Wayne decided to help when he found out it involved peanut M&m's.
Monday, August 29, 2005
No Fancy Title-just not creative today.
Currently Reading: LOTS of things!
Quilting with Laura ~Patterns Inspired by Little House on the Prairie by Linda Halpin is one of the many quilting books I borrowed from the library and All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriott are just two of the books I am looking through right now. I have quite a few crafting books that I am checking out-hoping to get inspired. You know-the holiday is coming up-and if you like to make most your gifts, like we do, you have to start your preparations early!
Today I am ‘watching’ my niece and nephew, Samantha and Wayne. I say ‘watching’ because they are almost 12 and almost 9 so they don’t require much! Elizabeth and Bob went out for the day to celebrate their anniversary. This afternoon Samantha and I baked some peanut butter cookies together-and Wayne was eventually drawn to the kitchen to help too. We had so much fun-we decided we were on a roll and so we also made (per Samantha’s suggestion!) Chocolate Chip Banana Bars (an excellent choice since I have ripe banana’s to get rid of!) Both turned out really well. It was so nice to have real helpers in the kitchen! Corynn helps by stirring-but a two year old doesn’t even STIR very good!
Tonight as a special treat, we are making homemade pizza’s (one is going to be ‘stuffed crust’) and watching a movie. We chose Hans Christian Anderson-My Life as a Fairytale. It looks really good! Matt and I are just as excited as the kids…
I was hoping to do laundry and make peach jam. It just didn’t happen. I had to go grocery shopping and the weather is weird-overcast. Dry ground but wet air. Needless to say, clothes wouldn’t dry very well anyway.
Yesterday we had a couple over for supper after church. They are new to the area but are settling down here. They just bought a house. They are a young couple-they have three children…two boys and one belly baby. It was so delightful having them over! You know you have something in common when the first thing they say when they come in is-“Wow-we have that whole row of books!” Most people who come to our house say “wow-you have a lot of books.” in this exasperated tone. Translation: “What are you thinking? What do you do with those?!?!” Well-what do you think we do with them?!?!?!
They stayed until after 7 o’clock since we lost track of time. Thanks to great conversation! It is good to find more like-minded people…they are certainly hard to come by for Matt and I.
This week is going to prove a very interesting week. It is a week that will decide our future. I won’t be going into anything now-but we will have a very important decision to make this week. Certain aspects of such a hard decision weigh heavy on our hearts and minds and so it is important that we seek wisdom in this area. Until a decision is made-my heart is in my throat. I am sometimes excited, sometimes, scared: sometimes ‘pro’ sometimes ‘con’:very schitzophrenic. ( I apologize for that last sentence- I am horrible at punctuation.) I will be happy when the week is over. For closure-and for celebration! Friday is Corynn’s 2nd birthday! I still have no idea what to get or make for her. She is such a special little girl. It would be so easy to spoil spoil spoil her. The one thing I LONG to get for her, I can’t. She loves those spring bouncy ponies. My mom has one and it is always the first thing she goes to. We just could never spend that much money on one-I have looked and looked at yard sales but to no avail. I had better get some inspiration soon-because before I know it, it will be here.
Well…got to get the pizzas started. This pregnancy I don’t feel so well. If I don’t eat often, in seconds I can go from being fine to being so terribly hungry that I feel like I am going to throw up and pass out at the same time. So-when I start to feel ‘empty” I have a few minutes to fix it or I won’t even be able to prepare anything I will feel so bad. Now is the time!
Quilting with Laura ~Patterns Inspired by Little House on the Prairie by Linda Halpin is one of the many quilting books I borrowed from the library and All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriott are just two of the books I am looking through right now. I have quite a few crafting books that I am checking out-hoping to get inspired. You know-the holiday is coming up-and if you like to make most your gifts, like we do, you have to start your preparations early!
Today I am ‘watching’ my niece and nephew, Samantha and Wayne. I say ‘watching’ because they are almost 12 and almost 9 so they don’t require much! Elizabeth and Bob went out for the day to celebrate their anniversary. This afternoon Samantha and I baked some peanut butter cookies together-and Wayne was eventually drawn to the kitchen to help too. We had so much fun-we decided we were on a roll and so we also made (per Samantha’s suggestion!) Chocolate Chip Banana Bars (an excellent choice since I have ripe banana’s to get rid of!) Both turned out really well. It was so nice to have real helpers in the kitchen! Corynn helps by stirring-but a two year old doesn’t even STIR very good!
