The End of a Year

I guess this should be one of those posts that reflects upon 2011 and then looks to 2012. It should talk about the goals I set and accomplished, as well as those not yet reached. It should talk about my goals for the new year and the hopes and dreams I have.

Yep. It should. But I'm just not in the mood for it. I realize  that this is the last day to really be in this mood, but it just isn't happening for me. I don't feel reflective. I've tried to decide on goals for 2012, but I get nothing. Nada. So, this year, my New Year's resolutions will have to come sometime other than the New Year.

As for the past and the future....last year was a year. Next year will be one, too. And I'll do my best to do my best. And I'll come up short at times. And I'll go above and beyond at times. But mostly, I'll just plug along, day after day, doing what moms, wives, homeschoolers, seminary teachers, Latter Day Saints, friends, and relatives do. That is just fine by me because it will mean that I am living my life. I can't think of anything more important to do during 2012, can you?

Speaking of traditions...oh, I guess I wasn't, but I am now. I am a German Yankee and German Yankees eat pork and sauerkraut for New Years dinner, along with mashed potatoes. This was to bring good luck and prosperity. Keith is a NC Southern boy. He had pork jowls, collard greens, and black eyed peas. This was to bring good luck and prosperity. We do a bit of a compromise...well, more my way than his because I am the one that cooks! We will be having pork (not jowls, but loin) - in the crock pot, crocked with sauerkraut. We will have mashed potatoes. We will have black eyed peas. We will NOT have collard greens. I can't stand the way they  taste and the smell while they are cooking - let's just not go there. I will add to that biscuits, homemade cranberry sauce, and sweet potato pie. All are welcome to stop by!

In other news - Claudia and Eric are on their way to California where they will make their new home. They will be dearly missed. I can't wait until they come for a visit - possibly over Easter. Definitely during summer break. What to bake, oh, what to bake?!?

We really will miss these two!

Funny for the day: Keith has eczema in his ears. The doctor prescribed an ointment to put in his ear canal at night. Last night, he said the tube just didn't feel right in his hand. He looked down to realize that he had just put toothpaste in his ear.

The Slowdown

The daily Christmas event calendar is complete. Christmas came and went with happiness and fun and laughter. I couldn't have asked for a better time.

On the 23rd, we had the opportunity to have all 4 grandchildren for several hours. We baked cupcakes, played games, cut snowflakes, drew pictures, played the piano, played outside. It was fun. It was exhausting. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Time to decorate the cupcakes, and the hands, and the elbows, and the table!

Eric really liked the sprinkles. Want to guess which ones were his?

That evening, we had Kyle, Faith, Gena, and Jaxson over for Christmas. It was nice to see Faith and Kyle. We had not seen them in several months. I got 2 new cookbooks, which I will definitely use. In fact, that is on my list of things to do - find a few new recipes.

Gena started playing the violin this year. We got her a violin ornament, a violin book, and 2 "how to draw" books.

Jaxson sold over $600 in popcorn with the cub scouts this year. We got him a popcorn ornament. He also loves to read. We got him a subscription to National Geographic kids and then a book on submarines and one on the solar system.

Matthew got home on Friday as well. It was so nice having him here. He felt the same - mainly because of the food. He was even excited over leftovers for lunch! He just kept saying, wow, there is so much food in this house. He has been on the poor boy diet which includes a lot of rice and beans. He lost 13 pounds since August and didn't need to lose any. I was very glad to feed him. And was highly distressed to know how hungry he had been and hadn't called home. I remember trying to do it all myself at that age. 

Christmas day was wonderful. It started with breakfast, went on to presents, then to church. The kids went on to their dad's house and Keith took me to the Carolina Hotel Christmas Buffet. It was incredible. They had food that I couldn't pronounce and definitely food I'd never afford to try anywhere else! Keith thought he was trying some kind of jelly with crackers. I tried not to laugh - it was caviar. He seemed to enjoy it even when he realized what it was! I ate entirely too much dessert. The dessert table was 30 feet long and went down both sides. No one could pick just one.

Here are the appetizers. You should have seen the rest of it!

Church was lovely. Wonderful music. Truly enjoyable. I did get two laughs though. We had several narrators reading to us from the scriptures - mostly in Luke. One very southern gentleman read the part where the angel said hail to Mary. However, the accent made it sound like he swore at Mary. (say hail slowly and with a southern accent....get it?)  I couldn't look at Matthew because he was trying not to laugh as well. Then there was the part about the espoused wife. Except it was said exposed wife. Once again, I couldn't look at my kids. Or the people in front of me. Or behind me.  Thankfully a song came immediately and I was able to recover completely.

