Countdown to Christmas...

December 23...went to Weight Watchers and gained .8 lb. Losing weight at Christmas time should be banned. Ate lunch and then proceeded to bake 6 doz. cinnamon rolls for neighbors. 

Carissa's stocking is still not ready for Christmas. Paula started it, but is not yet complete.

Opened cupboard door to get salt for cinnamon rolls and this is what I found...my nutcracker tree ornament held hostage next to the salt. 

Remember "Indian in the cupboard?" Well, I had nutcracker  in the cupboard. Actually, the rubber band was to hold both arms in place after gluing them back on...  one arm being broken off by Lexi and the other arm being broken off by Paula as she was trying to glue back on the arm that was broken off by Lexi. I did not know where they put the nutcracker until I opened the cupboard...poor little nutcracker. 

Here is Lexi with her sunglasses by the gingerbread house that she made with Mommy and Daddy while Grandma was at Weight Watchers. Of course, it is anything but sunny...4 inches of snow, and very cold...now the wind is blowing, and we are anticipating getting up at 6 am to do magazine route in single digit temperatures with wind chill...do I sound excited?

Will have to do last minute grocery shopping tomorrow because I used up all the butter and flour making the 6 dozen cinnamon rolls today. Presents are still not wrapped and 2 gifts are not yet complete, so will have to do those after we get back from route and shopping. When is Christmas?

Dry winter air, static electricity, and the Statue of Liberty...

So, you say, "What do all of these things have in common?" Just look at these pictures, and tell me if you don't think Lexi remotely resembles the Statue...we should have put something in her hand to resemble a torch.

Getting into the Christmas Spirit

So, I seem to be having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year...I'm about 3 months behind in everything. Can't seem to get my act together since the girls moved in. Thank goodness Paula has it more together than I do, so she and Lexi set up and decorated the tree and Bruce put up lights outside (complete with grumbling and complaining). Granted, the tree isn't what it usually is, but that is fine with the two little girls who enjoy "undecorating" the tree. I did finally got my nativity set up on top of the china cabinet, where little fingers won't get to it, but we still haven't found the one that I want to put out for Lexi to play with, and the Christmas decoration boxes are still sitting in the family room (where they've been all week). I was hoping to not get carried away with too much baking this year because I'm trying not to put on any weight over the holidays, but I know Paula wants to do some baking, and I will help with that so we have goodies for church friends and neighbors. Tonight was our ward Christmas Party...we were asked to dress up and play inn keepers. I looked pretty sad, but I have included a picture of Bruce and the girls. It has been frigid cold, and I can't seem to get warm...maybe that's what part of the problem is...I just can't warm up. Anyway, until next posting...Merry Christmas and maybe by the next time I will have gotten more into the season.

Innkeeper Bruce

Lexi with attitude

Carissa bundled up to keep warm-fell asleep on the way

Congratulations Airman Thompson!

Last week we traveled to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio to be with Eddie as he graduated from Basic Training. Paula and the girls were excited to see him. He also was an Honors graduate--not an easy thing to do (see Paula's blog), and he looks great in a uniform! He is now at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, MS  for his technical training, but will be home with the girls for Christmas. At least now he can correspond regularly with Paula on the phone and over internet. Congratulations Eddie!

Halloween with Paula and the girls...

