To quote Mr. Rogers....

"It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood....." Yes, today was a lovely day, no extra snow to keep the kids home from school to argue for a third day in a row! I don't know what it is, but something about snow days brings out the best AND worst in them. For some unknown reason, they seem to argue more...after they've gotten the snowman building out of the way that is. *shrugs* who knows!?! But, yes, all in all, today was nice :)

*Sigh* It truly pains me to say this...but...I had a baking failure...arghhhh...I guess I just wasn't paying attention to what I was doing and somehow I added 1 stick of butter too many to my butter and jam thumbprint cookies. (it was a horrible feeling) Hey, in my defense, they're very tender and wonderfully tasting cookies, they just tend to crumble easily...I just couldn't take them to the band concert and not feel the guilt when they broke apart when someone would try to pick them up. I guess it wasn't so much of a tragedy for everyone here, because the mistakes are disappearing very quickly! I think I may get some Vanilla Bean icecream and crumble a few cookies over some...mmmmm, yummy! Yes, I think I'll recover from this mistake, but it's one that I don't plan to let happen again!

I really need to get myself going on shopping for Christmas, the first party is only 10 days away! I'm pretty excited about going too, I have coupons for all 4 of the "must go to" places in Saginaw!! Yay!! I LOVE coupons! Now, I just have to figure out which day I can go. I know it won't be until after this weekend, that's for sure...2 basketball games tomorrow night, CMU AND the Selah concert on Saturday, then church and PTO cookie walk baking and decorating on Sunday. Em gets to help with the cookie walk baking and stuff because she needs more hours for NHS. It's fun though :) hehe, ya get to sample!!! woooo hooo!!!

I HATE lima beans...*gag* I love broccoli, cauliflower, corn, peas, green beans, carrots, snow peas, cucumbers, green pepper, tomatoes, zucchini and bean sprouts. Oh, cabbage is lovely too! I can eat spinach...especially when it's in stuffed shells! Okra is ok, brussel sprouts are pretty good, they always remind me of little cabbage heads...just a little more bitter than cabbage though. Oh, I adore kohlrabi, mostly raw though. Squash is yummy, especially acorn squash. I think one of my favorite veges the Onion! Cooked, raw, it's all good! So many veges, so little time! Heh, makes me think of VegeTales...."ohhhh where is my hairbrush...." hehehehehe (I love you Emily!!)

I think I need to go to bed now, I'm sleepy and my head hurts a bit...hopefully the sleep with take care of that ;)

Y'all have a V8!
Love Ya :)

Christmas Band Concert...Fa La La La La...

One of my favorite things of the year...the Christmas Band Concert at school. Tonight is the night!! YAY!! It amazes me how much talent a room full of children and young adults have. I LOVE it!! SO, if you're reading this and have nothing to do tonight at 7 PM...go to our school for a great concert and then cookies and punch afterwards :) Hmmm...note to self..check for new video tape!!!

Speaking of cookies, I'm supposed to be baking cookies for the after-party-social time. Every students' parental_unit's are supposed to bring a dozen cookies...ummm, yeah...so when do "I" only bake a dozen cookies...well, I suppose that I'm supposed to bring 2 dozen since I have 2 kids in band...IT SHOULD BE 3 *coughALEXcough* Oh well.. Technically, I'm only going to bake one kind of cookie..the other kind with be no-bakes. I'm sure nobody will complain! The baking involved will be for butter and jam thumbprint cookies...I'm actually going to use orange marmalade instead of the jam to add a little holiday zip to them. I'll just have to make them when the kids aren't looking, considering that they don't like orange marmalade. Picky little buggers!

I really think I need to buy the TobyMac CD. Em is getting tired of me playing it on the puter. Hmmm, I know I've said it before.."Who's puter is it!?!?!" yeah, that's what I thought :)

OK..I have to get going and make those cookies. Perhaps I'll add more to this later....

