Java Junkie

Giving Thanks

 

This year I'm thankful for my little family, our extended family, and friends who are like family.  I'm thankful we both have good jobs in an economy that is slowly recovering.  I'm thankful for a warm house and the bountiful food that was on the table today.  

I'm also thankful today that I didn't have to stick my nose outside of my warm house.  Late last night the wind came up, and did a good job of impersonating gale force winds.  Today the windchill here in the frozen tundra was supposed to range between -12 and -18 (see above--I didn't stick my nose out, so not sure if it was true or not).  Winter has arrived in full force this week.  It knocked on the door and said "Remember ME?  I'm BACK."  Like he thinks we missed him. 

Sorry--got off track here, this is supposed to be about thankfulness.  As you can see, I'm struggling to be thankful for winter's arrival.  I'll try to work on that since it seems we aren't moving out of the frozen tundra this year!  Continuing on this theme--I'm thankful I'm not standing in line already for Black Friday Deals.  Pretty sure there isn't any deal that would be worth spending the night "camping" in -18 temperatures.  Call me crazy, but I prefer my cozy warm house.

We will likely be putting on our crazy hats tomorrow and braving black friday in the big city.  We won't, however, be there until after 9ish.  At least.

Now I'm off to get the remaining dough from the PW Parker House Rolls out of the fridge so it can warm up and get ready to be turned into caramel rolls early tomorrow morning.

Wishing you all a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving.

 

Denial

Yesterday I found myself in first place for mother-of-the-year award.  You all should be worried.  What did I do to achieve first place you ask?  I sent T-boy to school in tennis shoes.  Doesn’t sound like mother-of-the-year material?  How about the fact that by end of day we had 6 to 8 inches of snow on the ground…pretty awesome huh?  Even better than the fact I sent him in tennis shoes, I had not yet bought snow boots for him.  Clearly I’ve been in denial…cause really, by November 22, most normal people who live in the frozen tundra have surely purchased snow boots for their offspring.  In my mind I was hoping the lovely fall weather we have been enjoying would last until…April.    Thank goodness for good friends with outgrown boots that will keep his toes warm until his new boots arrive.

Stay Warm

Fall Photoshoot

We've had an unseasonably warm fall here on the northern plains, which has meant flowers bloomed longer than normal this year.  In fact, I still have some blooming in a pot by my front door...I'm wishing this weather could last until about May and then spring could come...guessing I may not get my wish.  A few weeks ago we walked up to the Court House in our small town where the flowers were gorgeous to get a few pictures of T-Boy. 

On the way there, he grabbed an apple off our neighbors tree.

 
Since I had to use bribery to even get him to agree to the photo shoot, I wasn't surprised that he wasn't 100% cooperative!

 

Here's a few more pics--mostly for those Grandma's and Aunties out there!

 
 
 
 
The bribery I mentioned above?  He is definitely his fathers son...Before he would agree to being my model guinea pig, I had agreed to making not one, but two pies of his choosing!  Sad that at such a young age he has mastered the art of bribery.

Loving Fall

Kris

This Weekend

Yesterday we journeyed to the big city in search of new jeans for T-Boy.  Seems most of his jeans either have a hole in the knee...probably due to the amount of stain remover I have to rub into said jeans weekly...or they are way.too.short.  The boy's been growing.  I remember when I was younger how much fun my Mom had taking us shopping, especially if she had the pleasure of taking both Michael and I along.  It is probably why she has an aversion to shopping still.  I would like to take a moment to say...I totally understand now why she loved those trips so much.   Shopping with a boy, at least the boys in my family is not much fun (I'm sure I was a pleasure to shop with).  That may possibly be an understatement.  The day was not a total loss though...we did find the necessary articles of clothing so I don't have to wash jeans mid-week.  Because honestly, I don't remember to wash jeans mid-week...so lately, Friday morning about 15 minutes before he needs to be walking out the door, T-Boy will yell from his room "Mom, I don't have any jeans to wear."  I still haven't figured out how I'm supposed to rectify that problem in that amount of time, but most of the time my answer has been, "Then you'll have to wear your cleanest dirtiest pair."  Clearly I'm right near the top in the running for mother-of-the-year.  Hopefully there are other mothers out there who understand "cleanest dirtiest pair". 

Perhaps the best part of yesterday was this place

 
We ate dinner here while we were in the Big City...we had never tried it before.  The pasta was fantastic, but we ordered dessert (which we don't normally do) becuase on the menu was Tiramusu.  It was worth every.last.calorie.

Today was filled with our normal Sunday morning activities, a dinner of Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, and Creamed Peas, a few loads of laundry, a mid-afternoon nap (me), a bit of friend time (t-boy),  a lot of homework (mike), and homemade chicken alfrado for supper.

 
We finished off this beautiful fall weekend with a musical performance! 

Wishing the weekend could last a bit longer...

Kris

Hello......Is anyone still out there?

 

My goodness it's been awhile since I've posted here...the past two months have been super crazy I guess.  I'll give a quick recap of what's been happening round these parts.