Well I forgot how much fun and how much work Halloween can be with little ones. First of all, what would this time of year be like without a visit to a pumpkin patch...so we went out last Saturday to Black Forest to a pumpkin farm with pony rides, animals for the girls to pet, train rides, hayrides, corn bins, and of course...lots of pumpkins. In reality, at this "pumpkin farm" they never actually grew the pumpkins, but had them shipped in in boxes and then they strategically placed the pumpkins in an area that they tried to resemble a patch of some sort so you could go pick the pumpkins you wanted...one per paying customer. So we ended up going home with 4 very large pumpkins. This week we went to 2 "trunk or treats" and Paula and the girls went to another party last night at a friend's home. Paula is very creative when it comes to costuming. This year the girls were dressed up as paper airplanes and Paula was Flight Controller, while grandma and grandpa were Assistant Flight Controllers. Of course, since the girls were all dressed in white, each time they wore the costumes, they needed to be washed, and if you have ever held Carissa for any length of time, you know she has that reflux thing goin' on and so you usually get spit up on, so we were washing our blue "controller" outfits as well. So, it seemed to me this week, that all we did was go to Halloween events and do laundry. Today, Grandpa and Paula carved the pumpkins that we got last Saturday at the "pumpkin farm." Looked for the pumpkin carving tools, but couldn't find them, so pumpkin faces were pretty simple. We have two traditional things we usually do at Halloween. One is to make homemade root beer with dry ice. Paula did that for her ward's "trunk or treat" and the other is watch Hocus Pocus while handing out candy at the door. This year we discovered that the Walmart brand of root beer extract stinks, but if you wait until Halloween or right before you cannot find the McCormick brand, which in our opinion is the only kind to get, anywhere. Also, I fell asleep while watching the movie, and after Bruce was done handing out candy, he fell asleep in the recliner. Such is the life of two old grandparents trying to keep up with the "youngins." 

Lexi and the Labyrinth...

Help...our house has been seized by an overactive 2 yr old! It's difficult to get much done when you are directed as to what to do and where to go by a little girl that thinks she owns you, the house, and just about anything in sight. Granted, it must be difficult to be couped up in the house for too long when you're 2. So, we try to get the girls out as much as possible to relieve some of the boredom. Yesterday, we went to visit Grandpa Bruce out at the Fransican Retreat Center where he works. They have a labyrinth on the grounds there, like a maze that you walk around and around until you finally get to the center. The circles are divided with stones, which you are not supposed to step over. Grandpa took Lexi around and around until they finally reached the center, but on the way back she took several short cuts. I guess it's supposed to be a reflection of your life or something...no short cuts allowed. Of course, a 2 year understands all of this so well. Anyway, Lexi had fun walking around in circles if nothing else. The ladies that Bruce works with loved meeting Paula and the girls, and then Grandpa took the girls for a ride on the electric cart to go see the deer. It was fun getting out in the sun after it had been so cold and icy over the weekend. 

Living with a parrot surrounded by barricades...

Welcome to Fort Lexi...

Paula and the girls moved in last week to stay with us for a few months while Eddie is away at basic and skills training for the Air Force. Since they have moved in, we have been trying to get the house organized again. However, the task is still not complete. There was a ton of laundry that needed to be done. Besides the regular stuff, there were extra linens and things of Eddie's that needed to be laundered and packed away. Then we have had to combine two kitchens into one as far as food goes. We moved the computer and the majority of the office stuff into our bedroom, so that we could turn the office into Lexi's room, which we found works much better than having both girls in the same room. Anyway, there are boxes, storage containers, blankets, and laundry hampers everywhere...the perfect tools to barricade Grandma into a corner or a makeshift fort so that she can't move. Even a chair or an occasional toy seems to do the job. So last night as I was trying to finish up the laundry, I was surrounded by laundry hampers, open washer/dryer doors, garbage cans, and miscellaneous objects, while Lexi was instructing me to "close the door, Grandma." What should have taken about an hour to complete took about 3, and I still had to complete things after Lexi finally went to bed. In the meantime, I can hear Paula laughing in the background.

We have also found that this skilled 2 year old fort builder resembles a parrot in many ways. Kinda like one of those birds that you try to teach respectable language to, but the things they "pick up" and repeat are the undesirable words that slip out of your mouth, like "oh crap." So it has been an interesting and sometimes humorous experience watching two old grandparents change their daily routine and habits to fit into the lifestyle of a two year old who wants to mimic everything they do.

America the Beautiful...

Here's a great little video filmed here in Colorado Springs and nearby. This is one of the reasons we live here. By the way, I'm looking out the window and I see snow...yikes! It was warm yesterday.

http://www.citizenlink.org/Stoplight/A000010256.cfm?utm_id=emailafriend&utm_campaign=1

Mom's catering company...

