Sunday, December 27, 2009

One down....

....one to go!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas!


Even with all the chaos, too much food and a huge mess ours was wonderful! The kids seemed happy with their haul so I guess life is good here.

Onto party number 2, Syrina's birthday on New Year's Eve. My baby will be 3!

I don't know what it is about New Year's but it puts me in the spring cleaning mode. Maybe it is being cooped up in the house with all this clutter and useless crap that does it. Maybe it is because we get a buttload of snow and going out in it is a chore. Maybe it is the whole in with the new and out with the old.

This year I am resolving to take a room a month and purge, clean and organize.

First on the list is the master bedroom.



It really needs some love. Not like that you dirty minded ladies! Yeesh! I love the color. But on this wall I want me some stripes! I think that horizontal stripes would give it some life. I like the pics above the bed and the sign that I made. Those are staying. The bedside tables are going. I think on my side I am going to bring back my dressing table. On my husband's side I am going to look for a low bookcase with a top drawer. The bed I got this summer. It's an antique sleigh bed. Even though it is a full size I had to have it for my queen bed. So I need to get a new frame so I can attach the headboard, which is leaning against the wall, and the footboard which is leaning against another wall. The red sheets need to go. The hubby requested more pillows. The comforter needs a duvet cover too.



This dresser needs to go into the girls room with a paint job. We have a dresser at our property up north that I want to steal for here. The mess up there needs to be organized and moved. The books will go on his new nightstand. I like the curtains but they do need to be taken down and cleaned. They used to be tab top curtains and I changed them to pleated ones.


I love my bench at the foot of the bed! I got it a couple of years ago at a store closing. The thing is heavier than anything though. I like the new hardwoods we installed last winter too. I don't know if you can see it that well, but I love the bedskirt too. I made a copy of one I saw in the Pottery Barn catalog out of an extra set of tab top curtains. They are pleated with covered buttons at the top of the pleats. I am afraid that once I get the footboard up though the bench is going to get lost. So I think I am going to make a bolster pillow in white to draw your attention to it. I also think that I need a rug at the foot of the bed. Wait til you see the one that I have in mind!


My husband added the closet on the right for more room. So now we have his and hers closets. I need to go through these and take out the clothes that never in our wildest dreams we will ever never fit into again! Love the black doors though! See the footboard leaning against the wall? Yeah that needs to go on the bed. The dog sleeps in between the 2 closets, but her bed needs some help too.



This "dresser" needs to be gone and replaced with a larger dresser. The steam cleaner is there cause I was cleaning the mattress yesterday. Too lazy to schlep it downstairs. I do need to do the other mattresses first though. Also need some kind of mirror here too. The dresser top needs some work also.

So there it is January's resolution. I figure that finding the right furniture will be the most of the work and may take longer. The rest of the work can be done though. I was going through things today to see how much there is to actually be done. Seems I am quite the little packrat cause you would not believe the amount of crap that is crammed into my closet alone! I moved the bed, flipped the mattress, cleaned under the bed and cleaned the mattress today. I think that I have atleast 20 pairs of shoes under there! Those are just the everyday kick around shoes too. Dress shoes are in the closet! I'm afraid to see how many pairs are in there. I see space bags in my near future. Many, many space bags!

If anybody needs me, I will be under a mound of crap that I am pulling out of here!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

In My Daughter's Eyes

I thought that I had lost my Christmas spirit. The gifts aren't extravagant, the decorations suck and I felt not in the mood. I was dreading Christmas. I tried everything I could to get in the spirit of things and I couldn't. I didn't want to buy crappy gifts. I didn't want to hang the sucky decorations. I just wanted it to be over and done with and to the part where I swear to lose 50 lbs only to end up gaining another 15.

Then I went to the grocery store to get grub for "the" dinner. Along tagged the 13 year old, who by the way is older beyond her means. On the way, she asked me what was my favorite memory of Christmas. Hmmm.... I thought long and hard and told her it was 2 things. Having my mom there and Midnight mass. I always thought that Midnight mass was the most beautiful celebration of Christmas. I got an ache because I suddenly missed those two simple things about Christmas. I asked her the same question.

Her answer?

