Valentine's Day

It's Valentine's Day today. (Well when I wrote this and thought I posted it, it was) You know, the day where people spend oodles of dollars on candy, flowers and stuffed animals? Oh, and cards. I have nothing against the thought of the day but shouldn't V-Day be something we celebrate 365 days a year? Just sayin.

I made strawberry cupcakes with a semi homemade butter cream frosting, homemade caramels, homemade shortbread cookies, and white chocolate hot chocolate for our Valentine themed sleigh ride we did on the 12th with the fam and some friends. Pictures and recipes coming soon!!

I did pick up two things for Ken...a movie he really wanted and a spoon. Yup, a spoon. He's had a thing for this spoon for some time. I refused to purchase it for $6. I mean, why buy ONE spoon for $6 when I can get a whole bag for $3? Oh, did I mention we have Arizona Claire our Alaskan Husky that thinks "if it's wooden it belongs in her mouth?" Another reason not to buy the spoon. But by golly! It's a great spoon, and it made Ken happy.

***Update:*** after ONE use the spoon got a crack. :/

I think Ken felt guilty for telling me I had to stay home while he went on the road...why you ask? Because he took the time to make me heart shaped pannycakes for breakfast before he left. Ken got home late Vday night/the wee hours of the morning of the 15th. I was already in bed. He handed me a card and two bags. He bought me Eric Church's new cd, a wallhanging I have wanted for eons and gave me the sweetest card. =)

Mother's Day

Nana's roses last year for Mother's Day

Your Mother Is Always With You

Your mother is always with you...
She's the whisper of the leaves

as you walk down the street.

She's the smell of bleach in

your freshly laundered socks.

She's the cool hand on your

brow when you're not well.

Your mother lives inside your laughter.

She's crystallized in every tear drop...
She's the place you came from,

your first home..

She's the map you follow with every step that you take.
She's your first love and your first heartbreak....

and nothing on earth can separate you.
Not time, Not space...Not even death....

will ever separate you from your mother....
You carry her inside of you....
- Sherry Martin

Today is Mother's Day and to be quite honest, it is a day I despise and have a horrible time with. I lost my Mom when I was 10 years old, the babies I carried for a couple short months are in heaven and we lost Ken's Nana ,who I was very close to, last June. This is our first Mother's Day without her. I am very blessed though to have shared some extraordinary times with Nana. I treasure the time we had with her. There are so many times I feel Nana is just a phone call away. I want to hear about her day and share mine with her. I miss her asking about her "grand dogs" and the hours we'd spend talking about crocheting. I just miss her.

It didn't seem right not buying her a Mother's Day card yesterday when I was at the store. For the 16 years Ken & I have been together I have picked out 15 Mothers Day cards for her. This was the first year I haven't. Each year we would scour the stores for "Nana" cards. There would be 2, maybe 3 Nana themed cards...all of which looked like they were from a 2 year old grandchild. But every year she got a Nana card. Well, yesterday while picking out Ken's mom's, his grandma's and my step mom's card I ran across at least 12 Nana themed cards. I actually had to leave the aisle before I lost it. What can I say, Hallmark knows how to get the waterworks working on me.

Yesterday in Nana's memory I purchased one dozen pink roses and put them in the vase we bought for her last year. We filled the vase with two dozen pink roses last year. Our dining room table looks so cheery and remembering how much Nana enjoyed pink roses brings a smile to my face. I am also honored that I was given Nana's Mother's Ring after she passed away. I wear it daily and am honored the family chose me to have it.

We will be going to Ken's grandparents house for a steak dinner. It's usually a great time with amazing wonderful people. I find myself wanting to stay home or work in the garden. Last year the ladies were all in the house while the guys manned the BHG (big honkan grill). Well, Ken's aunt told me that I should be outside cooking with the guys, that this day was for Mom's and I wasn't one...Yeah....ouch!! It's not like I chose for our babies to go to Heaven... Tears welled up and I went out of the house faster than a bullet speeding out of a gun. You can see why I don't want to go...but I will, for Grandma and my mother in law. Might need to wear some earplugs or take separate vehicles.

I never thought I would find myself missing my Mom so much after not having her for 24 years...but I do. I wish I had the opportunity of cooking side by side in the kitchen with my Mom. The house we own used to be owned by my parents very good friends. My parents have many many memories in this house. I feel close to them somehow by living here.

I wish she could see the things I crochet now. She put the love of yarn into my soul and then years later Ken's Nana inspired me to pick my hook back up. I owe a lot to those two amazing ladies. I wish Ken could have met my Mom. I am certain she'd love him and he'd feel the same. She was one heckuva lady. Classy, yet down to Earth. Who else could lift their butt up and let one rip. Yes, my Mom did that.

