Almost

Well dinner is over and the soup was very good. Everyone ate it and everyone but Cindy complimented it. Cindy had a few complaints like... It looks odd! Then why is it kind of grainy ? The rest of the family all agree that she should be ignored as she was just in a bad mood. I did put some thought into it and here is what I decided. It looked odd because the beef stock and cheddar cheese changed the color from white to an orangish brown. The color was a little odd but the flavor was enhanced dramatically so perhaps I should serve it next time with a blindfold . As for the graininess,it had to be the sausage as I used bulk sausage( to mimic the ground beef)nothing else was grainy which did kind of leave the sausage standing out.Perhaps since she wasn't expecting sausage like everyone else who watched me make it, it shocked her. I have decided that in the future I will omit all ground meat and add a couple pounds of bacon instead.
All in all I will call it a success. I as I do not have many soups that everyone will even eat at all. Generally though our family is a meat and potato ( or meat and rice) family. We also all greatly enjoy most sea food, even sushi. but since lent starts in eighteen days we will save some of our awesome seafood dinners for then. Now off to figure out what is for Sunday dinner. I have three pounds of IQF chicken breasts thawing.

A cold day in Ohio

Since the weather here in Ohio is seriously cold( I even wore a coat the other night when it fell below twenty degrees)I wanted to make a pot of soup and homemade bread for dinner today. The problem is that in my family, not everyone eats the same kinds of soup. Cindy likes Tomato , chili, black bean, and a few others but refuses to eat most chicken soups. Robby loves chicken soups but doesn't eat tomato, chili or black bean.Usually I just make two pots of soup at a time but today I figured that I would try a Potato soup recipe that is highly recommended on the Faith and Family site. This is how the recipe reads
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, diced
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 cups water
1 cup diced celery
4 cups milk
2 cups mashed potatoes (prepared with milk and butter)
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pan or Dutch oven, cook beef and onion over medium heat until browned. Add the cubed potatoes, water, and celery. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add milk, mashed potatoes, evaporated milk, salt and pepper. Heat through but do not boil.

Now this did sound like a good soup that perhaps everyone would eat but I had to make a few changes. here is the soup that I made

1 1/2 pounds ground sausage
a sprinkling of dehydrated onion
10 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 cups beef stock ( I cooked a roast the other day and saved the stock)
4 cups milk
2 cups mashed potatoes( Yukon Gold that were left over from dinner the other night)
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 lb mild Cheddar cheese grated
Butter flavored popcorn salt,fresh ground pepper and parsley
In a large pan or Dutch oven, cook sausage and dehydrated onion over medium heat until browned. Add the cubed potatoes, stock & 1/2 spices. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Mix milk, mashed potatoes,cheese, evaporated milk, other half butter flavored popcorn salt, parsley, and pepper with a wisk until blended. add this to the pot. Heat through but do not boil.
Though we have not had dinner yet, it sure is looking and smelling good to me.
As the saying always goes.... A great cook never follows a recipe completely but always tweaks it ........... So does a terrible cook !
Here's hoping that I am the former !

How many of us need to be praying this ?

( copied from : Faith & Family's "Serenity, The Alternative
as seen on some one's facebook status... "
Posted by Rebecca Teti January 29, 2010 10:19 AM)


“Lord,
grant me the serenity
to accept the people I cannot change;

The courage
to change the people I can;

And the wisdom
to know it’s me.


”Just had to share this wise and amusing variation on the famous “serenity prayer.”

Mike has put up some more pictures

Most are from the 2009 ISKF Nationals in Cherry Hill NJ ( November 2009)and the December 2009 Mid America ISKF clinic and Dan exam with Master Okazaki in Delaware, Ohio. Check out some of his photographic ability at