Me. Me? Well inquiring minds want to know why? She likes that I tease them about their presents. She doesn't even care what is in them. She likes how I will grab a gift and shake it and sniff it and say "I think I small a gift for so and so." She likes waking me up on Christmas. She thinks I look like an angel. I have NEVER seen an angel with their mouth hanging open and spittle running out the side. To her I am though. She likes pretending that she doesn't want to come into the kitchen cause I grab anyone who does and sing Christmas carols like Lucy and dance around. She is excited about Christmas cause she has made every single gift this year. Why did she do that? Because I have taught this beautiful, wise beyond her years, child that Christmas is about giving of yourself.

So this year, I will be capturing the magic of my childhood Christmas by attending Midnight mass. My gift is that I will have 2 angels at my side. 2 angels I created. 2 angels that I have given to make the world a better place. 2 angels that can see through my short comings and love me unconditionally. Because to these 2 angels I am the meaning of Christmas and love and joy. These 2 angels are what they are because of me.

Is there any better gift?!

Monday, December 21, 2009

I'm Not In The Mood!

Settle down here this is not a sex post. It is though a Christmas post. I'm not in the mood for Christmas. I've tried to get "in the mood". I apologize if that offends anyone. It's not a passing or recent thing either. Back in August when I saw the first Santas in the stores I just wanted to kick the crap out of his plastic molded jolly butt.

I even managed to talk my husband into a fake tree this year. Wasn't hard. I just didn't want to still be picking out pine needles out of my feet in July. It does make good kindling for the first bonfire of summer, but I'll buy charcoal fluid. We finally did get it up though.... on Saturday. I was the one who dragged it out though. There is a good thing about procrastination though, our $200 tree was 50% off.

And it's lit! Prelit Christmas tree! Cause I hate lights on Christmas trees. I think the lights are pretty, but I have a fear of them. It goes back to childhood. There would be my dad, all 300 pounds of him, legs splayed out, 6 pack of beer by his side and a humongous ball of lights. The first trick was to detangle the mess cause lawd knows he was not smart enough to wind them around something. Then came the fiddling. You know those monster paws can crush a delicate light bulb in one swoop. After the fiddling came the dreaded words....

"Here plug this in".

A few times of getting knocked on our butts from the electrical shock and we learned. MAKE YOURSELF SCARCE! The bulb part was ok. The tinsel sucked. I hate tinsel too. There was to be NO throwing a gob on our tree. Nope, my mom had to take each strand and carefully drape it over a branch. She would even "tweak" the tinsel throughout the season.

But now ours is decorated.


You can tell how tall my kids are. Lots of bulbs at the 3' level cause the bitty one was all over that. A few bulbs at the 4-1/2' level cause the boy was not exerting any energy and doing as little as possible. More bulbs close to the top, but not quite cause the oldest was too busy yelling at the bitty one not to bunch everything all up.

The stockings are not up though. I keep kidding myself that I am going to do them for Christmas. In reality, I see the old stockings and the "baby's first christmas" one up again. At the rate that I am going, she may still be using that stocking when she is 16.

Cause I am not in the mood....

I still have more than 1/2 my shopping to finish, all the wrapping to do and food to buy and burn. A house that desperately needs to be cleaned only to be trashed with having 10 people over for dinner. If Santa is late getting started, blame it on those damn DeLauders. We will more than likely be trying to squeeze in a visit with him at the last minute on Christmas Eve. He's not really all that jolly at this time. Could be why the bitty one has cried every time she has gone to see him. Last year she got off his lap, turned around and with tears streaming down her face yelled "I TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH ME!!!"

This year she says that she is not going to cry even if he punches her. I don't know what kinda psycho Santa she thinks we take her too. He may feel like punching a kid after being nice to 356,847 kids in 6 weeks but I have never seen him punch one. I know my son wanted to punch him last year. I begged, pleaded and cried for him to just stand next to Santa so I could have a pic. He agreed as long as he didn't have to sit on his lap. Up we go. The oldest one runs up and plops on his lap. The boy positioned himself standing next to Santa. Then came the bitty girl. She screamed bloody murder once I put her down. Santa did a little shifting. He put the bitty one on the older one's lap and grabbed the boy and pulled him on his lap. The girl snapped the pic. So that is my Santa picture. The oldest one beaming cause at 12 she can STILL sit on Santa's lap. The bitty one with tears and a pout lip down to her knees. And the boy glaring at Santa like he is a rotten so and so.

So for now I am off to clean and bake cookies. Rather finish baking cookies. And bake more of those little powdered sugar balls of goodness. Cause yesterday I ate waaaay too many of them and now I am short. So off I go to try to conjure up some kinda spirit for the holidays.

Cause I'm not in the mood....


