christmas eve

We didn't leave christmas eve, we didn't even get out of our pajamas. I was brought pizza to me in bed as i watched TV. The kids have their own things going on christmas eve so it was just steven and i at home and it was GREAT ! we were invited to a party, i didn't want to to go and i didn't even go to church…i have no guilt. This was the first time i had this kind of pizza, the big square kind made in Iron River, it was good

 i made 2 pans of taco dip for my family for christmas eve dinner because they requested it

A pink watch, %&@!)

I don't like to open gifts when i have an audience, lets me real, i can't hide my emotions very well. I like certain things, certain styles and i usually have a list of things i want so there is no room for error.

well my husband got me a pink watch for christmas. I tried it on and tried to smile as he was watching. Why on god's green earth would he buy me a pink watch? It is nothing like i would pick out, it's pink for gods sake. Needless to say i was disappointed and a little irked, why after 13+ years can he not get this gift giving straight.

I asked him why? yes, i was not nice. He explained that he had bought it in October when i was wearing all my pink. He bought it for me because HE is proud of me and my dedication to this cause that is very dear to my heart. I take back all the muttering i did under my breath. I will wear this watch and smile when i look at it because there was a lot of love that went into this purchase.

i have to work on my appreciation skills. i love you stev

christmas morning 2013 (iPhone pictures )

christmas morning picture on the steps, some people think we don't have to do this anymore, they are so very wrong

martha in all her christmas glory

 lola smiling at her new baby

 pumpkin puff pancakes

dish towels my friend Kathy gave me she found at a estate sale. I hung them as curtains so i could admire them

Holiday break cooking

Sheena & her friend Nathan made corn flake wreaths

 Tortellini soup

 gumbo sloppy joes, my moms recipe

 8.2 pound meatloaf, in a 9x13 pan

 buck eye balls

 i don't use candy bars, i used 2 bags of nestle semi sweet chocolate chips

Sheena found a dress !

Yesterday was one of Sheena's most important days to date, she found her wedding dress. This past summer she asked me to go along with her to find her dress. I told her i would do whatever she wanted/needed me to do for her for the wedding but only if she asked. I don't want to be "that pushy mother-in-law". This is HER wedding, she gets to plan it and ENJOY the planning of it with her soon to be husband.

The first dress she tried on was the one she decided on. She has always been the easier of the two girls. Sheena wanted me to go with her, she didn't want to make a big deal about it, she doesn't like the spotlight.  She didn't want 5 or 6 people there, she just wanted me.

For 13 years she has been my girl, i didn't take a break because my life was more important, i made her an important part of my life. I am sorry that my girls feelings were hurt. Keep your chin up Sheena. I love you babe

maxi skirt

i think i will try and make this tomorrow…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cRzsM08Da0

i will have my model show you

christmas crafts

4 cutting boards, wood was free, $12.16 for food safe butcher block oil (Watco is the brand from lowe's) so $ 3.04 a piece

Merry Christmas and Frohe Weihnachten….

token

My necklace broke yesterday and i lost one of my favorite things. Its about the size of a quarter with a hole drilled through and a link to slide on my chain. I hope it fell off at work and is there when i go back. It looks like a coin but it's actually a token maybe it will show up in spring

christmas presents

http://www.hgtv.com/handmade/make-an-easy-to-sew-lined-tote-bag/index.html

I made these for my 4 coworkers, i think they turned out great. 

Les Miserables & the wild rover

We (Kathy & I) saw Les Miserables at NMU and it was absolutely wonderful. I enjoyed every moment of it. This was my first play at NMU and i can't wait to see more

We went to the wild rover for dinner afterwards and it just "ok". i was craving irish nachos and they have changed some things, not for the better. I don't need to go back there, i was disappointed. 

das steinhaus, 10-30-13

i am so very excited to be going to the new german restaurant in Marquette tonight, I CAN NOT wait! My good friend Kathy is taking me there as a treat for walking in the AVON breast cancer walk. I have added a link for your information about proper bier glasses, pour, etc

http://www.aperfectpint.net/Pouring%20a%20Perfect%20Pint.pdf

I will be watching tonight as my bier is poured ;)

