I feel like singing! Can you believe this?!

8:52 p.m. this evening ... I just had to go snag a picture or two. Doesn't this daylight make you just want to sing? It does me!

And imagine ... this is not digitally enhanced ... not even one teensy bit. The trees were still visible against the sky an hour later. Wouldn't make much of a picture ... but I could see the trees.

Before we know it ... this picture will have nothing but green out there. I can hardly stand it. (Just in case you can't tell!)

An extra hour today

is all it took. I was motivated big time! Spring fever has hit. Doesn't matter if it is still snowing a bit every night. The afternoon was absolutely gorgeous with sunshine galore. And I hid in the basement. Right now I can't afford what I would really like in the laundry room ... so am improvising with things that can later (if ever) be moved somewhere else! I keep hoping to win Target's $5,000 from completing their online survey ... but no luck so far. :) Anyway, I worked on the basement ... and it felt downright wonderful! There is a lot of work to be done down there, but feel better looking at it now.

Tomorrow I offered to leave early as well. Probably shouldn't be doing this, but this week I just don't really care. I am in the mood to clean house and if I have the chance for an extra couple of hours to do it ... that is awesome! Whichever direction the motivation takes me tomorrow ... I'll just follow the path. Am really hoping that it takes me to the pantry. It could really use some help. Things like hooks, pegs, rods ... the trash can.

My kiddo is calling me. We have a date scheduled in the living room ... with a heating pad behind my back.

Think spring!

Mt Redoubt is silent this morning

It has been interesting to keep tabs on this mountain. No ash at our house. We've had enough glacial wind coming from the other way that it probably couldn't settle here if it tried! This morning the mountain seems to be behaving itself.

I'm a bit doubting about this fund thing. I've already borrowed money from it! So, not only do I have to fund the funds, but need to have cash for lunch money so that I don't have to borrow from it! If you're a really good guesser, I'll bet you can even figure out which pocket I borrowed from!

Happy Monday!

This morning Tia & I headed for the dentist. She had an appointment for some fillings and I for some hygenist work. Both at 8:00. The hygenist usually doesn't come in until 9, so when we scheduled the appointments she had asked them to please call her the Friday before to remind her. Guess what. They forgot. Not an easy thing to reschedule. :( The office assured me that she had been reminded. I don't think so. She came in at 9 a.m. and was a bit embarrassed. I skipped my appointment and learned about organizing my life according to Good Housekeeping and http://clutterdiet.com/. I haven't had a chance to explore the sight myself. Can't tell you what is there. And to be perfectly honest ... I think I already forgot what I learned this morning. NOT a good sign. As a consolation prize for missing her appointment with me, I left with this package this morning. Should be fun to try!

We've been batting 1,000 around here. Alyx drives this lovely vehicle.

She has learned to pour oil in almost as fast as gasoline. To the shop it went last week. We picked it up Friday. Would cost more to repair everything than the car is worth. So we are hoping and praying that it will gimp its way through the rest of school. Drive nicely ... very nicely. I'm back to threatening the horse and pooper scooper again.

Have you ever had the pleasure of standing at the checkout lane at the grocery store, items are all rung up, you slide your wonderful debit card and the cashier looks at you and says "your card has been declined" experience? You shudder and ask her to do it again. Same response. Just great. I did on Saturday. Then I headed over to the gas pump. Figured as no one could see me to humiliate me even further, I'd try it again. This time it said "contact card issuer". Either the banking world had just shut down or my IRS refund check was no good. What on earth!! So I called the bank on my way home, got disconnected at just the point where we had figured out what happened, and called back again. Somehow, when I opened another account on Saturday morning, they had changed MY debit card to be attached to the new account. The account with not a red cent in it until the bank clears everything on Monday evening. Not happy. They straightened it out and were very apologetic, but talk about humiliating. I really need to remember how I look at folks. Heaven only knows what their story is ... they may actually be telling the truth!

That, in a nutshell, is my shareable fun stuff over the weekend and today. Yesterday evening I was gazing through magazines that hinted at planting vegies and flowers. Dreaming big time. Trying to figure out which zone I live in and what I might add where in the yard. Where do I move the tulips? Can tulips be moved? That kind of thing. This morning I actually took the tape measure out on the front porch. Two inches of brand new snow and it was still falling. Guess I'll have plenty of time to dream about these.