Monday we saw our friends Vaughn and Karen. Today we got to spend time with Keith's oldest daughter, Kim.

So, as Christmas comes to a close and I enjoy my decorations for just a few more short days, I am thankful for the wonderful season, for family, for friends, for all my many blessings, for the ability to help others during this season, for the gospel of Jesus Christ. And for the last time, until December of 2012, I wish you a Merry Christmas and all that goes with the season.

Long Past Due - More Christmas!

Well, I had high hopes that I would post almost daily during this wonderful Christmas season. And yet, here it is Dec 21 and I haven't posted since we put up Georgia's tree on the 6th. Shame on me.

Lots of those days were spent decorating - the outside, the inside, and eventually the tree. I love putting up my tree. The kids get ornaments every year that they will eventually take with them when they have a home of their own. I love looking at them and remembering. The year Kimberly was so into Barbies. The first year Rebekah was in a Christmas Carol. Katherine's first Christmas ornament. The year we saw the lighthouses on the NC coast. Flamingos. Penguins. All of Keith's nativity ornaments. The star I made when I was 5. The Love ornament Keith got me when we were dating. We have a lot of history on our tree. Oh, and the strung popcorn. We string it every year. I love it. The girls tolerate it. But I just can't imagine a tree without popcorn!

Don't you just love the 3 beautiful ornaments at the bottom of the tree!

We also went to Apex and saw a nativity display - over 800 different nativities. It was amazing. And overwhelming. In 3 days, they had over 5000 visitors! We got there while a group performed Handel's Messiah. It was beautiful. It put Keith in the mood to find more nativities. We now have one that is white and says Joy with the nativity in the O. We also got one that looks like little children - reminded him of the years he used to do the Christmas Pageant - as a small boy, he was the "Littlest Shepherd."

We also made our own cards this year - 61 of them. That is a lot of cards. A lot of cutting. A lot of stamping. And a lot of addressing! But we've heard nothing but good reports, so it is definitely worth it. We borrowed a friend's Christmas stamps this year and that gave us a lot of new variety. Katherine is the best because she is patient and willing to work long hours to finish her share. She is very creative. I tend to find one or two varieties that I like and then I make all of them that way. Kimberly loves stamping. Rebekah likes each of her cards to be different and delights that she is able to do so. And calls me a slackard for not doing the same!

Let's not forget the snowflake cutting. We decorate the hall between the bedrooms with hanging snowflakes. My girls think they are outgrowing this - well, Katherine doesn't think so. She likes to make hers very intricate. I have no idea how she makes them. I'm still stuck at level 1. She must be a level 5! This year, we had the joy of having 2 grandchildren help us - Eric and Claudia. It is so fun to have little ones around. It even got my older kids to cut a few - but don't tell them that I told you!

Isn't Eric cute? And concentrating so hard!

Ta da!

Claudia is a beautiful child - and no, I'm not biased or anything!

I'm sure you are ready for me to be done, but I'm not. So, head on to the bathroom. Get yourself another cup of cocoa and a cookie or two, and then sit back and read the rest of the post!

We baked a lot of cookies this year. Double batches of the following: Sugar, choc chip, mint choc chip, oatmeal, ginger snaps. And then a quadruple batch of my grandma's Sour Cream Date Drops. These are to die for. I had woman at church rushing me as I left the building with a few left on the platter. I was lucky to make it out alive! This is the first year that I've made them because I just got the recipe from my mom. I'm sure that they will be a yearly cookie now. And, of course, we always do our sugar cookies. Rebekah thinks they look childish. I think they look like Christmas. I'll show you a picture and let you decide:

And what do we do with all the cookies? Go caroling, of course! We catch a few neighbors and some friends. We have a few folks that expect us now. I wonder how they'll feel about the addition of the date cookie? I guess I'll have to take a poll.

So, what's left, you ask? Well, we are going to play Secret Santa tonight. No pics, of course, because then it isn't secret! We are, if the rain has stopped by then, going on a hayride to look at Christmas lights on Thursday night. We are having Claudia and Eric over on Friday morning, and Gena and Jaxson over on Friday evening. I still have to watch my Christmas movies - Rudolph, Frosty, and Grinch. We are having the missionaries over on Christmas Eve for homemade soup and homemade bread. I figured it was significantly different than what they'd get Christmas day! Matthew is coming home on Friday. There's the Christmas story to read Christmas Eve. And of course Christmas Day with presents, our Christmas breakfast, and a lovely service at church.

Well, folks, that is it. That's what we do in December. It is busy. It is crazy. And I love every minute of it!

