Giving Thanks for my family

I can't give thanks enough for the people in my life, the most important ones being my husband, our children, my parents and my in-laws.

My husband Lucien- who works tirelessly and then comes home to work some more with his children and help them with their advanced math homework. Helps me put up curtain rods, paint walls and do home improvement projects and doesn't complain about it. He's come with me to fabric stores and gives me an honest opinion on colors and patterns when it comes to picking out fabric for window treatments. He works on our cars and makes sure that they are in tip top shape. He watches out for us and is there to give us encouragement.

Andrew- our son is 15 and driving (he started driving 14). He has shown such a mature attitude with that responsibility. He takes driving seriously. He knows my views on it- that it's a privilege not a right. He's grown so much in maturity since being involved in the AFJROTC program at his high school. He's involved in many after school programs with AFJROTC, color guard, drill team, Kitty Hawk Society, Rocket Club, and is active in the Staff. He has maintained got a solid A-B average in school for the past 2 years and is taking advanced classes! I'm so proud of the work he has done and his ever growing self confidence and of his community involvement.

Hannah-our daughter might look a great deal like her mother but trust me when I say she's her Daddy's girl!. She has the advanced skills in mathematics like her father (that's a good thing) the love of science like her mother and the creativity of both of her parents. Her head is always in books, be it math related, crossword puzzles or other kinds of brain teasers. She's very gifted with computer stuff but she also is always wanting to create something with her hands-be it a scrapbook layout, sewing project or paper crafts of some sort. She's wanting to be in the kitchen more, creating yummy things with her own hands. Some of her favorite things to make are smoothies (she loves to use the blender) and to bake brownies.

My Mom Maria- who has always given of herself, sacrificed things to give us (my sisters and myself) what we needed. It's through her selflessness and dedication to family that I am who I am today. She has been through so much in her lifetime and now to have to deal with her life partner having Parkinson's and Alzheimer's is heart breaking.

My Pop Bill- his honesty, devotion to friends and family and his work ethics are the basis of who I am. His character is beyond reproach. Any time anyone was in need he was there for them. It's a shame that he is now so ill. The Parkinson's and Alzheimer's has taken it's toll on him physically and well as mentally. I prefer to remember his when he was younger and so full of life-climbing big fir trees and cutting out the top of the tree for us to have a Christmas Tree. He would tell us that doing this doesn't kill the tree, unlike when you cut down a small tree. I can't begin to tell you how many times we had Christmas Trees that had old birds nests in them, LOL!

My Father-in-law Dave- in his retirement he has this garden that rivals a small farm. He grows fruits and vegetables, donates the bulk of the garden delights to family, friends and the local food bank. He's very active in his parish and still teaches religious eduction to young adults.

My Mother-in-law Bette- They say that there's a special place in heaven for the mothers of boys. She has 4 sons and from that she also has 2 daughters-in-law and 4 grandchildren. She and her husband has come to visit us at every place we have lived. She retired back in August and we took advantage of her new status in September. She was able to help us out when Lucien has his eye surgery and needed to be in Colorado for 10 days (pre-surgery and post surgery appointments). She loves her boys with all her heart and took great pride in being able to help out her eldest son. I know that it's because of her that her son's have such giving hearts.

I've been graced by the Lord with all of these people and I am ever thankful!

Feeling overwhelmed...but not

So here I am...getting ready for a major holiday dinner, I'm going to have my girlfriend Susan and her family out here for a few days, and a dessert open house-eek!!!! Parts of me feel overwhelmed and parts of me don't. The Cooking part doesn't bother me, that's a snap! It's the people in my house part. I always worry that people are scrutinizing me, saying things like "oh I thought she was more talented than that" or "I thought that she had better taste than that". I never go into any ones home and pick it apart. To me and maybe I'm the only one with this kind of an opinion...decorating is a sense of personal expression. This house posed some serious challenges for me, I swear every house we have ever lived in has windows of different sizes and shapes that the previous one and this house is no exception to that rule. Then there's the archway from the front room aka the formal dining area to the dine in kitchen area. Then there's those two skinny windows off to each side of the sliding glass door. Okay so I finally got window treatments done up for then, whew! And I got the window treatments done for the family room as well. I'm not about to kill myself trying to slam out something for the office/guest room or Hannah's bedroom window right now. I'm going to concentrate on getting some other things taken care of. The hard part is that only I can get this done, I only know what I want to do with the house...the sad part is that I'm so worried about resale of this home that I'm being rather stiff in my decorating. I did this before with our house in Virginia.

So I'm going to work on the kitchen today...get something going on with it. I have two items hanging up in the kitchen beside the valance, it's a plate and a framed apple crate label from the 1930's. I need to step it up and get a move on with decorating my kitchen. Usually it's the first place to get decorated and done up and here it seems to be one of the last. The rather high slanted ceiling is part of what is throwing me off. Alright now more dilly dallying, it's time for me to get out the ladder and get to work!

Getting ready

Here I am trying to get some things done for next week. My fresh turkey arrived today. Hey if I have to cook turkey, then it's got to be a fresh one, none of that frozen like a block stuff for me. The last time I bought a frozen turkey well after 2 ½ days in the refrigerator "defrosting" it was still FROZEN!!! So now it has to be fresh or forget it.

The drywall folks finally came by- took a couple of hours but they got things looking good. Now for the painter to come and touch up the repairs.

In between I've been reading cook books like a crazy woman. Looking for a cranberry apple chutney recipe. I think that I've nailed one and now for me to make my grocery list.

Having Faith

We pray that our children are born healthy and will have happy and productive lives. But sometimes God has other plans for them and for us. It becomes a question of faith...will he heal them? Will he heal us? You've got to believe deep down in your soul that he will.

When your husband/wife/daughter/son is deployed do you pray? Is that the only time you pray? Or do you always say a prayer for their continued safety while there and their safe return home?

Next month is the 1 year anniversary of our Daughters reconstructive surgery on her ears. It took me nearly a year to finally get it approved from our insurance, to prove that she had a congenital birth defect. This is something that is hard for me to write about- as we as mothers want our children to be born perfect. Sometimes we have to fight for our children and trust me it was a fight! Sometimes it's about their self esteem and that to me is important enough to fight for. Hannah exudes so much more self confidence. She's no longer afraid that children (and they can be cruel) would point at her ears and secretly giggle or worse laugh in front of her.

I say prayers every day for the health and well being of my friends and family. For myself I pray for grace, guidance and patience, to be able to lend a helping hand where I can. I pray that I can be a guiding light to those that have lost their way, that I can be a beacon of hope to those that are feeling hopeless or are in despair. My job description changes on a daily basis, and I'm fine with that. I pray that I am able to comfort those that are having a difficult time during a deployment, that they are able to get up and take care of themselves...but are also not afraid to ask for help when they need it.

So...do you have it? Do you have Faith? Faith in God? Faith in yourself?