There are so many times I could use her advice and her guidance. She inspired me. There have been so many events and things that have happened that I wish she could have been there. I missed having her talk to me about boys, helping me get ready for a school dance, teaching me how to curl my hair, attending my track meets. teaching me how to put on makeup, doing laundry, first boyfriend, breakups, teenage awkward years, braces, prom, graduation, Ken, my wedding, being pregnant and then to be there when we lost our babies. I would have liked my Mom there for that. I know she was in spirit though and there have been so many times I can feel her presence and I know she is with me, guiding me and her memory, along with Nana's continue to inspire me. I can still to this day hear Mom say "Katherine Marie" and that makes me smile.

Mother's Day brings mixed emotions but there is still reason to celebrate. I have an amazing Mother in law and Ken's grandma is one amazing woman as well. I have a step mom who loves me no matter how much heck I gave her. I may not have humanoid children to make Mother's Day seem possible for a gal like me, but I do have the best furry, reptilian, swimmy "children" a gal could ever ask for. =)

Hug your Mom, tell her how much she means to you, pamper her, make those memories that will last a lifetime and bring you inspiration and carry you through the years.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all my beautiful friends. Aunties, sister's and all you wunnaful ladies....whether you have human, furry, reptilian, fishy or whatever "children" you have, enjoy your day. It was made for you =)

St. Urho's Day

Did you all wear your pretty purple today for St Urho's day? I did. But then again, it's not hard for me to wear purple seeing it's one of my favorite colors.

I was in my mid 20's when, they had "wear purple" day at work. I wondered, why purple? It was as if I was supposed to know about St Urho Day as if it were Christmas.

So, what is St Urho Day? Why do we wear purple?

The legend of St. Urho goes that a long time ago in Finland the grape crop was being destroyed by grasshoppers. Urho drove away the grasshoppers using his booming voice by chanting "Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, mene täältä hiiteen!", which translates to "Grasshopper, grasshopper, go from hence to Hell!"

St. Urho's day is celebrated on March 16th by wearing royal purple and Nile green, drinking beer (even green and purple beer) and wine, and feasting on mojakka, which is basically just soup. The plaque below this St. Urho statue even describes a celebration where Finnish women and children gather around the shores of the many lakes in Finland and chant what St. Urho chanted. All the while, the men dress in green costumes and gather on the hills overlooking the lakes and, basically, act like grasshoppers and slowly disappear to change into purple costumes. Then the polka and drinking begins.

I dunno about you, but I wear purple because I like the color. I do not like beer, and the thought of dyed beer sickens me. Grasshoppers scare me. Well, not when they are just sitting around. If I walk into the woods or a field & those buggers start boinging around, you are absolutely, positively going to hear my screech. The thought of grown men acting like grasshoppers kinda freaks me out too. I do like the purple though...and green.

Did you celebrate St Urho's Day today?

Sleigh Ride

I organized a sleigh ride for my family on New Years Day. Once Jim realized the Casino was not county road 551 & made it to the farm we were on our way. There were only 20 of us...12 were either sick, thought it was too cold or poor Dave & Lindsey were dealing with furnace issues. We originally had 2 sleighs reserved but they were able to fit us all on one. Can we say tight squeeze?

We meandered through the woods & on our way back the owners stop & we have a lil bonfire, roast marshmallows, hotdogs, have cocoa...fun times. This is my brother Bruce's youngest sone Jason & his lovely wife Jen.

trying to get ourselves all sandwiched in & covered up...

My brother Pat & his wife Kim chillin by the fire.

My lil bro JJ took his girlfriend Meghan. My brothers Mike & Kelly are all bundled up & pretty unrecognizable too. It was one heckuva chilly night!!!

We left as the sun was going down. My cousin Julie, sister Laurie & her boyfriend Ernie took part in the fun too.

My oh my...we were packed like sardines in the sleigh!!!

My niece Ellie & lil brother Jesse peeking at me.

And then you have Ken and myself...all bundled up, noses numb, toes tingling in pain but having a BLAST!!!! We'll definately be planning this again!! Maybe in the autumn when the leaves are in full color and it's not so jeepan cold!!

Hippity Hoppity!!!

Happy almost Easter!!! Meet lil miss bunny basket!!! I saw a picture of a basket with a bunny face on the front...and came up with this:

It was so fun to use my brain & come up with a design & even funner when I gave it to the lil girl I made it for!!!

Here's wishing you a hip hoppan Easter!!!

