Last week of January! OH MY!

Seriously, where has the month gone. I have to make a list of my accomplishments so far this year. Today was a bit of a lazy day for me. I did the dishes(actually loaded and unloaded the dishwasher) Made home made chicken soup, yummy, tough to smell it all day without eating it until dinner, but YUM. I had to call on the internet billing and on closing an old bank account. Talked to my mom also, who is having an ultrasound tomorrow for her bladder. Dad is having an eye exam and Loda is having her toenails clipped and shots. Dave and Brenda are coming up from Fargo to get it done! Rodney has emailing me at least a few times a week, I have to teach him about attachments so he can send me photos. I scanned some patterns into my computer this morning and will be ready to do some crafts in the next couple of days. Brad has given me some jeans to shorten for him and I have a few other things to finish up. I am going to start communicating by regular mail. I need to send mail to Mom, Krystle and Sarah(Andrews wife) for starters. I am trying to blog each week, but perhaps I should just try twice a month to begin. Keira had a fall off their couch a little over a week ago and was in the hospital for surgery and was released after 6 days. I mailed her some books and puzzles which she opened when she got home. I will be teaching wed and thurs this week, the customer service desk class. They have been painting and purging at the store and hope to find all my materials when I go to work tomorrow. I was invited to a group called Crookston Connections on facebook, what alot of memories coming out as the photos and comments are posted. I have invited all of my HS crookston friends who were not already on there. It is looking to be quite fun.

First week of January 2013

Well, I have accomplished a lot in the first week of January. I am staying on my diet and trying to walk everyday with the dogs and Brad. Tonight I finished making 8 pillowcases out of an old but sturdy waterbed sheet. Cool. Nice recycle, I have been making lists and finishing projects. I have put the rest of the holiday deco away also. Last night I started working on the stiffness in my left shoulder, of course, it left me having a difficult time to sleep all night. I have to try to stretch it every day at least twice. I have started scanning photos, and compiling recipes online. A long way to go....I started reading the book "Tatoos on the Heart", so far it is pretty interesting. It is about a minister to incarcerated people and gang members. Tomorrow is a new day for a new project.!!!

New Year 2013

Wow, we made it. Brad and I went out to eat at Chevys for our anniversary last night. New Years Eve!! I made a small list of items to finish first for the New Year. First I finished sewing on two sweaters, one a button, the other tacking down pockets. Second I finished my Tunisian afghan/throw. I will add a photo soon. Brad took all the outside lights and decorations in as we started having windy days. We are putting them into the basement this weekend when we put away the inside decorations for Christmas. I am organizing my recipes online at desktopcookbook.com I am putting in tried and true recipes and ingredients etc. I will give credit where due for the origin of the recipe if I know it. I have made a promise to myself to finish projects before starting any new ones, unless it is a project I have completed before and can finish it in short time. I also want to try a new stitch this year???? Let you know when I find it. Tonight I am roasting a turkey in the oven, with out the stuffing, I have also prepared cranberry sauce and coleslaw, plus put potatoes in the oven with the turkey. Brad and I want to try to eat more sensible and healthy from now on.

New Years is Coming

Well, Brad asked me if I had my New Years resolution list done……haha. I am going to work on 3 things this year as priorities. 1. Finish up started projects or purge them! 2. Communicate more with cards,letters and phone calls. 3. Do more traveling with Brad!! Our 12th anniversary is coming tomorrow and I just want to say that I love Brad with all my heart. He is the Best Husband in the world. We enjoy so much together and our love of learning and reading is so fun. We have traveled a lot together exploring many places and I look forward to many more. He is also a great photographer, even if I am not a willing subject at the time, I appreciate the photos later. Love you Brad!! I am happy that I was able to do so much this year, I will list some of them. Fly to Minnesota. Learn to do Tunisian Crochet. Lots of refinishing projects. New insulin pump. Strawberry patch. Read many books. Tried many new recipes, we got hooked on Stir fry! New computer. Took a lot of photos. My lowest A1C yet!! Teaching customer service classes. Camped at the Beach. Retreat at the Beach. Peacock Lane. Rode our bicycles on Clearwater Trail and picked blackberries. Hoyts Arboretum. Fruit Loop in Hood River. Hiked in Washington. Daily neighborhood walks with the dogs. I know I have missed a few things, but a very enjoyable year for sure.

Here we are on Christmas Day!! Peace to you.

Christmas Eve

Today I cleaned so much and so deep. wow. I should be exhausted. Bedroom, bathroom and floors, so much done.

We gave the dogs a haircut, gorgeous. we are going to Peacock lane for the walking lights.

Amazing to see so many people our on Christmas Eve, but a very nice night for the lights.

When we got home the puppies had a bath and off to bed we went. Santa comes in the morning!!

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas 2012

Today is Christmas Eve!!

Here is our card for this year, I created it on Picaboo.com from Photos Brad took during the year! We are having a quiet Christmas this year, will try to skype with someone for sure. Our tree this year is a ‘charlie brown’ style tree.

october 2012

Okay, hit a couple of snags in my refinishing progress. Have sanded the door to my computer room twice and can't seem to get the finish to set, when I have put the first coat of poly on it. It looks like crap, I will sand once more and see what happens. Very frustrated about this door!! So.......Brad is staining it and he will decide if we should just buy a new door...yikes. On a positive note, finished the parquet look table for Brads side of the bed, turned out great!! I have done most of the trim boards for the doorways now, just to finish up and hang them. Read the book The Homecoming of Samuel Lake, that was kinda sad and alarming, but the author writes in a way that keeps you coming back for more. The author is Jenny Wingfield, I will be looking to see if she writes more.The book was about a minister and his family, daughter Swan Lake and their neighbors. The next book I finished was Blessings by Anna Quindlen, the book was about an abandoned infant and a worker at a farm who found her. I really liked this book. The end was sad though. I am now reading and almost finished with Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes. An older book about a retarded man who they do an experimental surgery on and he becomes quite genious. It is kinda sad also to know things that have happened to him and things don't really get too much different after the surgery except his intelligence. Will recap next time I write when I am finished, hoping for some kind of a happy ending here. Today I made two new recipes. First I made Pasty's with ground beef,potato,carrot, and onion inside a pastry crust, Second, I made a small meatloaf in a round cake pan with mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese on top. Both were very good for lunch and plenty left for supper and tomorrow. I am thinking of a lemon meringue pie...........perhaps in just a bit. Brad is taking a nap and I could surprise him. Washing a couple loads of clothes and it is raining all day today......It is also Andrews 30th birthday today, I called but so far spoke to voice mailbox. Spoke to Brenda last night, Dave had a heart attack on Monday and still has 30% blockage of his heart. He sounded quite chipper but has off till next Wednesday I believe. He is soooo lucky to have gotten medical attention quickly. Today got a message from Krystle, perhaps we will finally talk by phone~~ too long.......for sure. Oh yes, update for baby Dale, due end of March 2013.....no update on the baby's sex yet. On the crochet topic, I finished one prayer shawl, about half done with #2 and still have to finish the cotton throw. Will work on that tomorrow for sure. I have went through some patterns looking for stuff for the baby also. Halloween is this week, gonna carve the pumpkins tonight!!! Almost ready.