I'm Still Alive!

Good morning everyone! I can only imagine your thoughts of where I have disappeared to this past while. I can assure you all that while there were many days I struggled through, I am still here kicking and screaming (OK... kicking maybe slightly exaggerated? Haha!) and ready to share my wit and wisdom once more to all who wish to listen! So my dear friends, grab a steaming mug of tea(or coffee... or hot chocolate! Yum) and let's get reacquainted.




Summer was crazy busy for us even though we stayed home. And when I say 'we' I mean my husband & myself. The kids have all reached that magical age where they are just 'gone'. The oldest 2 would have plans on the weekends and be 'gone'. Camping with friends, parties, or suddenly they are all at our home and the house is over run with young men & women eating our food and taking over our house and backyard (because they always need to use the firepit for the party! Duh mom!) and just as suddenly as they all show up they all leave and the house is quiet again because they are all 'gone'.

The youngest was at Air Cadet camp for 6 weeks so during the week when the 2 older ones and my husband were working the house was very quiet. And now this new transition of 'gone' on the weekends to work through... Hmmm.

Now I know my mother is reading this and thinking "Oh good grief! Enjoy! You're free!". And she's right! But I keep thinking wow... how did this happen? And how did it happen without any warning? Wasn't it just last month I was chasing little boys around?

Well, as I sat around contemplating the quietness I realized I was definitely suffering from a case of 'empty nest syndrome'. (oh dear.. my poor mom is just shaking her head and thinking, silly girl!) So... instead of gracefully adjusting to this next stage of life, I did the next most brilliant thing I could think of... I got a puppy!




Seems logical! Right? Ha! Well... this little guy has brought a whole lot of crazy back into our lives. At almost 5 months old he is a solid 25lbs of clumsy puppy love. He bowls straight into you like an enthusiastic furry tank with a wet tongue and making happy little 'oinking' sounds.




So now it seems I have staved off the empty nest syndrome for a while longer... I may not be chasing my little boys anymore who are growing in to wonderful young men, but I am definitely chasing boys (and a girl) again! I just traded in for some furry barking children! And I'm enjoying every minute of it!

Its That Time Of Year!!

Weee! Hi Everyone! So very excited today! And a little harried to, if I'm going to be honest! As you all know my past month has been a little rough between losing my sweetheart at the end of March, and having a real rough patch with my Fibro. But this past weekend things started to look up! So I hope you have your warm mug of something yummy and a few minutes to share your day with me.

This weekend the sun decided to finally shine like it was really Spring in our little corner of the planet! The golden rays felt so wonderful shining in my bedroom window and the breeze smelled like Spring. Ahh...FINALLY!! So I grabbed my proverbial whip, and started snapping my men into action because folks....its 'THAT TIME OF YEAR'

Ok..I guess I should actually clarify a few things in that last paragraph before the next entry in my blog is my obituary. I didn't actually snap my whip.I had been gently nagging on and off for some time (well...one of the jobs that got done had been on the list like 8 years but I don't care, it's done!!) But Ii digress...I didn't snap any whips last weekend because I was pretty much sound asleep most of the weekend. I woke up to all the jobs magically accomplished!!

Wow!! I hear all you wives out there saying that!! I know!! I was saying it too!! And you guys...I hear the grumbling...I know my guy made you all look bad. The man let his sick wife sleep the weekend away, and did chores without nagging!! Things like painting and trim work! (My bathroom looks fabulous!!) Why?! Why would he do such a thing to you guys?

Well..before there is a huge riot at our house and you men come dragging him out and demanding his Man Card, let me finish explaining the rest of that first paragraph...'THAT TIME OF YEAR' .

'THAT TIME OF YEAR' is that super special awesome wonderful time of year that my mom comes to visit. Which also equates to my house getting several much needed small renovations finished and tidied up. (My middle son remarked the other day as things were getting cleaned up and put into place that his Gramma should come visit more often!!) So this time tomorrow I will have picked my mom up from the airport and the fun will have begun!!

Oh...I mentioned I was a bit harried too, didn't I? Well...thats because the room my mom is supposed to sleep in I can barely see the floor! Argh..teenagers! I still have 24hrs...don't worry mom!

Can I borrow a cup of flour?

Good afternoon everyone! Hope you enjoyed your weekend and enjoyed the Christmas parties that have started. I had the privilege of accompanying my husband to his work party on Saturday night and surprisingly I actually made it to 10pm which is way past bed time for me! It was fun to dress up and meet the people he works with and we had a wonderful supper. Thanks honey for a really fun night!

Well...I noticed its gotten to be crunch time. Every day for the past couple of weeks I have really good intentions of getting my Christmas baking done. I flip through my cook books, make sure I have the ingredients, and then I get distracted. The kitchen may be dirty, or maybe a load of laundry needs to be done, phone rings, or I may just not have the energy to do it. So then it waits til the next day...and the next day...

I must admit, it got me to thinking, how many of us still do our own home Christmas baking? I remember watching my mom baking the whole month of December (and probably starting in November) making cakes and cookies.  We never realized how much work was involved until we have to do our own baking for our own families, and even at that I know I never did the amount of baking my mom ever did. And I know even if I make the same recipes my mom makes...they just never taste as good as my mom's!

So...like I said earlier...its crunch time. I know I'm going to start resorting to cheating and hitting Costco and getting some yummy baking there...but I also know Christmas just isn't quite the same without a few home baked goodies. I was wondering if a few of you could share a few 'tried and true' recipes with everyone. Cookies or tarts or bars that are easy and quick to bake that for someone like me don't require much time or energy. It will be lots of fun also to get recipes from all the different countries that read my blog! I would love to try my hand at some baking from Russia, Spain, or Trinidad to name a few.

How fun this will be! Christmas baking from around the world! Now I'm actually looking very forward to attempting my baking once I get some new recipes from you, my friends. Happy baking everyone! Looking forward to your recipes.