Picture of a Project

This is not the cabinet that I spoke about in the last post ... although that one is still coming. This is a different cabinet that I found at a yard sale this last weekend for $20. Can you believe it? Such a bargain. Jacob helped me pull a bunch of stapled-on chicken coop wire off the doors. He was good at it too! This weekend will be priming and painting (dark brown), and then that baby will be in my bedroom housing books, photos, etc.

I've also been spray painting picture frames for a photo collage to go up on my wall in the stairway. I am such a fan of spray paint. LOVE IT!

Blogs and Houseplants

Each need attention to keep them alive ... and sadly, we have all silk plants around here. Mostly I excuse my lack of attention to both by rationalizing that I spend most of my time and effort keeping the people of the house alive and don't have time for blogs or houseplants. But it is so fun to go back and read past posts, and especially to read the posts of dear friends who are 25,000 times busier with their people than I am. So the stale excuses have become stale, and I'm ready to be back.

An Arizona summer is like winter in most other states ... you spend a lot of time indoors hibernating (i.e., resting under your A/C vent and ceiling fan). It would seem like I would have all kinds of time to blog, but I found that there wasn't much going on to blog about, and I was too tired and cranky from the heat to enjoy blogging.

But November in Arizona is like Spring in other places. We're bustling around our house tending to projects because it's not too hot to do anything other than sip lemonade and avoid any sudden heat-generating movement.

Now there's an energy in the air. Matt began cleaning and organizing the garage yesterday. I have started organizing closets and cabinets in the house. We're making lists of things we want to do and ways to improve the house. We've gotten ambitious. I bought a cabinet from Craigslist that I'm going to be refinishing and a small loveseat from a yard sale that I'm wanting to reupholster. I know it's going to all be hard, but the vision is there, and I'm excited! If any or all of it turns out, you'll see pictures. In fact, I think I'll post "before" pictures soon. Maybe you'll see the same vision that I did!

Why all of this ambition? At first, I thought it was because we are having guests for Thanksgiving that we have been bitten by the "Sprucing" bug ... but now I think it's just a byproduct of Fall in Arizona. Isn't it great?

Here comes the ramblings...don't blame me, if you keep reading...

Seriously, January was the last post...

So here I sit with the laptop catching up on the latest cougar news when I am feeling a tad 'muti-tasky' and decide to check out our family blog...and I'm sure I had the same flabbergasted expression as many of you do, or at least the handful, er, two people out there that still 'track' our blog regularly, when you stop by our blog to see the latest and greatest, only to be disappointed when the last entry was in January.

Come on, we may not have hiked the highest peak in South America, had tea with the Duchess of Newbury, or had Swine Flu recently, but I'm sure we have done something noteworthy since January, come on 4 months...that's a little embarrassing (speaking of embarrassing, how come this thing doesn't do auto spell checker, are we still living in the 80's...speaking of the 80's, was that not the best song era of all time, maybe American Idol should do more 80's tunes...but more on that later...I digress...)

So anyway, I am taking it upon myself (so for those that came here hoping to have heard from Julie, I apologize up front for your disappointment, all I can say is get in line behind Adam Lambert, Lebron, and all those that want to refinance these days...) to make a current entry.

Although, when Julie finds out I am posting, she will probably take the laptop away, which will mean, no more spending time in chat rooms with other 'fill in your own adjective here' cougar football fans trying to get the scoop on who will commit this week at Jr Day...yeah, you heard me, Junior Day, as in, High School Juniors...actually, when I say that out loud, it's rather pathetic...so feel free to change the adjective above if you would like.

Actually, my time as a 'blogger' may be coming to a quick end, because Julie wants me to take 'The Five Love Languages' quiz from a book by Gary Chapman. And just between me and the two people that are reading this (and I wouldn't blame it if 'Grandpa and Grandma' even stopped reading by now) I'm not too excited to take any sort of quiz, let alone one that states on the front page...How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate.

For those that know me, express and heartfelt aren't two words that come easy for me, that is, unless I'm hiding behind a blog and/or talking about who will take over for Max Hall with all of my 'faceless' peeps on TBS...shout out to you Coug76 and GMAN...

Perhaps I can post a couple of questions and see what cougarnation has to say...boy I bet Julie would love that...

Anyway, I'm cutting this entry short and believe me, this entry would have been good, but Julie won't be on the phone forever and she keeps looking over at me with that look that says..."how come you are typing so much and that quiz ain't taking itself...so get to it..."

Lastly, for all of those husbands who will probably be roped into taking this quiz, now that your wives have caught wind of this book...all I can say, is...SUCKAS!

Until the next time - when it's on your dime...

enjoy the sunset!

Christmas Cards are Done! :)

I feel like such a lucky girl to have such dear friends. Thanks for all of the encouraging comments. Naturally, it "guilted" me into a post ... that I've long been meaning to write.

Our family has endured several illnesses throughout January, and I'm done with it all!

