LONG time. And I'm not going to sit back & let her hurt me & my daughter again, though if DH wants to put himself in the line of fire.... FINE. He's an adult. He can take care of himself. I hope nobody minds if I quietly mutter "told ya so" under my breath when it happens again that she turns nasty & goes back to her drugs.
*************************************************************
Anyway, wanted to post pictures of my christmas cooking. And vent. Thanks for "listening". *smile* Must be off to do some errands before I head to work.
Hope y'all had a Blessed Yule, and wishing EVERYBODY a MERRY CHRISTMAS & will see ya again next week, likely.
Have a Blessed Day!
Friday, December 15, 2006
Blowout!
Well, I no longer have any jeans that fit me.... That sucks, as DD's got an exhibition scrimmage-game tonight at the Ice Dog's game. And she's got 2 games tomorrow. And I've got nothing to wear. May actually wind up wearing nice slacks.
Back toward the end of Oct. I got home to find out that 1 of my two pairs of jeans had blown out in the back-side. Fortunately it happened as I was sitting down in my car, leaving work. I came home & ordered 2 more pair (same size, everything) from the company I bought the first 2 pair from. They were on backorder, but the company said that there should be a shipment in by Nov. 6. Nov. 6 comes & goes & still no word on my jeans. Nov. 18 I got a post-card in the mail saying that my jeans are still on back-order, thanks for being patient, the order will be in no later than Nov. 30. Nov. 29th, I got an email saying that my jeans had shipped that morning & that I would have them in 2 weeks. (The company said that they were shipping Priority Mail, USPS style, and therefore I should give them up to 2 weeks to get my jeans to me.) Wednesday made 2 weeks. Still no new jeans. I'm getting fairly peeved, and am feeling somewhat ambivilent about ever buying pants (or anything else) from this company (and it's a well-known company) again.
I've known my second pair of jeans was on borrowed time, as both of the origional pair were purchased at the same time. Well, wouldn't you know it, I went into town shopping this morning, wearing my favorite pair of jeans (the second of the 2 origional pair, the non-blown-out ones). At some point, I only hope it was as I sat down in my car upon leaving the mall, my pants blew out. And we're not talking a little hole. Ooooooooohhhhh No! Nope....
We're talking, from just below the top of the pockets, to mid way past my crotch. The kind of blow-out that is NOT easy to hide.
Got to Dad's with his birthday present & a couple of pieces of cake (purchased at the grocery bakery just before I left town) & promptly tied my sarong (carried along just in case of this occurance) around my waist. *shaking head* And, as I said, after coming home & checking the mail (sarong still securely tied around my waist) I have found that my new jeans STILL have not arrived.
Needless to say, I'm peeved. Very peeved. And not looking forward to wearing thin slacks to the hockey game tonight, as it's currently about -5 deg. F. Nope, not fun.
Well, I hope y'all get a welcome, sympathetic chuckle from my ordeal. Must admit I probably would if it was one of my online friends, posting about their bad luck for the edification of their readers.
I did find a couple of small stocking stuffers for DD, bought Dh's Ron White book, and got a "sleepy puppies" calendar for DD for Christmas. (She usually gets a Scooby calendar, the calendar store didn't have any Scooby this year.) Nearly went a little crazy when I noticed that my favorite candle shop is back with their "beanpod" candles. YUMMO! (As Rachael Ray would say.) I didn't, though. I behaved myself. *sigh* Oooooh, but that Angel Amareto candle made it VERY hard to be good! And the lemon citrus and vanilla-orange candles...... *wiping drool off the keyboard*
(Updated to say, went shopping at a LOCAL store after the game & got me a new pair of jeans to hold me until my other jeans get here. Hopefully they make it before Christmas.)
Have a Blessed Day!
Back toward the end of Oct. I got home to find out that 1 of my two pairs of jeans had blown out in the back-side. Fortunately it happened as I was sitting down in my car, leaving work. I came home & ordered 2 more pair (same size, everything) from the company I bought the first 2 pair from. They were on backorder, but the company said that there should be a shipment in by Nov. 6. Nov. 6 comes & goes & still no word on my jeans. Nov. 18 I got a post-card in the mail saying that my jeans are still on back-order, thanks for being patient, the order will be in no later than Nov. 30. Nov. 29th, I got an email saying that my jeans had shipped that morning & that I would have them in 2 weeks. (The company said that they were shipping Priority Mail, USPS style, and therefore I should give them up to 2 weeks to get my jeans to me.) Wednesday made 2 weeks. Still no new jeans. I'm getting fairly peeved, and am feeling somewhat ambivilent about ever buying pants (or anything else) from this company (and it's a well-known company) again.
I've known my second pair of jeans was on borrowed time, as both of the origional pair were purchased at the same time. Well, wouldn't you know it, I went into town shopping this morning, wearing my favorite pair of jeans (the second of the 2 origional pair, the non-blown-out ones). At some point, I only hope it was as I sat down in my car upon leaving the mall, my pants blew out. And we're not talking a little hole. Ooooooooohhhhh No! Nope....
We're talking, from just below the top of the pockets, to mid way past my crotch. The kind of blow-out that is NOT easy to hide.
Got to Dad's with his birthday present & a couple of pieces of cake (purchased at the grocery bakery just before I left town) & promptly tied my sarong (carried along just in case of this occurance) around my waist. *shaking head* And, as I said, after coming home & checking the mail (sarong still securely tied around my waist) I have found that my new jeans STILL have not arrived.
Needless to say, I'm peeved. Very peeved. And not looking forward to wearing thin slacks to the hockey game tonight, as it's currently about -5 deg. F. Nope, not fun.
Well, I hope y'all get a welcome, sympathetic chuckle from my ordeal. Must admit I probably would if it was one of my online friends, posting about their bad luck for the edification of their readers.
I did find a couple of small stocking stuffers for DD, bought Dh's Ron White book, and got a "sleepy puppies" calendar for DD for Christmas. (She usually gets a Scooby calendar, the calendar store didn't have any Scooby this year.) Nearly went a little crazy when I noticed that my favorite candle shop is back with their "beanpod" candles. YUMMO! (As Rachael Ray would say.) I didn't, though. I behaved myself. *sigh* Oooooh, but that Angel Amareto candle made it VERY hard to be good! And the lemon citrus and vanilla-orange candles...... *wiping drool off the keyboard*
(Updated to say, went shopping at a LOCAL store after the game & got me a new pair of jeans to hold me until my other jeans get here. Hopefully they make it before Christmas.)
Have a Blessed Day!
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Found a bathrobe!
Just a little (really inconsequential) update.... DH went to Old Navy today on the hunt for a bathrobe for DD & he did find one. So, that wall has been scaled, now to conquer the wall of stocking stuffers.
And in other news: Horrible daughter that I am, I forgot my dad's birthday today. I feel so crummy over forgetting. And I even have it written down on one of my calendars. *sigh* Tomorrow I'll be picking up his birthday present (went to Tay's hockey game on Wed. night instead of remembering Dad's present) and a couple of cupcakes & stopping in @ Dad's with them.
Last but not least, baby sis & fiancee have decided to have a small church ceremony on Dec. 30th and she called today to let me know and inform me that DD, DH & I ARE invited. *wink*
Ok, off to make dinner.
Hope you had a Blessed Day!
And in other news: Horrible daughter that I am, I forgot my dad's birthday today. I feel so crummy over forgetting. And I even have it written down on one of my calendars. *sigh* Tomorrow I'll be picking up his birthday present (went to Tay's hockey game on Wed. night instead of remembering Dad's present) and a couple of cupcakes & stopping in @ Dad's with them.
Last but not least, baby sis & fiancee have decided to have a small church ceremony on Dec. 30th and she called today to let me know and inform me that DD, DH & I ARE invited. *wink*
Ok, off to make dinner.
Hope you had a Blessed Day!
Monday, December 11, 2006
Christmas Shopping....
I try not to go overboard when I do my shopping. I like finding one gift per family member that really fits them. I think I've found that for my mom & middle sis. I'd be sure about my baby sis if it wasn't for her history of being rather uppity. Dad has made it clear that he's trying to clear out the house, so please don't get him anything that isn't reusable or temporary, so he gets a GC (to buy with it what he wants). Sis's fiancee & daughter will also get GCs (fiancee because I don't know him well enough to know what he likes, really; niece for reasons previously mentioned).
For DH, I've got a couple of ideas (an Earnhardt Jr. hat, and either a new Jr. license-plate cover thingy, or the Ron White book _They Call Me Tater Salad_).
For DD, however, I've been hitting a wall. For her, I follow the rule of 4: Something she wants, something she needs, something to wear, and something to read.
The something she wants, this year, will be a Nintendo DS-something-or-other that DH bought for her.
The something she needs.... A good swift kick in the pants! (Ok, not really. I will probably wind up combining this with the something to wear.)
The Something to wear is HOPEFULLY going to be a bathrobe. This is that wall I've been hitting. I cannot seem to find a reasonably priced bathrobe sized for a pre-teen, that doesn't cost horrible amounts in S&H. Oh, I found one lovely ballerina length robe that was priced only 24.99, but they wanted 24.50 in S&H to Alaska. Another pretty, embroidered (with her name) bathrobe, but they wanted $60 dollars for it (only $8 S&H, however). I DID look at a couple of places here in town (big W. and s-e-a-r-s) and didn't see any pre-teen sized bathrobes. They have adult womens (ankle length). They have toddlers. Neither of which would fit my 4-1/2 foot tall daughter. *sigh* If anybody has any online stores they may know about (and I must hurry if I plan to have this for her by Christmas), LET ME KNOW!!!!!!! Please!!!!! I'm begging.
As for the "Something to read", well, that's simple as always. 10 minutes in my local Waldenbooks & I should be able to fill that category.
