Pinterest Apprentice

Last week I received a Facebook message from a friend asking me if I could help her navigate around Pinterest.

My friend, C, had joined last fall but had not really experienced Pinterest to its fullest.

See, she knew I was an avid pinner.  Being a follower of mine, she knew I was the right person to help her learn how to really pin things, create boards, and learn how to find all the fabulous things there are to find on Pinterest.

Gosh, do I sound obsessed?  Perhaps I am a wee bit obsessed.  But, I am good with that!

So, after going back & forth a few times, we decided to meet this morning(while her youngest was in preschool) for coffee and a Pinterest lesson.

Suddenly, yesterday I realized that I had my very first apprentice.

I did not take my task lightly.  C & I spent a laugh filled 2 hours searching, creating boards, & pinning things for her.

We may have strayed off topic a few times or 20, but who's counting!?!?

And I have a feeling I may have a few more apprentices waiting in the wings for me. C informed me when we met this morning that she had mentioned to a common friend of ours that she was meeting me for a lesson in Pinterest.  Being the smart woman she is, our common friend immediately expressed interest in Pinterest.

A few Facebook posts later and a few more wanted to know what this "Pinterest" was!

So, it looks like I will be apprenticing a few more on the ins & outs of "pinning" on Pinterest.

And I will say my session with my first apprentice seemed to be successful.  This afternoon, I logged on and noticed that C had been very busy pinning away.

Yay C!  Can't wait to see what she pins now!

potd #29.  Pinterest screenshot.  First Pinterest Apprentice Session = Success.

Mexican Monday

We had fajitas tonight for dinner.  Really, really yummy fajitas for dinner.

I use the chicken recipe from Pioneer Woman's Chicken Tortilla Soup.  I season the chicken & cook just like she says for the soup, but then just shred it & use it for the fajitas.  So good & so easy to make.

I saute up red & green pepper and a sweet onion til they are really nice & soft.  Oh so yummy.

Add to that some sour cream, cheese, avocado, and some Tobasco Green Pepper Sauce and you have just about the perfect fajita!

Then served with a side of refried beans and that is the icing on the cake for dinner.

As we were getting ready for dinner we were talking about alliteration.  D decided tomorrow should be Taco Tuesday.  Hubby chimed in that Monday's should be known as Meatloaf Monday.  

And since I made extra chicken, Thursday might just be Tortilla Soup Thursday.

potd #27.  Green and red peppers & sweet onion just waiting to be sauteed!

Sunday Songs

Today's was just one of those days where it would have been easy to not go to church.

The girls were tired, I was tired and hubby was headed off to a Record show.

I could almost envision myself snuggling on the couch this morning while the girls watched some TV and I  did some reading.

I was oh so close to not going, but deep down knew that this was the day I for sure needed to go.  I knew that I was being tempted.

I quickly made the decision to go not long after having showered & having poured my 1st cup of coffee.  And then it was easy.

Even the girls were easy when I told them we were going for sure.  Not too much of a peep from them.

And they remembered that it could be prize day in Sunday School. Once a month their Sunday School teacher has prize day.  I am not so sure what they do to get the prize, but needless to say it's always a great day.  Mr. C is a fun teacher & the kids adore him.

And wouldn't you know it today was prize day.  Each of the girls came out from Sunday School with a brand new mini hand sanitizer from Bath & Body Works along with a holder for it so they can attach it to a backpack or any bag.

Here are the songs from todays service;
He Shall Reign
There is None Like You
There's Something About That Name
He Knows My Name
Forever
Freely, Freely
I'd Rather Have Jesus

Forever by Chris Tomlin.

potd #27.  A favorite in our house by almost all.  Only D doesn't like Chobani.

Wedding Bells

Today was another busy day in our house!

In the morning the girls had basketball.  They love it!

Although we need to figure out how to explain to D that she doesn't need to play defense when her team is playing offense.  She just isn't getting it and is trying to continue to guard the other team members.

I am hoping through the next few weeks of games that the coach will help her.  I am thinking she will take his constructive criticism much better than she is taking ours. Stubborn, she is!