Ken's 1st time

Oh my heckles!!! It's been eons since I last posted!!! I didn't plan it that way. But life happens. I went on the road with my hubby for a few days this past week & well before that we had New Years. Speaking of New Years...it rocked!!! Seriously had a BLAST!!! Then New Years Day a group of my family went up to camp & check it out!!!!!! This was Ken's 1st time on snowshoes!!!


Us

All set & ready to go. Wish I had my ski poles with for balancing!! Amazingly neither of us fell!!! My cutie pie head hubby!!!! =) Yup, we'll have to purchase a couple sets to keep the winter blubber butt disease at bay!!!

Happy New Year!!!!

Here's to a swellaciously fine 2009!! Hope everybody had a fantastic New Years Eve last night!!

Hopes for the New Year

The year is coming to an end & a new one will begin before we know it. This past year we've had some ups & downs but all & all it was a good year. Of course it was a good year!! It was an EVEN numbered year!!!

Birthdays were celebrated, another anniversary with my hubbykins was had, crafts were made, adoptions failed, hearts mended, relationships nurtured. There was weeding out of toxic relationships & oodles upon oodles of hours spent canning & preserving. We went raspberry picking for the 1st time at a farm, witnessed numerous sunsets, swam in the lake, ran with the pups, camped in the sticks, read I don't know how many books, my gorgeous niece Hayley was born, we paid off the tv & den furniture. We saw the mountains & trucked 100,000 miles & didn't take a single moment of it for granted.

Every year I have a list of hopeful accomplishments for the coming year. I was surprised to see a real crafty gal Holli over at http://feedingthebigguy.blogspot.com/ posted a partial of her aspirations for the New Year. Below is a smidgen of my hopes for the upcoming year.

• Grow what fruits & veggies I can in the limited space we have
• Visit the Farmer's Market religiously
• Can & preserve as much as humanly possible. This not only provides fresh produce but saves on the pocket book in the winter months when the produce is out of season
• Further my knitting skills. There's so many neato ideas to make but yeah, I don't have the knitting mojo in my bones apparently.
• Crochet at least 6 afghans
• Continue being a Chemo Angel & up my letter/card sending
• Learn a new sport even if it's through a DVD. Such a Yoga, Kickboxing
• Read at least 28 books.
• Better balance my diet to help control my Meniere's
• Only purchase yarn when needed for a project. I have a tendency of purchasing yarn for funzies
• Be more frugal. Ex: shutting off lights, hanging clothes on the line (which I luv to do by the way) Keeping the finances in order & better myself at saving
• Laugh every day. I'm a firm believer in positive thinking will make a much happier person
• Keep a journal of daily thoughts of my wonderous hubby & give it to him next Christmas or our anniversary
• continue working on my strong headed-ness. I know I'm no walk in the park sometimes
• stay connected with friends. This is such a struggle sometimes with being on the road
• Visit Nana in Massachusetts
• drink more water
• go out with friends. yes, I typed that right. We rarely, if ever go out with friends anymore. Whether it be for dinner, movies, bowling or gatherings.
• Visit our babies Memorial carvings at least twice
• Go camping & watch the sunsets
• become more familiar & less afraid of our canoe
• Use my crockpot at least 50 times
• go on a closet cleaning bonanza
• Make meals for neighbors
• make pillows out of Gpa W's old shirts & Mom's old dress
• un-rustify my ASL so when we see Gwen & Shash we will be able to converse
• which leads me to...going to NY to meet Shashica, Darren, Logan & Dasha

And to live live to it's fullest, not take life, or my loved ones for granted. I know I can't save the World but I will do what I can to hopefully make a difference.

The purpose of life is not to be happy – but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all. - Leo Rosten, American teacher and humorist

Be the change you want to see in the world -Gandhi

Happy New Year!!

The "Secret Project"

The "Secret Project"

On November 12th was my Mom's 23rd anniversary of her passing. I was having a frumpy wumpy kind of day & then my brother Mike called me. Actually he left me a mssg on the answering machine that he was just calling "to talk" Oh boy...I wonder what he needs to talk about. Did I say sumthin wrong in my post about Mom? What could it be? I called him back & he told me he has something of Mom's and asked if I'd be interested in looking at it. I was like, heck yeah!! I didn't even know right away what it was but was interested! He went on to tell me it was the dress Mom wore to my brother Darryl's ordination. He went on to talk about me being all into crafts & wondered if maybe I could make something out of it for us kids. Of course I said YES!!! He said the dress was stained from water damage but the beadwork might be able to be used to make ornament type sachets. I went to pick up the dress that very night. That's when Mike told me the story of the dress. Apparently Mom had a dress ordered for the Ordination but it hadn't come in yet. She gave some $ to my brothers & sent them out on a dress buying adventure. Ate the time St Vincent DePaul was near our house so they went there. It was there that they picked up the dress. There was no time to order another or go to a speciality shop...the Ordination was too close!! So this dress they picked out would "do" Mom wore the dress to Darryl's Ordination into the Priesthood (did I say that right?) and people remarked on how she looked like a Princess. I knew when I took it home I had a big task ahead of me. I wanted to honor my Mom & siblings & not ruin the dress. It took a good month before I even made the 1st cut. After that it all came together & sachets were born. I presented these sachets to my older siblings on Christmas Day after the meal. When Darryl opened his he sniffed it. I went on to tell him "it doesn't smell like anything but an old dress" I then handed him the photo that was taken at the Ordination of the family...with Mom in the dress. I had hoped to scent the sachets with Charlie perfume as it was my Mom's favorite. Even though Mom was not with us...she was!!!

