Things that made me smile today.

1.  My people and their plans to spoil me this weekend.

2.  Advil.

3.  Diet Coke.

4.  Ginger snaps.

5.  Homemade cheesecake.  Chocolate chip cheesecake.  Yes, I made it.  I'm not afraid to admit that it is delicious.

6.  Planning K-'s valentine party for tomorrow.

7.  Knowing that her teacher knows me well enough to not worry about the details.

8.  PBS.

9.  Seeing the Statue of Liberty on "Becoming American" on PBS and knowing that my child's obsession with it says that we will revisit Lady Liberty again someday.  We will spend as much time there as she wants and we will be able to get off the boat this time at Ellis Island to research great grandparents.  Theater tickets prevented us on our whirlwind weekend in November.

10.  K- coming to the conclusion that she will just "anor" the boastful child in her class and not say mean and hateful things like are often said to her and her classmates. 

11.  Dropping off balloons and a tacky solar powered dancing flower to Aunt Donna for Valentine's Day.  We kept our distance, as she is still working on overcoming her cold.  I complimented her for climbing into clothes this time and not greeting me in her jammies.  I told her that was a step up!

12.  K- saw bags that had slipped from a store display and she worked to move them out of the way for people.  If she sees product that falls on the floor, she'll re-shelf it.  She helped a lady at a big box store pick up all sorts of product that had fallen into a giant heap in the middle of the floor and needed tidied. 

13.  Hubs' attempt at trying to build a better mousetrap, well so to speak.  Hubs is tired of the squirrels ripping up our Droll Yankee bird feeder and he tried to create a guard cap from a bottle he had.  It didn't work.  Tomorrow, I will be on the quest to purchase plastic popcorn bowls as feeder guards. 

Have a great day!

Just hand the chocolate over and no one will get hurt.

Why did I not post last night?  We'll just say that I'll quote my sister by saying, "I didn't want to go forth and share."  The attitude?  Notsogood. 

I've decided that I'll share some irks.  Why not? 

1.  Magazines in the doctors office are for reading.  People read them and when they reach an article that they are a few pages invested in, they aren't too happy when they find holes torn out of the middle of the two remaining pages.  They aren't your property.  Please do not help yourself to bits of stuff.  Either purchase it or look it up online, please.

2.  Frozen wiper blades.

3.  The side roads around here are like way back country roads riddled with pot holes.  We have 3" slabs of ice attached to the road surface and scraping only lifts bits which then leaves craters. 

4.  People who come in and have me do a full gift wrap on a $2.00 item.  I wouldn't have the guts to ask.

5.  Children who make my child continually worry that what she is doing/saying/feeling might not be in line with what they would do/say/feel.  She's only in the first grade and it makes me want to scream.

6.  People who don't obey the rule about if a park car is on their side of the road, they must wait and allow on-coming traffic to pass first.  Oh, playing chicken is so much more fun, right?

7.  Whole or minimally processed foods cost much more than the overly processed and generally bad for you foods do.

Update on Grandpa:
Grandpa is still in the ICU.  Family visits are limited, as they want Grandpa to rest and get better.  He was taken off the vent, but then put back on where they attempted to put him on a trach, but he is too weak.  They have put him on a TPN (in my family it is AKA milkshake in a bag which runs through a picc line) and they will try again.  Mom thinks that he will not be able to overcome this.  I pray God's will for his life and truly want Grandpa not to suffer. 

Smiles in my day:
-  My brother, Dumpy, went to a chiropractor today who could pop his disk back into place.  He fell down his brick steps (they were icy-- surprise, surprise) and smacked his back all the way down.  He then jarred his back in his truck.  I think that when he went to the chiropractor, he heard angels singing.  Mom said that he feels so much better.
-  My brother, Billy, seems to be having some great opportunities coming his way.  That makes my heart very happy.
-  My sister, LeAnne, is on day #3 of her campaign to stop smoking. 
-  Our elementary's change drive for the local hospital raised over $1100.00!  That is over $2.00 per kid and in a school where 50% of the students are below the poverty level, that is amazing. 
-  A husband and child who still love me no matter how grumpy I can sometimes get.