In Remembrance

We inherited a lovely, designer tree several years ago from my dear friend Georgia. Georgia had colorectal cancer and knew she was going to die. She put up over 20 designer trees every year. They were her children, as she liked to call them. We were blessed to adopt one of her children - the Santa tree, aptly called because of all the various Santas.

Santas, sleighs, reindeer, flowers, grapes, bows, balls, glass ornaments, gold masks, beads. It is beautiful, don't you think?

She was around to see the tree in our home for 2 Christmases - the year she gave the tree and the year after. She passed on in September of the following year, about the time she would have started decorating. She said that all the "ber" months were game for Christmas decorations. (SeptemBER, OctoBER, NovemBER, and DecemBER).

This one tiny, little tree has 3 rubber maid containers of ornaments. That first year, I had no idea how to get them all on the tree. We called Georgia several times to get pointers. She finally told us that she had faith in us and that was that - we were on our own. It took us 6 hours to get that tree done. She visited and said it was prettier than when she had done it. That was very sweet, but we didn't believe her for a minute. She had a designer's eye and all her trees were beautiful.

The second year, it only took us about 4 hours to put up the tree. Georgia, once again, came to visit her tree and make sure the adoptive parents were doing the tree justice. Her smile said we were doing just fine.

Keith added the train 2 Christmases ago. 

You'd think that trying to get them all to smile AND look at the camera would be easier now that they are older. Umm...no.

 Now we have gotten the decorating down to about 2 1/2 hours. It would be shorter if we had a prelit tree, but I just can't bare to let anything of Georgia's go away. For now, at least, I'll carefully string lights up and down each branch and watch everything take on a magical sparkle.

Here's to my friend Georgia. May her memory always live on in the hearts of those that loved her.

Georgia and my son Matthew before he left on his mission to Germany.

Fa La La La La La La La La

First of all, yes, there are the right amount of "La"s in my title. I know, because I sang it as I typed!

I love the Christmas season. I truly find it joyous. I love thinking about my Savior. And I love sharing Christmas traditions with my family. And traditions we have!

December starts with our count down calendar. We make it each year from last year's Christmas cards. We cut out pictures that represent what we will do that day. Then we hang it on the wall and the countdown begins.

Day 2 is my Christmas village. I have been collecting my village since 1989. I have 81 pieces now. Candy shop, clock shop, taylor, coal shop, grocery stores, bakeries, churches, book store, music store, city hall, opera house, police and fire, school and library, and the list goes on. I did notice that I have no medical personnel and no pharmacy. I'll keep looking - certainly there is a doctor's office somewhere out there. This year's addition is the German castle my son got me for Christmas while he was in Germany. It sits up on a hill and looks down majestically over the village. It is beautiful, if I do say so myself. I love looking at my village and pretending I live there. I imagine going into the shops, stopping at the train station to pick up relatives, heading on over to the Christmas tree farm, chatting with  the farmer as he saws logs, listening to the choirs practice O Come All Ye Faithful. I have a picture - it won't do it justice, but it might give you a small feel for it.

The castle is on top of the hill. My first piece is the Tudor house on the very right side of the tier below the castle.

This is the center of town. In the gazebo is a little man playing the violin.

Day 3, yesterday, was the Annual Sanford Christmas Parade. I love parades - even cheesy small town parades. You know you live in a small town when one of the trucks from the road division of Sanford has a brightly lit snowman on the back. Or one of the local plumbers has a float with a toilet on the back, water spraying out of it, and a man standing there with a plunger looking confused. Really. It was there. 2 marching bands. A few dancing and gymnastics groups. The karate group. Church groups. Very loud motorcycles. Some 4 wheelers. The community college. Several beauty queens for things like Miss Pinecone and Miss Brick City. Police and sheriff and fire engines galore - all with sirens blazing. We even had a semi from a local trucking company. It all ended with Santa riding in a 1925 fire engine. We bought the kids cotton candy and popcorn. We made quite an evening of it. The only problem was that it was too warm. It didn't FEEL like a Christmas parade. Ah well, you can't have it all.

Before the parade. Have you ever noticed that my mouth is HUGE? It takes up half my face.

I will be writing about more of our traditions as they happen. Suffice it to say, you may get quite tired of the Clark household before the season is over!

Visit With Family

We had a wonderful Saturday afternoon when Keith's daughter Corey and her two children, Claudia and Eric, came to visit. I had a dose of playing grandma and I realized how much I look forward to having my kids bring their kids home for me to spoil.