Oh, and stocking stuffers. Another brick wall. In our house DH & I provide the gifts under the tree & Santa provides the stocking stuffers. What to get a pre-teen for stocking stuffers, when there's really nothing she NEEDS??? She needed chap-stick (actually, Bonne Bell is what she ususally gets), got it at the grocery a couple of weeks ago (because one really doesn't want to have to wait till Christmas morning to get much needed chapstick). Thought about getting her the Kelly Pickler CD for her stocking. Guess what DH picked up yesterday as they were out christmas shopping. And it was already opened & listened to by the time I got home. A handful of crystals. There's an option. But she's got so stinking many crystals (and other rocks) floating around her room as it is..... That child BETTER study geology in college, of all the rocks she collects. Jewelry..... Yeah, like she needs any more! Can't seem to climb over these brick walls, this year.
I have yet to do any Christmas baking. Which I miss. I remember all the cookies & goodies Mom used to make: Pecan Tassies, Mexican Wedding Cakes, Sugar cookies, Spritz, magic cookie bars, fudge, to name just a few. I'm lucky if I can churn out 2 batches of cookies, at all, each year. I want to do more. Really I do. I just don't know where the time goes.
I've got a box of Christmas cards sitting here next to me, and ornaments for an ornament exchange I'm taking part in. And neither are quite ready to be sent out. And for my exchange friends in Canada & Australia, that means they won't get their cards &/or ornaments till after Christmas at this rate. *sigh*
Can I take the next 2 weeks off work & just get all this Christmas stuff out of the way. I enjoy Christmas, I really do, but why does it always seem like it's so stressful???? And for that matter, all the effort that goes into 1 day of celebration, and it's all over. *sigh* It's THIS kind of thing that makes me wish I was a SAHM again. Not because I enjoyed being a SAHM so fantasticly, but because it meant I had TIME. I love my job, but THIS is why I don't work a 40 hour week, even though I've been offered that extra work time. Even with only 30 hours of work a week, I still barely manage to get other things done.
Hope You Have a Blessed Day!
For DH, I've got a couple of ideas (an Earnhardt Jr. hat, and either a new Jr. license-plate cover thingy, or the Ron White book _They Call Me Tater Salad_).
For DD, however, I've been hitting a wall. For her, I follow the rule of 4: Something she wants, something she needs, something to wear, and something to read.
The something she wants, this year, will be a Nintendo DS-something-or-other that DH bought for her.
The something she needs.... A good swift kick in the pants! (Ok, not really. I will probably wind up combining this with the something to wear.)
The Something to wear is HOPEFULLY going to be a bathrobe. This is that wall I've been hitting. I cannot seem to find a reasonably priced bathrobe sized for a pre-teen, that doesn't cost horrible amounts in S&H. Oh, I found one lovely ballerina length robe that was priced only 24.99, but they wanted 24.50 in S&H to Alaska. Another pretty, embroidered (with her name) bathrobe, but they wanted $60 dollars for it (only $8 S&H, however). I DID look at a couple of places here in town (big W. and s-e-a-r-s) and didn't see any pre-teen sized bathrobes. They have adult womens (ankle length). They have toddlers. Neither of which would fit my 4-1/2 foot tall daughter. *sigh* If anybody has any online stores they may know about (and I must hurry if I plan to have this for her by Christmas), LET ME KNOW!!!!!!! Please!!!!! I'm begging.
As for the "Something to read", well, that's simple as always. 10 minutes in my local Waldenbooks & I should be able to fill that category.
Oh, and stocking stuffers. Another brick wall. In our house DH & I provide the gifts under the tree & Santa provides the stocking stuffers. What to get a pre-teen for stocking stuffers, when there's really nothing she NEEDS??? She needed chap-stick (actually, Bonne Bell is what she ususally gets), got it at the grocery a couple of weeks ago (because one really doesn't want to have to wait till Christmas morning to get much needed chapstick). Thought about getting her the Kelly Pickler CD for her stocking. Guess what DH picked up yesterday as they were out christmas shopping. And it was already opened & listened to by the time I got home. A handful of crystals. There's an option. But she's got so stinking many crystals (and other rocks) floating around her room as it is..... That child BETTER study geology in college, of all the rocks she collects. Jewelry..... Yeah, like she needs any more! Can't seem to climb over these brick walls, this year.
I have yet to do any Christmas baking. Which I miss. I remember all the cookies & goodies Mom used to make: Pecan Tassies, Mexican Wedding Cakes, Sugar cookies, Spritz, magic cookie bars, fudge, to name just a few. I'm lucky if I can churn out 2 batches of cookies, at all, each year. I want to do more. Really I do. I just don't know where the time goes.
I've got a box of Christmas cards sitting here next to me, and ornaments for an ornament exchange I'm taking part in. And neither are quite ready to be sent out. And for my exchange friends in Canada & Australia, that means they won't get their cards &/or ornaments till after Christmas at this rate. *sigh*
Can I take the next 2 weeks off work & just get all this Christmas stuff out of the way. I enjoy Christmas, I really do, but why does it always seem like it's so stressful???? And for that matter, all the effort that goes into 1 day of celebration, and it's all over. *sigh* It's THIS kind of thing that makes me wish I was a SAHM again. Not because I enjoyed being a SAHM so fantasticly, but because it meant I had TIME. I love my job, but THIS is why I don't work a 40 hour week, even though I've been offered that extra work time. Even with only 30 hours of work a week, I still barely manage to get other things done.
Hope You Have a Blessed Day!
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Yes Virginia, there really IS....
... A North Pole! Just had to share this cool little article on MSN about my town. Finally some GOOD news about our town!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16122221/
Have a Blessed Day!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16122221/
Have a Blessed Day!
Truck Pictures
So, here are some pictures of the truck, AFTER the accident, obviously. They were actually taken by DH yesterday (Friday), the day following the accident. What I can't believe is that the passenger side air-bag is STILL inflated. Incredible. What I didn't put up here was the harder-to-see dent on the passenger side, right over the rear tire.
DH said that when he actually saw the truck yesterday, in the light of day, it really shoock him up all over again, as he didn't realize exactly HOW lucky he was to walk away from that unharmed.
Just wanted to share.
Have a Blessed Day!
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Totaled!
I didn't get a chance to post this, this morning. Everything here was stressed & frantic, and last thing on my mind (well, not quite) was posting our newest bit of bad news.
As DD & I got up this morning & were getting her ready for school, DH calls & asked if we'd heard anything about an accident on the radio (which we always listen to for the bus report & road conditions). Nope, I hadn't. Turns out that not 1/4 mile from our house, DH was passing an intersection when a 16 year old boy with a new license decided that things were clear enough to pull out -left turn- in front of DH (he claims he didn't even see Dh coming, witnesses don't see how he could have MISSED seeing DH there) on his way to school. DH said he didn't even have time to contemplate hitting his brakes (with roads as slick as they are, slamming the brakes might have done more harm than good), much less time to actually do so. DH wasn't even up to speed, either, having just pulled out of our neighbourhood. Long story short: Nobody's hurt (dh's hand is sore where we think he "punched" the sterio face-plate upon impact), both vehicals are totaled & completely undrivable; Now or ever. The cop gave the kid a citation & told him it'd be in HIS best interest to plead guilty. And told DH that there was no way this could be construed as DH's fault by any stretch of the imagination, certainly not with 2 witnesses.
The insurance company is offering us 19,500 for the truck (which was less than 2 years old). I'm not sure what that means for a down payment on a new truck, as 19,000 is what we had left to pay on the old truck. Dad is letting Dh drive his jeep (he's got a Ram pick-up, as well) until we can get a new truck purchased. Which DH & FIL will be doing (have threatened DH's life if he goes vehical shopping without FIL's assistance).
So, mixed blessings from a horrid event. The biggest shocker is that both DH & this kid walked away from the accident without injury. At all. Much less serious injury or dead. There's nothing really left of either vehical worth trying to salvage (well, the BED of our truck is still good, as were the hockey sticks stored back there).
And I guess it's a positive that we're no longer tied to that truck, which WAS a real lemon. We're going with a different brand of truck altogether on the next one we buy.
Hope y'all had a better day than we've had. For tomorrow....
Have a Blessed Day!
As DD & I got up this morning & were getting her ready for school, DH calls & asked if we'd heard anything about an accident on the radio (which we always listen to for the bus report & road conditions). Nope, I hadn't. Turns out that not 1/4 mile from our house, DH was passing an intersection when a 16 year old boy with a new license decided that things were clear enough to pull out -left turn- in front of DH (he claims he didn't even see Dh coming, witnesses don't see how he could have MISSED seeing DH there) on his way to school. DH said he didn't even have time to contemplate hitting his brakes (with roads as slick as they are, slamming the brakes might have done more harm than good), much less time to actually do so. DH wasn't even up to speed, either, having just pulled out of our neighbourhood. Long story short: Nobody's hurt (dh's hand is sore where we think he "punched" the sterio face-plate upon impact), both vehicals are totaled & completely undrivable; Now or ever. The cop gave the kid a citation & told him it'd be in HIS best interest to plead guilty. And told DH that there was no way this could be construed as DH's fault by any stretch of the imagination, certainly not with 2 witnesses.
The insurance company is offering us 19,500 for the truck (which was less than 2 years old). I'm not sure what that means for a down payment on a new truck, as 19,000 is what we had left to pay on the old truck. Dad is letting Dh drive his jeep (he's got a Ram pick-up, as well) until we can get a new truck purchased. Which DH & FIL will be doing (have threatened DH's life if he goes vehical shopping without FIL's assistance).
So, mixed blessings from a horrid event. The biggest shocker is that both DH & this kid walked away from the accident without injury. At all. Much less serious injury or dead. There's nothing really left of either vehical worth trying to salvage (well, the BED of our truck is still good, as were the hockey sticks stored back there).
And I guess it's a positive that we're no longer tied to that truck, which WAS a real lemon. We're going with a different brand of truck altogether on the next one we buy.