Y'all enjoy some Christmas music tonight!
Love Ya :)

Ich verpasse meinen Freund sehr viel

Snow. So, that's what they say, anyhow. They say we're supposed to get anywhere from 6 - 12 inches of snow...OR...it could be a freezing rain/rain mixs...OR...maybe we'll just get hit with a typhoon...*shrugs*...maybe we'll just get to go slushing around in the streets, HA! I really don't want there to be so much snow that school gets canceled on Wednesday, I REALLY need to work! I need to make some extra money for the All State Band trip. (vague memory of already saying that) Even though it's only going to be the 2 1/2 hour shift, I guess it's better than nothing!

I like grapes. I like bananas. I like mangos (a lot), I LOVE strawberries, especially if they're covered in chocolate!! I like star fruit, they remind me of sweetarts. I like pomegranates. I like Braeburn apples. I honestly can't think of a fruit that I don't like. I tried to. Hmmmm. I'm sure there MUST be....OHHHHH...I don't like apricots! I'm not sure why...they're just....icky. Random thoughts there...sorry.

I'm making the good 'ole mac and cheese standby for dinner tonight. Hey now, don't judge me, it's better than hot dogs and popcorn! I even got the whole grain mac and cheese! It's game night again. That saying will be rather redundant for the next couple of months!

I guess I don't really have much to talk about today...I've been listening to all my usual songs, over and over. I think I may have to find all my Selah CD's and get ready for the concert this coming Saturday in Midland!!! YAY! I can't wait...I've been waiting to go for about 5 months now! It's going to be a busy day, CMU in the early noon hour for Emily's Saxophone lesson, then home, then back to Midland...I know, it would make sense just to hang around and stay in Midland, we'll see how it goes.

Time to go, have to finish making supper, eat it and then get going to the game.

Y'all play a game tonight!
Love Ya :)

Irgendetwas ist möglich

It's Sunday...I'm tired, I don't feel 100%, haven't felt 100% for a few days now....I'm really tired too, I baked sticky buns again last night...I wasn't even sure if they were going to turn out..I'm very frustrated with the weight scale I have..it's not sensitive enough to measure out ounces...and with baking..well..you REALLY need the measurements right! The dough seemed OK at 5:50 this morning when I got it all rolled out, cinnamon sugared, cut and put into pans...then, when I got up at 7:50 to bake them...it was pretty chilly in the house, which means too cold for the dough to proof a second time...grrrrrrrrrrr. I had to turn the oven on and then off and put the rolls in there to finish rising so I could bake them. In the end, they turned out OK...not great...but good. I made one pan with no goo on them, because half the family didn't like it the last time. I see that there's only one of the goo-less rolls left...an evil plan on Emily's behalf, that devious little child_unit!!! She ate one iced one knowing that even if those are gone today..there will still be gooey ones tomorrow because not too many people would be eating them....muwahahaha...she's my girl >:)

I couldn't take Christen to the movies last night because of the weather, I can't remember if I said that yesterday or not...however, we ARE going this evening :) yes, yes, that means I HAVE to sit through Twilight...oh darn....HAHAHAHA.

I've been hearing random songs, songs that I grew up with and loved as a younger person, but now, I appreciate them. I LOVED the Carpenters when I was growing up...loved watching their variety show on TV..back when there was only 3 channels to choose from on a cloudy day...on a sunny day, you MIGHT be able to get PBS ;) Em and I were selling quilt raffle tickets for the school band yesterday at the local IGA, they seem to like to barrage their customers with loud music when they walk into the store...you know, the area where people sit to sell raffle tickets!! Yes, it was loud. They were playing Christmas music though...which brings me to the Carpenters again...I just had to sing along with "Merry Christmas, Darling", not as loud as the speakers though! I love that song...even though it's kinda sad, but, how could you NOT like something that Karen Carpenter sang!?!?! So, yeah...find it, sing along with it....

