The View From My Front Porch

After they'd plowed out my driveway and shoveled the sidewalk and steps. UGH, we've had record snowfalls for December and this is the first year in many that I don't have a tropical vacation planned for January. Someone hates me!

So, That Should Teach Me

I woke up early in the morning Christmas Eve with chills, diarrhea and nausea. At about 5:30AM, I decided that maybe if I took a bath, I'd feel better. Uhhh, no. There I sat in the tub with wet hair, crying because I had to get out and I could hardly stand. I half sat and half laid on the floor to dry my hair and then crawled back in bed. Each time I had to run to the bathroom, I got weaker and was almost passing out from the effort. At 7:30, I called Allison and asked her to come and get Stella because I was too sick to watch her while the cleaning lady was here. Karter came and picked her up at 8 and the cleaning lady came at 9. I laid on the couch while she cleaned my bathroom and my bedroom and then ran to my bed, where I spent the rest of the day. I was so dehydrated by then that I was having horrendous cramps in my legs and finally at 6:30PM I called and asked Allison to send my Mom over. They all came and because I couldn't stand anymore, they called an ambulance to transport me to the hospital, where I spent three nights. So, next time I feel Bah Humbug about Christmas, I think I'll keep it to myself.

Bah Humbug!

I'm so not into the season this year. My house isn't decorated, I made only two batches of caramels, I sent two Christmas cards, I bought three gifts (they're all the same thing and not wrapped yet) and I don't even care. Bah!!

P.S. I did finally go get the boys' savings bonds today though so they don't someday wonder why they got bonds every year except 2008. Bah!

Sunday with the Lesmanns

Stella and I spent the day with Allison, Karter, Jameson and Gage. We made sweet and sour sauce and a bunch of egg rolls which we, along with Karter's friend, Babs devoured. (Sure wish that guy was at least 10 years older, he's a sweetie.)
We used ground turkey in the egg rolls this time and they tasted as good as the ones we made last time with pork. The turkey was probably a little healthier for us but I suppose the deep frying negated that. Oh well, they were still good.
I also made a pan of fudge and Allison made cut out sugar cookies that she and the boys were getting ready to frost and decorate just as Stella and I left.
Stella is all pooped out and her Mom isn't far behind :) But, we had a nice day.

Playmates

Quote of The Month

Life's a mountain, not a beach.

Dads and Lads Cake Decorating Event

Watching Nugget

Proud Big Brother

Merry Christmas Stella!!

My Mom makes counted cross stitch Christmas stockings. She's made them for all five of her kids, their spouses, all ten of her grandkids, their spouses and her great grandchildren. This year, Thomas and Stella got one and she even personalized Stella's so that one of the dogs has markings very similar to hers :) Thanks Mom!

Boy Box

Allan got a new office chair, David got a "boxit." Or, at least that's what he called it. My guess is that he mixed box with basket. Whatever the case, he had a big time playing in his boxit :)

23 Below Zero

With a high predicted of 16 below zero. Makes you want to jump out of bed and get your errands done now doesn't it?

Vince and Amy Rocked!

Allan babysat all three boys so that Sarah and I could go to Vince Gill and Amy Grant's Christmas Concert last Friday night! Loved it! Thank you Sarah and Allan!

Note to Vince Gill fans:

You haven't lived until you've heard him sing "Oh Holy Night" I got goosebumps and he got a standing ovation. Go, Vince!!

Ta Da!!!! Number Five Has Arrived!!

Another one for Jim's team!! I just know he's somewhere grinning from ear to ear and as proud as punch :)

Thomas James was born December 2nd, and weighed in at 8 pounds 7 ounces. He looks a lot like his Mommy did as a baby :)

The Countdown Begins

I'm busy getting my ducks in a row to fly into Boston Monday morning. My plane leaves at 4:45AM and with luck, Stella and I will be in Boston by 11:00AM. I was hoping we'd have a baby before I got there but it looks like Thomas James is taking his sweet time :)

Only The Lonely

I'm channeling Roy Orbison this morning.

OK, About That Man :)

An old friend of Jim's who lives in Bismarck just recently found out about Jim's death. He e-mailed me to send me his condolences and I responded. We carried on an e-mail conversation for awhile that led to nightly phone calls. We talked for hours every night for a week and really hit it off.

We decided it was time to meet face to face so he drove up to Minot (about 110 miles, Linda) Sunday night. We had drinks and appetizers and had a nice time. Monday we had brunch, met his sister and niece who live here for lunch and then hit the grocery store. We spent the afternoon cooking Mexican and he makes a mean green chili enchilada :)

He had to work today so he drove home shortly after we had dinner.