I have a division of my catering company called Mom's Catering. What makes this division separate from my regular catering company is that I pay for part of the supplies, and do all of the prep work  for free. We had a farewell party last night for Eddie as he departs for AF basic training on Tuesday. This actually could have almost qualified for another "We are in the process of moving" party. I was actually fine with doing the majority of the work (Bruce cut up the fruit and shredded the pork and loaded up the van), since I knew Paula and Eddie were busy packing, moving, and taking care of the girls. We went over to Cottonwood Park, a nice park with a huge fun playground for the kids. We didn't realize that it was a soccer day at the park, too, so for awhile anyway, it was hard to find a place to park. The adults had a good time visiting and wishing Eddie well, while the kids had fun playing at the playground (they played more than ate). We had lots of leftovers that we brought home and froze. 

Labor Day at Rocky Mountain National Park

On Monday, we decided to take a road trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, since it had been years ago that we were last there and Bev had never been. So we packed up a picnic lunch and off we went. On the way out of town, we stopped at Big Lots because they had cameras on sale, and I needed a camera for my cake business. I let you know that, just because some of these pictures are not too great and have a random date that came with the camera, since I was just learning to use it. I'm still learning. We stopped at a little jerky stand somewhere before Estes Park and Bev bought some elk jerky. I'm not even a jerky lover, but this stuff was really good...I think because it was so fresh. When we got to Estes Park, we looked around for a place to eat our lunch. We finally found the perfect place...a little old cemetery. After that, we made our way to the park. It was a beautiful day. Not much snow was left, much to our surprise. At one point, we had a perfect Sound of Music moment that we tried to capture on camera. No pictures of Bruce and me since the one that Bev took had Bruce cut off and half of my head gone. The LCD screen on the new camera is hard to see in the sun.

Bev and Bruce

Bev playing Julie Andrews, singing The hills are alive...

Bev buying elk jerky

Our picnic area

Follow-up to Idiot's Guides...

So, after my research last night about Idiot's Guides, I told Bruce, "This is what you should do...write an Idiot's Guide to Home Inspections." But guess what? I googled it, and we are 5 years too late. There's already one out there. Who would've known? I wonder if there is an Idiot's Guide to Overcoming Procrastination? Just a second...let me google that...oh my gosh, it's here!!! The Complete Idiot's Guide to Overcoming Procrastination.

Idiot's Guide to . . .?

Bruce and I cleaned up and organized the biggest bookcase in the office today. As I'm sitting here looking at our handiwork, one of the books that sticks out the most is our Idiot's Guide to Reflexology...probably because of the bright orange color and the bold word "IDIOT'S." So then I found myself wondering what other Idiot's Guides there are, and what would it take to write one. I was shocked when I googled Idiot's Guides. Here are some of the more interesting ones I found:

• Idiot's Guide to Training Attack Hummingbirds (Are there really such things?)
• Idiot's Guide to Cannibalism (Wow...all I can say is WOW)
• Idiot's Guide to Understanding Einstein(isn't that an oxymoron?)
• Idiot's Guide to Improving your IQ (another oxymoron?)
• Idiot's Guide to Blowing Up Balloons (is it really that difficult?)
• Idiot's Guide to Clear Thinking (Hmmm...)
• Pocket Idiot's Guide to Homemade Dogfood (there's a whole book on this?)
• Idiot's Guide to Breathing (oh man, this even beats the balloon guide)
• Idiot's Guide to Understanding the Brain (for sure an oxymoron!)
• Idiot's Guide to Pro Wrestling (now there's something everyone wants to learn about)

and the best one...

• Idoit's Guide for Dumies!! (Notice the way "idiot's" and "dummies" are spelled)

Do people really make money from selling these books, and if so, is there something that I know that some idiot would want to learn about? There has to be.

Fun at the Ballpark

The last Sky Sox ballgame we went to got rained out, so I went and exchanged the tickets for tonight's game. Bruce wasn't excited about going, but we drug him along anyway. Bev got home from her sister's earlier today, so she came also, since we had an extra ticket. During the 4th and 5th innings, it started raining again, but gently. It then stopped and pretty much cleared up for the remainder of the game. Bruce still does not understand how you can have fun at a ballgame, even when you lose...which we did big time. But Bev and I manage to enjoy ourselves, no matter what. Since tonight was fan appreciation night, they had fireworks, even though they usually only have them on Friday nights. Lexi enjoyed that. By the time we left, it was pretty chilly. I actually wore my jacket during the entire game. Still can't get used to wearing a jacket in August.

