Christmas Spirit has made its mark this year...

Merry Christmas... HoHoHo... Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells... Here comes Santa... O'Tanebaum, O'Tanebaum...

Yep, it is here... It was a very cold afternoon, rainy, foggy and overcast, what better weather for Christmas Spirit. Everyone around town seems to feel it too. Christmas lights and decorations are going up every where. YAY!!

Todd and I have been deliberating over the Christmas tree... Do we get one and take it down before we leave or do we go without one. Well, we found the solution at WalMart. It is approximately 2 ft. high and just perfect.

A living tree, which we will plant before we leave. Hannah picked out some small ornaments and it was on. :) We bought the "snow" for our Christmas village and train set (the project my dad and Todd are working on). We brought it all home and started to decorate.

Oh how fun it is!

P.S. A bad picture of the broken pinky. ;)

Wooohoooo!!! 22 days and counting!

22 more days, and a half, until we leave for Mississippi!! We are all excited... Hannah can hardly stand it, every morning, "Aren't we leaving yet?". I ordered us a new luggage set. One of the perks of Todd's job is getting to sign up for the rewards programs with the hotels. We do most of our Christmas shopping that way, as well as, that is how I bought the luggage. Nothing beats "FREE".

We will be taking 2 1/2 days to get there and stopping for some site seeing. YAY! We didn't do that last time we went to Tennessee, so this time Todd said we would. One of our stops we are hoping to stop and visit with Todd's cousin Stephanie for a few hours. The anticipation is building, can you feel it?! :)

Christmas is in the air and what a Christmas it is going to be.

Have a fabulous day!

I was joking.... But REALLY it is broken!

Well todd and i just spent 3 hours in the ER, it is broekn. We did it good!! Broken starting right at the bottom of the first bone through the joint into the second bone. Todd and I could not stop laughing... The entire thing was just so ridiculous. :) Never realized how much I used my pinky until this happened. The one good thing, Nurse told Todd "she absolutely can not use this hand for washing dishes, laundry and any other household chores!" LOL yay! Just think how my house is going to look... pulling out my hair!

I have to call a finger doctor on Monday. The er doc told me they will mostly likely will want to do surgery to do any repairs so i dont loose mobility. (you've got to be kidding me!! we were just horsing around.) It hurts now that i know. :) Anyways... happy freaking thanksgiving, huh, just kidding, we still had a blast and to think i did all of that fun stuff with a broken finger. lol Todd now knows that i am not as weak as i play, according to him, so just you wait! Great!!

We will keep you posted!

Garlic Herb Cheese causes broken pinky.... :)

This is the story... Todd and I horsed around all day, hyped up. We had *S*, *M*, and *M* over again and we were all feeling pretty spry.:) Well, I was eating some garlic herb cheese and crackers and jokingly blew the scent into Todd's face, (here give me a kiss honey, he leans in... and whammo, blew it right by him). He started to run away, we all were roaring with laughter, I grabbed his shirt as he was breaking away, my pinkie became entangled in the shirt and SNAP! It is swollen and bruised pretty good. OUCH!!! @#$%&*(&%# I tried taking pictures, but the flash, they just weren't turning out. I took 2 of Todd's Ibuprofen and iced it up and we continued by playing football, then tether ball, and going out to the wash for paintball fights.... I am going to pay tomorrow. Let's hope it isn't really broken, but if you could see how crooked it is. LOL Todd is going to tape for me tonight. :)

I hope you all had fun, lots of fun, laughter, good food, love and wonderful time spent sharing!

Happy Thanksgiving

Giving Thanks

For the hay and the corn and the wheat that is reaped,

For the labor well done, and the barns that are heaped,

For the sun and the dew and the sweet honeycomb,

For the rose and the song and the harvest brought home --

Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

For the trade and the skill and the wealth in our land,

For the cunning and strength of the workingman's hand,

For the good that our artists and poets have taught,

For the friendship that hope and affection have brought --

Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

For the homes that with purest affection are blest,

For the season of plenty and well-deserved rest,

For our country extending from sea unto sea;

The land that is known as the "Land of the Free" --

Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

Author Unknown

Happy Thanksgiving Family and Friends!!

Have a very Blessed day!

MMMmmmm.... My new potatoe recipe.

Ok, the guilt was starting to hit about my mom's potatoes. It is just so rich and full of fat. Oh, I love those potatoes, but they just aren't fitting in. Plus, they are only great when Mom makes them. :) So, I have taken a few of my other favorite mashed potato recipes and combined them as follows: :)

4 lbs potatoes
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups pureed cauliflower
margarine (yuck!)
2 cups milk

+ a good cheese, I am going to eye ball this.

SSSShhhh, don't tell Matty, there's veggies in these potatoes. :)

I was thinking of substituting Mashed Cheesy Cauliflower for the potatoes, but I had some grumbling from the peanut gallery. I guess I will just have to use self control, now that is funny!!

We will be trying another new recipe this holiday... Anitgone posted a wonderful cranberry salad recipe. I am one who likes real cranberry, either chutney or a salad like Antigones. Yummy!!!

Here's to enjoying one another... Have a very blessed and happy Thanksgiving!!!

Monday Maintenance

Ok, I won't be getting to anything at home for Maintenance Monday... but does this count, I will be finishing up the paper that was due yesterday and starting the "Big" one that is due this coming weekend. Can you say, procrastinate!! I have a lot of anxiety when I write, grammar, punctuation, my thoughts are so jumbled, lack of organizational skills and the list goes on. I am seriously thinking about starting over my English classes. My teachers were not the best and I don't know that I really learned what I needed to know.