I'm trying to plan my Christmas shopping now too. I haven't bought one...nope, not one gift yet. Of course, that's nothing new for me! If I did buy something early, I would forget and find it a few years later in its hiding spot. Ummm, yeah...that IS coming from previous experience...*cough, cough*...I know that the bulk of my shopping will be done, probably, in Saginaw...there's a few stores in the big Fashion Square that I have to go to for specific things (having coupons is a big boost too!)(woo hooo, maybe I can ride on an escalator too...weeeee) and of course, I have to hit Dick's and JoAnn's...I'm also hoping that Best Buy is still there, I can't remember if they went out of business or not...have they??? Now..I just have to try to figure out which day I can leave early enough to get all that shopping done, get home to pick kids up from school, cook dinner and get to a basketball game since there are only 4 of those a week now!! Nooooo problem....I AM WOMAN!!!! (I was just told that it was Circuit City that went out of business and NOT Best Buy...good) :)

I guess I should be going now...someone is coming over to pick up Twilight and New Moon...that lucky girl...she's lucky because I'm actually gonna share, hehehe.

Y'all curl up with a good book tonight!
Love Ya :)

Made to Love

I was recently made aware of a song by TobyMac called, "Made To Love", I REALLY love this song....the first time I listened to it, I played it over and over...I'm sitting here waiting patiently for it to come up on Emily's playlist that she's got playing on the computer. I would just go seach for it, but she doesn't like me messing with her playlist...hmmmmm...pondering just who this computer belongs to....uhh, yup...that's what I thought.....*singing*...the dream is fading, now I'm staring at the door....(later in the song, while dancing in my chair).....I was made to love you, I was made just for you, made to adore you, I was made to love and be loved by you.......you were here before me, you were waiting on me.....And you said you'd keep me, NEVER would you leave me.......*sigh*.....

Christen has a friend, Ariel, over today for her birthday, we were supposed to go and see Twilight, but the roads are proving to be stupid...seriously, it wouldn't have ANYTHING to do with the snow that's been coming down all day...not BIG snow..just that annoying little snow that drifts around and becomes a little slushy and then icy...grrrrrrr...SOOOOOO, instead, we went to the video store and rented 4 movies, got 3 BIG bags of chips, chip dip, popcorn, pop, lemonade..well, you get the idea...a PARTY at home!!! They're out riding snowmobiles right now...Ariel is in her glory because she's never ridden a snowmobile before, and Christen is excited just because there's enough snow to go riding on!!!! Yeah...Tom too!!! We're expecting another guest tonight, Brianna, one of Em's friends...yeah, they're gonna ride too.....what? me ride...*snort*...yeah, right....maybe another day...yeah, another day is good! I'm sure I'll like riding when I finally do get out there, but then there lies the problem, I'll like it too much and somebody has to stay here to remain in charge and responsible...if I start to ride and thoroughly enjoy it....we'd always be gone riding!!!!! Being an adult...sheesh...no fun....

Did I mention that the girls made sugar cookies? Yeah...they did, and the cookies are wonderful..Christen was even thoughtful enough to remember MY favorites...she put yellow sugar sprinkles and then cinnamon red hots on some JUST for me....awwwwwww....seriously though, if you've never tried red hots on sugar cookies, you should...there's just something about the combination that's amazing! Too amazing at this point...I've lost 5 lbs in a short time here and if I keep eating those cookies, the 5 lbs will find me again..fast! I just hope that I don't get pushed too far from my kitchen :(

My chest hurts. (no, I'm not having a heart attack..don't worry) It never fails...when Em asks me to crack her back for her, I end up getting hurt...the last time, I lost my balance and my elbow hit the door frame...this time, it's my chest bone...don't ask!!!

I have to start Christmas cards, I'm sure it'll be easier now that things are slowing a bit...well, until the mad Christmas rush!! I'll probably have to work on the Tuesday, I have to work on Monday and Wednesday...not sure if Wednesday is going to be a full day or not..I certainly hope so, I need the money for January when Em and I head to Grand Rapids, I want to pay for as much of it as I can so that it's not a burden. I really only need to work 6 -whole days to get enough for the hotel...I've already worked 2...secretly, I'm hoping that the one lady can't handle the full shift and doesn't want to work it on Wednesday...then I can have it!!!!!!! The 2 1/2 hour shift just doesn't get me what I need. Maybe I'll have to plan a Monster Cookie sale at school once or twice before we go...we made $118 the last time we did it and that was after the cost of ingrediants. Yeah, sounds like a plan.

