MMmmm MMmmmm Good!

Eating 90% of my meals alone, when I have something especially yummy to eat, I find it next to impossible to refrain from licking my plate.

SNOW WONDER I Hate Winter in North Dakota!!

There was very little snow here last Monday when I left town. This is what I came home to.

Thump-thump

David melted my heart when he told me, "I love it when you come to bisit me."

Christmas in Connecticut

Doesn't that have a nice ring to it? I had a wonderful time with all my "kids"!

Tom-Tom still has the most incredible eyes I've ever seen. He'll be a heart breaker for sure!

Alex and David found the baby jail a perfect place to keep Thomas away from their Lego castles.

Alex is such a fabulous big brother, teaching David how to use his new Leapster.

David watched to make sure the cookies were actually baking when we made them.

Taking Off

My flight to Minneapolis leaves at 5:00 tomorrow morning. That means my alarm clock is set for 3:00AM. The only good part of that is that I'll land in Connecticut at 10:46AM.
Can't wait to see my little round headed boys :)

Prayer

Dear God,
Jim's been dead for 4 years and 4 months now. I've proved I can make it on my own. Now please send him back to me.
Kathy

Traumatic Day at the Groomer??

Yesterday after I picked Stella up from the groomer, she slept all day. She's been going to Erica every week since she was a pup so I can't figure it out. She didn't even come to investigate when I made myself an ice cream cone. Highly unusual!! And from 6:00PM on, every time I went to find her, I found her snuggled down in bed. Do you suppose she has a case of the winter blues??

David

I like to talk to David on the phone. There's just something sweet about talking to a 3 year old on the phone. Most of the time when I ask to talk to him, he says no. I get that he's busy, really I do. But today, he agreed to talk to me.

I asked him if he knew I was coming to visit him at his "repartment" on Monday. He said, "Yes." I then asked him where I was going to sleep. He didn't have an answer. Then I asked if I could sleep in his bed with him. He quickly said, "You can sleep in Alex's bed."

Evidently, sleeping with his 56 year old grandma didn't sound like too much fun!! :)

Oh, and I love that he calls me Kathy. Not Grandma, not Grandma Kathy, just Kathy. I'm really not one of those grandmas that hate for her grandkids to call her Grandma. This is just one of many "David quirks."

God, I love that kid! He's such a little Grandpa Jim Aiken. I'm sad that Jim never got to enjoy him.

The Perfect Date

I have a lunch date today with a man who's a perfect gentleman, attentive, generous to a fault, always willing to lend a hand when I need one, is mannerly, has a good sense of humor, is non-judgemental and is quite good looking looking. TOO BAD HE'S MY BROTHER!!!!

A Dog is a Dog

I've always said I wouldn't put clothes on a dog. But with wind chills of over 40 below zero last night, I finally broke down and put a sweater on Stella. She didn't seem to mind at all.

14 below zero, windchill 30 below zero

I was sitting on the fence deciding whether to go to church this morning because I have to be there for services Wednesday night. After finding out that it's 14 below zero with a windchill of 30 below zero this morning, I decided to stay home with Stella and a book.

200 Caramels OR

How I Spent My Morning.

Preparing for Christmas

Christmas time = caramel time at my house.

So far, I've made 4 batches which is approximately 400 caramels. I mailed some today and still have 2 batches to cut and wrap.

I won't be doing it with Gage around however. He was here Sunday while I was cutting and wrapping and he was eating them almost faster than I could cut them. And of course, the little bugger had to eat the wrapped ones!

Back By Popular Demand!

Several people have wondered why I've been missing in action here. (Hi Sharon and Allan!)
I'm feeling fine and everything's fine but the truth of the matter is that my life is so boring that I don't have anything to write about.
I guess I'll just start making shit up :)

Jameson

Modeling his "do it yourself" haircut!

Halloween Cuties

The Homemakers donned witch costumes to celebrate Halloween :)

It's Apple Season

And it seems everyone has apples they want to get rid of. I got a bunch from my brother and made 4 dozen apple turnovers for my freezer this morning. My kitchen is cleaned up and back to normal and I'm not taking any more apples off anyone's hands! This year anyway :)

2009 Christmas in Connecticut

I just booked my flights :)
Stella's pouting because she won't be able to come this year.

Funky

I've been in a deep blue funk lately and unfortunately it has nothing to do with all the F'ing snow around here.

