7 Random Facts about Me!

I've been tagged again. This time by Monica. I just found her blog a few weeks ago and really enjoyed reading it!

So I am supposed to tell 7 random things about myself, and then tag 7 other people to do the same. Well, she tagged 5, and I hate tagging anyone, so I am not quite sure what I will end up doing yet....but I will start off with my list.

1. I am 40, but when I turned 40, I was determined that I would NEVER to look, act or feel like I am 40. I get frustrated when people tell me that they are "too old for that". When I am 80 I want to be a lot like my dad, a person who definitely doesn't look or act like a typical 80+ year old.

2. I met my husband when he started working at the company I was working at. It took him 6 months to finally ask me out. There was a LOT of flirting during that 6 months. It was wonderful and awful at the same time. I loved talking with him, but hated that he turned me from a semi-serious "Marketing Manager" into a goofy school girl. I had a hard time caring about work.

3. The first day I met him, I told a co-worker "You know, he is the perfect guy for me, if he wasn't so short". He is 3 inches shorter than me. I used to actually think that mattered.

4. I love the fact that I didn't get married until my early 30's. I had SO much fun during my 20's, I had a lot of fun with my friends, I vacationed, I worked in a variety of jobs, I lived with good and horrible roommates, I lived all by myself and I got my graduate degree. I definitely did a LOT and grew up a lot before settling down.

5. As a child/teen, I was incredibly shy, awkward, very tall and very thin and an easy target for bullies. To this day, I still have those shy and awkward feelings deep down. Some people can't imagine I was ever shy, and I am definitely MUCH MUCH more outgoing now. However, the shyness is still there. And I still hate those bullies.

6. I grew up in a medium sized town but always wanted to move away and live in a large city. And I did that right after college. I lived in a big city for about 8 years, until I met my husband. Now I live in the middle of nowhere and have to drive 10 miles to get to the grocery store. I have now become one of those people who say "I am going into town, is there anything else we need?". I never thought I would end up here, but honestly, I really love it.

7. I have a very diverse taste in music. My ipod is filled with things like U2, the Counting Crows, Coldplay but also the Psychedelic Furs, OMD, old B52's and the Cure. But, I have recently downloaded Henry Mancini's "Moon River" from itunes, and am considering downloading some old Nine Inch Nails.

Well, that is pretty random. So now to the tagging part.

First I have to tag Maria. She knows why.

Second, I will tag PB&J in a Bowl. I love her stories of her daughter and her blog name is hilarious since it represents the only thing her daughter would eat.

Third I will tag Kerri. I love her blog, she also turned the big 4-0 this year and loves photography! She takes VERY good pictures!

OK, that is it. I am done tagging. See, I think my refusal to tag is due to my underlying shy and awkwardness.

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'Twas the day after Christmas, and all I felt was guilt

Christmas was great. The kids, of course, had so much fun. But I (Santa) had a little guilt when I started getting the gifts out Christmas Eve, there just weren't THAT many gifts. And I wasn't as excited about the gifts they got. They were good, just not that great. At least in my opinion.

Now, I know, I KNOW, I am the first to say that my kids have so much stuff, and I don't believe that kids should be PILED on with stuff, but I just felt a little bad that during these few precious years, when they are little, and so innocent and have complete faith in Santa, that the big Christmas morning gifts didn't meet my expectations.

Of course, my kids didn't seem to care, they were so happy with the gifts they had. They were so excited Santa ate their cookie and left a note. And they were excited to get on with the rest of the day which included big get-togethers at both sets of grandparents, which include all their aunts, uncles and cousins. AND, where they did get a lot more STUFF.

So they are extremely happy, but next year, I think I will try to have more small stuff. Not necessarily spend more money, but maybe buy more small gifts so they have more gifts to open. Maybe I won't be AS frugal too.

And, of course, I know my kids are SO lucky, they have SO much more than so many other kids, so this guilt is really completely ridiculous. And many people will probably laugh that I even feel that way.

And now I am on to my second mom guilt moment this holiday season. This is a guilt I felt today that was due to my often "too short" temper.

I got a tripod for Christmas. I was playing around with it this afternoon, just taking pictures of the Christmas tree and stuff like that. Christina came by and sat on the floor next to me playing with her new chalkboard.

She told me "don't look what I am writing until I tell you".