I have been cooking with my kids since they were old enough to stand in a chair next to me. But, my kids are pretty well grown, and now cooking with me means "you do your task and I do my task." The cooking goes faster and the kitchen stays cleaner. It hasn't always been that way. There was a time when letting them help meant slowing me down and cleaning up food off the floor...and the counter....and the wall....and the child.... I remember telling myself that I was teaching them and I'd count backwards and really try to keep it together. Yesterday, it just came naturally. It didn't matter to me that there was flour and cocoa powder on the floor. I wasn't the least bit concerned that the eggs never really got beaten. It was perfectly fine that the measurements weren't just so. I loved watching their faces and proud expressions as they accomplished egg cracking (or egg smashing in Eric's case).

I really enjoyed letting them dig into the bowl when the brownies were finally in the oven. You can learn a lot about someone by the way they attack a batter bowl. Claudia delicately put her finger in. Eric grabbed the bowl and tried to stick his head in it to lick it. I only stopped him because I knew Claudia wouldn't want to eat after that. If it had been only Eric, I would have let him go for it and gotten the video camera (the regular camera wouldn't have done it justice).

Then we went outside and Claudia was overjoyed to see that we had rakes. She wanted to rake leaves. Remember the days when a leaf pile was something to smile over? For me, now, leaves just mean things I have to get out of my yard. It is work. Pretty work, but work. Claudia raked with vigor. Eric did for a moment, but then the hammock and wagon beckoned him. Once the pile was big enough, it was time to jump. And swoosh. And play. And roll. And then it was time to pile them all up again. I had forgotten how fun leaves could be.

The rest of the day was the same. Putting pepperonis on the pizza. Playing the piano, especially pretending to play when one of the prerecorded songs came on. Trying to win the game of Sorry. Hide and seek when you are small enough to fit under the TV cabinet. Reading books.

Yes. I am definitely moving into that period of my life where my kids are growing and moving on. My youngest still needs me, but mostly as a chauffeur. In just over 4 years, she will head off to college. And I'll be home, waiting for the grandkids to come by so I can spill some flour on the floor.

You've Got to Be Kidding Me

I think this a lot. What? Really? Are you kidding? No!

I'm not sure if those around me are truly crazy or if I am just seeing things incorrectly. However, with so many people making me say "really???", perhaps it is me.

I had a friend blog this week about an arts and craft that I simply will not get into. Suffice it to say that I said, "REALLY????" Whatever you are thinking, multiply it by 10. It was that bad. (You've got to know, don't you? Check it out: www.wandaargersinger.com/blog )

So, I'm thinking that I've had my "really" experience for the week, but not so. I just saw an advertisement for an Obama Chia Pet. Really? That is just so wrong on so many levels. Whether you admire him or wish he were out of office, do you think it is respectful to grow grass on his head? It just seems so....wrong! On a rock, yes. On a cat or a dog, ok. On the President of the United States? Come on, folks, what were you thinking? I just can't see anyone growing grass on Queen Elizabeth's head or Nicolas Sarkozy (French President) or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (though I might get one of these since growing grass on a dictator's head might be humorous).

It all just makes me realize that I don't want to be famous enough to have a Chia Pet named after me!

In other news:

Kimberly is giving blood for the first time today. I love how dedicated she is to helping others.

Rebekah has started rehearsals for A Christmas Carol at Temple Theatre in Sanford. I can't wait to see the show.

I am slowly but surely learning Oh Come All Ye Faithful. For those of you that are piano players, I am at the end of Level 1. This song is definitely towards the end of Level 2. I can only practice it for about 10 minutes before my brain scrambles. I know, not so hard to do. You all are so funny and clever!

Turn That Frown Upside Down

I've been working at getting more photos of me doing stuff with the family. I tend to hide behind the camera. We all know that I am there, but the only proof is that someone obviously was taking photos. I did this because a friend of mine, (you know who you are), made a comment on her blog about it. She said it very eloquently, but I'll paraphrase and say "We all know you are turning gray and that your hind end is big." As I said, she was much more eloquent.

Back to the photos. I've had a lot taken in the since August. And I keep noticing something. Wrinkles. I have hundreds of them. I smile and my face crinkles up into hundreds of little wrinkles. Every time I see those crevices, I cringe.

So, today, as I was getting ready for church, I got to looking at myself in the mirror. Yes, I definitely had wrinkles. I smiled. They popped up - bigger than life. Then I tried something - I frowned. No wrinkles. It hit me. I had smiling wrinkles. That means I've smiled so many times that my skin has learned to crinkle in all the right places. Best of all, I obviously don't frown enough for the same thing to happen when I frown!

I am overjoyed that I have smiling wrinkles - well, if I have to have wrinkles, and it appears that I do.

As someone that struggles with depression, I often wonder how I portray myself to others. How my kids see me. Whether I will be remembered as happy or sad or angry or any of those other hundreds of negative emotions that I can feel. Yet, the wrinkles seem to tell it all.