Being Thankful

" At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us." ~ Albert Schweitzer

My Cookbook Nook: Holiday Menu Planning

My Cookbook Nook: Holiday Menu Planning

Lets do Lunch!

Once a month I schedule a lunch bunch get together. That's where a group of us meet up and have lunch out in town. Our rule is simple - No chain restaurants, just small local establishments. I picked out Curry Masala, an Indian restaurant. Ever since having Indian cuisine while in England I can't get it out of my head! The food was so delicious. Then my girlfriend Rohini made Butter Chicken and Curried Chickpeas for a get together at her home this summer...talk about Heaven on Earth!

So we (Hannah and me) get to Curry Masala and I meet up with my girlfriend Irene. Apparently no one else can make it today (school was out today and most of our spouses were off from work). So Irene and I spent out time talking about....FOOD and cooking! I can't tell you how excited I was to be talking with another "foodie". We talked about cheeses, the woman makes me want to have a cheese tasting party! I can only imagine how wonderful it must have been to have 2 back to back European assignments...just for the food and wine! We had the best laughs at comparing stories of what foods we think are simple to whip up but tend to WOW our friends. I found out that even though our up bringing was a bit different (she has a Filipino Mom and my mom is German) we still experienced some of the same things...Americanized dishes. Irene's story about spaghetti with the sauce served mixed together with the pasta and sometimes with bits of hot dog almost made me pee myself from laughing! I had no idea that other people on the planet did that- I just thought my mom was being weird. Even Hannah had a good time, laughing right along with us. I think that she now knows that she's got it pretty darn good in the food department here at home.

My recommendation for this week...have lunch with a friend. She doesn't have to be an old friend, a new friend will do very well and with time...they turn into old friends :-) What a wonderful thought indeed!

I'm thankful everyday for my girlfriends!

I'm thankful to the Lord for bringing all of these women into my life

* Cindy...who when she found out we were looking for a house told me about the house she and her husband Allen bought. She invited me over and gave me a tour of her lovely home. It's mainly due to her that we have the beautiful and peaceful place that we now call home. "Home is where you hang your heart". Cindy is a huge promoter of women starting and running their own businesses. She sees the good and positive things that can come out of hard work. Shes a devoted friend and is always there to lend a helping hand.

*Kim- The genuine smile she greets you with is just that...genuine. She's the kind of friend that always uplifts you and leaves you with this feeling of pure joy. She's an Angel on earth placed here to let us know that we can work out our problems and nothing is as bad as we first thought it was. The best part is...she likes my cooking :-)

*Liz - Through her I learned that there's more to being an Officers wife than meets the eye. That there are things that you have to forfeit to have this life and that you can not be bitter about it. That you need to make your own happiness and your own identity, separate from his. It wasn't that I didn't know these things, it was that she brought them into focus for me. She was a good military spouse role model. Her husband is now retired from the Air Force and they are living it up as civilians now :-)

*Robin-what a wonderful wife/mother/daughter/sister and friend she is! She's a one year Breast Cancer survivor. She gets diagnosed with cancer and what does she do? She starts a Yoga business! Go Robin! She's one of my first military spouse friends and we found out that we grew up in the same area. I talked about Robin in front of some 40 some spouses who came to the October OSC function how we met and became friends at our husbands first assignment, and how friendships like that last for forever. I spoke of how I was so proud of her and how breast cancer can and does affect people we know. That this devastating disease can have a positive effect of those not stricken with the disease. Get a Mammogram!!!

*René- Another wonderful person whom I met at out first assignment up in Maine. I think that she's a very strong woman (even when she thinks she isn't), able to do things that I think are brave. She's got a beautiful southern accent- not that sticky sweet almost fake sounding kind, but a genuine one that is filled with warmth. A wizard with finances and all levels of Mathematics! If I were to go into business, this is the women who would keep me grounded :-) She has this huge heart and is always there for everyone!

*Susan- I met her after the loss of her 2 year old son Gareth. I was introduced to her by a mutual friend who thought that I would be "good" for Susan to get to know. Our mutual friend didn't know how to be friends with someone like Susan... who was so full of anger and grief after losing a child. Angry with the military and civilian health care systems and angry with God. Susan is straight forward, she tells it like it is. To be honest, I admire that. One day while we were at lunch (this is many years ago and it still brings tears to my eyes when thinking about it) she asks me "Sandie, why are you my friend?", I look up and say "hmm? what do you mean?" Susan replies "when all I do is complain about things, I'm an awful friend, I push people away because I yell at them- why are you still here?" my reply was simple "Because God told me that I needed you as much as you needed me. That no matter where we are in the world we all need compassion" We both broke down in tears and have been as thick as thieves ever since. Susan might not have the kind of patience that some of us have for dealing with certain situations or people and that's okay. She has a talent worth far more... She does the most beautiful and exquisite needlework I've ever seen! She has the patience to sit down and create these beautiful works of art when total chaos is going on around her. It doesn't frustrate her to look at the finely woven linen and get to work on it. Oh how I envy that (working on linen scares me). She got me back into working counted cross and fancy needlework stitching projects, this time with specialty hand dyed threads and I got her further into the realm of scrapbooking. Together we started a tribute album for her son Gareth.

*Barbara- She's my best friend from childhood. We met in the 3rd grade, we were both new kids at school, both shy too. We used to talk about how our lives would be when we grew up...she a mom with a half a dozen kids and me the explorer going all over the world and telling her in detail about where I've been and what I've done. Barbara never married, she lives in Santa Barbara with her elderly parents taking care of them. In 2001 (she'll correct me if I'm wrong on the year) She became very ill it started out being the flu and one morning she woke up to discover that she was paralyzed on one side of her body. Many tests were run on her during her time spent in the hospital only to discover that she has MS. It was then that she found out that she had this disease for many years only that it was dormant. It was a huge blow to her and to me. But she has been strong in her convictions in life sticking to those things that she believes in, I admire that. She rides a motorcycle and has more cats than I have kids.

I did become the explorer, just not in the context that I had planned for myself (hey-we were 12 at the time, LOL) and I make sure to tell her all about the places I've been and people I've met. I also became a wife and mother and that is an adventure of it's own :-)

Military Acronyms

I've been dealing with the military and those insane acronyms they use. AFPC, AMC, ACC, ORE, and ORI. There are so many of these that I have a hard time keeping them straight and most days I mess them up entirely. And to add to the confusion, there's the call signs. The guys/gals don't pick them, those are chosen by their peers. Over the years I've met aviators (men and women) with call signs like- Curtains (one of the first female B-1 aviators), Brains (which was a shortened version of his call sign actual call sign Shit for Brains), there's names like Cod, Flipper, Crusty, Sea Bass and Powder. Names that leave the mothers of these people wondering what on earth did my son or daughter do to get a call sign like that? And I'm hear to tell you that you just don't want to know- most times, it's like some sort of inside joke with the military members.