So I kept on focusing and adjusting the camera, and focusing and adjusting some more, and taking picture after picture. However, many times, just as I finally got the camera right and pushed the shutter, Christina would jump around and knock the tripod.

I wasn't really mad, I was just slightly annoyed. I know, bad mom dumb reason to be annoyed. I just told her "Christina please sit still and don't hit the tripod". And, after a couple more times, I was a little firmer "Christina! Please be careful!".

Of course, please remember, I am taking pictures of nothing of importance. These are NOT pictures that have any meaning whatsoever. Some of the pictures turned out pretty nice, but these are not pictures that I am planning on using, or saving, or printing. I am just playing around with my new "toy".


So, Christina finally says "OK mom, look!".

And this is what she was working on:


How awful did I feel? The worst. The absolute worst.

How many hugs and "Thank Yous" did I give her - yeah, I bet you can guess.

Big lesson, big guilt for mom today.

Hope you all had a great Christmas!!

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Husbands and Christmas Shopping

Every year, pretty much the entire Christmas shopping responsibilities fall on my shoulders. And, since we are often pinching pennies, my husband often doesn't even need to buy me a gift. So he is pretty much off the hook for the whole season.

So, that means, that I need to buy for his parents, sister/sister in law/brother/brother in law/niece/nephew and my parents/brother in law/nieces/nephews along with our 3 kids. Now granted, we don't always buy for every single person every year (we rotate some siblings), we do buy for MOST of them most of the time.

In some respects, I don't mind, because he isn't the best shopper (as in this example). But Christmas shopping is a HUGE responsibility. Not only do you need the time to run around town to buy the stuff, but you need to spend an exorbitant amount of time THINKING about buying stuff.

I think about it ALL THE TIME. I spend a ton of time just researching on the internet. I spend some time just browsing in a variety of stores. I think about ideas when I am driving. I think about ideas when I am running/working out (which is actually when I do my best thinking). It almost consumes me during the month of December.

Oh, sorry, he DID think of a gift this year. He decided to buy his brother a gift card, so he emailed me from work and asked that I order one.

But now I am pretty much done. And we are waiting for the "big day" to arrive, and I think - after all this planning, it just doesn't seem fair that he gets to bask in the gift giving glow when he has spent about 2 minutes and 30 seconds on the entire process. But he will get all the hugs and kisses and Thank Yous from everyone who (hopefully) loved their gifts.

But, I guess, that is typical. I know my dad didn't buy for anyone but my mom (although their list of gift recipients was SO much smaller than ours). I am pretty sure my sister does ALL her shopping (and her list of recipients is quite large).

And, due to the fact that the malls are filled with men on Christmas Eve trying to find the one gift they need to buy that year (usually for their wife), I will guess my husband is just typical.

He claims he doesn't have TIME to shop. I mean, he works all day, he coaches at night, he is BUSY. And I have lots of free time, right? (you better NOT agree).

Today I may drag him and the kids to do a little last minute shopping. I probably could do it myself (it probably would be easier actually), but I think it would be good if he basked in the whole shopping experience.

And, I don't mean to husband bash. Although he will think I am. I am just making some thoughtful observations as we wind down to Christmas.

And I am tired today.

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Tips for Great Christmas Photos!

Since many of us will be taking tons of pictures this Christmas season, I thought I would point you to a great website which has really good suggestions in taking Christmas pictures. They have great ideas on how to really capture those memories. Many suggestions that I would never have thought of prior to my new interest in photography.

How to take Christmas Photos

I was also tagged to talk about my thoughts on discipline. Since I need to really think about this, and it will take some time to write the post, and I am guessing not a lot of people will even be reading blogs during the next few days, I think I will wait until next week to write that post.

In the meantime - good luck with the photos and I hope these tips help!

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Mailing cards to neighbors - do you?

Mail them, I mean. Versus handing it or dropping it off yourself.

This was my great debate yesterday. A neighbor of ours, 2 houses down, just lost their mother. We are friends with them, not super close friends, but friendly enough. And I wanted to send a sympathy card.

So I wrote out my card and then sat there and thought - "Do I put a stamp on this, or do I walk down the street and put it in their mailbox?". I never know what the right thing is to do.

My husband said - just stick it in their box! But I feel strange doing that. I know, maybe I am strange, but I always feel that I am trespassing if I open their mailbox without permission (like if you are picking up their mail when they are on vacation).