Tales from the Trenches: During the quick thaw




During the two day thaw in December, K- was able to take her scooter for a ride down the sidewalk.

Smiles in my day:
- K- got a +2 on her spelling test. She had a few extra days to learn to spell the bonus words. (Groundhog and shadow.) We were thankful for those days!
- April will get her parents house listed today!
- Heather is coming up with some lovely trouble shooting ideas for her Pergo.

Have a great day!

Dishin' Dinners Day and 4 AM is far too early.

Meatless Monday/Tuesday-  Spaghetti with tomato sauce and salad.
Wednesday/Thurs-  Crock-pot creamed chicken and veggies over homemade-ish egg noodles.  (No, not me. The nice freezer section at the store has them on sale this week.)
Friday- Cold tuna noodle salad (Crazy day. 100 book challenge book passing, Dr. appt, Valentine Party, visit with Aunt Donna.) 
Saturday- Eat out. (A rarity for us.)

My daughter.  My beloved daughter.  Oh, bless her.  The dear was SOOOOO! excited to go to a birthday party on Saturday afternoon that she woke at 4 AM, yes 4 AM, and began to tidy her room.  (It needs it.  A decree went out that no Saturday morning cartoons would be watched until the situation was helped in some way.)  At 4 in the oh-my-heavens-too-early 30 in the AM, my dear sweet came to my side of the bed.

"Good morning, Mommy!" 

"K-, it's 4:30 AM."

"I cleaned my room."

"At 4:30?"

"Uh, huh." 

:insert flump of flower pillow and plonk of a baby doll on my chest as the feet were scampering up the side of the bed and flopping in between the husband and me:

"K-, you must be quiet."

:whispering:  "Okay, Mommy."

:time goes by with some flip flopping:

"Mommy?  It's 5:10!"

"K-?  Shhhh."

She kept announcing the time until I threatened to kick her out.  She went to watch cartoons at 7 AM for one hour.  I laid in bed and watched the Today show.  I couldn't fall back to sleep.

I told her that I was going to mandate a nap.  (Yes, I said mandate.)  "But I'm a big girl.  I don't need a nap."  After cutting her bangs about 12,000 times before they were completely straight and painting her fingernails AND toe nails, she announced, "You know, Mommy, I think I need to lie down." 

She took a 1 1/2- 1 3/4 hour nap.

I'm glad to say that she had a terrific time at the party.  I'm also pleased to say that we all slept well on Saturday night and K- did not show up at my bedside until 7:12 AM. 

Smiles in my weekend:
-  K- got her report card on Friday.  It was a bit delayed because of snow.  She has maintained or improved her grades, which pleased both of us immensely. 
-  Getting to see all the work that April and her husband have done on her parents house.  They have worked so hard and I pray that the house sells quickly.
-  K-'s extreme excitement for her friend's birthday party.  Others were beyond excited, too.  They had a cousin show up a few hours early because she just couldn't wait anymore.  May these little girls continue their excitement for the simple things in life.
-  My brother.  He landed at my sister's house this weekend, where his children excitedly awaited tacos for early dinner.  He popped in at my Mom and Dad's house.  It made my Mom's heart so happy to see him with the kids and so very happy.
-  Getting to hang out with friends and get the updates of their lives.
-  The in-law's invited us to see the Super Bowl at their house.  We were all last minute about it, but I think Hubs' dad was very pleased to have someone to watch the game with.
-  A fellow 7 year old in K-'s kids church shared with her that she is 7 (a month older, actually) and she has lost NO! teeth so far.  To K-, who has been feeling a bit left out of the dental shedding rite of passage, this made her feel better to know that she's not the only one on the wait.

Have a wonderful day!

It does exist and other miscellaneous bits.

I had to take a photo.  I had missed the sun so.  It has been nearly non-existent in Ohio for the last several months.  Isn't she pretty?

