Just call me Rip!

~~****Updated, 10pm, to say that the kitties are NAMED!! Boy cat is Jasper and girl cat is Jypsy(yes with a J, since his is), no longer Nuala. Five people trying to name two kittens is not fun. We are all happy with these names even if they aren't first choices****~~

I was feeling kinda nappish after lunch today even though we really needed to get to the pet store for some kitty toys and the grocery store for some food. So, I thought I'd take a cat nap before we went. Actually, my intent was to sneak some reading time. I've started the LOTR trilogy again, first time in about nine years. Neeeways, it was 12:44 when I glanced at the alarm clock after climbing under the covers. Next time that happened it was 2:47, when I just happened to wake up to shift or something. The next time was 3:54. Then it took several minutes after that to pry my body from the bed. Not sure yet if I'm refreshed or not but I had some Crazy-Daisy dreams! It truly feels like I stepped into another time.

Now for last night's dinner!! This will probably be the last of the food pictures for a while. I love sharing them but remembering to take pictures at various times during the process isn't something I'm real good at. That and I foresee several days in which I don't cook, or cook something simple like baked potatoes or sandwiches. I am making chili for Ryan's Super Bowl party with his church's youth group but that doesn't sound like good photo fare.


I use this dough for pizza and bread, it is fantabulous!!!


Kids pizzas just into the oven, Ryan's has mushrooms, girls' doesn't.


The grown-ups' pizza just out of the oven, my side is the one with onions.

I divided the dough into three pieces, then one of those in half for the kids. I used one of the thirds for ours and the last third to make a calzone with the leftover meatsauce filling and cheese, which I baked to a dark golden color. It made a huge one and I had a bit of it for lunch today. It was as good as, or better than the pizza was! It was hideously ugly so there wasn't a pic.

Fionnuala and Who??

That's right. He still does NOT have a name! We are down to Seamus(shaymus), Angus, Eamon(ay-mun). I think. Why is this so hard?







I had a name for both of them before they ever got here but Nuala's didn't fit her at all. She was going to be Breda(breeda) but she is definitely a Fionnuala. Boy cat is proving harder to name. His name was Lughaidg(looey) but Noola and Looey don't sound right together, plus it isn't his personality. His previous owner said it might take a while for him to become himself, he's a bit freaked out from the move to our house and becoming an inside cat. It may be a while before he is named then.

I want something Irish but not something real whack. I love Riordan or Tadhg but nobody else is going for it. Or Emmett or Kermit even. Sigh. Whoever he is, he's darn cute!



I'm done with the dinner challenge from Carrie's so I'm not posting my pizza pictures tonight. Maybe I'll put them up tomorrow.

In other news... We joined a health club!! It our birthday present and Mark's too(in April). Both of us need to get in better shape and he has just burned out on running for now. It wasn't as expensive as we first thought but we're only signed up for 3 months to see how it goes. If we like it and it is easy to do, we may re-up for a whole year. The club isn't big at all but they do have lots of equipment and a basketball court for the kids to play on while we work out. The exercise stations are on the sides of the court in "cages" so we can watch and talk to them. I think we're going to get a free eval/program by a personal trainer on Saturday so we'll know how to use the stuff. It has been a looooong time since we've done a health club, like 1991!!

Last Night's Dinner Challenge...

We were expecting rain but it didn't start til after we went to bed. So, I had Mark start the grill and we did Chicken Fajitas(no recipe, these are easy). My favorite part is cooking them and eating them. Oh wait, that's two parts isn't it? Oh well.





In other news... These two ragamuffins came for brunch today and decided to stay. They were born on Halloween and were ready for a new home. Perfect luck wasn't it? We haven't officially settled on names but the girl(right) will most likely be Fionnuala(FinOOla), called Nuala(Noola) for short. Her name, in case you wondered, means "Lady with White Shoulders" in Gaelic. The boy(left) might be Shadow or Seamus, or Lugh, I keep getting shot down with Fergus, Tadgh(Tyg), Angus, and Merlin, among others. They are just adorable and have settled in quite nicely. They are used to kids and other cats so we've not had much to worry with except the boy is a bit more timid that Nuala.

