Merry Christmas!

We had such a nice time Christmas Eve and Christmas Day- Trevor and Ethan were here as well as Corrina, Trevor's girlfriend. We had dinner together on Christmas Eve and opened gifts, then they came back early this morning and we had a breakfast casserole and homemade sticky buns..then later today we had our traditional ham and twice baked potatoes etc...Good times and great gifts and lots of fun just being together!..Happy Birthday Jesus!

last minute gifts

A COUPLE OF UP CLOSE PICTURES


I wanted to have some small gifts on hand to give to our neighbors and others,so I made these. An easy, inexpensive handmade gift to give! I got this idea off of Ali Edwards blog last year...I think they are pretty!

snow and Odin

We have had the pleasure of dog sitting Trevor's dog while he is in Hawaii..we have grown to love Odin so much, but we are now sure that we do not want the responsibility of owning another dog right now!..the cats are so low maintenance, they fit our lifestyle much better at this stage of our lives..(empty nesters)



He spends alot of time guarding our bird feeders from the voracious squirrels and has also kept the neighborhood cats out of our yard!..




our snowy front yard!

yummy,easy recipe!

EDITED TO ADD- THIS IS NOT A PICTURE OF THE ACTUAL SOUP, THIS IS A STOCK PHOTO! the actual soup is much yummier looking!

We had a very good and easy dinner today..it is Beef Vegetable Soup in the crockpot.

Makes 6-8 servings
Even though it is all canned veggies, it tastes so amazingly good, you'd never know!

1 lb cubed beef stew meat
1 (15oz) can whole kernel corn, undrained
1 (15 oz) can green beans, undrained
1 (15 oz) can carrots with juice
1 (15 oz)can sliced potatoes with juice
1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (1.25 oz) pkg beef with onion soup mix (Lipton)
salt and pepper to taste

Place meat and all other ingredients into the slow cooker,stir to combine
Cook on low for at least 6 hrs. Add water if necessary.

critter control

We have been hearing the scampering of little feet in our attic and finally made the call to have someone come out and take a look and see what is going on. Our cat and TRevor's dog have also been staring down at one of our furnace vents in our family room, directly above our crawl space..lovely!!

Anyhow, the guy came out and went in our attic and discovered we have rats!..they had chewed some boxes up there...OMG!!! how gross is that???..also we have squirrels in another attic up by our eaves and cats going in under our deck into our crawl space!!!...EEEKK!! The guy set traps to catch the squirrels (alive) and then set snap traps in our attic for the rats, Roger will seal off the crawl space. They charge by the catches, so this could get expensive!

fun party!

We had such a fun time at our Christmas Party last night!!..we ended up with 13 people. Good food and lots of laughs!..we had a white elephant gift exchange and um, let's suffice it to say- lots of creativity and thought went into the gifts!!..lol..Roger had a theme to his, "Merry Redneck Christmas"..he put alot of time and effort into the gift and it was well received, with much hysteria!..I think this will have to be an annual event!

5 trees!!

Lots of decorating going on!..my friend Chris is an amazing decorator, and since we are having 2 parties this year, I asked her if she would come and decorate the house for Christmas. She has used some of our old stuff, and added her special flair to it as well as buying some new stuff..she does such a good job! We have 5 trees up!..they all look so pretty.Makes us feel so in the mood for Christmas!

taking a time out!

Roger and I spent alot of time this week/weekend getting the house/yard ready for Christmas. We cleaned carpets and ovens in anticipation of our party next weekend..(we are having about 15 of Roger's co-workers over for a get together)...

I got all our gifts bought and wrapped and boxed to mail out today. I finished and mailed our cards too...whew!..so to reward ourselves we took some time yesterday to go see a fun movie "Four Christmases", after having an appetizer and drink at the Keg.
The movie was very cute and a great way to relax and laugh and enjoy getting in the Christmas spirit!

day 1 of journaling my Christmas

Starting today, December first, I will keep a Christmas journal. In it, I will write
something every day to reflect on the holidays of my past, enjoy the holidays of
the present and dream about the holidays of the future. To some, this would be a
stack of papers and trivial scribbles, but not to me. I am taking back my Christmas, I am letting it be something I relish and most importantly I am giving at least fifteen minutes to myself, every day, no matter how crazy this season becomes. This
Christmas I will make something with my own hands, my own words and my own memories.

proud mama moment

Trevor, my oldest son and a group of his friends get together and jam whenever they get the chance..they developed a band and actually got a playing gig at a local hangout tonight!..the name of the joint doesnt give a good impression, but it was actually rather OK in there!..(the name is Hell's Kitchen)..the band played original music and was really good and easy to listen to!!.it was fun to see alot of the kid's friends, we havent seen much of them since they graduated. Good Job, Trev..Dad and I are proud of you!

twilight and chopstix!