But how ridiculous is it that I put a stamp on the card, the mailman picks it up, DRIVES PAST THEIR HOUSE 2 DOORS DOWN, takes the letter to the office, where it then travels about 120 miles round trip, comes back into our neighborhood the next day, past MY house, and then is deposited in their mailbox. Nutty, right?

So what do you do? I think about this when sending any cards - Thank you cards, Christmas cards etc - to neighbors. Is there an etiquette? Does is just depend on how well you know them?

So what did I do? I was a dork. I put a stamp on it, then proceeded to walk up the street to get their address number, wrote it down, walked back to my house and put it in my mailbox, where it had a nice trip around the county and will come back into our neighborhood today.



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'Tis the season for the great debate....

Wrapping paper or gift bags??

Except I never knew there even was a great debate about this topic, until I entered the blog world.

I never gave gift bags a second thought. And then I started reading some blogs where people were giving their opinion on gift bags and realized there is a whole world out there that hates them. Well, maybe hate is a strong word, they dislike them and feel that gifts should be wrapped.

So, I was thinking about it. I know, there are way more important things to think about, but my thought was "Yes, I like wrapped gifts." I think it is true that there is something more exciting about unwrapping a beautiful package versus opening a bag.

But don't get me wrong, I will take any gift, wrapped or bagged any which way and I REALLY DON'T CARE. But when I give a gift, I think I will try to wrap them. In fact, this year I thought I would make them a little extra nicer and use a pretty ribbon on my packages. Boy, it was so easy, but the gifts look so beautiful sitting under my tree! I guess I just think they look a little more special. Thoughts anyone??




I got all my gifts wrapped yesterday, which is a major feat since I usually do all my wrapping Christmas Eve. I really feel like I accomplished a lot! I need a couple more stocking stuffers, I am going to get something small for my husband, and I am done! Yeah!!!!

But on to more important things.....this is may be the season of giving, but it is also the season of the...BEACH HOUSE! Especially when Kallie was dancing around the house yesterday in her darling sun hat!


Yes, now is the time to start thinking about that summer vacation. For us anyway. We have been going to Hilton Head Island for the last 7 years - with a couple of missed years - and we usually start finding/booking the house right after Christmas. Anyway, as the snow starts to pile up, my thoughts often turn to warm sunny sandy beautiful beaches......mmmmmmmm.

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12 random Christmas things - about me!

Meggie has tagged me to tell 12 random things about myself that are Christmas related. I have never done any "random" blog thing yet, and this may be boring for anyone that knows me, heck, it maybe boring for anyone that doesn't know me, but here goes -

1. I celebrate 2 Christmases.

2. On 12/25 we celebrate "Santa Claus" Christmas.

3. On 1/7 - we celebrate "Christ" Christmas. My religion follows the Julian calendar so our "Christ" Christmas is celebrated on that day.

4. My husband is Methodist, but our kids are baptized in my church. We open gifts at both sides of the family on the 25th, but we only have a dinner at his.

5. On the 7th, we go to church and my mom's for a big hoopla/party/dinner with lots of family - but we don't exchange gifts, that is done only on the 25th.

6. I always got to take the 7th off from school when I was kid. I felt a little odd because I was the only one, but it was still SO cool!

7. Christmas day (the 25th) is now crazy because we visit 2 families and each is over an hour away. We spend the day driving all over tarnation, but it is fun.

8. Even as a kid, I always enjoyed the 7th a little more than the 25th.

9. Going to church and having an all-day-party on the 7th meant so much more than the "stuff" we got on the 25th. The "stuff" was fun for the first part of the day, but I actually got bored by the end of day.

10. I completely understand the "politically correctness" of mentioning other cultures' holidays, but my biggest pet peeve of the season is the fact that we ONLY mention the holidays that are in December. If we are really trying to embrace and recognize other cultures/religions, why don't we mention other, bigger holidays throughout the year, not just the December ones? I just don't get it.

11. For my side of the family, Easter is a much bigger holiday, with much more hoopla, as it should be.

12. During my first Christmas season with my husband, then boyfriend, I had him over for a nice dinner. I bought a bottle of wine and then discovered that he won't touch the stuff (he is a beer guy). So, smart girl that I am, I proceeded to drink the whole thing. No, this was not the average 750 ml bottle, this was the "big dog" 1.5 l bottle. It was a nightmare date for him as I turned into a VERY mean and belligerent, and ultimately, very sick, drunk. But, great guy that he is, he just laughed at me. And he is still here 11 years later!