He's a fantastic guy, easy to talk to, we have a lot in common and I liked him a lot... as a friend. In fact, as a good friend. But, unfortunately, there were no sparks. I talked to him last night briefly but because we'd stayed up on Sunday night until 4 AM, we didn't talk long. I don't know how he feels about the whole thing but you now know how I feel.

Rats, back to square one :( And I'd had such high hopes :(

So, I Met A Man...

That's all I've got to say about it... for now :)

Yuck!

I went to the doctor this morning for my yearly pelvic and breast exam. I can sure think of a better way to get felt up and probed!

Sunday Serenity

First Grade History Lesson

Jameson: "Grandma, did you vote for Barrack Obama?"
Me: "No"
Jameson: "Why not?"
Me: "I don't like him."
Jameson: "You should be proud Barrack Obama is our president. He's the first black man to be president. They voted for him because he was a black man."
Me: "Yes, we've never had a black man for president before."
Jameson: "Nope, they were all white mans. Can a girl be president."
Me: "Yes, a girl can be president but we've never had a girl president."
Jameson: "I know, they've all been mans.""

The Stella Spread

Little Traitor!

Mom was going to stay with Stella while I was in El Paso. She got her car stuck in the street after dropping us off at the airport. After she was able to get her car into my garage, she decided to stay here and wait out the storm. Stella never left her side all day. I wonder who she's going to sleep with tonight??!

Snowed In!!

I woke up to a blizzard this morning but the website said all flights were moving out of Minot. Of course, our flight got cancelled after we checked in at the airport! The 4:00PM flight is also cancelled and tomorrows flights are all booked solid. Even if they weren't, we wouldn't get to El Paso in time for court anyway. So, we have to postpone until January. The only good part of that is that the jerk will get to stew about it over the holidays. When we book for January, we're going to arrange to go two days ahead, just in case.

El Paso Bound

Wish us luck. We're headed to El Paso in the morning to face the biggest loser in the free world. It should be all over by 1:30PM Central time and Allison and I plan to have a few celebratory drinks after we get new tattoos to commemorate the occasion. I think mine is going to say, "Paid in Full". Too bad we can't demand the asshole get one that says "DEADBEAT DAD" across his forehead.

Smoochy-Poo

A little girl is Gage's Preschool class calls him Smoochy-Poo. I wonder if that's how he got such chapped lips?? Poor kid, he licks his lips so much, the skin around them is raw. Also, notice his Grandpa Jim's curly hair :)

The Morning After

Allison and Karter brought their firefighters, Jameson and Gage and their friend Babs (aka Jason) brought his Power Ranger, Sam to have sloppy joes and potato salad last night before trick or treating. Jane stopped in after work and Mom came to see the boys. We all had dinner and then it was game on!!

Oh, Lord!

While visiting my Dad today, he said he'd been thinking about the bible. I'm thinking, good for you, Dad.
He went on to say that Joseph must have been a queer. (Not PC, I know, but he's almost 84 and no one's going to change his way of thinking this late in the ballgame.) At any rate, he said that Mary was a virgin. Yes, Dad, I know. "Well," he said, "just put two and two together. Yep, he must have been a queer."
And because he's deafer than a post, and only listens when he wants to, I didn't bother to explain that, yes, Mary was a virgin when they married but that doesn't mean she stayed a virgin after they married.
I don't know how he comes to some of the conclusions he does, but he keeps me giggling. My Mom? Not so much :)

Don't Let Your Meat Loaf

Allison had to work yesterday and Karter needed a sitter for about an hour last night. So, I made supper for he and the boys and my Mom. Karter's easy to cook for as one of his favorite things is meatloaf :) While he was here, he removed the stakes from beside all my trees. A job that would have taken me most the day took him 10 minutes. It's nice to have a guy with some brawn around :) The only reason it took him 10 minutes instead of 7 was because he had to send Gage in for a pair of pliers. Thank you, Karter!

Rude Awakening

After three years, I still find myself waking up thinking, I've got to tell Jim that. Then after waking completely, I realize he isn't here and no one really cares. I hate that.

WHEW!