I guess I need to go, Tom wants to look at deer pics...hmmmm...they all look the same to me, the deer that is, *shrugs* hehehe, they taste the same too! YUMMY! (especially as jerky and sticks)

Y'all grab some popcorn and watch a movie!
Love Ya :)

3 Doors Down

Well, it's the first, real, sunny day that we've had in a long, few days! I wish I could enjoy it.

Today is Christen's 12th birthday...wow...it can't possibly have been 12 years already :( They're growing up wayyyyyy too fast! I miss having my babies...I miss the feeling of them sleeping in my arms...looking into their angelic faces as they sleep, breathe in their scent, playing with the curls around their little faces (that was mostly Emily and Ben!). They were all so fair haired and perfect...I shouldn't say this, but I really did long for a little baby with dark curls like mine...well, dark like mine used to be ;) I miss putting them up on my shoulder and just burying my face in their little necks......tears again....WHAT'S wrong with me!?!?!

Sorry, off on another tangent....

Tonight, Emily has a basketball game, so, Christen's birthday is a little bit on hold until tomorrow. I'm pretty sure she doesn't mind though, because I'm taking her and her friend up to Tawas to see Twilight....yeah, it'll be tough to sit there and watch THAT movie again...wow, I don't know if I can handle it...hehehehe...(darn, we have to wait until tomorrow!?) We'll probably go out for pizza too, not sure if we'll go before or after...preferrably before. I'm sure it'll be a good time :)

I need a hug....I've been hug deprived since yesterday morning....the great white hunter has made his way back up to the U.P., he BETTER be home today, I'm sure he won't suffer the wrath of missing one of Em's games!!!!! I'm just not looking forward to the drive up to Fairview. Oh well..I guess I'm used to it by now, or I should be anyhow!

Alex has done a good job keeping the fire going in the woodstove while dad's been gone...I had to remind him last night, but, when I went out to check it this morning, he had already filled it...that's pretty good that he remembered considering he had to be to basketball practice at 6:30 this morning. I didn't even hear him filling it, that's one noise that usually wakes me up considering it's right outside my bedroom window! (well, ok..not RIGHT outside, but close enough to hear logs getting chucked into the backside of the stove!!)

I guess I should get finish this up for now, I have to get my hair washed and ready to go to get taken care of....hehe, we all know that means my hair will be glowing redder this afternoon without my halo of gray :D

Y'all hug a baby today!
Love Ya :)

Life is short.

To say that I've been slacking in my blogging would be an extreme understatement...well, OK..not so extreme, there HAVE been longer periods of time in between, but yeah..it's been a while.

I wonder if I've forgotten how to be expressive.

So much has happened, it's hard to find the right place to start..hmmm, I guess we could start with the highlight of my summer. We, meaning Tom, Christen, Dominic and I went to the U.P. for a few days. I've been to the U.P. before, but never very far North. Our first night took us to the locks up in Sault Ste. Marie. AMAZING! COOL! We arrived there just as a ship had pulled into the locks. Seriously, it would take up to much space for me to explain just how cool I thought it was...oh yeah, heh, the kids liked it too. The next day we headed N.W. up to Whitefish Point, but before we got there is when I got my first real look at Lake Superior....I'm telling you, it's named ideally!!!! Beautiful! OH...and the ROCKS!!!! Next time we go, I have to remember to bring a wheelbarrow along to fill..hehehe...Later that day we made our way to Tahquamenon Falls....ok..this is annoying, for some reason, my font just got bold and underlined....grrrrrrrrr...... Well...ok..I got rid of the bold and underline, now I lost MY font...testing...whew...ok...let's go on...the falls were beautiful..need I say more. We stopped at some bear zoo-ish kind of rescue place...yeah..the bears need to be rescued!! I won't go there right now...I'll get angry again. (Let me say, that, I'm sure I will have a few things out of order...remember, this WAS in August!) We made our way farther West and North to Munising...can we say that they have a lucky High School!?! Oh yeah...just remembered..we stopped at the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore before Munising...I thought of that because that goes along with the lucky high school...their school is on the lake shore of Superior AND they get to see the Pictured Rocks all the time! Yeah, I know, they probably take it for granted! We spent the night in Munising and then headed out towards Newberry in the morning...stopped at a friends hunting cabin to drop off some feed for the deer. Yeah...sure...the deer....uh huh...when it was time to unload the bait, we went around back and there to my astonishment was a HUGE pile of bear poo. So..everyone knows...where there's bear poo...there must CERTAINLY be bears!?!?!?!?! I mean, it would have been cool to see one from a distance, but I didn't exactly wanna be hugging Yogi anytime soon! Our next stop on the trip was a zoo in Newberry, yeah, it was pretty cool for being in the middle of nowhere! That was pretty much the trip...I can't wait until next year when I (hoepfully) get to explore Lake Michigan on the West Coast of our fabulous state! There MUST be some lovely rocks over there :) I really want to go to Sleeping Bear Dunes too...I've heard a lot about them from people, but have never really seen the whole expanse of them. (crossing my fingers).