Can I laugh yet?

I admit it, I'm an information junkie. My nightstand has no less than 5 novels, all half read. Then there's the 20 different magazines, most of those have been read cover to cover and lie in a heap on the floor in front of my nightstand. So here I am every morning reading news stories for no less than 4 different sources. So when I come across and article that leaves me with a smirk on my face I do have to ask...Can I laugh yet?
Over on the MSNBC website I came across an article about some person who started a website devoted to complaining about ones neighbors. I'm sorry but I have to roll my eyes with this one. So I grab another cup of coffee and head out to read this article. Now I do see where this could have started off as being something with good intentions - a website to locate information on a neighborhood or area in which you are interested into buying a home. And as we all know...buying a home is a major investment and those buying homes want to be moving into a nice neighborhood. But I also can see this as being some sort of mean and vindictive way of posting fabricated crap about your neighbors and the goings on in your particular neighborhood. Then again you could post lies about people and not even live in the neighborhood. My advice is to look at the houses next door, down the street and around the corner to the house that you want to buy. If there are 4 cars up on blocks in the drive way or front yard... that's a pretty good indication that you just might not want to buy in that neighborhood, unless you too plan on having cars on blocks then it would be a perfect location for you. Make your own assessments, bring in others, be it friends or professional people those of which will tell you the truth and have them do an evaluation of the property and the surrounding area. And best of all, don't judge the neighbors until YOU actually meet them!

Dolphins rescue surfer from shark

Why can't we have more "interesting" news versus such negative news? So with that thought I'm going to have a link to what I think is a true human interest story...http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21689083/ this is a story about a pod of dolphins saving a man from what could have been a fatal attack by a great white shark.

No school today...

So if there's no school why on earth am I up so darn early? It bugs me to no end when I wake up at the crack of dawn and everyone else is sleeping so soundly. As usual, my kitty is here next to me-sleeping. Why is it that cats like babies can sleep just about any where and at any time during the day or night?

My foot (heel/ankle area actually) has been getting more and more painful to walk upon. I've got take time out and call the doctor and get an x-ray. There are times that the pain is just excruciating! Torn tendon, bone spurs or a broken bone...whatever it is, it hurts a great deal! Just another story to put in my book of not taking time out for myself.

Recalls

Here we go again with another recall of something made in China. This recall really has me freaked out. By simply ingesting one of more of the toy beads to this game a chemical change occurs and turns the coating of these beads into the chemical compound known as the Date Rape drug - gamma hydroxy butyrate. Now how many freaks out there were running to buy the game once that announcement had been made? That's a real scary thought now isn't it? No one's mentioned that side of this recall.

From items like pet food that killed hundreds of pets here in the USA and Canada to the toothpaste with antifreeze in it and frozen fish with excessively high levels of lead and other toxins (again effecting the same 2 countries). I don't know about you, but my family is worth me taking a couple of minutes to read the label and find the country of origin. If it's food or personal hygiene items and they're made in China...I'm not buying it period! We get so tied up in buying from the big discount chains that we look at only one thing...Price. When we should be looking at other factors like where it's made and reading what is exactly in those products. I take the time to see that everything I buy is made in the US but there are many other personal items and food items out there that are made in other countries. Saving a buck or two is not worth the health risk of any one of my family members...is it of yours?

Making time for yourself...

That's one of those things that's easier said than done. I know, I've been experiencing a lot of putting myself last these past couple of weeks. I need to get back to the gym and the pool...the OSC Auction and the Thrift Shop took up a great deal of my time last week. I hate it when my time is divided between all sorts of things that I have no control over. I also dislike the fact that one most days we get maybe one or two people that can volunteer at the Thrift Shop other than myself. I feel as if I'm letting Heidi down if I don't come in and work. I feel so torn some days.

Girlfriends...

Here it is,the much anticpated picture of Cindy, enjoy!

Ozzy in Rapid City

My husband and I found out about a month ago that Ozzy Osborne was going to preform at the Civic Center in Rapid City...we toyed with the idea of buying tickets and going to see him live. Then after looking at the price of the tickets we decided to skip it as they were rather pricey and we are new homeowners...for the 3rd time and Christmas is just around the corner.

Then we heard that the base was giving out free tickets on Monday...first come first serve and there were 300 of those tickets. My DH was able to get 4 tickets, one for each of us. Being the "good parents" that we are, we took our kids to the concert. Needless to say Hannah and I had enough with the warm up band, then there was Rob Zombie (insert major eye rolling here). Yup, we could sum him up with one word-FREAK. I'm sorry but I just don't get why there has to be naked breasts being flashed on a huge screen for thousands of people to see...what is with that? I'm serious I really don't get it. Then Ozzy comes on, Hannah and I waited until he preformed 2 songs and we were outta there. That's it, it's official- I'm old, LOL! I saw women my age and older trying to act like they were 20, worse yet...dressing like they still had the body of a 20 year old when they didn't (I had to hold myself back from laughing). Unless it's a classical music concert, count me out!

Laughter every day keeps the gloomies away

I laugh every day...do you? There is truth to the quote from Bill Nye if you stop and really think about it...you'll see the humor.





Last night I felt as if yesterday was a wasted day...spent waiting for a phone call that never happened and waiting for the drywall contractor that never showed up. I did manage to finally finish a layout, pulled paper cardstock and some photo's to start on a few more layouts. Although for one layout I want to use fall colors and haven't a clue as to what pictures I'm going to use on it...I'll find one today :-) I was able to get a couple of loads of laundry done, got the house picked up and took a nap...as I look back and reflect on what I accomplished, that it really wasn't a wasted day after all.

I found a picture of myself with dark hair...there's a story behind it. I had made my hair dark for a function where I dressed up as Audrey Hepburn's' character Holly Golightly from the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's". I decided that I liked it and kept it that way for a year. I'd have to go to the hair dresser every few weeks and have highlights/low lights and roots & such touched up as my hair grew. Then I went to a "new" hair dresser as mine had moved out of state. She took it upon herself to "update my do". Next thing I know, my hair was ultra dark with the ends tipped in BLACK. Needless to say I was horrified, but there wasn't enough time for me to have anything done to it before I flew out to Boston for CKU-Masters. I had my husband cut off the black ends (it was about 3 inches of hair that had to be cut off). So there I was with really dark hair, feeling as if I was in the witness protection program and having a cow every time I saw myself in the mirror because I didn't recognize myself. I had not scrapped a single picture from that event because I didn't like the pictures of myself. But today I decided that I'm going to scrap the picture that Becky Higgins took of me, I like the picture, it's a good picture it's just my hair color that I don't like, and how some of the shadows fell upon my face. So with that in mind I'm going to journal about the updated do and go from there. And after I returned from my trip it was within the week that I was back to being a blonde and feeling like myself again.

quote of the week

"Humor is everywhere, in that there's irony
in just about anything a human does."
~ Bill Nye

10 reasons...