I am not going to tag anyone. I KNOW, I know, I know, it is supposed to be required, but I have such a hard time doing something like that! But I don't mind it being done to me.

The only person I would feel OK about tagging would be my sister, but, knowing her, she probably wouldn't do it anyway. Sorry Meggie!

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Privacy? What is THAT?

I will never forget a conversation I had with a friend. We had this conversation quite a few years ago, before I had kids. She had 3 little ones at the time. She told me "You NEVER have privacy after you have kids. I am NEVER alone. Never. Ever."

I often thought about what she said and, as a childless person, tried to imagine what that would feel like, and if that would bother me. What would it be like if I was never alone? I wondered if I would get annoyed. I wondered if it would drive me crazy.

However, as any parent knows, there is NO way to realize how you are going to feel about your kids, and living with kids, until you have kids. It is ONLY then that you realize what all the hub-bub is about. It is only then that you realize what that unconditional love feels like. It is only then that you realize you will (usually) love your lack of privacy - except for the days when you just have HAVE to get out of the house, alone.

Which brings me to this morning. I was using the "facilities", door closed. Christina comes barging in.

"Christina, just wait a minute, I will be right out. Just shut the door and I will be done in a minute."

"MOM! I HAVE to tell you something (or somefing, as she says)."

"What is it!?"

"Mom, do you know what the fifth grade teacher's name is?"

"No."

"It is Mr. xxx'

"Oh, OK, shut the door."

And she leaves. VERY important information there. Could not wait.

Anyway, we got dumped on with snow yesterday and last night - maybe 10 inches? Christina and I got outside and made snowmen and I took a ton of pictures. It really was gorgeous outside.

Schools are all on a 2 hr delay. It is not snowing now, so I think everyone will actually get to school today.

Oh, and I still don't have any creamer for my coffee. Skim milk...yech.

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It is 8 A.M.....is it naptime yet?

Oh, it is one of THOSE toddler days today! Kallie was up SO late last night, up SO early this morning, and hasn't stopped crying yet.

Wait a second - I will be right back.....

OK, I just went over to ask her for the 40th time why she is crying and what does she want. She wanted her sippy cup, which was lying next to her ankles, to be moved next to her hip. OK, done. Crying stopped for now. Life can be tough when you are 2. Oops, crying started again.

OK, I just went over to ask her for the 41st time why she is crying and what does she want. Her sippy cup was lying on its side and she wanted it standing upright in front of her. OK, done. Crying stopped for now. Oops, crying started again.

OK, I just went over to ask her for the 42nd time why she is crying and what does she want. She wanted a tissue to wipe some microscopic thing off the pillow next to her. OK, done. This time the crying never really stopped, just slowed down, but still crying.

If you think I am kidding about this play-by-play, I am NOT. This is my Sunday morning. Typed out as I also tended to our toddler.

Yes, today is one of those days when naptime can NOT come too soon.

We are in the throws of our first major winter storm. It actually isn't too bad, but we have freezing rain which soon will be all snow, so no one is going anywhere.

Oh, and I have no creamer for my coffee.

And we are out of the food my cat likes. We aren't out of cat food, but the food she LIKES. So my cat is not going to leave me alone ALL DAY.

No one is very happy today.

Oops - hold on....

OK, I just went over to ask Kallie for the 43th time why she is crying and what does she want. One of the goldfish crackers that was in the bowl in front of her was now lying on the couch NEXT to the bowl . She wanted it back in the bowl. OK, done. Crying stopped.

Really, I am not that miserable today. My fire is warm, my tree is sparkling and I like being snowed in when I really didn't have any plans anyway. I am planning on making homemade bread today. Maybe cookies too.

I just need a really big dose of patience with a side of understanding.

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Ker - PLUNK

And what was that sound you ask? It was the sound of my 2 yo flipping out of her crib last evening.

We got the girls to bed last night. My husband and I were piddling around downstairs. We could hear the girls talking and laughing when suddenly we heard that sound, "ker-PLUNK" followed by Christina yelling "MOM!! DAD!!"

And there was Kallie, face down on the floor crying. And there was Christina, in bed, scared and crying right along with her. Apparently Kallie thought it would be fun to try sitting on the railing of her crib. Yeah, THAT didn't work.