The Fun Funds :)

This is the little Fund project I put together the other night. As you can see, ribbon is at a premium in this house. I had to "borrow" some from elsewhere and will replace it with brown ribbon once I find some. :) I tried to think of the things that make me frustrated regarding money. Forget the regular heating bill and that kind good stuff. It seems to be the other things that drive me crazy at times. Will see how this works. I intend to fund these little pockets on payday or when some other little pile of pennies shows up unexpectedly. I also want to add a name to the right side of this. Perhaps I'll call it Fun Funds.

Mom's Mad Money. The most important one. I often see things that I'd like to have and just don't pick them up. I can think of a hundred other things to spend the money on. It doesn't matter that I really CAN spend the $20 ... I won't. I sort of need to justify everything. That guilt thing or something like it. You won't believe what I'm funding my Mad Money with. The biggest thing is bringing my own lunch to work. I'm really bad. I hit the cafeteria ... and everyday (except for chicken fried steak and halibut burgers) it doesn't look any better. I just buy more food ... eat more sugar ... and get grumpy when I look at the paystub. So, the equivalent of those lunches will fall into this little pocket. There are other little things too ... but you'd think I was really over the edge crazy if I told you!

Exploring Fun: A little here and a little there ... Juneau ... Kennicot (sp?) Mines ... summer/winter visitors ... that kind of thing.

Clothes: Probably not for a big clothes hunting experience before school starts, but then again if I'm really good about adding pennies ... maybe that will work as well. One of many frustrations: kiddo desperately needs shoes and I just paid the electric bill, gas bill and the car needed tires. Will see if this one really works or not, but every bit might help.

Carribean: (Big grins!) Jari & I are planning on a vacation within the next several years ... and I might need some new duds. :) This one is sort of connected to the Mad Money. I also need to lose a few pounds. That is self imposed. If I quite eating the french fries .. I save money ... add to Mad Money .. lose 10# and need new sandals for the beach. Sound good??

Gardening: Self explanatory. I think I'm going to be spending a wee bit of money in that department this summer. I can smell the flowers already.

Christmas: Another one. We all understand that one. I should have added another category for "Other gifts", but we'll just incorporate the two ... maybe separate paper clips or something. :)

There are no sealed edges on this. It is open. I cropped manilla folders and attached decorative papers to put them together. It won't be flopping around in my purse or running loose on the kitchen counter, so it ought to be safe! After I use it for a while, I'm sure I'll find other Funds that I should add ... and I can always add some more pockets!

Now the hard part. Staying focused to fund the fund!

Friday evening

In case you're wondering ... this is Friday evening and it looks like Redoubt is going to keep everyone on their toes tonite.

At 19:25 AKDT March 27, 2009 (3:25 UTC March 28) an explosive eruption occurred at Redoubt volcano. National Weather Service reports an ash cloud height of about 51,000 feet above sea level.

This follows closely behind the eruption that occurred at approximately 17:35 AKDT (01:35 UTC) that sent ash to an estimated height of 40,000 feet above sea level.

We actually had snow flurries at our house (and on our trip to Lowes) this evening. Nothing much to stick anywhere. Forecast is for snow for the next 9 days ... or are we now down to 8 days. The skies remind me of impending summer rain storms. Spring must be in the air in my mind. :)

We went to Lowe's this evening on a mission. Didn't accomplish the mission, but found things to finish off the laundry chute door from the main bathroom to the laundry room. I must say it has been a major treat for the past week to have that done. So far so good.

I need some ideas for hooks for towels. Towel issues are driving me nearly crazy. I don't like hanging anything over doors. Metal hooks are about $4 a piece and I really don't want to spend that kind of money. I don't want to buy an already made hook thing. Any ideas?

Coffee is done. It's Friday evening and I dare drink it tonite. :)

Yippee!!! I'ts Friday!