We had fun today!

But I didn't take any pictures(this is a quick, and really bad, pic of a few from my collection). We went to the East Texas Gem and Mineral Society's annual show with another homeschooling family. It was AMAZING!!!! If you are interested in gems and minerals, check out local shows and shops. Here's a list of minerala, Rainbow of Gems to start and a GREAT resource for kids and grown-ups too(I love this site) called, Rocks For Kids. I took my "mammoth tooth" along for the ride to see if I could get it positively identified(I had a feeling it wasn't what I thought). Turns out, it is petrified wood and I'm going to have it cut and polished in the next few weeks! I am hoping for some nice surprises inside!! I love, love, love rocks!!! Rock-a-holic I am.


(Ammonite that belonged to my grandfather, don't know where he got it)
****edited to add this: I'm so glad you told me Rosaline! I figured it was found in Oklahoma but had no idea where. For some reason I was thinking northwest of Rush Springs, don't know why. It is the neatest rock we have, I love it! There were some at the rock show but they were much smaller(about like a smooshed tennis ball), and not nearly as detailed. They were all incomplete like ours, guess it is hard to find a whole one.****

I did manage to keep up with the Dinner challenge, just didn't feel the need to post our dinner on Friday of scrambled eggs in corn tortillas or last night's baked potatoes. Tonight, however, I did a variation on our favorite pizza pasta.



1 chicken breast, cooked in a cup or so of water til done, don't drain unless you have more than a cup of water at this point. Add 20 slices of turkey pepperoni, 20 black olives(halved), 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 chicken broth cube, italian seasonings and garlic powder. Simmer for 15 minutes or so. Cook half a box of whole wheat elbow macaroni noodles(amounts are not real important in this). Combine drained noodles, sauce mix, 1 cup cottage cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, in 9x13 baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes at 350.

Dinner Challenge Chicken Pot Pie...

Check in at Carolyn's blog, Laughing Duck to see what I won!! I'm getting pretty lucky with that these days. I told her that I won twice with her because I am using a (greatly modified) version of her Chicken Pot Pie for my Dinner Challenge tonight! It looked SO good but I didn't think I had what it took to make it. I looked again with open eyes and found the perfect ingredients for mine but I'm sure hers is MUCH better. This suits Carrie's Challenge because I didn't have to get anything special from the store AND I've never made it before, in any fashion so definitely not an "in a rut" meal! Don't forget to scroll down a few posts and support Bernie's A Place to Bark...and Meow Cause.

Mine is Fast because we stayed at the bookstore ALL afternoon for our homeschool "park day". It was too cold to visit at the park so those of us(hi Patricia) with older kids went to Books-A-Million to knit and sew and read. We didn't get home til after 4:30 and then I had to take Ryan and his friend to the friend's house to spend the night. Soooo, when I came home I quick thawed the chicken, thinking I'd oven fry it and make baked potatoes or something to go with, but I found Carolyn's lovely email and became inspired by her mouth-watering recipe.
****edited to add pictures****
Here ya go:



Fast Chicken Pot Pie(based very loosely on Carolyn's)

3 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
2 medium baking potatoes
1/2 red onion
1/2 big bag of mixed vegetables
1 can 98% fat free cream of celery soup
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon(or shake) garlic powder
1/2 cup milk

Simmer chicken and cubed potatoes til the meat isn't pink. Cube chicken and drain the water out. Add veggies, soup, cheese, spice and milk. Stir well.

2 cups flour(I use half white, half whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1-1.5 cups milk

Stir dry stuff together, add butter and mix with fingers til course crumbs. Stir in milk and mix up. Put chicken stuff into a oiled 9x13 casserole dish, smooth out. Drop dough on top of that and bake for 35 minutes at 375. Yum!!

