I'm FREEZING!!!

Our heater stopped working last night. Daddy had been able to get it working again the last two times it stopped last week, but last night it was just dead.

We went out today to see about having someone come out to look at it, and...they're off until after New Year's. So we get to freeze until next week. Yay.

We have a heater going, but we only have one. I think, though, Daddy is going to see if he can borrow one from his brother, if he has one. Times like these I miss the wood stove. lol

On a happier note, Anna had her first "real" basketball game tonight! Her team won, too! I'm not sure how many points she got, but she got at least two. She and Emma stayed with my mom to watch the other teams play, and Daddy and I went out on a date. ; )

Recap of the Weekend...If I Can Remember What We Did...

We stayed in Friday, then went to Wal-Mart to see what they had in their after-Christmas sale. I bought candles, cookies, chocolate-covered cherries, thin mints, and garland. Emma bought a case of make-up and a string of blue lights (I MUST have blue lights. They're just SO pretty!)

When we came back from there (after stopping by the hospital to see our next-door neighbour who had a stroke on Christmas Eve...she's doing better...) the girls and I went to my mom's for lunch and my sister came up with her kids, then my brother's kids came and it was pandemonium for the next few hours. : ) Good pandemonium, though. My kids and my sister's son tried to break into the hunting cabin in the woods above Mom's, but other than that...and the swimming in the drainage ditch....everything was nice. ; )

I got an itch while we were sitting around the kitchen table talking and got up and started cleaning the cabinets and re-arranging the kitchen. lol I guess I'm more like my mom than I suspected...she moves furniture ALL the time!

(A joke on me here...I'm more like Daddy's mother than I thought before, too. We were talking about men marrying women like their mothers and I said I didn't think I was at all like my MIL. Then when we opened Christmas presents Daddy asked if I hadn't gotten him something he knew I had, so I went off to look for it. I found it (unwrapped) and two more unwrapped gifts for each girl. I laughed SO hard, because that's exactly what Daddy's mother does every year. "Did you open XXX? Where IS that? Oh, it's still under my bed.....in my closet...in the bag from the store..." lol )

Yesterday the girls went out to eat with Mom after Church, then they went to her house to help her clean. Daddy and I went up to pick them up, and we all ended up playing Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader. (And we were! lol) It was so much fun we decided we should invite some friends and relatives and do it again sometime. I picked nuts from their shells and put them in the freezer, cleaned part of the refrigerator, and washed the dishes while we played. It was easier to think while I was working. ; ) I did great on the history/geography questions, not so hot on the science, and stank on the math ones. ; )

Christmas and the Day After

We opened a couple gifts Christmas morning...most we opened on Christmas Eve. Daddy got me the Love Dare book. I am looking forward to working through it with him.

We went to my grandmother's and to Daddy's mother's. We ate WAY too much food...but it was SO good! ; )

The girls were showered with lots of really cool gifts...and if I had thought of taking the camera, I'd be showing pictures.

Daddy's cousin bought them this , though....

and we had a good time last night scouting out constellations. We can now identify Orion with no problems! lol

Today we were planning on going out to the after-Christmas sales, but by the time everyone was ready to go my stomach started hurting and I thought it might be better to stay home and be sick. ; P

Maybe I'll feel better tomorrow and go out then. I *really* need whatever is on sale at Wal-Mart. lol

Merry Christmas!

I had hoped we could spend the whole day having fun playing board games and watching videos and eating the cookies I baked last night, but late last night Emma fed the cats the last of their food, so this morning I had to go out and brave the grocery stores to buy more. The cats appreciated it, though. ; )

The girls watched some Christmas videos earlier, but now they're all outside in the rain for some reason I can't fathom. lol I'd MUCH rather be snuggled up inside! : )

We're helping Daddy's mother with the food for tomorrow's dinner, so I'm spending the day in the kitchen again...I was in there last night until about 8:00 cooking supper and baking cookies.

Daddy let the girls open one present each today, because he wanted them to have it for Christmas...he got them each a digital camera. He's afraid they don't like them, because they haven't said much about them, but I think they do, and I think they will like them more as time goes on and they see how nice it is to have a camera *all your own*. : ) Kinda wish I had one. ; P

BRRRRR!

