Busy with everything

Like usual....Happy New Year to you all.

We took the whole family out the Steve's Pizza for our anniversary....we think they added to our 21 years together.  We couldn't get there until 8 PM due to Gunnar working....it was hard for me to eat at 8...when I want to go to bed at 9...This vacation is messing with my schedule....I love routine.


Happy New Year!

Exciting Christmas

 2 of these came from to our house this year.  Qatar a white one and David a black one.  I don't think they have been put down yet.  Zeke got a phone also not put down yet and Cenny got lots of stuff along with JT.  Lisa got a great tool box full of wonderful tools for her and only her.  Gunnar got a new suit that isn't to short and money for tuition.
Thanks to all those who contributed to these gifts and more.  Happy New Year!!!  I will post photos soon.

Happy Anniversary to the two of us!

21 years....where does the time go?

Fried Christmas Eve .... Good... Yes and No!

Well we cleaned up after eating and eating fried everything we could fry and during the middle of midnight mass I got the feeling that maybe that was not a good idea for my digestive tract.  I made it...thank heaven....but I was in pain and sick until about 4 AM and thank heaven the kids needed sleep...they didn't get up until about 7AM and we were opening presents until 9:57 AM.  I will never eat that much fried foods again....never and please if I say 'Oh it wasn't that bad...lets try it again'  hit me.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and for the other side of the family....Happy Boxing Day.

Fried Christmas Eve .... Good... Yes and No!

After frying a turkey I had the brilliant idea of frying things for Christmas Eve.  We borrowed a turkey fryer and three fry daddy's.  Never can I own one of those I would die...too much oil...We fried Pickles several kinds in a beer batter we made ourselves(you can buy one can of beer.)  We fried onion rings, green beans (my favorite), mushrooms, kalamata olives, potatoes, pieroges(yummy), cookie dough in a won ton wrapper and snickers.  We never got to the brussel sprouts, bananas, peppers, broccoli, apples and oreos.  Boy was it all good also we fried party wings, two whole chickens and many many chicken pieces.  Delicious, but I could feel my arteries crying out for me to stop.

Fried Christmas Eve was good in theory, more tomorrow.

Happy Christmas EVE to all

The birth of Christ is why we celebrate the season and the giving of gifts comes from the wise men.  

Merry Christmas to All!

Excited about Christmas and yet the kids are fighting

Excited about Christmas and yet the kids are fighting and whinny makes me want to take it all back.  I think I my have surprised a few of them and that is getting harder and harder to do.  We will see I guess.  I hope I have some of them surprised.  We pick Paige up today in Rochester and then home to get the food purchased for Christmas Eve.  We are making it a fried Christmas we have a turkey fryer and a fry daddy, fried chicken, twinkies, snickers, oreos, onions, potatoes, shrimp, mushrooms, green beans.   actually anything we can think we will try to fry it.  Yummy!!!

Christmas day dinner is prime rib.  My clothes will not be fitting in the New Year 2012.

Saltine Toffee Yummy and easy

http://candy.about.com/od/toffeerecipes/r/saltine_toffee.htm  Recipe for Saltine Toffee....may sound weird but wow it is really easy and delicious.  Gunnar likes to call it white trash candy, but you really need to try this candy....Yummy....I know saltines....believe me it is good and so easy....I'm off to make some more right now.

Fun snowflakes

http://anthonyherreradesigns.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=56%3Astar-wars-snowflakes&catid=34%3Aanthonydesign-blog

On-line Christmas Shopping

Well I've bought almost everything on-line this year and now that the boxes are arriving I think I bought more then I meant to.  I promised the kids a small Christmas - they are going to call me a liar again....darn....darn.....darn.....I did a bit of shopping in the store when I could get a coupon on-line or a great deal posted on-line for brick and mortar stores.  Dad had to help me with one of these purchases...thanks.  I hope all of you have a great holiday and stay warm....we have snow again...darn....darn.....darn.....

JT and the car

JT has this little pull back car that when you run its wheels backwards it will take off on its own for a few feet.  He had been playing with it everywhere for a few days.  He wanted my attention the other day and I was on the phone so he kept pulling the car back and holding it while it went ruuuuummmm ruuuummm and then because I kept telling him to wait he pulled it back and stuck it on my head.....YES you guessed it the car and a huge hunk of my hair are now in the garbage.
That car sucked my hair in so quick and I could only get some of it out.  I'm glad to have curly hair, it makes it easier to hide the nice blunt cut piece that sticks out otherwise.   Sometimes I wonder why I had kids in the first place.

From the Austin Post Bulletin Paper

Cenny is a cow, Zeke is in the mass of men and so is Qatar, opposite  sides from each other.

Zeke Fainted on stage

Poor Zeke had enough of the hot lights and standing for over an hour and he slowly went down.  St. Lucia Fest was long and warm.  He did great singing as did Qatar, but thank heaven a nice man standing next to him helped him to the floor.  Now we have fodder for years to use.  Hahahah....poor Zeke.  He didn't look good when he returned to the stage to finish the rest of the program.