http://www.flickr.com/photos/42625375@N08/sets/

Thankful for the $50 fee

For a couple months now , Mike and I have been looking for a small secretary desk to put in our living room where I can set up a place to store and pay bills. Our current system has us usually placing incoming mail on the dining room table. From there most junk mail goes to the trash while bills and anything of importance gets moved ( when the table is being set for dinner) to the kitchen counter where it stays until I move the " stack" back to the table to figure out what to do with non bills and pay bills. As you can imagine, this is not the best system and ,though it does not happen very often, there is always the chance of things getting lost. Thankfully I am pretty used to what is due when so if something does get misplaced I usually catch it. Anyway, this system is getting more and more nerve racking and the kids can be careless about placing things on the kitchen counter so a couple months ago when it took me an hour to go through the stack and take out the junk mail that never got thrown away , I started to complain. Mike has never liked this set up and was glad to talk about change. A small secretary would be awesome, it was agreed and so we were looking to buy one. This is when we realized that small secretary desks are not readily available anymore.What we did find was made of flimsy particle board and looked like it would crumble under the weight of the bills.Others were made simply for looks and didn't even have any room to put a box of envelopes in them. We broadened our looking range to include small desks but still nothing acceptable was found. Finally Tuesday night we went to Ashley furniture. Believe it or not they had four different secretary desks and they were cheaper than we expected. Though three were the flimsy, no room for a box of envelopes type, one had extra drawers and even though it was also made of particle board and was more expensive it would work. I was excited that we had found something that would work and we called the sales lady who had greeted us earlier. It was then that we were informed that Ashley had no backroom stock. This meant that everything had to be ordered and took two to three weeks to come on.... We could live with this. Then we were informed that delivery would be fifty dollars for this item. (only thirty additional for each subsequent item so if we wanted the dining room chairs that we also looked at it was wise to order them too) I responded that we would not need delivery and would either fit it into our Aztek or borrow a truck. The sales lady then informed us that we would either have to pick up the secretary desk at their warehouse ( 45 -60 minutes away)or pay to have it delivered as their store did not offer pick up. " So what you are telling me" I asked "is that unless I drive to your warehouse, I have to pay the $50( for the first item ) fee?" "yes" she replied like I was an idiot for even asking. " then actually" I replied......" the price is $50 more than marked?" She looked dumbfounded but then replied "yes you will have $50 added on" "OK" I replied "we'll think about it" and we left. Once in the car Mike and I discussed how we hated to be forced to pay this ridiculous fee when we would gladly pick up our merchandise at the store a couple blocks from our home, but how these secretary desks were rare and this one had more room and what should we do ? We decided to check a couple places the next day, one a consignment furniture store and another an unfinished wood store. The consignment store had nothing but the unfinished wood store had a few things that might interest us, the man told Mike on the phone. The only problem was that the store closed at five o'clock so I would have to meet Mike there after work. So last night I met Mike and we went. Wow was I impressed ! first of all, everything was made of wood..... not particle board. Yes, we would have to stain anything we bought but the prices were the same as those for the flimsy stuff at Ashley's once we would have paid the $50 charge. They also had a beautiful small a roll top secretary that would fit. I fell in love ! While the store owner went to make sure he had one in the back, Mike and I also looked at dining room chairs and they were less expensive than those at furniture stores too. Of course those at furniture stores were already stained but these were real wood... some even oak or other hardwoods ! Gee add $20 in stain and a little work and you have such a superior product. We could not fit the chairs in the aztek with the desk but we will be going back for them. Though I now have to go pick out some stain, I will do it thankful that Ashley's has the messed up delivery policy because otherwise I would have surely ended up with an inferior product. Isn't it funny how things work out ?

Its here Its here

I have been asked which Precious Moments figurine I wanted so bad and finially got. I'm sorry, to leave you guys in the dark it is "God Loveth a Cheerful Giver" The first arived last evening and though it has obviously been displayed( dusty) it is truely beautiful ! Since I was tired last night I only took a quick damp paper towel to it before putting it into a curio cabinet but I am thinking of using a dish soap and water dunk today to assure it's optimial cleanliness.