I have no idea where she gets that from.......

This afternoon the four of us headed to Massachusetts for my fil's wedding.

It was a lovely ceremony with only the immediate family.  Hubby's brother, C and his wife N were there as well as the bride's children, T & K.   

The ceremony/reception was held in the loft of a lovely restaurant.  The food was excellent and the atmosphere beautiful.

after the ceremony, the photographer took Dad & T outside for some quick pics.  I, of course, followed to get in a few shots of my own.

potd #25.  Congratulations to Dad & T!

Rainy Friday

Today was a very rainy day.  As in torrential, hard to see when you're driving rainy.  Or torrential as in I don't like driving next to really big trucks on the highway rainy.

It rained hard for much of the day.  And always at its hardest when I was having to get out of the car.  Why does that happen?

Although, the rain today is much better than the snow that could have been falling.

It IS January.  Todays rain would have been around 8 inches of snow.

So, while I didn't necessarily like the rain I was having to drive/walk in, I am extremely grateful it was not snow!

Let's just say after last winters' astronomical  snow amounts & this October's snowstorm, I am really enjoying the mild winter we are having up to this point.

our deck from last winter.  Yes that is the tops of the 2 chairs in the picture. Somewhere under all that snow is not only the table, but also 4 more chairs.  It was insane.  And yes, that is why I am grateful for a mild winter so far.

Now excuse me while I go knock on every piece of wood that is in my house......

potd #25.  Rainy day.  This is the same table that was buried in snow last year.  The pine tree is Emma's attempt at growing a tree.  We'll see how it goes.  What it does need is a new pot and not the one Lucy was playing with in the yard during the fall!

Morning Routine

There are 2 things that I need in the morning before I feel even slightly human.

The first thing is a shower.  I shower right when I wake up, before going downstairs with the girls for breakfast.

I use my shower to gradually wake up a little bit more than I am when I start the shower.  Because hitting the snooze button 4 times on the alarm just hasn't done it yet!

Once out of the shower, the girls & I go downstairs for breakfast.

Really what I need at this point is my coffee.

I really do love coffee.  The smell, taste, even the warm feeling of holding the coffee cup.  It is all part of the experience for me.

Best part is that hubby has finally embraced the automatic timer on the coffeemaker.  Except of course on the nights when he forgets to set up coffeemaker for the next morning.

Let's just say when that happens I am just a wee bit cranky.

Yes, I know there are more important things to get upset about.  But really, I need that first cup of coffee to feel human in the morning.

And let's just say that after my second cup I am most happy(usually!) to get on with my day!

And I do have to say that the occasional coffee that I have around 2:30-3 in the afternoon is just as wonderful.

On some days, that is just such a sleepy time for me.  So, on those days a quick stop at Dunkin' Donuts and all is well.

Mmmmmm, coffee!

potd #24.  My morning cup of coffee today.

Busy Day Wednesday

Today was a mish mash of a bunch of stuff.

Got together with sissy this morning at her house.  We made some pretty handmade clay gift tags.  Pics to follow later.  Then, we squeezed in some knitting.  We hardly ever do this during the day & it was so nice to sit, visit, & knit.

Then I was off to pick up the girls from school.  Today was a 1/2 day.

Once we were home, it was nice to get through our regular afternoon routine without having to rush.

E was even able to get on the computer and print some clip art for a project at school.  She is too funny.  She told me that she really likes projects at school that she has to do some extra work for at home.  She is definitely my kid--loving school. Last night she told hubby & I that she loves science.  Yay E!

D also loves school.  Although, she's not loving practicing her multiplication facts. Don't get me wrong, she's good at it.  She just thinks it's a bore to have to practice.

E also wanted me to go out & throw the baseball with her.  I wanted to say no.  But, I did the good mommy thing and said yes.

Once we were outside it didn't take her long to decide it was a bit too chilly to stay out for long.  After 9 or 10 throws, she said, "let's go in mom, it's really cold."

Since D is fighting a bit of a cold, she stayed inside snuggled on the couch.  Smart girl!