What a fun day I had on Saturday...I went to go see the new twilight movie and all I can say is Wow!..it was very well done and true to the book..I cant wait to go see it again!..and also for more movies to be made from the other books!

Later that day I went to chopstix with a group of friends and had such a fun time!..good friends and good times!!..altho getting home at midnight is WAY past my bedtime..makes me feel kinda old.

been creating!

I have been busy making my christmas cards and also a little mini album that I intend to do for Christmas...

The cards were pretty much a scraplift from a Stampin Up catalog, and the album was inspired from a mini album I saw at Treasury Of Memories. I will be using it for the 25 days of Christmas class/album theme that Ali Edwards does on her blog. It is a good way to keep Christmas memories and all the fun things, chores and traditions that come during the whole month of December.

Feels good to be ready, a little bit ahead of time for a change!

fun, fun!-(NOT!)

Well, in the ongoing saga of my stomach issue, today I underwent a colonoscopy. I am 46 now and my Dr. has cheefully been doing the 5 year count down till I am 50 and need to have my 1st screening. Well, since the pain has been ongoing and all the other tests have been ok, she said to have the colonoscopy done 4 yrs early...ICK

The actual procedure was not a big deal, the prep wasnt even a big deal- it was going 36 hours with nothing to eat but jello and clear fluids. They now have pills you can take to cleanse the colon, instead of drinking all the icky go litely fluid. The only downside to the pills is you have to take 28 of them!!..20 within one hour and then 8 the next morning..hard, but do-able!!..now do you get the symbolism of the twisty slide in the picture?..lol!!
The good news is that my colon is beautiful and I dont have to have another test like this for 10 more years.

weekend retreat!!

I just got home from a fun weekend scrapbook retreat. I went with an online group I am a part of. We went to Ft Worden State Park, in Port Townsend, WA- where the movie "An Officer and a Gentlemen" was filmed. This is the 3rd or 4th year for us to go there..

I spent alot of time purging my scrap stuff, and went thru everything and if I havent used it in the past year, it went into the garage sale box to take to the retreat. One of the nice things about such a venue, was that there were scrappers of all levels, lots of beginners- so my old stuff was new to them and they loved it all. I sold over $300 worth!!..woohoo!!

I am wiped out, from staying up late and getting up early- but it was so fun to just hoot and holler with friends, we played dominoes and got so silly- my muscles in my throat are actually sore from laughing so much!!

I took the day off tomorrow to recoup and am looking forward to my own bed tonight!

halloween fun!

Trick or Treat was Girl's Game Night...we had so much fun and even though we didnt trick or treat, we had a good time being silly!..lol..Roger told me I looked good with big hair!!..I think I look like thing 1 or thing 2 from Dr Seuss!!

birthday festivities!!

I had such a very nice birthday today, I feel so blessed to have had so many nice cards and gifts given to me. I got packages in the mail, and flowers delivered to me.. I even had a surprise party thrown for me in one of my preschool classes!! I went to lunch with Patrice and to dinner with my family...it was one of my best birthdays yet..I have good friends and a wonderful family that makes me feel so special, thanks to you all!!..

my happy place

I went to my happy place today, I had a full body massage. It is a big luxury for me, it is costly ($65)but oh so worth it to me!..my therapist knows so well just how hard to work on me, and remembers how much I love to have my feet rubbed- she is the best!!

I go once a month but I would love to go more often. She has me choose what scent of oil, the table has a warmer under the mattress pad and a down comforter on top-along with nice, gentle music it is a total mind, body and spirit renewal.

I know the picture is blurry- I was trying to hurry and take it before I got undressed for my massage. How about you?..do you get massages?

Trevor's new doggy!

Our oldest son adopted a dog this past week. We got to meet "Odin" yesterday and were so impressed with his manners and behavior!..he was so sweet and calm, even around our 2 kitties. Roger and I both really enjoyed him, and got our doggy fix!