Here it is...that layout I've been attempting to put together for almost a week!

Green cardstock-DCWV (this stuff is white core)

Yellow cardstock-Bazzill

Patterned paper- Chatter Box scrapbook walls Mantle Stripe

Letters Ellison Design "Block Party" font and the Number 10- Sizzix

Scallop Punch-Stampin Up

My inspiration for this was something I spotted on the web the designers name is Hillary Heidelberg http://hillaryheidelberg.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2007/10/06/celeste.jpg- I put my own spin on it and here I am!

Monday Monday Monday

Yup, it's Monday oh so glorious Monday. So to start my week off let me tell you about something that started last week...I've got a rash on my wrist, what it's from I haven't a clue but it's getting progressively worse. Last night it was so horribly itchy that I had to cover my wrist with a rather large gauze pad and tape it down over it. I suppose that's what happens when you're allergic to all kinds of things like I am-oh well just another day in my life. Or should I say just another rash in my life. I'm not supposed to wear cashmere or angora because of my allergic reactions to the "hairs" but from time to time I do wear them (they're so soft and cuddly- sometimes I can't help myself). But to my knowledge I didn't wear either kind of sweater this past week- only cotton. My husband thinks that it's some kind of insect bite, I need to make a phone call and get myself an appointment and have this rash looked at-while I'm there I should get my heel looked at too. Damn, sounds as if I'm falling apart ...one little piece at a time.

The kids will be off to school shortly and I'm going to be off to my scrapbook nook to finally get that layout stuck down. Maybe if I didn't clean my house, cook or do laundry I'd get more scrapbooking done.

And I added a picture to my post about the OSC auction- I included a picture of what I got from the auction, you can click on the photo to enlarge it.

what ever happened to...

Steve Fossett the avaiator? I've included a link to a website with information about the avaiator http://www.stevefossett.com/

Now what I find disturbing is the fact that people not even worthy of our notice are getting all sorts of media attention due to the fact that once upon a time they were famous for posing in a nudie magazine or dating some rich old geezer or having graphic pictures of themselves having sex with thier boyfriend published on the internet. Three words...GET A LIFE! I've been looking and waiting for information on this man for weeks and NOTHING has been said. So what gives? Maybe if he had some secret gay lover on the side it would be news worthy (I have little to no respect for any news source that plays on that kind of media hype)...who knows. But seriously, here is someone worth reading about, I encourage you to read about his accomplishments.

Some weekend blogging...

Why is it that everyone in my family can sleep like there is no tomorrow and I can't? So I've been productive in my waking hours...setting the clocks back an hour (there I go...giving more sleep time to the rest of my family), tidying up the kitchen and dining room. I've even written a letter to my sister Angie. I like the quiet of the early morning, to me it's the most peaceful time of day.

I received an e-mail from Cindy...our Auction netted over $15,760 plus $1,500 from the jail. Did I mention that I got put into jail 3 times? What was with that? I suppose that's what happens when people get to know you, they want to put you in the poky! :-) All of the funds generated from the auction (and jail) go towards such a great cause...our OSC scholarship fund.

As I'm pouring over my latest issue of Cooks Illustrated I'm finding out all sorts of things! The baking sheet article was fantastic! For years I've blame the stove for the burnt cookies but now knowing what I do about baking sheets, cookie sheets and jelly roll pans...well those over priced thin pans are out the door! It's the heavy duty commercial grade food service pans for me from now on! Currently I'm reading up on a taste test comparison that CI did on Turkeys. All I have to say is that it's Very Interesting! I knew some of the stuff that they talk about in this cooking comparison and there's even more that I didn't know about. For anyone who really wants to know/learn more about food, cooking tools and techniques...this magazine is the one to read! There are NO advertisements, just very well written and researched articles.

The weather is fluctuating...some days are very warm and other days are down right bitterly cold. We had the warmest Halloween in 5 years, so why not some more weird weather? Today's high is supposed to get to 66º, um yes I'd say that it's unseasonably warm for this time of year. Time to get some extra mulch down on the plants before the first snow- which will probably happen some time this month.

Our 2007 OSC Charity Auction...

The theme was Lights, Camera, Auction. It was a HUGE success! The place was beautiful! Dannie did a lovely job in getting the place decorated and Cindy...oh Cindy was able to pull the entire theme together and make the place come alive! The items were displayed beautifully, making each and every one eye catching! I've saved a couple of the programs to have for my scrapbook :-) I can tell that everyone who was on auction committee worked very hard. I won't go through and name them all, but every single person involved did and outstanding job! The table center pieces had reels of film with small Oscar statues in the middle, the gold fabric that seems to like like it was waving in the wind looked like a bit of Hollywood. We even had the Hollywood sign on a hillside back drop...one words sums it up "Brilliant"!

The bidding was crazy! The live auction was fast paced and it was amazing!You really did have to be paying attention to what the auctioneer was saying because before you knew it something that you had thought was $80 was suddenly $180- yikes! These auctioneers knew their stuff and they were awesome! They kept us excited and ready to bid!

So many wonderful items were donated from residents and businesses here in the Black Hills community. Without their continued support we could not have pulled off our charity auction off. For this I say Thank You!

Many squadrons from around the base put together gift baskets. The 34th Bomb Squadrons' wine tasting party netted $750 for the auction. The 26" flat panel TV donated by Sound Pro netted $925- WOW! There was a progressive dinner for 10 on the auction block that is being hosted by the Group Commanders...that went for $350! I'm happy to say that my husband and I are part of that party of 10 folks who won the dinner!

My girlfriend Kristi makes these phenomenally yummy gourmet liquor brownies- they are the BEST!!! Her brownies sold for $100... bought by our good friend Gail who shared them with our table :-)


Speaking of desserts...my desserts were placed on live auction, my 3 layer chocolate torte sold for $120 and my Classic New York Cheesecake sold for $70- I'm speechless! To think that we can raise money like that from baking yummy things that makes your mouth smile- WOW!

There were many items donated by military and non-military families...
Our good friends the Greenlee's donated a travel cooler and it generated $100 for the auction, my friend Peggy donated a basket of goodies from Stampin Up... it went for well over $100! My friend Irene donated some Polish Pottery-I was out bid numerous times on it, LOL! Did I end up with it? No, LOL! The oak coin case that my husband and I donated sold for $120. I'm glad that these items made as much as they did...all of the proceeds go towards collage scholarships for the dependents (children & spouses) of active duty and retired military members.

Now you're probably wondering...did Sandie get anything from this auction? Why yes, yes I did! I did manage to get an item from the fast moving silent auction, it was a metal sign #S28 Jurassic Park (I love it) donated by Inspire Me Card Kits Co., it has a dinosaur on it and a cute saying... Think Big, instinct is natural...follow your heart. And I also have my future Christmas Present...item #L45 "As Good as it Gets" (everything is listed as movie titles). I won't tell you how much we paid but I will list what was in the package....a Dooney and Burke black leather handbag (a big one too), a Guess silver ladies Watch, RayBan Sunglasses, and an I-Pod Nano, wooohooo!!!! Merry Christmas to me!

