My ABC's of Thanks!

I thought I'd link up for the ABC's of Thanks on this snowy Thanksgiving Eve eve.

a) Animals. As family pets.

b) books. I always love having new books to read

c) coffee creamer. I look forward to the abundance of new seasonal flavors this time of year

d) Diet Coke. Enough said

e) examples. My Mom and Dad for sure.

f) friends. I don't know what I'd do without mine

g) gravy. Goes great with mashed potatoes

h) husband. He's far from perfect, but perfect for me

i) ice cream. Yep.

j) jobs. It's great to be employed

k) kids. all kids; they're our future

l) love. God's love for me. Amazing.

m) music. I've always loved music.

n) november. which reminds us that we're all greatly blessed

o) optimism. I'm not very good at this, but I'm trying

p) plumbers. available as soon as we call. Yay.

q) quiet. especially on my day off

r) restful evenings. when my husband has everything taken care of when I get home

s) Starbucks. double yep

t) teachers. they work SO hard to teach our kids. be thankful if your kid gets a good one!

u) umbrellas. kept us dry at the end of soccer season

v) vacations. whether with the kids or not, it's nice to get away.

w) water. clean drinking water is so essential

x) x-tra capacity washer which makes laundry easier

y) you, my readers and friends

z) zany life, but we wouldn't change it

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever!"

we tried

and I'd say for the most part were successful at getting a great pic of the boys for the Christmas card this year.

Getting a picture of Jon and I was another story entirely.

We started out with M taking it and there were many problems. Not the least of which being that we were indoors so the lighting was awful. Then there's the added issue of Jon wearing the same color as the background; even shooting in black and white, that didn't work.

After almost forty five minutes of trying and failing to get something decent, we just stopped trying.

Jon did say something about waiting until we visit my parents and getting a picture then. I'm not a patient person and I sometimes quite often get a "burr in my saddle" and kinda want it done NOW...but ultimately to get what I want, I guess I'll have to wait.

Good thing Walgreens photo can get them done same day.

So, I leave you with some outtakes from my shoot with the boys yesterday. After more than a dozen posed shots, things started to get out of control. It tends to happen.

And it's okay.

kids say the darndest things

I came home from work last night to discover that M was telling C that he needed to stay upstairs. When I asked what was going on, M told me that C hadn't been staying seated on the bus in the afternoon.

Um, okay. Where's the problem? Right here.

When M told C that he needed to spend some time upstairs, C's response was quite abnormal and VERY unacceptable.

It involved the word that starts with the sixth letter of the alphabet and rhymes with "luck".

I told C that if I EVER catch him saying anything like that again, he was gonna wind up with a blistered butt. That I didn't care who says it and gets away with it, he was NOT to be even thinking things like that. And if I heard that he did, he was going to be able to experience what Lever 2000 soap tastes like.

Kids.

sometimes it's better not to know

My mom always said "you don't know if you don't ask". And that has come in handy for me several times over the last couple of months at work. If I'm doing something new and ask about procedure or policy or whatnot, most everyone is happy to give me the information that I seek.

It helps me to know.

But there are cases where it's better not to know. And it serves me right if I asked because I think that "if you don't want to know, don't ask" could apply sometimes too.

A couple of nights ago, there was an older gentleman leaving the store carrying a bag from the pharmacy. He looked kind of sad as I smiled at him and told him to have a good night.

That's when he proceded to tell me that he'd just had his third radiation treatment earlier that day. But he guessed that the bright side was that he only had two more treatments to go.

I'll admit that my brain kinda froze here. Most of the time when people launch stories at me it's just to complain that our store "didn't have what [I] was looking for". And in those cases, I make the situation right as best I can; either by running to an aisle or the stockroom for product or paging management for assistance.

I couldn't fix this one and it really bothered me.