We took Kallie downstairs. She kept holding her arm, crying a little, but not too much. So we decided she is probably OK, maybe a little bruising, very spooked, but no breaks.

She was up a few times crying last night. I gave her some Motrin since I figured her arm may be achy, and now she is still sleeping. Hopefully all will be OK today.

I actually think she has done OK with her crib. She is 2 1/2 and hasn't fallen or climbed out ever (until last night). I hope last night scared her enough to prevent her from trying that stunt again.

I am NOT ready for Kallie to be in a big girl bed yet! I still have flashbacks to when we first put Christina in a big bed....no napping, constant back and forth sending her back to her room, up and about early in the morning....ugh, no, not yet....

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Christmas Tree Lights - the necessary evil

Well we (I) did it. The tree is UP. I love my tree this year. It looks perfect. And, as much as I love having it up, I absolutely HATE decorating it. No, scratch that, I don't hate decorating it, I HATE putting on the lights. Absolutely HATE IT.

And why do I hate it so much? Because, many years ago, my friend Denise showed me the best way to put on Christmas lights. She told me that you need to wrap the lights on every branch, starting from the inside of the tree to the outside. It creates depth and whole tree just glows.

OK, she is absolutely right. I think my tree lights look fantastic! Better then many trees I see - I must add.

But wrapping the lights on every branch is SO time consuming and frustrating - especially when you have a 6 yo saying "ARE YOU DONE YET MOM?" about ten thousand times.

And, this technique uses a LOT of lights and, as everyone knows, Christmas lights are the biggest scam of the season. At least half of your lights are burned out every year.

And I have never ever been able to figure out what those "extra" lights are for. Does anyone use them and replace burnt out lights? And the box says "Guaranteed for 2 years". Has anyone actually taken them up on that? Who can remember which of your 500 strands of lights were purchased in the last 2 years? How do you keep track of that? So, yes, I was off to Kmart to buy even more lights.

And, of course, there will be the dismantling of the tree. My lights are so jumbled and tied around so many branches and twigs that my husband proposes we just toss the tree with the lights and start new next year. Not a bad idea actually.

But, no matter how much I hate the lighting process, I LOVE my tree. I love the ornaments I have collected over the years. I can sit here and just stare at it for hours. And even though I curse Denise every year (bet you didn't know THAT Denise!) for showing me the "right" way to do lights, I still will continue to put the lights on that way for many years to come. They really are beautiful!

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Snow day!!!

Actually "Ice day"! Our little world here is coated in ice - not even close to being as bad as the storm that hit the midwest, but enough ice that the roads are an ice skating rink, and all the schools are now closed.

So, what do you do when you suddenly have everyone home? Yes, even hubby, he is a teacher.

Well, at first I am excited. It is not just me and the kids. I have help all day. It will be a fun day! Right?

Then, I realize that my husband being home is not really "help". There is definitely more chaos because, as you may know, husbands can sometimes be a lot like kids, sometimes worse.

And honestly, sometimes he can drive me batty. He listens as I talk on the phone...and comments. He stands behind me when I am on the computer and watches what I am reading or typing...and comments.

And I have a hard time following my usual routines, I just tend towards laziness when he is home. Why is that!?

Anyway, I am going to use this unexpected day off to get our Christmas tree up and decorated!!

Maybe make more cookies!!

Maybe I'll also get a lot of housework done...well..maybe not.

(click on picture to see more details)

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The most unromantic gift...EVER

Most years of our marriage, my husband and I have not exchanged gifts. Since I have been a stay at home mom, we are usually trying to watch our spending. It sometimes feels wasteful to spend our own money buying ourselves gifts. Our own gift giving has just been an easy thing to cut out to help reduce our holiday spending.

Last year, my husband told me he bought me something even though we agreed not to. He assured me it was small and insisted that I don't need to buy him anything in return.

Even though he claimed it was small, I was still intrigued. After everything I profess about saving money and not buying each other gifts, I still had to admit that I was a little excited about receiving something, even if it was small. I mean, who doesn't get excited about a gift even though you claim you don't want one!?

I wracked my brain...what could it be? Maybe just something from Bath and Body Works? Maybe a little perfume? Maybe just a new shirt? Oooooooo.....I just couldn't figure it out and I couldn't wait!

