Ken's turning 40 this spring..guess where we are going!!

Early gifts

(written by Annie)

A few days ago, I came home to Mom looking all excited. That was unusual. She said that she had something for me, so I sat by her. She took out a bag that had a cute little piece of ribbon on it. For a second, I struggled with with the ribbon, then resolved to just opening it through the side without the ribbon. Much easier. I pulled out a long, crocheted shawl. It was a dark, royal purple. I loved it and modeled it for Mom. (As shown at the bottom.) In my opinion, that shawl made me look really good in the picture, not me by myself. I love it soooooo much and I have it in my room. I even wore it to Dad's Vestas Christmas party. We got a printed picture of me wearing it too. Thank you so much Elisa! That was really kind of you. :-) @nnie






I also got a beautiful shawl in black. They are so pretty and light as air. Thank you so much Elisa!! We are going to enjoy them very much. ~Tanya

Building Lego Vestas wind turbine

Ken got a really cool Lego set of the

Vestas wind turbine blade.

So today Ken, Wyatt and Annie sat down to work on it.

Wyatt is the Lego master so it was done way

before I thought it would be.

Annie was the photo-journalist for the project.

First, they worked on the Vestas truck.

Then the house/cafe/living quarters...I'm

really not sure what this is.

Then the tower and blades

It took them about 3 1/2 hours. The blades will

actually turn, using battery power (ironic,no?).

Pretty cool...

Ken already moved it downstairs to

grace his office.

another swap

Yesterday I got home from shopping with Rachel to

find my secret santa soiree swap waiting for me!

Amy sent me some great stuff!

Anytime I get hotchocolate, tea and a mug

it is a good day.

I also got a total of 4 mini chocolate cakes to

make in the microwave. These are great for

me to take to work since they keep and whenever

I need a warm chocolately snack they are easy to whip up.

Homemade cards are AWESOME. I love having a stash on hand

and these will go to good use.

She also sent a cookbook with recipes from Georgia and southern

plantations. I enjoy cookbooks from different regions and I don't

have any southern ones so this will be really interesting to me.

And last, but not least, I got 4 lotions all different scents. I love

having this size to stick in my purse and the one I have is

on it's last legs so these couldnt' have came at a better time.

Thank you Amy! I really appreciate all the time and thought

you put into my gifts....I will enjoy everything very much!

Secret Santa package!!

Please excuse my Cruddy photo of my

AWESOME

secret santa gifts!!

I tried to take a picture of the cute

silver tinsel that greeted me when I opened the

box but my camera batteries were dead.

Trust me, it was cute :)

I love penguins and this little guy is going to work with me tonight so I can have some

yummy hot chocolate! I so need this today..last I checked it was 7 degrees out!

And peppermint bark..need I say more? How did you know how much I love love love peppermint? I can't wait to break into this!

And for even more comfyness (is that a word? it should be)

A pashmina shawl in deep purple.

I had to practically wrestle this away from Annie when she felt how soft and cozy it is.

I will put it to good use...I will be taking it with me on Sunday to the movies cause I always freeze and this is just right to keep me cozy.

THANK YOU

secret santa

for brightening and warming up my day!!!

rest in peace November 2008

I am so glad that November is over!!
While I am thankful that my job usually allows me to work overtime if I need extra money, sometimes I volunteer a little too much.
That was the case these past few weeks.

But now I am back among the living.
Just in time for today's new snowfall.





































Chili cooking away in the crock-pot will be appreciated later.



The bad thing is I called in sick to work today. Really bad pains in my back and abdominal area. I just feel like crud and cannot get comfortable.

But ---instead of focusing on that ..here are two GOOD things that happened in November.
1) We finally took Annie to see Twilight. She was soooo excited and loved the movie. I thought they did a good job, but it mostly made me want to move to Washington state.
2) We got to see family including Tami's clan for a little while, aunts Ginny and Janet, mom's cousin Jay from Montana.

I am happy December is here. It's good to be back

A wittle wonesome...