Is that Elvis I hear?

Today while we were out doing our magazine route, we were driving next to a young guy who also had the window down on his car, as we did. Instead of the normal hard or alternative rock or some disgusting rap music that we usually hear, I heard a familiar sound. Could it really be. . . especially coming from a young person? Yes, he was listening to Elvis, and singing along! How refreshing is that? As we came up next to him, I gave him the thumbs up, and he smiled and returned the gesture, then went back to singing. My day was complete.

Christmas in August...

Today was like Christmas. I finally got a china cabinet after being without one for 5 years. When we left Arizona, we sold our dining room set with the house, because we knew we would not be able to move it or store it (while we were in the apt.). So, all of my crystal and china has been packed in boxes and stored in the crawlspace for the the last 4 years. Every time I needed it, Bruce would go drag the boxes out of the crawlspace and I would unpack the dishes and goblets, etc., wash them off, and then after I was done, I would carefully pack them up again...since there was no place else to put them. I now have a china cabinet that matches the dining room table and chairs that we purchased after moving into our home because the family was coming for Thanksgiving. The dining/living room area now seems complete, and it has freed up allot of space in the crawlspace and in the hall linen closet, where I had all of my tablecloths, placemats, napkins, serving utensils, and silverware. It was necessary for us to rearrange the pictures on the wall to make room for the cabinet. Bruce helped me with that and we like the way the groupings turned out. Happy day!

Meet Rosie...our new vacuum cleaner!

A few days ago, we purchased a new vacuum cleaner. This is a Bissell Cleanview. It cost only $75 on sale at Target, but does a terrific job, and has some nifty attachments. We vacuumed the entire house tonight, and couldn't believe how much power and suction it had...you should have seen all the dirt it picked up. So, as for now, we are very happy with it. The carpet is nice and soft again. Bruce decided we needed to give the new machine a name, so we decided on Rosie, since she makes our days "rosie" now that we have a decent vacuum cleaner. We will try to take good care of Rosie, so she will be good to us.

Vacuum cleaner bites the dust...

We are in the market for a new vacuum cleaner. I actually, if you can imagine, bought this vacuum cleaner several years ago as a birthday present for myself because I was tired of using the old reconditioned Kirby that we had received as a wedding gift from Bruce's parents. I guess it was OK for awhile, but now it is a piece of junk. This is why:

• The thing no longer stays upright without propping it up on something
• The thingies that hold the cord on are broken off
• The rubber bumper guard thingy will not stay on
• Each time Bruce vacuums (I refuse to with this heavy piece of junk-I'm using the word "junk" here to replace a different word that I usually use starting with the letter "c"), another screw falls out and he vacuums it up.
• The entire front part of the vacuum is now falling off because of the missing screws. Bruce refuses to hunt through the dirt to find the missing screws...as a result the vacuum cleaner is now held together with sealing tape (probably because we ran out of duct tape). It reminds me of a "Red Green" moment.
• You can only run the vacuum cleaner for 5-10 minutes before the motor overheats, and then you have to wait for 40 minutes before it will start running again for only 5-10 minutes and on and on...you get the picture. Therefore, it takes all day to vacuum our 1700 square foot home. Last week, Bruce swore at the old piece of c___ and went and got the shop vac out of the garage and got down on his hands and knees to complete the vacuuming task.
• The attachments continue to fall out of their assigned place, so part of them are missing.
• This heavy piece of c___ is a bear to take up and down the stairs, or even use to clean the stairs, partially because remember, it will no longer remain upright.
• As you can see, the ugly piece of c___ has wall paint scratches all over it from getting too close to the wall areas that we were trying to clean, which should have been cleaned with the attachments that were missing because they had fallen off somewhere and we couldn't find them.

So, I have been spending my days researching vacuum cleaners on the internet, and I think I have found one that is not too expensive, is lighter weight, and will do a decent job. I might even take over the task of vacuuming again. I will write another post when we actually purchase the new machine...which will need to be soon because the floors are getting dirty again, and Bruce refuses to use the old useless piece of c___ one more time.