I enjoyed being taken out to dinner by my friend, we had a nice time. I tried my hardest to not compare it to the germany restaurants i have been in, i failed. The spaetzle was just ok, the schnitzel was kind of thin/dry. The bier was good but not poured like in the above video. The bartender also told me that it didn't matter what kind of glass it was served in, i think he was trying to pick a fight with me :)

i may go back again, not sure yet

OH christmas tree

yes, i have a fiber optic christmas tree. don't just me, i am doing this for my husband

great idea for a christmas ornament

http://www.u-createcrafts.com/2013/11/babys-first-christmas-ornament-by.html

Peck street christmas party

Pat's christmas party is always the official kick off to the christmas season for me. It puts me in the christmas spirit, good good, good drinks and good company

always lots of laughs. i am so glad Pat has this party every year

pretzel m&m's

I don't know what the real name is for these but they are one of my fav's at christmas

so easy and so good

cranberry feta pinwheels

i made these for a christmas party last night and they were amazing (this is my photo). 

http://www.food.com/recipe/cranberry-feta-pinwheels-16213 

Happy Thanksgiving

5 days off !

It has been a long time since i have had 5 days off in a row, yes i did just go to New York but it really wasn't a "true" vacation. I am looking forward to doing nothing or making last minute plans, cooking thanksgiving dinner, black friday shopping and napping

December 1st

• stayed in my pajamas all day
• last day off and i don't feel good, i am not happy about this

November 30

• stayed in my pajamas until 5
• dinner at mamma mia's with Char & Paul, Debbie, Mavis & Phil, Dan & Micailly, Aubri & sheena, Steve and I

November 29

• up at 4:30, we went to Walmart, Menards, Art Van, Kohls, Payless, JcPenny, Younkers and Target
• 9:20, home and napped until noon
• meat raffle, tina's first time and she won

November 28

• got up to walk a 5k Ipeturkey for hunger with Tina and Sheena
• put the turkey in at 10:30
• watched some james bond
• 12, aubri made cornucopia
• 1:15 ham went in oven
• 2:00 potato peeling
• 2:30 hummus making, veggie tray
• 3:30 cranberry sauce out, stuffing made
• 4:00 DINNER ! Martin almost killed himself by sitting in a chair that totally collapsed. It wasn't funny at first but we eventually laughed about it
• full bellies and we still managed to eat pie
• 8:00 over to Mavis' to visit with everyone, Paul & Char are home from Montreal
• 9 pm, i did not want to go shopping, Aubri wanted to run to Ulta. We then his Best Buy and Target

November 27

• woke up, not in a good mood, had to try and reset that
• watched Gone with the Wind from 10am-3pm while working on 2 binders for aubri's grad party, i got 1 done and 1/2 of the 2nd one. I try to work on this stuff while she is not here.
• took a 3 hour nap
• shopped for thanksgiving
• stopped at Snyders and they had the Black Friday Ads
• shoveled
• baked a pineapple/angel food cake for tomorrow
• Watched Green Lantern

UP Pink Power, 11-9-13

Myself & 5 women went to a pool tournament to raise money for U.P. Pink Power. The help people not only with breast cancer but with all types of cancer. We hired Aubri to bring us there an pick us up. I hope it will be an annual thing. They had a photo booth, lots of great basket raffles, silver dollar raffle, music and more. 

I would like to thank my friend Kathy, she somehow told one of the organizers that i had just done the New York Breast Cancer walk. Over the mic, she thanked me and told everyone a little bit about me. I sure was shocked, sitting there listening and then hearing my name. I don't do it for the glory but it was very nice of Kathy to take the time and think of a way to acknowledge me. I appreciate it very much my friend. When you do something like the 39.3 mile walk you have no idea how much encouragement plays a role in completing the task. 