I'm not sure on how much money was generated from the auction, I'm sure that I'll get the numbers in the next few days and let you all know :-)

Everyone I came across told me what a lovely evening it was. I wish that you all could have been there, for it truly was a night to remember!

My Cookbook Nook: Parchment Paper or heat resistant Silicone Mat?

My Cookbook Nook: Parchment Paper or heat resistant Silicone Mat?

a day in my life...

I want to do nothing more than to scrapbook but other things are pulling me away from doing what I want to do. For instance...there's that heap of laundry that needs washing, tidying up the house, cleaning bathrooms and the many other domestic chores that go hand in hand with maintaining a household.
Currently (like as of this very moment) I'm waiting for a plumber to come over and make sure that my guest bathroom shower is not leaking. Then I can go on and mop the kitchen and bathroom floors.

I've got my sewing machine out and I'm ready to get to work on sewing paper on a scrapbook layout. I also need to get the journaling done for the page- so it too can be sewed on to the page. I love the paper and colors of cardstock that I chose for this layout (you know...the one I keep talking about but haven't showed you what it looks like).
Well I better get on it...

My Cookbook Nook: Baking pans and Cookie sheets

My Cookbook Nook: Baking pans and Cookie sheets

My Cookbook Nook: Cooking Magazines...

My Cookbook Nook: Cooking Magazines...

53 Days until Christmas...

There I said it...there are 53 shopping days to go until Christmas. I've got some of my Christmas Shopping already done (and it's ready to be shipped), now to work on my own immediate family.

Today I'm working on finishing up my desserts for the OSC Charity Auction (the auction is tomorrow). The cheesecake is made and is getting thoroughly chilled in the refrigerator. The Chocolate Torte needs to be put together and then into the refrigerator to get chilled and the chocolate to "set up".

Other than that I've been up to some house stuff...changing out shower curtain liners (I do that every 6 months whether they need it or not), I also bought some fancy schmancy shower curtain rings. I'm so tired of these cheapo plastic rings, they always become separated and the liner part falls off...so now I have these metal ones that have these rolling parts on the top that glide over the rod and it's got hooks on the front and hooks on the back where the shower curtain hangs on one part and the liner hangs on a separate part (these are seriously deluxe). Towels... Since we're actually going to have some house guests for the Thanksgiving holiday...I've decided to break down and buy towels specifically for that bathroom. Now only if the drywall guys would call and set up an appointment to replace the wall board where the water leak damage occurred, maybe then I could paint the bathroom walls.

more pictures from Halloween

I love my rat ...I named him Templeton, next you see Hannah setting up her strobe light and the little luminary bags that Hannah made.

Pictures from Halloween

Are you ready to laugh? Here's our house ready for Halloween...

Picture 1- Halloween window with a groovy pumpkin sheer and of course orange candles in the candle sticks

picture 2- one of the trees in our front yard, I have to say that I like the background of the sun setting low in the night sky.

picture 3-our front porch...what can I say, my husband really likes Halloween!

Picture 4-This is our front porch with the smoke machine going-yes that's me at the front door blocking my face from the paparazzi, LOL!

Happy Halloween!

Here it is Halloween Day! I started on the brown Jedi robe yesterday and will finish it up today plus I'll be baking those gourmet desserts of the OSC Charity auction.

I'm off to work on some projects and will be back later to post pi tures and what not.

Halloween cards

Halloween is my husbands favorite holiday. So with him and our daughter in mind...I've made some spooktacular Halloween cards.

I've used some paper that's been hanging around in my scrapbook nook, a new paper punch from Stampin Up and a couple of stamps from Hero Arts. Next you'll see my Turkey Day greeting card. I used Bazzill cardstock to create the layered look and the turkey (Turkey is a 2 pc quickutz die ), a Hero Arts one line stamp and there you have it!

Halloween items...

Here they are...the much promised photo's of the Halloween items I've made-enjoy!

I made this at a Stampin Up event and I give credit to my SU consultant Peggy for this great idea! I've gone and used a QuicKutz die (the ghost) and inked the edges in black (soot black from Tim Holtz). I've used eyelets set with my crop-a-dile versus the stapler that Peggy used in her Stampin Up demonstration. I've also used large brads, I used the crop-a-dile to punch the holes and it does an excellent job at cutting though several layers of Bazzill cardstock at one time.

What I did over the weekend...

Besides washing 6 loads of laundry, making 3 batches of brownies with my daughter, designing a cute greeting card for Turkey Day and transplanting 4 plants and a wonderful crock pot full of my oh so yummy chicken soup...I also started a layout about our cat. It's pretty cute and I'll need to whip out the journaling later on this afternoon and get it posted here and a few other places. I was inspired by a layout I saw done on another blog...that person had done the layout about her kids but I wanted to do this about the cat.

I'm going to post pictures...I promise! Thats my major goal for today!

Scattagories

I got this from my friend Liz V- she's always sending fun stuff like this. But I have to tell ya...it was easy for me to do but I can see it being a little more difficult for other letters of the alphabet. Try it and have fun with it today!


Scattagories...it's harder than it looks! Copy and paste into a new email.
When you are done, send it on, including to the person who sent it to you.
Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following...
they have to be real places, names, things...nothing made up!
Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the
same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name
question.

What is your name? Sandie
Four letter word: Soup
Vehicle: Stealth
TV Show: Show me the Money
City: Sacramento
Girl Name: Samantha
Alcoholic drink: Seagram’s and 7up
Boy Name: Steve
Something you wear: Socks
Occupation: Social worker
Celebrity: Sharon Stone
Food: Sandwich
Something found in a bathroom: Soap
Reason for Being Late: Sleeping in
Cartoon Character: Scooby Doo
Something You Shout: Stop it!

Ghirardelli Chocolate...YUM!

How do you welcome new neighbors? Do you go over right away and introduce yourself? Or do you wait until they are outside one day and maybe then introduce yourself? For me I like to do it right way. I bake and give brownies but not just any brownies will do. You see, I love to bake with Ghirardelli Chocolate. And if I'm going to give anything it's got to be made with the best chocolate available to me. So today Hannah and I made a triple batch of brownies- a thick 8x8 pan full for each new family and of course an 8x8 pan for us too! I have to make thick gooey brownies with melted chocolate pieces in them, it's just what I'm driven to do! Oh one other thing- NO NUTS! Rich chocolaty brownies and a tall glass of milk- m'm m'm! I can hardly wait to cut into our brownies, just thinking about the 3 pans of brownies cooling on my kitchen counter is making me hungry for chocolate!

magazine subscription renewals

What is up with all of these magazine companies sending out notices for renewal when my subscription doesn't expire for another year to 6 months? Are they that desperate for money right now? Because I tell ya what...It's really getting quite annoying! Granted there are some that I won't renew until the absolute last minute and others that I renew right away. I've decided to "cull the herd" this year and not renew some of my subscriptions. I figure that if I'm not finding the articles to be interesting or if the features are lacking in details or format...then it's time to end the subscription. How many folks out there suffer through reading one terrible issue after another only because they have a subscription? I read recently how a person wasn't going to renew a certain scrapbooking magazine and was waiting for her subscription to run out. Myself...if the magazine is that bad, I'd cancel my subscription, none of that waiting around for it to expire crap for me!