I got up today, figuring I'd do my laundry. Period. I got cleaned up and started in. I only wash about every ten days so it's a major deal :)

Allison called and put in a request for lunch, so I ran to K-Mart, the credit union, stopped at the China Star and picked up lunch for her and I. When I got to the nursing home with it, I realized I didn't have anything to drink so I stopped at the cafeteria to use the pop machine. I put in two dollars and got two Cokes and seventy-five cents back in change :) SCORE!

I ate lunch with Allison and then went to visit my Dad. He was his normal boring self so I made my way to my Grandma's floor. She was her usual boring self (maybe it's me that's boring) so I left and went to the post office and then the grocery store.

I got home and continued the laundry game and whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies while visiting on the phone with Sarah. 85 cookies and several loads of clothes later, we decided we were talked out and ended our call. I got to talk to David during the process and he told me he loves me :) He's also calling me Grandma now instead of Papa :)

I put my last load of clothes in the dryer, cleaned up my mess and packaged some cookies for my Mom. Stella and I delivered them and while at her house, I packaged up 52 homemade buns to take home for my freezer. I love it when my Mom bakes buns :)

I came home and packaged the rest of my cookies for the freezer, hung up the last dryer full of clothes and proceeded to debone some chicken and make chicken salad. I promised Allison I'd bring her chicken salad sandwiches on homemade buns to have for lunch tomorrow. With that and some cookies, she should be all set. It's no wonder the girls she works with think she's spoiled!

And now my aching (or should I say Aiken??) back is sitting in this chair and I don't plan to get up until it's time to go to bed!!

Influenza

Well, I got my flu shot today so Sarah will allow me to hold her new baby. Although I have a sneaking suspicion that even if I hadn't, once she's got a screaming baby in her arms that's been up all night, she'd welcome handing him off to me with or without a flu shot!

Betty Lou's In Town!!

One of Jim's oldest and dearest friends is in town visiting from Seattle. Unfortunately, his wife and kids weren't able to come along. I met Roger the same night I met Jim, almost exactly 37 years ago. We've got a date to catch up tomorrow. My, how time flies!

Stinky

Jameson on the phone: "Grandma, if you come out, we'll buy you dinner at the Hacienda."
Me: "Oh, honey, I can't, I look awful."
Jameson: "We look awful too."
Me: "I'd have to take a shower."
Jameson: "That's ok, Grandma, I stink too."

Stella Loves Clancy

Meat & Cheese Stromboli

1 onion, sliced thin
1 green pepper, sliced thin
1 tablespoon butter
2 (16oz) loaves frozen bread dough, thawed
1/2 pound thinly sliced hard salami
1/2 pound thinly sliced deli ham
1/2 pound sliced mozarella cheese
1/2 pound sliced mild cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlice powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
* Saute onion and pepper in butter until crisp tender. On two greased cookie sheets, roll dough into 15 X 12 rectangles. Arrange salami, ham and cheeses lengthwise over half of each rectangle to within 1/2 inch of edges. Top with onion and pepper mixture, sprinkle with Italian seasoning, garlic powder and pepper. Fold dough over filling. Pinch edges to seal. Brush with egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before cutting.

Kathy Farstad served this for lunch one day when I was visiting her at the lake. I decided it's the perfect thing to go along with the Split Pea soup I'm making Thursday night for Marty and Jane. I hope they think so too.

Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are!!

I always giggle when I find Stella "hiding" under my bed :)

Stamp Camp

Even though I felt like SHIT, I went to a Stamping Up stamp camp yesterday. I made a set of 20 Christmas cards, 5 greeting cards, a covered Tic Tac package and a Frankenstein bag. I love the stuff but I hope no one else gets sick because I was being selfish. If I hadn't had to prepay the $43, I probably wouldn't have gone.

Sick Leave

OK, there's one thing worse than being alone all weekend. That's being alone and sick all weekend. Thanks for the creeping crud, Allison!
I still feel like shit!

Lonely

The thought of being alone for the rest of my life makes me want to vomit! UGH! It's hard to be alone and being a fifth wheel isn't much better. There doesn't seem to be any single men my age around here. All my friends are married, I don't hang out in bars and no one I know knows any single guys. I know I'm ugly, too fat and too tall but I can cook, am financially independent and I have a cute dog. You'd think that would count for something :(
I hate facing another weekend alone. UGH!