I hope this will be an annual trip for all of us out to Little Lake to support this great group of women

I haven't seen Julie in awhile, we were a bit much. I have known her since i was in middle school

 and yes, my mustache is a little off

today was a gift

I got to the nursing home to find grandma in the dining room eating lunch. She was alert and talking, she looked right at me and knew who i was. She told me she was tired and i asked if she had been up late last night. There was a lady behind her and she said "she was stealing". Apparently she thinks my grandma has been stealing from her. Ok that was an odd way to start my visit.

My Gram asked me what day it was, i told her it was sunday. She asked "what did you do today? church? sunday school?" I told her i was not as good of a church goer as she was, i told her she was a better person than me. She said "why does that make me better than you? better than her or better than her?". It was nice to have HER today. I almost didn't go at lunch time, i thought about waiting to go later. She said "Have this roll" and i said "no thanks gram" her pleasant reply to that was"who the hell do you think you are". god i love this woman

She asked if i wanted a bite, i told her no that i ate before i came. I asked her if her eye hurt. She closed her left eye and said "only when i know someone is not telling the truth". Really? she knew i was lying about eating before i got there. She then asked what day it was again and why i wasn't at work. She said "Emmett will start coming to church when he sees this young man sitting next to me, he is younger than me and of course, Emmet is older than me". I had on my NYU sweatshirt and she asked if i was going there.

I told her that her shirt looked nice. She said "I don't know where it came from and i don't know about all these stripes". I told her i bought it for her and then she said "oh then its nice, i got caught didn't i". She got caught because i could tell she didn't really like it. The ole bird is on top of her game today !

She finished her lunch and her aide and i walked her a little down the hallway. She said she was too tired to walk so back down in her wheelchair she went. She has to sit by the nurses station because she can't be trusted alone in her room. She said very loudly that she wanted to go back down to her room, she said " I don't want to sit here and look at all these people". She introduced me 4 times as Cindi Marie her granddaughter.

Back to her room we went, the aide helped her to the bathroom and i could hear my gram talking to her. "I haven't had too many people wipe my bum"... i just had to chuckle. She came out of the bathroom and asked me who i was there to see. I told her I was there to see her. She asked if i would come back for dinner and i told her of course i will.

I made it to Eastwood just in time for dinner and she knew who i was and asked where my tray was. She was picking at her forehead and i told her not to touch it because it was a stitch. I told her she fell and cut her head open and she asked me if she was gonna live with a shit eating grin on her face of course. She asked where the stitches were and i pointed on her face by her eye. She said "no, point it out on YOUR face". She was trying to read her name card and she asked me what it said. I told her Corinne Hoiem and she said it's not, it's Corinne Annear "he" wasn't worth living with.

We talked through dinner, we laughed, she bossed me around, i finished her sentences because she still says the same phrases "pimple on your tongue", "if i drink too much i'll have to pee", "oh you're full of shit"; you know, stuff grandma's say. She finished her tray and i pushed her down to the nurses station, i went to her room and got a couple of dove chocolates. I snuck away once she dozed off.

i am so thankful that i got to see and talk with my grandmother today. I am thankful that the alzheimers stayed away today

gram

so i have been checking on her daily since her fall. watching the progress of one black eye turn into two black eyes and a bruised nose. The nursing home can be a sad place but sometimes those people can put a smile on your face...

• 11-16-13, sheena and I were visiting with grandma by the nurses desk, they have her sitting in her wheelchair there so they can keep an eye on her. She was snoozing but woke up and smiled at me and said hello. She opened her mouth like a little bird so i could put a dove chocolate in her tiny, no teeth mouth. Residents stopped and talked to us as they wheeled by. One man stopped and said "i went on a date with her, before Emmett of course, oh my christopher that was a long time ago". His name is Milton Pascoe, i learned something i never knew about my gram. He headed off down the hallway with his walker. Right behind him was his sister in her wheelchair. She stopped and said hello, she had a pink flower in her pretty white hair. I commented on it and she said she never goes anywhere without one. She was sucking on a sucker and the red sucker had leaked into her little lines around her mouth. I brought gram 2 new pairs of pants and 2 new turtlenecks.

