It's Been A While...Again

This time of year there just doesn't seem that much to say every week so I had to "save up" a bit until I had something. So, let's review:

I have to start with bowling. It was epic!! We bowled last week and when we got to the bowling alley we discovered we were in first place by just 1 point! Talk about pressure! We were bowling the second place team and we knew it would be tough. We won the first game by just 5 pins and really the anchor bowler on the other team lost it for them by not picking up her spare. The second game we lost by just 2 pins. That was a tough one. We were pretty down. But we all went out separate ways, had a little talk with ourselves, and decided that the anchor's excessive celebrating at their win was just too much and I have to say, the next and final game really told them what we thought of that! It was epic, truly!! The usual mild-mannered H-man was cool, calm and collected on the outside but inside he was an erupting volcano! And then he bowled OUT OF HIS MIND!! Strike, strike, strike, strike, spare, strike, strike strike, spare, strike, on and on!!! He bowled a 255 and his average is 158. Bill and Judy bowled well too. Judy had a 200 and Bill a 213 and I finally got my average that game but I was a spectacular motivator!!! We had a combined game, with handicap, of 949!! We beat them by more than 100 pins that game and ended up taking 2 games and totals! Lesson they learned: don't piss of the H-Man or you will suffer his wrath! Yes, it felt soooo good!! And we didn't over celebrate but Lord knows, I sure had to hold myself back because it was EPIC!!

The weather here has been fairly mild. We've had a little snow, a few inches, but then it melts or rains. Last Sunday we had some snow during the day and then it rained overnight and Monday ended up being a snow day. There wasn't really that much snow but the back roads had turned to ice so the buses couldn't pick up. It was a nice day off and the main roads were find so I ended up doing a little shopping.

I also baked these beauties!


Two someones were especially happy! They absolutely LOVE these things!



Last Sunday was cold but sunny at least. I saw some kids out on the pond playing hockey and skating. Unfortunately for the poor muskrats (or muscraps as Quinn calls them) about 10 minutes after I took these idyllic picture this naughty little girl was jumping up and down on top of their lovely home! Hopefully they were sound asleep and it didn't disturb them.


Snow and icicles.


The cardinals keep coming around as long as I keep the feeders full.



The squirrels don't seem to be hibernating at all this year.


A certain little girl got to play in a little snow last weekend too. I think she loved this miniature snowman fashioned by her Daddy.


Yesterday I had lunch with my friends Loretta and Natalie and then we went to a movie. I kind of picked the movie (One for The Money) so I felt responsible if they weren't enjoying it but both said they liked it. I liked it but I also read all the books by Janet Evanovich up to 16 (still have to read 17 and 18) so I probably enjoyed it more. After the movie we went to a fundraiser at a local restaurant/bar for one of our 4th grade students that has brain cancer. It was a very touching site to see so many people from our school district turn out for this event and open their wallets. Over $8,000 has been raised so far and events are still being held to help raise money for this family. The poor kid has exhausted his chances for surgery and is now undergoing a trial at U of M. Hopefully this will be the magic bullet he needs. He's been fighting this since he was 4 years old and has had 8 surgeries so far. The band that played at the event last night donated their payment also. One of the band members is a 5th grade teacher at our school. It was really an amazing night. The place was absolutely packed all night. Side note to Tyler: Beth was there last night and said to tell you Hi. Also, you will not believe who the "bouncer" was!! Hans!!! Our old neighbor!! And no, I didn't go up and say Hi to him. I tried to hide from him! Gross!!!!!

That's about all the news. It's snowing pretty good today. I wanted to go run a few errands but I bet the roads are pretty slippery so may have to wait. Right now I'm trying to talk Scott into taking this guy to the park for a run. Lord knows he really needs it!


In other news, Amber and Quinn have some big changes coming up next week! After a 5 month leave, Amber has been offered and decided to take a new job! She received from her old boss who is now with ABC and he wants her to produce ABC's political page! She will be working in downtown DC and Quinn will be going to a new preschool not too far from both Mommy and Daddy's work! It should be an interesting time for the whole little family. Thankfully the job is still a little flexible and if Amber has to work from home sometimes, like if Quinn is ill, she can. It's nice to have that flexibility just in case. It's going to be a very exciting week for them!

Scott is still waiting to hear from the interview he had a couple weeks ago. He hasn't given up hope and is going with the mantra that "no news is good news"? I sure hope he's right. I know this would be a great job for him and he's really getting tired of looking since it's been 5 months now. Keep good thoughts for him and fingers crossed!

Still no pictures from Tyler. He says they will be coming soon though. Not too much else to report from him. He hasn't done anything notable except teach camp and now school will start again this week. He is on the final downhill slope though. As things stand now, he should be heading back to the States in April or May. We don't have a firm date yet. From there, I'm not sure if he's firmed up his plans yet but you will be the first to know right after me!

We have some exciting things coming up in the next month! Can't wait to tell you all about them! But that will have to wait until next time!