When the customer left the store, Nathaniel and I just looked at each other and didn't say a word. While I don't in any way regret my interaction with that customer, I was just again reminded that I have to be prepared to hear whatever may come.

blah, blah, blah

To tell you that we had a wonderful weekend celebrating our anniversary wouldn't cut it. Not even close. We went to the museum, visited a beautiful park and a furniture store all on the same day and there were no little voices saying "are we done yet? I'm tired" Or hungry or whatever the case may be.


Blissful.


And it's really too bad that we still have too many bills and not enough money because I can tell you that if the situation were reversed, the first thing that we'd do is pay off the mortgage with the next thing being that very same day we'd call about getting a whirlpool tub installed in our home. But only if we could also soundproof the bathroom so we couldn't hear incessant knocking and requests for "ice cream in a bowl" from the other side.


Yep.


And when I get tired and frustrated with my work schedule and the hours that I'm forced to keep, I just have to continually bear in mind that such an anniversary weekend would have never been even close to possible without my income. And that makes it better.


We're taking a long weekend this month to go visit my family. Again, if my work schedule is generously accommodating. And I can't wait. That means that we're home for Turkey Day, but I'm working 9-1 that day anyway, so it's okay. Hopefully our invite for dinner still works out...


C went on a field trip to "the caves". I asked him if he saw any bats and he said yes, but that his teacher told the kids to not shine a flashlight at them as they are starting hibernation. Eeew. Jon was pretty pleased with that C was one of the "cleanest boys to get off that bus"; crawling through "muddy" caves all day is what we'd been told they'd be doing so we were pretty unsure of what to expect. That was a pleasant surprise.

M has a "Rock and Roll" concert this week. We missed him playing "Amazing Grace" on the trumpet on Sunday morning. When I mentioned that to Jon he said "It's okay, we live with him; we can ask him to play whenever we want."

Wise words.

At some point over the weekend, C's coat disappeared. And he only had one coat. Something about some little boy may have mistaken it for his and taken it home sometime on Sunday, but no such luck in finding it. So as of yesterday, C has had four winter coats in 5 years due to things like broken zippers and cases of mistaken identity.

The tags are still on the new one in the event that the less-than-a-year-old one remembers where it lives and returns home, but we don't hold out much hope.

To balance all of the coat buying out, we did realize that the last new winter coat that M had was just as he'd started fourth grade, but it's still completely frustrating since boxelder trees do not grow money.

That's all folks.

Wordless Wednesday - one of these things doesn't belong*

*there's a story here...and you'll hear it, I promise.

today

Today it's pouring rain. Today is "Red Ribbon Week" at the elementary school. Today was "dress like what you want to be when you grow up" day so Caleb went to school as a "crazy scientist".

Today, I'm waiting for the plumber. Today, I'm hoping that the bill from the plumber won't put the finances behind for the rest of the year. Today, I've been told that the plumber will arrive "this morning"...how's that for specific? Today I was also told that the "less water you run, the better" so I'm sitting here in my sweats wondering if I'm going to need to get in the van and go to the corner gas station to use the bathroom.

Today, I'm missing our apartment complex maintenance man, Luis. Big time.

Seven Quick Takes Friday #10

1. Ah, another week finished. How DOES that happen? My favorite moment of the week was having coffee on Tuesday with my dear friend, Esther. Actually, I had a chocolate peanut butter freeze and it was FANTASTIC.

2. Speaking of freeze, we're in for a chilly spell. I even sent C to school in a heavy jacket. My boss says that this weather just reminds us that the next season and all it brings will come, like it or not.

3. Saturday M has a soccer tournament and then the season is done for another year. I made most of the games. He spent most of the time in the goalie box this year and he does pretty well in there. He had some incidents with jammed fingers but nothing too serious.

4. I shouldn't have to work when I have PMS. I'm way too tempted to tell that lady who tries to take advantage of our coupons and then return the merchandise the next week for full price where to stick it. She's way too condescending. Every stinking week.

5. I need a haircut. I'm totally sick of my current hairstyle but have no time to get to town to get a cut. I'm this close to calling Jon's neice to have her cut my hair.