Best Friends

Marty & Jane came over last night, bearing gifts. They brought some wonderfully nice looking shrimp, an interesting marinating sauce called Dakota Buckeroo, some Pomegranate drinks, but best of all, they brought a bouquet of breathtaking dinnerplate dahlias from their garden. Friends are a good thing :)

Good Deed For The Day

I cleaned out my closet today. I did it about a year ago and I still got seven 30 gallon trash bags full of jeans, shirts, sweat suits, shoes and jackets. I called around and found a church to donate them to. (That's for you, Sarah) The church gives it to people in need whereas the Goodwill and Boys Ranch sells it to them. These clothes were already paid for once, I would hate for them to go unused simply because someone couldn't afford to pay.

Fickle Dog!

Last night, as Allison and her family were leaving, she had Stella in her arms. She handed her over to me and Stella immediately scrambled back to Allison's arms. She clearly wanted to go home with her. So, she did.
Funny little girl, she sure makes her desires known without being able to talk. (Although Gage has always maintained she talks to him.)
I didn't feel too rejected however. She sometimes does that to me when we're at Allison's and she wants to come home.

Small Town

I left home at 1:15 today for a doctors appointment. I saw the doctor, went grocery shopping, came home, put away my groceries, made a bowl of coleslaw, baked a pan of brownies, made a hamburger, carrot, potato and rice hotdish, washed, dried and put away all the dishes I used and cleaned up dog puke off the kitchen floor. I sat down at 3:19. Not bad for 2 hours and 4 minutes :)

Now, all I have to do is put the hotdish in the oven and bake a pan of biscuits and dinner will be all ready when Allison's family comes over.

TA DA!!!

Weeks ago, the Homemakers went to Bismarck to make a couple batches of wine to commemorate our 30 years of friendship. Oh, what a DAY!!!

Winemakers

Reservations

Allison and I have plane, hotel and car reservations for Nov. 6-9, 2008. She will be in court on the 7th in El Paso, with me along for moral support. I hope the Bastard is getting nervous!

She and I plan to have a nice little weekend together after we get the hearing out of the way.

Lesson Burned

So, I volunteered to work at the Hostfest Wednesday and today. At the funnel cake and cheese curd stand. Dumb move! After 4-1/2 hours Wednesday and 5 hours today, all I have to show for it are two fingers burned to a crisp with huge blisters on them. Apparently you're not supposed to drag your fingers through the hot oil when you reach into the vat for a funnel cake. Who knew???

Waiting for Thomas James

El Paso Bound??

Just waiting to hear whether Allison and I are going to El Paso to face the biggest jerk in the country. If she can get a court hearing scheduled for before I go to Boston, I will be going with her, just so I can see the bastard squirm. For some reason, he gets nervous when Allison's lawyer tells him I'm going to be there :) :) :)

Meals On Wheels

Yesterday, I took Allison and Jen (a co-worker of hers) subs and had lunch with them. Today, I picked Gage up from Pre-School, picked up a pizza, and then we went to the nursing home to have lunch with Allison. After visiting both Grandma and Grandpa, I took Gage to Day Care. I think I'm going to have to put a meter on my car and start charging a delivery fee. Then Gage could be proud of me for having a job :)

Do Real Cowboys Suck Their Thumbs??

Out Of The Mouths Of Babes

After church today, Allison and I were talking about my volunteering to work at the Hostfest. I told her I signed up for a shift on Wednesday and one on Friday. From the back seat, Gage offers up, "Are you FINALLY going to get a job, Grandma?"

New Church

Allison and I took the boys to Peace Lutheran Church in Burlington today. I really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and it's a very child friendly place :)

I can hardly stand to even walk into Bethany since Jim died. It brings back too many happy and sad memories for me and last night's wedding there was no exception. I almost had to leave and would've if it wouldn't have caused a disturbance. I'm sure those around me wondered why I was so emotionally invested in the wedding of my niece. I'm thrilled for her and wish her much love, however, the fact that I was sobbing my eyes out had nothing to do with her.

I feel getting active in church again would probably be a good thing for me and maybe joining a new one will be the answer. At any rate, I volunteered to work two shifts this week at the Hostfest for Peace Lutheran and Allison and I are planning to attend their community dinner with the boys on Wednesday night.

He's Kidding, Right??!??

The phone rang at 7:50AM. Jameson on the other end, "Grandma? Can I spend the night cuz I don't get to see you very much."
Guess who's in my bed, snoring??