Hope y'all had a better day than we've had. For tomorrow....
Have a Blessed Day!
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Empty Shelves & Fuel Tanks
There have been a handful of coincidences in the past few weeks, in my town, that have resulted in shortages that maybe would not have happened if some of those circumstances had not been present. It's given me a little jolt of what life could be like, and in some sense has been making me grateful for what I do have.
For example, the store shelves at my local grocery (and other groceries through town) have been somewhat empty. Esp. the meats department. Literal empty shelves there. Where other parts of the grocery may have skanty supplies, the meat section is more seriously depleated. Two big factors have resulted in this depletion, from what I can tell. The first is those storms that have been plaguing the lower 48 states of this country. Shipments have been delayed (a couple of weeks, in some cases, evidently) due to horrid weather. The other main factor of this depletion has been the return home of our military men & women from "over there". We had a huge brigade of some 3500 military folks "come home" to our Army base, in just the past couple of weeks. One of these is my baby sister's Fiancee. (YEAH!)
Together, these two circumstances have combined to result in a shortage of groceries. To put it in precise words, our fighting men have come home hungry for home cooked meals, to find the grocery stores already depleated due to delayed shipments. Not to say that I begrudge these military folks their home cooked meals. Not at all. But it has made for a couple of weeks in which I go to the grocery store with a supper in mind, only to find that I must change my plans.
It has reminded me, in some VERY small sense of something I read & saw in a HS school book. The picture was of a Russian woman standing in an empty grocery with only 2 or 3 cans of something on a shelf in front of her. The statement was along the lines that Russian folks do not tend to go shopping for what they want, but what they can get (and this is hopefully in the past, now). That their lives & meals & such revolve around what is available to them, not what they would like. Now, my experience is NOWHERE near as desperate, and I certainly don't want to imply that I have any real understanding of what a hardship this has been for the Russian nation, or for other countries where food supplies are EVEN more desperate. But maybe it has given me a small glimpse, of what has been in Russia, and what could be for our country at some point down the road. (Or even, what was for our country during the Great Depression or during WW2.)
The other shortage that has been occuring here in my community has been a shortage of fuel. A family member works for a local fuel company & has commented on a couple of occurances that have resulted in houses both running out of fuel & unable to get more fuel for their tanks in a very timely manner. We had an abnormally cold Nov. with very little snow to insulate our homes. (I heard a report on the radio yesterday that by this time of year we generally have well over 20 inches of snow, where we have had only 7 inches thus-far this year.) This means that our houses are burning more fuel than usual. The whole BP Alaskan Pipeline problem this fall & winter, as well as smaller pipeline malfunctions at local refineries, has resulted in a decreased supply of home heating fuel. Which has possibly meant that the fuel drivers were not able to fill the tanks with as much fuel as they usually might for automatic delivery customers (those customers who do not generally get a full tank at a time, but smaller deliveries periodically). Now that production is boosting again, however, people are still running short on fuel in their tanks (thanks to the cold) which means that while there is fuel to be delivered, the drivers are run off their feet (or their tires) trying to get to everybody before anybody truly runs out. My family member has commented about how many truck drivers have been working weeks straight, without a day off (which is allowed under their contract) to try to fill the demand. Some of my coworkers have commented about how they made a semi-emergency call for a fuel delivery only to be told that the truck drivers are SOOO backed up, it would be over a week before these coworkers could be gotten to. Scary, that, in a place where temps drop to -30 this time of year. Many people in my acquaintance have installed wood stoves in their homes, for reasons such as this. And not to imply that the fuel companies are not doing their job, but that they are swamped & unable to help matters.
We've been lucky, fuel wise. We have a 500 gal. tank on our house and have found that we can get through a whole year on 1 tankful of fuel. With added protection such as curtains or plastic-wrapped windows, reinsulating doors, and turning down the temp. before leaving for the day, we've been able to boost our efficiency even more. So running out of fuel is not a concern for us this year.
What an eye opener, these shortages have been. And interesting to contemplate that if 1 factor, in each situation, were different, the shortages may not be occuring. (Or, just possibly not at the rate they have been.) Definitely speaks to the need to plan ahead & be aware of all the possibilities that could come up in a year's time.
Anyway, must get heading to work.
Have a Blessed Day!
For example, the store shelves at my local grocery (and other groceries through town) have been somewhat empty. Esp. the meats department. Literal empty shelves there. Where other parts of the grocery may have skanty supplies, the meat section is more seriously depleated. Two big factors have resulted in this depletion, from what I can tell. The first is those storms that have been plaguing the lower 48 states of this country. Shipments have been delayed (a couple of weeks, in some cases, evidently) due to horrid weather. The other main factor of this depletion has been the return home of our military men & women from "over there". We had a huge brigade of some 3500 military folks "come home" to our Army base, in just the past couple of weeks. One of these is my baby sister's Fiancee. (YEAH!)
Together, these two circumstances have combined to result in a shortage of groceries. To put it in precise words, our fighting men have come home hungry for home cooked meals, to find the grocery stores already depleated due to delayed shipments. Not to say that I begrudge these military folks their home cooked meals. Not at all. But it has made for a couple of weeks in which I go to the grocery store with a supper in mind, only to find that I must change my plans.
It has reminded me, in some VERY small sense of something I read & saw in a HS school book. The picture was of a Russian woman standing in an empty grocery with only 2 or 3 cans of something on a shelf in front of her. The statement was along the lines that Russian folks do not tend to go shopping for what they want, but what they can get (and this is hopefully in the past, now). That their lives & meals & such revolve around what is available to them, not what they would like. Now, my experience is NOWHERE near as desperate, and I certainly don't want to imply that I have any real understanding of what a hardship this has been for the Russian nation, or for other countries where food supplies are EVEN more desperate. But maybe it has given me a small glimpse, of what has been in Russia, and what could be for our country at some point down the road. (Or even, what was for our country during the Great Depression or during WW2.)
The other shortage that has been occuring here in my community has been a shortage of fuel. A family member works for a local fuel company & has commented on a couple of occurances that have resulted in houses both running out of fuel & unable to get more fuel for their tanks in a very timely manner. We had an abnormally cold Nov. with very little snow to insulate our homes. (I heard a report on the radio yesterday that by this time of year we generally have well over 20 inches of snow, where we have had only 7 inches thus-far this year.) This means that our houses are burning more fuel than usual. The whole BP Alaskan Pipeline problem this fall & winter, as well as smaller pipeline malfunctions at local refineries, has resulted in a decreased supply of home heating fuel. Which has possibly meant that the fuel drivers were not able to fill the tanks with as much fuel as they usually might for automatic delivery customers (those customers who do not generally get a full tank at a time, but smaller deliveries periodically). Now that production is boosting again, however, people are still running short on fuel in their tanks (thanks to the cold) which means that while there is fuel to be delivered, the drivers are run off their feet (or their tires) trying to get to everybody before anybody truly runs out. My family member has commented about how many truck drivers have been working weeks straight, without a day off (which is allowed under their contract) to try to fill the demand. Some of my coworkers have commented about how they made a semi-emergency call for a fuel delivery only to be told that the truck drivers are SOOO backed up, it would be over a week before these coworkers could be gotten to. Scary, that, in a place where temps drop to -30 this time of year. Many people in my acquaintance have installed wood stoves in their homes, for reasons such as this. And not to imply that the fuel companies are not doing their job, but that they are swamped & unable to help matters.
We've been lucky, fuel wise. We have a 500 gal. tank on our house and have found that we can get through a whole year on 1 tankful of fuel. With added protection such as curtains or plastic-wrapped windows, reinsulating doors, and turning down the temp. before leaving for the day, we've been able to boost our efficiency even more. So running out of fuel is not a concern for us this year.
What an eye opener, these shortages have been. And interesting to contemplate that if 1 factor, in each situation, were different, the shortages may not be occuring. (Or, just possibly not at the rate they have been.) Definitely speaks to the need to plan ahead & be aware of all the possibilities that could come up in a year's time.
Anyway, must get heading to work.
Have a Blessed Day!
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Daily life.....
Not a whole lot going on, right now. Just a bunch of little things that add up to one's daily life. Work every day. Spelling words at night. Hockey practices, favorite tv shows, and cold weather. Annoyances with my little Sis & niece. Annoyances with dogs, with daughter, with coworkers. Anniversary "celebrated".
The soup didn't turn out very well..... Not horrid, but it certainly didn't look like anything worth taking a picture of. After the stock was done, the meat seperated and poured back into the stock, I added things like tomatoes (a can of chopped), canned corn (didn't have any frozen), a bit of frozen green beans, chopped onion & celery, the leftover mashed potatoes & last bit of gravy, and seasonings. Like Mrs. Dash, and extra chicken buillion, and bay leaves. Then I tossed in some wild rice & some brown rice. Evidently I let it boil too long with the wild rice & brown rice in there because they kinda super-hydrated & exploded & looked rather like maggots. Eeewww! And then I poured in the extra-wide egg noodles. The first night (Saturday), the soup was ok. A little on the bland side, according to DH & DD (they each added a good strong dash of Tabasco sauce), but ok. Popped the covered vat of leftover soup out on the back step to freeze (no room in my fridge). A couple of days later when brought back inside & reheated (Tuesday night), the egg noodles started getting toooo overcooked & somewhat mushy. DD refused to eat it, and had a turkey sandwich instead. After DH & I each had a bowl-ful & agreed that it was very uninspiring, the entire vat got recovered & set back out on the back step to re-freeze. It's not getting warmer than 10 above zero, it's cold enough to keep it from going bad, out there. I should have taken a page from a friend's book & seperated the stock & meat into a couple of seperate freezable containers, so I could make a smaller batch of soup now (Saturday), and save other stock/meat for other soups later in the winter. I didn't. We usually like the soup more than we did this year. Usually I have spinach to add, and it's got more flavor. Not sure what I did wrong this time. Now I've got a huge vat of the stuff sitting out back that I REALLY don't want to eat, much less by myself. *sigh* Talk about wasteful. And I feel horrid about it. Why didn't I plan better? What was it that I didn't put in, that I usually do? Is there any way I can salvage it??? I wish I knew.