I also got the girls signed up for lacrosse for the spring.  I'm telling you it was a busy day!

Once dear hubby was home if was off to knitting I went.

Once at knitting, it felt good to sit & relax.  And laugh.  And boy did we laugh tonight.

T shared with us a couple of dating escapades with a new guy that was here & now gone.  She kept us in stitches for a good 20 minutes.  And we went from liking this guy 2 weeks ago to not liking him tonight.

We also learned from T about Banana Bread Shots.  According to T once you have 2 of these shots you can't be held responsible for any further actions.

I have to say I am intrigued by these shots.  And I don't like shots.  But, I do like banana bread.

Maybe someday I will try just 1 of these shots.........

Knitting  every Wednesday is a very good thing.  It really is like therapy.

potd #23.  who knew bananas were going to be a big part of my day.  From the grocery store to knitting.

Spring In January

Today was just spectacular.  A little bit of Spring in January.

Days like today make me yearn for tulips and daffodils.

I want to brighten up the house.  Bring out some of my Spring decorations.

I'd like to bottle up a day like today & bring it out when the temps dip down near zero.

The sun was shining & the sky was a deep winter blue.  Just stunning.

It was a wonderful day to meet my friend, J for lunch.  We both agreed that days like today help with the winter blues that happen at this point in January.  A trip to the bookstore also helped chase the winter blues away!

Days like today make me very thankful that we have had a mild January.  So far.

The forecast looks pretty good for the rest of the month.  Temps will be in the 40's for the next 5 out of 7 days.  That's not too shabby for the end of January.

Then we are just 6 weeks to Spring.  And even better, only 5 weeks to Daylight Savings Time.

potd #22.  Glorious 51 degrees in January.  Woohoo.

Errand Day

Today was errand day my my sis.  I needed vacuum bags. Exciting, I know!

We did make a stop at Pottery Barn.  I didn't buy anything, but am eyeing some new dinnerware.  My sissy will think that's a joke.  She's shopped with me enough to know that I've been looking for new dinnerware for years.

And that's not a joke.  Years.  I just can't find any that I just need to buy NOW.  I find lots that I like, but none that I can commit too.

These plates, bowls, & mugs just might be the ones.  Time will tell.  I don't think my sissy is going to hold her breath on this!

Our last stop was BJ's. Again, very exciting.  But much needed.  My children are now wells stocked in snacks.

We have decided to spend Wednesday trying to do a craft of some kind or we may just sit & knit.  That sounds like a great way to spend the morning.

I think I will go back through my pins on Pinterest to see if I can find a project for us to start working on.  If you don't know about Pinterest, you must check it out.  It's a fantastic way to visually save all the wonderful things you find on the internet.

Be careful though, it can become an obsession.  And yes, I speak from experience.

.

potd #21.  the start of a blanket.  when it's finished it will look like this.

Sunday Songs

We try to go to church every Sunday.  We do a pretty good job of getting there most weeks.

Mostly if we miss it's because we have another commitment that coincides with church.  Every now & again we will take a week off.  Though I try to make sure that is not often.

I really enjoy the church we attend.  It is a Baptist church one town over.  It is not a southern Baptist church.  Ours belongs to the Conservative Baptist Association of America.

Our pastor is amazing.  He is extremely smart and really makes Sunday school & the Sunday morning service a pleasure to attend.  I always feel like I've learned something from Sunday school.  And his sermon is always very applicable to every day life.

There are wonderful people who attend our church.  My sissy & her family attend. They've been attending for quite awhile.  We started attending sporadically when I was pregnant and then more regularly when the girls were babies.

One of my favorite things about church is the music.   We have a great worship team.  My nephew, J plays guitar every week and my niece, K sings on a regular basis.

I have decided to make my post each Sunday about the music we sang in church that morning.

This weeks songs were:
Everlasting
The Power of the Cross
Heaven's Gates
In Christ Alone
Ancient Words

All are really wonderful songs.

The lyrics to In Christ Alone are especially helpful to me when going through difficult times.  D has taught herself to play part of this on the piano.  She does this completely by ear.