Tonight as a special treat, we are making homemade pizza’s (one is going to be ‘stuffed crust’) and watching a movie. We chose Hans Christian Anderson-My Life as a Fairytale. It looks really good! Matt and I are just as excited as the kids…
I was hoping to do laundry and make peach jam. It just didn’t happen. I had to go grocery shopping and the weather is weird-overcast. Dry ground but wet air. Needless to say, clothes wouldn’t dry very well anyway.
Yesterday we had a couple over for supper after church. They are new to the area but are settling down here. They just bought a house. They are a young couple-they have three children…two boys and one belly baby. It was so delightful having them over! You know you have something in common when the first thing they say when they come in is-“Wow-we have that whole row of books!” Most people who come to our house say “wow-you have a lot of books.” in this exasperated tone. Translation: “What are you thinking? What do you do with those?!?!” Well-what do you think we do with them?!?!?!
They stayed until after 7 o’clock since we lost track of time. Thanks to great conversation! It is good to find more like-minded people…they are certainly hard to come by for Matt and I.
This week is going to prove a very interesting week. It is a week that will decide our future. I won’t be going into anything now-but we will have a very important decision to make this week. Certain aspects of such a hard decision weigh heavy on our hearts and minds and so it is important that we seek wisdom in this area. Until a decision is made-my heart is in my throat. I am sometimes excited, sometimes, scared: sometimes ‘pro’ sometimes ‘con’:very schitzophrenic. ( I apologize for that last sentence- I am horrible at punctuation.) I will be happy when the week is over. For closure-and for celebration! Friday is Corynn’s 2nd birthday! I still have no idea what to get or make for her. She is such a special little girl. It would be so easy to spoil spoil spoil her. The one thing I LONG to get for her, I can’t. She loves those spring bouncy ponies. My mom has one and it is always the first thing she goes to. We just could never spend that much money on one-I have looked and looked at yard sales but to no avail. I had better get some inspiration soon-because before I know it, it will be here.
Well…got to get the pizzas started. This pregnancy I don’t feel so well. If I don’t eat often, in seconds I can go from being fine to being so terribly hungry that I feel like I am going to throw up and pass out at the same time. So-when I start to feel ‘empty” I have a few minutes to fix it or I won’t even be able to prepare anything I will feel so bad. Now is the time!
Thursday, August 25, 2005
A night to remember....
Imagine a night being shared with only one. As you stare across the table at the one that you love, seeing his dark brown eyes flickering with love in the candlelight, surrounded by glittering hearts and lights while soft jazz music dances to your ears and through the night sky, you are taken back to the very day that all of this sweet love was first realized, and then the day that brought you two together in a union and commitment before God. Such was my night last night.
Matt and I celebrated a very special day yesterday-our Anniversary. Three years and counting. Since we didn't have much money...we got creative! Matt made me a wonderful breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast, and HOT COCOA! Delicious! That was his present to me. My present to him was a surprise. At 6:00, I told him to take Corynn upstairs to eat and keep her up there. He wasn't allowed to look out windows OR come downstairs without warning. Later, he was in charge of putting her to bed. During that time, I made us dinner of spinach manicotti and fresh from the garden sauteed green beans. We also had breadsticks and for dessert vanillar pudding (hey! I was on a time crunch!) I decorated the tree out back with all sorts of Christmas lights and made a bunch of aluminum foil hearts. I lit candles on the tables, and floated some flowers in water, I played our wedding CD. After supper, we danced. It was a beautiful evening and one that I will never forget. Matt was surprised too. I would be more elaborate in my detail and say more-except I don't have time. Got to run! Mom has her gallbladder surgery today and I have to take care of the kids for her. Got to get there! :-)
Matt and I celebrated a very special day yesterday-our Anniversary. Three years and counting. Since we didn't have much money...we got creative! Matt made me a wonderful breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast, and HOT COCOA! Delicious! That was his present to me. My present to him was a surprise. At 6:00, I told him to take Corynn upstairs to eat and keep her up there. He wasn't allowed to look out windows OR come downstairs without warning. Later, he was in charge of putting her to bed. During that time, I made us dinner of spinach manicotti and fresh from the garden sauteed green beans. We also had breadsticks and for dessert vanillar pudding (hey! I was on a time crunch!) I decorated the tree out back with all sorts of Christmas lights and made a bunch of aluminum foil hearts. I lit candles on the tables, and floated some flowers in water, I played our wedding CD. After supper, we danced. It was a beautiful evening and one that I will never forget. Matt was surprised too. I would be more elaborate in my detail and say more-except I don't have time. Got to run! Mom has her gallbladder surgery today and I have to take care of the kids for her. Got to get there! :-)
Monday, August 22, 2005
Sights of the St. Lawrence...