Feeling sorry for anyone who is scheduled on a flight out of Anchorage today ... they may not be flying. :( Ash plume reached something like 32,000 feet last night with ash expected in Anchorage. Let's all keep our fingers crossed the folks up here that are heading to Minnesota weddings in the very near future.

Jari was out moving snow off the cabin roof yesterday and the snow is covered in something other than pure white snow. Probably isn't ash. We have had some mighty gusty winds for the past week. Typically they bring a lot of glacial silt with them.

The wonderful dentist beckons this morning. Anna, Tia & I were all scheduled for Monday morning. Yesterday they called, wondering if Anna could come in today instead. No problem ... Anna was thrilled to oblige! Got to sleep in another hour later than normal.

In the great accomplishments department ... I finished my book!!

Long johns and dinner

No. Not the foody long johns. The cloth ones. My hubby has proudly been showing me his bare lower leg the last few days. :)

This is a big thing.

He typically has managed to wear long johns until fishing season starts! Somehow this is all backwards. He comes home from warm climates with a glorious tan ... and sheds the long johns! Makes me chuckle.

Dinner.

Why do I bother? Nearly every evening of the week I put a good dinner on the table. Last year I was learning to crock pot cook everything ... then I learned that one can be home by 4:45, get something in the oven that takes an hour to bake and still eat at a decent hour. Last night it was Lasagne. Tonite it was Hello Chicken Goodbye Turkey. 9x13 pan of this yummy dinner ... and only 2 of us ate tonite. Argh! The 2 eaters were Jari & myself. Blayde & Alyx are both working, Anna & Tia are both crashed and Brock wasn't hungry.

I guess they'll be enjoying left overs for a few days ... and I'll read my book!

Last night I managed to put a little fun thing together. Will try and post pictures tomorrow. Have been wanting something that looks like a coupon organizer ... but a cute one. I'm starting a number of Funds. My mom has done this for years. I would try and then run short on cash and have to "borrow" from one. That always meant the end of that fund! Am trying it again. I just thought it might be fun to make something that was attractive to do my collecting in. I'll try share tomorrow.

Still no progress on this weeks goals. I seem to get distracted easily. :)

Back to my book for a bit.

What to expect when you take kids to Target

I took 3 teens and 1 nearly teen with me last night and went to a few stores. My Target list only had 3 items on it. One, two, three! No more, no less. Things that I was in NEED of. Do you want to guess at what we came home with? My kiddos are pretty good. They know the clearance racks as well as I do. Had to chuckle when I was ready to leave the store and Anna took off saying "I have to look at the end caps over here." "Been there already" was my response! We did come home with some good deals, but I should know better. Adjust the mental shopping total according to how many bodies climb into the car on the way out of the yard. Fun anyway. :)

And, most importantly, I got the things on the list! I can bush my teeth ... soak my dentures ... and the girls can dry their hair!

It has been awhile since the kids and I saw rays of sunshine. Alyx sees them at the tanning place ... and I keep thinking I should head over there. Jari walked in the door and it was incredible. Look at all that sunshine he came home with! Anna wouldn't mind sharing some of it!

I need to get motivated to do something. Anything. I haven't been doing my scrapbooking in the mornings anymore. Still need to send pages off to get printed, but once they were done ... I stopped. Didn't really even dwindle ... just stopped. Maybe it is a mental thing. Once the mission is accomplished I sort of debrief and look for another mission. So the motivation goal list for the week is:

• send off all scrapbook pages to be printed
• copy all pages onto cd
• delete, delete, delete and delete some more photos off my computer

Let's see if I can get that done before next Wednesday morning.

The camera made it home, but

the icicles were gone. Shucks! I just need to share these pictures with you because I think they're fun. I'm stuck with the camera phone pictures ... but maybe you can still see a little bit of the icicles.

Back to work today ... having yesterday off was a real treat. Didn't get a stinkin' think done, other than

• 2 trips to Anchorage within 24 hours (thank goodness for clean roads or I would have needed a massage big time!)
• a quick stop at Costco to get none of the things on the kids' wish list (helps if I know what the wish list items are)
• several loads of laundry done (had one more laundry chute hole in within several hours of Jari being home ... still needs to be prettied up)
• half of another book read
• out to lunch with Denise & Carol at Thai Cuisine (as good as it was ... my gut knew something foreign had hit it before I hit the car)
• didn't cook dinner ... it was cereal or scrounge evening
• relaxed and enjoyed having hubby home!