So, on this November 6th, I am thankful for wrinkles in all the right places.

I'm smiling here because my daughter got accepted into Phi Theta Kappa. Proud moment!

Cars and Senior Citizen Dating

Car Clutch Magazine and Faithful Women Wanted (Seniors, mind you.) Now what would I have on my Facebook that would cause them to believe either one of those would be interesting to me? A. I know nothing about cars except to take them to a good mechanic. B. I'm NOT a senior citizen, despite what my children have to say. C. I am not looking for a partner. I have one of those. One is enough.

Low fat cooking? That I would understand. Authorship of some sort? Ok. Small business stuff. Sure. Homeschooling. Of course. Car clutches? Really?

Now, I do have a friend that races cars, but I don't think I've chatted about it on Facebook. And my husband is sometimes a senior depending on the store. But note the word husband - that kind of takes out the whole dating thing. Personally, if I were paying for Facebook advertising, I'd be ticked off that my ads were going to me.

This got me thinking about the ads I get in the mail. I do often get a farm supply flyer. I live in the city limits. I do not own a garden. I am unlikely to buy horse feed.

I also get the Oriental Traders catalog. I bought from them once. I think they've lost all the profit from that one tiny little sale by putting me on their mailing list. I love looking at all the do-dads, but my kids are older and we have no need for Christmas craft projects or a 6-pack of Halloween fake teeth.

I still get mail for the ex occupant of this house. It has been 2 years. You can learn a lot about a person by looking at junk mail sent to them. For instance, she is a Democrat. She is a patron to the arts. She is an educator or in the education field. According to the mail, she has a great credit rating and needs to get a  lot of credit cards.

I wonder what those living in my old house think of me? Probably that I am a grease monkey chick in my 60's!

On the newsy front:

Keith had a birthday yesterday. He turned 62 (remember my comment about HIM being the senior). Katherine made him a cake and he got presents. We also went out to eat.

Almost a smile! Even without peering into my mail, you can now see that I am Republican...or at least married to one!

He had to share his day with Kimberly who was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa (Community College Honor Society). We are very proud of her.

The truly funny thing about this picture is that there is nothing (not a thing) on this certificate. It is just a blank piece of paper. She got her real one in the mail a couple of weeks ago! lol

Keith was able to save my Quicken files. Now I don't have to recreate my whole year from bits of receipts stuffed into a file folder. Yea, Keith!

Think of me, with my hair more on end than usual.

I Don't Hate Halloween

It was suggested in an earlier post that "Keith" hates Halloween. Don't get tricked by that.  I deny "hating" Halloween.  There isn't much to hate any more.  It doesn't seem to do a bit of good.

I do think that we have been tricked into it by thinking it is a treat.  (cute kids, fun games, etc.)

We do have an adversary.  If  he can't induce us to do something evil, he will attempt to keep us busy with things that may be good but not the most important. But I don't think Halloween is a good concept. It should be avoided.
I don't know if it is a conspiracy by the dentists or not.  Well, anyway all the lights will be out tonight.

You Know You Live in a Small Town If....

I got the paper from the end of the driveway the other day and began skimming the headlines on the front page. Powder Puff Action (for the middle school). Battle of the High School Bands. Church Women Master Art of Pie-Making. Pie making? On the front page? Nice picture of older women with aprons and pie dough.

My first reaction was to laugh. The "big city" girl from Ohio came out in me and I thought that this was just truly ridiculous. Pie Making should be in the Lifestyle section at best, right?

My second reaction was far more favorable. The day was a good one. International shenanigans must be under a modicum of control. National news was at a minimum. State politics was in a quiet mode. And locally, nothing bad was happening. And because of all this, I got to read about a wonderful group of ladies learning to bake pies.

On days like this, rather than sigh at small town living, I should rejoice. Yes, there were other headlines throughout the paper that showed some unrest, but the front page set the tone for my day. I want to always live where making pies can be front page news.

Other news:

• Katherine had her last soccer game. It was cold. VERY cold. It was 50, no sun, and the wind was blowing at 16mph. I know this because Keith felt the need to look it up on his phone. I don't know why he felt knowing this information would be helpful. I decided that you had to love someone a whole lot to sit in the cold for 2 hours to watch them play a game!

• We had a hard freeze on Oct 30th. In NC. Really? What's up with that? Where are my balmy days? I do not wish to declare winter just 13 days after I finally declared fall. If you are hording the warmth, please stop and send it this way.

• Keith and I had a wonderful supper with a college friend of his named Ava and her husband Tommy. She is Ava Gardner's niece, for those of you who remember Ava Gardner. And she races cars - GTOs. Her newest car gets up over 150mph. I wonder what the first Ava would have thought of that?