Honestly.....Talk about Feast or Famine

Wow I am in total disbelief. Yesterday I was thrilled to have won an auction for a certain Precious Moments figurine that I have wished for for years. I believe in yesterday's post I even mentioned that I had bid on another before this one but was outbid. Well guess what ? Seems that the person who outbid me,for some reason, decided to retract their bid. This put me as high bidder. I guess that an E mail was sent ( or at least it should have been) but It must have gotten stuck in my spam folder ( that I emptied without reading the many many spam mails)Anyway, I guess that I have won this auction too. Now I could contact the seller and ask him/ her to re list the item as ,under the circumstances, I shouldn't be obligated to buy this but I hate to do that when this piece is so rare and what if the first one gets lost (or smashed) in the mail . Perhaps I will go ahead and pay for this one too and I can always sell it if I decide not to keep both... right ? A few days ago... if someone told me that I would be the owner of two of them by Monday, I would have thought that someone was nuts but......It just goes to show that one never knows. Besides when it comes to feast or famine..... I'll always take the feast !

YES !!!!!!!!!!!

For many many years , since I started collecting Precious Moments, I have wished for for one particular figurine which was retired long before I started collecting. I have seen a few of these on E bay or other "buy it second hand" sites( never in real life) but the price has always been out of my range or no matter how much I bid on E bay another bid more, as this particular figurine was worth at least fifteen hundred dollars way back when I started collecting. Not only was the price way to steep for me but these are also rare and I am obviously not the only collector who longs for it. Today, however, things changed . I assume that because of the economy, more and more of these are coming up for sale and I bid on two on E bay. I was quickly outbid on one but remained high bidder on another for a couple days.I was sure that I would be sniped at the last minute ( it has happened a couple times) but as the timer ticked down, I stayed top bidder. Then the timer hit zero and guess what ????? I was in shock ! I was on the cell phone with Mike at the time and it was kind of a blur but I remember saying .... "Oh My Gosh.....I got it...."over and over. Finally Mike chimed in " well you better pay for it" and paid for it, I did. Now I am waiting... I can't wait to see this first hand and put it in my curio cabinet..... YES!!!!!!!!!

After Christmas sales

Are you a bargain shopper ? Bargain is my middle name. OK it isn't actually on my birth certificate but it should be. I am drawn to clearance sales like a moth to a flame. I am not an amateur either. 10% to 25% off doesn't do it for me. I need 50% or 60% to get excited. I will buy many things at 50% off that I would never dream of buying at regular price nor even a small discount. When I really lose control though is when we start to reach the 75% to 90% off sales.I will buy just about anything if the price goes this low, well within reason. I do make sure that if it is clothing, it will fit someone I know, or anything else can be used by someone. Yes I have been known to buy toys that my teenagers are obviously too big for just to give them to someone I know , donate them to a charity. Some even end up at fundraising auctions. Why do I do this ? well first it is a thrill to find such great deals. If we can use stuff... bonus, if not I feel good giving. Yes bargain finding is a natural pick me up for me. The problem lies in times like now when every store or catalogue company everywhere is having huge sales.I am almost addicted.I buy a $50 sweater for $8 here and a $30 Precious Moments Christmas ornament for $10 there, and this here and that there and before I know it I have bags in my car and boxes on my porch and a grumpy mailman with a sore back and I start to realize that I need to back off . Then just as I start to do good..... Here comes the 75% off sales... and here I go again !

Oh to embarrass your teens !

A week ago when I was looking through a catalogue I was delighted to see that colored jeans ( you know instead of blue jeans.... purple jeans, pink jeans, brown jeans... etc.) are back in style( or at least for sale again) I remember back a few( few doesn't always mean just three or four or even ten, right?) years ago I had many colors of jeans and I loved them. They were dressier than regular blue jeans and were just so ( in my opinion ) feminine. Though I loved my jeans of many colors, the styles changed and mine wore out or shrunk, or whatever and I moved on. Seeing these in a catalogue that actually makes clothes in sizes to fit people like me, had me all excited. I immediately began to think of what colors I must have. It was at this point that Cindy walked in. Looking over my shoulders I heard that familiar gasp followed by a simple "No way Mom" "What ?????" I asked" You can't get those tacky jeans" she responded" But I used to have some and loved them" "No" she responded" "What is wrong with them" I asked" After a tsk her reply was "look at them.. their so 80's. My response ?????? So am I.... I just ordered them in pink and raspberry and am considering getting boysenberry and lilac too !