Who me?  I'm not plotting to take all the seed or anything.  Gee, heck no.  I'm not waiting for you to leave.  What makes you think that? 

We don't have Chicago snow or anything, but since I said it had been months since I've seen my lawn, I figured that I'd post a photo of what we've looked at since November. 

After about 20 minutes worth of work to just free the windshield, I was unable to use my wipers because they were still encased in ice.  Doesn't look so bad here, but the blades are stuck to the windshield, the arms are packed in up to 2" of  ice and I was unable to used them at all this AM.  I drove K- to school and pointed the front of my truck towards the sun.  I did the same when I got home.  After experiencing a wiper bake, I was able to chip large hunks of ice away to break them free.  The sheet on the hood came off in all one section, which was good that it came off while in the drive rather than off and at another car or someone walking.  K-'s door was frozen completely shut, so she had to jump in the back by going over my seat and the console.  Hubs reports that his car was covered in 4" of ice.  We had a layer of ice, then snow, then ice and snow again.  It all compacted and since he didn't go anywhere on Tuesday and Wednesday, he had the whole storm stuck to his car.  Yikes!

They're done! 

Other things that made me happy today:
-  Listening to the Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner by Ben Folds Five.  Now, I realize that it is old, but it works for me.  It's even funnier now that I found out that the recorded voice on the message is his dad while partially asleep.  The things you find out on the internet!
-  Though K-'s school didn't have heat until right before the kids arrived, they were able to talk nicely to the boiler to make it happen.  A heater motor in her room blew, spewing smoke and stink, but they were able to temporarily move her class to an empty room while the motor was being replaced.  In all that craziness, Mrs. S- still managed to get lessons done.  Amazing.
-  Moose Tracks Frozen Yogurt. 
-  Leftovers for dinner.
-  I finally found a combination of items that work in resolving the soap scum problem in the bath.  Now, I know that all of you have been so concerned about my soap scum irritation and my quest to go to all cleaners natural.  :chuckling out loud and knowing full well that you didn't lose sleep:  What worked?  Bon Ami on a damp tub bottom with some Arm and Hammer Washing Soda sprinkled on top.  It made a lovely paste that took care of the problem lickety split.  Success! 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Valentine crafting

Now, I know that you expect pictures with this. I'll see what I can do. Remember that I'm still learning how to use this new camera.  Hold please . . .

I cut out some hearts from the Cheerios box in the recycling. Cardboard hearts x 22 (plus extras for goofs) is a bit much to ask a child to cut out.  I knew that she'd never get it done without yelling.  She did the "to and from" on the back, glued the sequins to the front and I did some glitter glue for some flare. 

We started these yesterday when I came home early. We made 22 perling bead heart sun catchers. K- beaded some on her own and there were a bunch that we made together. (She did the top or the bottom. I did the opposite side.)

The glitter glue is drying. I'll get things assembled tomorrow. I feel good that we can cross that off the list.

Smiles in my day:
-  We were all home and off on snow day together.
-  The valentines.  They are done.  K- loves them and that is what is most important. 
-  We had TV dinner this evening while doing a Storm Chasers Marathon.  While crafting valentines, I cooked a meatloaf in the crock-pot.  I was able to finish up with some whole grain chicken herb rice and creamed peas.  It was lovely and quite a special special.  K- thought it was the neatest thing.
-  An old friend found me on a search on the internet.  We haven't talked in a very long time.

Have a wonderful day!

You know it's been winter too long when . . .

1.  You need to refer to the original purchasing documents to refresh your memory as to what color your car really is.  "Road salt gray" is not the original color.  In the back of your mind, you kind of remembered that.

2.  People understand that you need to sweep the inside of your vehicle and get the excuse of "winter car."

3.  You have a developed pattern of how you scrape your car off.

4.  You have an alternate plan when ice is involved.

5.  You don't have enough time between snowstorms to properly launder your coat.

6.  That's okay, because you are rather used to the cold.  A little fleece coat in 14 F seems fine for wearing while shoveling snow from the apron of the driveway.