Happy Tuesday!

Monday 8:12 p.m.

Now this evening ... this isn't lookin' so good. Jari made it home safely. No pictures from teh air .. 'twas rather cloudy. The city was a bit socked in on the way. Am sure he will upload to Bebo at some point. I may share some as well. Just not much to see on them. Any pictures I'm adding on here ... I'm borrowing from the source of information. Click on the volcano link on my sidebar under "Places I Like to Visit". Interesting learning experience.

A new explosive eruption has just occured at Redoubt starting at 0741 PM AKDT. Radar indicate a cloud height of at least 60,000 feet above sea level. We will put out more information as it becomes available.

Monday 1:45 p.m.

Mt Redoubt on Saturday.

So, he's in the air again. Halfway home from Seattle (as the miles go) at this point in time. I am going to take another nap before I head to the airport.

Some positive thinking going on over here.

34 degrees outside, wind is blowing ....

and the icicles are melting. :(

Monday 10:46 a.m.

Jari is still in Seattle. Last word was that the wind was blowing west from the volcano, leaving Anchorage clear for landing. I don't know. The Volcano Observatory site says the wind is moving north/northeast. So, he sits at the airport in Seattle and waits .. and waits .. and waits.

If they head for Anchorage and the winds change ... then they head straight to Phoenix, where the flight originated. It's a wait and see game. Thank goodness for cell phones and text messaging!

Monday morning 2:24 a.m.

Had a nice drive this evening. Went to pick up that dear hubby of mine from the airport. Was there about 15 minutes early so I pulled into the cell phone lot to shut my eyeballs for a couple minutes. Sent him a text to call me ... in case I fell asleep. Then I got tired of listening to the talk show I had on and flipped the station. Aaack!! Not one word about a volcano eruption on the staiton I was listening to the entire time I was driving to Anchorage. (Am going to call and complain a bit.) Woke me right up quick. Heard that 3 AK Airlines flights were diverted. Headed to the terminal and got the texts from Jari as I was pulling into the pay lot. "Go home", followed by "In Seattle".

So I went home. We come home from shopping empty handed ... I came home empty trucked.

On the way I tried to stop and buy some coffee. In Eagle River, between here and Anchorage, one gas station was closed. Sign taped on the door said "Closed due to Volcano Eruption". Will folks look for any excuse or what!? I did find my coffee. All was good.

Hubby dear is in a Mariott in Seattle for the night. Will see what tomorrow brings. Maybe stay there (airlines only foots the bill for one night) or they'll fly him (along with a plane full of folks) back to Phoenix.

I think he secretly like the heat there. :)

Tonite I found all kinds of things to be thankful for. The National Weather Service, the folks who track these lovely volcanos, the airline and their pilots, and a hubby who is safe and sound .... even if he isn't home quite yet.

Sunday evening ...

There is a most special man sitting on an airplane right now ... almost over Oregon.

He's moving at 489 mph at about 34,000 feet. And I wonder why my kids may be a little ADD? Just kidding. I love my kids. They can be a little hyper, but so can their parents.

After a moving and shaking week ... hubby is coming home to a temperature of 25 degrees. Had a light dusting of snow today that just made things look a tad bit prettier. Could have used an inch at least to really spruce things up. Amazing how clean it looks after a fresh dusting.

The week has flown by here. Fun happenings, normal school stuff (and I actually managed to get them to the bus on time) and laundry. Always laundry. Brock would tell you that it is because of him that I got them to the bus on time. He woke me up in the mornings ... cuz someone wakes him up ... and it isn't me. :)

My ever so cool icicles are still hanging off the porch. Can't wait to share pictures of those with you tomorrow. Then you'll understand this whole icicle thing I've got going on. You see ... my camera is at 34,000 ... now at 488 mph ... and nearing the Washington border. Just gotta love flight tracking. Do you s'pose someone is just entering goofy things in a computer somewhere and I'm soaking it right up? Could be, but I'll just play along anyway.