I know, some places were LOTS colder than this today, but still, for around here, it's pretty darn cold! lol My fingers were numb by the time I came in from feeding the rabbits and outside dogs.



Last night when we walked it was 19*, with a wind chill of -5*! The girls thought it was some of the most fun they'd ever had, walking when it was that cold. ; ) For once they did bundle up pretty well...I don't think either of them had socks on, but they both wore a jacket under their coat, and Emma even wore her hood for a little while! (Will wonders never cease.) ; )



They spent their Christmas money from their grandmothers on...food. lol They were going to have a picnic outside, but when they found out how cold it was, and how quickly the temperature was dropping they decided to have it inside. They had a nosey visitor who begged and stole. (I mean, besides me. lol)

Husband Meme

1. He’s sitting in front of the TV: what is on the screen? Stargate or whichever new movie he's rented.

2. You’re out to eat. What kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Ranch

3. What is one food he doesn’t like? Buttermilk comes to mind...it's hard to think of something he won't eat. lol

4. You go out to the bar. What does he order? He hasn't drank since his 21st birthday, and since I was 17, I didn't go with him; so I have no idea what he had.

5. Where did he go to high school? Same town in which we now live.

6. What size shoe does he wear? It's embarassing to admit, but I don't know. ; )

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? DVD's....or junk. lol

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Cajun Roast Beef with tomatoes, lettuce and swiss cheese.

9. What would the Husband eat every day if he could? Salads and sandwiches.

10. What is his favorite cereal? Honey Bunches of Almonds, although he will eat just about anything colorful like Fruity Pebbles, or crunchy like Captain Crunch, and he's not supposed to be eating cereal, since he's lactose intolorant, but he still does.

11. What would he never wear? Hairbows. lol

12. What is his favorite sports team? He doesn't watch sports. Thank goodness. ; )

13. Who is his best friend? Female, me...male, Nathan.

14. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do? Multi-tasking...especially while watching movies.

15. How many states has he lived in? 1...we live 50 feet from the house he grew up in.

16. What is his heritage? English, Irish...they will say American Indian (Souix), but I haven't been able to find proof of that.

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind? Probably a yellow cake with chocolate frosting....maybe chocolate on chocolate.

18. Did he play sports in high school? I think he played a little football, but he didn't play for long.

19. What could he spend hours doing? watching tv

Now if you decide to play along, please let me know so I can come and check it out. : )

Home

"Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in."Robert Lee Frost

Yesterday I needed to cook for the family reunion and today's Christmas party at mom's, so I went to my mom's house to do the cooking. I called my husband while the food was cooking, and he asked if I felt like an intruder, which was cool, because I had already been thinking about how nice it is that I can go into my mom's kitchen and start cooking exactly the same as if it were my own, even though it's been 14 years since I've lived there.

It reminded me of the quote above. My brother had that in his Literature course last year, and it's stuck in my head ever since. My mom has done an admirable job of making her children feel welcome again and again after they grew up and moved out and started their own families (never a "have to" sort of feeling there)...and I want that for my girls, too. I hope they always feel like our home is also their home, no matter how long they've been away.

12-20-08

Anna is having basketball practice again today. I'm trying to get a bit of breakfast finished before we have to go down there for that, and I need to feed the dogs and rabbits and juice some oranges and tangeringes, but here I am, blogging away about nothing. lol

Last night was DH's family reunion. There were fewer people than usual, and we *still* didn't talk to any of them. I told DH that after we've been together 15 years it looks like I'd know at least some of them....but then, he doesn't know them very well either, and he's been in their family for 36 years. We were trying to get his aunts matched up with his cousins, and he couldn't do it. He said we need to make a photo family tree. With help, of course. lol

Emma and Anna and one of their little cousins sang Jingle Bells for everyone, and we all played Bingo. I won a set of paring knives. I'm always needing more knives because Anna takes them outside and loses them. This summer we got down to one knife! I bought 4 at a thrift store last month, and now I have two more, so I'm good-to-go until next summer. ; )

I took chocolate cake, banana pudding and cornbread dressing as my offerings. I brought half the chocolate cake home, and deserted the cornbread dressing, but the banana pudding was all eaten. If there is one thing I do make well, it's banana pudding.