Boy, am I beat. I still haven’t fully recovered from the busy-ness of last week (and the week before…). Today I spent all day doing laundry, hanging laundry, folding laundry, putting away laundry, piling laundry, sorting laundry, pre-treating laundry, laundry, laundry, laundry.
The weekend was great fun. We spent most of the time on the boat, touring the St. Lawrence, swimming, and peering in awe at the great fortunes of some. You would not believe the ‘cottages’ that surround the St. Lawrence! When we first arrived, I was shocked that the ‘cottage’ we were staying at could be so named since it would probably be bigger than any house I ever live in. It was THREE bedrooms (huge bedrooms too-more like dormitories!) with all the amenities. We got in late and the daylight had long since retired and so not much was seen except for the lights from an occasional oil tanker rolling in from the ocean. The moon was SO bright, however, it actually cast shadows of the porch as we sat there. Corynn pointed it out in the car as soon as she found it, and continued to excitedly proclaim “MOON! MOON!” for the next 10 minutes until we finally arrived at the house and she was FINALLY preoccupied with something new and possibly more exciting. The next day we went on the boat and I saw how modest our borrowed cottage really was compared to the immense structures surrounding the river. The fortunes of some people are truly unfathomable. To think-people have money enough to buy mansions that they will only live in for a few months out of the year! Gary put it perfectly as we were peering at one home in particular. It was one that was actually able to take ones breath away. The home was made almost entirely of rock-along with the walls, steps, outbuildings, boathouse and waterfalls, that surrounded it…and while it looked huge in a frontal view-you had no idea the size until you peered at the side-which extended even further than could be thought possible. There were several docks and it sported a handful of different types of boats, along with five jet-ski’s. Gary chuckled as he said, “The bumpers on these docks cost more than our boat did!” but he wasn’t kidding.
Here are some pictures of the trip. I will post more later when I get a different roll of film developed. It’s only 9:00pm but lately, I have just been falling into bed each night. Tomorrow is a big day so I might as well get rested up. I drop off my crafts at Iron Kettle, pick up/drop off more consignment clothes, do some grocery shopping, and hopefully post a few things on ebay. I also want to bake cookies to give to our landlady who fed our bunnies in our absence, and having been tempted by Leah’s (RF Wife) photo’s-I have been coerced into trying out those summer squash pickles. I have some that are just waiting to be preserved in such a yummy looking treat. Hopefully, I will do that tomorrow too. Oh yeah. And laundry. :-)
The weekend was great fun. We spent most of the time on the boat, touring the St. Lawrence, swimming, and peering in awe at the great fortunes of some. You would not believe the ‘cottages’ that surround the St. Lawrence! When we first arrived, I was shocked that the ‘cottage’ we were staying at could be so named since it would probably be bigger than any house I ever live in. It was THREE bedrooms (huge bedrooms too-more like dormitories!) with all the amenities. We got in late and the daylight had long since retired and so not much was seen except for the lights from an occasional oil tanker rolling in from the ocean. The moon was SO bright, however, it actually cast shadows of the porch as we sat there. Corynn pointed it out in the car as soon as she found it, and continued to excitedly proclaim “MOON! MOON!” for the next 10 minutes until we finally arrived at the house and she was FINALLY preoccupied with something new and possibly more exciting. The next day we went on the boat and I saw how modest our borrowed cottage really was compared to the immense structures surrounding the river. The fortunes of some people are truly unfathomable. To think-people have money enough to buy mansions that they will only live in for a few months out of the year! Gary put it perfectly as we were peering at one home in particular. It was one that was actually able to take ones breath away. The home was made almost entirely of rock-along with the walls, steps, outbuildings, boathouse and waterfalls, that surrounded it…and while it looked huge in a frontal view-you had no idea the size until you peered at the side-which extended even further than could be thought possible. There were several docks and it sported a handful of different types of boats, along with five jet-ski’s. Gary chuckled as he said, “The bumpers on these docks cost more than our boat did!” but he wasn’t kidding.