So, no photos of the non-inspiring, boring soup. Sorry. Just couldn't bring myself to take one.
*****************************************
DH & I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary yesterday. As DD & I were sitting in the kitchen yesterday morning, getting her breakfast & lunch eatten and made (respectively), I mentioned to her that 9 years ago DH & I got married, and she was there. She was at our wedding with us. 2 months old, in a white christening gown, held by her adoring grandma. She asked if she could share that in class yesterday. I told her, sure.... Why not?!?!
I had to chuckle at my mom, though. (Sorry Mom!) She called to wish us a happy anniversary & commented about "what if DD tells everybody that SHE was at your wedding?!?!?" I kinda had to ask, so what if she did? DH & I have now been married 9 years, which is a lot longer than a lot of people seem to make it these days. Who in her class can really criticize because we got things a little backwards (baby first, then marriage)???? What are they going to do, nine years after the fact.... String us up by our toes???? LOL Mom agreed that I had a point.
DH sent me a bouquet of 9 long-stemmed red roses at work. All the ladies loved it, and Oooooh did they smell fabulous!!!! Got them home in one piece & now I've got this huge bouquet on my kitchen table. LOL Ahhh, but they're lovely. We didn't do anything else, special, though. DH doesn't get paid till Monday, and half of my paycheck has to go to the daycare today, the other half to bills. So, no fancy dinners out for us this year. *sigh* I've been craving Escargot & Creme Brulee. Guess I'll have to hope for my birthday, instead. *wry smile*
****************************************
In little more than 2 weeks, DD has managed to lose a brand new pair of gloves (lost them on the first day she wore them to school, we strongly suspect somebody saw them on the bus seat & noticed how nice & new they were, & took them), a hat, a scarf I knitted (a spare I'd made, learning to use my knifty knitter), and now her snow pants. Now, bear in mind that DH gets off work at 5 pm, picks her up from day-care, and gets home before I do, as I get off work at 6 pm. So, this morning at 8:27, she comes out from her room & asks me "Mommy, did I wear my snowpants home from school?" Dh said he didn't see them in his truck this morning, which means they didn't get left there. I, of course, would have no way of knowing if she wore them home from school. Which means she either left them at school, or at day-care. Either way, she left the house this morning wearing ripped out jeans (because she didn't want to put on non-holey slacks), with another spare hat, scarf & gloves, sans snowpants. These snow-pants are soooooo badly worn & ripped out that if somebody stole them, I'd be greatly suprised. No sign, at all, of the scarf or hat, either. We've ransacked the house, looked in the school lost & found, and asked at the daycare (they don't have a lost & found). No sign of them. I'm about ready to strangle DD. She hasn't been this absent minded with her outdoor gear since first grade, when she lost 8 pairs (yes, EIGHT) of gloves in one winter. I'm about ready to stitch her gloves the ends of the coat sleeves, and staple her hat to her head. (Literally about the gloves, joking about the hat.) I don't know how to get through her head that we cannot afford to be purshasing new outdoor gear constantly. A decent pair of gloves (more than those thin little stretchy gloves that are 2.99 a pair) costs about 20 dollars. A hat, the same. Snow-pants, if you can find them, run between 40 and 60 dollars..... The scarf may have been home-made, but that doesn't mean I've got the time to whip them out every few days, either. *sigh*
On top of that, when she loses something she doesn't look very hard for it, but instead gets into a bit of a snit & starts making comments like "well, FINE, I won't WEAR gloves then..... I'll let my fingers FREEZE!" Ye Gods!!!!!! If she wasn't the one LOSING them, she'd HAVE them to wear. I don't know HOW she honestly thought that I'd be able to materialize a new pair of snow-pants for her this morning in the 5 minutes before her bus came. That or she thought I'd run right out, start my car & take her immediately to town for a new pair in the 25 minutes before school started. *rolling eyes* Her attitude is OFF THE CHARTS when something like this goes wrong, and she doesn't seem to get that IT'S HER FAULT!!!! Instead she starts griping at DH & I like we're responsible & should be able to fix the matter. *sigh* Really, don't know if she'll survive her teen years, at this rate. I mean, she's 9, she should know better than to lose all her gear, and she shouldn't be this darn teen-angsty, yet. Oh well....
*************************************************
I've decided that from now on, my baby sis & my niece will only be recieving GC's from me. I'm sick & tired of putting effort into their gifts, only to be called cheap & have the gifts thrown (almost literally this time) back in my face.
Took me a couple of days to register the actual condecension behind my sis's attitude on Thanksgiving, considering how tired I was that day.
Within 10 minutes of her coming into my house, an hour early, she was standing behind me as I was working on making TG dinner.
Sis: Kati, I brought you your bag back.
Me: *back turned* What are you talking about?
Sis: I brought you your bag back.
Me: What bag? *turning*
Sis: This bag! *holding 15$ library tote bag I got niece, along with a brand new hard-back copy of a book that reminded me -nicely- of niece, for her b-day*
Me: *still not understanding* That's not my bag, that's part of K's birthday gift.
Sis: *snidely* Well, you use this kind of bag all the time. I thought you were giving K. that book in one of YOUR bags, and that you'd want it back.
Me: *incredulous* Nooo.... That's part of K's birthday gift!
Sis: *rudely* Well, I thought you were just using one of your bags, and that you'd want it back! (At which point she turned & stuffed her stuff into it.)
So, evidently I'm now cheap & selfish because I purchased a new, canvas tote & hardback book for my niece's b-day present. It's not "Disney Princesses", so it MUST be cheap, right??? I mean, come on, just because it was a good 30 bucks out of pocket altogether..... It wasn't plastic & purchased at W-M, so it really MUST be cheap!!!! And, since I didn't purchase a (expensive as hell) paper gift tote to put it in..... Well, again.... I'm cheap, what can I say?!?! Here I thought a real canvas library tote (local library's cute snow-man logo silkscreened on the front) & hardback book (personally chosen for niece) were a GOOD gift for a 4 year old little girl. I mean, most little girls like bags to carry things in, right??? My daughter does, I do, most women/girls I know have a thing about never having enough bags/purses/totes.
Nope, evidently I'm cheap & selfish. Unfortunately I've already picked out a christmas gift for Sis that she should like. I'm not counting on it, though. If I hadn't already shown the gift to Dad, I'd be keeping that gift myself (it's more Sis's style, but not something _I'd_ turn my nose up at) & get her a GC to W-M. And that's all I'm getting niece. If they think I was being cheap at Niece's b-day, I'll give them cheap. From here on out it'll only be $15 pieces of plastic for the local junk-store. And the 8 place settings of plastic Disney Princesses table-ware as a wedding gift sounds more & more a possibility. Or, maybe I'll be generous & send Sis & her hubby a 25 dollar GC to W-M. *sigh* I'm soooooo sick & tired of her. I hope the fiancee marries her spoiled butt & hauls her to Michigan before I really burn bridges with Dad & publicly tell Sis where she can shove her holier-than-thou attitude, or offer to shove it "there" for her.
Anyway....... Can I crawl back into bed now????? The last couple of weeks have been frustrating, and exausting, and I just want a vacation. (To answer my own question: No. I can't just crawl back in bed. I've gotta be at work in an hour & a half.) Oh, and sorry I never did take pictures.
Have a Blessed Day.
The soup didn't turn out very well..... Not horrid, but it certainly didn't look like anything worth taking a picture of. After the stock was done, the meat seperated and poured back into the stock, I added things like tomatoes (a can of chopped), canned corn (didn't have any frozen), a bit of frozen green beans, chopped onion & celery, the leftover mashed potatoes & last bit of gravy, and seasonings. Like Mrs. Dash, and extra chicken buillion, and bay leaves. Then I tossed in some wild rice & some brown rice. Evidently I let it boil too long with the wild rice & brown rice in there because they kinda super-hydrated & exploded & looked rather like maggots. Eeewww! And then I poured in the extra-wide egg noodles. The first night (Saturday), the soup was ok. A little on the bland side, according to DH & DD (they each added a good strong dash of Tabasco sauce), but ok. Popped the covered vat of leftover soup out on the back step to freeze (no room in my fridge). A couple of days later when brought back inside & reheated (Tuesday night), the egg noodles started getting toooo overcooked & somewhat mushy. DD refused to eat it, and had a turkey sandwich instead. After DH & I each had a bowl-ful & agreed that it was very uninspiring, the entire vat got recovered & set back out on the back step to re-freeze. It's not getting warmer than 10 above zero, it's cold enough to keep it from going bad, out there. I should have taken a page from a friend's book & seperated the stock & meat into a couple of seperate freezable containers, so I could make a smaller batch of soup now (Saturday), and save other stock/meat for other soups later in the winter. I didn't. We usually like the soup more than we did this year. Usually I have spinach to add, and it's got more flavor. Not sure what I did wrong this time. Now I've got a huge vat of the stuff sitting out back that I REALLY don't want to eat, much less by myself. *sigh* Talk about wasteful. And I feel horrid about it. Why didn't I plan better? What was it that I didn't put in, that I usually do? Is there any way I can salvage it??? I wish I knew.
So, no photos of the non-inspiring, boring soup. Sorry. Just couldn't bring myself to take one.
*****************************************
DH & I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary yesterday. As DD & I were sitting in the kitchen yesterday morning, getting her breakfast & lunch eatten and made (respectively), I mentioned to her that 9 years ago DH & I got married, and she was there. She was at our wedding with us. 2 months old, in a white christening gown, held by her adoring grandma. She asked if she could share that in class yesterday. I told her, sure.... Why not?!?!