The dress

Beadwork around the waist

Beadwork around the neck

back of neck beadwork

back of waist beadwork

The dress still had the pricetag in it!! A nifty $3.00 bought this!!!! I wonder why Mom left the tag in there.....Just think though, her dress was ordered & I'd imagine it was a nice dress, probably far more expensive than this...but this dress was the dress my Mom chose to wear when the day came. Mike said the ordered dress made it there in the nick of time but Mom thought it more special to wear the ones her kiddos picked out...and she was called a Princess!!! How cool is that!!!

Brayden could sense my emotions, he always does. Now, I don't know why, and you can call me silly but deep down I think he even knew this dress was special & he took it upon himself to nuzzle in it & pose.

Gold Box

This is another email I recieved. It had me in tears, like big crocodile ones. With Christmas Eve tomorrow & Christmas day only two days away I thought it was so important to share the profound message this email brings. Merry Christmas from our home to yours. May we all recieve a "Gold Box" & appreciate it for all it's worth.

'Gold Wrapping Paper'

I received this from a friend who had a choice to make. It said that I had a choice to make too. I've chosen. Now it's your turn to choose.

The story goes that some time ago a mother punished her five year old daughter for wasting a roll of expensive gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and she became even more upset when the child used the gold paper to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree.

Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift box to her mother the next morning and then
said, 'This is for you, Momma.' The mother was embarrassed by her earlier over reaction, but her anger flared again when she opened the box and found it was empty. She spoke to her daughter in a harsh manner. 'Don't you know, young lady, when you give someone a present there's supposed to be something inside the package?' She had tears in her eyes and said, 'Oh, Momma, it's not empty! I blew kisses into it until it was full.' The mother was crushed. She
fell on her knees and put her arms around her little girl, and she begged her forgiveness for her thoughtless & anger.

An accident took the life of the child only a short time later, and it is told that the mother kept that gold box by her bed for all the years of her life. Whenever she was discouraged or faced difficult problems she would open the box and take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there. In a very real sense, each of us, as human beings, have been given a Golden box filled with unconditional love and kisses from our Parents,children, family, friends and GOD. There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.

Through the neighborhood

Tonight was our night to get on our comfy clothes, pile the dogs in the suburban & go for a ride to see the Christmas lights in the neighborhood. My lil brother is spending the night so he got to come with us too. Total funness!!! Afterwards we went for shakes.

It's been snowing on & off here most of the day & tonight it was total snowflakage!!! A perfect night for this. The pups were awesome & JJ got a bit stoked too. We're supposed to get blitzed with snow tonight & tomorrow. I'm seriously hoping for oodles upon oodles of white fluff. We'll see what we wake up to in the morning =)

FREE!! And a resolution

You are looking at the picture we are going to use in our Christmas cards. We have never done the whole picture in the card type thing. But it's not too often we can get Ken, myself & our fab 5 doggies in one picture and I couldn't pass up the deal I ran across while reading one of my favoritist blogs EVER!!! http://www.moneysavingmom.com/. 75 FREE 4x6 prints from Kodak Gallery for joining!! Wooohooo! I could have paid the $4.35 to have them shipped to my house or pay $2.49 to have them delivered to Shopko (or a store closest to you) I opted for the shipping to Shopko & should have my prints by Wednesday!! Wooohoooo! How stinkan neato!!!

Another blog that has consumed A LOT of my time reading is http://jane4girls800dollarannualbudget.blogspot.com/ What this woman achieves is nothing less than AMAZING!! I can't seem to step away from my computer when her page is up. How in tarnation does one feed their family for $800 a year?!?!