Last fall my dad's sister passed away.  I was very close to her.  About 2 hours before I got the call from my dad to let me know that she had passed, I was having a really hard time.  Doing a lot of crying.

Next thing I know D sits at the piano and starts playing parts of In Christ Alone.  Of course, I cried even harder.  Not just for my sadness but also at the sweetness of my own daughter trying to comfort me through music.  I still tear up thinking about that moment.

for your enjoyment.  In Christ Alone by Keith & Kristyn Getty.

pics from our day:

E & friend M.  M came over today to play.  The girls spent 2 hours outside playing!

Peek-a-boo!

E.  Snow Girl.

all 3 girls by their snow pyramid creation.  Great use of the beach pails!

potd #20.  A snow pyramid.  Love it.

Snowy Saturday

Today was a snowy day.  It was the first full snowy day we've had this winter so far.  I am so not counting the "Halloween" Storm that we had.  It wasn't even winter back in October, so in my books that means it doesn't count.

Even though I am sooooo over winter & snow, I have to admit it was kind of nice being home for the full day without anywhere to go.  Basketball was canceled, so we didn't have that to worry about.

The girls had a friend sleep over last night.  All 3 girls played so well today.  All day.  Amazing that there wasn't even the slightest hint of a girl spat.

With the snow falling, our bird feeders on the back deck were a happening place.  We even were visited by  a male & female cardinal.  Unfortunately each time they came to visit, I wasn't fast enough with my camera to catch a shot!  Will have to be faster next time!

this little guy almost looks like he's in jail!

on the deck cap under the feeders, we have a slice from a tree trunk we found on a walk after last Augusts' hurricane.  The birds just love it.  I watched this little guy kick the snow as he looked for seed that had fallen from the feeder above.  He was quite funny!

we call this guy the "chipmunk" bird.  His head looks just like that of a chipmunk.  Hubby even looked up what his name was, but I've forgotten.  I like "chipmunk" bird better.

I just love the little black capped chickadees.

Tonight we were fortunate enough to head over to some neighbors for an impromptu get together.  We were supposed to head out to dinner with 2 other couples for dinner.  But, alas the snow ruined those plans.  A raincheck is definitely in order.

Some of our neighbors just built an ice rink in their side yard this winter.  It's great.  Long story short,  we and the families of the other 2 couples ended up over the W's house to skate & enjoy some food together.

So, with 4 families over, there were 9 kids skating on their rink.  All did wonderful.

Afterwards we enjoyed beef stew, homemade mac & cheese, veggie lasagna & various desserts.

We have such a great neighborhood and always have a great time when we get together.  We seem to shine in times of various weather events.  Making some great memories for when our kids are grown.

potd #19.  taken with my phone.  All of the various skates drying by the wood stove.  Priceless!

Bunco Night

The 3rd Friday of each month I play Bunco.  With a fantastic group of ladies.

We have lots of fun, lots of laughs, and we even play the game!  Although, there have been some months we haven't played a full game.  And there have even been months where Bunco wasn't played at all.

Most of our Bunco group lives within a couple miles of my house.  Which is wonderful.  It's nice to be close to home.  Especially on cold winter nights.

There are however, a few that live on the other side of town.  Those of us(meaning my circle of friends, of course!) that live on my side of town call the other side of town the "pack a snack" exit.  In other words, it takes so long to get over there, you better pack a snack to eat on the way.

We can actually get home delivery of Chinese food & pizza.  That does not happen on the "pack a snack" exit side of town.  Believe me, those ladies are jealous!

Tonight, we had to venture over to the "pack a snack" exit side of town.  Good thing for seat warmers to keep R & I warm on our ride over!  We had a great time, but of course I won nothing.  I honestly can't remember when I won last.  It really doesn't matter.  I have too much fun to really care if I win or not!

The girls had piano practice this afternoon.  As they do every Friday.  It really works well for us to have piano on Fridays.  Both girls enjoy it and don't give me too much grief about practicing.

E has been working on a song called Round Dance.  It's a fun song and she enjoys playing it--I can tell because she has mastered it pretty quick.