Prayers for these children

On January 19th.( in the bitter cold) fifty three Haitian orphans were flown into Pittsburgh International airport. From there they were taken to Pittsburgh children's hospital for check ups.Out of these fifty three orphans,( as of Tuesday night) all but seven are already in the process of being adopted. Here are some pictures of these kids getting off the plane.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pittsburgh/Pittsburgh-International-Airport/67764833932

Though ( reports are stating that)many Haitians are trying to convince the Haitian government that their children are in fact orphans in order to send them here in the hopes of giving them a better life, this road has to be extremely tough on these children.In the pictures you will notice that most are wearing flimsy clothing and were certainly freezing despite the blankets which airline and airport staff were scrambling to find enough of to go around. Please remember to keep them , and everyone else effected by this natural disaster in your prayers

Friendship Bread

A couple weeks ago my Mom called, to most this would be a regular occurrence but with our lifestyles My Mom and I rarely call each other unless we have a reason. This call was no exception. Mom was calling because my sister in law had , a few days before, given her a Friendship bread "starter" . For those of you who are not Amish nor a lover of baking a "starter" is a measured amount of batter given ( usually in a gallon size zipper bag) One takes this batter and leaves it lay out. (refrigerating will mess it up)Every day one "mushes" the bag a lets the air out, then forgets it until the next day. depending on the particular recipe, one may also be instructed to add ingredients either daily or on certain days. Then in either a week,ten days,a month, or whatever the recipe instructs one takes the starter.. divides it into a couple new starters and takes the rest, adds more ingredients and bakes it. These "friendship" cakes and breads are known for being the most moist baked goods anywhere. Anyway.... Mom called to ask if I wanted a starter.I had never had this particular recipe starter but I agreed to give it a try. Fast forward,ten days ago Mom brought me a starter and I began following the ten day regimen. That made today the day to bake.I started preparing and measuring the new starters right after I made the boys breakfast . I then mixed up the ingredients and put them in the oven while the boys finished getting ready and waited on their buses. Since it took an hour of low temp baking,the Cinnamon bread( coffee cake) was finished just as Robby's bus turned the corner.I pulled it out of the oven and boy did it smell good ( Cinnamon usually does) Try as I may I couldn't resist cutting into one of the two loaves. Though I prefer my baked goods chilled,it was very good. I doubt that there will be any left by morning . It is a good thing that I didn't promise to give my "starters" away as I think that I will keep a couple for myself.

Can you tell that I am spending way too much time on E bay ?

We all have our little pet peeves and though I have my share plus some, I try not to make this site simply a place to vent. With this in mind I should move on and do something else ( like look on E bay) but I have bought sixteen things since a week before Christmas so I hope you , my deer readers understand.

To all E bay sellers with the CYA feedback policy,
Because I have made sixteen recent E bay purchases, all of them paid for within minutes of winning them, One would expect that my feedback score would have went up by at least ( Oh I don't know)maybe at least ten. Honestly I know that some people are just happy to have unloaded their items for cash and could care less if anyone else knows that I am an awesome buyer who pays super fast, but I would think that these people are the minority as I see many who have E bay stores and E bay is a little more than selling Grandma's Christmas gift that isn't even your size. Anyway, though I am reasonable,I expect more than the four feed backs that I got. It wouldn't even be so bad but what really burns me up is the sellers who leave no feedback send a note with my product ( an E mail would take way too much time ya know) that tells me how much they value me . Then to add insult to injury they tell me that they hope that I like my purchase and their service enough to leave them feedback, and if I do then they will leave me the same. WHAT????????? I did my part in paying you promptly and you did nothing . I then am at your mercy for packaging my item properly, sending it to me in a timely manner, and I must trust that you have not messed me over on shipping charges ( yes charging me $15 when the postage is only $2 is messing me over ! A $13 handling charge is neither justified nor ethical) If all of the stars Aline and you do all of this right, then I should give you feedback with the faith that you will do the same? You have got to be joking ! My translation of all of this is that If you give me my deserved feedback and then you misrepresented the item or packaged it poorly or charged me $15 and then sent it in an envelope with a .44 stamp and I give you feedback representing it.... then you can't get mad and post lies which pull my excellent buyer rating down. Well to you buyers who want to unjustly CYA , you will get no feedback until you give some. I did my part and I want my gold star. If you don't give... you don't get... well at least you will not get positive from me.( if you are a over charger where postage is concerned, I just may tell all ) I am putting money in your pocket not vise versa ! I will also keep track of who you people are and will under no circumstances buy from you again and even though you may not be trashed on E bay's feedback, you may just find your name on an Ebay do not buy from this seller list. So you might want to reconsider your CYA policy and play fair !