here is gram sucking on her dove chocolate, she may look like Rocky Balboa but she seems to be happy

• 11-15-13, gram wasn't in the mood to talk. She was eating in the dining room so i talked with the great aides who have the patience of saints. 
• 11-14-13, i stopped to check on gram and she was sleeping. I brought her some flowers and a bag of dove chocolates. I noticed her pants had seen better days. I usually do a clothes inventory around her birthday but forgot this year. I threw out 2 pairs of pants, the washer and dryer really is hard on clothing but i am glad they offer this service to their residents.
• 11-13-13, gram fell. Amy and i met the ambulance back at the nursing home. Amy leaned in to kiss gram goodbye and gram said "don't hurry back". Sometimes her alzheimers gets the best of her but we both laughed because she said it loud.

November

Everyone is writing something each day in November they are thankful for on Facebook, that's not my bag to write it on fb but it's a good idea...

1 - I am thankful i have a job
2 - I am thankful for my husband, he is a patient man
3 - I am thankful for this beautiful day & ending the day watching Mulan with 3 of my kids (yes the 21 year old, 19 year old and 17 year old)
4 - I am thankful for my hubby having dinner ready for the fam when i got home today, pizza, just what i had hoped for !
5 - I am thankful to be writing a check for my daughters cap & gown, she has been an amazing student
6 - I am thankful for a full fridge & pantry, I am a bottomless pit tonight
7 - I am thankful for a comfortable bed because i need to go to sleep right now before i rip someones head off and drop kick it across the yard (no one has done anything i am just crabby)
8 - I am thankful for winning meat at the meat raffle, it is so fun !
9 - I am thankful i was able to attend and participate in the "Paint the throttle pink" fundraiser by UP Pink Power. it was a great event, i was surprised to hear my name announced and i was thanks for my recent breast cancer walk in New York.
10 - I am thankful to not have any plans today. I slept in, went to my sisters for a little bit, made a wonderful dinner for my family and finished my paper that is due tomorrow
11- I am thankful my lad is doing so well this semester with grades and his job
12 - I am thankful for self control, i could have really throttled some people, why do i let them get to me ?
13 - I am thankful that my grandmother is ok. She fell out of bed and had to be taken to Bell Hospital by ambulance because she had a nasty gash on her forehead.
14 - I am thankful that i get to relax this evening.
15 - I am thankful that Aubri sat and watched 2 movies with me (white house down & man of steel) and she also asked to put her head on my lap to fall asleep
16 - I am thankful that i got to see Les Miserables today, it was so wonderful !
17 - I am thankful for LOTS today: my daughter slept til 2pm today (i don't think she gets enough sleep), chicken & dumplings in the crockpot, beautiful weather, my son getting a buck, using an "idea" my mom had to save my daughter from getting black eyes on the b-ball court and visiting with my grandma
18 - I am thankful for having dinner with my daughter & shopping with her
19 - I am thankful for the roof over my head and the peace and quiet after work
20 - I am thankful I had time to prepare/cook homemade mac & cheese for my family, they were happy, too
21 - I am thankful today was my last real day of EN 111. Next week no class and the following week is final week
22 - I am thankful i won a turkey at the meat raffle :)
23 - I am thankful i was able to get some new(er) furniture for my sister for free. I am also thankful i was able to go to Negaunee tinsel town with my cousin pat, my friend kathy & aubri
24 - I am thankful for a day at home. I cleaned and re-arranged my living room ( vacuumed enough food out of my couches to feed a small country), cleaned my bedroom, re-wrote 2 english papers, visited with my gram and will veg and watch tv, LIG
25 - I am thankful for my health, my childrens health, my hubby's health and all my friends/family health, too
26 - I am thankful for the 2 day work week i have. At 4pm i will be on vacation, 5 days in a row
27- I am thankful for a 3 hour nap
28 - I am thankful that i decided to walk a 5k for hunger this morning and that my thanksgiving meal was perfect
29 - I am thankful my daughter wanted to spend time with me, even if it was at black friday shopping. Don't get me wrong, i don't mind the shopping. You have to be realistic, get your ass up early and get in line or don't expect to get "that" item.
30 - I am thankful my brother & sister in law are here from Montreal