D is working on a song called Spinning and Spinning.  It's a great song that really sounds like the notes are spinning round and round.

the description of the song is spot on.  It is to sound like it is being played "dizzy with motion".  That is exactly how it sounds!

potd #18.  music notes.  Love the girls playing.  Nothing like a house filled with piano music.

New Year, New Ventures.

I've thought about blogging many times.  Just haven't made the time to do it.  Well it's a new year, so I've decided to bite the bullet and finally get blogging.

I've never made New Year's Resolutions.  I guess this is the closest I've come to coming up with one.

Here's another thing I am hoping this blog will make me do: take more pictures.  I have a great camera and a goal for this year is to attempt a picture a day.  I am thinking that's a great way to encourage me to blog.

Since it's already January 2nd, I will have to post 2 pictures today.

This first one I took yesterday.  Let me introduce you to the.best.brownies.ever.  No lie, after eating these you will be wondering where they've been all your life.  And don't even think about wanting to make boxed brownies again.  Not only are these delicious, they are easy to make.

I was glad to have a family party as an excuse to make them.  It doesn't look so great when you make them and end up eating 1/2 the pan all by yourself.  Yikes.

The recipe comes from my dear Aunt Grace.  She was my Nana's sister.  And she had the recipe for the.best.brownies.ever.  As stories go in families, we *think* she got the recipe from a neighbor or friend who was German or maybe even was a cook for a German family.  

It's that kind of story.  Which makes the brownies even better!

And here's my picture for today.

Meet Lucy, our 2 year old Golden Retriever.  I will probably be posting many pictures of her since my children(twin girls, 8) aren't always the most cooperative when I am trying to take pictures of them.  Humph.  But, then there's Lucy!  She's always ready to smile for me.  

Well, I think that's pretty good for my first day.  Phew, I did it.  And, I promise to be back tomorrow! 

My Blog Story

A quote from the movie Ghost Town:
         "We just get the one life, you know. Just one. You can't live someone else's or think it's   more important just because it's more dramatic. What happens matters. May be only to us, but it matters." 


This quote was included in a Christmas letter from my husband's aunt a couple years ago.  As soon as I read it, something about the words really impacted me.


It really is true---you get one life to live.  Everything that happens in our lives really does matter.  The good, the bad, & the ugly.  Everything that happens makes us/shapes us into the people we are at this particular point in our lives.  Everything that will happen to us in the future contributes to the people that we become.


I lost my mom to cancer when I was 16.  That matters a whole lot.  So much so, that I know that I would not be the person I am today if that had not happened.  The wife I am, the mother I am, the sister I am, the daughter I am, the friend I am all are related to that event in my life.


Part of the reason for me starting this blog was to try to take that step and document the things in my life that I feel matter.  From the little to the big, fun to not so fun and all things in between.  


Because you just never know what life has in store and I want to be able to appreciate the things that happen in my life.  Whether I like them or not.


Because, what happens matters.  


And that is the story of how I came up with my blog title.

2 little girls who matter very much.


And now onto Lucy.


She is my buddy at night on the couch.  She "asks" to come up next to me every night when I settle down after putting the girls to bed.  


Usually she settles on the other end and sleeps the night away with her head on a pillow.  But every now & then, she will cuddle up right next to me.  Even trying to lay her head on my lap where I have my laptop.  She's very funny when she is looking for snuggles.  


On a cold winter night, it is very nice to have her snuggled up next to me.  She is a true Golden Retriever.  She is full of love.

at the other end of the couch.  posing.

potd #17.  love those eyes.

Touch of Sunshine

A little bit of Florida arrived at our house today.  My dad--who is a snowbird--sent us, really the girls, a box of Honeybells.

Oh my, these are the sweetest,  juiciest oranges you will ever eat.  In the words of my hubby, "all oranges pale in comparison to these"!

They are so good, I think I may just be ordering another box for us.

The season is short for these yummy oranges.  I believe from the Harveys' Orange Groves website, it will be over around the end of January.  I better get that order placed before they run out!  Which I have heard from my dad happens.