She appeared in several high-profile films from the 1950s to 1970s, including The Hucksters (1947), Show Boat (1951), The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952), The Barefoot Contessa (1954), Bhowani Junction (1956), On the Beach (1959), Seven Days in May (1964), The Night of the Iguana (1964), The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), Earthquake (1974), and The Cassandra Crossing (1976).

Full of Memories

I have a magnet that hangs on my refrigerator. A red tractor. I smile every time I see it. Now, I'm sure you are wondering why a middle-aged, suburban housewife would smile at a red tractor magnet. Because this middle-aged, suburban housewife has a tractor preference - International Harvester. Do you know why John Deere tractors are green? So they blend into the scenery when they break down in the field. Yeah, I went there. My grandpa was an IH dealer and I grew up with red tractors. Only red tractors. I even had the opportunity to own one several years ago. It was a joy to drive. Ah, the memories.

Anyway, this got me to thinking what other things have been passed down through the generations. My love of 40' and 50's and early 60's folk and country music, for one. My grandpa (the red tractor grandpa) had a family band. He played the guitar, my aunt played the mandolin, my uncle played the accordion, and my mom played the bass fiddle. Somehow, the two younger uncles never got involved, though Uncle Marlan did attempt the drums. It never quite fit with the whole whining country thing. Beautiful, beautiful brown eyes. Your Cheatin' Heart. Prison songs. Love songs. Patsy Cline heaven. My aunt sang soprano, my mom sang alto. I have a tape of them playing at Matthew's first birthday party. I'll treasure it always. I always perk up when one of the family band songs is sung. I even try to sing the alto (be happy that you are all cyber friends and don't have to hear it!

Blonde hair and blue eyes. Check. Though the blonde hair now needs a little help and I'm more than happy to give it the help it needs!

Love of cooking. This skipped a generation. My mom cooked because it was required of a mother to cook. My grandma's seemed to love it, especially my grandma Bufmeyer. I have a few of her recipes. They are not heart healthy, but man oh man, are they tasty! Tell me you're coming over and I'll make the baked mac and cheese and we'll have dill dip and pretzels while it bakes.

Picture taking. Grandma and grandpa Bufmeyer took gads of photos when they would go on trips and then we'd all get to sit and watch the slide show. Sometimes I would beg them to get one out just to see old pics of my dad. I'm sure my parents were so happy with me to be begging for a slideshow, narrated by grandpa. Yep, I'm sure of it!

I'm sure there is more, but these are the things that came to mind as I smiled at my red tractor magnet.

Other news: I'm addicted to Edy's ice cream 1/2 the fat flavors. Every time Edy's goes on 2 for 1 sale, I buy a lot. I currently have about 20 in my big freezer. I think I may need to go to Edy's Annonymous.

My brand new computer had a hard drive fail. Yes, we are getting a new one for free. No, they weren't able to save a thing off of it. I now have to go through the process of setting up my computer. AGAIN. Can we say, not happy?

Katherine's last soccer game is Saturday - everyone send good vibes her way - she wants to make a goal!

Halloween Already Starting

Tomorrow at church we are having a chili cook-off and a trunk-or-treat (essentially a trick or treat from car trunk to car trunk). We have some families that REALLY get into Halloween. One family in particular has 5 girls - with the parents dressing up, that is 7 people. They've done Harry Potter, Wizard of Oz, some Japanese anime characters that I know nothing about, and more. This year, they are all going as different astronauts, with the 3 year old going as a space chimp. They considered martian but just couldn't find the right costume.

Keith really dislikes Halloween. Hate is probably more like it and I'm not being over dramatic. He HAS participated with us before, though he denies it. Luckily, I have photos. (He was a beach tourist. I was, get this, someone you could COUNT on!)

Halloween 2009

Anyway, he doesn't want a thing to do with Halloween this year. But, see, I do church events. And that will be supper tomorrow night. So, he has to at least go to the chili supper. The girls are definitely opening a trunk, perhaps on the second car while we send Keith home with the good car, but a trunk nonetheless. I know this is true - I bought the candy!

Of course, in order to run a trunk, the girls feel they need to dress up. This year, they took a cue from that family I told you about earlier and they are going as a "group." They will be the Gorgon sisters - you know, Medusa and her sisters - snake hair - wings - yeah. Keith is trying not to notice the reggae wigs with snakes sticking out of them, but I suspect that is as difficult as it was for me to pretend that it was summer while the leaves were changing! Anyway, I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

Today I'm getting out my chili recipes to determine the best one - I mean, I want the prize and I don't even know what the prize is. I'm competitive that way!