I had to chuckle at my mom, though. (Sorry Mom!) She called to wish us a happy anniversary & commented about "what if DD tells everybody that SHE was at your wedding?!?!?" I kinda had to ask, so what if she did? DH & I have now been married 9 years, which is a lot longer than a lot of people seem to make it these days. Who in her class can really criticize because we got things a little backwards (baby first, then marriage)???? What are they going to do, nine years after the fact.... String us up by our toes???? LOL Mom agreed that I had a point.
DH sent me a bouquet of 9 long-stemmed red roses at work. All the ladies loved it, and Oooooh did they smell fabulous!!!! Got them home in one piece & now I've got this huge bouquet on my kitchen table. LOL Ahhh, but they're lovely. We didn't do anything else, special, though. DH doesn't get paid till Monday, and half of my paycheck has to go to the daycare today, the other half to bills. So, no fancy dinners out for us this year. *sigh* I've been craving Escargot & Creme Brulee. Guess I'll have to hope for my birthday, instead. *wry smile*
****************************************
In little more than 2 weeks, DD has managed to lose a brand new pair of gloves (lost them on the first day she wore them to school, we strongly suspect somebody saw them on the bus seat & noticed how nice & new they were, & took them), a hat, a scarf I knitted (a spare I'd made, learning to use my knifty knitter), and now her snow pants. Now, bear in mind that DH gets off work at 5 pm, picks her up from day-care, and gets home before I do, as I get off work at 6 pm. So, this morning at 8:27, she comes out from her room & asks me "Mommy, did I wear my snowpants home from school?" Dh said he didn't see them in his truck this morning, which means they didn't get left there. I, of course, would have no way of knowing if she wore them home from school. Which means she either left them at school, or at day-care. Either way, she left the house this morning wearing ripped out jeans (because she didn't want to put on non-holey slacks), with another spare hat, scarf & gloves, sans snowpants. These snow-pants are soooooo badly worn & ripped out that if somebody stole them, I'd be greatly suprised. No sign, at all, of the scarf or hat, either. We've ransacked the house, looked in the school lost & found, and asked at the daycare (they don't have a lost & found). No sign of them. I'm about ready to strangle DD. She hasn't been this absent minded with her outdoor gear since first grade, when she lost 8 pairs (yes, EIGHT) of gloves in one winter. I'm about ready to stitch her gloves the ends of the coat sleeves, and staple her hat to her head. (Literally about the gloves, joking about the hat.) I don't know how to get through her head that we cannot afford to be purshasing new outdoor gear constantly. A decent pair of gloves (more than those thin little stretchy gloves that are 2.99 a pair) costs about 20 dollars. A hat, the same. Snow-pants, if you can find them, run between 40 and 60 dollars..... The scarf may have been home-made, but that doesn't mean I've got the time to whip them out every few days, either. *sigh*
On top of that, when she loses something she doesn't look very hard for it, but instead gets into a bit of a snit & starts making comments like "well, FINE, I won't WEAR gloves then..... I'll let my fingers FREEZE!" Ye Gods!!!!!! If she wasn't the one LOSING them, she'd HAVE them to wear. I don't know HOW she honestly thought that I'd be able to materialize a new pair of snow-pants for her this morning in the 5 minutes before her bus came. That or she thought I'd run right out, start my car & take her immediately to town for a new pair in the 25 minutes before school started. *rolling eyes* Her attitude is OFF THE CHARTS when something like this goes wrong, and she doesn't seem to get that IT'S HER FAULT!!!! Instead she starts griping at DH & I like we're responsible & should be able to fix the matter. *sigh* Really, don't know if she'll survive her teen years, at this rate. I mean, she's 9, she should know better than to lose all her gear, and she shouldn't be this darn teen-angsty, yet. Oh well....
*************************************************
I've decided that from now on, my baby sis & my niece will only be recieving GC's from me. I'm sick & tired of putting effort into their gifts, only to be called cheap & have the gifts thrown (almost literally this time) back in my face.
Took me a couple of days to register the actual condecension behind my sis's attitude on Thanksgiving, considering how tired I was that day.
Within 10 minutes of her coming into my house, an hour early, she was standing behind me as I was working on making TG dinner.
Sis: Kati, I brought you your bag back.
Me: *back turned* What are you talking about?
Sis: I brought you your bag back.
Me: What bag? *turning*
Sis: This bag! *holding 15$ library tote bag I got niece, along with a brand new hard-back copy of a book that reminded me -nicely- of niece, for her b-day*
Me: *still not understanding* That's not my bag, that's part of K's birthday gift.
Sis: *snidely* Well, you use this kind of bag all the time. I thought you were giving K. that book in one of YOUR bags, and that you'd want it back.
Me: *incredulous* Nooo.... That's part of K's birthday gift!
Sis: *rudely* Well, I thought you were just using one of your bags, and that you'd want it back! (At which point she turned & stuffed her stuff into it.)
So, evidently I'm now cheap & selfish because I purchased a new, canvas tote & hardback book for my niece's b-day present. It's not "Disney Princesses", so it MUST be cheap, right??? I mean, come on, just because it was a good 30 bucks out of pocket altogether..... It wasn't plastic & purchased at W-M, so it really MUST be cheap!!!! And, since I didn't purchase a (expensive as hell) paper gift tote to put it in..... Well, again.... I'm cheap, what can I say?!?! Here I thought a real canvas library tote (local library's cute snow-man logo silkscreened on the front) & hardback book (personally chosen for niece) were a GOOD gift for a 4 year old little girl. I mean, most little girls like bags to carry things in, right??? My daughter does, I do, most women/girls I know have a thing about never having enough bags/purses/totes.
Nope, evidently I'm cheap & selfish. Unfortunately I've already picked out a christmas gift for Sis that she should like. I'm not counting on it, though. If I hadn't already shown the gift to Dad, I'd be keeping that gift myself (it's more Sis's style, but not something _I'd_ turn my nose up at) & get her a GC to W-M. And that's all I'm getting niece. If they think I was being cheap at Niece's b-day, I'll give them cheap. From here on out it'll only be $15 pieces of plastic for the local junk-store. And the 8 place settings of plastic Disney Princesses table-ware as a wedding gift sounds more & more a possibility. Or, maybe I'll be generous & send Sis & her hubby a 25 dollar GC to W-M. *sigh* I'm soooooo sick & tired of her. I hope the fiancee marries her spoiled butt & hauls her to Michigan before I really burn bridges with Dad & publicly tell Sis where she can shove her holier-than-thou attitude, or offer to shove it "there" for her.
Anyway....... Can I crawl back into bed now????? The last couple of weeks have been frustrating, and exausting, and I just want a vacation. (To answer my own question: No. I can't just crawl back in bed. I've gotta be at work in an hour & a half.) Oh, and sorry I never did take pictures.
Have a Blessed Day.
Friday, November 24, 2006
Sorry to say.....
I did NOT get pictures of my Thanksgiving dinner taken. By the time it was all made & dished I was soooooooo darn tired that I totally forgot. Then afterwards, everything was in a shambles & I REALLY didn't want to take pictures of that! Heck, by the time I sat down with my plate I was so exausted that I sat there looking at it for 5 minutes before I remembered what I was supposed to do with it. *wry smile*
I was responsible (by my choice) for the majority of the dinner. This is the last year that my dad & baby sis are going to be in town (if everything goes as planned), and while I DO gripe about them both rather frequently, it does also mean the last Thanksgiving with any of my family (as Mom & middle sis are both living in different states already). So, for the past several years (I think this made year 6), we've had thanksgiving dinner at my house, so my family & the inlaws could come over. Christmas has always been spent at the inlaws, with just a short (1 to 2 hour) stop in at Dad's house. But this way DH could see his parents & I could see my family. Won't be the case next year.
So, anyway.... I was up till after 1 am Wed. night cleaning house, then was back up at 7 am yesterday morning to get the turkey in the oven in time (it was a 23 pounder, we ALWAYS do big turkeys). Dinner was set for 1 pm (didn't get finished till 1:30, though). After getting the turkey in, because it REALLY was too early to start anything else (and the Pumpkin Gooey Butter cake was already made), I sat down & watched some TV for an hour. Finished cleaning house then started on more dinner preparations. Baby Sis & niece got here at noon (on the dot!), because Mom told her that I was angry last year when she was over an hour late. (I WAS peeved, but mainly because Dad needed to get home & get some sleep before having to work. That's why we have dinner so early, in the first place. And she'd left his house -where she was living at the time- BEFORE Dad. On top of that, she wasn't answering her cell phone, so we had no idea what had happened to her.) So, this year she decided to show up VERY early & DD got to "enjoy" the company of her darling little cousin for quite a while longer than we'd thought.
Dad showed up at about 12:30 (I DID jump on the pc for about 20 minutes between 11 and noon, just to check my emails), and I was already starting to get frantic about the rate at which I was getting the side dishes ready. Now, Dad brought the Green bean casserole, so I didn't have to make that, but it also wasn't quite hot through yet, so it had to go in. The turkey came out at 12:30, went back in at about 1 as the Inlaws got here with Older Nephew (4-1/2 years) in tow.
Kids headed to DD's room to play, and Niece & Nephew (who'd never met prior to yesterday) actually got along fairly well. Niece seems to get an inordinate amount of joy out of pestering & hurting DD, though. At one point DD came out & said Niece stuck her tongue out at DD. I asked her if that in any way harmed DD or DD's property, she said no, I sent her back to play with directions NOT to be a whiny tattle-tale. DD came out later saying Niece had hit her, and baby sis decides she's going to use the same tactic (as I was in the kitchen working on dinner) and ask DD if Niece in any way hurt DD or DD's property. DD said yes, it hurt to get hit. To which Sis said "Oh, she's HALF your size, how could SHE hurt YOU?!?!" DD went back, without recourse (DH & Dad were also in the kitchen helping me, and MIL & FIL were keeping quiet unless Nephew (their responsibility) was involved. Niece got off without even a scolding for that one.