Trust me, they are that good.

Here are the yummy sweet Honeybells sent to us by my dad.  Yum!

I can't wait for breakfast tomorrow!

Today is a day I get to spend with my sissy, she lives close by and we are lucky to spend lots of time with her and her family.  She works at a local library and has Mondays & Wednesdays off.

We have a great time running errands, shopping and thrifting together.  Today we had a bunch of errands to do & did a good job at getting them mostly done.

I did buy some new yarn today to start a blanket that I have been wanting to knit.  I even started it tonight at knitting--which I get to do with sissy too!

Our last shopping stop today was at Homegoods.  Not there for anything in particular, just browsing.  Well, in our browsing I found a turquoise blue ceramic bird that just had to come home with me.

She is just oh so pretty!  It was love at first sight.

potd #16.  Isn't she purty?  Once I saw her there was no question, she was definitely coming home.

Yay, Late Start!

Well, the little bit of snow that fell overnight led to a late start for school this morning. I was quite fine with this!  It was very nice to sleep in a bit this morning.

After getting the girls off to school, I headed off to get my grays covered.  Due to some very bad genes inherited from my father, I have been forced to cover grays since my mid-twenties.  Blech!

But, after a very enjoyable 90 minutes spent at the hairdresser there are no grays to be seen.  Phew!  At least for 6 weeks, then I'll be back again!

I was also lucky enough to have lunch with my very good friend, J.  She was also away with me this weekend.  We first met 3 years ago through our mutual friend, R(whose van we took this weekend).

What really solidified our friendship was the crazy feat of being co-presidents of the PTO for 2 years(2009-2010 & 2010-2011 school years).  I am not sure what either of us was thinking when we decided to be co-presidents of the PTO, but I do know I acquired one of my very closest friends from that experience.

After dinner tonight I was able to get the girls to model for me a bit.  We were able to fit this in between our multiplication practice & piano practice.

potd #15.  D in her fur collar sweater.  She was very excited to buy it with her own Christmas money from Grampa.

Brrrrrrrrrr

Ack!  It was so cold & I was so busy laughing & scrapbooking yesterday, I completely forgot to take a picture.  Boo!

Boy was it cold outside this morning.  Today was the last morning of our weekend away and it had to have been below zero.  It hurt to breathe when we walked to the dining hall to eat breakfast.

We all had a fantastic weekend.  What a wonderful time spent with friends.  Already looking forward to next year!

Winter has arrived & some snow is falling tonight.  Hopefully it will end before morning and we will only have a late opening.  I must admit it would be nice to sleep in a bit tomorrow after 3 late nights!

The steam coming out of the vent outside the dining hall was instantly freezing on the bare bushes immediately.

potd #14.  Crystally, frozen branches.

Weekend Away

Still away scrapbooking.  Having a great time & yes, there has been much laughter!

And, we've eaten way too much.  Oh well!

Took a mini walk this afternoon after lunch.  The grounds of the "camp" that we are on has a lake.  Frozen now, but I bet it's wonderful swimming in the summer.

Snow is on the ground & it is very cold today.  Glad to be inside warm with a short walk to our room later tonight.

potd #13.  Pretty frozen lake.

Scrapbooking Weekend

Well, I left today with 4 girlfriends for a weekend of scrapbooking.  A 5th friend was meeting us at our destination.  We do a lot of laughing.  And there are obscene amounts of peanut butter m&m's and swedish fish eaten.  

We all headed up in R's minivan.  It was amazing the amount of stuff we were able to fit in her van.

These are some fun women who I am lucky enough to call friends.  So glad I have this weekend to get away with them all.

potd #12.  just a sampling of all the stuff we fit in R's van.  Truly amazing.  We are awesome packers!

Quick Pic

Today was a busy day & somehow I didn't take a picture during the day.

I am getting ready to go away for the weekend with a few girlfriends to do some scrapbooking.  This is our 4th year in a row.  It's lots of fun & we all look forward to it every year.  There will be lots of laughs & many swedish fish and pb m&m's that will be eaten!