Shopie has had the hit of lonesomeness. Today, we found evidence that she was depressed from not having a sqeaker toy (she pulled the fuzz out of the last one). So she brought in a hard, granite rock. I must say, that this relasionship isn't going to last long. She is literally addicted to it and asked me a billion times to retrive it for her when she dropped it down the crack of the couch.

I'd more say that she hit rock bottom if you'd ask me. But this just goes to show that I know what Sophie and Georgette need for Chrismas... TOYS!

Annie

red/aqua swap

I got my fabulous box from the red/aqua swap!
It was full of really cute things :)



I love the handmade cards. I never have time to make any myself so these are going to go to great use in the future.
There is also a bag of handmade tags(including one with a cupcake on it--so cute), a bracelet and earrings, a tiny jar of buttons (love 'em), a larger embellished house,a little heart ornament with a button and a length of tiny aqua garland to inspire me.


I didn't notice until just this second that there was 2 other little bowls~ 1 red and another blue one that didn't make it into the picture...but they are adorable and I love them!


We couldn't get a non-blurry picture of this so-cute birds nest with aqua blue eggs. But I love how smooth the eggs look; they just begged to be picked up and touched.

Everything was packaged in clear bags tied up in red & aqua ribbon--very nice.

I am going to put everything on my empty shelf on the back of my buffet. The colors will look perfect against the red wall.




A big big THANK YOU goes to Sara.
I loved opening my box and I really appreciate all the time I know went into it!!

date of the musical

Ok, everyone who wants to come to the musical to be held here ...the dates are January 6-9 in the evenings. There are not any dates during the weekend, unfortunately.
At the parents meeting they mentioned having the leads be interviewed by the local tv station, newspapers and radios. I hope Clay is up for it!
Just in December there will be a silent auction, a chili supper concert for a benefit for the local fire department, a concert at the elementary school's craft show, fundraisers and more I probably missed writing down.

It is windy and is supposed to rain/snow tonight. I used to love winter but for some reason I this year I am kind of dreading it. If it would just snow and be pretty I would like that but I am tired of the wind. I guess the good part is that it blows all the leaves in the corner of the back yard and we don't have to rake. In the front yard it blows them completely away.

Ken starts on-line college tomorrow. It should be interesting to see how they handle all of the logistics of homework, etc. It seems complicated to me with chat rooms and posting homework but hopefully he will get it all figured out. I am not of much help with it since I haven't investigated it at all.

presidental letter

In honor of election day I offer up a letter to the only president I know. I met her last night at the parent's meeting for the musical. I have to say that experiences like these only reinforce my strong desire to stay at home and not talk to people


Dear President of the arts lady,

Maybe if you would back up and see that when you are trying to run EVERYTHING no one wants to help your bossy little butt.
I'm just saying.
If you would just tell us what each job entails and then post a sign-up sheet people would not feel like you are trying to railroad them and embarrass them into volunteering RIGHT NOW.
I know that ONLY wanting to help with the props is not enough in your overachieving eyes, but it's all I can do.
Geez, it is a jr high school production--not the freeging Olympic opening ceremony.

Obviously a bad parent for not taking over the costuming of 60 kids,
Tanya

Here's hoping everyone's presidental experience today is more productive than mine was last night.

I am a stage mom...

Clay has big news..

He is going to be in the musical Bye Bye Birdie playing Conrad Birdie himself.

The musical is performed on an actual professional stage in Fort Collins for a run of 4 days in January. He will be in practice every day until 8:30 at night and doing stage construction on the weekends.


I am not sure of the days of the performance yet but tonight I am going to a parents meeting so I should get further answers.

halloween

I only got a picture of Annie in her costume.
She is Bella from the Twilight book series

The most expensive part of the costume was her fake apple.

She went trick or treating with a friend and had a good time.

Clay went to friends house early in the day and got back after I left for work so I didn't get a picture.

Hope everyone had a happy Halloween!

It's dark already?

20 handles done today.

I am glad to have them finished and ready to be

pinned onto the bag body.

The kids have today Thursday and Friday off.