Warm, Fuzzy Socks and Hot Cocoa

Well, I'm giving in. It is cold outside. It is rainy outside. Fall has really fallen. I've been pretending for the last 6 weeks that it was still summer time. Warm, bright yellow sunshiny days. I've been ignoring the turning leaves, the chilly mornings, the heat turning on in the night. No, I've been holding on to summer. Telling myself that I could still head over to Lake Jordan and have a swim. Still keeping my shorts and capris at the front of the closet.

Today is different, somehow. My feet are cold. Once my feet get cold, I'm done in. Through. And they aren't just cold, they are cold to the bone. Even with my thick, soft, black and gray striped, fuzzy socks, my feet are still cold. So today is the first day of Fall. We can make it official now - Fall starts October 19th.

Now that I've agreed to believe that it is actually fall, I can get out my pumpkin spiced candles, hot apple cider, and hot chocolate. I can start thinking about Thanksgiving and pumpkin pies. I can even begin jotting ideas down for Christmas gifts.

In a way, it is a relief to let go of the dream. Hot cocoa, anyone?

Change - Not My Thing

I hate change. No, I despise change. I like getting all comfy cozy with how things are and just keeping them that way. I moved into this house 2 years ago. My living room is arranged just how it was then, though I have added some pretty things and a few pictures. My bedroom - same as it was 2 years ago, which happens to be exactly like it was in the old house. I figure, if it works, why change it?

Of course, it is the "if it works" part that got me over the last week. My computer didn't. (work that is). It just stopped. Kaput. The end. Not even time for a good bye song. So, I had to get a new one. Now, a new tower is not such a big deal. It does what it does and sends me all the info in ways that I can understand it.

But it is the updating of programs. I was still using Windows XP. Now I have Windows 7. I can't find a dang thing. Why are my documents in a library? I liked them just fine where they were. Now I have to push an extra button to get where I'm going. I was perfectly efficient without Microsoft's help. Couldn't find my calculator. Couldn't even, for a time, figure out how to log on to Internet.

Then there is the fact that was using Word 2003. Yes, folks, 2003. Just to make you feel better, it was new at the time. This machine came loaded with the starter of 2010. Most likely I will load up 2007, purchased for my children 2 years ago. We still have one use left on it. I don't want to afford 2010. Plus, my daughter has a book on how to use 2007 from a college course last year. I'm going to need that book. I couldn't even figure out how to find a word count. I checked everywhere. Except the bottom of the page, where it shows the count automatically. How nice.

Let's not forget Quicken. A version older than dust. I'm not even sure we are going to be able to get our old information loaded on to a new quicken. That will mean trying to piece together a whole year's worth of expenses. Plus, I have no idea how much money is in my checking. I mean, I know what the bank says, but I don't know how much is out there floating around in cyberspace waiting to be paid. This will have to change immediately.

And finally, there is Outlook Express. Do you know that they don't make it anymore? Nope, they don't. So, Keith, being the kind hearted man that he is, put on Mozzilla Thunderbird. It is going to be ok. It is going to be ok. I couldn't figure out how to send my first email or add an attachment. But with a little brainpower and some whining, I think I may have it figured out.

You'd think a woman that homeschools, and changes things up yearly, and a mom of 4, where the kids definitely move on with or without you, would make me more receptive to change. Remarkably, I am able to go with the flow when it comes to my kids. Sometimes I go kicking and screaming, but I go.

Thankfully, the computer will last at least 3 years. Why 3? Because that is how long we have a warranty. Anything beyond that is a gift!

PS You should have seen Katherine at her game on Saturday. She was a mean, lean, soccer machine. She stole it from Number 7 - the other team's forward. She was fast and intent. And my daughter got the ball from her. The cheers erupting from the sidelines embarrassed her. When she ran  past, she told us to hush up! LOL. I just love embarrassing my kids, don't you?

Way to get in there!

Katherine throwing in - Coach Jozy encouraging

Too Many Topics, Not Enough to Say

So, I've had a wide variety of things strike me today, yet not one of them seemed to be blog worthy. I almost (key word) decided to forgo writing today, but I decided to give you a smorgasbord of thoughts.

1. It is raining. I hate the rain. It is cold. I hate the cold rain. I want my sunshine. It's pretty simple and straightforward. I would not do well in the Northwest. Rebekah hates the rain, too. In fact, as we left the house this morning for seminary, at the bright and early hour of 6AM, we both groaned to see the rain. So, you can imagine my surprise when I found her out dancing in it. And singing. In her bare feet. That is a whole other issue - she hates grass and dirt on her feet. I rarely see her without shoes. Yet, there she was in the cold and rain. And enjoying herself. I considered joining her. Instead I took photos!