My pic of the day is of a lighted ball that I bought a few years ago.  I have it on top of my kitchen cabinets sitting in a milk glass flower pot.  It adds just the right amount of light in the kitchen.  Kind of warms of the kitchen on a cold winter night.

potd #11.  Not a great shot, but at least I took it!

Have a great Friday!

A Bit of Green

It's January.  Which usually means cold & snowy.  Last year it was VERY snowy here.  As in if we don't see any snow this January you won't hear much complaining around here! In the last 3 weeks of January last year we had somewhere around 7(maybe it was 8?) snow days.  It was crazy!

This year, so far, we  have been very fortunate.  Even that sentence sounds funny considering we have had 10 "snow" days so far this year!  3 due to Hurricane Irene which delayed the start of school for 3 days.  Then, we had the "Halloween" Storm. That was dreadful.  7 days of school missed due to no power.  Ugh!

Right now though, there is no snow on the ground at this point.  I am a-ok with this fact!

I went out wandering in the yard with Lucy today and took a walk through our veggie garden.

And what did I find?  I found the green tops of the celery still green!  Amazing.

potd #10.  What hardy little celery greens I have!

A New Favorite Breakfast

I don't usually eat breakfast.  But, when we went to Florida last month the hotel had plain oatmeal that they served with brown sugar and golden raisins.  Yum!  Now, it's all I am eating for breakfast.

And the best part is that oatmeal is good for you too.

potd #9.  Plain oatmeal topped with brown sugar & golden raisins.  

I have also made it with blueberries & that is yummy too.

Here is the recipe for my favorite breakfast right now:

1/2  cup instant oatmeal

1 cup water

dash salt

mix together in bowl & microwave for 1 1/2-2 min.  In my microwave, 1 min 40 sec is the perfect amount of time

After cooking, stir and then top with 2 tsp brown sugar & a handful of golden raisins.  Enjoy.

Now, I can't wait til breakfast tomorrow!

Monday, Monday

Ah, Monday why do you come so quickly?  I was really enjoying my weekend when you so rudely interrupted.  Oh, well!

During the week between Christmas-New Year's, hubby tied 2 big branches to the two corners of our deck.  From them we hung a couple bird feeders and a couple suet feeders.

It's been quite fun to watch the birds come and visit us.  We get house finch, chickadees, titmouse, downy woodpeckers, and another type of woodpecker that is a bit larger(haven't figured out what kind it is yet).

I tried taking pictures yesterday of the birds visiting us, but I was not stealthy enough.  Today, I was a bit more stealthy and got a couple of shots this morning.

pretty house finch perched on one of the branches

downy woodpecker eating some suet. yum!  potd #8

Funny how watching these birds bring such joy to us.  Sometimes it's just the small things.

Rocket Man

E got a "make your own" rocket kit for Christmas from Santa.

It's a pretty cool rocket.  Hubby had lots of fun building it!  E was able to help a bit, but a lot of the work definitely needed to be done by an adult.

D even jumped in a bit to help build, but remember she is in her cart-wheel phase. So she spent much of the time cart-wheeling.

After building the rocket, we decided we might need more room than our backyard to make a launch.  We have lots of trees around us & hubby was worried about where the rocket would end up.  So, after a quick call to my mil, off we went to her house.

With a little white vinegar & some baking soda, we had lift off!

hubby adding the vinegar & baking soda.

ready for launch

lift-off!

E, happy rocket girl!  And here's a post haircut pic too!  potd #7

Spring In January

What a day!  The sun was shining and the weather was simply gorgeous.  The temperature hit 60 degrees.  Any day in January that gets to 60 should be celebrated!

It felt wonderful to open up the back door to let some beautiful fresh air in the house. E played outside & even rode her bike for awhile.  Hubby even rode his skateboard for a bit while E was out riding her bike.  He built her a mini ramp which she was happy to "jump" and ride down the hill in our side yard.  She's the brave one.

D was hanging with me in the house & cart wheeling!  That's her new favorite thing to do.....she reminds me of me when I was a kid.

Hubby & D went to play tennis while I took E to a bday party.  All in all a really good day.