6. Halloween hasn't even arrived and the riser shelves are full of Christmas stock at work. Not to mention the entirely full bay of Christmas candy. We started getting Christmas stock on the truck the end of September. Oy. Comes earlier and earlier I guess.

7. One more week. It better go quickly.

on that day

My sister stood beside me....

His dear friend beside him...

we gathered with our family....




and I wouldn't change a thing....

Happy fifteenth anniversary, babe. I love you more than you will ever know.

food, glorious food

Here are some recipes that we've either tried recently in our house or are on the "waiting" list. You know, for some day when I can just focus on "what's for dinner?" instead of that and six hundred other things when I'm lucky enough to come through the front door while it's still light out.




We had Pioneer Woman's Three Cheese Stuffed Shells with Meaty Tomato Sauce last week. Since my local store didn't have shells in stock the day I went shopping, I used manicotti. And while I think that manicotti are a pain in the neck to stuff, it was still totally worth it.

You need to try it, and soon.

She posted a Chicken Cacciatore recipe that we'll be trying soon too. Her recipes are always good, and it totally doesn't hurt that she also takes drool-worthy photos. Seriously.




My dear friend Esther does Menu Plan Monday over on her blog. While I'm totally not motivated to do something like that myself on a weekly basis, she does give me some great ideas for dinner. And her recipe for Nacho Chicken Casserole is on my list for sure.

And today's cookie recipe. I'm a sucker for cookies, as my pant size can attest.



Then there's What's for Dinner Wednesday over at Three Times the Giggles. While it's a fairly new feature, I can't wait to see the recipes that are posted. You know, while Helen is chasing triplets and gestating. She's a busy gal.



As I look outside, I can't help but notice that the clouds are getting in the way of the sun today. And it's chilly outside. And inside. Having absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I forgot to turn the heat back on last night after turning it off yesterday afternoon. Nothing.

And if I didn't already have PW's Chicken Spaghetti on the menu for tonight,- which you need to try if you haven't- I'd definitely feel the need to make beef stew. If I had the ingredients in the house, that is.

Minor detail.

But because I'm feeling generous- go with it, it IS Monday, you know- I'll give you my Mom's tried, true and totally tasty Beef Stew recipe.

And put it on the list for dinners for next week. Pronto.

Beef Stew

Here's what you'll need: 1 pound stew meat, 1 small onion (diced), 2 beef bullion cubes, salt and pepper, 1/4 t. garlic powder, 1 T worchestershire sauce, six cups water, 6 medium potatoes.

Here's what you do:

- Cut the stew meat in 1" pieces. Coat in flour and brown in oil.

-Put in large pot with water, onion, 1 T. salt and 1 t. pepper, worchestershire and garlic. Simmer three hours, adding water as needed.

Your house will smell AMAZING. Trust me.

- Add diced potatoes and cook thirty minutes.

- After thirty minutes, add a slurry of 4 T. flour dissolved in cold water and stir. Continue to simmer until potatoes are done- about thirty more minutes.

Mom sometimes added carrots to the stew, sometimes she didn't. You can add the carrots with the potatoes, if you choose. Personally, and I think she knows this, I prefer the stew without the carrots.

I know, I know, I need the veggies. I don't care; I don't like cooked carrots. And I'm the mom, so I don't have to eat them. But I will eat raw carrots in great numbers. Go figure.

Make this stew, you WON'T be sorry. And the other recipes too.

Seven Quick Takes Friday

1. I got lucky enough this week to be able to be home for cooking (and eating!) dinner every night this week. That's rare. And next school week, I'll be home at the beginning and the end; working until eight pm the three nights in between.



2. But I'm proud to say that due to the first sentence of #1 being true, there hasn't been a pizza or a hotdog spotted in the house all week!