And so it begins

UGH! We have snow on the ground this morning :(

And so it begins

UGH! We have snow on the ground this morning :(

Foolish

There's no fool like an old fool. Arghhhhh!!!
Some day I hope to grow up :(

YAY ME!!

I booked my flights using Skymiles for my cruise in March. Evidently I've hit elite status again because I was able to choose first class seats. Fine by me!!
It cost me $35 for the roundtrip flight sitting in first class, taxes and flight insurance. Without the insurance, it would have only been $10.
Hey Sarah, how do you like that deal?

Volunteering

The Hostfest is in town this week. http://www.hostfest.com/
It's North America's largest Scandinavian festival and we get thousands of visitors every year. Every hotel room is booked for months ahead of time and there are a TON of motorhomes parked out at the state fair grounds. The different Lutheran churches in Minot all have food booths and volunteers work them. I worked a shift on Wednesday and will again this afternoon. My small church makes lots of money doing this and it's rather fun to taste all the different goodies offered, shop and people watch. There are some strange people in this world!

Mary & I

This is my little sister, Mary and her new puppy, Rico. Rico is a Coton de Tulear and is an adorable little fluff ball. Don't let the picture fool you, he only weighs 3 pounds! Stella played nicely with him and wasn't even jealous when I held him :)

1,471 Miles

Mom, Stella and I got back from our trip this afternoon. We spent two nights in Fargo and then went on to Fremont, NB and stayed with my sister and her husband for 3 nights. Back to Fargo yesterday and on home today. Driving 1,471 miles is not fun but Stella and Mom were both good as gold in the car :)

K's Custom Chroming

Looks like Karter and I are in business. We met with a lawyer yesterday, I arranged insurance today and we ordered and paid for all the equipment. We still need to get estimate forms and business cards but with luck, the equipment will be here in a week and Karter can get to work! My car is first on the agenda and it'll be all tricked out when he's through :) After that, we're hoping to get paying customers!

Now that's what I call a Dog Sitter!!

My Mom babysat Stella today while I attended a day long scrapbooking event. When I got home, not only did my house look just like it had when I left, she didn't let Stella go downstairs, didn't steal any of my clothing, didn't drive my car or lose my car keys, didn't pen Stella up for hours at a time and she didn't even drink all my booze! In fact, she didn't drink any of it :)
AND the best part was that she baked 58 homemade buns and she left them all for me.
In return, she wanted one egg! Hell, I would've bought her 12 dozen eggs for those yummy buns!

Last Minute Changes

Mike started painting my great room last Tuesday morning. I was leaving for Tampa at 4:45PM that afternoon but at 2:00PM I was at Menard's buying purple piant to have him paint the walls around my front closet. I love the contrast of color and am so glad my friend suggested it.

Now when someone walks in my door, they'll know without a doubt that a woman lives here :)

Freezer Pickles

Marty grows the cucumbers, Jane delivers them to me and I make pickles for all of us. I just finished putting 12 containers of them in the freezer. Yeah, I know, freezer??! But they are so good and they even retain their crispness! We all love them.

Freezer Bread & Butter Pickles
7 cups cucumbers sliced thin
1 cup purple onion sliced
1/4 cup canning salt
*Let stand one hour and rinse with water and drain.
2 cups sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon mustard seed
* Mix and pour over drained cucumbers and onions. Let sit on counter overnight. In the morning, put into containers and freeze. Enjoy all winter if you can keep them that long :)

Learning the Tricks of the Trade

Off To Tampa

Karter and I are going to Tampa later this afternoon to look into starting a new business. We're planning to chrome the world... or at least North Dakota! Wish us luck!

Another Date

Bruce took me out to dinner last night. I like him. He makes me laugh :)

Friday Morning

I'm having Allison's gang over for dinner tonight. I just finished making a big bowl of chicken salad, and took a bag of my Mom's homemade buns out of the freezer (someday I need to learn how to make them myself but every time I ask her to show me how, she just says, "I'll make you a batch." Who can argue with that??) I also made a pan of rice krispie bars and plan to make a big pot of homemade cream of potato soup later this afternoon and that's all folks :)
Lucky for me, they aren't picky eaters.

Or maybe it's lucky them because if they were picky, I probably wouldn't have them over so often.

Thursday's Aching Back

I spent the afternoon yesterday removing the wallpaper border from my kitchen and entryway walls. See the before and after pictures. I'm having the great room painted and although I still like the border, I decided that if I was ever going to remove it, now would be the time. Ugh, what a job!