Fast forward to Christmas morning. The girls open their gifts and are having the time of their lives. I am so excited for them, taking lots of pictures, but also eager to find out what MY gift is!!!

After all the girls' gifts are open, my husband finally hands our oldest my gift to pass on to me. I anxiously open it, trying to act nonchalant because, as my husband keeps telling me, it is really no big deal. So I try to act like I really don't care, and am not expecting much. And what was it?

Socks. Seriously. White, cotton, athletic, ankle socks from JcPenney. Why you ask? Because I often borrow my husband's socks and he was tired of running out of them. Although I wasn't expecting much, I really wasn't expecting THAT. Yeah, I was just a little disappointed.

This year, we again initially decided no gifts. But as Christmas day approaches I am starting to get an itch to exchange gifts with him. I told him, maybe we should buy each other something small. I had an idea for him and think it may be fun to exchange little gifts Christmas Eve after the kids are asleep. So we may try it again.

But, I have let him know, many times over, that I never. ever. ever. want. socks. again.

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THIS is what makes it all worthwhile!

Yesterday started off on the wrong foot...I woke up tired after a horrible night's sleep. When I tried to "quietly" wake my oldest for school, I accidentally made too much noise and woke my youngest...who started immediately crying and didn't stop crying for a good hour. It was just one of those mornings, where you feel terrible, and feel terrible for feeling so terrible. If that makes sense. The whole day was a blah day. When I picked up my oldest from the bus stop, I told her we were going to make cookies. She loves helping me. She got her stool ready, got the mixer for me, was all ready to go. Then I started getting the ingredients together and realized I didn't have any brown sugar. How could I NOT have brown sugar!!!! I think I was more disappointed than her.

At the end of the day, Christina and Kallie each donned a Cinderella dress and danced around the house. Of course, I HAD to get some pictures. I thought this one was just so cute and completely turned my blah day upside down.

They love each other so much...can I dare hope it never changes???

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Giveaway

I don't often enter giveaways, and I never win giveaways (probably because I never enter), but hey, when someone is giving away something "Coach" I just HAVE to give it a shot. To enter, just visit Melinda!

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It's our Annual Tree Cutting Event!!!

Since the year 2000, we have been going to the same tree farm to cut down our Christmas tree. The farm is out in the middle of nowhere, but it is such a nice drive and they have really nice trees for only $20.

In 2000, it was just Eric and I.. all alone. That year, we had been married a little over a year and didn't have any kids. This year was our 8th year. Not only do we now have 3 little girls (2 of whom were with us), but we were also joined by my sister, her husband, 2 of their kids and Grandma and Grandpa. It was a fun filled afternoon.....for most of us.

Christina had a great time..most of the time. She helped me find the perfect tree and only had one little melt-down...which was quickly resolved.


Kallie had a terrible time...almost the entire time. She decided she hates the snow and would not stand in it or on it or near it for even a second. She just cried "UP!" the entire time. So, we either held her, or let her stand there crying.


I think every year we have gone, except for our very first year of course, at least one child was completely miserable.



We did find a great tree. Eric cut it down, dragged it up and down the hill and back to the car, with only minimal complaints. We'll decorate it some time this week.


Do you think next year we can actually have a tree cutting event without any tears? Is that too much to ask?????

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Our amazing kitty

I was going through some old files and I found this video from 3 years ago that I just HAD to share. It is of Caroline - our special needs child - when she was just a tiny one year old. She is lying alongside of our kitty, Nugget. Nugget was about 5 months old.

Nugget was, and is, an amazing kitty, she is so tolerant of kids - as you can see from the video. It is really like she knew Caroline wasn't your average one year old. The quality of the video is not that great - it was video taken from my old digital still camera - but I think you can still get the gist of it.

Nugget is still a good kitty, but now stays clear of Caroline. I guess Nugget just realizes that at 4 1/2 years old, Caroline's hits and kicks pack much more of a punch!

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Join me for a walk in my winter wonderland!

Yesterday was another gorgeous, snow covered day. So I grabbed my camera and took a walk out my back door.

I LOVE this new hobby of mine! The woods were so quiet and peaceful, and I just ambled around looking for interesting things to photograph. Some pictures didn't turn out so great, some looked fairly cool. I love how photography really makes you look at the world SO differently!

Every tiny twig and branch were coated in snow:


The pine trees looked amazing:


I noticed this interesting arrangement of small trees and branches that formed the letter 'A':



And I found this small bunch of dried berries hanging all by itself, covered in snow.