Wednesday, December 16, 2009

~ For Yvonne

Yvonne posted the other day that she was challenging herself to use all the meat in her freezer. She also said that she had alot of venison. I pulled out one of my favorite wild game recipes for her to try. It is simply delicious! You can also use a boneless small sized steak in place of the venison.



First you need to make a Bordelaise sauce

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1/4 cup chopped carrots
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 tsp minced garlic
1-1/2 lb mixed mushrooms ( I used all bella mushrooms)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1 cup red wine (I used Marsala)
1 qt beef stock

Heat the oil in a large pot over med-high heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery.


Cook til soft about 3 mins. Add the garlic and cook about 30 secs until aromatic. Add the mushrooms and cook til they start to give off their juices about 4 mins. Add the salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes and cook for 1 min.


Add the wine stirring to loosen any bits on the bottom of the pan. Cook til reduced by half. Add the beef stock and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer and cook til reduced by half about 1-1/2 hours.

While the bordelaise sauce is simmering mix up a creole seasoning.



2-1/2 Tbs paprika
2 Tbs salt
2 Tbs garlic powder
1 Tbs black pepper
1 Tbs onion powder
1 Tbs cayenne pepper (adjust if you don't care for spicy hot food)
1 Tbs oregano
1 Tbs thyme

Combine in small bowl and set aside.

I have found from cooking venison that if you get a tough animal you can marinate it overnight or longer in the fridge with milk. The acids in the milk tenderize the meat. Same goes for beef. For white meats use coca cola. Tonight I was using stag tenderloins and he is a tough old bugger. I cut 1/2 inch or more slices and marinated it 2 days in milk in the fridge. Once it was done marinating, I pounded the crap out of it to make it about 1/4 inch thick.



I used the little pokey thingy ( I think it is called a jardineere?) for this. Then I coated the pieces with my creole seasoning that I mixed up and dredged them in flour. I heated about 1/4 cup of olive oil in a pan and browned them on both sides. Doesn't take long and you don't want to overcook it. Once it was done I served it with mashed potatoes and poured the bordelaise sauce over everything. I also did glazed carrots too.

The nicest thing about cooking dinner?


Having someone wash the dishes for you!

Sorry but it has been really crazy around here. I got my husband's birthday right before Christmas, then Christmas dinner for 10 and Syrina turns 3 on New Year's Eve! So that means another party!

Looking forward to things settling down.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Dressed Up

Well since I could come up with nothing inventive to do with ketchup, garlic and cream cheese, I went to the grocery store last night. I came downstairs and announced this to the tribe. My husband commented that he was glad I was starting to feel better since I "got dressed up". Well I guess after sitting/laying around in my sweats all week that putting on real clothes, jeans and a tee shirt, and brushing my hair could be construed as "dressed up".

So off I jumped into the grocery fetcher to the store. Maybe getting "dressed up" was making me feel better, maybe a little. Maybe it was just the miraculous event of going to the store without the urchins in tow. Who knows?! I was feeling festive! So festive that I even stopped at the coffee spot to get a cup to sip through the aisles. Obviously I thought that I had been transported to Mr Rogers neighborhood grocery store. The squeaky voiced kid asked if I wanted a "Pumpkin Pie Latte". Why will I think I am in a little french bistro sipping latte and eating pumpkin pie instead of being at Meijer's with 50,385 other people? Just a coffee, cream and sugar. Then he starts to list off all the blends there is to choose from. I JUST WANT A FREAKING COFFEE!

It was soooo nice to cruise through the grocery store without kids. I didn't have to buy 3 lbs of apples cause Syrina decided to "sample". I didn't have the boy trying to sneak junk food into my cart. I didn't have the girl texting EVERYONE on my phone. This is heaven.

Nirvana can be dangerous though. I start thinking that I will be the good mom and make fresh cookies for my kids. Plan flamboyant meals to impress the tribe. Crazy ideas like that. I even contemplated making my own pie crusts. Pfffft! Just stick to the list. Yes, I even made a list. Left the coupons in the cupboards but I remembered the list.

Then I saw him.....

The poor guy with two brats in tow. His wife's list in his hand just trying to keep his sanity and get through there as fast as he could. I found him in the soup aisle. "Kyle" wanted spaghettios. Dad told him no. Kyle insisted. Dad kept being patient but firm. Kyle argued. Dad got frustrated. It's not on the list and your mom will be mad at me. Kyle threw a fit. Dad begged for him to be good. I felt bad for him.