I had to pull out the refrigerator to reach the border behind it. Stella walked around it three times and then looked at me like, "What the HELL are you doing here?"
Well, of course, one thing led to another and now the walls are clean, it's clean behind the refrigerator, the floors are clean, the cabinets are clean and I'm just waiting for Karter to come over tomorrow so I can ask him to move the stove. Seeing as how it's my girlfriend's husband who's doing the painting, I sure don't want him to go home and report to his wife what a slob I am.

Now, all I have to do is remove pictures from the rest of the great room and I'm ready for the big paint job. I'm having it painted turquoise and not just a wimpy turquoise. It'll be a big, bold turquoise and I'm a little apprehensive about the color choice. Don't get me wrong, I love the color, I've just always been such a white/beige person that it'll be a huge change. I hope I like it! :)

I want people to walk in my house and know a woman lives here! :)

Oh, the color is "schooner" from Pittsburgh Paints in case you want to see it.

I will never again wallpaper any surface in my home. I like the looks of wallpaper but it's a bitch when you decide to get rid of it.

Grandma to the Rescue

I got a call today that Gage was in the school office puking. Allison and Karter were both working so I drove out to get him. I got him home and on the couch with a pillow, blanket and a puke bucket. Evidently, it was a quick flu because later in the afternoon, after he'd played cars, eaten a pudding cup, a cup of mixed fruit, a pack of gummy lifesavers and a couple strips of bell pepper, he found that if he stood in the puke bucket, held the handle and jumped, he could jump across the living room.

Oh, to be young again with a healthy immune system!

Tuesday

What? Is it Tuesday already?? Yawn!

Four Years

Jim's funeral was four years ago today.
I always thought a broken heart would heal with time. Now I know the hurt only gets deeper with each passing day.

Sleeping In

Allison: "My favorite place to sleep in the whole world is your bed."
Me: "Really? Why is that?"
Allison: "Because you're here."

Go Me!!

Just made hotel reservations in the heart of Charleston, SC's historic district for our pre and post cruise stay in March. Can't wait to meander around Charleston!!

BOYS!

Why would a 5 year old put two matchbox trucks on a toilet lid and pee into the boxes of them??
He didn't think it was a such good idea any more when Grandma made him clean up the toilet and wash and dry his trucks. Little SHIT!

His Name Is Bruce

Allison set me up with the father of one of the nurses she works with. We had drinks Saturday night and I really liked him. He even brought a bouquet of flowers when he came :)
I was making dinner for Allison and her gang yesterday and invited him to join us. Amazingly, the threat of the boys didn't deter him and he showed up right on time. We had a nice evening and I'm hoping he'll call again.

Lists

I'm a list maker and I get such a sense of accomplishment when I can cross things off my list. So far, since Sarah and her gang left, this is what I've accomplished!

The Dawn of a New Revelation

On my hands and knees at 8:30 this morning, scrubbing my kitchen floor, it dawned on me that I've lived here for 8 years and have never once scrubbed the kitchen, bathrooms or laundry room floors.

Not that they have never been scrubbed, they've been scrubbed on a regular basis for as long as I've lived here. I just have never done it myself.

On to the vaccuming, which I've done before but rarely. Oh, what a sheltered life I've lived!

Parting Shots

Sarah, Allan and the boys left today.
Fortunately for me, Sarah always leaves my house in the same condition she found it in. Bless her heart.
Unfortunately for me, it needed a good cleaning when she got here.

Fortunately for me, everything is put away and in it's place. Thank you Sarah :)

Unfortunately for me, I fired my cleaning lady of 18 years last month :(

I'm gonna miss the boys.

Stella's in mourning or so it seems. She's been laying at the top of the stairs most of the day. I think she's waiting for them to come upstairs again.

Me? I'm going to miss all those pairs of brown eyes looking at me :(

Mother Goose's Meandering Mind

Mother Goose's Meandering Mind
Sarah, David and Thomas joined Alex here on Monday and Allan is due in tomorrow morning. It's been busy trying to see everyone, do everything and eat all the things from home Sarah craves. Fun, but busy :)

Just So You Know...

I suck at miniature golf!