So, dinner was finally done & set out to serve @ about 1:40. All kids & women in the kitchen around our tiny, six-seat table (technically seats six, really seats 4 comfortably & six with little room to spare). Dad, FIL & DH were seated in the livingroom with TV trays. Didn't have any of the meal items ON the table, all were arrayed around the kitchen counters & on the stove-top, with rolls left in the now-off oven. Next house we buy WILL have enough room for a larger table & a side board! *wink*
So, finished dinner & stood/sat (only have 5 seats in our house, 1 computer chair that was pulled to living room, 3 couch seats, 1 rocking chair) around watching hunting shows. (Dad, FIL & DH enjoy these, and as a rule, WHO controls the remote control??? It wasn't me!) There was this show with enourmous log lodges that came on. We all (adults) sat/stood around commenting on the size & luxury of these. (Guys were Ooohing, MIL & I were commenting on how sucky it'd be to clean one of them, and Sis was bragging about how HER custom-built-house that her fiancee is going to build her -in her wildest dreams!- is going to be about "that size but not look like a log cabin!").
DD came out & said that niece was hiding in the closet (so THAT'S what that thumping sound was!) & wouldn't come out. Our closets are too tiny & have too much stuff in them for children to be playing in, so I went to the door & told Niece to come out (with hotwheels cars all over the floor, I wasn't going IN unless I had to). Saw Niece peaking out at me, so I went back to watching the log-houses show. Minutes later DD comes out again & says that Niece STILL won't come out of the closet & NOW she'd kicked DD when DD tried to pull her out. I DID go in, this time, and told DD right off that she needs to have a GROWN UP do the removing of cousins from closets, from now on. Then I found Niece almost stuffing herself under the bed in an attempt to hide. So, I told her that not only are we NOT allowed to play in the closets in our house (a second time, saying this to her) but that since she's kicked DD, she needs to either apologise or go sit on her Mama's lap. She refused, I reiterated & made her stand in front of DD (Nephew was -ironically- politely ignoring the going on's and playing with the cars). When she refused, a third time, to apologise to DD for kicking her, I picked her 30 pound self up, and took her out to sit on her mama's lap. My Sis didn't look all that pleased to be interupted from playing with her nintendo hand-held, but DID coax Niece to apologise.
The next time Niece did something (I'd sat down in the kitchen to read, by this time), I let DH take care of it. Niece is so timid around him (he's six foot tall & built like a line backer, she's esp. intimidated because she KNOWS he's not wrapped around her little finger) that his standing at the door & telling her to knock it off (while Sis pointedly avoided doing anything to chastise her own daughter) sufficed to stop Niece's actions. After which, Sis decided that she'd had enough, and started her car to leave. That was about 4 pm. YEAH!!!!!! Dad left about a half hour later. DD then called her best friend to see if she could go over & play (BF lives right around the corner, then left herself.)
The inlaws stuck around till about 5:30 before they decided they were ready to leave. Nephew was fairly well behaved, except for the fact that he couldn't seem to calm down & he kept chasing the dogs & niece (when she was here) around the house despite repeated directions to STOP running (wouldn't normally be an issue, except for how packed our house was at the moment). Got to the point that all adults would put their feet up to stop the running, as the children tried to run past. Even your most agile 4 year old can't dodge that many adult sized legs in that small a living room. *wink* Oh, and all Nephew ate (Niece at very well, actually) was his mashed potatoes, 2 rolls, and a piece of cake. Can we say "Carb overload"?!?!?! Sis helped herself to 1/4 of the remainder of my honey for her turkey and crap-loads of ranch dressing & bacon bits for her potatoes. She loads SOOOOO much butter, ranch & bacon bits onto ANY form of potato she has that it really can't be considered potato any more. It's more like ranch & bacon thickened with potato starch. I was smart, though, and put about 1 cup of bacon bits into a small jar (only partly full) and hid the huge thing of bacon bits, so that when I DID see Sis with the jar, I could comment that this was all we had, so please go sparingly. (Ok, so I lied, but I don't belive in waltzing into somebody's house & making rude demands & using up all their supplies. As it was, she used up about 1/4 of what honey I REALLY DID have left -I use it in tea, and mixed with ACV when DD is sick or I feel I might be getting sick- then got gripey that it was partially crystalized & she had to microwave it to get it runny.)
After that.... DH & I sat around watching TV all evening. DD got to spend the night over at her BF's house (their parents hosted THEIR TG party this year, and have a huge family, have a "the more the merrier" point of view, and a LOT bigger house than we do). Finally, after watching ER with DH, we both headed to bed. I'd planned to sleep till 10, but Dad got me up at 9:15. DH was up at 4 so that he could be at the big W. in time for their 5 to 11 morning-after-TG sale. FIL had conscripted DH to pick up MIL's & DD's Christmas presents as well as a new computer (a FIRST computer) for MIL & FIL.
DH winded up at GameStop, purchasing a new (Gently used, New to DD) Nintendo DS-some-thing-or-other & 2 games as DD's primary Christmas present. Need to find a couple more things (I'm thinking a couple of books and a bathrobe) for her, and a hand-full of stocking stuffers. Dh is of the opinion that the Nintendo thing cost enough ($119, on sale, and gently used) that DD doesn't need anything more. I tend to follow the rule "Something you want (nintendo thingy), something you need (a bathrobe), something to wear (bathrobe also fits this rule), and something to read (a book or 2). That way we don't go overboard & DD doesn't get so much that she can't appreciate it. And in our house, Santa only fills the stockings. I've already got her a few of those rubber slogan bracelets (a six pack from www.thehungersite.com, one from each of the 6 charity sites there). I'm thinking a cd or two (Kelly Pickler?), maybe a thing of nail polish, lip gloss..... We don't overdo Christmas here like my parents used to. (Sorry Mom!) In DH's family they only ever got 1 or two gifts each. In my family there were so many gifts (ok, so there were pkgs of socks & new PJ's, but mostly just "stuff") that we never could remember what we'd gotten. (Though, Mom & Dad only ever gave us 1 BIG gift a year.) We figure 3 or 4 for DD, and 1 or two each for DH & I (DH gets one from me & one from DD, I get one from DH & one from DD) is plenty. And DD's got her stocking that Santa fills. That's plenty. (Though, it IS always funny -when I take DD for her Santa pictures- to see "Santa" look shocked when DD asks him for small things like hotwheels cars & lip gloss. No way to explain to him in advance that in OUR house Santa only fills the stocking.)
********************************************
Well, let's see...... Other than that, did you know that Harry Potter & The Order of the Pheonix will be out July 13, 2007? Yep. Here's a link:http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&id=1808475612&cf=info with pictures (AWESOME!), a trailer (FUN!) and lots of other info. I was hoping it'd be out at Christmas, like most of the past movies have been. What a bummer that we've got to wait till next summer to see it!!!! Here I was thinking I had something to look forward to in the upcoming month!!!! (Christmas tends to be a bit of a let-down for me. So much anticipation, ending in such an anticlimactic day.) Ahhh well..... One more reason to look forward to summer (other than the fact that winter in Alaska is freaking cold!). I guess in July, when the weather is either miserably hot or raining, I can anticipate sitting in a cool theater watching a kick-ass movie. *grin* Yep, there's something to anticipate.
Ok, sorry that I don't have any pictures of yesterday's supper to share. I've got the carcass on the stove, simmering away to make stock, so when I've got the turkey veggie soup made, I'll try to remember to take a pic of that to share here.
Have a Blessed Day!
I was responsible (by my choice) for the majority of the dinner. This is the last year that my dad & baby sis are going to be in town (if everything goes as planned), and while I DO gripe about them both rather frequently, it does also mean the last Thanksgiving with any of my family (as Mom & middle sis are both living in different states already). So, for the past several years (I think this made year 6), we've had thanksgiving dinner at my house, so my family & the inlaws could come over. Christmas has always been spent at the inlaws, with just a short (1 to 2 hour) stop in at Dad's house. But this way DH could see his parents & I could see my family. Won't be the case next year.
So, anyway.... I was up till after 1 am Wed. night cleaning house, then was back up at 7 am yesterday morning to get the turkey in the oven in time (it was a 23 pounder, we ALWAYS do big turkeys). Dinner was set for 1 pm (didn't get finished till 1:30, though). After getting the turkey in, because it REALLY was too early to start anything else (and the Pumpkin Gooey Butter cake was already made), I sat down & watched some TV for an hour. Finished cleaning house then started on more dinner preparations. Baby Sis & niece got here at noon (on the dot!), because Mom told her that I was angry last year when she was over an hour late. (I WAS peeved, but mainly because Dad needed to get home & get some sleep before having to work. That's why we have dinner so early, in the first place. And she'd left his house -where she was living at the time- BEFORE Dad. On top of that, she wasn't answering her cell phone, so we had no idea what had happened to her.) So, this year she decided to show up VERY early & DD got to "enjoy" the company of her darling little cousin for quite a while longer than we'd thought.
Dad showed up at about 12:30 (I DID jump on the pc for about 20 minutes between 11 and noon, just to check my emails), and I was already starting to get frantic about the rate at which I was getting the side dishes ready. Now, Dad brought the Green bean casserole, so I didn't have to make that, but it also wasn't quite hot through yet, so it had to go in. The turkey came out at 12:30, went back in at about 1 as the Inlaws got here with Older Nephew (4-1/2 years) in tow.
Kids headed to DD's room to play, and Niece & Nephew (who'd never met prior to yesterday) actually got along fairly well. Niece seems to get an inordinate amount of joy out of pestering & hurting DD, though. At one point DD came out & said Niece stuck her tongue out at DD. I asked her if that in any way harmed DD or DD's property, she said no, I sent her back to play with directions NOT to be a whiny tattle-tale. DD came out later saying Niece had hit her, and baby sis decides she's going to use the same tactic (as I was in the kitchen working on dinner) and ask DD if Niece in any way hurt DD or DD's property. DD said yes, it hurt to get hit. To which Sis said "Oh, she's HALF your size, how could SHE hurt YOU?!?!" DD went back, without recourse (DH & Dad were also in the kitchen helping me, and MIL & FIL were keeping quiet unless Nephew (their responsibility) was involved. Niece got off without even a scolding for that one.