I recently received my November/December issue of Archaeology magazine...LOVE IT! I've subscribed to it for over a decade and I've never found it to be boring or lackluster. Now don't you even think that I keep these magazines around. I crack up with my father in law who keeps every issue of National Geographic...then tries to get us to take them. Um, no thanks, we have our own subscription, LOL! The last time we were in Boston he tried to get us to take 2 years worth of magazines with us- I shake my head and laugh.

Optimistic or Pessimistic?

Some days I'm a little of both. Do you look at your glass as half empty or half full? For me I, prefer to view it as being half full with a big ole bottle of red wine standing by to fill it up :-)

My day to day life is not without it's ups and downs, But no matter what I try to see the humor in things. Take my son Andrew and the recent event where he tried to donate all of our hats, gloves and scarves. I can't stay mad long when I know that he was trying to do something "good" for others that are less fortunate. He did come home from school on Thursday to show off his new service ribbons:-) He gave me a big hug and thanked me for my help with the coat drive. He makes me so proud! He has such a big heart and loves to help out people. His group was able to collect 280 coats- of which they will be distributing to needy families today.

I brought both of my children to work at the Thrift Shop on Friday. They got to see just how truly busy we are and how we provide a much sought after service. I like to show my children that they do have a good life, that there are families that don't have the comforts that we have. Andrew has volunteered at the homeless shelter preparing and serving meals. Hannah always grabs a few starts from the Angel Tree at church and is the one that gets me started on the Toy Drive for the 1st Sergeants Association. If there's anything that I hope to give to my children it's to have a giving heart. To be generous not only with money but with their time. To be optimistic...that they have the ability to make a difference.

Saying good-bye to a good friend

What is it that makes us sad at saying good-bye to good friends? My girlfriend Catreese and her husband left yesterday for their new assignment in Kentucky. I'll say it, I'm going to miss Catreese greatly. Her smile was warm and inviting and her friendship-well she is just one of those kinds of women with whom you feel adds to your overall well being, one that makes you a better person for knowing her. She would bring plates of delicious decadent gourmet brownies and other yummy treats to the Thrift Shop for us to nibble on while working. Catreese is someone that I could see myself going into business with...I could see us opening up a bakery together :-)

My most sincere wish for my dear friend is to dive right into and become a member of the OSC and get involved in something good...like volunteering at the base Thrift Shop. To get out and start making friends. I'm sure that she will do okay, she's a wonderful and thoughtful friend and others will see that endearing quality of that I'm sure! So for now I say farewell to my friend, but this is the Air Force...so I'm sure that we will being seeing each other again in the future!

New Neighbors!

I'm excited...new neighbors are moving into the Bar Red House in the cul-de-sac (we're on the corner so it's kind of behind our house). The story on the house is this...it was a custom house that was built for a military couple who still had a home to sell at another assignment...they were unable to sell their home in the other state and their time had run out on the contract on this home. So this house has been sitting there...finished waiting for someone to buy it. So it finally sold and the folks started moving into it yesterday. Having that house on the market for so long and it's being the 2nd highest priced house in this neighborhood is kind of risky but it finally sold. I hope to meet the new neighbors this weekend, bring them over a small welcome gift from the HOA and a welcome to the neighborhood greeting card from myself. I love the thought of new neighbors...they have such great potential to turn into new friends!

The kids are off from school today so I'm dragging them into to work with me...at the Thrift Shop. Andrew needs to complete 100 community service hours for confirmation and we've got him well on his way. Today he'll get in 5 hours at the Thrift Shop (if he can last that long) and then tomorrow the JROTC has him working just as long or longer distributing coats from their recent coat drive. Hannah actually wants to come and work...she loves the Thrift Shop and finds it interesting to be there. Both of my children are good kids, I'm blessed and I owe it all to the Lord. I can't have any more children- for the risk of dieing while pregnant, that was told to me right after I gave birth to Hannah. I wanted to have more but the Lord had other plans for me. I always joke around and say "2 kids...my mental and financial limit". Being the mother of two exceptionally bright children can be pretty taxing some days. I'll admit it, I'm not gifted in mathematics, no way shape or form that all goes to my husband. And I'm so proud that our children are right there with him...but they also have interests in my stuff...Science, forensics, archeology and of course...paper crafting and cooking :-) Hannah wants to try her hand at making decadent desserts Andrew wants to learn to make comfort foods such as homemade macaroni & cheese (recipe courtesy of Alton Brown) we've made it before and it was out of this world YUMMY, cheesy potatoes (recipe courtesy of René P) always a family favorite and the Jambalaya-recipe he saw Emeril make on his TV show. Andrew and I made it before and he thought that he was in heaven when eating it!

So today is quality time with my children, showing them what I do while they are in school and how we (through volunteering) are helping to make our community stronger. This is time well spent- what else would they be doing but playing games on their computers all day. This gets them out the door and into real life.

Do you have "Seasonal Home Decor"?

Do you ever get tired of your home looking the same way? I love to change things out for the seasons. Be it something in the kitchen, dining room, entry way or the guest bathroom. I have wall art that gets changed out with the seasons. In the past, I've also made window treatments for the various seasons :-) I have yet to hang then in this house but will be starting this as soon as I find a curtain rod that appeals to me for the entry way.

There are so many little thing you can do to change the look and feel of your home for the seasons. From your dinnerware to place mats and table cloths to fabric napkins and glassware. This is the time of year to start looking for those things to add to your collection. I love shopping at this time of year, I always find interesting items to dress up my dining tables.

I'm in the mood for change and today I'm going to change some more things around! I think I've also settled on a curtain rod...time to make a trip to JC Penney!

There's something to be said about...

Being Happy! I've been happy all day long! No matter what went on or who wasn't happy (Heidi was in a bad mood all day) I just couldn't help but to smile and feel HAPPY!!! No there's nothing extraordinary going on in my life...I just feel happy and so happy in fact that I've been making others feel happy too!

So here I am at home...thinking WOW! It's been a fantastic day! I have to say that smiling and being cheerful is infectious. I hate to see people being sad and feeling lonely and left out. Our last customer of the day came in her name is Felicia...she's new to our base. I could tell that she was very lonely and looking for some adult conversation. I got her to open up and talk a bit about herself. It kills me when I see women who are obviously lonely and are having a hard time meeting people and making new friends at a new assignment. I invited her to come spend some time with us at the thrift shop volunteering, that we pay for child care at the CDC and we're always good company! I sincerely hope that she takes me up on the offer.