Then his cell phone rang.

Mom was calling to see "how things are going". Pffft, she knows how things are going that is why she sent him up with those two. He tells her the problem he is having. Some people don't realize that you can hear them on the other end when they yell. Especially if the recipient has to hold the phone away from their ear to keep blood from gushing out of their ear drums. So after his tongue lashing from her and alot of "yes dears" he hangs up. Kyle hasn't given up though. They are two aisles away from the freaking spaghettios!

I can feel for this guy. Most people are looking at him like he is a horrible person for not buying the kid some spaghettios. I can relate though. I got a "Kyle" at home. He is like a dog with a bone. He will not give it up for anything. I just want to snatch the kid and tell him to get his scrawny 5 year old buttocks on the side of the cart like his Dad told him and SHUT UP! I mean he has enough problems cause the baby in the front of the cart just threw up.

The best part of the whole trip? Coming home to find that Dad has convinced the kids to eat the Mac & Chez in the cupboard. You know, the boxes that they would not eat for me cause they don't like it? Yeah those.

Oh well, back to the couch....

Friday, December 4, 2009

Nope Haven't Died Yet!

I had so many plans for the weekend to get in the holiday mood.

I went out shopping for the first time on Black Friday to get a few things. Man those people are crazy!

I took both the kids to go see "New Dawn" on Saturday. I am going to blame the little brat next to me for my downfall though. All through the movie he kept turning his head towards me and coughing. So yes Santa he should be on your naughty list. Sorry I didn't catch his name though, but I am sure you can find him.

Sunday I started to feel yucky. It seemed the bladder thingy was back. Great! I had so much fun with it the first time that I was sooo glad it made another appearance.

Monday I thought it was back with a vengeance. After getting ahold of the doctor he wanted me to go to the lab to give a donation. Yeah, I feel like doing that. So Monday I laid on the couch in sweats, covered in 3 blankets with a heating pad crying to anyone who would listen.

Tuesday I went to have the test done. I hate urine tests. I was an expert marksman in the army with an M-16 and M-60. Yet ask me to pee in a cup and I am a horrible shot. I usually manage to get some in the cup and the rest on my hands, outside the cup, you get the idea. Plus it is not easy to bend down to look where you are aiming when you are fat.

Anyways.... I found out that not only do I have a bad bladder infection but also the H1N1 virus. Did I fail to mention that I also started my period? Yup, just slap them all on me. Could you also have me do a pap smear and a mammogram today too? That would be delightful!

So back home to the couch. Bed rest. We all know how that works. The hubby did stay home for 3 days to make sure that I was ok. I do think that the kids pushed him to the limit though. You can only take so much of them. The youngest came down with it yesterday. So far she is pretty good though. I've been able to keep here fever down. It was funny though last night. She had an accident in her panties and went to run for me and slipped in it. Landed right on her back. Jeffrey being the good big brother went running to her to make sure she was ok. Yeah, he slipped and fell in it too. Saves on paper towels! By the time they got through wallowing around in it it was all cleaned up! I do think the boy will be next to get it though.

So the house is trashed and the cupboards are bare. Unless anyone has any great casserole recipes for ketchup, garlic and cream cheese I guess I should go to the grocery store. Right now I am trying to figure out how after sweating about 20 gallons and not eating cause the smell or thought of food makes me sick for 4 days I still manage to gain 3 pounds? That is just not right! The only little ray of sunshine that I had was thinking of how much weight I had lost. But no! I freaking gain weight!

Just pack it right back there on my butt, cause lawd knows it isn't big enough already!

Saturday, November 28, 2009

What to do with 853 cups of cooked pumpkin....

or 101 ways to drive yourself crazy!

Weeeell.... maybe not 101 but quite a few.

See, the subdivision behind us does a Halloween party for the kids every year. Face painting, magic shows, treats and pumpkins are available to everyone. This year though they threw it on Halloween. Who the heck wants to run home and carve ANOTHER pumpkin 3 hours before trick or treating?? Needless to say they had quite a few pumpkins left over. Me and my ingenious ideas thought "Hey! I could make actual homemade pumpkin pies!"

Sometimes I just want to slap myself.

Do you know how many cups of pumpkins you get from cooking off 11 pumpkins?



Too much! So let's make some pumpkin goodness for Thanksgiving!