Ingenuity

I have these skewer type things that I use to close up a turkey after I stuff it. I only have 6. It's not like I'm cheap or anything but I look for them in stores every Fall and for the life of me I cannot find them. Today, while stuffing a turkey, I tore a bit of the skin over the breast and didn't have enough skewers to mend it. So, instead of having any of my cornbread stuffing fall out during the roasting process, I came up with this remedy. Who would've thunk an everyday thing like a safety pin would save my stuffing? I think I'm going to look for more giant safety pins and keep them with my turkey skewers. It worked like a charm :)

Oh, and by the way?? Those are thin slices of butter under the breast skin. Helps keep the white meat moist :)

Sarah's Apple Cake :)

Oops! The right side of the cake rose above the decorative apple slices but can I get an "E" for effort??

My, Oh, My, What a Pie!!

Well, cake actually but it's harder to rhyme :) I've got Sarah's Apple Cake in the oven and it is smelling sooooooooo good!!! Nothing like the aroma of cinnamon wafting through the house on a beautiful Fall day.

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons orange juice
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 apples, peeled, quartered, thinly sliced and tossed with:
1 tablespoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar
*Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add oil, orange juice, eggs and vanilla; beat until smooth. Pour into greased and floured 9 inch springform pan. Arrange apple slices around the edge of the cake so that they are standing rounded sides up with pointed edges pressed into batter, making three concentric rings around the center of the pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1-3/4 hours or until toothpick comes out dry. Cool on wire rack for 30 minutes. Run sharp knife tip around edges and remove sides of springform pan. Cool completely and dust with powdered sugar.

I went to the store to look for cinnamon ice cream to serve with this but had no luck :( With all the ice cream flavors out there, you'd think cinnamon would be a no brainer. Maybe I need to call Haagen Dazs.
I settled for coffee and butter pecan.

Simply Christmas

Vince Gill & Amy Grant
DCU Center,
Worcester, MA
Fri, Dec 12, 2008 07:30 PM

YIPPPPEEEE! Sarah got us tickets! I've seen Vince Gill three times but never with Amy Grant and never singing a Christmas concert. I'm thrilled!

Sunflower Cookies

Jane needed treats for work tomorrow so I made Rolled Out Sugar Cookies. The frosting is flavored with fresh lemon juice and they kind of look like sunflowers. Quite appropriate for this time of year in this part of the country. Oh, and I also made a sun so Jane could taste-test the cookies tonight :)

Silly Little Boy

Gage spent an hour or so with me this morning while his Mommy got her teeth cleaned. He wanted scrambled eggs and pancakes so I reluctantly made them, pretty confident that he wouldn't eat them anyway. He took one bite of the eggs and asked if I had any dip for them. Thinking fast, I dotted his eggs with ketchup and told him that's the way Grandpa Jim always liked his scrambled eggs. Much to my surprise, he gobbled them all up, along with four pancakes.
Little does he know that Jim actually put mustard on his scrambled eggs. Oh, well, I sent him home with a full tummy :)

Karaoke

Clancy and Bridget lit up the stage at the Starlite Saturday night :)

Why Is It???

Yesterday, after I'd walked Stella and dropped her off at the groomer's, I decided not to get cleaned up and just wallow in my filth all day. And I did. When we went for our evening walk, a big, white SUV honked and pulled to the side of the road. It was my friend Nancy and her husband, Steve. Of course I hadn't seen Steve for about two years. I'm sure he was impressed with how well I've aged. NOT!
Nancy was driving and Steve was in the front passenger seat. She had never seen Stella before and asked if she could pet her because she'd heard what soft fur Havanese have. So, I reached over Steve and handed Stella to Nancy. I'm sure he noticed I smelled like a goat, not to mention that I looked like the wrath of God. How come when I'm all cleaned up with my hair fixed and make-up on, I don't see anyone I know?

Just Another Day In Paradise!

BLAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cooking For One...

Sucks, actually. I don't mind eating breakfast alone, I almost always have. It's my time to read the paper and wake up but lunch and supper are the pits. Today I made lunch and took it to the nursing home and had lunch with Allison.
Tonight, I made fettucine carbonara and had my Mom over. Tomorrow night, I'm having Allison, Karter, Jameson, Gage and my Mom over for supper. Right now I hate my life!

Today's Lesson

Just because you're trying to figure out how to transfer a picture from your camera's internal memory to your computer doesn't mean you shouldn't check on strange noises coming from the kitchen. When I finally uploaded the picture I took of Jewel Saturday night, I decided to investigate. Good thing I'm gaga for Stella because I found her sitting in my kitchen sink finishing off the onion bagel I had on the counter for tomorrow's breakfast. Upon further investigation, I discovered she'd also eaten all the butter off the butter dish that was beside the bagel. Wonder if she buttered the bagel before she ate it???SHE'S IN BIG TROUBLE, MISTER!!!