It's left over night here at my house...I need to clear out the refrigerator so no cooking for me, it's microwave action tonight! Woohoo...it's vegetarian chili for me! As for everyone...grab a box and heat it up! The more I get cleared out the better!

Now it's Miller Time, okay it's not really. But I will pour myself a glass of wine and read some more of my Agatha Christie novel "The Halloween Party". Are you reading any good books??? I'd love to know!

As I get ready for yet another day of running with scissors... I spent a leisurely morning reading the news online...no TV news for me if I can help it. I'm wondering how Barbara (my best friend from childhood) is doing. You see, she lives in Santa Barbara and I've been reading about all of the evacuations going on out there. Those wild fires are seriously scary...the winds can whip up very quickly and before you know it, your home is surrounded by fire. My thoughts and prayers are with her today...I hope to hear from her soon.

how scary are you?

Another fun quiz ...

You Are Not Scary

Everyone loves you. Isn't that sweet?

How Scary Are You?

What part of fall are you?

Kim over at www.3scrappyboys.com is such a crack up! Here's another one of her little quiz's that I'm taking and using as a blog challenge, I'd love to see what part of Fall you are!

You Are a Silly Hat

Cute, funny, and a little dorky.

What Part of Fall Are You?

It's all about money...trivia

TIP is the acronym for "To Insure Promptness

 

                                      ***

 

 

            Show Me the Money - it's too heavy  

 

The world's largest coins, in size and standard value,  

were copper plates used in Alaska around 1850. They were  

about a meter (3 ft) long, half-a-meter (about 2 ft)  

wide, weighed 40 kg (90 lb), and were worth $2,500.  

 

                             ***  

 

                       Gambling Slang  

 

In gambling language, for a gambling house a "sure-thing"  

is a wager that a player has little chance of winning;  

"easy money" is their profit from an inexperienced bettor,  

an unlucky player is called a "stiff."  

 

                             ***  

 

                 Nokia: a phone and a town  

 

In 1865, Frederik Idestam founded a wood-pulp mill in  

southern Finland, naming it Nokia. It rapidly gained  

worldwide recognition, attracting a large number of  

workers and the town Nokia was born. In 1898, the Finnish  

Rubber Works Company opened in Nokia, taking on the town  

name in the 1920s. After WWII, the rubber company took a  

majority shareholding in the Finnish Cable Work. In 1967,  

the companies consolidated to become the Nokia Group. The  

recession of the 1990s led the group to focus on the mobile  

phone market.  

 

 

 

 

Let me make you laugh today

Bugs creep me out like no one knows...and these Box Elder bugs are pretty darn creepy looking! What I find amazing is how we've lived out here for 4 years and I've never really noticed these insects until now...you know now that we're home owners. These bugs just seem to like our house, but only the south facing parts. YUCK!!! So now for me to look for an effective poison to rid my house of these unsightly insects! Who would want to ring the door bell to my house or even approach the front door when those bugs are all over the place? Just plain EEEeeeewwww covers that one.

Okay so I'm a bug-a-phob and I can see the humor in it. These bugs don't bite and are pretty harmless but damn if the sheer number of them gives me the heebie jeebies! Here's a link to see what they look like - http://www.ivyhall.district96.k12.il.us/4TH/KKHP/1INSECTS/boxelder.html
and to think that there are dorks in this town that think that the bug is named after the town...get real! This insect has been around long before the town of Box Elder has been in existence.

I've heard that we're supposed to be having a very cold winter and that is why we are seeing a more than normal amount of insects trying to get inside of our homes for the winter. We've got spiders and they just keep coming! My kids are seriously freaked out by spiders (in retrospect, maybe I shouldn't have let them watch all of those horror movies that featured mutant spiders when they were younger-insert small chuckle here). now the one insect we don't seem to have at the moment (knock on wood) are ants. Maybe they are the smartest of the bugs and have already gone underground to start their long winters nap.

Coffee coffee coffee...

It's true, I love coffee! It's my morning beverage of choice!

So here it is, a glorious Saturday morning and I've already tidied up the kitchen, taken out the trash and recyclables and am working on getting some items in the foyer taken out to the garage and the formal dining room straighten up. I want to get the Halloween stuff put out today too. Maybe Hannah and Lucien will team up and do it all-since it is their favorite holiday and all.

Now I do have plans on going into my scrapbook nook and working on a project. I want to make something but I don't know what. Maybe it'll be the Christmas Tree from scrapbook paper or I'll finish the magnetic board- who knows!

What's your favorite time of day?

We all have our favorite time of day...where we have time to ourselves to regroup or relax. Mine is early morning- before everyone else in my household is awake. I Like to make a pot of coffee (actually its automatic and is ready when I get up). I read the news on-line, take time to tidy up the kitchen (if I didn't do it before I went to bed). I like to write my letters in the morning, catch up with friends and put things in order all before anyone else in the house realizes what has happened...kind of like elves have been here :-)
So what is your favorite time of day? Stop and think about it for a moment. What time of day do you get the most work done or feel most at ease?

Someone is going to lose a job

Minot AFB and it's nuclear "incident" are in the news again. Here are links to the latest news stories...
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/10/ap_minot_firings_071018/
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/5225300.html
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-10/19/content_6190590.htm
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20427730/
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/207062
I can't really say that any of this comes to me as being a "surprise". I think that anyone with half a brain could figure out that there would be some serious repercussions from this incident. What is sad is it's effects on the family of the military member. My heart goes out to them.

What kind of coffee girl are you?

You Are a Plain Ole Cup of Joe

But don't think plain - instead think, uncomplicated You're a low maintenance kind of girl... who can hang with the guys Down to earth, easy going, and fun! Yup, that's you: the friend everyone invites. And your dependable too. Both for a laugh and a sympathetic ear.

What Kind of Coffee Girl Are You?

M.O.M. aka Mission of Madness

Kids...insert eye roll here. I love my children I really do but there are times where I just have to shake my head and occasionally raise my voice to them for doing truly stupid things. Take my usually thoughtful son...today I attribute his ignorance to being a teenage boy, LOL! He bagged up ALL of our gloves and hats and was going to take them to school for a hat/scarf/glove drive. Thank the Lord I had the curiosity of looking in the bag- I literally had a First Class Conniption Fit! What on earth is/was this boy of ours thinking? He's not thinking and that's the problem! So when I asked him what he was thinking..."Oh I thought they were old things that we weren't using that were in the dresser in Hannah's room. Um- HELLO what on this planet makes you think that things we currently use are suddenly "things we don't use? Every single pair of special insulated cold weather gloves (you know...the ones that cost (on sale no less) between $50 to $90 per pair), then there was our leather gloves that we were with dress coats and more. The child had several hundred dollars worth of gloves and hats in the bag. I was ready to lynch him! It's not that I buy new ones every year nor do I want to. I buy quality made ones so I won't have to buy them year after year. The saying goes..."Buy cheap and you'll buy twice" and it's a very true saying too. So the drive for these items ends tomorrow...I'll buy my boy some stuff from the Thrift Shop- and he now knows to ASK HIS MOTHER before he takes anything from our house!