Pumpkin Patch today!

Today my 3yr old class went to Maris Farms to their pumpkin patch...it is a long way to go, but so worth it!..we go on a school bus, which makes the trip just so much fun, (for the kids!)..and the fun continues tomorrow, when we get to go again with our 4 yr old class!!..woohoo!! We were so happy for the sunshine!

cozy day at home

Not much going on around here today, Roger is doing some fall cleanup outside in the yard...I am still in my jammies at noon!..and have paid bills and made a big pot of homemade chicken noodle soup. I plan on making up some kits for some scrapbook pages for the retreat I am going on in November. Just a lazy day!..I love days like this!

Happy birthday DAD!!..love you!

an early birthday gift!

Roger bought me this girly, bling-y helmet for my birthday..a friend of ours has this helmet and I fell in love with it, so he got me one. They are custom blinged and take awhile to get one, but so worth it!..now I wish for a warm sunny day to wear it..Spring will be too long to wait!!

nothing like a sister...

My cats are sisters and just adore each other, they spend alot of time just curled up together snoozing..they always seem to get along.Adorable..

My sister and I on the other hand have taken many years to have a good relationship. It was in our 30's that we finally became friends. It is a relationship that I have come to treasure. We are very different, but alike in so many ways. I am so happy to have her and just wish we lived closer..she lives in Tampa,FL- just about as far apart as we can get, but just a phone call away. I am so looking forward to her visit this month, just in time for my birthday!! She is adorable...

some fall planting

I have 2 planters in the front of our house- I enjoy changing them with the seasons..I finally got them planted for fall this week. I love the mums and pansies and ornamental kale/cabbages. It is so nice to be able to have some color throughout the winter!

happy birthday to Trevor!

Yesterday was my oldest son's birthday...he turned 23!..that sounds so grown up!..how did I get to be the mother of a child that old?...we took the family and Corrina his girlfriend to Knapps for a yummy breakfast..he had plans with friends for the evening. We bought him a ticket to go see AC/DC in concert in November...Love you son!

stolen!!..edited at the bottom of post!

Well, on Monday on my way to get the endoscopy, we stopped at Rite Aid for a prescription refill..it wasnt ready so we left and went on to my appt. In the daze/stressfulness of the day, I left my wallet on the counter in the store!!

When we got home, we got the message that the wallet had been found and was put into their safe. Roger went to get it, (since I was still throwing up from the anesthesia)..all the cash and change was gone, but all my ID and credit cards etc..was still in the wallet...all is well...NOT SO MUCH..it dawned on me the next day that one of my diamond rings was in the change purse part of the wallet, and it was gone!..so sad, it was an anniversary band that Roger gave me on our 15th anniversary..not a hugely valuable ring, but sentimental for sure!

Today I went and spoke to the manager of the Rite Aid and asked if they had looked at the video of the pharmacy..duh!..they hadnt looked!!..anyway, they called me this afternoon and told me they know who took it, and have it on tape!..so I had to do a police report and they are taking it from here..so hopefully they can get the ring back if it hasnt been pawned already...as if LIFE hasnt been stressful enough already!..oh well, it could have been worse, they could have stolen the cards and ID..trying to look on the positive side!

Just got a call from the Pierce County sherrif, they have arrested the woman who stole the ring, and she is in jail!!..she says she lost the ring, and the cop said her house was filthy and he could see her losing it in the mess...here's a hoping she can find it and I will get it back..this will go to court eventually and she will have to make restitution, if the ring isnt given back to me...

my endoscopy

I have been having recurrent stomach pain since December and after ultrasounds, xrays, CT scans and a trip to the ER, my doc sent me for an upper endoscopy.
I went today and the procedure was a piece of cake..really!!..they got my IV started on the first try and then I was "out of it" and dont remember having to swallow the tube or anything icky!!..woke up in the recovery room and was told it all looked good with the exception of some polyps, so either the ulcer healed or we have no answer as to what the pain is/was....so, good news/bad news!

Journey/Heart/Cheap Trick

It was my turn to plan our anniversary this year..and when I heard this summer that one of our favorite bands was coming to town the day after our anniversary, I knew that was what I would do!..we went last night and all three bands were incredible. It was so fun to relive some of our high school days thru the music!