First of all you need cook your pumpkins. You do need to wash the outside of the pumpkin first. To do that, cut around the stem and remove. Then clean out all the slimey stringy gunk and seeds. If you want to really torture yourself, save the seeds to roast. Just throw them in a bowl for now, we will get to that later. Cut the pumpkins in half and cut side up put on a baking sheet and cook til tender, about an hour or more, at 350.

Why is there no degree icon thingy on a keyboard?



Anyways, while those are cooking, I got a little project to entertain ya!

Pumpkin Candies!



They look really cute and are easy to make.

You'll need: Cheap saran wrap, green floral tape, a 1 cup measuring cup, scissors and packages of orange slice candies.



Take the measuring cup and tear off a piece of saran wrap. If you are like me, spend 5 minutes straightening out the wrap cause you manage to wad it into a ball ripping it off. Place it over the measuring cup and push into the cup. Next take your orange candies and arrange them inside the cup to form a ball.



See what I mean? Then gather the wrap and into the center of the ball and pull tight. Pull the ball out of the cup, twist up tight and wrap the floral tape to make a stem. Cut off the excess wrap.

Tip: Cut your piece of floral tape first cause there is nothing like trying to hold this together and cut floral tape with your toes.

By now your pumpkin should be cooked. I scraped it out of the shell and ran it through the food processor. You can cut off the shell. It's easier done about 5 minutes after it comes out though. You can also use a blender to puree it too.

So now you are probably at my mindset "What was I thinking and what am I going to do with all this freaking pumpkin?"

Pumpkin Pie



Okay, this is a given! You can make your own pie crust but since I can't make pie crust for the life of me, I use the ready made stuff.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix together
2 cups cooked or canned pumpkin
1-1/2 cups evaporated milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
2 slightly beaten eggs

Pour into prepared pie shell. Bake 15 minutes at 425 then lower temp to 350 and bake 45 minutes longer or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Cool. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

(I didn't take a pic of this, I guess I forgot)

Crust:
1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon sugar

Filling:
3 - 8 oz packages cream cheese, room temp
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup cooked or canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice

Whipped cream
Caramel sauce (the ice cream kind)

Mix crust ingredients together. Press into the bottom of a 8 inch springform pan and up the sides. Bake for 5 minutes at 350. Cool.

Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla til smooth. Add pumpkin, eggs and spices and mix til creamy and unlumpy. Pour into cooled crust. Bake 1 hour at 350. Top should be slightly darker. Cool and then refrigerate. Before serving, remove sides of springform pan. Dollop whipped cream around top edge of cake. Drizzle with caramel sauce and serve.

Pumpkin Muffins



Preheat oven to 400 degrees

In one large bowl sift together:
1-3/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons double acting baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

In a separate bowl beat 2 eggs. Add to eggs:
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup milk
1 cup cooked or canned pumpkin

Fold in egg mixture to flour mixture til blended. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake 20 mins. Cool.

You can also add half a bag of chocolate chips to the mix for a different taste.

Then there also is roasted pumpkin seeds. You can roast them in an oven at 300 degrees turning often. There is of course salt that you can add when roasting. Sprinkling smoked paprika over them is very yummy!



All your hard work also makes a nice hostess gift. I just covered a tinfoil pan with some pretty wrapping paper, filled it with shredded paper and added some goodies. A bow with some floral junk and a card and you are already to go!

You can also freeze the pumpkin for future use. My tribe likes the pureed pumpkin cooked with brown sugar and butter and served like mashed potatoes. No gravy though, that would be gross. I just used my seal a meal to package up the remaining 543 cups for the freezer.

Enjoy!

Monday, November 23, 2009

Are You Smarter Than....

Yes folks, welcome to another episode of "Are You Smarter Than". Today's choice of profession is...


a Pharmacist!

Now for your question which is worth a 2nd grade diploma!

If you have to fill a prescription that says "Take 1 pill 2 times a day for 10 days". How many pills would you have to dispense?

Dingding! Time's up! If you said 20 pills you are incorrect!

Yes, I had this problem with my pharmacist. You see HE has a college edumacation and is mucho smarter than me. I wish he could do simple 2nd grade math though.

I went to him cause I noticed that the script I had for the next 10 days was almost gone. I just got it on Thursday. I don't think that was 10 days ago. I could be wrong though. He came to the window and I explained the problem. Very nicely, he took the bottle and looked it over. Then handed it back and said "What is the problem?"

Wellll.... right on the bottle for quantity it says 10.

And?