I posted the recipe for the chocolate cake on my new blog,Pawpaws for the Masses. I am LOVING my new blog...I just wish someone else would come and love it with me. I feel all alone. ; O)

My Husband Doesn't Listen to Me...

Today he said, "The carpet is wet over here."

I said, "The washer overflowed, and it hasn't dried up yet."

He said, "There's a wet towel lying here! I bet it got the carpet wet!"

Okay, then.

12-16-08

We went to the food bank to help this morning, and worked from 9-1. Both girls were exceptionally cute, Anna wore a Santa hat and stood by the Christmas tree with a bag of candy canes and a box of toys and gave them out, and Emma went this way and that, being as helpful as possible.

We came home to eat lunch, then went back out again (although it was VERY tempting to stay home) to the library, because they were having a community Christmas party, and we couldn't miss the wonderful food they always have. ; ) Not only are our librarians wonderful friendly people, they're also good cooks! lol A quick stop by the grocery store for some baking items(which I haven't exactly used yet) and finally I got to come home, get back in my pj's and lay on the couch for a little while....about five minutes, actually, because I thought I'd put a load of laundry in, then I made supper, then the laundry wanted to get out, then I made hot chocolate mix, then we walked Oscar (all these things were interspersed with bouts of computer, because I kept looking up recipes online...I printed out a stack of them, some to try *later*, some for now)

I made nachos bellgrande , or my version of it, because I keep forgetting the darn hamburger! You would think that would be kind of an integral part, wouldn't you? lol I made the refried beans, since I'm trying to cook more from scratch, and it couldn't be easier. I used this recipe. I did use canned beans, but I'm looking forward to starting with dry beans and working from there. I'm wanting to try making soup beans for supper one evening, then using the leftovers to make refried beans. I'll feel like SUCH a good homemaker when I do that. (Assuming everything goes as it *should*.) lol

I've been doing more things like that lately...like my hot chocolate mix. Emma LOVES hot chocolate, and I like my share, too. ; ) (Anna and Daddy can take it or leave it...mostly leave it.) I've bought two or three boxes of the little packets, but I like it home made better.

Hot Chocolate Mix

2 cups nonfat dry milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (this is what the recipe says, but I put in more like 3/4 cup)
a pinch of salt
Mix well.

(I also add a handful or two of chocolate chips...can't have too much chocolate!)

Add 1/4 cup mix to 1 cup hot water, stir, add marshmallows and enjoy!

I pour everything into a gallon-sized freezer bag and shake it to mix everything, then drop a 1/4 measuring cup in and seal the whole thing in another gallon-sized freezer bag (because the first one always gets a hole in it.)

12-15-08

Both girls (usually only Emma) went out with Daddy's mother today, so Daddy and I were left to our own devices. ; )

He read about a digital art show, and wanted to go see it, so we went over there, then to a couple libraries and the grocery store, took a nice drive out into the country (the SHEEP! So many!), and also looked for a store we never found. All in all, we considered it a nice day. : ) (You KNOW you're old when a *date* includes stopping by the grocery store. lol)

He rented movies...he and Anna are watching Prince Caspian right now. And Emma has just come home from her Grandma's. Anna came home almost as we did, because she doesn't like to be away from us for long.

I've washed laundry, made some christmas candy sorts of things, and I'm contemplating cookies right now........it is after 7, though...maybe cookies should wait. For when, I'm not sure, because we're going to the food bank tomorrow to help out. Maybe cookies should be now. ; )

Basketball, First Practice

Anna started basketball today. They're the *cutest* group of kids ever...the smallest ones have just turned 4...barely bigger than the ball! lol Anna's team was called Bucks, but she said they decided to change it to Wildcats. ; )

They learned a few things about dribbling, passing, and keeping one foot planted on the floor, then they divided into two teams and played a game, and Anna's team won! She even made one......hit? ball? goal? a two-pointer, anyway. Whatever they're called. I was getting all excited and yelled "Shoot the ball to Taylor!" Afterwards I thought it should have been "Pass.". Oh, well. lol

I wish I could have made pictures, but our camera won't take pictures in the gym because it's too dark. There were other people taking pictures, though, so maybe I'll be able to find some online with Anna in them. ; )

Pine Nuts?