My Poor Baby

On Wednesday when we went to Bismarck, my Mom stayed with Stella. Wednesday night, she woke up puking three different times. Yesterday morning she was pretty lethargic and puked quite a few more times. I assumed it was caused by the chewed up mechanical pencil I found under my bed.
Last night I was looking for her and I found a chewed up bottle of children's Tylenol. The little scamp had gotten up on the bathroom counter where it was and took it under my bed to destroy while my Mom wasn't paying attention. There were quite a few tablets in the bottle and she ate every last one of them. Thankfully she was acting more like herself by then so I didn't have to call the vet.
I guess I'll have to check to make sure everything is out of her reach when my Mom babysits. She's like every little kid I know, she gets into things when Grandma's here that she'd never dream of doing when I'm home. Little brat!
It makes me sick to think that it could've killed her. YIKES!

Big Days

We've been doing lots of fun things since Alex arrived in North Dakota... or Oaf Dakota as David calls it. Wednesday, we drove to Bismarck to go to a water slide park. The weather was shitty so we rented a hotel room with a three story water slide. Jameson, Gage and Alex had a blast. After dinner, we did a little shopping and arrived back home at 10:45PM with three sleeping boys in the back seat. Alex spent the night with Allison's family again.
On Thursday, Jameson, Gage, Alex, Allison and I went to Planet Pizza where they played arcade games, ate pizza and jumped in the bounce houses until all three were sweaty and stinky.
Alex and I picked Matthew up at 3:30 and I took them to see GI Joe. I didn't have the wherewithall to sit through that so I went to see Julie & Julia and we met after the movies were over. Back to my house to play Wii until 10PM. It's now 8:10AM and Alex is still sleeping!
Today we're going to get groceries and visit my Dad and Grandma at the nursing home. We'll pick Matthew up later this afternoon and he's going to spend the night here. I'm so glad the 3 year age difference between he and Alex hasn't ruined their enjoyment of each other. And I'm thrilled Alex is able to spend the time getting to know his cousins here in Oaf Dakota.

The Chubby One :)

My Three (grand) Sons

Chilling

Allison picked Alex up around noon today for a picnic and then a trip to the zoo. He's then going to spend the night with her family.
After being with kids for 2-1/2 weeks, I'm taking full advantage of the quiet, empty house. Stella's relaxing right along with me.
I love being with my grandsons but man, am I getting old. I don't know how young mothers do what they do and I'm soooo glad I'm not one anymore :)

Poop in the Potty Party

While I was in Massachusetts, we potty trained David. Sarah promised him a party at Chuckie Cheeses complete with cake when he went poop in the potty. Unfortunately, during the celebration, the guest of honor, peed his pants :)

Oh well, he actually was completely trained for both poop and pee in less than a week. And, he goes all by himself when he has to go. Mr. Independence is just like his mother was... "I can do it myself!"

Now You Know

I've really lost my mind! But, I have to make sure Stella has enough money to fly to Boston to visit Nugget even after I'm gone. Any and all contributions would be greatly appreciated :)

Wii Play

SCORE!

A Well Deserved Night Out

Cooling Off

I Scream

You Scream

New Boobs For Everyone!

"No, Maria!!

I am NOT going to smell your armpits. I don't care how well you like your new deodorant!" said Marilyn, firmly.

Handy Gadget

I bought one of these for my guest bedroom. I've been meaning to and finally remembered to order one. My sister will be able to initiate it next week when she stays at my house.

Sarah has one at her house and I love to store my suitcase on it. I can keep my suitcase open and live out of it without stooping down to the floor to rummage through it every morning when I get cleaned up. And, there's just enough room underneath it to store a bag for my dirty clothes.

It didn't cost much but I kept forgetting to order one until I had guests coming and it was too late. I hate when I do that.

Such a handy thing to have.

Twenty-Fifth Annual 3 Day Girl's Getaway!

I'm actually not sure which annual get-away this is but it's somewhere in the mid to late twenties. The twelve of us spend three days at the lake drinking, gambling and solving the world's problems. I've got my booze and nickels ready, the rest is just fluff.

To Whom It May Concern!

I know that I'm in the minority, but I hang the toilet paper in my bathrooms with the paper coming from underneath because that's the way I like it. Please do not take it upon yourself to change it around just because you may prefer it coming from over the top. I will change it back to how it was when you found it. Every time! My bathrooms, my preference. You're just making more work for yourself and for me. Thank you.

Three Amigos

Lazing away the afternoon at the lake :)

Arikara Pow Wow

Mike, Shirley, Marilyn and I went to an Arikara Pow Wow in White Shield yesterday. It was amazing to see all the beautiful and colorful costumes. We ran into a friend of Mike's who is Native American and he patiently explained the significance of the different dances and the costumes to us.

Arikara Pow Wow