Welll.... 2 pills a day for 10 days would be 20 not 10.

While he mulled this over the little guys were urging me to grab him by the shirt, pull him close and scream at him "DUDE! 2 x 10 is 20! Not 10!

"I still don't see what the problem is Ma'am". Did he just call me ma'am? Ma'am?! Now I am trying to remember when was the last time I colored my hair. Are my gray roots showing? Should I also get hair color?

Nevermind. Now I can feel a headache coming on from the little guys jumping up and down and screaming at me. I want to go and get flashcards from aisle 11 to help me. I even thought about drawing out a diagram like I did for my kids when they were learning multiplication. I know he has a college education and he assumes I do not cause he is looking at me like I am a freaking idiot.

2 x 10 = 20!

Get a calculator!

Take off your shoes!

Do whatever it will take for you to get the right answer. I'll wait!

His solution? "Ma'am" (Okay Doogey, stop calling me ma'am, do I look 80?!) "you will have to call your doctor if you have a problem with the prescription"

Why? Was she also your 2nd grade teacher? Cause right now I am holding back the urge to b&#@hslap you and her!

Arrrrgh! So here I am. Waiting for 9 am when the doctor's office opens. Hoping that she is smarter than a pharmacist.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Play Date!

It used to be that every year my sister and I would go to Bronner's the day after Thanksgiving. Bronner's is noted as the world's largest Christmas store. Don't know if that is true or not. It is really big.

Anyways.... last year we changed it. We went to Bronner's and they were having a Fontanini signing. My sister has been collecting them for years. Last year I started mine.


Lore bought me the angel to get started.



I bought the creche....



and the Holy Family. All are signed by Stefano Fontanini, one of the brothers that run the business.

Today we went and Emmanuel Fontanini was signing.



I got the King's tent....



which came with these 2 cute tables....



Mary's donkey that she rode in on....



an ox for the other side of the stable....


2 cute little light up campfires....



and the Three Kings, Melchior who brought gold....



Gaspar who came from India and brought frankincense....



and Balthazar who came from Africa and brought myrrh.


For right now it is on the mantle....



since someone will not leave it alone. She keeps telling the donkey he is drinking too much water and taking away his trough. I wonder if she realizes it is not real?

I swear collecting these is sooo addictive! I want to get everything right now! I have started my list of things to get for next year.

Does anyone else add onto a collection at Christmas?

Friday, November 20, 2009

Things I Am Thankful For....

Thanksgiving is almost here. So I thought I would jump on the bandwagon of things I am thankful for. Besides the usual, a wonderful and loving husband, 3 beautiful children, a roof over our heads, blah, blah blah, these are the things I am thankful for that I don't appreciate throughout the year.

1. Snooze buttons! I have hit my poor snooze button so many times that I have worn off the lettering. I do love you even if I don't tell ya though snooze button!

2. Blue jeans with spandex woven in! Who, pray tell, was the GENIUS who thunk up this one! Thank you from the bottom of my saggy butt and my ever expanding hips!

3. Chilly days! Not cold, just chilly. Chilly enough to wear a sweater and not look out of place. This way I can go braless under my t-shirt, throw on a sweater and go to the kids school. You can't do this when it is cold. If it is cold they want to take your coat. They never ever offer to take a sweater. It's just assumed it's part of your ensemble! Note - you have to say ensemble in an uppity voice too.

4. Chocolate! Who isn't grateful for chocolate?! Don't go putting crap in my chocolate either, like nuts or nasty creamy crap. Oh, except if it is a cherry! Cherries are the exception. Chocolate covered cherries rock!

5. Coffee! Mmmm.... nothing like waking up to fresh coffee. Also, don't go putting funky crap in my coffee either. No pumpkin pie, no peppermints, nothing. If I want that I will order it seperate, not dumped into one hot steamy concoction. Just some cream and sugar cause lawd knows you can't buy decent coffee to serve in your establishments.

6. The UPS man! I love seeing the UPS truck pull up in my drive. I know he is not bringing me bills, no bad news, no adjustments to your insurance policy, just presents! Yeah, yeah, I know I ordered it. It's still a present to me.

7. Full coverage insurance! For all of you drivers that freaking now you are in a lane that is going to merge to one lane after the light but still get in it and try to race up to the front. You really are NOT that important! Don't expect me to let you over, I got full coverage!

8. Drive thru windows! I think more stores should implement this. I don't know how many times I have run through the drive thru in my Power Puff Girl jammies. Think I WANT to get out of the car? Puh-lease!