3. We had quite a 'Project Runway' moment at work this week. As in 'one day you're in, and the next day, you're out'. Sunday evening, I worked with one assistant manager, Tiffany. I had Monday and Tuesday off and when I went to work on Wednesday, I just casually asked a co-worker who was "on" for the morning. Her response was "Mr. Douglas (the manager) and that girl who replaced Tiffany." WHAT??? Yep, here today and gone tomorrow. Transferred out just like that and immediately replaced. It took me a couple of hours to wrap my brain around all of that.



4. Caleb reminded me no less than one hundred times this week that in order for his class to take the most recent field trip, there had to be three parent volunteers. Thanks, son; not like I don't already feel guilty. (It all worked out and the trip was a total success.)



5. Matthew has taken up the saxophone. He's doing well, but finding the differences between a reed instrument and a brass instrument to be a bit more challenging than he thought. hee hee.



6. Fall has re-arrived here in Wisconsin. We were so spoiled with the gorgeous weather the last several days and now we're back to what's "normal". It just no longer allows us to live like winter will lose our Upper Midwestern address.



7. Two weeks from today begins our big anniversary getaway. Jon's getting a big kick out of the fact that I, a HUGE planner, have no idea where we're going or what we're doing and I'll just have to go with whatever it is. Don't tell him, but I'm so happy that he did the planning that I. DON'T. CARE. I'm sure it'll be WONDERFUL.



See more quick takes at conversiondiary.com

and to you?

Yesterday, a friend of mine posted the following as his facebook status:

God is....

He got some of the answers he was expecting, the "standard ones", if you will.

God is GREAT. Sure.
God is love. Of course.

But that got me thinking. Not that the standard answers are wrong, because it's very true that God is great and He is love, but are they good enough?

You know the answer. Of course not.

If we don't dig deep to discover who God is to us, what's the point of relationship with Him?
He wants us to be in relationship with Him, but not the "Hey, how ya doin'?" "I'm good" and keep going kind of relationship. Rather, the "really listening, trusting, leaning on Him" kind.

Not that all of us are good at that all the time.

Things get going well and we tend to lose sight of what God means to us. Thinking that we can do things on our own. Forgetting that all we are and all we have comes from Him.

Then a crisis strikes, be it a serious health type crisis or just a run-of-the-mill "too many bills and not enough money" kind.

And we wonder where He went. All this time, it's true that we may need an adjustment in how close we are to God, but it's not because He moved.

He's there, we just have to pay attention. Get our eyes off our own issues and focus on the fact that He loves, He knows, He's in control.

We can't see, but He can. And that should be comforting, if we're in relationship with Him.

Who is He to you?

do it again

Friday evening after school, M needed to get to town to meet the quizzers to leave for Saturday's meet ahead of time.

It takes almost an hour for us to get to our destination.

After we dropped him off, C and I hit a drive-thru as a "special treat", since it was just he and I for supper.

Chowing on his apple dippers in the seat behind me he says "Mom, how long till we get home?"

"About forty-five minutes", I replied.

"Oh", he said. "I waited for forty-five minutes before. I can do it again."

heeheehee

thirty

That's the number of hours that I "twenty to twenty-five a week would be perfect, thanks" put in last week.

I covered for our senior beauty advisor so she could go to a family funeral. That wasn't a problem and I was happy to do it.

This week, after two very long, eleven to eight days, I was looking forward to being able to get away until Sunday afternoon.

I've been working eleven to eight quite a bit lately.

Until last night when as the assistant manager was about to take a phone call, he said "Don't go anywhere." Um, okay.

He gives me extra projects at work from time to time, so I just figured that he was going to give me something to do for the last two, very long hours of my shift. Uh, nope.

"Would you be able to cover So-and-so's shift on Saturday? She has a school commitment and can't be here."

Enter where my mouth responds faster than my brain can think. That happens often, sorry, Mom.

Immediately forgetting how dog-tired I was, I mentioned something about impending work for Jon and if that wasn't happening this weekend, I didn't see any reason as to why I couldn't cover the shift.