My first teacher was more interested in our "feelings" in our writing and my next class, well that teacher made me cry! Ugghh!! Yep, that's right, she made me cry. I already had some anxiety and the teacher I began the class with quit after 5 weeks and the new teacher was full of herself. I explained my anxiety to her and asked if she was willing to help me with some extra guidance. HA!!! She told me what did I think, was I still in kindergarten, did I want her to write my papers for me, all the work you have done for the last 5 weeks I am not counting and you will have to redo it all... and this was in front of the entire class, hence the tears. Why do people like that even teach?!

Anyways, see what I mean by my thoughts being all over the place... ;) If you read this blog, you know what I am talking about. :) Anyways, just in case I dont make back on here to tell you all... Have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy one another!

I am so thankful that I have met you all and consider myself very blessed!

God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving!

Courage...

This morning I was lucky enough to be clicking through the channel and catch an interview with one of my favorite people in our world... Dr. Maya Angelou.

"Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency." Dr. Maya Angelou This has to be one of my favorite quotes of hers. She spoke about finding the courage to ask a stranger "their name", not Billy, Bob, or Sally, but "their name". To remember that strangers name and to use that name the next time you come across them or call on them and it will show them that they are remembered. How Wonderful... we all want to be remembered.

What a wise and articulate women. I hope to achieve even a 10th of her wisdom and courage.

Happy Birthday Dr. Maya Angelou!!

I lost a week... anybody seen it, if so can I have it back, PLEASE!!

Hannah's Tropical Island

You may detect my need for an extra week... :) I was checking my school assignments and realized the paper I have been avoiding ( I am to write on a country's development potential and discuss that potential using concepts we've covered in class)is due this Sunday, not next Sunday. Holy Moly!! is right!! On top of that, I have 2 ;literature reviews due the week after Thanksgiving. So, I know what I will be doing over Thanksgiving break... :) I never knew it got harder as you go, lol, now that is funny!


I still am finding time to vent to you all though, hehehehe. This is my saving grace right now. Suck it up and take deep breath, I keep telling myself. Hannah keeps drawing me pictures of the water and tropical islands, trying to help me relax. :) OK, I am done venting and will get back to it. Maybe I will go vacuum the floor and mop, that always relaxes me... ok, yes I am still in avoidance mode!!!

Have a fabulous day!!!

Maintenance Monday... What a great idea Gina!

The Mess...

Looky how much I was able to elminate and condense.... awww, I love it! ;)

Monday Maintenance... The game/craft/gift closet

(I always buy teacher gifts, bday gifts, odd gifts on clearence and have them on hand. 25 cents for a great gift, you cant pass that up, can you?) :)

My Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and the list goes on, Maintenance lists.

Hannah's cat in the hat hats we found at a yard sale for 10 cents a piece. As I am going through this, WOW, the yard sale and clearence stuff is the favorites. ;)

Yes, that is a tarantula in our house!!! Get it the heck out, yuck!! :) Hannah took care of it. Todd pateched up the hole in crawled in through. YAY!!

What a great idea Gina had... Maintenance Monday. We all have those pesky, not every day jobs, or at least I know we do, and this is a great reminder to get it done. I tackled the pantries and Hannah's room this weekend and boy oh boy, what a job. Todd made a dog run at the back of our house, in hopes that our dog, Max, will not jump. :) (Wishful thinking!)

What's on list for next Monday? That all depends what I get done this week in between writing papers. Yike!!!

Moms Potatoes... What is your favorite Thanksgiving Recipe?

The one dish that is my favorite to share at Thanksgiving... and the favorite of those I share it with. :)

My Mom's Potatoes

(I am doing this from memory and well, if I miss a step please forgive me.)

10 to 12 med. potatoes, baked until almost done, let cool over night and peel

1 can of cream of chick soup

1 pint of sour cream

1 stick of butter melted

shredded ched chs 8 to 16 oz

salt and pepper

shredded onion (ooppss, almost forgot the onion)

Shred potatoes (after deskinning), onion, and chs. Mix shredded ingrediants with soup, sour cream and melted butter. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle lightly with shredded cheese. Bake for 45 mins to 1 hour (or until golden brown) at 350.

I hope I remembered it all. I usually have to double if not triple this recipe. You can't go wrong with this recipe and it is so scrumptious!

We send some home with guests and I have even frozen some for later.

Now, I hope you will share a recipe with all of us... Happy Thanksgiving!

What Season are you?

You Belong in Fall

Intelligent, introspective, and quite expressive at times... You appreciate the changes in color, climate, and mood that fall brings Whether you're carving wacky pumpkins or taking long drives, autumn is a favorite time of year for you

What Season Are You?

I love the fall!! To be back in a state where the colors really show.... aaawwww, the Mountains of New Mexico maybe. ;) Thank you Christina for sharing.

Pirates

This morning Hannah and David played dressed up with some finds from a neighbors yard sale this summer. I, we, love this parrot hat and I was thinking I would put it in the dress up box for my class, but this is one that will staying here for a while. :)

eat.... pray... love

I can not believe I have read anything besides Grade 2 books and College textbooks, but I made myself and what a great book. Now for my disclaimer: this book isn't for everyone (there are some off-color moments and words), but I would recommend this book to anyone who has been through divorce or a break up or looking for "stillness".

I have always had a wandering soul and would love to travel more of this wonderful world and some day Todd and I will. :) This book is about a women's journey (travels too) after the loss of a marriage and a relationship after the marriage and she is looking for... what is she looking for? As you read this book you will know. :) (I am not giving anything away... that should show how much I think you should read it. :))

Side note: Debi you came to my mind and heart several times throughout this book and I hope you are able to find the time to read it. Great book!!

Enjoy!

P.S. If you do read it, please leave me a post.