We DO still exist...

Yes, I've been neglecting my dear blog lately.  My excuses are lame.  I don't have material.  Life has just been business as usual.

But, it's a new week and I have about 1 month and 4 days until my dear blog's 2nd birthday.  My goal is to hit 100 posts by then, so I have 6 more to go.  I had better get busy, right?

Now, for a blog post:

Tomorrow, Danny starts middle school track! He's been running on the treadmill in the evenings after supper and yesterday morning he and I hoofed it down the road.  He hit a mile in under 8.5 minutes, so he's feeling more confident that he can "hold his own" this season.  Last week he passed his drug screen (?!?! seriously, how sad is it that we require this of 7th grade track and field ?!?!?!)  and we bought him some spiffy new shoes today.  He's all set!

Emma's front teeth are starting to grow in nicely, or at least one of them is...

And I'm really going places in the world of nail polish fashion (there must be a better phrase for this...)  I saw on Pinterest something about pairings of toes and fingers polish, the theory is that you should do neutrals and nudes up top and something flashy and bright down low.  I think I nailed it:  (Get it? See what I did there? Ha ha!)

Toes:  Pink Promenade
Fingers:  Wall Street
Brand:  NYC.  Both can be purchased for $1.47 at Target.  Both will last about 34 hours and 20 minutes before chipping (or two sinks full of dishes and a hair-shampooing.)  And I think that the obvious needs to be stated:  Yes, yes I did waste moments of my life attempting to take a picture of my fingers and toes at the same time.

Sometimes I feel like I will lose my mind...

For instance:  every time I walk in and out of my kitchen...

Let's take closer look:

Contents of this pile include

• trombone
• saxophone
• 4 back packs
• 1 gym bag--buried under the purple back pack, just to the left of the saxophone-- (Drew's basketball jersey and shoes)
• 1 lunch bag (an escapee of a back pack)
• a bag of bags--far left-- (that needs to be taken back to the van for the next grocery trip)
• a sweatshirt (that needs to be put in the laundry)

But, I guess the good news is that a) I have 2 musical sons, b) these middle-school aged sons brought work home with them (hence the stuffed back packs), c) we know where to find everything at 6:45am, d) this, too, shall pass.

When we move this spring, I have big plans for our new "mud room" of sorts (thanks, Pinterest!):  

Head on over to one of my favorite DIY blogs:  www.shanty-2-chic.com

In the mean time, any suggestions on what to do with this mess?  When we have company over, it goes in the laundry room on top of the deep freeze...

My thoughts on "selfies"...

If that isn't a blog post buzz kill, I don't know what is...  (Also-- I don't know how to best organize my thoughts, so here goes nothing...)

Part I:  Seriously, though.  My students (the girls, primarily) are ALWAYS taking selfies.  Just yesterday at the end of a class period, I watched a student take a selfie of herself and I thought to myself, "She looks so stupid doing that.  I wonder if she realizes it.  What a narcissist!  I bet she doesn't even know what narcissism is... I hope this trend ends soon because it is SO DUMB!".  And then, thank God, the bell rang.

Part II:  Remember a few weeks ago, at Nelson Mandela's funeral, President Obama and what's-her-name? posted a selfie on Twitter and it was a viral sensation?

  I was APPALLED by our president.  I found it to be the most tacky, disrespectful thing EVER.

Part III:  I am reading a book right now, WONDER, by P.J. Palacio.

  The story is told by a 5th grade boy who has severe facial deformities and starts school for the first time (having been home schooled up until this point).  Parts of the story are also told by the children in his class and family.  It is so fascinating.  The main theme is bullying, but what speaks to me is how we look at other people once we get to know them.  In our hearts, we don't see their faces, we see their souls.

Part IV:  I came across this video on another blogger's website:

It's longish, but SO worth the 8 minutes.   I got tears in my eyes as I listened to the BEAUTIFUL girl with braces, glasses, and the slouchy beanie describe herself.  And the girl with long dark hair that said, "...When they talked about their insecurities- when the said they were insecure about things- those were the things that made them different.  But the things that made them different made them unique. And...that made them beautiful."    HOW PROFOUND!

Part V:  I realize now, that I am thinking about selfies all wrong.  It really hit a nerve when the same girl (in the video) said that in taking a selfie, you are showing the world that your own beauty, that you are  "....strong, brave, and happy with yourself."  Oh. Wow.  I guess I was wrong.   So here you go, my first selfie:

I AM STRONG, BRAVE, and HAPPY with MYSELF!

Sending a little happiness your way on this long winter day...

We are enjoying, enduring our third "polar vortex" day in Northern Illinois.  I should be happy, but I had big plans for my Freshman/Sophomore Academic Bowl team tonight.  Oh well, hopefully the weather will cooperate next Thursday.

But, more importantly, Holly will be 8 in TWO MORE DAYS!!! She is very excited!  Today we were able to whip up her birthday treats to share at school (a job I had originally penciled in for Sunday afternoon, but it looks like we'll be having days 4 and 5 of  polar vortex time off next Monday and Tuesday.  Hopefully not, because I have better things to do in June than go to school.)

