project life 2014: week 19

warning: this week is very micah-heavy. no idea why.
sunday: rousing game of checkers.

tuesday: because he is just so cute.

wednesday: another trip to the doctor to have a look at another randomly swollen ankle for layla. this time, we FINALLY got referred to rheumatology. doc is pretty sure there is some arthritis there.

thursday: micah picked a flower for grandma.

friday: helping me clean grandma and grandpa’s kitchen.

saturday: “mom! take a picture of me with toby!”

also saturday: cats are such attention hogs. I WAS trying to read.

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christmas eve

christmas eve is probably my favorite church service of the year. our sanctuary is gorgeous with the trees and the poinsettias, with ALL 4 advent candles lit AND the christ candle in the middle… it probably helps that this is the church I grew up in and I remember waiting for all that stuff as the season progressed, and how exciting it always was when it FINALLY got there. And then there is the music. growing up as the kid of the organist, who did christmas eve “right”, I have high standards. we MUST start with “oh come, all ye faithful”, and we MUST end with “joy to the world”. the church is always packed, so the organ is played at full blast, with all the extra bells and whistles. it is unbelievably awesome. deanna, our new organist, does not disappoint. the music is always wonderful. near the end (right before ‘joy to the world’), we always turn the lights down and sing “silent night” by candlelight. I don’t know what it is, but I have NEVER made it through that without tearing up. ...

i’m sure i will offend all sorts people with this…

… but i just don’t get why the entire world is so torn up about the death of michael jackson. yes, he had an insanely successful career as a singer/entertainer/pop star. yes, he took a lot of that to a whole new level. yes, i remember thriller and doing the moonwalk. yes, i remember wanting one of those red leather jackets, and one of those sparkly white gloves. however… i’m also wondering why everyone else is seeming to forget how he bleached his skin (and then had a big hit stating that it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white… always wondered about that one), underwent so much plastic surgery that he barely looked human anymore, made crotch-grabbing an acceptable dance move, hung his kid over a balcony, showed up for court in his pajamas, and, oh yeah, was accused of child molestation HOW MANY TIMES??? this was a VERY disturbed man. i have never understood why being a celebrity excuses people from upholding the same morals and standards that we expect of normal people. i w...

hash brown casserole recipe

so mary asked about this, and since it’s a family favorite, i thought i’d post it. there was, at one time, a recipe for this casserole, but i’ve made it so many times it’s kind of evolved (as these things tend to do). so i’ll give you the recipe according to me… and if you like specifics and measuring things, then bummer for you! so this is what i do: take a 9x13 pyrex dish and line the bottom w/ frozen hash brown patties. i can usually fit about 7. (you could also use a bag of the shredded kind, but it’s not as good.) add about 2 cups or so of veggies. carrots, green beans, peas, celery – whatever you’ve got. (corn is not so good in this recipe, so i don’t recommend it.) you should pre-cook the veggies so they aren’t crunchy – or i guess you could use canned, but i think they’re gross so i use frozen, with the exception of the carrots and celery which are fresh. add a bunch of chopped, cooked chicken – whatever you’ve got leftover or ...

Piano Concerto #2 In C Minor, Op. 18 - Adagio

I got tagged by Mary so here it is. Let's see what your music has to say about you... Here are the rules: 1. Put your iTunes on shuffle. 2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer 3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS 1) IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY? My Dreydel - Raffi 2) WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY? Slip Away - The Commitments 3) WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL? Sweet Talkin' Woman - Five Iron Frenzy 4) HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY? Nocturne #20 in C sharp minor - Chopin 5) WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE? Haru Ga Kita - Raffi 6) WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO? My Style - Black Eyed Peas 7) WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU? Swinging on a Star - Frank Sinatra 8) WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN? Undignified - David Crowder Band 9) WHAT IS 2+2? Shake My Sillies Out - Raffi 10) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND? Five Little Pumpkins - Raffi 11) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE P...

habits

we all have habits. some good, some bad, some indifferent. a lot of the time i will be frustrated with myself, blaming the things i am displeased about on ‘personality traits’, but really, it’s just bad habits. i am not naturally a ‘clean freak’ kind of person, and it takes a LOT of motivation to cause me to WANT to clean. this is not to say that i enjoy living in a mess! i guess you could say that i’m a clean freak trapped in a slob’s body. this is an endless source of frustration for me. over the years i’ve tried several ways to ‘fix’ this problem, some with great success, others with minimal, but nothing seems to stick. i’ve read countless books, subscribed to websites, made to-do lists, bought or created tools with which to organize my cleaning… as if somehow that process would cause the house to be clean. my best effort came from a system described in the book sidetracked home executives by pam young and peggy jones, aka the ‘slob sisters’. these were women like me, homemakers ...

rachel's continued ramblings

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