Jewel

Jane, Deb and I went to see Jewel in concert at Four Bears Casino on Saturday night. Great concert!

Two Things

Yippee! I'm having lunch with Joe today and the Homemakers are coming over for drinks and appetizers this evening. Nnniiiiiiiiice!!! :)

Switching It Up

It was 70 degrees and beautiful out around 6:00PM today. Stella and I changed our route and walked to Broadway and back. She loved it but there isn't sidewalk all the way like there is on our regular route.

Errand Boy

I had a bazillion errands to run today but thought I'd start out with lunch. I met Allison and Gage at Mi Mexico and enjoyed a shrimp chimichanga. Errr, minus the shrimp Gage stole off my plate :)
When we left, he insisted he was coming with me. I walked him to Allison's car and he started to cry. I didn't have the heart to make him go home with her, so I gave in and took him with me. As we walked to my car, I told him he couldn't complain because we were going to be doing a lot of running around.

Bless his little heart, he was an angel. We got everything done and then stopped at the nursing home. Grandma was taking a nap so we woke her up. Gage crawled in bed next to her so she could love him up. On the way home, I told him how nice it was that he did that. He said, "I do it because she's my grandma and I love her and she's gonna die pretty soon anyway."
Kids... they're so honest.

Thanks Jane ;)

Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

YSL TOUCHE ECLAT

See Below

Must Have

This stuff is the best beauty secret I have ever found, bar none! I can't believe how many people told me how good I looked right after I started using it. I just ordered two more because I got free shipping AND because I would hate to ever run out. If you've got dark circles under your eyes, this will be your new best friend! Trust me :)

WHEW!

Arrived at Allison's again at 5:30 this morning. The boys were awake before she made it to work. They got dressed and we drove to town and picked up breakfast at McDonald's. I took them to the Lutheran church in Burlington and signed them up for Sunday School. They were pretty apprehensive about staying, so I stayed with them. Everyone was so friendly and nice, it looks like it would be a good church to go to. Hopefully, they'll continue to go.
We picked up lunch at The Pita Pit and took it to the nursing home so we could eat with Allison again today. Jameson fell asleep on the way home and came inside and went straight to his room where he slept for about 2-1/2 hours.
I made a pizza for supper and Karter walked in the door just as I was finished cleaning up the kitchen. He was busy unloading his vehicle so I bathed the kids before I left.
I'm so glad I have nothing planned for tomorrow.

Another 5:00AM Start

I hit Allison's driveway at 5:23 this morning. As I was getting out of my car, I heard Jameson holler, "Grandma's here!" Yep, both boys were up and waiting for me.

We were eating pancakes by 6:00AM and playing firefighters by 6:30AM! After threatening them with death to get them to brush their teeth, we went to my house around 10:30 so I could get ready for the public. We picked up lunch and took it to the nursing home so they could eat with their Mom and see where she's working now. We visited Grandma Roll and my Dad and then went to K-Mart to get the new toys I'd bribed them with earlier :) We stopped and rented movies and then picked up a few things from the grocery store.

When we got back to their house, I made a big batch of chocolate chip cookies while they fought, whined, complained and tattled on each other. After the cookies, I made supper, tricked them into eating it and then gave them both baths and made them put their jammies on.

When Allison got home at 7:00PM, the house was all picked up, the dished were all done, the boys were clean and ready for bed and there were 7 dozen fresh cookies on her counter. Grandma's tired.

Allison asked if Stella could spend the night with her tonight but I think she's secretly holding her ransom so I will return again tomorrow at 5:30AM.

I Do Not Shine At 5:00AM

I was up at five and out the door by 5:18 AM. Stella thought I'd lost my mind. I got back home at 7:45 AM, read the paper while eating breakfast and went back to bed until 9:45 AM. It is now 11:35 AM and I am still sitting here in my jammies feeling slightly dazed. I think I'll take Stella for a walk and then maybe I'll feel like getting cleaned up. At this point, it's doubtful.

It Was A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood!

The sun was shining, there wasn't any wind and it was in the upper 60's. A perfect day in my opinion :)
I had lunch with Joe, did a bunch of errands and took my Mom out for dinner. Stella also got walked twice :)

A Laundry Dog???

Last time I washed clothes, every time the dryer quit, Stella would go into the laundry room, sit by the dryer and cry. It didn't matter if she was sleeping, she would look up, cock her head and trot off to the laundry room.