So, dinner was finally done & set out to serve @ about 1:40. All kids & women in the kitchen around our tiny, six-seat table (technically seats six, really seats 4 comfortably & six with little room to spare). Dad, FIL & DH were seated in the livingroom with TV trays. Didn't have any of the meal items ON the table, all were arrayed around the kitchen counters & on the stove-top, with rolls left in the now-off oven. Next house we buy WILL have enough room for a larger table & a side board! *wink*
So, finished dinner & stood/sat (only have 5 seats in our house, 1 computer chair that was pulled to living room, 3 couch seats, 1 rocking chair) around watching hunting shows. (Dad, FIL & DH enjoy these, and as a rule, WHO controls the remote control??? It wasn't me!) There was this show with enourmous log lodges that came on. We all (adults) sat/stood around commenting on the size & luxury of these. (Guys were Ooohing, MIL & I were commenting on how sucky it'd be to clean one of them, and Sis was bragging about how HER custom-built-house that her fiancee is going to build her -in her wildest dreams!- is going to be about "that size but not look like a log cabin!").
DD came out & said that niece was hiding in the closet (so THAT'S what that thumping sound was!) & wouldn't come out. Our closets are too tiny & have too much stuff in them for children to be playing in, so I went to the door & told Niece to come out (with hotwheels cars all over the floor, I wasn't going IN unless I had to). Saw Niece peaking out at me, so I went back to watching the log-houses show. Minutes later DD comes out again & says that Niece STILL won't come out of the closet & NOW she'd kicked DD when DD tried to pull her out. I DID go in, this time, and told DD right off that she needs to have a GROWN UP do the removing of cousins from closets, from now on. Then I found Niece almost stuffing herself under the bed in an attempt to hide. So, I told her that not only are we NOT allowed to play in the closets in our house (a second time, saying this to her) but that since she's kicked DD, she needs to either apologise or go sit on her Mama's lap. She refused, I reiterated & made her stand in front of DD (Nephew was -ironically- politely ignoring the going on's and playing with the cars). When she refused, a third time, to apologise to DD for kicking her, I picked her 30 pound self up, and took her out to sit on her mama's lap. My Sis didn't look all that pleased to be interupted from playing with her nintendo hand-held, but DID coax Niece to apologise.
The next time Niece did something (I'd sat down in the kitchen to read, by this time), I let DH take care of it. Niece is so timid around him (he's six foot tall & built like a line backer, she's esp. intimidated because she KNOWS he's not wrapped around her little finger) that his standing at the door & telling her to knock it off (while Sis pointedly avoided doing anything to chastise her own daughter) sufficed to stop Niece's actions. After which, Sis decided that she'd had enough, and started her car to leave. That was about 4 pm. YEAH!!!!!! Dad left about a half hour later. DD then called her best friend to see if she could go over & play (BF lives right around the corner, then left herself.)
The inlaws stuck around till about 5:30 before they decided they were ready to leave. Nephew was fairly well behaved, except for the fact that he couldn't seem to calm down & he kept chasing the dogs & niece (when she was here) around the house despite repeated directions to STOP running (wouldn't normally be an issue, except for how packed our house was at the moment). Got to the point that all adults would put their feet up to stop the running, as the children tried to run past. Even your most agile 4 year old can't dodge that many adult sized legs in that small a living room. *wink* Oh, and all Nephew ate (Niece at very well, actually) was his mashed potatoes, 2 rolls, and a piece of cake. Can we say "Carb overload"?!?!?! Sis helped herself to 1/4 of the remainder of my honey for her turkey and crap-loads of ranch dressing & bacon bits for her potatoes. She loads SOOOOO much butter, ranch & bacon bits onto ANY form of potato she has that it really can't be considered potato any more. It's more like ranch & bacon thickened with potato starch. I was smart, though, and put about 1 cup of bacon bits into a small jar (only partly full) and hid the huge thing of bacon bits, so that when I DID see Sis with the jar, I could comment that this was all we had, so please go sparingly. (Ok, so I lied, but I don't belive in waltzing into somebody's house & making rude demands & using up all their supplies. As it was, she used up about 1/4 of what honey I REALLY DID have left -I use it in tea, and mixed with ACV when DD is sick or I feel I might be getting sick- then got gripey that it was partially crystalized & she had to microwave it to get it runny.)
After that.... DH & I sat around watching TV all evening. DD got to spend the night over at her BF's house (their parents hosted THEIR TG party this year, and have a huge family, have a "the more the merrier" point of view, and a LOT bigger house than we do). Finally, after watching ER with DH, we both headed to bed. I'd planned to sleep till 10, but Dad got me up at 9:15. DH was up at 4 so that he could be at the big W. in time for their 5 to 11 morning-after-TG sale. FIL had conscripted DH to pick up MIL's & DD's Christmas presents as well as a new computer (a FIRST computer) for MIL & FIL.
DH winded up at GameStop, purchasing a new (Gently used, New to DD) Nintendo DS-some-thing-or-other & 2 games as DD's primary Christmas present. Need to find a couple more things (I'm thinking a couple of books and a bathrobe) for her, and a hand-full of stocking stuffers. Dh is of the opinion that the Nintendo thing cost enough ($119, on sale, and gently used) that DD doesn't need anything more. I tend to follow the rule "Something you want (nintendo thingy), something you need (a bathrobe), something to wear (bathrobe also fits this rule), and something to read (a book or 2). That way we don't go overboard & DD doesn't get so much that she can't appreciate it. And in our house, Santa only fills the stockings. I've already got her a few of those rubber slogan bracelets (a six pack from www.thehungersite.com, one from each of the 6 charity sites there). I'm thinking a cd or two (Kelly Pickler?), maybe a thing of nail polish, lip gloss..... We don't overdo Christmas here like my parents used to. (Sorry Mom!) In DH's family they only ever got 1 or two gifts each. In my family there were so many gifts (ok, so there were pkgs of socks & new PJ's, but mostly just "stuff") that we never could remember what we'd gotten. (Though, Mom & Dad only ever gave us 1 BIG gift a year.) We figure 3 or 4 for DD, and 1 or two each for DH & I (DH gets one from me & one from DD, I get one from DH & one from DD) is plenty. And DD's got her stocking that Santa fills. That's plenty. (Though, it IS always funny -when I take DD for her Santa pictures- to see "Santa" look shocked when DD asks him for small things like hotwheels cars & lip gloss. No way to explain to him in advance that in OUR house Santa only fills the stocking.)
********************************************
Well, let's see...... Other than that, did you know that Harry Potter & The Order of the Pheonix will be out July 13, 2007? Yep. Here's a link:http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&id=1808475612&cf=info with pictures (AWESOME!), a trailer (FUN!) and lots of other info. I was hoping it'd be out at Christmas, like most of the past movies have been. What a bummer that we've got to wait till next summer to see it!!!! Here I was thinking I had something to look forward to in the upcoming month!!!! (Christmas tends to be a bit of a let-down for me. So much anticipation, ending in such an anticlimactic day.) Ahhh well..... One more reason to look forward to summer (other than the fact that winter in Alaska is freaking cold!). I guess in July, when the weather is either miserably hot or raining, I can anticipate sitting in a cool theater watching a kick-ass movie. *grin* Yep, there's something to anticipate.
Ok, sorry that I don't have any pictures of yesterday's supper to share. I've got the carcass on the stove, simmering away to make stock, so when I've got the turkey veggie soup made, I'll try to remember to take a pic of that to share here.
Have a Blessed Day!
Thursday, November 23, 2006
A VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Wishing you all a great Thanksgiving with Friends & Family. May your turkey be moist, may your mashed potatoes be creamy, may your pies taste perfect, and may all your blessings be counted!
Pictures to come tomorrow.
Have a Blessed Day!
Pictures to come tomorrow.
Have a Blessed Day!
Saturday, November 18, 2006
More Sweet Puppy pics....
Actually took these a couple of days ago, but forgot that they were there on my digital cam. So, had to share, finally. Poor Puck will put up with wearing the rabbit ears (DD's had them since she was about 2), but only for a few minutes, and I had to coax him into letting me take a pic. Jenny hates, hates, hates these things, and it took several tries to even get a pic of her in the split second she'd leave these on, before shaking them violently off her head. *wink* Ahhh, but they're just too cute NOT to share!
Now, off to clean house. I've fortunately got Wed. & Thursday off for Thanksgiving (as well as my usual Friday & Saturday weekend), so any last minute, freakazoidal cleaning can hopefully be done on Wednesday. I've got Dad & baby sis & niece coming over, and FIL, MIL and older nephew. It'll be the first time that my niece (from MY side of the family) and my older nephew (from DH's side of the family) have ever met each other. There's only about 5 months seperating the two, Nephew being the older. It'll be interesting (to say the least) to see how they interact. MIL did say that Nephew has been asking frequently lately when he'll see DD. Turns out he misses her immensely. And at this point, he is DD's favorite cousin. He's not badly behaved with he's with MIL & FIL (though when SIL is around, he's a little terror), and he's finally old enough that he & DD have fun playing together. Fortunately SIL & younger nephew (sweet, but 2, and poorly supervised, generally) will NOT be coming over. But, still, MIL will be here which means my house (the visible to guests parts) must be spotless!!!! *wry smile*
Have a Blessed Day!
Thursday, November 16, 2006
If I could do ANYTHING????
I snagged this from Steph (http://mygreendream.blogsome.com ). She asked: if money, ecology, time, and pride were no consideration, what would I do???
I would....