Have a good week!

It's Quiet Around Here....

There's not much happening around here this week. Going back to work wasn't too bad, except the getting up at 5:15 part. That part was hard, very hard. By Friday I was feeling quite sleep deprived.

Friday night was bowling. We were in second place, down 2 points, grrrrrr. Losing 3 points on position night a couple weeks ago really hurt us. We were all determined that this week wouldn't be the same. Determination can be a good thing. We battled and some games we didn't win by that much, but it was enough and we won all 4 points. I know the number one team lost at least 1 so we could either still be in second place or we may be in first. Unfortunately, next time we bowl we bowl the team that we lost 3 points to two weeks ago.

This weekend was spent mostly undecorating the house. By this afternoon at 5:00 we had finally finished. I really hate undecorating. It's so much work and not nearly as much fun as decorating. The only good thing about it is the house looks good, uncluttered.

I took the pups to the park yesterday but didn't make it today.


Today was filled with other things. One thing I did was this.

Delicious rosemary olive oil bread. This time I accidentally added too much water so I had to add more flour so instead of 3 loaves I made 4. Hopefully they will taste just as good.

I also had to make a batch of dog food. That took a little time too. Just not enough hours in the two day weekend.

Here's Zoe waiting for dinner.

So that's about all that's going on. Not much to write home about. We did talk to this little cutie a few times this week. She calls to check in on her Charlie Boy.

This is a picture of the picture we got for Christmas. She looks so adorable.

I'm putting a couple more videos on here for Tyler. She really loves singing and dancing to her Christmas songs!




Have a good week!

End to the Fun and Back to the Grind...

Christmas and New Year's are but a memory and it's back to reality tomorrow. While I enjoyed the holidays I don't feel rested really but I can't really complain. I got to spend lots of quality time with precious family.

Christmas morning started out quietly. H and I were up by about 7:30 and I started the cinnamon rolls but we had to wait a little while for Scott to get up. When he finally did we got started on gifts right away.

This was his sleepy face when he realized the unwrapped gift opposite him was actually for him.



We splurged and got him something big for Christmas since we really didn't get him much for his birthday back in September and nothing for graduation. This was something he really wanted and something he can take with him when he finally moves out.


This was the surprised face when someone realized Santa had bought them a present too!



She needed a little help opening it but once it was opened she really liked it!


Charlie liked it too!


H was a little confused by his gift at first.


But once he realized what it was and had a chance to try it out, he really liked it!


The rest of the day was spent pretty quietly, playing with our new and old toys. I spent the day reading on my iPad2 Kindle. I read The Hunger Games on Christmas day and then the other two books in the trilogy between Christmas and New Years. They were so hard to put down, highly recommend them!

The next day we had another Christmas! Quinn and family returned and we had Christmas all over again!


Andy was happy with this "instant happiness" present of the gift of a few lunches/dinners at Chipoltle's. It can be hard to buy for the man who has everything and wants for nothing, but food is usually a good bet.


Amber loved these LL Bean slippers but sadly they did not love her and were a little on the tight side, even after some people with bigger feet tried to stretch them out for her. Luckily she has a store near her home and will try to exchange them.


This little girl was very serious while opening her gifts and got right down to business. Her trusty friend was at her side helping her


She loved this little bear backpack that Grandpa brought her back from Korea.


We got a little bit of snow after Christmas and Grandpa gave Quinn a ride to the mailbox. She liked the snow but wasn't quite sure what to think about it.



The rest of the week was pretty uneventful. Andy flew back to Virginia to work for a few days and then came back Friday night. We spent New Year's Eve day around the house and then H, Amber and Andy got to go to a Piston's game on New Year's Eve. Quinn and I spent a little time at our friend's New Year's Eve party. Once H and Amber and Andy got there we stayed for a brief time and then came back home to watch all the music programs. We all had a hard time staying awake until midnight but we did make it.

The next day Amber and Andy gathered all their goodies and spent the morning packing up and were on the road by 10:30. They were lucky to have good weather coming and going. It can be dicey this time of year to drive in the midwest.

Now we are getting back into work mode as we all go back to work tomorrow. It's going to be tough getting up at 5:00 again.

I don't have any specific resolutions for the new year but I do have a few goals. I really want to pay down debt so will work on that. I'd like to get H and I healthier, eating better, more fruits and veggies. I would also like to get back into walking again. H moved my treadmill back here from a friend's house and fixed it so I have no excuse not to use it. I need more energy and going to bed earlier and getting some exercise should help. A new year is a good time to rethink your life and how things are working. There's always room for improvement.

These next few videos are mostly for Tyler. While he is leading an exciting life there in Korea and enjoying seeing the world, including travelling to Bali for Christmas, he is missing seeing his only niece grow up and pictures just don't do her justice. Neither do these videos really because she is much funnier in person. Every time a song comes on she goes to grab everyone's hand and says, "dance with me"! So cute. I miss her already!

Have a good week!