Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Just the facts Ma'am

So... Brian is going to China.. again! He leaves tomorrow and will be gone for two weeks. He will then come home for a few (4) days and then leave for Vegas. ARGH
He hasn't had to travel since November so I really can't complain (much) but I do miss him so when he is gone!

In other news... we are working, working, working on Prom. AND we aren't finished yet. Need more fish.. gotta order the candy molds.. etc.. etc.. etc.. But.. I think I might actually pull the whole thing off!!

I was sick this week, now Noah and Katie have it. A real head cold and congestion thing with a low fever. Just sick enough to make you tired and it is a bit hard to breathe!! So.. trying to come back from that.

The kids had their play on Saturday night last... it was great! I will post a picture or two soon.
Okay.. I have work so must jet. I really DO want to post more often.. hrm.. gotta make better choices you know!

Monday, April 05, 2010

He is Risen

Don't you feel sort of renewed?! He is RISEN!! Spring is here.

I was going to blog last week about Holy Week but I wasn't able to articulate exactly what I was feeling. Suffice it to say we had a very reflective and prayer filled Holy Week and now we can rejoice!! Easter is such a wonderful celebration. We had a lovely day and I hope you did too!!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

What we do in our spare time!

Good morning! I want to write a longer post.. I have more pictures to put up too... in the mean time you can feast your eyes on this group of out-laws... beware... they look like a tough bunch!
By the way... at least on my computer.. if you click on the image you can see an enlarged version.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Hi there!

First off.... how much do you love my new blog background?? Pretty darn cute eh?? And the header.... thanks to Prima Donna for helping me out with that one. She fixed me up pretty well.

I haven't written lately... but we finished up the play. It went rather well and thanks to any of you who came out and saw us. Sunshine was fabulous!! We then had a lovely week in Branson right after the play closed with my folks. Saw several shows and other attractions. It was very enjoyable and we are now getting back to normal as it were.. whatever normal really is!

School is going okay and I am planning a housewide purge of all of the things that we are storing and not using. Perhaps we will have a garage sale??? Maybe... or just one big donation to goodwill!!

I am EXTREMELY upset about the passage of the health care bill. I will comment more later after I have had time to think out what I really want to say about that... while we as Americans can still freely express what we think about that. hhrmm

Had a lovely visit with a friend on Saturday and we went to a flea market.. my FAVORITE place to shop. Got a few treasures. Drooled and dreamed over many more. Found a turquoise and red bait bucket that I LOVED.. but couldn't think of a practical use for it.. so had to leave it there.
Sigh...

Now I am just rambling and so should go. In order to "keep" readers I am supposed to have a purpose for my blog... if I knew what my purpose was... well then.. I would be doing that and not sitting here... hehe Just kidding.

I will try to ponder a more thought out post for you soon. (dear reader)
Good Night!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

And so it begins

Backstage for Cheaper by the Dozen. Tabby, Katie and Leah
Me!
Katie as "Anne"
We had our dress rehearsal last night. It went well. Katie is AMAZING. I'm not saying that just because she is my daughter. Truly.. she is doing a fabulous job! The play is great and if you live here in town.. please come. I promise you will enjoy it and you will be supporting our local theater. We start our "actual" performances tomorrow night. I am going to get some sleep!!

Thursday, February 04, 2010

A New Day!

Hello Dear Friends,
I am feeling much better. Thank you to everyone who reached out with love and support!!

Let me tell you what I did today. Remember the book I told you about EAT CAKE. The one that made me want to bake?? Well.. today I made a lemon cake. The batter was dense and yummy.. lightly lemony (only 2 Table spoons of lemon juice). I can see me making the cake plain with just powdered sugar sprinkled on top. But today I made the frosting too!

First I made a lemon curd. This sounds horrible but it is like a lemon custard. I juiced 6 lemons and zested two of them. To this I added 1/2 a cup of sugar, 3 eggs and 6 Tbl spoons of butter. You cook this on a low heat until it thickens. Then you put it in the fridge to cool with saran wrap pressed onto the surface. After about an hour you take out your whipping cream and whip it up with a 1/2 cup of confectioners sugar and then you fold your whipped cream into your lemon curd. The result is light and fluffy and LEMONY!!

I was so proud. I even made it as a layer cake. WOW! I should have taken a picture that I could post for you.. but I was so anxious to eat it. I had it for lunch! (Not the whole thing mind you.. just a slice!)

In other news, the play is coming along. I am trying hard not to be nervous. I mostly have my lines and just have to work a bit on timing. If there is too big a pause I tend to think it must be me and I jump in with my line... (and it isn't always me... so there you go.)
Katie is doing a wonderful job and it has truly been amazing to get to do this with her. It is a memory we will always share.

Alright.. this is short and I know that I have more to share.. but I have chores and I need to bake something for the high school meeting tomorrow.. no.. not a cake. Fudgy oatmeal bars I think!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

another day

Today was another challenging day. I am finding myself increasingly inept at handling the little things life is throwing my way. Not that I don't or can't handle them.. I am just feeling so very emotional. In light of that.. I will be brief tonight. I do not have play practice so I am free to go and indulge in a bath. The family is curled up in front of a movie. I will go find (what else) a book.

I did have a lovely afternoon with my mom, who by the way, often gives me the best books to read. (and who had nothing to do with the challenging bits of the day!!) In fact I will soon be discussing a top ten sort of list and many(most) of the books on it are ones she has given me to read.

We are preparing here for what may be the "storm of the decade". Hubby has poo-pooed it in the hopes that it will pass north of us... but he also brought home a generator just in case.

