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Showing posts from 2016

odd stuff

so, my dad has been v e r y  s l o w l y going though boxes in his garage, getting rid of stuff, etc. a lot of it is my mom's stuff that he has no use for or doesn't think he will use. protocol is that he shows it to me before he gives it away, in case it's something I want or could use. today's box was full of candles. back when we lived in ohio, my mom and I went to a couple of partylite parties, and she even hosted one. all of my partylite candles have long since been burnt up, but she apparently still had a bunch, and my doesn't seem to think that scented candles need to be a part of his life. win for me. so i'm sorting though this box to see what there is. aside from a bunch of partylite tealights and an awesome 3 wick brick candle, there were some candle holders, and then a bunch of assorted stuff and a big ziplock of the cheapy tealights we use in jack-o-lanterns and not much else. I already have my own big ziplock of those, so those will probably fin

a slightly lame thanksgiving, but not too terrible.

our thanksgiving was a little bit non-traditional this year. shane had left on Wednesday to spend the weekend in California with gramma laurie, helping with the community center thanksgiving dinner they have put on for the last 21 years. so he was absent at home. also, dave was sick, and spent most of the day like this:   note the Kleenex box...   but, that didn't stop us from cooking and baking, watching the parade and the dog show, having a yummy meal, playing scattergories, watching football, finishing up with coffee and pie, OR being thankful.   Layla helped with the apple pie. slicing the apples, and crimping the edges of the crust is her favorite part. finished product. got to try out my fancy snowflake pie crust cutters that I got from a student last year. so pretty! I should really make more pies.  we always look forward to the rockettes during the macy's parade. it starts with an onion and a whole stick of butter. can't go wrong!

totally lousy night of sleep.

making me feel kind of stupid. so, dave is sick. yesterday was thanksgiving. all sorts of things making this not normal and not really a big deal, but I found it almost comical, how many times my sleep could be interrupted last night, without having sick kids or a newborn. we sent the kids to bed around 9:30, watched an episode of Gilmore girls, and then I noticed dave was sleeping in the recliner. I wasn't really ready for bed, so I turned on some mindless episodes of friends on Netflix and cuddled up with my blanket on the couch. of course, I fell asleep. around 2:30, I woke up, put the dog in his crate, and turned out the lights. Dave was still snoozing away in the recliner, and I figured it was best to leave him alone. so I went to bed. and couldn't sleep. I was finally settling in when HIS ALARM WENT OFF at 3:15! in the morning! apparently this was still set from Wednesday when he had to get shane to the airport at stupid o'clock. so I went back to sleep and the

Testing again

Because why not a pic of food?

meal plan monday

I've got this nifty new/old thing going on with my meal plans. I was seriously lacking in motivation in that department, so I decided to consolidate all of my go-to meals in one place where I can cycle though them in a somewhat orderly fashion so we don't get sick of stuff or neglect to have stuff we really like, but forgot about. so now I have all of my meals on 3x5 cards, along with a list of major ingredients I need for them and what I generally serve them with. I hole punched the corner of the cards and put them on a binder ring. I am also back to keeping the blank calendar page on the fridge and writing out my plans on that. so far, it's working well, and I feel much less overwhelmed by it all. I hate cooking and shopping much less when I have a coherent plan. Monday: fried chicken; oven fries; salad Tuesday: pizza; green beans Wednesday: taco casserole Thursday: thanksgiving dinner Friday: turkey rerun (how the smallbecks refer to leftover thanksgiving dinner)

back on the horse?

and now I've discovered that, since the latest iPhone update, the blogger app does nothing but crash when you try to use it. apparently a much needed update to the app is late in coming. will wait and see. so, here I am, on my computer, like I used to be. I'm sick right now. I've been fighting this weird cold situation since over a week ago. it didn't get bad until about Thursday. I wound up taking Friday off of work, but I didn't feel too awful (just sounded like someone you didn't want your kid around) and spent the day getting caught up on laundry and general tidying around the house. I didn't really feel terrible until evening, when I sat in a daze at gymnastics, trying not to breathe on anyone. yesterday was much the same. I attempted a little productivity, which took me to about 3, when I went to take a nap. and pretty much stayed in bed (minus coming down to have some soup) until this morning at 9:30. today, i'm skipping church, but will have

hmmm... uncertain, the future is.

