Happy New Year!

If it didn't bring you joy
just leave it behind
Let's ring in the new year
with good things in mind

Let every bad memory
that brought heartache and pain
And let's turn a new leaf
with the smell of new rain

Let's forget past mistakes
making amends for this year
Sending you these greetings
to bring you hope and cheer
Happy New Year! 

Snow!!!

It finally snowed here

(the front range of Colorado)

Christmas Highlights - Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve at Our House

Kiddos waiting patiently for orders to start unwrapping...

 Opening presents...

Miss L and JEM playing with their Tinkerbell Light Tables...

J and AJ playing with AJ's new circuit set...

Christmas Eve Service - Jules, Di and I sang "Light a Candle" and
Miss L came up and sang the last part of the song which was the first verse of "Silent Night"...

How cute!!!

Christmas Highlights - Cookie Day

Cookie Day on the 23rd at Andrea's house

KC...

 my daughter, Di and her daughter, Miss L

my daughter, Jules and her nieces, JEM, KIM and KC...

 my daughter, Supermom and her youngest, SAM...

and this is what was happening while we were in the kitchen...(he! he!)...

Blessings of Christmas

'For to us a child is born
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.'
Isa 9:6

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Christmas Gift Suggestions...

To your enemy - forgiveness...
To an opponent - tolerance...
To a friend - your heart...
To a customer - service...
To all - charity...
To every child - a good example...
To yourself - respect.
--Oren Arnold

Patterns, and Fabric, and Scissors, Oh My...

Last year, there was a sale on corduroy at JoAnn's, so I bought several yards in 4 different designs planning to make jumpers for my Grand-daughters (ugh!  I spent $60 on fabric - does sewing really save money?).  The jumpers never did materialize (no pun intended).  So, this year, I decided to make Mother-Daughter aprons for my two older daughters and their girls.  I decided this on September 24th, after going to the annual Quilt-a-Fair.  That weekend, I made a cute apron for my youngest daughter who has a cooking blog, A Delicious Melody.  I intended to make the other 7 aprons before Christmas.  That hasn't happened.  I did, however, just finish 4 skirts for 4 of my 5 grand-daughters (my oldest grand-daughter is really picky and I know she won't wear anything I make for her).  The skirts are made out of some of the corduroy I bought last year.  I will post pictures after Christmas when my models are wearing them.

So, now, on to making 5 kiddo aprons, 2 mommie aprons...oh, and then 2 "chef" aprons for the boys...

I think I'll check Facebook...maybe I'll play Bejeweled Blitz...

Afterall, tomorrow is another day...

So Sad...

All my grandchildren have been sick.  Last week my sweet little grandson in Kentucky had the 24 hour bug and this week his sister had it.  Meanwhile, at the beginning of this week, 2 of my grand-daughters here were sick with high fevers and lethargy.  Their 2 little sisters just had colds.  Yesterday & today, their brother has been sick and tonight he was supposed to test for karate taekwondo.  It has been so fun following his progress.  It is such a disappointment for all of us that he is sick.

Here's my little ninja...this was his Halloween costume...

A Concert & Some Trivia

Yesterday I went to the Holly & Ivy 2010 Concert presented by the United States Air Force Academy Band.  Apparently, (but unbeknownst to me) this band performs every December in our hometown.  Furthermore, it is a free concert!  There is a matinee and evening performance.  They performed about a dozen Christmas songs in just about every genre of music (complete with vocalists and an Irish dancer) and closed with a brief sing-along!!  The Air Force Academy Band is one of 12 Air Force bands that maintain a rigorous schedule performing all over the world for troops as well as the public.

Now, for the trivia...did you know that in 1955, there was a typo in a newspaper ad that invited children to phone Santa.  The phone calls ended up going to the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) operations floor.  In the spirit of the season, the CONAD staff answered children's queries about when Santa would arrive.  Thus began an annual tradition.  These days, NORAD carries on the custom using four high-tech systems to track Santa on his yearly journey: radar, satellites, jet fighter aircraft, and Santa-cams.  Now millions of children each year join NORAD as they track Santa - and you can too!   

Thanks B for inviting me to the concert!!

My Birthday...

This past Friday was my Birthday.  Since 2 of my daughters live thousands of miles away I decided to spend the day with the woman who birthed me (and raised me).  I have one daughter who lives about 5 minutes away and we spent some time together on Wednesday along with her 5 (soon to be 6) kiddos.  They treated me to lunch from Chipotle (one of my faves) and the kiddos sang a memorable rendition of the Happy Birthday song which I captured on video (along with the 2 oldest slugging each other...).

My husband and I drove to my Mother's house (about 35 miles away) and picked her up and headed to a suburb of Denver where there is a Krispy Kreme doughnut place.  Since it was my birthday I wanted a raspberry filled doughnut.  We insisted that my Mother go in with us to witness the making of doughnuts.  Fortunately, they were making some of the filled-type doughnuts (sans holes).  My Mother was fascinated!!  We bought 6 doughnuts and since she was with us we got the senior discount (I'm sure we would have qualified w/o her, since my husband is 60) - should have gotten a dozen.