Seen on a local Church's sign

Open between Christmas and Easter !

I guess we're living the good life !

"Don't worry honey", I said as Mike walked out the door at 2:30 AM headed for his overtime shift at work.I fully intended to make sure that I was at the computer at noon so that I could renew his Hot Wheels red line club membership and get him the chrome car which was reserved for the first 3,500 to renew. Since he has been working day shift for the last few years, I am no stranger at the drill of waiting for that buy it now button to appear on the web site and aspiring to snag the prized car. I must say I have even been pretty good at doing this in the past.
Fast forward to 11:50..... Mike calls to remind me but I am already on the computer. We make small talk. 12:00.... the buy it now button appears.... I push it.... I log in...... What ?? no add to cart button... Mike is on the phone... "It isn't there" I say with panic in my voice ! He logs onto his lap top at work. He tries. The" add to cart" button which should be there is not but a coming soon logo replaces it. "Maybe the site is slammed" Mike says." No I have done this before...."I reply " the button isn't there" I go to another page and see how the store is set up. Yep, just as I remember.... there should be a button. Mike and I both keep refreshing the page.... Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr still no button. We chat and refresh as I call Hot wheels 1-800 number. Golly gee... the lines are backed up and I am on hold. Finally I get a representative. As I thought Hot wheels is having a site problem and my Patience is appreciated. I take a deep breath. Mike's lunch is over and he has to log out and get to work.I vow to stay as long as it takes and keep talking to him via blue tooth as he starts back to work. It has been an hour now and I begin to joke about how much I must love him to still be at this. WE chat and I keep refreshing. Yes.... could it be..... I see the add to cart button, YES!!!!!!!!!! I hit it.... I put in our credit card info..... Yes my order is complete ! Did I get in quick enough for the chrome car ?????? Waiting for my confirmation to tell me......... Yes.... Score I got chrome ! Mike is happy... I am happy for him !!!!!! Yep... I guess that we really do live the good life !

Creekside karate's advanced class members with Master Okazaki

Booked !

Perhaps it was the rainy 45 degree temps.( could it be springtime already? I wish !) Perhaps it was the fact that we finally got down 90% of our Christmas decorations. Perhaps it is the fact that I am longing for a vacation. The reason, I'm not quite sure but I do know that I just booked our 2010 vacation. We will be embarking on Carnival's imagination on July 5th in Miami. We will visit Key west and Cozumel Mexico before disembarking on July 9th. Since this is Mike's mandatory vacation (shutdown) week we are thrilled to have found a great deal and jumped on it. We are still debating whether to fly into Miami or use my favorite airline( where bags fly free but doesn't fly into Miami) and fly into Ft Lauderdale ( about an hour drive to the port) or for so many reasons fly into Orlando ( about a four hour drive to the port) Every option has its pros and cons so we will not book today but will watch prices and do the best that we can. Anyway, I am psyched. How about you, family & friends ???? ( especially you family who we consider friends and friends that we consider family ;-) have you booked your vacation yet? Why not join us ? Honestly by the time you figure in a hotel room, all meals & snacks, and entertainment ( from swimming, comedians, Broadway style shows, and so much more) the prices ( starting at $329 for the first two( three through five's price drop drastically) in an inside cabin) you can't beat a cruise ! Come on.... you know that you wanta join us :-)


Here is the link to the cruise we booked, so you can book your's too. BTW, If you seriously want to join us, let me know and I will send you our info so we can coordinate meal times, and so on !

http://www.carnival.com/Itinerary.aspx?embkCode=MIA&itinCode=KC1&durDays=4&shipCode=IM&subRegionCode=CW&sailDate=7/5/2010&saili