We went out to eat today for my birthday, and the girls and I tried pine nuts. Daddy didn't, just in case he's allergic to them. They were...interesting. I'm glad I tried them off the salad bar, instead of buying a package. I don't think I'd ever want more than a taste. ; )

I do like trying something new every now and again...and usually my girls will give it a shot, too. Emma drew the line at live termites once, but I believe that's been the only time. ; )

I've been spending my birthday money on candy...I'm in a chocolate-binge sort of mood, and I keep looking for a candy cane that is as good as I remember them being when I was a kid. Maybe I'm outgrowing them? Or maybe they're just not making them like they used to. That's probably it. ; )

Christmas Art Contest Entries

Emma's first. Then Anna's.

I kinda wish Anna had asked for help with spelling "Christmas". ; )

Another Christmas Meme

Because I have absolutely nothing else I'd rather do right now.



1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Either/or. I'm not picky. Some things fit better in bags, and some things are surprises and require paper. ; )

2. Tree--Real or Artificial? VERY artificial. It's silver metal with hooks for branches.


3. When do you put Christmas tree up? Usually the first of December, this year was the 4th or 5th.

4. When do you take the tree down? As soon as we get home from visiting the family on Christmas...or if I'm too tired the day after Christmas


5. Like eggnog? Bleah. A drink with eggs?...no thank you. My MIL makes something with eggs, too...boiled custard, that's rather like eggnog, and I don't like it either. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Southern-Boiled-Custard/Detail.aspx Emma and Daddy do, though.



6. Do you have a nativity scene? Several. The last few years my decorating has been mostly nativities, but this year I didn't feel like unpacking them and re-packing them, so I left them in the boxes and put up my little village pieces instead.



7. Favorite gift received as a child? Teddy bear, the year I was 4.

8. Hardest person to buy for? Just about everyone. No one waits until Christmas to get what they want...they go ahead and buy it. What can you buy for people who buy for themselves the things they want?

9. Easiest person to buy for? Emma. She likes anything and everything.


10. Worst Christmas gift? Not a gift for me, but last year my BIL gave my girls old candlesticks with half-burned candles. I was SO mad...I told them if he gives them something like that this year to hand it back and tell him they don't want his trash.


11. Mail or email a Christmas card? Giving or receiving? Giving, mail. Receiving, either.


12. Favorite Christmas movie? A Charlie Brown Christmas.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? The after-Christmas sales.


14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Lots of times...unless I can't remember who gave it to me.


15. Favorite food to eat on Christmas? I'll eat almost anything.


16. Lights on tree? If I had a more real-looking tree, yes.


17. Favorite Christmas Song? I'll say Silent Night. It's easy to remember, anyway.


18. Travel during Christmas or Stay home?We go as far as my Grandmother's for dinner...5 miles, I think.


19. Can you name Santa's reindeer? Since watching Jingle all the Way so many times, yes.


20. Angel or Star on Tree top? We have a star, but in the past when we had real or more realistic trees we've had both.


21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning? Both. And at various times during the month, too.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Too many people out.

23. Favorite ornament? I like all we have....maybe the "baby's first Christmas" ones best.


24. What do you want for Christmas this year? Candy and socks. And since I picked out my gifts...I get them!

Christmas Meme

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate, with LOTS of marshmellows

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wraps...he used to do fancy wrapping and big beautiful bows, but he got old and tired and now they just have paper tossed around them any which way.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White this year. And only one strand. They're pretty, though.

4. Do you hang Mistletoe? If I could harvest it myself I would. (That's a "no".)

5. When do you put your decorations up? Usually the first day of December. This year it was the 4th or 5th.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? I'll eat almost anything as long as it's fresh.