....have a degree in Archaeology, and be on some fascinating hunt for human herstory
....would be able to Irish Step dance
....be a Reference Librarian (Someday!!!! This one IS achievable.)
....speak Gaelic, French and German fluently, and be able to read Egyptian hiroglyphs (sp??)
....share my home with (almost put "own") a cat
....Travel the world (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, France, Toledo Spain, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Egypt, India, Thailand, many others, and many places here in the States.....)
I, too, feel like this is an awfully short list. Have all my dreams disappeared??? It seems that I had more, when I was in middle & high school.
I DO speak minimal German & French, but also get them frequently mixed up, which doesn't help matters.
I can't dance to save my life.
With a child & a husband and a job that I DO love, the chances of ever having that degree in Archaeology, and going on fascinating digs, is very slim.
Someday I WILL be a reference librarian, but for now that dream is put on hold while all my time is put into my job (as a library page) and my daughter's dreams (playing hockey in the Olympics).
With my husband's allergies to cats, that dream is unachievable as well.
As for the traveling, I WILL travel some day. DH keeps telling me that I will never be able to afford it. I tell him that come hell or high water, I WILL travel some day and he can darn well stop shooting that dream down!!! And first on my list IS Ireland. Has always been Ireland, and probably WILL always be Ireland.
So, if you had NOTHING holding you back, what would you do?
Have a Blessed Day!
I would....
....have a degree in Archaeology, and be on some fascinating hunt for human herstory
....would be able to Irish Step dance
....be a Reference Librarian (Someday!!!! This one IS achievable.)
....speak Gaelic, French and German fluently, and be able to read Egyptian hiroglyphs (sp??)
....share my home with (almost put "own") a cat
....Travel the world (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, France, Toledo Spain, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Egypt, India, Thailand, many others, and many places here in the States.....)
I, too, feel like this is an awfully short list. Have all my dreams disappeared??? It seems that I had more, when I was in middle & high school.
I DO speak minimal German & French, but also get them frequently mixed up, which doesn't help matters.
I can't dance to save my life.
With a child & a husband and a job that I DO love, the chances of ever having that degree in Archaeology, and going on fascinating digs, is very slim.
Someday I WILL be a reference librarian, but for now that dream is put on hold while all my time is put into my job (as a library page) and my daughter's dreams (playing hockey in the Olympics).
With my husband's allergies to cats, that dream is unachievable as well.
As for the traveling, I WILL travel some day. DH keeps telling me that I will never be able to afford it. I tell him that come hell or high water, I WILL travel some day and he can darn well stop shooting that dream down!!! And first on my list IS Ireland. Has always been Ireland, and probably WILL always be Ireland.
So, if you had NOTHING holding you back, what would you do?
Have a Blessed Day!
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Lazy dogs.....
Just sitting here, reading through email & browsing the web, and I turned around & see my two mutts laying there behind me, asleep. They both opened their eyes, of course, when they saw the flash, but it was still kinda funny. DH & DD have gone off to watch a hockey game & left me here, home alone, with my mutts, for a quiet night. Ahhhh bliss. Going to get off & do a bit of crocheting, pop in a movie, have a couple more hours of peace to myself.
Oh, and DD's team WON their game today. The final score was 6 to 3, one of our team-members had a hat trick (one person making 3 goals in one game) plus 1!!!!! It was awesome, and all of us proud hockey moms wound up with sore throats from yelling & hooting & screaming encouragement to our daughters. It was fun!!!! And it was a fun game, all in all. A well played game. No penalties. No crying as the kids (ours or theirs) came off ice. They were pretty evenly matched, except for this one little girl (the one with the hat trick) who's one seriously tiny power-house. I mean, the girl is 8 years old, tiny, fast, great with the puck handling. Yep, we were some pretty proud mamas. And it was rather funny, listening to them troop into the locker room, about 4 or 5 of them halp-hazardly singing "We Are The Champions", missing words & out of sync & out of tune, but funny!!!!
Anyway, just had to share a pic of the pups (and please pardon the mess, this is our computer/"storage" room, the catch-all area of our house), and post a quick note about how DD's latest game went.
Have a Blessed Day!
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
It has started.....
Four months ago, yesterday, to the day, I went off my Depo Provera (birth control). And, exactly 4 months to the day, I got my first period. Wow!!!! I'd forgotten how unpleasant those can be. And it was a short (the entire thing in one day!) period, for that matter, and a mild one. Bled only the tiniest amount, had a nasty little back-ache, a bit of queasy-ness, and a LOT of pissy-ness (bone-head patrons at work didn't help that!). But, by the time I went to bed, it was over. I'm guessing I won't be quite so lucky next time. *wry smile* Whenever that next time rolls around. The Dr. told me, prior to having my surgery, that it could take about a year for my body to get back to a normal cycle. (Back??? I don't know that I EVER had a normal cycle!!!) So, for now that means carry-ing a bag-ful of supplies with me to work, every day! I do have one friend who was on the same kind of birth control (for only 6 months, at that) and took a few years to get back to a "normal" cycle, and says now she's got 2 days a month of misery, and it's over till the next month. Not an EASY cycle, but a short "normal" cycle. I think I could handle that. I hope that's the route my body decides to go. Until my cycle reaches "normal", I'll be taking herbal suppliments to encourage my body to a healthy rhythm, drinking herbal "women's health" tea (nasty flavor!). Because I really, really don't like the thought of a year-long PMS-fest. And neither does DH. When he found out that this could take a year or so, he asked FIL (mostly jokingly) if he could move back in. FIL's response was that MIL is going through menopause right now, so maybe the two of them should just take the truck & camper & not come back (mostly seriously!).
I told DH that I'll try to give him plenty of warning and will do my best to not lay into him & DD, but that it would not be a bad idea if he took that warning seriously & gave me plenty of room, help & chocolate, when the warning has been issued. *wink*
Have a Blessed Day!
I told DH that I'll try to give him plenty of warning and will do my best to not lay into him & DD, but that it would not be a bad idea if he took that warning seriously & gave me plenty of room, help & chocolate, when the warning has been issued. *wink*
Have a Blessed Day!
Friday, November 03, 2006
So, here are some recent pictures. The first two are the lot directly across from my house. Only, really, it's only about a 3/4 lot. Used to be a little pump shack sitting on top of a little, man-made hill, smack-dab in the middle of that lot, that served the neighbourhood water supply. When the roads were re-done last summer, a new shack was built at the top of the street, this shack was abandoned, then removed, the hill demolished & now the family who owns that land has decided they're going to plop a full-sized house smack in the middle of what used to be a nicely wooded (even if it was only willows) little lot. The last of the trees in the neighbourhood. Or, the last of the "unplanned" trees, anyway. Except for our next-door neighbour, who's been in his house for over 20 years and has a couple of huge birch, a few choke-cherries, and some willow & cottonwood in the back yard, the rest of the trees throughout the neighbourhood are scrawny, transplanted little birch that just can't dig through the hard-packed ground well enough to really spread & grow. And even those birch that do produce nice canopies are short, multi-trunked things that never get any real height. Even our little gangly birch, transplanted last year, is still a scrawny little guy that doesn't look like he'll ever "flesh out". So, here I have been, watching this lot get razed, then dug out, over the last 3 days. And it pisses me off, and it makes me sad. The houses in this neighbourhood are all packed in like sardines. Our next-door-neighbour (the one who's lived there for 20+) and a neighbour across from him, have triple & quadruple sized lots, but because they bought 3 (and in J's case, 4) lots before the rest of the lots were developed. Even if my husband and I DID want to purchase another lot, adjacent to ours, there aren't any. The two neighbours directly across from me COULD have bought this spare little lot & divided it down the middle, and each had a larger lot themselves, for extra space, but they didn't.
But, it just irks me that these folks who own this property can't see how homely, how unattractive this neighbourhood is, with no attention paid to landscaping, with no attention paid to house placement. That each house literally sits feet away from it's neighbour..... Between my house & my next neighbour over (not the one with the 4 lots to his property), there are maybe 12 feet. TWELVE FEET!!!! That's 3 feet off the side of my house, and another 9 for her vehical, then her house. I hate, hate, HATE being packed in here like sardines. I WISH we could afford to purchase a new house. Not even a larger house necessarily, but one with a bigger lot. (Well, with 1170 sq ft, 1400 or 1500 sq ft would be great! And I really don't want to have to clean something much bigger than THAT. Though there was this beautiful little 1800 sq ft log cabin we looked at that had THE MOST INCREDIBLE custom wood & counters & a wood-stove with a slate surround.....)
Anyway, had to gripe a little bit, show the damage done to those trees. Mourn a little bit for their loss.
The other picture is obviously, my daughter. All dressed up as a vampire for Halloween. She did have some black lip-stick that got smudged all over her face (actually, as much as I hate to admit it, that was black lipstick left over from my "goth" days in HS). And black nail polish. That wig is hilarious (and a disaster). The hubby tried it on, but I didn't get to the camera in time to snap a pic of him. I'm trying to talk him into letting me take a pic so we can give it to his mom for her photo albums. He's not falling for that reasoning. He knows I wanna show it to my friends. He looked like he belonged in an 80's hair-band, with the wild, black & maroon hair, and his very prominant nose. It was adorable. And DD looked adorable (when she looked fresher, instead of at the end of a long night, when this pic was taken).
Ok, there ya are. Some new pics.
Have a Blessed Day!
A Question for your more experienced bloggers....
I have been looking all over on my little "dashboard" on this thing, and I can't, for the life of me, figure out how to list my favorite blogs on the right side of my screen. I see other people do it, so I know it's possible.... But HOW???? HELP!!!!! *grin*
Will get back tomorrow, hopefully, with pictures from this past week.
Have a Blessed.... Um, Night. (it's 6:33 pm already!)
Will get back tomorrow, hopefully, with pictures from this past week.
Have a Blessed.... Um, Night. (it's 6:33 pm already!)
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