7.  The console is beginning to run low on storm food.

8.  Your spouse has become desperate and has now had to bum windshield wiper fluid from your 2 gallon emergency stash in your car.  The worst part?  You are now down to a half gallon in reserve and that concerns you.

9.  Your daughter has worn snow boots every week to church with her cute little dresses.  No need to change.  No one even notices.

10. Tennis shoes seem like appropriate enough winter footwear.  You've developed a plan of action for avoiding big puddles and large slicks of ice. 

11. The neighbor rescues your parcel off the porch for fear that something inside may freeze and that wouldn't be good.

12. Gloves seem optional. 

13. Your hands are so dry that they would make lovely sandpaper, if only you were a carpenter. 

14. School is already called off for the next day at 6:30 PM the day prior.

15. That additional day off officially puts you over your allotted number of snow (calamity) days and now you are going to have to make that time up.

16. You have alternate ways of going everywhere.

17. You were considering draping a shower curtain over your windshield to avoid ice build-up.

18. Your mud flaps clog with ice, but thankfully the friction of the tires carves a nice curve in the ice flaps that are now permanently affixed to the winter sled you drive.

19. You don't want to know what the gas bill is.

20. You hit the grocery days before the storm is supposed to hit, because you know if you wait, you'll be eating pork rinds and drinking V8 while wiping with low-end toilet paper.  (Uh, no pun intended on the low-end, but now that I re-read, it gives me a good chuckle!)

21. You forget what your lawn looks like green.  It's been under near constant full coverage of snow since the third week in November.  (Except for 2 days of melting the last week of December.  Still not all succeeded in melting before getting hit again.)

22. You wander if it is still green or if snow mold has taken hold. 

23. You wonder if your zone 5 perennials will be perennialing for you anymore.

24. You hope that the branches can withstand all the ice.

25. The sleet outside is audible over a humming computer.

26. Managers called to say that they were closing the store down 3 hours early and you ask them why.  You are already there and it seems perfectly fine, right? 

27. You get paid for those three hours that you didn't work.

28. You take those three hours, go home and start making valentines.  That is the February storm project that you do every. single. year.  No need to break tradition now!

29. Your husband's boss calls to say that there is no need to risk life or limb to come to work the next day.  If there is need to take a vacation or personal day because of weather, he fully supports it. 

30. You can tell how bad the weather is by the height of the sleeves of the weather man on Channel 11.  Buttoned and cuffed?  You are fine.  Unbuttoned and rolled up to his elbows?  You are in for it.

31. When there is something bright outside you wonder what is going on.  Is it a fire?  A transformer blew?  No!  It's just the sun.  You remember!  Ahhhh, it hasn't been around in a long time.

I'm sure that I've missed some.  Feel free to add to my list in the comments. 

A prayer request:
My dad has been suffering from some funk from the time Mom had her hysterectomy August 26.  He's been on perhaps 4 antibiotics with no help.  The doctor was going to prescribe a 5th antibiotic when Mom suggested a scan be done.  The scan showed that my father has an aneurysm in the main artery that runs in the middle of his chest.  It measures 3.6 and the measurement for main cause of concern starts at 4.  I'm not so good with my dad hauling around with that in his chest, particularly since given the information just learned today, it is most likely that this is what caused my Uncle Bobby's death 3 years ago.  He goes to visit the doctor in 2 weeks. 

Grandpa is still in the hospital and on the vent.  They had to tie him down because he was trying to pull the vent out.  I'm sure that makes him overly joyous.

Smiles in my day:
-  Getting 14 of the 22 perling bead heart sun catchers made with K- this evening.  We'll bust out the other 8 tomorrow. 
-  Crock-pot dinner.  No fuss and very little muss.
-  April finally having the sound of relief in her voice.  Her parent's house will be on the market as of Tuesday.  This has been a bit of a long and tough road for her, but she is now to a point that hopefully she feels relief.

Have a very wonderful and safe day!