Enjoy your Sunday evening ... and for those of you further away ... Happy Monday!

** He's now at 36,000 feet and 1,608 miles from Anchorage. :)

4-H Flashbacks

I was just making some desserts for our function this afternoon/evening and cooking pudding left and right. Something is seriously wrong with whoever submitted the recipe I'm using ... I could do this in a much simpler fashion.

Chocolate pudding. I was in 4-H when I was a younger person. :) I distinctly remember the evening we made chocolate pudding. I really don't remember what all we did with the pudding, but there was pudding galore. The entire kitchen table was covered with bowls of chocolate pudding. I don't remember, but am going to assume that we made some the cook method, others the quick method. We added sprinkles on top. We added any number of things on top of that chocolate pudding. And we taste tested. Every single pudding.

I was seriously traumatized. My chocolate pudding taste buds were so overworked that I, quite honestly, couldn't eat chocolate pudding again for years.

So today I'm cooking chocolate pudding ... and wondering if should lick the pot clean.

I didn't. :)

I do think, tho', that I'll certainly try some of this dessert.

Even if graham crackers float to the top when you pour warm pudding over them. I think they forgot that part of the recipe. Could be a science experiment for Tia. She's loves experiments ... and I love to eat! My camera phone is going to come in mighty handy for the next 24 hours or so .. I'm almost ready to go buy some film!

Saturday

I drove the kids to HAPS last night and played a new rousing game. :) Kind of feeling a little younger than my gray hair shows me to be! Was fun.

Checkbook is figured out ... bills are paid or not ... time to hit the grocery store.

We're spending the better part of the day doing a Winter Festival fundraiser. Better get moving! Have a grocer run to make ... desserts to make ... and the clock is ticking.

Counting down the hours 'til hubby comes home. He comes in late Sunday nite and I figured that there was no way I'd get Monday off work. As I was about to leave work yesterday, they were looking for volunteers to overstaff on Monday. Yippee!!! Have to watch that PTO bank of hours, but I'll certainly take the day off!

Off to the hustle and bustle of the day.

Happy First Day of Spring!

Now ... I can really get in the springy mode! It's 7 degrees outside this morning. Makes one just feel the spring in their step when they go outdoors. Either that ... or freeze standing in one place too long! Yesterday the porch was 42 degrees in the afternoon. I seriously had a thought about taking a blanket, pillow and good book out there.

Makes me wonder if we'll have another big dumping of this...

So we can build another one of these ...

Or, are we headed for this view instead?!


I have the coolest icicles hanging off my screened porch. As the sun melts and the breezes blow, they have turned in toward the house. At least if they fall ... they shouldn't smack someone point down! My camera is about 3800 miles away right now. I tried taking a picture with the cell phone, but it just didn't do much good at all. Will try again tonite ... maybe not through the screen this time. It's worth it. They're really cool. :)

Dear hubby has been enjoying visiting in Prescott these past few days. Super fun to be able to spend a few days with his parents. I understand the feeling ... nothing like a kiddo coming home ...doesn't matter how old they are! We're looking forward to him coming home Sunday evening.


In other lightening news. Days are getting noticeably longer. 6:30 a.m. and I can see the trees outlined against the sky. I don't drive to work yet without headlights .. they turn on by themselves. I did meet a car driving without them yesterday though!! Soon it will be me! :) Evenings are getting longer and I love it! I'm still taking oodles of naps. Don't know what is up with that, but it works for me!

Oreo

I've never been crazy about cats. Kittens are cute, but they grow up. So when Tia begged and pleaded, I relented. With the stipulation that the cat remain outside. She was soooo cute and so much fun that she stayed inside. And she really is a cutie. Follows you around in the morning waiting for you to fill her food dish. Hides in places and waits to grab your foot as it goes by.

Waits to see who is visiting before she decides whose bed she is going to share for the night. Folks have learned to close bedroom doors if they don't want company. I've decided long ago that having a cat is much easier than a dog.

She prefers to use the snow bank for a litter box. Will see if any of my flowers grow this summer or if her urine has fixed the weed problems for me.

She plays the piano. Sort of haunting music sometimes when it is the middle of the night and all are sleeping! Once in a while there is a great big crash when a flower vase takes a nosedive off the piano. Now I'm cat proofing the house!

The other night I woke at what felt like 3 a.m. to something annoying me. I must have had a piece of hair sticking up on my head. She was sitting there batting my hair around! Aargh!

Will share a picture of her destruction when I get around to taking one. Her favorite playground is the bathroom. Someone here loves to leave a roll of toilet paper sitting on the floor in the bathroom ... or leave the cabinet door open to the cubby that houses all those rolls ... just waiting to be ripped and shredded! She absolutely loves it!

She's quite a goofball!

One of the many reasons we're here

Somedays we might wonder ...

what on earth are we doing up here.

Family and old friends are so far away

and traveling to see them is not easy.

Apparently, we're not even part of the U.S.

according to shipping from many places.

"Free shipping in the U.S."

usually doesn't include here.

Living in a climate that certainly isn't always warm

Palmer has its share of wind whipping days ...

But, when you can jump in a vehicle and drive 15 miles ...
Unload snow machines and ride for 15 minutes ...

and come to have this be your view ...

It tends to answer the questions of

"what are we doing here?"

Enjoying some of the most beautiful nature

that God ever created.

Some special ladies refilled my Cadbury mini egg stash

now I should really go for a walk!


I celebrated a birthday on Wednesday and it seemed to be in grand style. As far as I'm concerned, birthdays just become days (except for the big ones) at some point in life. I think I've been at that point for a while. But my family doesn't seem to agree with me. They are so sweet. I worked on Wednesday and was surprised by Alyx & Tia bringing me roses and balloons at work. BIG balloon ... no one could ever miss it. And they didn't. At work they brought in a cake for me. I think I heard "Happy Birthday" more on Wednesday than on any other day of my life. It was fun ... even if I felt a little silly.


I came home to dinner done, house cleaned and these on the table. Aren't they absolutely gorgeous. I looked at the tulips, at the sun shining in the windows and accepted spring. The basement may not be done before company shows up this summer, but I'm ready to say "welcome spring". So this weekend ... I'm taking down the Christmas lights. :)

Served coffee at Bible Class in the evening and then came home to visit with a houseful of lovely folks. Among some other wonderful prizes, my Cadbury mini egg stash was reloaded. Maybe tonite I can walk? I should have energy!

There was even some of this left over ... for breakfast. No, I didn't eat it for breakfast. Could have. I saved it for dinner on Thursday! Ain't life grand?!

My sister ... my friend

Somedays we can just be thankful for

the little people who share our lives.

They are such a joy.

What a Monday ...

the kind where you keep looking at your contraband cell phone in the pocket at work ... hoping for a text message. Then nervous when you don't get one. Hoping that when you wheel into the yard after work ... you'll have good news not bad. Turned out good this evening.

Jari's aunt, Martta, has been on hospice care for the past days. I really don't know when that started. She lives in Florida, has lived there for years. I found an article on her today when I googled her name. http://www.mvphotos.fi/uploads/Floridan%20martta2%20kopio.pdf If you can read Finn .. enjoy. If not, don't bother with the "translate" button. They translate word for word and it loses everything. Heini flew out there from AZ, arriving this morning. Martta was able to make it to the bathroom with assistance, is eating and talking. Will see what transpires with the situation this week.

My sister, Heather, started her pitocin drip this morning. Looks like she may beat my time record with start to finish laboring. Still no baby this evening ... but so far all is progressing ... though slowly. Maybe tomorrow morning I can share some exciting news!

Bryan & Lisa's baby, Michael, is back in the hospital. I heard that last evening, along with the words croup, intubation and 2 weeks. This evening when I talked to Lisa, there was a chance that they were coming home this evening. Hoping they made it home and babykins is doing well.

My dear mom, who has been jet setting all over the southwest, visited the ER in Missouri (?) last night. Pneumonia. Thank goodness she didn't need hospitalization. They hit the road and were at home back in Brainerd when I talked to her after getting home from work. Altho' she said she'd just had a coughing jag that cleared her garbled voice, she sounded great.

Enough for one Monday. Let everyone be well ... or getting better ... for the rest of the week!

The kids are on spring break this week. My body knows that ... and appreciates it. It hit the snooze button so many times this morning that I'd never be able to count them all. At 7:06 I jumped out of bed and hit the shower. I was told at work that I looked like I'd just crawled out of bed ... and had to admit that I had. Hoping for an earlier start tomorrow morning.

I still came home from work, made dinner, and crashed on the comfy chair for a bit. And didn't walk again. This is getting frustrating! Did make a trip to the shoe store and met with one pair of success. Then a stop at WalMart. Did mental calculation of the total this evening and came downright close. Thank goodness we didn't need a whole lot. Don't think my brain could figure out really big numbers. :)

And now ... I prefer to end this Monday and head for bed!

Laundry is spinning

Friday had the laundry room nearly sheeted, the soffits (sp?) done covering all the drain/water pipes/lines. The floor has been redone as well!Today my dear hubby passed up a day of snow machining on the mountain to stay home and get this part done. Wall behind the appliances was pieced in ... and while I was checking end caps at Target (I really was at a meeting for several hours first :) ), with the help of the boys he cleaned up, spread some paint and moved in the washer/dryer. It may be a bit before all the shelving is in the way we want it. We're going to bead board the ceiling ... vinyl the floor ... and organize!

But in the meantime ... the kitchen timer is set so I can run and switch laundry loads when they're done. And there is a very good reason I've not added pictures of the other side of this room. Voi etta. It is quite a disaster.

Timer is ringing ... another load done! :)

Thank goodness for kids

who empty the cake pan. This cake, Better than Anything Cake, sure is delicious! Wouldn't want to being calculating how many calories are in a slice ... and I like the slices BIG. So, when I head for another piece of cake and find the empty cake pan sititng on the counter ... I heave a sigh of .... relief!?!

I did step on the scale yesterday morning and was a bit disappointed that all the chocolate from Christmas hadn't just fallen off by itself. What's up with that? The Cadbury Mini Eggs are out for Easter now and I'm still carrying Christmas chocolate around my waist.

So ... I hauled Jari out for a walk last night. My new goal. Walk, walk, walk. At least a little bit is better than nothing, right?

Maybe I can pack some of those Cadbury things in my pocket just in case I feel faint while walking. :)

Somedays I get frustrated at working full time

and then I come home to a surprise like this one today! Jari made some marvelous progress in the laundry room today. Electrical is done. Insulation is nearly all in. Can lights are in. Doorway is framed in. It won't remain that short. I'll show you what we are doing with that one later on when it happens.

The plastic wall will be finished off. On the other side of that will be our storage area. The doorway on the right goes to the rest of the unfinished basement where my laundry is currently.
In the corner is my dryer vent ... just waiting. The washer and dryer will be along the wall on the left.

The white wall is on the back of the house. It will house shelving of some sort. We haven't figured out yet what exactly. Individual sections for individual folks? Part of it hanging closet rods for all those things that need to be hanging and we just don't have room in our closets? I also don't have a linen closet in the house, so it will house our linens. We will see what we come up with. :)

I just had to measure when I went down a minute ago to take pictures. 12ft x 16ft. I can't believe what a difference the insulation already makes. It feels warmer. Maybe because I'm thrilled about it ... or it really IS warmer.

So much fun to watch it all progressing! Tomorrow is Thursday ... I work and then am on call from 6pm to 11pm. If I end up working until 11pm .... wonder what I'll come home to tomorrow!

Survived a Monday

Well ... I survived a Monday. It really wasn't Monday, but it sure felt like it. Seems like any first day back to work is a Monday type of day and I'm just "not there" for it. Today should be better.

My laundry room is taking shape. Should have gone down and taken a picture last night as I'm sure it will be even more together before I come home today. It looks like it is going to be huge! I will certainly have enough room for a clothes line. As well as hanging things on hangers. How many jackets does a person need? We are well beyond the need category, but I just can't part with them. Can't wait to hang a rod in that room as well.

Which brings me to laundry soap. Does anyone use Kirkland dry laundry soap? I was getting the left over bits of white left in the laundry. Highly annoying. So I switched to Kirkland liquid. That was even worse. The clothes didn't have things left on them, but I had liquid laundry soap everywhere. Seems that no one can quite get the concept of getting that detergent into the washing machine without dribbling everywhere. Yuck. After trying that for several months, I moved on and back to Tide. Voila! It works. No drips .... it all dissolves ... and momma is happy!

This photo just sort of tickles my funny bone. Snow camping is not on my list of things to try in life. Will have to see what is underneath this snow in the summer time!

Does this look like progress?

It really is.
When we bought this house it had sewer pipes, water lines, electrical lines (those are still a work in progress) hanging everwhere. The back part of the basement was used for growing some kind of green plant. This is coming along nicely. Jari has moved everything but the electrical lines so far. Add insulation, doors, dividing walls ... and voila! That far end will become my laundry room. It should have plenty of room! Even room for hanging retractable clothes lines. :)
The other end, closest to me, will become storage. This room is about 12 feet wide and 34 feet long ... should be plenty of room for organization.

Keep tuned for further developments.

An entire week goes by ... and I promise to be better at this.

Wow!


I was on vacation all week and today is my last day of vacation bliss. Tomorrow I head back to work. Jenny & Trina came to visit, arriving late on Monday. Bedtime here was about 3 a.m. on Monday nite. Believe it or not, the kids actually made it to school on Tuesday. Miracles never cease.


Tuesday we visited all day at the dentist office. What troopers my company were. :)


Wednesday we hit some stores. Jenny can find Walmart, Target, several thrift stores, several other cute stores. In the evening it was to song services.


Thursday we had lunch at Denise's along with Carol. Home for several hours and then to a baby shower for Chantel. Home for a little bit and off to the airport to pick up Frans ... and do another 3 a.m. We're really getting good at this!


Friday Jenny & I went to a few stores and came home to meet the guys on the road, just leaving the driveway. With a trailer in tow. They were heading off to ride for a little bit. Good thing they did. Frans wasn't walking too well afterward. Not due to snowmachining, but probably a nasty airplane seat. We hauled the limping man out to dinner on Friday evening and then afterwards had a houseful of company. Kevin & Renae came home Friday evening too! How fun to have them back again. :)


Saturday Frans nursed his back a bit. We got dumped on with absolutely gorgeous snow. So thrilled ... I had asked for it. :) Jenny, Alyx, Tia & I hit the shops in Palmer. I've lived here for 15 months and hadn't been in any of them ... except for the thrift shop that wasn't worth going into! It was super fun. Didn't buy a thing ... just window shopped. In the evening we went to Richard & Carol's for dinner, sauna and visiting with another houseful.


We had been wanting to take a drive to Whittier and show Frans & Jenny the drive. With snow falling like crazy on Saturday, along with an uncooperative back, the got pushed to Sunday. The day was beautiful! I think they were able to get a few photos. Will look forward to seeing them posted somewhere in the web world. Back home for a dinner of salmon and halibut, with strawberry rhubarb pie for dessert. Homemade pie. I'm getting there. Slowly but surely. More company ... more visiting ... then off to the airport. Before leaving, they were trying to get boarding passes online. These times/dates of flights can be a bit of a challenge. Their flight actually left the night before. Oops! All turned out well. Apparently, Trina didn't sleep much on the way home. They must all be exhausted ... and hot! Only 22 degrees here today and 89 in Phoenix. Welcome back really soon!!


So, today is Monday. Declined a day of snowmachining at the cabin. Need a day at home to get a few things done before work starts tomorrow. I'm getting there.

1. checkbook done
2. bills paid
3. laundry sorted
4. water is back on ... jari is working in the basement
5. now that the water is back on .... load 2 of 10 is nearly done
6. photos loaded and deleted
7. blog/bebo updated

Still to do:

1. look at Blayde's tax return info
2. check out some QuickBooks capabilities
3. make dinner (5:14 already ... need to get a move on that one)
4. read a chapter or two with Tia
5. do those other 8 loads of laundry :)

Hoping your Monday is a great one!