So, who would believe me if I told them my dog alerts me when my clothes are dry? Yeah, that's what I thought too so I passed it off as a fluke.

Well, yesterday, I once again did laundry and Stella again, jumped up and ran into the laundry room, sat by the dryer and cried every freaking time the dryer quit. After five loads of clothes, I started to think it's no fluke.

Today, I washed my sheets. Stella was all sprawled out in the other computer chair, sleeping away when the dryer quit. As if on cue, she woke up, jumped down and once again trotted off to the laundry room to sit by the dryer and cry. Apparently she doesn't like wrinkled clothes because as soon as I empty the dryer, she merrily goes about her own business. Silly dog :)

:(

The most I ever did for you was to outlive you. But that is much. - Edna St. Vincent Millay

Legally Lesmann

Jameson and Gage now legally carry the Lesmann name. What a relief to shed their old one. And Lesmann is a lot easier to spell. We celebrated yesterday with horns, poppers, a Transformer pinata, dinner and a Lesmann cake. I'm not sure what Jameson had in mind when he told me he wanted a Lesmann cake but this is what we ended up with. All three boys seemed happy with it and as usual, only ate the frosting off their pieces.

Couldn't Resist

I bought this in Colorado Springs for Sarah's new baby, knowing full well that when and if he ever gets to wear it, he'll only cry when I'm holding him.

God Bless Nintendo

Allison's sitter took today off, so Stella and I arrived on the scene at 7:30AM with sausage, egg, and cheese McGriddles. We dropped Jameson off at school at 8:25AM. The day went a lot better than I anticipated, however, once Jameson got home from school, all H*ll broke loose. I captured this picture during the short 2-1/2 seconds they actually kept their hands to themselves. I must have lost my mind when I invited Allison and the hellions... errrrr... boys out for dinner. At any rate, I'm pleading temporary insanity. I'm so glad today is over and I'm sure Stella's relieved to be home too.

Just Call Me Cheap :)

So, I lied. I didn't make Limoncello Zabaglione for dessert tonight. Although I found fresh raspberries for only $2.99 a half pint at Marketplace, the Limoncello was $25 a bottle. I just couldn't spend that much on an unknown dessert. If I'd made it before and loved it, I may have been more apt to take the plunge. Or, if I'd even known I would like drinking what was left of the Limoncello, I may have coughed up the $25 but I choked and just couldn't do it.

I had vacuum packed some fresh Boyko peaches last year, so I took a couple packs of those out of my freezer. And even though the rest of my meal is Eye-talian, the dessert is good old warm peach crisp with vanilla bean Haagen Dazs ice cream. The aroma of warm cinnamon is wafting through my house even as I type :)

Hey Sharon, ask Tom if his Grandmother would've been ok with peach crisp.

White Bread Vanilla

Yep, that's me and my favorite candy of all time proves it. I'm just happy that the stores only seem to carry it around Halloween.

Italian :)

I invited Jane, Marty, Clancy, Bridget and Anna for Spaghetti and Meatballs tomorrow night. I can't just call it spaghetti and meatballs however, so I've decided to call it an Italian feast... or EYE-TALIAN (that's for you, Sharon).

At any rate, I'm going to add hot Italian sausage to my meatballs and sauce, make an antipasto chopped salad with a red wine vinegarette, Bonnie Berntson's garlic toast and Limoncello Zabaglione for dessert.

I'll get to use six of the twelve pasta bowls that match my dishes that I absolutely had to have two years ago for the first time :)

The zabaglione should be interesting. I've never made it before, plus you cook it in a double boiler which I don't have :) Hello, Mom??
And to top it off, you put 4 raspberries in the bottom of each serving dish. I checked yesterday and fresh raspberries are $7.99 a half pint. YIKES!

BLAH!

That's all, just Blah!

A sign in town says procrastination gives you something to look forward to. If that's the case, I have a lot to look forward to!

Three Rotten Bananas

When I walked in the door last night at midnight, I was greeted by the smell of ripe bananas. I spied three of them on the island and knew immediately that Allison was hungry for banana muffins. I swear, when she buys bananas, she puts three aside to get black and then she invites me out to her place so I see them. I can't stand to see them go to waste, so I invariably take them home, make muffins and send them home with her. Last night, she brought them to my house when she brought Stella home. The bananas and Stella were waiting for me when I got home from Colorado Springs. Guess what I made today? :)

Home, Home on the Range

Where the deer and the antelope play... thank goodness the only deer we saw when we drove home from Bismarck last night, were fawns, crossing Crescent Drive when I was only going 2o miles an hour. I was able to stop with plenty of time to admire Bambi and her two sisters :)

12:53 PM

Mission accomplished. Wahoo!! All I have left to do is get dressed and take Stella to Allison's. I'll be back late the 24th.