Cooking Challenge!!!

I'm taking part in Carrie's(of Sommer Designs) Dinner Challenge for the week, having just found her blog about an hour ago. Her challenge is to cook dinner every night for 5 nights, something you haven't tried before or something you haven't made in a long time. ***Edited to clarify that this doesn't have to be done with things you have on hand, just that you go shopping once with a good list, so you don't have to run out and get "only xyz" and come home $75 poorer*** To be fair, today was shopping day for me so some of the things in this recipe are not staples(cilantro and green onions aren't always in the larder)I got in on it a bit late but I do have my recipe from Monday's post(we had leftovers last night-deliciously served over spaghetti squash that I'm ashamed to say has been on my shelf for 5-6 weeks now!) and one tonight that I can share. This might be leftovers for tomorrow or Friday too so my 5 nights might take longer than a week to complete. I consider that a bonus!!

Tonight's Meal:

Baked Bean Dip

Stuff you'll need:
2 cans refried beans(fat free or not, your choice)
1 cup grated cheese(as you can see, mine is cut up because the grater was in the dishwasher getting all cleaned up)
1/2-3/4 cup salsa
1 cup sour cream(or more, depends how much you like it)
Combine in greased 8x8 baking dish(or 9x13 if using 2 cans of beans). Bake about 20 minutes at 350.


Meanwhile chop and combine:

1-2 cups cherry tomatoes
1 cup cilantro(chopped to make this much)
20-30 black olives(add green ones too if you'd like)
1-3 green onions(depends on size, I've got big ones but have seen some much smaller)


Take dip out of oven and let cool 5-6 minutes.


Spread the bean mixture with sour cream, I dollop it on with a spoon and gently smear around.


Sprinkle with the veggie mixture.


Serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy!!!

Wall Color and Helping Animals...

I've decided on a wall color!! For real! It this single color card. Called "natural" and is a very light toasted-almond, feathery soft, beige. It is less yellow, more neutral than a true beige. We'll use the satin finish for it and do the trim in kitchen paint in the same color. Mark was leaning toward something darker, Otter Tail(next-to-lightest on that dark card), that was a milk chocolate color. It is a beautiful color but I think we'd be really tired of it after a short while.

Now for the Helping Animals part. Go visit Susan's Farmgirl Fare blog and read her latest post(from today) about A Place to Bark...And Meow. Follow your heart and donate what you can to Bernie's cause. What a selfless woman she is!

And Sarah holding Magic Panda for some Peaceful Panda Time in her bedroom with soft music and dimmed lights. All the piggies get the Peaceful treatment now and then and they LOVE it!

Dinner!

Holy Cow this was GOOOOOD STUFF!!

Turkey Olive Italian Curry Sauce(10 servings- 3 points for WW)

1 pound turkey breakfast sausage(or link italian sausage)
1(14oz) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
2(8oz) cans no-salt-added tomato sauce
30 black olives, halved
1/2 can chickpeas, drained
1 green pepper
1 onion
garlic powder
italian seasonings
curry powder

Brown meat, pepper and onion. Add tomatoes, olives, and chickpeas, plus seasonings to taste(1-2 teaspoons each). Simmer, covered for 25-35 minutes. Serve over elbow pasta or similar size.

Italian Bread Sticks(makes 16, 3 points each, 7 for 2)

2.5 cups each, whole wheat and regular flours
2 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons active yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1-2 teaspoons total of seasonings of choice(or none), I used garlic powder, italian seasoning, dill and caraway seeds.
1- 1.5 cups warm water
1/4 cup olive oil(and more to coat ball)

Combine dry ingredients well. Add water and oil and stir til mixed, adding more water if it is too dry.