August 

*  We traveled west for a funeral and some family time

* T-Boy started 4th Grade (which is really hard to believe)

* I moved back into the office instead of working from home

September

*Mike and I painted our kitchen cupboards white in 7 short (or really long) days

*Mike stained, varnished and installed a new closet door (Living Room) and Trim (Living Room and Dining Room)

* Grandpa and Grandma G visited over Labor Day

* I went on my annual Scrapbooking retreat

* Mike entertained Marc, Lisa, Megan and Aaron while I was away :-(

* Football (NFL) began...which doesn't excite me at all, but thrills two of the strange people I live with

* Mike started classes again...Econ this time

October (so far)

* T-Boy and I headed west the first weekend for convention

* I gave 10 presentations for my job in 3 weeks...this is a story for another post

* We enjoyed a much needed full weekend at home last weekend

So there's a recap of what's been going on here the last 2.5 months.  I'm sure I missed a few highlights...I seem to get more forgetful each day!  What the bullet doesn't capture is how crazy work has been for both Mike and I.  Hopefully the bulk of the craziness has passed for now, and we can enjoy what's left of fall.

 

Randomness

Wow--it's been awhile since I've blogged...I chalk it up to summer being busy.  Also, the object of most of my thoughts, that boy with such a sweet face in the picture above was gone for awhile (like a week and two days).  A few random bits of useless information

*This is the face I'm apt to get when I pull out the camera--obviously his version of a nice picture face and mine are different.

*It's been HOT here for the past week.  I love hot weather--so much better than cold.  However, I don't much care for humidity.  Someone please remind me I said that in the middle of winter when I'm freezing.

*It's so cold him my house right now I could use a sweatshirt and socks--my dear hubby and I don't always agree on what temperature our thermostat should be set at.  In the summer, he usually wins.  

*We have a 5 hour drive ahead of us today--we've made this drive 5 times in the past three months--I don't like driving.

*I do like seeing family, which makes the drive worthwhile

*School starts here in two weeks--I'm ready, he's not

*On my nightstand right now are "The Time Travelers Wife" and "Eat Pray Love".  I've not been able to get past the first three pages of the first, but have almost devoured the last.  I think I must see the movie "Eat Pray Love" when it comes to our remote area of the country.

Well, that's enough randomness for today...I must go get ready before someone who shall remain nameless gets crabby.  And I need to get some socks on before my toes freeze off.

Stay warm cool

Kris
 

That'll Learn Em

Last week, Mike was doing some yard work, and came across an unpleasant surprise.  Wasp like creatures had decided to make our lawn shed their home.  We asked them to pay rent, they didn't agree, so Mike decided to send an eviction notice.  I'll let the following pictures speak for themselves.

 

Where was I standing while the drama unfolded you ask?  I was bravely offering moral support, while brushing up on my photojournalist skills.....from the safety of the back porch (just in case the wild beasts decided to attack, I had the back door half open...I may have even been standing halfway in the house).  I'm sure he appreciated my supporting efforts.  The wild beasts decided it might be best if they pack their bags and look for greener pastures...which is good, because with the last picture, he ran out of spray.

Happy Weekend

Kris
 
 
 
 

Pigs and Chickens and Turkeys on the 4th of July

We celebrated the 4th of July on the farm where my Mother-in-Law was raised.  

The setting here is gorgeous.  I can find beauty in most any landscape, but am quite partial to the rolling hills of the plains.

There are so many different animals that call this farm home...

From pigs (aren't they cute...I wish I could have gotten a good picture of Mama...she was not so cute, nor did she like me much).

To Turkeys (fun fact--most of my family members can gobble with the best of them...myself included...true story) I wonder if that makes us weird...

To Roosters

Cows....

and even a kitten or two, that several kids thought they should really take home.

Beyond the animals, I love all the equipment that tells stories of years gone by.  Most of it hints at a time when life moved at a different, much slower pace than it does today.

I'm thankful for the reminder of our heritage, and for the work ethic our ancestors instilled in us.  I'm also thankful that at the end of the day, I have running water, indoor plumbing, electricity, and ok, I'll admit it, the internet. 

How bout you, do you ever wish you could live in, or at least visit an era past?

Happy Trails...

Kris
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Prized Possessions

We are getting ready for a rummage sale this week which is loads of fun...does sarcasm come across well?  Any-who, Trey was helping me carry our junk precious things from the basement to the garage tonight, and happened to get an armful of his toys from when he was just a kid.  As he's looking wistfully down at his toys, here was our conversation:

Trey: I used to really like most of these things

Mom: Does it make you sad?

Trey: Kind of, these were some of my most prized possessions

Needless to say, I was kind of lost for words.  While I was trying not to get teary, I had the thought that engaging children in the donating or selling of once prized possessions can help teach them that no possessions are actually prized, it's the people you surround yourself with that mean the most.

Have you had the pleasure of eating the dove chocolates that have inspirational sayings inside the wrapper?  I had the pleasure of eating one today...my message was "Live life for the experiences, not for the possessions."  I saw it again when I was writing this...how fitting.

So this weekend, Trey will have the experience of watching some of his prized possessions become someone else's prized possessions.  The possibility of making just a bit of cash may be helping him through that. Does that defeat the lesson?

Wish me luck!

Kris

Old Favorites

We spent the Fourth of July on Mike's Grandparents farm, where life moves at a different pace.  I'll post more pictures later this week, but for now, wanted to share one of my favorites from the weekend.  His Grandparents have a huge flowerbed in front of their house that has an old bicycle as part of the decoration.  I loved the mix of the flowers and the old bike...very cool.  What a great way to use something that no longer serves its original purpose.

More pic's to come tomorrow (or the next day)...

Enjoy the flowers....

Kris