The school says that it is for a teacher workday..

I think it is 'convenient' that it is on Halloween.

Can't say that I blame them

I need to go grocery shopping.

The kids are wandering around and whining.

But we can't go until Tuesday so I guess we will actually

have to cook something that needs more than 10 minutes.

Can't believe that it is dark already...

'falling back' this weekend won't really solve anything.

I will just have to work an extra hour

while everyone else gets to sleep an extra hour.

Need to plan that better next year

sew much to do

I have spent today getting ready for another

round of sewing bags.

We had an order from a lady in Florida who has ordered from us before. Plus I am working a trade with Elisa over at Yarn Tails and I need to get cracking on her bag.

Today was spent cutting up about 14 yards of fabric.

Part of that fabric I pinned into the handles to be sewn tomorrow.

I managed to get all 20 handles pinned tonight while watching Dirty Jobs and Dancing with the Stars.

Tomorrow the goal will be to get all the handles sewn before I have to go to work, or until I run out of thread..whichever comes first.

don't know what to say

I am sad and don't know what to do.

My oldest son (16) has been dating a girl for the past 3 years. Just recently, they broke up. I feel so bad for him and don't know how to make it better.

She was a big part of his life and the entire family liked her alot.

When I picked him up from youth group today he was so upset. She goes to the same youth group and there is a boy who has been in her life for quite awhile too. My son won't really tell me but I think that she is interested in the other boy and tonight my son had to see that for himself more than in the past. I wanted to say something to help him but all I could say was just to distance himself from her for now and to let time start to heal him. I know it is part of growing up but I still hate to see it.

I feel like a bad parent for letting him get attached to someone and for not knowing what to say. I hate seeing him in pain and frankly, I am tired of all the pain in the world. At my job I hear non-stop how people are hurting other people (emotionally and physically) and people in pain from medical problems or accidents. It gets old. It makes me want to lock my kids up and to be even more anti-social than I am already.

I am worried my son will withdraw and become depressed. I am going to encourage him to get involved in more activities but he is limited because of the small town we live in and his school is about a 45 minute round trip. He won't have his license until next spring and my husband and I don't have consistant, or very flexible, work schedules.

I guess I need to take my own advice and distance myself from making this too personal and let time heal him.

sweeping again

I decided to start doing sweepstakes again. I guess I think I need another hobby that takes time and money. But there is always a chance of a payoff and that is what I like about it. It's like gambling without vast quanties of money and without leaving the house. If I can not leave the house and be around large numbers of people I am a happy girl.

So, I signed up last night for Sweepsheet. I had received this sweepstakes newsletter before and like it because it is organized and easy to follow. I went to Walgreens and bought 3x5 cards and envelopes to get me started. I have won some cool stuff in the past-- a computer for us and DS's school, box seats at a Rockies baseball game, dinners out, money, games, perfume, makeup, a Columbia jacket, etc.







Then, I dreamed about what I want to win....



here are my top 3.

Vacation

Paris, please

Money

Large bills and lots of them

Wii

because if I get Wii fit

I will be thin and beautiful

Off to sleep now to dream some more.

musical aspirations

We bought DS#2 a drum set about a month ago. He has it parked in the basement right now-underneath my bedroom.
He has really wanted a set for awhile now, and although he just looks like he is in pain, I think that he likes this one. It is always weird to me to hear the kids playing instruments ( I have no talent)
He takes percussion at school and earned first chair in his band this year!

DD is also taking percussion, although in a different band than Clay.


She decided she also wanted to take piano lessons. Luckily, her music teacher from last year offers lessons in our small town so we don't have to drive too far.


Her first lesson was this afternoon and so far she loves it.

I told all the kids before they started Jr high that they had to pick and instrument and stick with it all the way thru high school.

Guess I lucked out that they all like music and play in their spare time.

Sweet sounds of success.

Capt'n

Last night DS#2, DD and I went shopping for Halloween costumes.
Annie is going to be Bella from the Twilight series books. DD had a definite idea about the look and we managed to pull it off. DS#2 wanted to be a Teletubby, but couldn't find a costume. 2nd choice was Captain Jack from the Pirates movies. Look later this month for pictures of the kids in the costumes.