so, i'm kinda frustrated. yes, I realize this is stupid, since keeping this blog up to date has not exactly been a priority of late, but still. I spent a lot of time getting my stuff configured how I wanted it and how it would function best and how to insert pictures easily and all that, and now it won't work. ive always used windows live writer for my posts, and now, that is apparently dead, and it won't communicate with blogger and allow me to post. so I can post here, right in blogger, but the picture configuring is heinous and I hate it. or I can post via the app, but again, the picture configuring is heinous and I hate it. so. I can just not post, which has pretty much been protocol for the last year or so. or I can deal with my less than stellar options, and do my best. I miss blogging. I kind of feel like social media stole it. no need to post pictures and updates, because I can do it immediately from my phone, the second it happens. but I like the record o

Awkward!

The last two days have cemented the idea that I either need to install a door on the master bathroom, or have my kids evaluated. Probably both. Our house has an obscenely huge master suite in which dave and I, as the apparent masters of the house, reside. It includes a spacious bathroom which includes a shower, vanity, and jacuzzi tub, with a water closet and a walk-in closet. It's really a pretty decent set-up, except for one thing. There's no door.  Yes, there is a door on the water closet. (Thank goodness.) There is also a door on the closet. And obviously, there is a door on our bedroom.  I guess the idea is that the bedroom door is sufficient to keep other family members out, and that couples only require privacy from each other when using the toilet or choosing their clothes. I still find it a little weird. At any rate, we've had issues with kids walking in at various times, and we yell at them to get out or dive quickly behind one of the doors, and then lecture them

Life.

When I got up this morning, I needed coffee. Like I do every morning. This is not unusual. My coffee cup was in the dishwasher. This, also, is not unusual. However, when I opened the door to get my cup, I found this: In case you didn't figure it out, this is unusual. It seems that the part that holds the upper sprayer arm onto the top rack is broken. We can get a new one and fix it. Happy/sad that we don't need a new dishwasher. In the mean time, hand washing dishes. Yay! 💃💃💃 Later in the morning, layla announced that she was going to finish off her birthday box of lucky charms. (If you don't know the deal with that, every birthday, I let my kids choose whatever birthday breakfast they want. Sometimes it's donuts or cinnamon rolls, usually it's some box of sugar freak cereal that I won't otherwise buy.) Micah got mad about this, since he's a whiny little brother and is bitter that she isn't required to share this box. At any rate, this happened, when

It matters!!!

Somehow, I have spawned a child who does not innately understand the importance of folding towels in a neat, orderly, and always-the-same methodical fashion.  Today, I asked layla to help me out by folding a pile of towels. I have always folded on the half, half again (parallel to the first half, not perpendicular), and then a final half again (this time perpendicular). Layla started to fold them differently  (I won't say "wrong", although it was), so I corrected her and demonstrated how I wanted it done.  At that point, she asked the question. "Why does it matter if they're folded the same?" Really?  "BECAUSE IT MATTERS!!!" "But why?" "So they will stack neatly in the linen closet!" "I still don't see why it matters. It's not like you're going to have guests that will be looking into your linen closet to see if your towels are folded the same." "It's important for my sanity, okay?"

Thursday 7/14

Before picking Micah up from his final day of scout camp, layla requested to go to a park. We decided to try out Lake Tye park, since we hadn't been there before. There were lots of swimmers and families there. We didn't have a ton of time, but layla declared the water warm enough to swim in, so we plan to go back next week.  During the morning, we did housework, walked the dog, and discovered that we have some blackberries ripe on the street. Meant to go back and pick them, but forgot.  Something hit me in the afternoon and I wound up with some crazy-unpleasant allergy attack. Had to take a Zyrtec, which rendered me unconscious after dinner, and in the meantime, didn't do anything for the incessant sneezing and dripping nose. Guess I should just stick to Benadryl, if I'm going to fall asleep anyway.  Micah was ecstatic to have earned his whittling chip at camp, which grants him the right to carry a pocket knife, apparently, and is now very impatient to go and buy his o