So.. I am sending warm thoughts out there to all of you. Til next we meet!!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

sadness... good music... and books

I was going to tell you how I have been feeling a bit sad lately. Really sad actually. In fact, I cried last Wednesday night harder than I have cried since my grandmother's funeral. You know the kind of crying that leaves you exhausted and somewhat bruised feeling. Even after going to bed and sleeping for 10 hours I awoke the next morning still tender and fragile. I cried again... twice.

I am feeling a bit better... certainly I am not walking around weeping or anything. The problems are not completely resolved (parenting issues) but I am walking upright and going about my business. Smiling... laughing..working.. praying.. and still pondering all that is in my heart, and then when I got on this blog tonight to begin to tell you my story I heard my music. Can I just tell you how much I love my playlist. I do.. I really really do. When I pay bills sometimes I pull it up and then minimize it so I can work on the computer and hear "my" music in the background. I give a little shout to myself," I LOVE this song!!" and I sing along only to be filled with joy again as the next one comes on," I LOVE this one too!!" The kids just roll their eyes at me and patiently tell me that yes... I do know the songs... I picked them! HA!
They have no concept how truly "cool" this is. Back in the day of the cassette tape you had to fast forward to get to the song you liked. FF... stop... listen to see where you are.. nope, not there yet. FF... stop.. not yet... FF... stop.. too far.. Rewind.. okay.. there it is!! I can remember taping songs off the radio. This worked but you didn't get the complete song and you usually got some of the announcer. Playlist is like a commercial free radio station of only songs I love. It is so very cool.

Back when I was going to tell you about my sadness I was going to segue into how I deal with sadness... I read. Okay.. those of you who know me well know that I can be a bit of an obsessive reader but that is only amplified when I am sad. Think of an alcoholic on books. "Just for a few minutes more. Okay kids, we'll read history in just a minute.. I PROMISE."
So.. I have read three books already this month.. in the past week and a half actually.

First of all I read The Help. I loved it. Set in 1962 in Mississippi this story tells the tales of several women in the South during this era. Having lived in Louisiana for 12 years, I could HEAR the dialect as these women found their voice and were able to tell their stories of what it was like to be "colored" maids to white women. I am still aghast that people were treated this way just so short a time ago. The book is well written and easy to read.

Then I read The Penny Tree. This is a fluff book but it was enjoyable too. The story of a woman, separated from her husband trying to raise her two boys, one of which has a rare disease. (doesn't sound so fluffy does it). Anyhow... a secret admirer places several ads in the local paper seeking her out. The book unveils the details of how she ended up where she was and lets you discover her admirer just in time for a happy ending.

I then dove right into Eat Cake. Another fluff book... but ... this ones just makes me want to bake. This story is about a gal who is going through a rough patch and to cope...she bakes... and she describes her cakes in much detail. I am telling you... I am going to make me some cake.. and soon. I made a cheesecake this past weekend for a get together we had with friends... and I will be making another one for my dad's birthday... but ... this book had recipes in it and I plan to make a lemon cake real soon!! She also made a sweet potato cake with raisins soaked in rum. I don't have any rum... but doesn't that sound good!! I bet I could soak them in apple juice. I am telling you ... I really just want to bake.

Which will NOT help me lose 5 pounds before the play. Yes... I am at it again. The big news is that I am NOT playing a fork or a villager this time. In the last performance I had 1 line. (and I sang that... with someone else!) All of my stage time was singing with many other people. This time I play.... are you ready for this??? a MOM... married to an engineer. I have many more lines than 1 (about 120) but I don't have nearly as many as Katie. Katie and I are in Cheaper by the Dozen. Not the Steve Martin version but the original based on the book by the Gilbreth kids.

So why in the heck was I reading??? instead of practicing my lines?? I know, I know. And here I sit typing to you good people. But, rehearsal went well tonight. I will practice a TON tomorrow and will hopefully be off book by Friday.

I know what you are thinking, what about school. Well, it IS still taking place. Perhaps not as much as I would like... but we are definitely learning around here. Every day!

Alright, if you have stayed with me this long.. Bless you!!
We'll chat more soon!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

woo hoo.. new year.. new chance...

Hello again my friends... or friend... not sure exactly who reads this as I am so erratic in my posting, but I felt the need to write and so .... here I am.

It is a new year. With each new year comes the chance to make things... life... better. Yes.. I am one of those.. new year's resolution people.. but it doesn't take a new year for me to grasp at the opportunity for change.

I am craving a little change right now. Today I changed around the living room and cleaned out a couple of "junk" drawers. I updated the cover and tabs in my home organization book that I tinker with every now and again. Just as I make new resolutions (or recommit to old ones) I also believe somewhere deep down that if I just had the "right" planner/schedule/routine I would finally get it all together. In my deepest of hearts I know that I only need to "work" one of the bazillion plans I have already come up with but it is somehow quite rewarding to freshen up that book... then at least IT looks good and reasonable and "doable".

I hope to post a bit more frequently than I have... this whole blog thing is an interesting beast isn't it?? I have had several friends who blogged and then quit. It can so easily become too much... a time stealer. It is also challenging to put oneself really out there. Then there is the hope/expectation that someone will respond... will I get comments?? Or.. what if I am really myself and I get criticism? (Not ever being one to take criticism well... that is a challenge for me.) Blogging does provide a creative outlet though... in its design as well as content. I would like to post more pictures. So.. we shall see what this new year brings.

Hopefully more posting from me.