Turn out onto floured surface and knead for 7-10 minutes. Coat will oil and let rise for 1 hour 10 minutes or so(I put in my oven after heating for a few minutes). Turn out and cut ball into 8 wedges(like a pie). Roll each wedge into a long rope, about 18 inches long. Cut in half and put on a baking sheet(you'll need two) that has been dusted with cornmeal. Let rise in warmed oven for 35 minutes. Bake one batch at 350 for about 20 minutes, place other in cool place(fridge or outside if its chilly out). Change out and bake second batch for 20 minutes. Let cool slightly and serve! Yummy!

This, 1 serving of pasta with sauce, and 2 breadsticks plus promise spread was 15 points and VERY satisfying!!

TWENTY FIVE THINGS

I found this over at Karen's blog, Musings, Mischief, and Mayhem. She got it from her daughter's blog(linked at Karen's). These are 25 things I'll never get tired of.

1. Being with my husband
2. Conversations with my kids
3. My cats and other pets
4. Chocolate in my coffee
5. Fuzzy socks
6. Quilts(making and snuggling with)
7. Yarn
8. Learning
9. Making things
10. Long, hot(not too hot) baths
11. Reading
12. Watching my kids learn
13. Swimming
14. The results of hard work
15. Decorating and taking care of my home
16. Antique and thrift shops
17. Occasional thunderstorms
18. Full moons
19. Foggy mornings(though I don't wish anyone to have a wreck while driving in them)
20. Red and purple sunsets
21. Grilling out
22. Baking bread
23. Cooking from scratch
24. Having my feet rubbed(and my toes twinkled)
25. Starry nights

What will you never get tired of?

At Last, I Know Who I *Really* Am...

No wonder I can feel peas under the mattresses!

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Most Serene Highness Lady Molly the Chimerical of Kesslington under Ox Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

How Many of These Have YOU Done??

Mine are in bold, all 77 of them! Very interesting meme but tiresome.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said "I love you" and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and didn't care who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country (but I have danced with a foreign stranger in this country)
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theatre
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on a television news program as an "expert"
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a TV game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for 30 hours in a 48 hour period
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. States
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
l131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

Friday's Feast(something new)

Appetizer
What is your favorite beverage?
Green tea, iced. I love this stuff!!

Soup
Name 3 things that are on your computer desk at home or work.
My camera, $10, and lots of paint cards.

Salad
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how honest do you think you are?
I'd give myself a 10 but most times I'm not very vocal with my honesty. I keep my opinions, however honest they are, to myself.

Main Course
If you could change the name of one city in the world, what would you rename it and why?
I don't think that needs to be something left up to me. How would it feel to the people of that city to have someone who knows little to nothing about it to change the name to something else?

Dessert
What stresses you out? What calms you down?
Mark's job. His happiness is very important to me and when he is having a day where things aren't going well, or taking too long, or not going how he wants them to, it makes me nuts. Thankfully these episodes are usually very fleeting and sometimes phantoms so they don't cause a lasting problem. What makes me calm is being well rested and not hurried. I can do lots if I'm not rushed by external factors.

My husband Mark

There are two types of people--those who come into a room and say, 'Well, here I am!' and those who come in and say, 'Ah, there you are.' ~Frederick L. Collins

Mark is both of these types. He has a very strong presence but also acknowledges others for their presence. He is an awesome man. Smart, strong-willed, honorable, cunning, resourceful, compassionate, methodical, unafraid, hard-working, attentive to detail, obsessive, determined, energetic, understanding, trustworthy, organized in thought and action, sensitive, open, fearless, stubborn, creative, sensitive, honest, confident, loving, and powerful. And I love him for it all!

Set Backs and Changes...

We did a lot of running on Saturday, trying to find headboard materials for our make-over. The junk shop did have old windows but not the shape we needed. We also hit a Goodwill and a Salvation Army store. Mark found some great work pants and I managed to replace(and then some) the brown dishes I found on our Goodwill safari in Asheville last summer. In just a few short months we'd broken 3 of the 5 saucers I bought there. Now I have 4 replacements and 6 of a different style AND two cute mugs, all for $1.60! And yes, as a matter of fact, we did have brownies sprinkled with powdered sugar for breakfast.