Wednesday 7/13

So, I'm wanting to get back into blogging more regularly, and decided that perhaps I should try using this as a bit of a daily journal. We'll see how that goes. Or more accurately, how long that goes... Day 3 of scout camp for Micah.  Came back to find that the dog got out. Gate was not latched and IF collar battery was dead. Found him visiting Gretzkie at the Smiths. Reading a book on prayer. Laundry. Took layla to the library to return books. Checked out audio book of the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Layla listened to/read the whole thing. Grocery shopping. Ran home to drop off the groceries, then off to Layla's rheumatology appt at children's.  Exam looked good. New dr.  Ordered new x-rays. Starbucks on the way home. Smiths brought Micah home from camp.  Made banana bread. Micah helped. Cut cantaloupe.  Ate pigs in blankets and cantaloupe for dinner.  Dave was at the sounders game. Shane was hanging out with Bailey. Made blueberry muffins. Blogged about Layla&#

Shane's 17th

Right on the heels of Layla's 11th, Shane turned 17 on Tuesday. Back-to-back birthdays are no joke. The birthday boy had to work all day, so we met up in the evening at Olive Garden for his choice of dinner. Somewhat predictably, he ordered the fettuccine Alfredo, this time with sausage. (I had the chicken parm, also predictably.) Even though everyone was stuffed, they brought him a slice of cheesecake (which then went into a box) and we all sang. Then we reconvened at home for gifts.  Traditional t-shirts from layla. A water thermos from Micah. Working construction in the summer, this is a good thing. (And a pack of Swedish fish, to make up for the ones he gave him last year, and then ate.) Cards and money. And then the "texted gift". It was a picture of a truck and some speakers. We are helping him upgrade the stereo in his truck. And then we stuck 17 candles into a tub of Papa Murphy's cookie dough and sang again.  We were all still stuffed, so no one ate more than

Layla's 11th birthday

So layla had her golden birthday on Monday. Since dave and Shane were at work all day, and Micah was at scout camp, we had a fun girls day.  But first, the last day to be 10 picture the night before. First stop was 7-11 for free Slurpees. Then pedicures. Love the traffic cone orange she chose. Tradition dictates that the next stop was for lunch at Red Robin. Then to the theater to see The Secret Life of Pets, which she enjoyed, and I thought was just ok. For dinner, she chose ribs, mashed potatoes, and broccoli (with a lemon wedge). Yum. Presents.  Money. A Harry Potter case for her iPod. (It is meant to look like the Marauders Map.) More money. And, since our gift to her is a bedroom makeover, Micah got her some lantern lights, And Shane got her a full-length mirror for her closet door. And then it was time for cake. Donut cake, that is.  

i know you think i'm crazy, but i LOVE my clothesline.

okay, I’m about to totally blow your mind. no for real. I can’t even tell you how much I LOVE hanging my clothes to dry, outside, in the sun, in the fresh air, with actual clothespins, on actual clotheslines. if you’ve known me for any length of time, you know that this obsession goes way back. like, 11.5 years back, to when my brand new husband whisked me and my 5 year old away from the suburbs of seattle, where I’d lived my whole life, to a mythological place in rural ohio called a “farm town”. we lived in a 100 year old house that had these amazing metal t-posts in the backyard. he asked if I wanted to use them, and I thought, what the heck?! So he bought me some clothespins and strung up the lines between them. and I fell in love. I hung out our clothes as long as it was possible to do so… Probably from about late april to early october. the thing that is super awesome about ohio weather is the wind. there is almost always wind, so your clothes get dry quick, and without a lo

Attacking the craft closet

I'm not sure what possessed me, but I decided I should do something about the "craft closet" in our bedroom. It's a little "bonus" closet (as opposed to our walk-in closet) that, before we bought the house, was apparently used to store square dancing outfits...  Anyway, it's got shelves and I've always just kind of stuffed my crafty things and other such odds and ends into it. Mostly partially done knitting projects and yarn, and odds and ends of scrapbooking supplies, lots left over from when I sold Creative Memories (so a lot of outdated scrapbooking supplies, as that was 10 years ago!), a little bit of fabric, boxes of photos, etc.  The yarn was the most intimidating. I have bad knitting ADD. I start a project and then forget about it. Then I start a new one. And a new one. And a new one.... I don't finish a lot of projects. By far, the biggest job was just seeing what was there (since every project was in some sort of bag, in some sort of

There's an app???

So, apparently I'm a little slow. I just discovered there's a blogger app.  In expressing my excitement over this discovery to my husband, he looked at me blankly and said, "you didn't know that?" Right.  But this excites me! Between the project life app and now this, I should be able to streamline posting and printing and hopefully be able to keep up with everything!  Woohoo! Here's to an up-to-date 2016!