9. Dogs! I love my dog. Do you know how less often I have to vacuum since I have gotten a dog. She eats anything including some things that do move. I mean for crissakes she has no taste buds, she licks her butt! If it's on the floor it is fair game to her. It is kinda funny to watch the kids race her to candy that has fallen on the floor.

10. 3 hour naps! Need I say more?

Those are just the top 10 I can think of. To all the other things that I take for granted and did not include my sincere apologies!

Thank you again for everyone and their well wishes! As you can see the pain meds are kicking in quite nicely. I have a couple of projects that I want to get done before the hubster comes home on Wednesday. So look for those hopefully soon!

Back to the bedrest!

Linked to 320 Sycamore for the Things That I Love party.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

My Day At The Doctor's

Today was the wonderful "get right in" trip to the doctor's.

Of course I was dressed to kill in my usual finery.



Hey what did you expect, I've been drinking cranberry juice for the last 4 days. It tends to put a little pucker power in ya! So.... in I go. My doctor is not in cause he is delivering a baby. Yes, my doctor is my OB/GYN. I usually don't get sick. Anyways, they tell me that one of his associates will be seeing me. Panic attack!

Why you may ask? Cause one of his associates is freaking hot! How a hot guy "associates" with a dork is beyond me. Maybe the OB/GYN herd is a little slim on hot guys to associate with. I don't know. So in I go, hoping and promising my first born if I don't get the hot one.

I got the chick.

The only girl in the associates. I can totally see why a girl would want to be in their association since they do have a token hottie. I like her though she has a sense of humor. So I tell her what is ailing me. She comes over and thumps me on the back "Does that hurt?" The little guys in my head tempt me to punch her in the shoulder and say "Does THAT hurt?" I resist though. Then she goes on. Of course they are all nosey and have to ask if you are on birth control. That is a sneaky way of asking if you are sexually active without coming out and saying it. HELLO! Married to a younger man? But I look at her seriously and say "Yes, we use the pull and pray method".

Atleast she giggled.

Then she tells me to pee in this itty bitty cup. They have to do a prego test cause the antibiotics that they want to prescribe can cause birth defects. Now peeing in those little dixie cups is hard enough for me when I am not cringing in pain. I guess I am just a lousy shot. I can however write my name in the snow! Nevermind....

Pregnancy test huh?



I didn't even study. This is where a major panic attack comes in. See, barring prenatal visits, I have been to the doctor 5 times since I have been with my husband. Each time I went in with an innocent complaint and came out pregnant. 2 weren't meant to be though. My husband told me he was worried that they would find me pregnant. Back in she comes, smiling. " Bad news with the test" she says "you're not pregnant". Bad news???? The little guys in my head are now beating the crap out of an efigy of her.

So now I have been prescribed more bedrest after I run to pick up kids. Oh and pick up meds that are going to turn my pee orangey. Orangey my fat fanny! That stuff glows in the dark! I could dip my clothes in that and go hunting! A little orangey.....

On a better note though, I got a very sweet gift today!



It's a Love Ya Award from Deb @ Proper Prim! Thank you sooo much Deb! You are too sweet and what you said made me blush!




Now I am going to share the love with Yvonne @ Stone Gables. I just love her blog! It's amazing that I have not shorted out my keyboard with drool. Her photography is beautiful, her food is scrumptious and her tablescapes are breathtaking.

Thank you to everyone for all your well wishes. I hope to be feeling better soon since I am a hunting widow til next Wednesday. Oh the projects that I could get done!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Bedrest -

When I think of bedrest I envision this....



and him attending my every need....

I could be sick for quite awhile.

The reality of bedrest is not that pretty though.

I started to feel crappy on Sunday. I didn't think that screaming in pain and peeing blood was normal. I could go to the emergency room....

Flashback time!

The last time I took the circus to the emergency room with me the 11 year old entertained the 2 year old by putting a rubber glove on her head and convincing her to run through the halls acting like a rooster.

I'm pretty sure that I am not allowed in that hospital anymore.

So I decided to stick it out til morning when I could call and get an appointment with my doctor. He is a few dollars cheaper than an emergency room visit also.