But now, for your enjoyment, I introduce Captain DH



I laugh and I laugh.

Ps.... my peanut butter post seems to have died..I am not going to recreate it due to the gross factor. If you didn't see it, you don't want to know.

Literal video version

I was reading a magazine this weekend that mentioned a video on you-tube. It was a 'literal video version' of A-ha's music video Take on Me. The literal video version changes the song to match the actions in the video.
I watched the A-ha video and it was mildly amusing, so I decided to search for more.

and I found this





I laughed until I had tears in my eyes.

after a day at work

this is what I look like

I am going to bed

mail call!

I received my package from the swap I participated in recently. It was hosted by Katrina over at Sunshine and Lemonade.

I love love love getting things in the mail--except, of course, bills. But this was especially fun!
After ripping open the package (I didn't even take time to take a picture of it) these are the goodies that I found inside.
I did take time to put a picture of DS#1 I happened to have laying on the table into the frame. It's a perfect size and really cute--my picture makes it look more silver than it looks in real life.

The water bottle it is so cool..it has a flexible straw inside of it--no more dumping liquid all over myself from those impossible water bottles with just a hole in the top...LOVE IT! And even better..it is pink in support for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation...LOVE IT MORE!

The little slippers with the penguins on them? Uber cute! I am always complaining that my feet are cold and I adore penguins. I decorate with a lot of penguins at Christmas so this is a perfect match for me!

What can you say about gummy worms and the strawberry gum..except YUMMY.

The candles are spiced pumpkin and vanilla cupcake. You could just sit and inhale this, they smell so good. I will save these for a night I have at home to read with the fireplace on. Light one of these and it will be scented heaven.

And last, the magnet clip. I can never find a magnet to put my schedule on the fridge with so I have claimed this one forever. It is really important for us to have my schedule posted since my schedule is different week to week. And, bonus, the symbol on it is of the South Carolina state flag, where my swap partner was from, so I will always remember the swap!!

Thank you Amanda, for being my swap partner..I had alot of fun opening this great package from you!

SITS

Ok folks, if you are like me, you have been touring all over bloggy land and keep seeing or reading about "the secret is in the sauce"
I have been wondering what it is about--well I think I am finally figuring it out!
I am pretty new to blog land. I have only been posting consistantly for about the last 2 months. I must be a slow leaner too, because today I finally clicked on a link to SITS. and I was surprised! I thought before it was a cooking blog..then thought it was some kind of elite superblogger club. But now I am thinking it is something it could be a great resource for anyone! It is more of a "sistahood" than a sorority. And it seems that if you see one of their buttons on someones site, that they love getting comments and will check out your blog too.
Why did no one tell me about this before ??

I encourage you to go and check it out if you get a chance


a href="http://thesecretisinthesauce.blogspot.com/">

not sure why I can't get that button to post right..sorry about that

book update

I finished a couple books since my last book update.

I took a chance and read what I guess would be called a 'chick-lit' from a british author; although I believe that she lives in the states now.
The book is basically about a woman whose boyfriend dumped her just when she thought he was going to propose. A long time male friend decides to try to win our heroine over and comes up with the idea of having 26 dates, each starting with a different letter of the alphabet.
I liked the book even though it sometimes left me feeling like I didn't know what I was reading about. For instance, the letter A was Abseiling....what?? But, I did manage to figure out what it was from other hints in their conversation. I would recommend this book--it was just what I needed after my last depressing read.



Next up I decided on a bit of reality. I thought it was going to be dry from the cover, but it was interesting and I am glad I decided to read it.

no that is not a ghost, searchlight or a glare off the water, it is my cruddy flash, sorry

The author of this book decided to row around the eastern part of the US. Starting in New York, north to Lake Erie, south basically down the Mississippi, around Florida, and up to Maine. He talks a lot about the characters along the way and some of the past on the waterways he paddled.