We ate lunch at chili's and then went to a nearby World Market.  I love those stores!!!  I found the cutest little hand-painted jewelry/trinket box made in India.  My mother bought it for me for Christmas (since she had given me a check for my Birthday and she never knows what to get me).  Here is a picture...

We also went to a few other stores like Target, Michael's and I bought some different kinds of coffee to try from Sunflower Market.  I'm especially excited to try the White Chocolate/Peppermint - just in time for Christmas!!  All-in-all it was a good day and I got tuckered out as well as my little 86-year-old Mother.

Did you ever wonder...

Did you ever wonder why there are really strange words like akimbo?  e.g. She stood with her arms akimbo (a human body position in which the hands are on the hips and the elbows are bowed outward).


Or, did you you ever wonder why there are words like laughter and daughter, and cough and dough - words that are spelled the same, but pronounced differently.  And then there are words like read, that can be pronounced 2 ways...e.g. I would like to read today's newspaper because I haven't read  a newspaper since Sunday.


Then there are palindromes, those silly words in the English language that can be spelled the same forward and backward...like level and Dr. Awkward. And then there are people who make up entire sentences that are palindromes...Was it a rat I saw?


And then there are the words we can no longer use because their meanings have changed.  Have you noticed how many Christmas Songs use the word gay..."Don we now our gay apparel" and "a turkey and some mistletoe help to make the Yuletide gay".  I mean, really...why can't we use that word anymore to state that someone is happy?  And pasties.  We can't mention that food item without eliciting snickers.  Pasties are meat turnovers which are sold at little Pasty Stands all over Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota.


And last of all, why do people in Australia have really odd terms for things like a willy willy is a tornado, a barbecue is called a barbie, men's Speedo-type swim trunks are called budgie-smugglers...you can Google that one...


And one more thing...did you ever wonder how we got along without Google?

Memories...

Here is a picture of my three daughters about 25 years ago on the little boat ride at The North Pole.  At the time, I thought they were awfully cute, but now I think they are just about the cutest kiddos I've ever seen...and now they are all grown up and they are beautiful Christian women.  I love you, A, D, and J !!!

The Perfect Combination...

A few years ago (okay, a decade or more - time flies when you get older...) Anheuser Busch built a brewery in a nearby town.  We heard that the tours were interesting, so one day we stopped in for a tour.  They weren't giving tours this particular day or maybe the tours for the day were over, but we could look at the Clydesdale horses in their Hamlet and we could visit the Gift Shop and stop in the Hospitality Room for free beer and/or soft drinks.  We are not beer connoisseurs, so we had soft drinks and snack mix. 

The whole reason for this post is that Anheuser Busch used to make their own snack mix and it was delicious!!!!  We bought some to take home and were delighted when we found that we could also buy a huge tin of it at Sam's Warehouse.  Unfortunately, it is no longer available.



Last week I was organizing the basement and I found one of the tins that had held Anheuser Busch Eagle Snack Mix. Cheddar-Bacon Crackers and Pretzels in the shape of their "A" logo and Honey Roasted Peanuts.  Why had I never thought of making my own? 

I went to Wal Mart today and bought honey-roasted peanuts, pretzels, Cheez-its (I couldn't find any cheddar-bacon crackers), but this works for me...the perfect combination of sweet, salty and savory...YUM-O!!!!!



Give Thanks...

Give thanks with a grateful heart,

Give thanks to the Holy One;

Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son.

And now let the weak say, "I am strong."

Let the poor say, "I am rich"

because of what the Lord has done for us!

Give thanks!



Loves of my Life (continued)...

My five-year old grand daughter playing soccer...
(she's on the yellow team).

Turkey Trot

My youngest daughter and her husband ran their first 5K today. Since it was their first race, they ran it recreationally instead of competitively.  Congrats, Team J2!!

33 Years Ago...

...my life changed forever.


And I am so glad!

Happy Birthday, sweetie...I love you!!!

Pet Peeves...November 2010

 I've decided that periodically I will vent some of my "pet peeves".

1.  I did not vote for him, but he IS our President, so let's respect him and his office and don't criticize and
     please call him President Obama, not Obama...  This esepcially goes for the News Media...

2.  Please, when you are driving, use your turn signals.  It is not "cool" to not use them.  They have a purpose
     and it doesn't really take that much effort, so use them!!!

3.  When you are sitting in church, please refrain from massaging your significant other's back.  This goes for
     married people as well as unmarried couples.  First of all, it is very distracting to see an arm
     carressing your beloved's back...Secondly, it makes my mind wander and then I start wondering
     if one or other of the two are getting aroused - ANYWAY - not appropriate in church!!!!!! OK.

4.  A friend of mine posted a video on Facebook of his grand daughter in a cheerleader competition.  That's  
     great!!!  At the beginning of their routine, all the girls turned their backs to the audience and "shook their
     booty".  Is this really appropriate behavior for 8 and 9-year-old girls?  Actually, is this appropriate
     behavior for girls (women) of any age?