Hannah is driving me nuts with Halloween- every day I am bombarded with more of her charts and drawings of what she wants to do to the house. Once upon a time it was cute, now when I see her coming with her "plans" I try to hide :-p Christmas is my thing, always has been I wish that everyone else could get behind it like I do. She and her Dad really get into the spirit of Halloween.

Of course it's windy today, how windy? Gusts in the 50+mph range and the wind chill being down around 29º yup I'd say that's rather nippy! Of course I feel super itchy today (dry skin). And since I have long hair that goes down to the middle of my back I have to figure out how to wear it without my head being cold, itchy or looking like I've been through and electrical storm, LOL! Lovely huh? And no doubt that it will be freezing cold in the Thrift Shop today- so that means wearing layers and many of them too! It's days like that that I'd love to stay home, curl up with a good book, have my kitty in my lap while drinking hot apple cider. But alas I have obligations that require me to leave the house.

Time for me to get items together in my picnic basket as I am making sure to eat a healthy lunch today. Skipping meals is not good for anyone and especially not in cold weather when your body needs fuel to keep you warm.

Scrapbooking...

There's something for everyone! The industry has gone through many changes in the past 7 years...many have been good. We've seen many trends come and go. And just like the clothing industry old styles/trends come full circle and are suddenly "hip" all over again. Am I glad that I never threw away my corner rounder? I suppose so (I say this with a smirk on my face). I don't use it on my photos but I do use it from time to time on cardstock and patterned paper.

It's starting out as a foggy day but the forecast is saying rain. I hope it rains as I love this kind of weather- it's perfect scrapping weather! I know that I get more scrapbook work done when the weather is yucky then when it's bright and sunny. There's something to be said about a steamy mug of hot chocolate over loaded with marshmallows and having a chick flick playing on my little DVD player while I'm playing with Bazzill Cardstock and Prima flowers. OH and a floral scented Yankee candle burning helps set the mood for me too!

So today is a creative day! I ordered some pictures from Shutterfly and they should be here by Friday. I'm going to print some more at home and go through some older photos that I had printed a while ago. I'm going to get creative with pictures from our Hawaiian vacation, the OSC Halloween Party and more!

Is it a full moon or what???

Okay it's Tuesday and we were out the door swamped with consignees and shoppers! I knew it was going to be busy when I drove up and saw 5 cars parked out front at 9 am. We had over 20 folks consigning items to sell and it was nonstop BUSY! For the first couple of hours it was just the 2 of us, Heidi and me. To add to the chaos, I managed to make the computer in the consignment area freeze up and then computer in the front end to freeze up (I'm gifted in that manner) and then every pen I tried dried up and every pencil I pulled out to write with broke. I think that gremlins were hard at work trying to get me to have a bad day. Then I dropped a spring form pan and bent it-augh!!!!!! Some days I wonder why I even get out of bed, LOL!

I find out that my latest philanthropic drive for the Airmen and Family readiness center was almost a lost cause. Apparently I did not know that they no longer accept donations of baby items...even though they are constantly requested. I think that was a stupid thing to do- to get rid of a program that really helps out families in need. BUT...a wonderful lady named Sue came into the thrift shop today and I had her take the items I had collected and give them to a needy family. I felt bad because we didn't get very much in the way of donations but I need to look at the bigger picture- every item we collected last Thursday can help a family in such a big way.

So after a hectic day I need to unwind...time for me to whack at some vegetables with a sharp knife and create something YUMMY!

Thanksgiving Traditions

I prefer to make my own traditions...so with that I make chocolate cake. My family members are just crazy about it, so I try to make some sort of fancy schmancy cake to wow them. I personally prefer a spiral cut honey ham but the rest of my little clan prefers TURKEY. With time and practice, I have come up with a combination of herbs that I rub inside and out on the bird and slow roast him to perfection. Then it's on to my roasted garlic mashed potatoes (yes there's a trick to making them as well)- never boil the water while the potatoes are in it, rather make it a slow bubble so the potatoes won't fall apart and become a soupy mess. Keep the skin on the potatoes while boiling too as it helps them to not fall apart. Gravy...there's only one kind we eat at this house and it's the white country gravy and it comes in a packet, LOL! None of that pan drippings stuff here-eeew! I can do without the thought of pouring grease on my spuds and turkey thank you very much!

 

Now if I really had it my way...I'd cook us up some wonderful rustic Italian, Indian, Spanish or German meal for us all. Anything but the obligatory turkey dinner!

 

Shoes...

SHOES, they say a lot about who you are.

You know...those things that go on your feet. I happen to adore shoes, all kinds of shoes. But since having 2 different kinds of surgeries on each foot, well I'm limited in what actually feels comfortable on my feet. And another funny thing I've learned these past few years was that I was wearing the WRONG SIZE shoe! When we moved out here 4 years ago I was wearing a size 6½ wide width shoe. Hold on to your hats because this will be disturbing...I bought two pairs of shoes over the weekend and each is a different size (different manufacturers too). My clogs are a size 8 and my brown dress shoes are an 8½- WOW huh? These clogs are by Merrell and are they ever wonderful! The fleece lining keep my feet toasty warm! My brown lace up shoes (I prefer to wear dress shoes versus sneakers when wearing dress pants or jeans) are by Börn, putting these shoes on my feet and lacing them up...they feel as if they were made just for me!

Lets face it, we women are vain creatures when it comes to revealing things like our actual clothing and shoe sizes. I always thought that shoes were supposed to be snug on your feet...little did I realize that I was causing myself some serious injuries to my feet that in time would require surgery one or more times to correct. So here I am, wearing anywhere from a 7½ to an 8½ shoe- all depending upon the design and manufacturer. I've found that by going to a runners shop that they will measure your feet accurately and get you set up with a pair of running shoes that are appropriate to you and your running or in my case walking style. That place looks at how you walk in your shoes. Very few places even measure your feet any more and those self service shoe stores are the WORST places to go, especially for children who need to have their feet measured properly. Over the summer I've seen many women clearly wearing the wrong size shoe, toes hanging over the edge, heals sticking way out over the back part of their sandals or heels. Now they can't tell me that by some quirk of fate that their shoes aren't uncomfortable. These women will one day be in some ugly looking orthopedic shoe hardly able to walk because their feet have become so crippled. Sounds harsh I know, but there it is none the less.

Do something special for yourself... treat yourself to a proper shoe fitting, you won't regret it what so ever!