Finally

After a few days of above freezing temps, we can now see grass . Now mind you, after a couple weeks of being under six or eight inches or so of snow, it is brown dead grass, but it is grass none the less so I am happy. As I type, Michael is preparing to go out and take down the outside Christmas decorations. I have not gotten the chance to shop for any Valentine decorations so we will be looking at drab dead grass if it doesn't snow more but that is OK. February seventeenth is Ash Wednesday so, weather permitting, in twenty eight days, it will be time to decorate for Easter anyway. With my surgery being scheduled during lent, I am not sure if we will decorate for Easter or not , but we'll just have to see how it goes. As for now.... I am just happy to put Christmas , except for the three nativities that I leave up year round( all Precious moments)to rest for awhile.

I never thought of it this way !

In today's mail I received a letter from my mortgage company which was marked "Tax information enclosed". Upon opening it I realized that there was no tax information but simply a page informing me of the company's privacy policy.At first I thought of calling the company as my tax information was obviously left out, but then Mike figured it out. "The company has such a tight privacy policy "he said" that we don't qualify to see our own information !" Yep...... makes perfect sense to me !

Finally a surgery date !

Tentatively, my surgery has been scheduled for first thing March 4th.I am on the Surgical center's list to be moved up if another doctor has unscheduled time a week before the time occurs. So it may be sooner but at least it shouldn't be any later. Prayers are greatly appreciated !

Could July really still be an option ?

Shortly after I hit the post button on the last post, an advertisement for a cruise sale hit my in box. Though the cost of a July cruise is still pricier than one in a month starting in A, there happens to be a sale on one that happens to be the week which Mike is off. Since he would not have to take additional vacation time, the slightly higher price still has some attractiveness to it.Another upside to this particular cruise is that it is to Cozumel which is one of the places that we would like to go now that we have already been to the Bahamas. To every upside, though there is a downside which is that instead of flying into Orlando and catching the cruise at Port Canaveral , we would have to embark and disembark in Miami, which means probably flying into Ft. Lauderdale My favorite airline (where bags are free) doesn't fly into Miami . So here we go. two pros.... two cons..... what to do ?
I guess that all considered, this is probably our wisest choice so why don't I just book. Maybe I'll think about it just a bit longer.

Spring Break or end of summer?

Though we have been seeing a glimpse of Sun the last couple of days, I am still, for some reason thinking vacation. Because many cruise lines are E mailing me their specials,these thoughts are manifesting as my looking into a cruise. The problem lies in the fact that cruises in July ( when Mike has a mandatory vacation and all of the kids are available) are super expensive and can be found for a quarter of the July price in August. The problem here is that though Mike can take a week off, Cindy's Nursing classes will start up in mid August so a late cheap cruise would prevent her from joining us. Because of this I am looking into early August which is middle of the road priced but August still seems so far away. For this reason, I have been looking into prices the first week of April, which is spring break here. These cruise prices are equivalent to early August. But April seems so early. So there we have it....... Early or late ? Or something other than a cruise? Oh if only I had enough sunshine to get my brain out of this fog.... but if I did , then I wouldn't need a vacation so desperately.... now would I ?

Got Christmas ornaments ?