Jon didn't answer his cell the first time I tried. When I tried fifteen minutes later, I was sorta sad to be informed that the work has been put off until November.

For good reason; namely our anniversary get-away at the end of the month, but there goes my built in excuse. Lovely.

If I'd been taught to lie, I'd have been able to come up with something on the spot, you'd think. Something like Kayla's excuse about needing to help chop down a tree. While AB (assistant boss) could tell it was a totally manufactured excuse, ahem, a lie, he couldn't do anything about it. Thanks, Mom and Dad...to wrestle with my conscience wasn't really what I needed at the end of a long day. haha.

So I entered the office and said that I'd be happy to cover the shift on Saturday. And I'll do my best to be cheerful about it, at least until noon.

I sure hope they remember this.

Almost Wordless Wednesday- trumpets*

*Matthew and Jon's sister, Kathryn.

lift me up

Tuesday night, Jon took me to dinner for my birthday. We went to Red Lobster and I throughly enjoyed a pound and a half of snow crab legs, ceasar salad and baked potato.

Who has room for dessert? I didn't.

After we finished dinner, we headed to Shopko. I was in need of new tennis shoes; I'm finding myself in them more often for work and the pair I owned were pretty worn out, aka, losing the padding inside the left shoe.

This happens about every 18 months or so.

We've gotten fortunate enough to hit a major sale every time I get to the point where "okay, I have put this off long enough, and I need new shoes NOW". The last three times we've gotten away with a good pair of shoes under forty dollars.

Jon was really helpful in finding the brand I was looking for and he helped me decide between one size or another. I decided on the seven and a half and we started to head for the checkout.

This is when I spotted the section of "wide width". That's so me.

In about 15 seconds, I spotted the shoes I needed in seven and a half wide. Jon put the first box back on the shelf.

Then, as we're wandering the store looking for a glass vase, I keep tripping. Like the floor is jumping up at me about every three steps. Jon teases me about whether my drink was spiked at dinner.

About five minutes go by and suddenly it dawns on me that my shoe is feeling like the fit is wrong. The shoes that I'd worn all night. I stop to the side of the greeting card aisle and then the light goes on.

My half-inch lift is not in my shoe. Where is it then?

I'd left it in the first pair and it was now in the shoes on the shelf.

Thankfully, Jon retrieved it for me then I put it in my shoe and we paid and left.

How weird would it have been for some other woman to find my lift when she tried on that pair of shoes? Good grief.

Wordless Wednesday- birthday surprise

(if only I didn't have to keep them upstairs so the cat didn't eat them)

perfection personified...or not

This post is running around on facebook. I read it. Part of me was glad I did and part of me was screaming "WHY can't you mind your own business? Must you read every link that people post?"

Here's the deal. Just like in highschool, people still put on a front. They portray what it is that they think you want to see. Perfect body, perfect hair, perfect husband with perfectly obedient children.

"Hogwash", my grandpa would say.

And the following is where I get down and dirty. Read if you want, or stop here. Either is fine with me.

I'm so far from perfect that it's scary. (I better not hear my husband scream "AMEN" over cyber-space or he is DEAD.)

I carry around close to fifty pounds on my body that I don't need. I liked to blame it on pregnancy, but that kid is fourteen now. Even blaming his brother, that ship has sailed. I eat way too many sweets, not enough vegetables, drink too much fully-leaded coffee and I haven't been on the treadmill in weeks.

My husband sometimes drives me NUTS. He's sometimes a know-it-all who deserves to have his opinions shoved down his throat. But aside from that, and the fact that I sometimes feel like his mother and not his wife, we get along pretty well.

Seriously.

We have money worries, but really, who doesn't? Sometimes they keep me up at night; like losing sleep will add thousands of dollars to our bank account. Nope. Losing sleep just makes me cranky and then I yell at my children over every little thing and feel horribly about it for hours afterward.