By the way, today is what I refer to as "cr@ppy anniversary" so to all those who were there too...I am thinking of you today --who would have thought it was 6 years ago. I hate the 12th of October.

georgette and sophie are STARS

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com

last roses

My roses are finishing out the season in grand style.


Wyatt and I found a giant one.

I have 8 rose bushes on the south side of the house. This year they are over 5' tall. I can see them out my kitchen window and enjoy them; that is until I need to get out there and clean them up. Then they remind me of another chore I need to get done.

I will miss them this winter when they are replaced my a clearer view of my neighbor's house and the fence that needs restained. But for now, they are my favorite thing growing in the yard.

grocery shopping

I spent about 4 hours this past weekend organizing my coupons and getting ready for the big grocery shop that we do every other Tuesday.
We have a pretty good arrangement. I get the lists and coupons ready, and then Ken pays at each store because as we know, I hate talking to strangers. Plus I am embarrassed to use the coupons. It stems from being embarrassed of one of my grandmas when I was a teenager. She was tenacious in getting her discounts.
But I digress.
Anyway, Ken and I went shopping yesterday morning. We left just about every store feeling like we robbed the place.
We used to shop at 'the wallmat', feeling like we were saving soooo much money. We would spend around $200 (for 5 people) and would have just enough to get thru 2 weeks, maybe. And that was just for groceries, never household cleaning items or personal stuff.

Here are pictures of our haul. We also got 2 more 12 packs of pop not pictured here because Ken put them up before I told him that I needed pics :)




FREE items: 10 bags of vegetable steamers, the bouquet of flowers, 4 containers of yogurt,6 pairs of shoelaces.
Buy One Get One FREE: bread, ground beef, ham steaks, pork chops, salad,face cleaner pads.

Nearly FREE: Wisp flameless candles: was $12.99 got them for .99, tomato products:less than .20 per can.
We paid $198.50 for all this stuff. Plus I got a $30 certificate for Crocs shoes, and $9 in register receipt coupons for the next trip. We saved $255.49 off the shelf price. Total cost of items off the shelf is $453.99.

All in all, it does take time for me to be organized but we feel much better after grocery shopping this way. Ken is much less stressed out when we get back from a grocery shop, and I even get to buy a 'little something' for myself (lip glosses).

I heart my iPod

I bought an iPod..oh about 1 1/2 hrs ago. I barely remember Ken leaving for work. I think my sister called me, but it's kind of foggy.. If the house burnt down around me I might notice. But I doubt it.

I am in deep trouble.

I would tell you if you asked that I don't really listen to music. And normally I don't. But give me control over what I am listening to and suddenly I am addicted.

And I can watch videos AND tv AND books on tape AND podcasts AND more I probably don't know about yet! Plus my car has one of those handy plug-ins to plug it right in and NEVER have to listen to the radio again!! whoo hoo

I am so far behind the technology train that it is really sad, just ask my kids. But this, this I am loving!! Off to browse iTunes...now if I could just remember the name of that song I loved in 1989......

UPDATE

ok thanks to Tami, my back-up singer because CLEARLY I was the BEST singer EVER!!! I downloaded a-ha's song Take on Me. and on a side note the guys are still around Here is their website, although I didn't listen to anything newer they are at least still kickin'.

No talent talent show

On Friday night Clay and Annie participated in the 'No talent talent show'
It was a fundraiser for the choir and a musical they are putting on in the spring.

Clay and some friend did a 'talking Canadian' skit (no offense to Canadians, I totally blame myself for his infatuation with accents. He doesn't limit himself to just Canadian and he thinks accents are cool. He tells me continually that I should have had him in a different place than Colorado so he could have an accent too.)

Then later, Clay and Annie played a duet on the piano. Which was not what I was expecting considering neither one has had 1 minute of piano instruction. Clay has taught himself and showed Annie how to do her part on a song he made up. They did really well considering the lack of formal instruction.

Annie said that she was nervous and I think Clay was too since his cheeks were so flushed.

Next week we have choir, orchestra, and band concerts. It's that time of year again!