Every year after Christmas I am drawn to one of my favorite activities..... shopping for reduced Christmas tree ornaments.I have never been a theme tree person as I remember, for years, walking through Christmas tree lane at Kraynak's ( a semi local store that does a display with many many Christmas scenes all in a row which includes about 50 decorated trees) and thinking..... some of these trees are kind of cute ( others not so much) but nothing can compare to my tree which has all kinds of ornaments from our children's' Precious Moments first Christmas ornaments,several other Precious Moments ornaments, ornaments that I got as gifts as a teenager, ornaments that Mike and I picked out for the tiny tree in our first apartment for our first Christmas as a married couple, ornaments that we bought to commemorate things in our lives (Cindy's tiny graduation hat with 2008 on it ,a tiny replica of the cruise ship from our first cruise last year, and so many other things including some not so happy occasions that have shaped our lives like a few beautiful angel's that were bought in memory of our Daughter Caitlyn, who was stillborn going on fifteen years ago. For us, our tree is a Hodge podge of our lives and , to me anyway, it is the most beautiful tree anywhere. The problem is that since I shop every year and I tend to buy more than just the few that I need to replace as some have broken or gotten so ragged that I must say good bye, I now have bins of ornaments. This past Christmas,life was very hectic so I welcomed Michael putting up and decorating the tree. I did tell Michael to leave off the porcelain Precious Moments figures and other highly breakables as I feared that the new puppy might cause some breakage, But when Michael and I took the tree down, I didn't see many of my favorite ornaments." Where is this " I asked? "How about that one?"Michael just looked at me.Finally after a slight bit of anxiety, we realized that there was a whole bin that we never even opened this year. So this brings me to my dilemma,do I keep buying ornaments ? I surely must keep up with buying the kids each a new ornament every year, shouldn't I ? I already limit it to only ornaments that have some sort of meaning ( Oh and the train replica ornaments that Mike likes to get every year, but I guess that is meaning huh ?)I'm sure that once the kids get their own places, they will want some cherished ornaments, so that will probably thin me out a bit but what if their spouse is into theme trees? Don't all mother-in laws/ daughter in laws have opposite tastes from time to time ? Should I even bother ? I guess that since I don't yet have an answer, I will simply keep on shopping !

The heat wave is a coming !

Since Christmas break we have had constant snow and freezing temps here in NE Ohio. Even though we are well past the Epiphany and even past the Feast day of the Baptism of the Lord,I haven't gotten my outdoor Christmas decorations taken down because of the seven or so inches of snow and the icicles hanging from my window wreathes.But just when I was starting to think that it would be June before these came down I hear that we are supposed to warm up to above freezing tomorrow. Wow maybe I should go out and buy a new blow up lawn ornament to replace my old Valentine's Day one that quit working a couple years ago. Well, I don't know if I will go that far but I sure would like to put away Christmas and dream of Easter.

With technology I know when to panic

My inbox is already filling up with weather alerts and school cancellation procedures and the storm that is for casted to dump three to five more inches of snow on us tonight is still many states away. Should I be afraid or should I wait for the weather alert texts to start pouring in?

May the soul of Donald Thompson and the souls of all the faithfully departed,through the mercy of God, Rest in Peace. Amen

Please keep the family of Mr. Thompson( My oldest Brother's Father in Law) in your prayers. Mr. Thompson lost his battle with emphysema and related complications, this morning.

On the eleventh day of Christmas........

I couldn't take any more of the clutter and so Michael and I took down the tree while Mike slept in preparation for working a double tonight and tomorrow. Now if only the snow would stop and melt so that I can take the outside decorations down and put them away too !

Snow snow snow

Well Cindy is at her first day of her phlebotomy class and it is almost time to take the boys to karate and Mike is scheduled into work at 3:30 AM and it is still snowing. We have about three or four inches now and the roads were covered earlier when I went to pay bills so I can only imagine what they will be like when we are all out on them tonight and early tomorrow. But that is how it goes here in Ohio and I should know this after living here all of my many years.
Please join me in offering a prayer for everyone who must drive in these conditions.


Update
The boys have been to karate and are home, Cindy is home from her phlebotomy class and Mike is at work . Though the snow still continues to fall, the roads are pretty much being plowed and salted and are not too bad at all. Looks like a snow day is not even questionable at this point.
...........And it is only January !

Clancy & Isabella enjoy playing in the snow

( well at least Isabella enjoyed playing. Clancy seemed a little irritated from time to time)

















In the end Isabella made sure there were no hard feelings

New Years eve at home

The little umbrella in my drink made our little home celebration more party like


If we had gone out, Isabella could not have shared a New Years kiss with Mike and I at midnight

Two thousand ten !

I pray that everyone had a wonderful and safe New Years eve and is enjoying this first day of January two thousand ten. Today, for us , has always been a day to eat Sauerkraut with pork and (usually turkey) smoked sausage and mashed potatoes but other than that it is just a day of relaxation. Most of the local stores are either closed or close early so we have no place to go and nothing to do but relax. Thankfully the kids are off a couple more days because of the weekend then the boys go back to school, Mike back to work, and Cindy starts her phlebotomy class. I will probably have a long list of things to do myself but for right now, I think I just may take a nap.
HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL !