In a few short hours ...

our world went from what it looked like this morning ...

to the white of this evening. A white that I can't really capture as it's a wee bit dark out there. It is amazing how the snow falls and the world just feels so insulated.
Quieter. Peaceful.

They grumbled about the snow earlier this evening when there wasn't much of anything.
Then they looked outside ... ran for hats and mittens ..

and made snow angels.

We really need to go boot shopping.

Thank goodness there isn't any school tomorrow.

Those flip floppy sandal things just aren't going to work.

Tomorrow ought to be a real fun day to drive in.

Two kids still at work this late evening.

Start praying that they make it home safe and sound.

Another day off ...

While the piano tuner did his thing ... I did mine.

I have never been a doodad scrapper.

Usually I prefer to capture our life without too much extra stuff ...

at least get photos somewhere where we'll someday see them again, rather than leaving them in the world of bytes and kilobytes.

Then off to check out a new school for Tia. The bus ride might be a bit long ... the class sizes would be much friendlier for her. Not that a class size of one isn't bad. THAT size works just fine ... as long as one has a teacher present. (That just isn't reality here.)

Stop at WalMart. I walked around the store with a cart and only had one roll of packing tape in it. Are you impressed? I left with only one roll of packing tape. It's sort of like going to Costco and only buying one jar of pickles!

Treat the girls to Taco Bell and then a stop at the post office. It is in the mail!!

Anna to take her permit test. She passed!! We have a new driver in the house ... and I feel safe sitting in the passenger seat. I had her drive to craft nite last evening. Dark and windy roads ... and I still have my fingernails attached! The ride was safe. The car was rather stinky. My other assistant was helping me pull the gas nozzle out of the tank and forgot to release the trigger. Really stinky.

Jari worked downstairs all day long. I did snap some pictures and thought about uploading this morning. However, if I start that we'll never make it to work or school on time today. Drywall is nearly all up! Going to look incredibly nice when it is done. :)

Another weekend ... bagged.

My phone doesn't manage to take any good photos .. as you can tell!

After a full day of working around the house, Jari & I dropped Tia off at hockey and then ran over to Amber & Ryan's for coffee on Saturday evening.

Nolan was quite proud of his moose he "bagged".

Isn't this just beyond precious?

He wanted to hang it on the wall ... like his dad does.

He didn't get his wish.

But he was able to proudly show off his moose that he "bagged".

Ziploc really needs to borrow him for some advertising gimicks.

************************************************

The basement bedroom is almost ready for electrical work already. My husband gets on a project and he can't stop. The closet needs to be framed in. A bit more insulation. Electrical. Getting there!! All that extra insulation in that room has even warmed up my laundry room. Grand thing ... especially since my card making lives in the laundry room.

I manged to get a gift boxed up. I did take pictures of it and will share them with you ... after I get word that the gift is received. I have a problem in the gift giving department. I always want it to be the "right" gift. That causes a problem sometimes. Much too often the gift never gets sent. This one I'm quite thrilled with. I hope the recipient is!

My bedroom got vacuumed and dusted. (That is major accomplishment!)

Dinner. I made it. Two days in a row!

Tia & I made dinner for tomorrow nite as well. It is in the refrigerator. Just needs a transfer of pan into hot oven tomorrow ... and they can eat. This just might work.

Tomorrow is Monday already. I think I'm going to go to bed.

Have a great Monday!

Life in the 10 hour shift world ...

has come to this.

Dinner of meatballs (nothing else!) on Tuesday evening.
Dinner of macaroni and cheese on Wednesday evening.
Dinner of macaroni and cheese or pancakes on Thursday evening.

I'm thinking this might just be a great weight loss plan.
I must try come up with something else for next week. I am going to either starve or meet my goal by Christmas time.

Monday was my day off.
4 hours spent schooling with Tia ... and then to Anchorage for a shopping spree.
Found Jari some dress pants. THAT was a great accomplishment. They don't really make a lot of pants for "thin" folks with long legs. We did find several pair. Thank Goodness!

Then off to Costco. I had been planning on doing a major shopping trip there once PFDs hit the bank. I really wanted to do something like buy a years worth of stuff. Well, I probably didn't manage a YEARS worth, but I did accomplish a few things.

We now have:

• 480 loads worth of laundry soap and if you scimp on the laundry soap each load ... you might even end up with more!
• 30,600 squares of toilet paper. I still haven't quite figured out how to dole that stuff out. How many squares do you think a person should be allowed per sitting?
• Not one measly square of paper towel ... forgot that!
• Dishwasher soap ... we're not going to need to be handwashing dishes for a while!
• A few other things to make the mommy happy in the cooking department. Sort of forgot that I won't be doing a lot of that while I was filling the cart.
• A husband with a Costco card. Alright!! I can now give him a list when he runs to town. Saves me a trip. I won't make the trip anyway, so this is a true benefit. :)
• Light bulbs. We have replaced nearly every light bulb in our house with the new energy efficient ones. Those ones that are full of mercury and need special disposal. I did a quick calculation. I'm not going to calculate how much I've spent on light bulbs, but it won't be nearly close to the anticipated savings. I still have a few more lights to go, but imagine that I've replaced at least 36 light bulbs so far. According to the packaging I would save a total of $1288 on lighting cost. Add the additional money that we spend for electricity on top of that and my savings is a whopping $1,674 over the life of the lightbulbs. Hmmm. The shorter days of winter are fast approaching and our house is lit like a Christmas tree for much of the day. Am curious to see if makes a difference or not. I do have to tell you that I don't like all the lights. I am learning. We moved lightbulbs from room to room on Monday evening. The living room started out looking like Lowe's or Home Depot lighting. That was not going to work. Those bulbs got moved to the basement and "warmer" bulbs moved to the living room. It will take me a while to get use to the kitchen ...it is a tad bright. No hiding dirt anywhere in there anymore!

Light bulbs, new freezer ... we're into energy saving mode around here. Our electric bill sky rockets in the wintertime. We're trying to figure out how to make our house more energy efficient without tearing off all the cedar siding and adding insulation. We did add a new chest freezer the other week and still need to move things from the old upright one. Would still like another small one ... but that can wait. Next in line is a refrigerator. Ours is ancient. Ours runs constantly. I believe there are also tax rebates for buying Energy Star appliances ... one thing at a time!

Other than Costco, dinnners and saving money, I pulled a real doozy this morning at about 4:10 a.m. I have to admit that it was really bad. I always sleep on my right side. Fussy left hip that I have just doesn't like being on the mattress side for the night. For some reason last night (maybe I was tired) I never rolled over and so was facing my dearly beloved in my sleep. At the mean hour of 4:10 I was in the middle of a dream. Something was falling off a shelf! What on earth does one do when something is falling off a shelf and you're in the middle of subconsciousness where everything is alive? One quickly throws out an arm to catch that falling thing. I really don't have a clue what it was that I was catching. I really didn't hear the crack when I connected with something that wasn't the dreamed of object. I did wake up rather quickly when my dear husband yelped rather loudly. It is becoming a very bad habit of mine. I cracked yet another nose ... and tonite ... it still hurts. He is ready to put up a wall in the middle of the bed. I'm thinking I just need to lose my right hook. What next?!

We have come to this stage of life

The stage of life called Life Behind Spectacle Lenses.
We can't see diddly squat without them.
I haven't been able to see linen for quite a while now to cross stitch. Then again ... I really haven't had any time to do that anyway.
I can still read a book without them ... and my arms are still long enough.

I do have one concern about this aging thing.
It has to do with the inventor of the i-phone.
How on earth are you suppose to see the screen?
Scratch that. You just buy a cheap pair of glasses from Target. :)

Don't you think they'd come up with something that is a little more user friendly for those being visually challenged at this stage of life?

Especially being as I heard that Apple's net profits this year were in the billions.

Yes, with a B.

Maybe include a screen that needs a carry on size bag to transport it around in?

In the meantime, we'll just use those cheap reading glasses.

Target has a bunch in their dollar bins this week.

I picked up 5 more pairs.

We ought to be good for a while.

At least we can see well enough to find those!

Does an uncle know ...

that little people hang on his every word?

Does he know that she may never forget these little moments?

Moments where she was taught to show kindness and to trust?

Does an uncle know that there is a child who watches where his feet have trod?

Not just this uncle.

So many uncles.

So many fortunate children.

Sometimes I think the uncle doesn't know.

Sometimes I think he doesn't realize.

A child looks at him ... his failures ... his successes.

A child measures his decisions ... his actions ... his words.

Sometimes I think the uncle just doesn't know

the impact he will have on the little lives whose eyes follow

his every movement.

We've been constructing again ...

this time it was a sauna!

Wishing it was a real one that one could have a rip roaring fire in without burning down the entire "sauna". This type of sauna stove didn't have quite the hit on the pocket book that a functioning one would. :)

It even has enough seating to fit the entire family and their friends! 

We really are working again. I don't know why I continue to use the word "we". There is nothing "we" about this. I nod and say, "looks great!" and Jari just moves on to the next thing. It's really quite awesome. Although I'm not sure I like the reflection in this window, I'm going to love the room when it is done. Bedroom coming up sometime before all the kids have grown and moved from home. Getting this little piece done before the snow flies and the thermometer dips was a big plus. The rest doesn't require too much access to the outside world. 

We will all thoroughly appreciate it when it is done.

I have a schedule for 10 hour shifts. Did I tell you that?

Today I scheduled the first trips to the dentist.

I scheduled the piano tuner. I tried to be very honest with him.

I told him it is very bad.

Beyond bad.

Desperate.

Can't wait to have a violin and flute playing with me ...

once we're in tune again.

We might even sound decent for the first time in a long while!

Our "Guest House" is gone.

After trying, rather off and on, for the past two months to sell our 5th wheel ... we brought it south this past Saturday for someone who was seriously interested. We met him halfway ... he loved it ... and he bought it. I hope I don't miss it too badly.

Turnagain Arm was still lit with a little color ...

I watched scenery, and of course snapped the camera, in between paging through these books from Terri. Card making and scrapbooking ideas galore. Left one book behind ... and still nearly ran out of post it tabs! Looks like I have some things cut out for the To Do List.

Was really loving the splash of gold at the base of the mountains.

And then we hit traffic nearing the turnoff to Whittier. We sat for nearly an hour with no idea why .. until the munched truck and boat came by. Looked like they had jack knifed on the bridge.

I really don't mind waiting in traffic when the scenery looks like this, the heater is blowing warm in the truck and I have something to keep my hands busy.

You really can't beat the view.

The pass was covered in clouds and frost. I could have stopped umpteen times to snap again, but we did have a destination and this sitting in traffic was making us a bit late.

Coopers Landing has obviously avoided our wind. The leaves are still on the trees ...

We spent the rest of the weekend in services activity. The Stewarts were here from Seattle. It was a really uplifting weekend ... I needed that.

In other things:

• Jari is home and BUSY (Mike: Jari was doing some training and teaching up on the North Slope.)
• Happy Birthday to Alyx who celebrated her 19th Birthday in Minnesota over the weekend. She will be home in several days!
• Happy Birthday to my dear dad who celebrates his 73rd Birthday today and to my awesome SIL Tarja who celebrates hers as well today! (She really isn't 73 yet.)
• Have a great recipe to share with you ... later
• My 10 hour shifts start next week giving me a day off each week to get to the dentist among other things. I'll still be able to spend a few minutes on here in the mornings. My starting time hasn't changed. My dinner making has. :)
• I'm taxi to Anna today. Car needs to run for a bit or it just whines at me. Gotta run!

Better late than never!

Finally a few shots from last Saturday.

Any excuse is a good excuse to get together and play with paper and fun stuff.

Amber has hoards of it ... simply loads of it ... an entire room devoted to her love of crafting. It is a playground for some serious fun. :)

We had no specific goal in mind .. just to spend part of our day creating ... which we did.

My goal was to use up some things I have. I don't care how old the stuff is. Well ... there are some things I've held onto for life that really need to hit the trash. I'm not about trendy. I'm not about doodads in my scrapbooking .. which makes doodads for card making nonexistant. Then there is Amber's room .. whew! I took this idea from Kim over at Think Fast. Fun stuff! 

Then I moved onto these lovely little things. Quite a while ago I saw (probably Martha Stewart) these little decorations done with left over greeting cards. I've done some with greeting cards and then moved onto card stock. 8 circles made folded to make triangles in the middle and then glued together. I still need to spray some glittering stuff on them ... fun tho'! 

In other stuff:

• the temp outdoors is 28 degrees this morning
• my car windshield needs scraping
• decided that I should probably turn the heater on in the house
• Jari comes home tonite from the slope
• he will be wearing a tee shirt tomorrow ... I'm sure of it
• Anna went off to school this morning all gussied up and looking fine
• Brock moved to the couch to sleep last night .. must really be time to turn on heat downstairs
• I actually heard the alarm at 5:15 this morning and by 7:00 have a gut ache from all the coffee I've drank
• Tia is designing clothes and needing a trip to Joanns
• the chickens eat amazing amounts of feed .. and we only have four of them
• their world is nice and warm, probably warmer than my mud room
• earlier this week the forecast was for snow today ... I can see a sky full of stars this morning .. maybe that means no snow forecasted anymore
• my peas are still blooming on the porch
• It is Friday ... and I'm incredibly thankful.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

A post in honor of those who have fought breast cancer and those who are still fighting. I have a great way to show your support. Avon has the funnest tote for sale. They have combined the artwork of our beloved Finnish design Marimekko with the fight for breast cancer and have this tote available for $10. It is big enough to fit your sauna stuff ... your knitting stuff ... your overnite things. After seeing it, I ordered another one.

Inside zipper pocket as well as two other little pockets to hold cell phone or whatnot. 

If you're interested in adding to your bag stash, and don't have an Avon dealer in your neighborhood, they are available at their website online.

Graduation pictures ... yet again!

I have a huge dilemna.
I was home early again today. The sky was cloudy earlier and the sun was bright when we headed out. Love the sun. Prefer the hidden sun for photos.
The dilemna is this.
Our third, and middle child, one is never without his hat on. I mean NEVER. The church bench and the dinner table are the exceptions. Other than that ... it goes with him everywhere ... on his noggin. It has for more than just a several years.
You must understand that I'm the mom who would tell the professional photographer to just take the picture if the pacifier was in the baby's mouth. That was normal.
What to do about this one? The hat wearing one?

Like I said ... the sun was bright ...

and I learned today that he is afraid of heights ... like his mom. 

What do you mean ... you won't come help me down?! 

This is our Brock ... the way we see him every day that we get to share with him. 

This one I never see. Glasses and no hat?? 

Just because .... it was fun. :)

Anyone want to borrow a drop cloth? Nature paints them absolutely beautiful here in our world.

This one ... maybe.

THIS ... is the real thing.

What am I to do? Take a vote. I'm seriously leaning toward putting a photo of him in a hat on the wall ... what do you think?

This much crafting should be ...

illegal! (I'll be back on the weekend's crafting when I have photos.)

Yes ...  we are picture less at the moment. My regular computer is having issues today. I went to attempt defrag on it this morning. That is a first. I've never done that before. Dear Hubby is the computer guru around here. I just want it to work when I turn it on. I would also like it to work at a relatively rapid speed. A speed where I can't have time to read the Encyclopedia Britanica while waiting for one page to load.  I digress. You would not believe what I found when I hit that little button this morning. Not enough space left on my computer to even defrag it. Only 4% space available. I know I'm a busy person, but that is ridiculous!

Now what to do. I started deleting. Microsoft Money went away. Who needs it anyway. Just spend what little you have on the lot you need and wing the rest. Just think of all the time I saved by getting rid of that thing. :)  Next went some print program that hasn't been touched since 2007.

Next went pictures. Lots of them. I use Picasa for playing around with photos. I have Adobe but you really don't want to hear that story. The problem (unless I have it set up wrong) with Picasa is that every photo I load onto the computer also goes to Picasa. So let's say I take 300 pictures in a day. They are not only filed by date as my camera loads to My Pictures, then they also all copy to Picasa when I open it to fix ONE measly picture. I started deleting the Picasa ones. Started.

I'm now at 10% available space.

Absolutely ridiculous.

Tomorrow I am going to WalMart.
I am going to purchase an external hard drive.
I am going to move all photos to that bugger.

I hope I don't have to install something ... might have to delete more photos first.

Then I'm hoping I can do something else. I don't know enough about computers to know if this will work. I have a Mac. In fact ... I'm sitting in front of it at the moment. The Mac has a dvd burner. So this is the plan. I'll probably found out in a hurry that it won't work.

Photos onto external thing.
Plug external thing into mac.
Load photos onto virtually empty hard drive (if the Mac has such a thing).
Burn to dvd.
Voila.

I'm assuming this won't work ... makes too much sense to me. :)

And guess what? This computer does have a few photos on it after all!