I haven't always been the best shopper & I tend to do frivolous things a bit too much. But I'm getting better & so is the hubby. Our goal is ultimately to be debt free & buy something in the country & have a garden & all that jazz. It's a ways off but wouldn't it be super fab!! As of right now we have 3 loans with the credit union. One for our pickup truck, one for our suburban & one for our camper. We also have our mortgage & a new semi. I've come to the conclusion we'll always have a semi payment but it sure would be nice to eliminate the others! Imagine the $ saved! We can squirrel some away , or heck, take a vacation...we have NEVER done that together since we've been together. There are home improvements in our future & 2 doggies upcoming surgeries. Imagine what an extra grand a month could do to our savings account!!! Heck, we'd actually have one!

I think a lot about our economy & our future. Most people wouldn't know me as a deep thinker. But actually my deep thoughts can be somewhat scary at times! LOL

Every year I make a New Years Resolution...a realistic one!! This year it is to save $ & pay things off. We are not credit card fiends but do have a couple. Well I am stoked to say, we are one less now! It's been paid off. None of them have high balances but still. If we can't afford it, we don't get it.

In years passed I have had the resolution of working on my stubborn-ness, my cussing (the reasoning behind my swellacious wording) , weeding out the negative people in my life, allowing others to "know" me. This year is all about getting out of debt & using our resources!!! How bout you? What's your resolution?

Been at it again

I just finished putting together the hot cocoa kits. Yesterday I made the mix & this morning I made the milk chocolate spoons to stir the yummyness with. I plan on giving these sets to neighbors, friends & the gals at the office as a lil sumthin fun for Christmas.

We had a small glass yesterday & it was yummy but today I made myself a cup & used one of those spoons & holy beans!! Total fantasticness!! Those spoons kick all sorts of arse! Ahhh I love having a double boiler for such tasks. Next week it will be put to work big time! Peanut butter balls will be made, chocolate covered pretzels & rods, peanut butter cups & turtles.

Last night my brother Joe called to see if I would be able to & interested in painting up some lightbulb ornies for him to give to his fellow bakery workers for Christmas. So last night I took my supplies downstairs (my craft room is a complete disater!!) and began painting. So we have 6 snowmen & 6 Santas all ready to go. Tonight I will make the few necklaces I need to finish & box them up. Tomorrow finishing picking up & tidying will be done around the house. Thanksgiving dinner is at our house. I think we're ready....LOL

If I don't post before Thursday have a safe & Happy Thanksgiving. A word to the wise if I may....ELASTIC pants!!!

Return of the Christmas Tree

I finally got my rear in gear today & put up our bedroom tree =)

There's still soooo much more decorating to do upstairs but this is a start.

We didn't get the outside decorating done but hopefully this week I will get it all finished. We're going on week 3 of decorating.

The back entrance still needs yuletide joy, our bedroom needs more, then we have the upper landing....that part is almost finished. Then it's just my craft room.

I did some crocheting & painting while the race was on. I'm not sure if it's noticeable in the pics but I painted snowflakes on the blue Christmas ornies.

Only 39 days until Christmas!!! Are you ready???

Main Floor Galore!!

I finished up the decorationalizing on the main floor today =) There are a few odds & ends to do yet but nothing major. Now tomorrow I can focus on the upstairs. =) My wunnaful in laws gave us their tree & it's honkan huge!! That will go in our bedroom. Ken picked that up for me today =) Isn't he the bestest!!!




I really don't know what to call this area....it's sandwiched in between the built in computer desk area & built in hutch. I guess we call it a buffet type thing...I dunno!!! But it's the place we put our ceramic village we painted years ago =)

This is one of my favorite lil areas...well minus the orange shag carpeting. LOL In this particular planter we have rocks from each of the 48 Continental United States. We also have a salt shaker with salt crystals Ken scooped up with his very own hands out of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. From the location where we were we could see the Bonneville Salt Flatts in the distance. Talk about ultra cool!!!

The lower planter/tier thing of this area displays a fibre optic Christmas Tree =) and pictures of our current pets & pets from our past.

This is looking from our dining room into the den area. Each & every entryway NEEDS garlands & lights. The back entrance/screen porch will have lights too!!! But I'll do that when we do the outside decorating. Which will be soon. =) p.s. I love Christmas!!!!!!

Here's another shot of the village area & the built in hutch. My fabulous Mom in Law gave me the awesome red & green wine glasses. Soooo festive!!!

Here's my other curio cabinet in the dining room all decorated up with....wouldn't ya know it...a Christmas tree!!!! =)

This cabinet hold my Memiere's china & a few special glass pieces we've accumulated.

I have a strong believe each room has to have a tree in it. I'm still brainstorming on how I can do the laundry room...It's basically two bi fold doors that house a washer & dryer inside...sorta like a closet. I'll figure sumthin out =)