Here are some pictures of the trip. I will post more later when I get a different roll of film developed. It’s only 9:00pm but lately, I have just been falling into bed each night. Tomorrow is a big day so I might as well get rested up. I drop off my crafts at Iron Kettle, pick up/drop off more consignment clothes, do some grocery shopping, and hopefully post a few things on ebay. I also want to bake cookies to give to our landlady who fed our bunnies in our absence, and having been tempted by Leah’s (RF Wife) photo’s-I have been coerced into trying out those summer squash pickles. I have some that are just waiting to be preserved in such a yummy looking treat. Hopefully, I will do that tomorrow too. Oh yeah. And laundry. :-)
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Busy Busy! Boating, Bridal showers, byebye parties, and big girls...
The past two weeks have been a whirlwind-and the next two promise to be. On Sunday we went to G&L's to pick the last of the blueberries-but there were none! :-( Sadly, I guess Matt didn't get his pie after all-maybe I will have to buy some. We'll see. Last night we went BACK to G&L's for a good-bye party for a visiting Uncle. Tonight we are leaving to go on our last 'vacation' of the year. We are going to spend a few nights at a cottage on the St. Lawrence with Gary and Linda. The people who own it are letting us in it for free because Matt helped them build it. Kind of like a bartering thing. Gary and Linda have a boat and so we hope to be on the water a lot. We will return on Saturday morning just to go BACK to G&L's to a bridal shower. Let's just say...while I do so look forward to this trip-It will be nice when all this monkey business is through and we can just be HOME by ourselves. I will say this though-if things keep up at this pace, peanut will get here before I know it! It is an excruciatingly long wait-if you tick off days instead of weeks or months.
So today-I have to walk to the post office to mail some packages, wash diapers before we leave, pack up clothes and groceries, mail a letter with photo's, clean up the house, take out garbage, and sew another bunting. The beginning of next week I am dropping off my first load of craft items to Iron Kettle Farm to be set up. I am also taking another lot of clothes to the consignment shop. The one I am going with only allows you to put 6 things in at a time and it is pretty far away-so it can be a royal pain. Oh well-money is money. Oh! And Elizabeth is taking a week off of vacation and so I am getting three of her babysitting kids for a week. That is a bit more money for us. I look forward to hopefully socking this away in our non-exsistent house fund. :-)
For two weeks, Corynn has been eating up knowledge. She now recites almost the entire Lord's prayer each morning for breakfast. She can count by herself to 16 (making one or two mistakes...), and at church on Sunday-she folded the bulletin in half, then in half again, four times-making a perfect tiny little square. I was shocked. She even drinks from a regular cup these days. She is getting to be such a big girl! In just a few weeks she will be two! Where has the time gone? Though I will miss her babyhood-the point she is at now is so FUN and exciting! I wouldn't trade it for anything.
I hope everyone has a great week!
So today-I have to walk to the post office to mail some packages, wash diapers before we leave, pack up clothes and groceries, mail a letter with photo's, clean up the house, take out garbage, and sew another bunting. The beginning of next week I am dropping off my first load of craft items to Iron Kettle Farm to be set up. I am also taking another lot of clothes to the consignment shop. The one I am going with only allows you to put 6 things in at a time and it is pretty far away-so it can be a royal pain. Oh well-money is money. Oh! And Elizabeth is taking a week off of vacation and so I am getting three of her babysitting kids for a week. That is a bit more money for us. I look forward to hopefully socking this away in our non-exsistent house fund. :-)
For two weeks, Corynn has been eating up knowledge. She now recites almost the entire Lord's prayer each morning for breakfast. She can count by herself to 16 (making one or two mistakes...), and at church on Sunday-she folded the bulletin in half, then in half again, four times-making a perfect tiny little square. I was shocked. She even drinks from a regular cup these days. She is getting to be such a big girl! In just a few weeks she will be two! Where has the time gone? Though I will miss her babyhood-the point she is at now is so FUN and exciting! I wouldn't trade it for anything.
I hope everyone has a great week!
Monday, August 15, 2005
Weekend Wedding-love the mushy gushy!