(We like to use saucers for snacks, they are just the right size for peanut butter crackers, veggies with dip, or a piece of cake)


(I got the mugs for the girls since they have recently developed a love of coffee-we use Community New Orlean Style in decaf and I put cocoa powder in it too for extra antioxidants- we looooove it this way with our raw milk and a bit of sugar)

Anyway... back to the bedroom stuff. We looked at many headboards, doors, window frames, shelves, and other things that could be used as a headboard but just didn't see what we wanted this trip. Here is a picture of the bed wall, taken from the bathroom door. Ignore the mess, we are in the midst of decluttering as well as revamping plus we had to move much of my fabrics(those big blue totes and assorted baskets) and a living room bookshelf into our bedroom for Christmas activities. The girls and I were also sorting out clothes and other stuff to take to Goodwill later this week.


(Possibly a swag/canopy treatment in dark chocolate brown over the bed if we don't find window frames- The ones we saw were 4 panes each, almost a square, I'm wanting something with maybe 6 panes, 2x3 set with the narrow end on the horizontal. Paintings by my dad throughout the room{except for the kitty with confetti})


(From the bed wall looking back to the bathroom)


(My dresser under the window- there are at least 8 feet from the bathroom door to the end of the bed so we might put some rattan chairs there, or a blanket chest if we can find one we like for the right price)

We've also decided against the Ancestral paint color. It is absolutely beautiful but too purple to be the neutral we need. Now we're looking at a deep mushroomy brown but in the morning light it has a bit of olive drab to it so most likely it isn't "the one". I'm trying to avoid one that is too tan(we saw this in a friend's home and it was ghastly, not soothing at all), too chocolate milky, or two khaki or olive. Not an easy task. I may end up back at Lowe's for more chip cards.

Bedroom Makeover

A few posts ago I mentioned that we're working on the "adultification" of our bedroom. Yesterday we decided on a paint treatment and a possible headboard substitute. I'll have pictures of course, throughout the transformation, but for now I'll describe what we're going to do.

The wall color now is an off-white, kind of a yellowy white. Bland. Dirty. Who knows when the walls were last painted. For several years I've been trying out color chips in taupes, soft greens, beiges, coffees, and wheats. Nothing has been "the one" until now. What we have decided on is a color called Ancestral(from Lowe's). It is a grown-up version of lavender. Very soft with a bit of gray in it. Mark likes it so that helps, and it goes well with our new quilt(and the old ones).

The treatment is something I'm not yet set on. I want to randomly place large elongated diamond shapes in varying sizes and sponge them in a coffee a lait glaze so the Ancestral color still shows through. In my mind's eye this is a beautiful thing but in real life it might be hideous. I'll definitely be doing a test board.

Years ago, when we moved from Longview to Nacogdoches, the house we moved into had ghastly walls in the master bedroom. One wall, the focal wall, was navy blue wall paper with tiny floral dots. The other 3 walls were a dark peach(think inside of a pumpkin). It was all tied together with a southerwestern style border. Just awful!! So, I painted the walls a rich cream color, replaced the wall paper with one that looked like leather, in a reddish pink, and sponged small stars all over the paper in antique gold. I thought it turned out really nice.

As for the bed, we can't afford to buy a new one so we could either use the old head and footboards, not use one(just have the bed on a hollywood frame), or make a wall treatment that acts as a headboard. We have opted for the latter and are on our way to the antique/junk store to search for inspiration.

I saw a beautiful bedroom in a magazine where they'd used two old window frames hung on the wall behind the bed. The glass panes had been replaced by fabric covered wood, each pane in a different pattern but all in the same colorway. It was nicely done. This is what I have in mind but it will depend on what we find our our treasure hunt, maybe we'll come home with an old door or a metal bedstand, who knows. But I will keep you posted.

Turning 40...