Hiding from the camera

Unaware that her sister came out the other door with the camera

Aware now!

Finally embracing the photo shoot.

Cartwheels - why didn't I think of that?

See the grass stuck to her feet? This is unheard of!

2. I am under-appreciated. Or so I told Rebekah this morning. I made her an egg sandwich for breakfast and she said, "Did anyone ever tell you that you were awesome?" My reply was, "Not nearly enough." So, she has made it her goal today to tell me. Often. Just so you know, I am awesome for making such a great supper. I must admit, I like it!

3. Katherine is making astounding progress in soccer. She played so hard at practice yesterday that she is sore. She scored a goal and assisted in a goal. Wow. This was the girl that ran on her heels just 3 weeks ago. I didn't know that she couldn't run. As I watched her, I thought that she had done something to her foot. Why else would she be limping like that. So I paid close attention. She was running on her heels. I suggested that she try running with more toe action. Sure enough, she sped up quite nicely! Anyhow, I digress. Yesterday, Rebekah promised her a nook book of her choice if she scored a goal in a game. Today, Rebekah tried to rescind on the deal since yesterday, before practice, it seemed a near impossibility for her to lose such a bet. I was about to step in and demand justice, but Katherine stood up quite nicely for herself. Said, "If I get a goal, and I will, then you WILL be buying me a book." And that was that.

4. Kimberly has the Biology teacher from Hades. I actually think this lady has visited there. Honest. As a parent, I tend to take things with a grain of salt. Oh, come on, you know you do, too. Anyway, there was a a lot of complaining going on. Poor communication blah blah blah. Homework she didn't announce blah blah blah. I finally took a look at the website where she would post info. A. This woman doesn't speak English as a first language and it shows in her writing skills. B. She has the kids doing homework on the level of a 400 class instead of the general bio that it is. C. She puts up homework at 9:30pm that is due the next morning at 9am. I thought of this again today when Kimberly showed me her latest communications on the web. I have no idea what she wants. Kimberly has no idea what she wants. Her classmate Chris has no idea what she wants. I guess they'll find out tomorrow.

5. I am coming along nicely on my piano. Not a lot to say about it, but I did want to announce my progress!

Blogs are self-centered. I guess that makes sense since it is a web journal of the blogger. But still, do any of you really care what I think about Kimberly's bio teacher? No, don't answer that. I want to feel awesome today!

Another Birthday, Another Year

Everyone needs a blue pot!

My birthday was Friday. I don't know how that could be since I just had a birthday a few weeks ago. Or at least that is what it feels like. And my birthday has always been a precursor to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Once my birthday hits, the holiday season just seems to roll right in. And that can't possibly be true since I barely got my Christmas tree from last year put away - or so it seems.

I remember as a child that it took FOREVER for Christmas to come again and that summers lasted and lasted and lasted. The school year felt like eons. My parents would talk about time flying and I never understood what they were talking about. Now I do.

It makes me wonder if time is still speeding up for them. Is it possible for time to go even faster? Will I eventually still be full from last Thanksgiving when it is time for turkey again?

Despite coming so quickly, I had a very nice birthday. My husband took me out to eat and to the theater to see Guys and Dolls the weekend before. Then, of course, since it was actually my birthday, we had to go out to dinner again to Neo Asia, our favorite Chinese restaurant. Then, once again, it was still my birthday weekend, so we went out to Applebee's on Saturday. Can you say pampered?

Not just one, but two piano books.

The girls also did a great job. I got a new turquoise blue stock pot. Who wants a pot for her birthday? I do, and Kimberly felt that it was better than socks (which I asked for last year and still think of as my new socks). I love to cook and I love colorful kitchen gadgets. My kitchen has blue hues to it. The pot was perfect. I picked it out and put it on my wish list at Amazon. Kimberly took the hint! Katherine, despite her misgivings, bought me an extra rechargeable battery for my camera. I take a LOT of photos. For instance, at her first soccer game, I took 781 photos. I would have taken more but my battery ran out with 5 minutes left in the game. (Kimberly missed the game and just watched my photos go by. Said it was as good as the real thing!) Now I will never have that happen again....unless I take over 1500 pictures.....Rebekah got me 2 wonderful piano books that are at my level of playing. One is Christmas music and I love Christmas music! The other is country music - of the older variety. It happens to have one of Keith's most favorite songs - I Wish I Were 18 Again. The girls were horrified that it was there. (If you heard Keith sing, you'd be horrified, too!) I think I'll learn this song first and Keith and I can do it for the church talent show - as a comedy routine, of course!

I'm happy with my battery...the face, not so much.