Ah….I love a good wedding. I do at that. Nate and Julie-hoo’s wedding was a success-but as with every wedding, there were little setbacks that you are forced to just accept and not dwell. Julie was breath-taking, the farmer’s market was just gorgeous, and Corynn actually made it down the aisle without embarrassing me to death!
The night of the rehearsal I was scared, let me tell you! She cried because she didn’t want to go down, then, when she did, she broke out into a run. When she got all the way down, she figured it was more fun than she had anticipated, so she ran around the front in a huge all-encompassing circle, then headed back up the aisle-squeezing between the bride and her father as she passed. I was frantic. I was ready to give up the whole idea. But-she came through. I bought some mentos candies and put one in her mouth to keep her quiet and occupied. Then, she bumped up and down at my command to ‘go slow’ and then, half way down-gaining momentum, she started to jog a bit-but she went straight to the men who then held her hand until I was seated and then she came to me. Whew! I was really able to enjoy myself then. Unfortunately, because I was so many different places at once-I didn’t get to take any pictures of her walking down the aisle. :-(
I almost didn’t even make it to the wedding, because I was over at the farmer’s market setting things up there. I had left Corynn with her grandparents to nap (which she didn’t) and when I got back to the hotel room, they had left…and I didn’t know how to get to the church from there! I eventually found it, with only minutes to spare-and much to the relief of Matt who was sure I was in an accident or lost on some one way street on the other side of Ithaca.
Their wedding was complete with a blue grass band, a professional hula-hooper who somehow made hula-hooping sensual (don’t ask me how-but she did.), GORGEOUS flowers they arranged themselves (from wild flowers they picked and a few ordered flowers from a lady at the farmer’s market), and vegetarian grub. The hula hoop lady doubled as one of the photographers but took a break from that to dance-she even brought out a fire hula-hoop later, but we had left at that point. When the music started, Corynn started dancing-and didn’t stop. Hours later (no exaggeration) with sweat pouring off her head, I had to pull her off the dance floor. She was in a dance circle-surrounded by grown-ups all watching her dance and she was very pleased to be there. I couldn’t believe the gumption that little girl had two hours past her bedtime!
I didn’t take as many pictures as I thought I would, because there were quite a few people all lined up to take photos-plus they had camera’s on the tables. There IS such a thing as TOO many photo’s. But-here are a few to give you an idea about the wedding and the people. It really was lovely.
The night of the rehearsal I was scared, let me tell you! She cried because she didn’t want to go down, then, when she did, she broke out into a run. When she got all the way down, she figured it was more fun than she had anticipated, so she ran around the front in a huge all-encompassing circle, then headed back up the aisle-squeezing between the bride and her father as she passed. I was frantic. I was ready to give up the whole idea. But-she came through. I bought some mentos candies and put one in her mouth to keep her quiet and occupied. Then, she bumped up and down at my command to ‘go slow’ and then, half way down-gaining momentum, she started to jog a bit-but she went straight to the men who then held her hand until I was seated and then she came to me. Whew! I was really able to enjoy myself then. Unfortunately, because I was so many different places at once-I didn’t get to take any pictures of her walking down the aisle. :-(
I almost didn’t even make it to the wedding, because I was over at the farmer’s market setting things up there. I had left Corynn with her grandparents to nap (which she didn’t) and when I got back to the hotel room, they had left…and I didn’t know how to get to the church from there! I eventually found it, with only minutes to spare-and much to the relief of Matt who was sure I was in an accident or lost on some one way street on the other side of Ithaca.
Their wedding was complete with a blue grass band, a professional hula-hooper who somehow made hula-hooping sensual (don’t ask me how-but she did.), GORGEOUS flowers they arranged themselves (from wild flowers they picked and a few ordered flowers from a lady at the farmer’s market), and vegetarian grub. The hula hoop lady doubled as one of the photographers but took a break from that to dance-she even brought out a fire hula-hoop later, but we had left at that point. When the music started, Corynn started dancing-and didn’t stop. Hours later (no exaggeration) with sweat pouring off her head, I had to pull her off the dance floor. She was in a dance circle-surrounded by grown-ups all watching her dance and she was very pleased to be there. I couldn’t believe the gumption that little girl had two hours past her bedtime!
I didn’t take as many pictures as I thought I would, because there were quite a few people all lined up to take photos-plus they had camera’s on the tables. There IS such a thing as TOO many photo’s. But-here are a few to give you an idea about the wedding and the people. It really was lovely.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
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