105

my great uncle's sister...

http://www.miningjournal.net/page/content.detail/id/592371/Muriel-Wiley--Holman-.html?nav=5007

unbelievable at 105 that she still has 6 siblings living

the ole bird

if my gram knew i posted this she would beyond WILD. I don't care, she scared the shit out of me today and i am still kind of pissed off about it.

she fell out of her bed at the Nursing Home, had to be transported by ambulance, got 20 stitches in her forehead and i almost fainted, yeah me, almost fainted. It was so very sad and she was in such pain.

she's lucky i love her so...

caprese bread

I am going to make this bread, it looks amazing !

http://willcookforsmiles.com/2013/04/savory-caprese-bread.html

AVON breast cancer walk, October 19-20, 2013 NEW YORK

Today i walk for you mom, i walk in your honor...I also walk for my daughter & son because i worry about family history, i walk for my grandma & grandpa because no one should bury their child, i walk for my sisters who lost a mother so very young, i walk for my other family members & friends who have battled this and for who may still battle this.

I pray for a cure but until then, i will walk. I will walk, i will cry and i will remember the good times with my mother but i will also be mad because I was cheated. My children missed out on someone who would have been an amazing grandmother and so have my nieces and nephews.

I will walk, i love you mom

tyler's summer job

Tyler's summer job at Plant Essentials (Lowe's)

thanks aaron for putting in the good word

my new artwork

aubri's self portrait from art class

Starbucks

If you drink Starbucks coffee make sure to save the bag. I have treated myself and the person behind me more than once by turning these bags in. It's a nice way to pay it forward and you are recycling, too

Breast Cancer Awareness

October 1st, 2013, donated my hair

my bracelet came in the mail, i am getting nervous 

Homecoming game & dance

aubri & jesslyn at the game, we played Norway and beat them 53-0

I made dinner for Aubri, Jesslyn & Meagan. Aubri requested Zuppa Toscana, i added a salad, breadsticks and key lime pie for desert. The girls liked it but would not look at me for a picture

Jesslyn & Aubri ready for the dance

Homecoming week 2013, Aubri's senior year

Monday : Seniors wear white, Aubri has swimming first hour so she didn't bother to wear her outfit until after that, so i didn't get a picture

 Tuesday: geek/nerd day

Wednesday: formal day but she woke up with a headache so she went back to bed. She went in later but of course i didn't get a picture so here is what i saw that morning

Thursday: hat/jersey day

 Friday: maize & blue day

It was also hall judging competition. There hall was 50's/60's. Of course 9 pm the night before she needed something to wear. Good thing i had the "laverne" costume still in the halloween box from a few years prior

 my girl was also the MC for the pep rally at school on friday, here is her corsage she got

flag football game

aubri

Aubri seems to be gone hanging with friends more than she is home lately. She spent the night at a friends camp last night, when she came in she told me "i missed you"...that was so nice and unexpected. thanks girl, i needed that

sunday

i slept in until almost 10 am, it was heavenly. today i needed to get some stuff done...

• i cut tyler's hair
• laundry
• worked on my paper that is due tomorrow
• watched a movie "Broken City" with Mark Wahlberg & Russell Crowe, it was ok
• put pork in the crock pot for pulled pork sandwiches for dinner. This is the recipe i used, so easy http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/3-ingredient-pulled-pork-recipe/1/
• went to my sisters to help her start purging, helped her for about 1 1/2 hours. When you live in a small house you can not save everything !
• worked on some string art
• hung my sheets (my other new set from ikea) on the line, yeah i know it isn't a big deal but it is to me. Have you ever slept on sheets that have hung on a line? yeah they smell so good

Happy 17th birthday Aubri Cheryl

we had to have aubri's party on the 26th instead of her actual birthday which is the 27th, it was better for the birthday girl. I can't believe she is 17 already, how did this happen?

i love you every day