These little rainbow cupcakes were a pinterest success!  The hardest part was tracking down the rainbow Airhead candy, but the boys searched Woodman's high and low a few weeks ago and eventually found them in the candy aisle.

Holly made a great 7 year old, I'm sure 8 will treat her well, too.  She's a lovely young lady (most days)!  Seriously, she's a good kid.  Holly definitely has her dad's sense of humor and outgoing attitude, her big brothers to look out for her, and her mom's brains, so she's got it all goin' for her, right!?!?

Have a great weekend, stay warm, and THINK SPRING!!!

Crock Pot Liners!

I spent $1.99 very wisely a few weeks ago:  I bought a box of slow cooker liners (found in the paper goods aisle, by the Saran Wrap).  There were 4 in the box, so $0.50 a piece.

 I used my first one last night, or should I say yesterday morning?  First, I lined the Crock Pot and set in a frozen round steak.












In another bowl, I whisked together 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, a packet of brown gravy mix, and about 3/4 cup of water.

I poured the mixture over the round steak, put the lid on, and left for the day!

That night, I made a big green salad and boiled some wide egg noodles.   I took a couple of forks and kind of broke up the steak (it's so tender by this point that it just falls apart).  

Deee-Lish!!!




And here's the beauty of it:

(and a really great picture, too!)  The bag didn't break or leak at all, my Crock Pot is just really ugly, it gets used A LOT!

You may be wondering where Rex has been residing these days... Well, he hasn't spent the night in his kennel since the cold snap.  Dave puts him in the kennel in the morning and the kids let him out when they get off the bus, then we let him in the house when it gets dark.  He's even got his own job!  (Just kidding!)

Admitting you have a problem is the first step...

Yes, I have a mild addiction.  I love yarn, I like to knit, I waste hours of my life listening to the clicky clacky of my knitting needles.

But, I have TOO MUCH yarn.  I have to STOP buying it and never finishing projects.  I have to STOP pinning cute patterns on Pinterest.  It all must stop.  I mean, look at this stash!!!

My New Year's resolution is to use it all up, or as much as I possibly can.  (Some balls are too small and some projects are too big.) Also, I need to FINISH projects, and give them away! So, each quarter of the year, I swear to update my loyal blog followers with my progress.  Here is my plan for this first quarter:

These 4 remnant balls will be knitted into a cozy cowl for a certain friend of mine who has to face the elements everyday.  I won't say anything more because she might catch on.  I've already said too much.

These two balls will turn into some pillow cases, hopefully much like the one shown below ($39.99 on Etsy, by the way!).

And, looking ahead two the 2nd quarter of 2014, these balls of wash cloth-weight yarn will be knitted into wash clothes, all while I sit poolside soaking up sun!

Well... actually... another 2014 resolution is NO MORE SUN, LOTS MORE SUNSCREEN!  I'm getting too old for a suntan.  I already have too many sun spots and my skin doesn't rebound like it used to.   Was that too much information?  Maybe.  So, wish me luck!  And, if anything up there catches your eye, let me know!

Yes, I caved in...

Last fall I read the book Racing in the Rain: My Life as a Dog, by Garth Stein.  It was an entertaining book narrated by a race car driver's dog.  The story really made me think about what dogs really do know and understand.  Dave and I have owned two Spring Spaniels over the years.  Our Springers were great dogs, but by the time our second Springer died,  I had four messy kids and was losing my mind from dog hair, messy foot prints, and accidents in the house (Millie suffered a lot at the end and we spent a lot of time cleaning up after her.)   After Millie, we decided to try a new breed.  That's when we got Rex-- a Chesapeake Bay Retriever.   But, I banished him to a kennel behind our house.  It's a nice kennel, Dave puts a new bale of straw in it every fall (and in past winters he has put in a heat lamp, too); normally Rex is perfectly happy, after all he has never known any different.

Until last Sunday night.

With the temps so far below zero, we knew it would be unsafe for him to be left in the kennel.  So, Sunday afternoon when the temps started to plummet, we dug out an old blanket and gave Rex a talking-to.  We started by letting him out every 45 minutes and after he went to the bathroom, we'd call him back in.  He figured it out RIGHT AWAY!  Such a smart pup!











He must feel like he's hit the jack-pot.  Sunday night Dave and I made Steak Diane out of Sirloin with a nice big bone--for Rex!












He's gotten more attention than he probably ever dreamed possible because it has been fun having him around and we've been REALLY bored.

Today we were off of school again and decided to go into town for lunch.   We left him alone for about an hour and a half and he was a perfect angel!  We baby-gated him in the laundry room with his blanket (where he has been sleeping like a rock ALL night for the past 2 nights)!  I was afraid of what we'd find when we got home, but he just took a nap I guess!

















The bad news is tomorrow he's going to be kicked out to his kennel again because I don't trust him THAT much...        (By the way, this is a picture of Holly brushing Rex with a Barbie brush!)