Apparently is no big thing. I even had to buy my own gift, an earring and necklace set from Michelle at Bottle Cap Art Adventures. She doesn't have a photo of my custom designed set(I hope she did take pics though), so when I have charged batteries I will try to get a decent photo. Mine are a beautiful earthy blue-green with mother of pearl pieces, silver roses, and other assorted beads and shapes in them. There are antiqued silver spiral beads hanging from the earrings but not the necklace. They are big and dangly and make the coolest noise! I love them!! Thanks Michelle!

My mom and dad called to wish me a happy birthday and my brother's girlfriend sent a nice card. We had homeschool park day but nobody knew it was my birthday. Guess that's all, no dinner, no cake, no gifts from the kids, nothing from Mark(he did say Happy Birthday before he left for work though). After midnight it will be over. It is after 7:15 and Mark hasn't even left work yet, but he is bringing cat litter, dog food, and cheap pizzas. We have one of Ryan's friends spending the night and tomorrow we have to make a raw milk run. So, business as usual. Except tomorrow is my dad's birthday! Isn't that neat?

I had planned on growing my hair out to the middle of my back sometime before I turned 40. Didn't happen. So, this is my year to do that. Only it might take more than one year to get that long. Maybe by the time I'm 45. hahaha

I Am Halloween!!

(pass thru to the nurse station from the patient waiting area, before)


(desk area, before)


(front door, partition, and dry erase wall-not up yet-. the extreme right of this picture continues on the first picture where the door hinges are- same wall)


(new desk and curtains, the front door is just to the right of the texas flag picture next to the curtain)


(pass thru no longer. we printed some pics of the kids off the blog and they're on the shelves now)

Just some stuff...

Seen out the back door tonight...





Now to the stuff I meant...

1. I started my WW again this week. When we went to North Carolina at the end of summer I kind of got off my diet. Once back home it was just a hassle to keep up with my points(even online!) so I kind of stopped. Now I'm back with a fresh outlook! If I choose to micro-manage my "diet", it will drive me freaking nuts! If I choose to do nothing I won't lose weight and could very well eat myself heavier than I was to begin with. If I USE the online points thingie as a guideline and not fret over every little thing, I mean sometimes guestimate the points value of something, it won't kill me to be wrong a few times(off a point or two every so often). The tracker they have allows me to add foods, meals, and recipes to my "favorites" and I can drag/drop them to the meal slot so it counts it for me. No work. But, today I had a lean cuisine, a corndog thingie and some of that Norwegian Apple Cake I posted about a few days ago(it was VERY good, by the way). I counted that meal as 10 points. It may have been 9, it may have been as much as 14. Point is, I'm still within my points for the day even if I mis-counted. So there!!

2. Ryan got his cast cut off today!!!! He has to wear a brace for the next two weeks and slowly get his arm/hand used to moving around again.

3. Ryan is having an Adenoidectomy next Thursday!!!! YIKES!! His doctor said they are taking up about 2/3 of the space behind his nose(wherever they reside). I think, poor Ryan, he'll feel SOOO much better after they are out. He doesn't know what it means to breathe normally. We were hoping this would go away as he grew but it seems to have just gotten worse as have his allergies. Now we can get his braces on with no issues.

4. I'm dragging out and sorting my unfinished quilting projects. I have several. Now, I want to learn how to machine quilt. So, someone please tell me what a walking foot is or if I can use a darning foot(and what the heck do they look like?). Maybe I'll post a picture of the types of feet I do have for my machine and someone can kindly point out which one I should use. I used to LOVE to hand quilt. It was mindless, soothing, relaxing, rewarding but hard to do a big quilt since I don't use a frame. Now that I know how to crochet, I don't need to hand quilt but I'll still bind by hand, I love to do that! I still enjoy putting quilts together but I'd rather have them sooner than later.

5. I'm stalling making any sort of dinner. We may end up with scrambled eggs and possibly biscuits or maybe just eat them in corn tortillas. Yum!