We topped it off tonight by going to the local comedy club with friends & having a fantastic time.  Nothing like spending the evening laughing with really good friends!

The pic of the day comes from our 1st activity today.  The girls have basketball on Saturday mornings from now into March.  It's fun to watch.  The best is when they skip wildly across the basketball court.  Too funny!

potd #6.  love the abandoned basketballs on the side of the court.

Quick Pic of the Day

It's Friday & its been a tiring week back to school.  Didn't sleep great last night and I've been tired allllll day!

Spent most of today with friends getting ready to go scrapbooking next weekend.  I scrapbook 1x a year & of course I am in dire need of getting my pictures printed & all my stuff ready to go for next Friday.

Picked girls up from school.

E was excited to get home because she had received in the mail on Wednesday a remote control helicopter that she had purchased with some of her own Christmas money.  This is one serious helicopter.  It's going to take some good practice by E & dear hubby to learn how to fly it without it crashing and bouncing on the ground.

POTD #5.  Like I said, this is one serious helicopter!

After the attempt at flying, off to piano lessons we went.

Had a nice dinner out & then came home for a quiet evening.

Heading out to a comedy club tomorrow night with some friends.  Looking forward to it!

A Gift for Me!

My dear hubby finally took pity on me and replaced my old IPhone 3G last week.  It was in sorry shape.  Working very slow and the screen was cracked.  Let's just say I was in desperate need of a replacement.

Well, my new IPhone 4S came last week & it is wonderful.  It's fast, shiny, and oh so pretty.  And now it's even prettier.  I decided that I for sure needed a case for my shiny new phone.

So, I ordered a case over the weekend & much to my delight it was in my mailbox today!

Hopefully the new phone will now be protected from any accidental drops......

Isn't that the coolest case ever!  Here's the site where I found it.  And that's my POTD(pic of the day) #4.

Yay for new phones & fun cases.  It makes me smile everytime I look at it

Busy Day. Big Haircut.

Today was a very busy day.

My sissy has Mondays & Wednesdays off of work, which means we get to hang out together.  Mostly we run errands/shop, but sometimes we get crafty.  We really should craft more.  Another goal for me this year: craft more with sissy!

So, today we dropped the girls off at school & then ran errands/hit some after Christmas sales.  Let's just say we both got lots of great things at Target for not a lot of money.  We even bought things we are going to craft with.....project to be shown at a much later date.  Probably closer to next Christmas.

There were of course some necessary errands:  BJ's to get dog food for sissy's dog, Jack & somehow we got roped into stopping at a sporting goods store to pick up ski gloves for sissy's son, J.

Then, once sissy and I were done shopping, I was off & running.  My schedule from 3:30-5:30 included picking the girls up from school, driving 25 min in the direction of my sissy's for the girls to get their haircut, to driving back home and then leaving the house a mere 5 minutes after arriving home to only head back in sissy's direction to pick her up & head to knitting from 6-8:30.  Phew, I am tuckered out!

Good thing I've got a butt warmer in my car, cause baby it was cold out today!  It certainly made the time I spent in the car a lot more pleasant on this very, very cold day.

Now, onto the big haircut.

My daughter, E has been growing her hair for about 10 months to get the right length to donate through Pantene's Beautiful Lengths Program.  She needed to have 8 inches of hair before we could cut it and she didn't want it to end up too short.

So, today we finally went to cut it.  She really likes her long hair, so while she was glad she grew it to donate she was a little sad about losing the length.  I am happy because boy has it become harder & harder to keep snarl free.

And, the best thing is that hair grows back!

Here is E before the cut

Our hairdresser, T making the measurement

After the cut of the ponytails & now styling the new do

Just about done and T is making E feel better about her short hair!  Thanks T!

I am so proud of E for donating her hair.  And let's just say there's already talk about growing it again and making a second donation.  Way to go E!

I didn't get a good after shot.  Time was flying & I needed to get them home so I could head out to knitting.

Looks like a good after shot may just be my potd(picture of the day) tomorrow.  

Now I am off to be a couch potato and surf Pinterest.......