7. Favorite memory as a child? Hiding behind the tree and eating off the candy canes. My mom finally started buying extra boxes of candy canes to replinish the tree on Christmas Eve.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't know that I ever didn't know.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We usually go to my MIL's and open gifts, because DH can't wait. lol

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Ornaments, one for *almost* each year we've had kids. I think we're missing 1997, but I also thought we had one before, so it may have been packed in a different box somehow.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? More indifferent than anything else. It's lovely when it's falling, though.

12. Can you ice skate? I skated all over the place last night when we took the dog out for a walk. Or did you mean on actual *skates*? Never tried. Probably could, if my knees held up.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I still have it...a teddy bear I named Frances.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Family

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? My grandmother's fudge..chocolate, that is. She also makes peanut butter fudge, but I don't like it as much.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Baking cookies...and we have this little thing we do...it started when my girls were tiny and got so excited when they saw houses decorated for christmas they screamed. Every time they saw one. At the top of their lungs. In the car. So I told them we would do this instead..."The first house is Oooooh, the second house is Ahhhhh, and the third house is Ohhhhhh, then start over again with Oooooh." lol They still do it. ; )

17. What tops your tree? A star. It's a metal ornament tree and the star came with it. (Kind of like this one, but I found this picture online. It actually may have been easier to turn around and take a picture of my actual tree, but my house is messy around it.) ; )

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? Giving.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? Silent Night...maybe. There is probably some other song I like that I just can't remember. I tried to make a Christmas playlist the other night, and was e-mailing my sister for help, because I couldn't remember any songs.

20. Candy canes, yuck or yum? See number 7. Yum.

21.Favorite Holiday Movie? Charlie Brown Christmas.

A *very* Nice Insult...

Emma and Anna are playing with Barbie Christmas tree ornaments behind me, and Emma's says to Anna's "You cast a shadow so crooked no snake could fit into it."

Now THAT's an insult. lol

Happy Snow Day

It's hard to see the "day" part.

Anna went out this morning and took pictures of the snow.

And pictures of things she wrote in the snow.

She's outside now, playing in the snow...

and Emma and Daddy just got home from the store, and I'm getting off the computer! ; )

Buying Fini

I finished up my christimas gift-buying yesterday. Daddy says he still has to buy me a little something more, but he's already bought the three things I wanted most (a book, a round thermometer and socks...soft fuzzy warm socks...) (Pictures courtesy of the internet...those aren't my feet, although I'd like to have those socks....) ; )

Now I just need to wrap things....they're all sitting in a pile in my bedroom right now...and figure out where to put them until christmas. If we go ahead and put them out Luc will tear them open and eat the paper. He has some sort of paper fetish. I bought a bag of cat litter the other day, and he even opened that! Not to mention, he has torn holes in an envelope I had on my desk...and split a lunch bag I had there, too. He's part rat, we believe. ; )

I'm thinking of decorating today...I don't know if I'll actually feel like it when I move from in front of the computer....buy maybe I will. The girls are wanting something interesting to do....decorating sounds interesting. I'm wanting, also, to make a gingerbread house to eat...probably using cookie dough instead of gingerbread dough...and decorate it, then eat it. ; ) At my MIL's Thanksgiving dinner one of DH's cousins was talking about when she was a kid someone making gingerbread houses every year and they weren't allowed to touch them. I'd much rather my kids have memories of making a house, then *eating* the house...instead of watching it crumble and fall apart, then be thrown away. They don't like the way the gingerbread tastes, though, so I thought we'd try cookie dough. Molasses sugar Cookies...my favourites. ; ) Even if they're not stiff enough for a house, at least we can eat them. lol

Emma made a gingerbread house for a contest, but didn't win. We got our hopes up really high, then crashed.....although she doesn't seem to mind a lot. *I* thought she should have won. ; ) At least second place.

It's an "Over The Hedge" theme, with the log, the hedge and some of the animals...Stella, Hammie, Vern, and the two porquipins.