Busy....

More later....Merry Christmas  Gunnar gets home Thursday!

This will be David's Tattoo-From Bits and Pieces

Books Read 132- 142

I liked most of these, some of them fell flat.  What are you reading?

From Amy.oops Funny

Love this and may try it if any one is breaking curfew

We sold......

The Bow Flex 175
The Wii 150
The sewing Machine 25 a friend
The many movies and games we don't play 10
The skates David wore maybe twice 40
Yeah!!!!!

I have cash and space what a concept.  David is on to something with this......400 so far and I have space.  Where once stood things we didn't use... now nothing stands there.  Hurrah!!!!

We are broke so off to work we go!!!

The new substitute system is not a favorite of the staff at Austin Public School, but it is easier to say 'No' to.

We used to get a call in the early AM from Jane, I miss her by the way, then she retired and they hired an on-line system.  It works OK but with no flexibility that stinks.  I check on-line whenever I am on the computer and check for available jobs.  There are not many it seems and yet I'm working as much if not more then last year.  It must be working even though I hate the fact that it is a free for all now and the personality is gone from having Jane pick and choose subs for different jobs.  Here is the link to the site if interested.  I'm working at the HS today as  Health sub...hopefully it will be a great day.

Hoarders - David is cleaning out our house of everything that sits still

Show Link 
Don't watch this show if you aren't ready to clean out anything that is sitting on a surface.  He has piles to go and is starting to freak me out a bit.  At least we have less piles of books...Yeah!!!!

The Black Angel of Iowa City

We detoured on out way home from Thanksgiving through Iowa City and located the Black Angel from a book we read and reviewed earlier this year.  Killing Kate, by Julie Kramer.  It was a cold day!

Great Canvas deal for those who want to hang memories.

Here is the link to a great deal...check it out.

Funny

Thankful for........

Well that is a huge amount of things and so I am only going to put down a few here.

-Heat.  it is getting cold and I'm so thankful for the heater that makes my house comfortable to live in all winter.
- The big tree in the back yard this is taller then the house.  I hope it never falls, it keeps the house cool all summer with us hardly ever running the A/C.
- Windows that let the sun in and when open the fresh air.  I love looking out on the world and even do without curtains on the north side because of all the bushes surrounding the house.  The north side is the dark side of most homes.
-Kids.  I wonder about this as they yell and scream at each other about every little thing they don't like about one another.
- David because he goes to work everyday to provide what we all need and only wants some pocket change in exchange.
-Health because without it you have nothing.
-Family even though I get frustrated and tired of them some days, I'm almost sure I never make anyone tired of me.
-Books, I love to escape and live another life, if even only for a few minutes here and there.
So there are a few and many others I have in my head.  Thank you to my Heavenly Father for all of these and the all the rest.
-

Fried Turkey

YUMMY and so FAST....I will post our photos later.   THIS WAS FABULOUS!!!!

Goofy JT

7th Grade tour of the U of M

 Zeke found Jordan and Cory in the same cafeteria we had lunch in during our tour, this campus has over 52,000 students so I thought this was huge, we also ran into 3 other Austin students.

I spent a Friday watching 7th graders on a tour of the University of Minnesota, we walked over 2 miles while there, it is a huge campus with a bridge that spans the Mississippi, that is a walk on its own.  Fun trip, I'm glad I was able to go as a chaperon.  I has a fun talk with two of Zeke's teachers on the way up and back, both also had Gunnar.  That was an interesting talk and then we talked about Eagle Bluff coming up in February and I want to go...please...3 days in the snow and ice....what could be better?  This year they are adding archery...

Sleeping Beauty

JT and Halloween

His mask was hot so he kept taking it off and then putting it on, sometimes upside down.  Zeke and Cenny had after school activities and so they missed the fun at Hormel.  We then headed to Comforcare to see Toby and trick or treat there.  The night wasn't really cold or warm for that matter.  We hit the Anderson's house for dinner and then a few houses and still ended up with way too much candy.

Qatar is scary

Qatar scared several children with this look at the Hormel Trick or Treating.  Their poor little faces were dropping when he walked in the door and then the tears and screaming.  He took it off and still gathered candy.

Happy Thanksgiving

Carrots

The boys went to their garden after the first freeze and hacked these out of the ground with a hammer.  We did not eat them.  We also grew a pumpkin, lots of tomatoes and some onions,  next year we are growing more especially butternut squash...love that...yummy.

Fall Fun with pumpkins, trimming and gutter cleaning

We were not able to reach the gutter on the back of the house, the ladder barely touched the top, at its full length and it was scary so we will hire someone for that one next year.  We hired someone last year and that is why we tried to do it ourselves this year.  We got the rest of the gutters cleaned out and running.  Trimming the trees and bushes away from the house and pulling all the plants that were dead was a fun weekend activity.  We hauled 10 truck loads of leaves away and still need to do a few more, but the weather is turning cold and it will wait for spring.  We did have snow last week for a few minutes.