So I called and talked to the doctor. He was concerned and told me to get in as soon as I could. Then he transferred me to the receptionist to see when she could get me in. Ok, so far no problem. The husband could pick the dog up from the vet where she was getting spayed. It seems that as soon as you can is not what I thought it meant. It means as soon as the doctor can. How's Thursday at 11 am. Ummmm? Ok. Oh yeah and in the meantime drink lots of cranberry juice to help flush out the infection, take aleve for pain and BEDREST.

There it is bedrest.... What is bedrest? Well I am sure there really is a technical definition for it. Here is mine though.

1. Lay on the couch while a 2 year old jumps up and down on you while you watch Barney for the brain numbing 245th time. This is usually the day also that she has decided not to take her 3 hour nap. Thus resulting in a lot of tears and screaming while the kids look at you like your head just spun around.

2. Picking up dog crap. Yes, that is not something I normally do but the morphine that the dog was given has resulted in her being loopy. You can ask kids to pick it up for you but again you are looked at like you just sprouted another head. "It's warm" Well for crissakes let it cool off then! I mean how long does it take dog crap to cool off? I even considered, when the pain got bad, taking the dog's pain meds. The bottle says "for veterinary purposes only". I can be a real b*&$h sometimes, but I didn't think I qualified.

3. You only can make 2456 trips up the stairs to get a story book instead of the usual 5782 times!

4. You can sit at the computer if nothing else but to look up the criteria on how to get your name changed legally from "Mom". Oh yeah, and DON'T in a fit of pain kiddingly tell the kids that you changed your name to s*#@thead. It's alot of work trying to explain now why the 2 year old is now running around calling you that. Some people are not easily amused.

5. Make a list of people you have to send apology cards to for your snippiness. Like the extremely nice vet tech. You bring a jumpy happy Great Dane but they don't realize (a) she is an idiot and does not know how to act in public (b) at home she is usually comatose. Keeping her quiet is no problem. I can't even get her to bark when someone is at the door. She just kinda lifts up her head and gives a wimpy wuff.

Preschedule as many as possible things to do while on bedrest. Of course you won't know that this is the week for bedrest. So it does add a little element of surprise. Like the parent teacher conferences that take 2 hours to get through. Or the PTO meeting that you have to attend cause you are president. Hopefully, you will also have a guest speaker that you have to endure. Or the fact that you volunteered to make 6 dozen Bannock cakes for your oldest daughters class. You know, fun things like that. Now if you run out of things to do, you can also tell your husband to get sick also. That is always fun whether you are on bedrest or not.

Now if you will excuse me, I have 3 loads of laundry, a dishwasher to empty and fill and more warm dog crap to pick up.....

Cause I'm on bedrest!




Sunday, November 15, 2009

Where Once There Was One....

Now there is two!

See I Got These 2 Chairs....


I stripped off all the fabric and had my husband restian them about 10 years ago. Since then they have been sitting in the basement. I don't know why I never did them, I had all the stuff to do them.

Cindy is having her "I made it with what I had" party and I thought this was the perfect thing to do for it.

First of all I did the seat. It's the easiest. Being the rocket scientist that I am, I long ago tossed all the fabric. So I had to make my own pattern.


I covered the cushion with upholstery batting. Then I took the whole thing and drew around it plus 4" on the back of my fabric.


Then I stapled it to the underside with my electric staple gun. Then I got to work on the frame. I cut my pieces as I went since I didn't have a pattern and was feeling lazy. I covered the sides of the back and put the trim around the edge.



As you can see I did have a helper. Too bad she didn't bring her 7 short guys with her! I put some batting on the top of the frame to make it cushy for sitting in. I then covered it wih quilt batting for more cushiness.


I just cut squares large enough to fit. I started with the front first then moved to the back.



I cut strips of thin cardboard, flipped the fabric over and tacked them in place. You can buy tack strips but I was lazy and didn't feel like running for some. I used the instructions on the transition strip that is yet to be installed. I'm sure my husband doesn't need them.


This is what it looks like with the fabric folded down. Then I stapled it in place. Here is a hint for you. If you are upholstering, wear a short sleeved shirt. It is hard to drag around a chair you stapled your sweater to while you try to find the staple puller tool the girl has run off with.


I trimmed all the excess fabric and folded over the trim pieces. I then added a little detail with some nailhead trim I had.



Ta daa! One chair done and one to go. I think I am going to add some nailhead trim to the edge of the seat. I want to get the other one done first so I can see if I have enough left. Probably do I got 10 yards of the stuff!

I'm pretty happy with it if I do say so myself. I am going to get some small cushions for them also.

Now to get crack-a-lacking on that other one!