Sometimes I wish the boys didn't fight so much. And while we're being real, sometimes I wish that we hadn't had children at all. But I feel guilty about that. A lot. To be able to travel to Paris or London or take in an African safari instead of having to constantly supply new pants and shoes to replace the outgrown ones would be heavenly.

Until my husband and I got sick of each other. Which would totally happen.

Our house is sometimes cold and drafty. I can't decorate at all and I haven't even finished painting the dining room, which I started in March. Some days I wish that we hadn't left Appleton at all.

But I have a couch to die for. Or so I've been told.

At times I am bored to tears in church service. Some weeks I hate the music, I hate the tradition, I hate the cliques. Even in our small congregation, that stuff gets in the way. The class I teach is most frequently only my kid, and I feel like I can teach the lessons at home, so why bother prepping for Sunday morning; but I do it anyway. While I'm in awe of what God has done for me, sometimes I'd just like to be able to sleep in on Sunday morning and treat it like any other day.

And my dad was a preacher while I was growing up. It's true.

Sometimes I'm terrified of losing my parents. My Mom especially. My brother and sister don't really like each other that much and I feel like Mom is what holds us together. So when the time comes that she isn't there anymore, what then? Will I never again have the chance to have all my neices and nephews in the same place at the same time?

I wish my siblings would put all the crap behind them. And as the oldest, I feel like I have this to say..."GROW UP". We're adults now, guys. Or at least we're supposed to be.

I spend the first 10 minutes of every day at my new job terrified that my boss will come to me and tell me that he's decided that I'm not really a good fit for the job after all. And I love my job, but there are already customers (and one coworker) who really get under my skin. The one woman who will find the ONE ITEM in the store with an incorrect sign and demand two of said item...she bugs the crap out of me.

Thankfully, I haven't seen her in a week or so. Of course, I'm sure that now I just jinxed myself.

And maybe we can't even afford to send the boys to state schools when the time comes. Maybe I know that in my head the college degrees that they work for will mean more to them, but I still feel guilty and a bit terrified that we won't be able to afford to help them at all.

And in addition to all the other things they'll blame me for, they'll blame me for that too.

I'll nap if I want to

It's my birthday. Again. I told a customer at work last night that I plan to stop aging now. This is it. Thirty-six is all.

If only it worked that way.

I'm so blessed. I miss my family tremendously on my birthday, but I know that they are thinking of me. And I have amazing friends who send cards and greetings every year. That means a lot.

I have HUGE plans for today. I'm having coffee with Esther this morning while her daughter is at preschool. Then I plan to come home and sneak in a bit of a nap. Or at the very least, rest in the peace and quiet.

Then maybe I'll eat some ice cream. In the middle of the afternoon.

And finally, I'm going to enjoy dinner with my husband this evening.

Can't think of any better way to spend this day!

blah, blah, blah

Again, I'm posting totally late. I blame Walgreens for hampering my blogging. If only I could blame Walgreens for the fact that the dining room table is littered with papers, bills and objects of all kinds.

I got the weekend off work but it'll be hardly restful. C and I leave in the morning for a missions event about two hours away. We should be home around six pm. Jon will take M to his nine-thirty soccer game in the morning. I hate missing soccer, but I promised C that I'd take him tomorrow. It's just one game.

Then Sunday will be my father-in-law's final service at the pulpit . I've lost track, but I think that it's over 40 years. And of course the family is getting together for that 9am service. We'll have to leave here around 6am to get there just in time.

I called my mom this morning to tell her that we weren't going to be able to visit for Thanksgiving. Again, I blame Walgreens. Something about "all hands on deck" for Black Friday.... I was sorta relieved that she didn't answer; it's easier to NOT cry to the voicemail. Oy.

Guess Jon got something booked for our anniversary. He sent me an email today that included the word "whirlpool". And I don't think he means the dishwasher. At least I hope not.

Tuesday is my birthday. I've got plans with my friend Esther for coffee in the morning and plans with Jon for dinner in the evening. In between, I may take a nap and eat some ice cream. It only happens once a year, after all.

Have a great weekend!