Rocky Mountain High

It's 9AM. I'm leaving the house at 2PM to pick up Mom and drive to Bismarck to catch the plane going to Colorado Springs. So far, I have fed Stella, made myself a breakfast sandwich consisting of egg, bacon and swiss cheese on a toasted onion bagel, read the paper, walked 1.5 miles with Stella, taken a bath, clipped my toenails and started load one of two loads of laundry.

I still have to:
Finish the laundry
Haul my suitcase up from downstairs
Pack said suitcase
Fix my hair
Do my makeup
Paint my toenails
Water the plants
Haul out the garbage
Wash up my breakfast dishes
Print boarding passes
Take Stella to Burlington

And somehow, I don't feel the slightest bit rushed. However, you can sure tell what's most important to me.
Yep, pretty much Stella and food. In that order :)

No Explanation Needed

School Supplies

A local credit union was collecting school supplies for underpriviledged kids in our area yesterday afternoon. I bought three cases of spiral notebooks, 6 backpacks, a case of 24 count crayons, 80 glue sticks and 200 pencils. Allison also bought a ton of stuff and we were planning to take the boys along so that they could get into the spirit of giving.

Allison had a migraine so I picked up her supplies and headed over to day care to pick up the boys. It was snack time and they were having ice cream sandwiches so they were a little reluctant to leave. After Irene promised they could have the ice cream today, we were off.

As soon as I lifted the hatch on my car, two men came over to help carry the supplies to the big yellow school bus. Jameson and Gage each brought in a bag and were so cute, a lady there asked to take their picture by the bus :) Unfortunately, Grandma left her camera in the car.

That done, we headed over to the front of the credit union where they were painting faces, applying tattoos, tossing bean bags and jumping in a bounce house. The boys had fun and even got to visit with a local cop who was all decked out in uniform, handing out trading cards. It's kind of funny to see the local police on their own trading cards but Gage thought it was cool.

After all the fun, we were treated to hot dogs and Sprite. Gage ate almost a whole hot dog and Jameson ate one without the bun.

When it was time to go, Jameson insisted he was still hungry and wanted to stop at McDonald's next door for a double cheeseburger. The little stinker ate a whole one and half of Gage's along with some french fries, while Gage ate the other half of his double cheeseburger and a whole bag of apples.

After climbing on the playground equipment for awhile, we headed to K-Mart for the Ben 10 watches I promised them for babysitting Stella next week. Shopping done, we came home, picked up Stella and dropped over at my Mom's house for a few minutes. My sister Mary was there which is a whole other post :(

Finally, we were on our way home. I sure hope they were tired out, because I sure was. And I sure hope they learned a little about sharing what we have been blessed with.

Therapy Dog

When I'm holding Stella, she sometimes lays her head on my shoulder as if she's giving me a hug. She'll lay like that for a long time. She always seems to know when I most need a hug :)

Progress

On Stella's walk both tonight and this morning, she walked about 90% of the time with a slack leash! The other 10% of the time, all I had to do was say no or come and she pretty much fell back in step :) She still has a hard time if we come upon another dog or kids, but she's getting there. YAAAY, Stella!!

Delicates

It's laundry day and Stella is helping :)

Summer Fun

Artist!

Jamie Pete has been drawing pictures for me lately. Why he feels the need to write my age on the top, I'll never know but nonetheless, I'm displaying them prominently on my refrigerator. Some days I have hands and some I don't but he always includes Stella :)

Not Again!

I have a blue duffle bag I use when I leave for a weekend away when I'm not going to need dress clothes. I took it out of the closet on Friday, laid it on my bed and started putting clothes in it, in preparation for a weekend at the lake.
Stella jumped on the bed, laid next to it and stared at me as if to say, "you aren't leaving me again, are you?" I felt so bad. I felt even worse later when she literally cried as I walked out the door. It practically ripped my heart out :(
I went to the lake anyway like a mean Mommy and had a good time. (I know, how dare I??) However, I missed my baby more than I usually do when I'm away from her :(
I'm leaving again next Sunday when I go to Colorado Springs for a week. I may have to take her to Allison's before I start packing.