I learned however, that large crowds of alcohol imbibing people dont always set well with me..I have very little tolerance for inconsiderate people who stand and block views and sway in their seats and bump into me continuously, cigarette/pot smoke bugs me at this age too, it was at the White River Ampitheater, so technically outdoors...which brings me to the question of-am I too old for concerts?...
the answer is, quite possibly!!!

our anniversary

Today is our 26th wedding anniversary!..I woke up to these gorgeous roses and a nice card and balloon..after Roger got home this evening we went out to dinner at The Keg..yummy dinner and even my favorite dessert, creme brulee.

Author Tea

I went this past Sunday to an author's tea with my favorite author, Debbie Macomber..I went with my friend Judy and several of her friends for the second year in a row. We had yummy treats and also got the 8th book in her Cedar Cove series!..cant wait to read it! Debbie is a hoot to listen to, fun day!

safe and sound at home

Ethan arrived home tonight from his Alaskan fishing adventure. We are so happy to have him home!!..he enjoyed fishing, even though it was really hard work. Roger, Trevor and I met his boat as it came into dock in Gig Harbor- lots of families there to welcome both boats home (2 brothers each own a fishing boat and they fish together) We wanted to take the guys out to dinner and Ethan could hardly wait to get to TACO BELL!!..(not what we had in mind, but oh well, that is what he missed!)so thankful he is home safely!

back to school...

It has been a long and stressful couple of weeks for me, so I have not been in the blogging "mood". I had to switch rooms at preschool, and I also have a different assistant. STRESSFUL!!..this will be my last year teaching, I find I am just not having the patience I used to- we had our first day of school this past Wed 4yr olds and then another first day for my 3yr olds yesterday..had a couple of criers and it just was so hard for me to cope in a kind way!!...anyway, enough of the whining.

Roger spent the last week in Oklahoma City for training and is now back and happy to feel our cool temperatures- he said it was unbearably hot there.

Ethan is on his way home from Alaska fishing, we will pick him up in Gig Harbor at the Marina either tomorrow or Sunday. I missed him so much and cant wait to see him, he said he didnt shave the whole 2 months-eek!!..will see what he looks like,he is a pretty hairy guy.

I havent seen Trevor in a few weeks, he is busy with work and life and we miss him!!

That is my humdrum life in a nutshell!!

we are back!

Our trip was very fun, but not without adventure!..We left Tacoma about 6 a.m. on Friday and got home late last night(Monday). We rode over 1100 miles in that time!!

Our destination was Joseph Oregon for the Bronze,Blues and Brews festival- the town has 3 foundries and there are bronze statues all through the streets- amazing!!
The music was incredible and the crowd was well behaved even thought there was ALOT of beer drinking going on, there were 15 micro-breweries represented.Organic beer is yucky, just so you know!!..ick!

The ride down was where the adventure took place,a little bit of rain in Yakima cleared right up..but as we got further into the day, we could see lots of lightening and rain tunnel looking things from the sky to the ground!..our route went right through them. It was about 5 or so and the skies opened up and dumped with the lightening and thunder and buckets of rain. We had no where to go, we were out in the middle of farmland!!..scarey and vulnerable!! Finally we came across a modular home and a garage and pulled in- no one was home, so we stood against their metal garage and got a small amount of shelter. That is when the torrential rain started along with gusts of wind and then HAIL that was the size of quarters!!..it lasted at least 1/2 hr and we got soaked to the skin-and pounded by hail..the temperature dropped too with the hail. It finally let up a little and we had to keep going..we were about 100 miles from our destination..fast forward thru the cold wet ride about 50 miles and we get within 50 miles of our hotel and find out there were many mudslides and the only road thru there was closed due to the mud and trees down!!!..waaa!!..now it was 7:00 or so and FREEZING cold and we had to turn around and ride to Lewiston Idaho to stay the night...I was shaking uncontrolably and we were all hideously miserable..altho our friends have heating riding gear (guess what Roger and I will have before our next long ride) and we rolled into a hotel about 9 or so, soaked to the skin and muddy as hell. Thankfully they had room!..we cleaned up and had a nice dinner (and a few drinks) and got up Saturday and made it the rest of the way to the festival with no more problems, other than riding bikes that looked like we had been 4 wheeling on them!! We ended up riding 500 miles and about 14 hours that day- whew!!

The rest of the trip was nice sunny weather and lots of fun, beautiful scenery, good music and food and wonderful times with friends!..guess Im not such a wimp after all..lol!!