5.  And last, but not least, it drives me CRAZY when people use "that" instead of "who" when referring to a
     person.  For example, John Doe was a man who loved to ski - not - John Doe was a man that loved to
     ski.  "Who" is for people and "that" is for things.  Thank you!

I apologize for the margins.  It looked fine as a draft, but when I published this post it went haywire!

Twirling...

Remember the movie "You've Got Mail"...one of Meg Ryan's character's favorite memories was "twirling" as a child (although, I think she twirled with her mother)...

  Today I visited my oldest daughter and her children.  Her 4 girls were "twirling".   It reminded me of that movie...







Babies Don't Keep

Babies Don't Keep

by

Ruth Halburt Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,

Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

Hang out the washing, make up the bed,

Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue,

Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

Pat-a-cake, darling and peek, peekaboo.

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew

And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo

But I'm playing with Kanga and this is my Roo

Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?

Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow

But chidlren grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

Then and Now...Rodger's Cottages

This is a postcard I scanned of some cabins near Lake George, circa 1940.  

In September, I took a photo in approximately the same location - approximately 70 years later.  The cabins were remodeled a few years ago, but I believe they are still used as rental cabins (and I believe they are for sale - however, the name has changed).  Look closely at the pine tree near the gate and then look at the 
current photo to see how much it has grown.

I was trying to take a photo in the same location, but I didn't realize at the time that you can hardly even see the cabins because of the size of the trees.



Easy DIY Reusable Produce Bags

I just found the cutest and easiest tutorial to make your own reusable grocery bags from an old T-Shirt.  The complete tutorial can be found  here.



Trunk or Treating Pics

Halloween is so different nowadays.  I had never heard of trunk-or-treating until a few years ago, but when you think about it, it is a lot safer!  This was a great year for kiddos since Halloween fell on a Sunday.  There were lots of things happening around town on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Here are my two Kentucky darlings in their Halloween attire.  The Biker and the Princess...

I've decided that I will try to keep my grandchildren anonymous on my blog.  I don't want their pictures to turn up on a semi in some faraway country...(maybe that was an urban legend).

Owl Cupcakes

My daughter has a food/recipe blog called A Delicious Melody.  Today she posted these adorable cupcakes.  They are easy to decorate and can easily be made in time for a Halloween treat!

The Loves of My Life...

I've decided to periodically post pictures of the loves of my life.  Here is my oldest grand daughter.  I love this picture!!  It was taken by her mother, my oldest daughter.

A little treasure...

In August we moved my youngest daughter and her husband out to North Carolina.  We also stopped in Kentucky to visit my middle daughter and her family.  While we were there we went to a Big Lots store.  I love pottery and saw some plates that looked intriguing.  I picked one up and on the bottom I noticed Roseville Pottery stamp.  Unfortunately, we were flying home so I was only able to buy one small plate, but I am ecstatic because it only cost $1.50 for a 7.5 inch plate!!!







A horse is a horse, of course...

My middle daughter lives in Kentucky with her husband and 2 children.  Kentucky is 1200 miles away from where I live.  She and her husband moved there five years ago, shortly after they were married, so he could attend seminary there.  He graduated in May and last month they bought a house.  I am extremely happy for them.  I am not so happy for me.  We do get to visit them a couple times a year and they come back home for Christmas.  They are very blessed to have a wonderful church home and lots of friends in Kentucky.  Yesterday the kiddos had a chance to ride a horse which belongs to some of their friends...I am soooo jealous (because I have always wanted a horse)...

Even mom had a chance to ride (picture taken by a 3-year-old)

Soooo cute!!!!



Mary Engelbreit Apron

My youngest daughter has a cooking blog called A Delicious Melody .  Last week I decided to make an apron for her.  I looked through my patterns and my stash of fabric and found some cute Mary Engelbreit fabric and made this little apron for her.

She now lives in North Carolina with her husband, so I sent her a little care package with some poppy seeds I found in bulk.  Here she is modeling the apron...

A Grand Lake

This past saturday, September 11, we took a drive through Rocky Mountain National Park.  We drove from our home to Estes Park which is a 50-mile drive and didn't even stop to shop at all the unique souvenir/frou-frou shops.  We entered Rocky Mountain National Park and soon saw some elk...

We decided to take the Old Fall River Road to the top of Trail Ridge.  Apparently, since it was such a beautiful fall day, everyone else had the same idea.  We've never seen it so crowded.

As you can see a few aspens were already turning...

We continued driving until we reached the quaint little town of Grand Lake.  One thing I love about Grand Lake is that the downtown area and lake area haven't changed much since I was a kid.  We even had an ice cream cone from the local Dairy King which has been there since 1953.

We drove up the hill above the town and went to the Grand Lake Lodge  . Neither of us had ever been up there before eventhough the lodge has been there since the 1920's.  It has a lovely view of the lake and even has an outdoor area for weddings.  It currently is for sale for a mere $6,990 million.  If you are interested, here is the listing.  There is a main lodge, cabins and other rooms.

View of Grand Lake from the lodge.

Then we drove home over the infamous Trail Ridge Road!