The summer wasn't all fun...there was plenty of grief to go around our small town. On Aug. 28, one of the girls from Alex's class was involved in a car accident that took her life. It was a horrible shock to everyone, her family, her boyfriend, her friends, her teammates...everyone! I didn't know Ashley as well as I know other kids in Alex's class, but I still knew her and I know her parents. I drove one of my best friends and Ashley's dad to the hospital where they had taken her body...I've never been so close to such grief as I was there in my truck...I couldn't even find words of comfort. Why...why someone so young...WHY? I have never in my life wanted to hug and hold my kids more than I did on that day. I know dying is a constant in our universe, one would be foolish to believe otherwise, but again, why...why so young? They had a dedication to her last night at the football banquet...I wasn't the only person to cry there. My heart is aching right now, I can't stop the tears from flowing...I know, it's silly, I guess a lot of it comes from not being able to change the past and not knowing what the future holds. Things that happened as far back as being a teen and up to now. Just knowing how fragile life is, how quickly it can be taken away from us. Reminding us that we have to Praise God for every chance at life He gives to us and to celebrate it. Take the pain and embrace it, because it reminds us that we're still alive, but to still pray for the comfort, healing and peace that only He can offer. I am SO thankful for everything I have! I just have to remember Joshua 1:9..being strong and courageous , for He WILL be with me where ever I may go!

Oye! Sorry for the tangent...it was just building up since last night.

Sarah, I missed you over Thanksgiving, I really hope we can visit over the Christmas holidays.

Basketball is in full swing now, it is the season of popcorn, hotdogs, pizza and candy bars for supper! YAY!! Em has already played one game this season, they won...YAY (again)..Em was actually high scorer of the game. I know in blogs of past that I have lamented on how much I detested basketball...I'm actually happy to say that, at least high school basketball, is much more fun to go and watch! I haven't gotten to the point where I wanna kick my feet up with a cold one and watch the Pistons....ummm....before your minds go too far...that's an Iced Tea cold one!!! So, yeah...I'm pretty psyched about this basketball season! Sad because it's Alex's last season, but, I won't dweel on THAT right now! That's a whole other blog when it gets closer to his graduation and *GASP* HIS departure for college....awwww mannnnn...I may as well just get some stocks in the Kleenex company right now!!!!! Yup, the hall is already booked and the menu is already started!

Other fun news...Emily, and her friend, Jake Huber auditioned for All State Band and both of them made it!!!!!!!! It's pretty amazing...it says a lot for our band director here in our school! Em and Jake both worked hard preparing for their auditions, so, they really deserve the honor! It's pretty cool, the hotel Em and I are going to be staying at has a basketball deck and a fitness track...yay, she can shoot hoops and I can walk! The concert is Jan. 24th at some convention center in Grand Rapids, Mrs. Gordon, the band director, said that the place is absolutely amazing! I'm just happy to get to stay at a place that's connected to the convention center so that I don't have to do a lot of city driving!!!! I'm sure I'll be fine though, as far as finding my way there...if I could find Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo..I'm sure I can find this place ;)

I need some Tylenol! I guess I'll be going and try to get a few things done.

Y'all hug your loved ones today!
Love Ya :)