Poor little Jacob came down with stomach flu at 3 a.m. on Christmas. Luckily, Santa had already made his deliveries or he might have been caught in the act. From Jacob, Eric got a mild version of the flu. And then it was Matt's turn.

I gloated in my success at having the "mom immunity" ... until my number was up. And it was a rotten 24 hours. To make matters worse, I had a leftover prescription from when I had gallbladder troubles to help quell the extreme nausea. It helped with the nausea, but it is also a sedative, so I was out of commission for the next 24 hours until everything cleared out.

After all of that, we all got colds and coughs, but I think we're finally through that now that Eric has finished.

So, we're back on track. I've totally enjoyed catching up on the blogs of dear friends and family. I'm inspired by everyone who has great fitness goals this year. Hopefully that inspiration will translate to some movement on my part. A friend and I had started running, and I was feeling good about our progress, but then we dropped off when it got cold. (Yes, it does get cold in AZ, thankyou very much.) But I'm ready to brave the cold in my unibomber getup and get running!

Oh, one last thing. Do any of you have favorite poets or poems? Our book group is doing a poetry night in February. We're supposed to pick a favorite poem or poet to share. I've been reading an anthology of poetry, and have found a few goodies, but wondered what my cyber friends like. Anyone have a favorite poet or poem? I'll be waiting for the comments to be rollin in. Will I be waiting long? LOL.

Oh, and one more thing. A P.S.S. as it were. If you have not checked out this girl's blog, you MUST! Here's a link: http://pickypalate.blogspot.com. This girl has the most amazing recipes and pictures to go with them. If you're not inspired by this blog of yumminess, I have to think your tastes don't extend beyond Top Ramen and Cheese Crisps! Great blog!

Promises, Promises

I'm pretty sure there's an 80's song with that title.

But I'm actually writing to promise all of you dear friends and family who actually take the time to check my blog with a frequency greater than once per month ... I will blog a good entry (with pictures) ... as soon as my Christmas cards are done.

Cheers to you all!

julie

P.S. Most of you who read my blog have your own blogs, and although I checked most of them tonight, I didn't comment on any except for one. But I have to say that I love reading them. And I'm honored to have you all as friends and family. You're good people doing good things, and it's a pleasure to bask in your goodness. Although the holidays have me bustling about (just like everyone else), it has been a joy this season to reflect on treasured friendships. Thanks for blessing my life.

No Fond Memories

Okay, so some of you may have noticed that the menu on the right hand column has stayed the same since April. I would like to let you know why it's not been changed.

The tasty dish listed for Saturday is "Basil Pesto with Chicken and Peas." I actually did stick with the plan and made it. And that was a big accomplishment because the last time I made it (April 2007), I literally thought I was having a heart attack.

As it turned out, I was not having a heart attack. It was just a gallbladder "flare-up" ... thanks to the three cheese pasta and the estrogen coursing through my body brought on by carrying a large infant in utero ... back in April 2007.

So, skipping ahead (April 2008), there's no action on the gallbladder front, even after eating the pesto. So, I decide to really test my gallbladder and make a cheese ravioli dish with browned butter and asiago cheese. (It's actually embarrassing when I say it out loud ... I mean, it really is a miracle that I haven't had that heart attack yet growing up the deep-fried, Krispy Kreme South and with my penchant for high-fat pasta dishes.)

So, I make the ravioli and chow down ... although really not that much because I was on my way to get Jake's hair cut. But it was clearly enough to make me wish Italy and its pasta would disappear forever. I had another nasty flare-up, and a few weeks later, my gallbladder was removed.

Anyway, the pesto pasta was a catalyst to a very busy time of life for our family ... surgery for me, visit from Grandma and Grandpa to take care of boys and me, buying a new house, remodeling house, 10-day trip to Utah, starting new preschool, and lots of other fun projects that have prevented me from changing the menu.

Don't worry ... we are still cooking and eating. I have since made the basil pesto, but anything with browned butter is off the menu.

A Quick Tag

From my sister's blog ...

1. Where is your cell phone? counter
2. Where is your significant other? work
3. Your hair color? Blond
4. Your mother? angel
5. Your father? outgoing
6. Your favorite thing? sleep (am I lame for not leaving my sister's answer ... kids?)
7. Your dream last night? friend
8. Your dream/goal? goodness
9. The room you're in? messy
10. Your hobby? reading
11. Your fear? dogs (big ones)
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? tomboy
15. One of your wish-list items? furniture
16. Where you grew up? Memphis
17. The last thing you did? rocked (baby, that is)
18. What are you wearing? pjs
19. Your TV? off
20. Your pet? peeve
21. Your computer? slow
22. Your mood? good
23. Missing someone? usually
24. Your car? packed
25. Something you're not wearing? jewelry
26. Favorite store? last chance... really, I couldn't narrow it down to one word.
27. Your summer? year-round
28. Love someone? deeply
29. Your favorite color? purple
30. When is the last time you laughed? morning
31. Last time you cried? Tuesday (happy)

Tag to anyone who wants it!