I played around with my camera settings. I know some of these pictures probably could have been much better. I have a "Snow" setting on my camera, so some pictures are taken with it. After I got back inside, I did a little research on taking snow scene pictures. It is a little hard because the White Balance can get goofy. If you just point and shoot at an Auto setting, the snow can look blue or gray, not white. I will have to do a little more research on snow photography and try my hand again.

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I'll admit it...sometimes I am not too smart

I went grocery shopping last night and while there I got a great idea to make Rice Krispie treats for the kids this week. I found Christmas marshmallows which were red and green and I thought - those are COOL! So I bought them.

Now what made me think melting red and green marshmallows together would create Christmas colored Rice Krispie treats? Yeah, they were brown.


I sort of salvaged them with about a bottle of green food coloring..and now they look like Shrek-inspired treats.

Oh well, they still taste great!

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OK, I am done messing with my blog, for now

I spent way too much time yesterday playing around with my blog.

I tried to upload a new template from another website, but it never worked and I got incredibly frustrated!

I then read a bunch of articles on modifying your current template, then I lost my old template. Which I backed up but I couldn't get it to ever re-loaded.

So then I changed my template, and did a couple modifications, but wasn't completely happy because my header photo was off center.

So I tried to center my header photo, I followed the directions to the T and it still wouldn't work.

So I have given up and I have changed my header photo. For now.

I feel like I should just go back to and reconstruct my old layout (since the back-up doesn't seem to work), but, with my luck, I will lose everything again and get so frustrated I will be tempted to just give up on the whole thing and hit the "delete blog" button.

I guess my problem is, and has always been, I am NEVER completely happy with a project and will keep tweaking it again and again and again...to the point of ruining a perfectly good blog while also driving myself NUTTY.

Today I promise to stay away from my "customize" button and spend some time on some nagging household projects. Like getting my dead frozen ferns off my front porch, along with my fall decorations, and my old flower pots. It is time for Christmas decorating!

Have a great day!

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Honey, this time I am pretty sure this wasn't MY fault.

Don't you HATE when you have to call your husband and tell him that you may have done something really stupid that is now going to cost you time and possibly money?

Like when you packed up the kids for a weekday trip to Grandma's only to drive out of the garage, didn't pay attention, and drove right into a snowbank, getting the car stuck? "Honey, can you come home from work and push me out so we can still go? The kids will be so disappointed if we can't go!" (He did)

Or when you went out to run some errands and somehow, when you pulled out onto the main road, you scraped the car against the HUGE fence post sitting 3 feet off the side of the road and put a huge gash across the door? "I swear it was sticking right out into the road!"

Well, yesterday was, sort of, one of those days. I drove Christina up the street to the bus in the morning. When I pulled back into the garage and tried to shut the garage door, it kept bouncing back up, like it was sensing something in its way. That has been happening a lot lately. Usually, if you hit the garage door button while also pulling a little on the door as it starts to descend, will just go down. But that didn't happen.

I pulled. And pulled. And pulled. And then this happened:


It got a "little" crooked. And now it is stuck. REALLY stuck. And my car is stuck inside. So I had to make that call. "Honey, something is wrong with the garage door". "I swear I didn't do anything!"

My husband never ever gets mad or upset no matter how stupid my issue or problem may be. But he does love to tease....and he NEVER ever forgets any of the not-too-smart things I have done over the course of our marriage.

Now this garage door problem, I don't think, is my fault. Unfortunately, my husband spent a few hours yesterday working on it and the only thing he has accomplished is that the door is pulled down to the ground. He cannot get it up at all. And so, for another day, I am stuck home until he gets home from work. He will work on it again today, and he may have to just take the door off the track so we can free my car from captivity.

I really hope this wasn't my fault.

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Trying to finally learn how to take pictures of Christmas lights

As we all put up our trees and our Christmas lights, and our tree stands glowing in our home, or the lights on our house sparkle in the snowy night, we often want to capture the beauty with a picture. The problem is, most of us have no idea how to set up our camera.

Until recently, I took almost all of my pictures in the Auto mode. I would take some pictures of my tree with a flash (couldn't capture the glow of the lights) and took some without a flash (now I have glowing lights, but the pictures is blurry). So, in preparation for the holiday season, I have been doing research to finally learn how to take Christmas light photos.

My neighbor is a very good photographer. He recently sent me a picture of his tree, it was gorgeous - glowing and sparkling. He told me how he set up his camera. He used his Manual mode (he has an SLR camera). He also used a tripod and set the camera as follows: ISO 100, F/22 (aperture), Shutter speed - 25 seconds.

I also found a couple websites that provide some insight in how to take pictures of Christmas lights- here and here. I am sure there many more, maybe some better ones, but these are the ones I have found so far.

Once I get my tree up and my house decorated, I will try my hand at getting some good photos and will post them.

Oh, and the photo above is just a stock photo...I WISH I had a tree and house that gorgeous!!

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Tis the season...for Christmas cards?

I have always been torn about the whole Christmas card exchange thing. Some years I have sent them, some years I haven't. And this year I am not quite sure what I will do.

Maybe I sound like Scrooge, but there are some things I just don't get about the card exchange thing.

1. When someone sends a card with a preprinted signature..was there a lot of thought put into the card? Maybe, maybe not, but it gives the impression of a mass mailing with very little individual thought. Personally, I think a preprinted signature WITH a personal note would be SO much nicer.

2. In a similar vein..when people send cards with just a signature. It does take more effort than a preprinted card, but again, it seems like a mass mailing. I LOVE it when someone takes a few minutes to jot a quick personal note, especially when it is someone you rarely see. It is so nice to get a quick update on how they are doing.

3. When I only get cards IF I send them. On the years that I neglect to send cards, I get knocked off many people's lists. It just seems that they are saying "if you don't send one to me, I won't send one to you!". To me, cards should be sent because YOU want to, not because you want one in return!

4. In the same vein - when I get a card only after I sent one. If you were planning on sending me one anyway, then that is great and I apologize. But I know that many times it is ONLY because I sent you one. When I do send cards, it is not only to get one in return!

5. Getting cards from businesses. Oh, how I hate when I get a card in the mail, get excited to see who it is from, only to find it is from some business thanking me for their business (and hoping for more business). In the circular file they go.

6. And what do you do with the cards you receive? If you don't have a card display, then you must either open them and toss them (which almost makes the whole card thing seem like a waste of time and money) or open them and put them aside only to toss after keeping for a reasonable time. I don't display them so I am never sure what to do. I guess I hold them for a few weeks and they toss them. Unless they are photos of kids/families that I want to keep.

I remember someone (a relative) once told me that Christmas cards are such a waste (but she still sends them for some reason). Obviously, cards from her (which are usually preprinted by the way) don't carry ANY meaning to me. And if I am sending cards, I don't bother to send one to her. But when she said this to me, it really made me think and wonder if a lot of others feel the same way?

Now, I hope this doesn't sound like I don't like cards, or I don't want cards, or I don't appreciate cards, but sometimes, cards from so many people, just don't make sense. I just don't get it. But maybe that is just me.

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My Friday date night...all by myself!!

It was a cold Friday night here. Our woodstove was cranking out some serious heat. Our cat, Nugget, was enjoying every second. My husband likes to tease her...as you can see by the paper on top of her...but Nugget doesn't give it a second thought.

My husband went off to his coaching activities at dinner time, so I thought I would have my own "date night" all by myself! Everyone is my family is extremely picky when it comes to food...except me. I love almost everything. I often end up making a couple different dinners each night (yes, I know it is a bad habit). But tonight, after a week of dealing with a sick family, I thought I would treat myself by making myself a nice dinner JUST for me!

I cooked up pizza for the kids. Not the healthiest dinner, but they love it and they will eat without saying a word. I also gave them a treat and let them eat at their family room table with their Scooby Doo plates (they love these things) while watching their favorite DVD - Scooby Doo. They were so happy and quiet.

Then, on the other side of the house, I made myself a simple and delicious dinner - Marinated salmon on a spinach salad with my sister's honey mustard dressing. I marinated the salmon in soy sauce, honey, oil, lemon pepper, salt - just eyeballed the amounts, but didn't use nearly enough honey, but it was still good. I poured a glass of Chardonnay and sat down and watched a Friends rerun (not the most intellectually stimulating programming......but I love this show!) It is so rare that I get any time alone with the tv to myself, so I really enjoyed myself. Of course, I don't want to eat by myself every night, but once in a blue moon, it can be a nice change of pace!

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