Saturday, December 20, 2014

!!! SURPRISE !!!

So one of my oldest and dearest friends turned 50 on December 15th, I have known him for almost 35 years...

   
Guido had a birthday party last night (December 19th), I was there. Yes, you read that right, I am in Germany. Two weeks ago, spur of the moment I bought a plane ticket. I am so thankful that I was able to make this happen, I think he is too :) I'll add more pictures when I get home.

Lukas, Niklas & tante cindi
Marion's father & i
 Guido & his parents
tears were shed, it was an amazing Überraschung (surprise) :)

Friday, December 5, 2014

Please vote !

My brother-in-law is in a poetry contest, Marty Achatz, please vote (if you'd like)...

http://readwritelive.org/contests/announcing-the-up-poet-laureate-nominees#



Sunday, November 30, 2014

70's child

My mother made a lot of my clothes, yellow jeans even for the first day of 8th grade. She would take pants that were too small and make them into skirts.
I am my mother, i took a pair of cords that were too big but i still liked them so I turned them into a skirt. 

Prime example of the 70's look below...
oh, ahhh I had a few of these too...

Friday, November 28, 2014

Thanksgiving & Black Friday Shopping, grateful part III

Thanksgiving Day, 6pm the store opened. I only wanted to go to Younkers because they were handing out gift cards to the first 200 customers, $5, $10, $20 and one $250 gift card.  Aubri and I got there about 5:45 and stood in line, it wasn't a very long line but we got our gift cards and headed to luggage. I could hardly believe it when I opened mine and I had the $250 gift card. I just kept looking at Aubri and back at the card, she won a $10 gift card. I saved $618.39 and only spent .35, thank you Younkers, I am thankful


I have gone Black Friday shopping for years, probably 20. I don't think the stores should be open on Thanksgiving but until corporate america closes them, they will be busy. I know many police officers, nurses, etc that have to work holidays also. I have worked retail in the past and have had to work a few holidays.  If you don't believe in shopping on Thanksgiving or Black Friday then don't go, I have always had a good time. I have never had one bad experience and now my daughter has gone with me the last few years and it's even more fun. Crowds don't bother me, people acting like assholes bother me so i have put together a few tips.

Here are a couple things to keep in mind when you venture out on this day:
  1. Don't be rude to cashiers or clerks, they are trying to help you and are being paid minimum wage. You CHOOSE to do this so remember your manners, if you can't be nice then stay home.
  2. If you are trying to get something that you really WANT then get to that store and be the first in line. Don't grumble when its gone, that's all a part of the black friday sales. 
  3. Don't go in expecting to get everything you want from every store. Make a plan and prioritize the items you want. Let's be real, you can't be everywhere at once. 
  4. Don't take a cart, bring a tote bag or some type of bag with you (I always bring my big IKEA bag)
  5. Remember how to park. You can do it the other 364 days of the year, why did you forget today?

Grateful part II, 2014

cornucopia tradition...
 all four of my kiddos home...

desserts... mini turkey cupcakes made by my sister cori and mini apple pies made by Amanda, pecan pie, pumpkin cheesecake pie, cherry angel food cake and strawberry cheesecake


 sad girl saying goodbye to her puppy


craft idea I found that turned out pretty cool...


Grateful part I, 2014

started thanksgiving off with the Turkey trot...


 this was the temp at 10, it was colder when we started

Sunday, November 23, 2014

old mailbox

took the door off


I'll spray paint it in the spring




Tinsel town 2014

me & my baby
 photo booth fun, same 4 as last year 

slide lamp


another donation !

from my baking, breast cancer walk supporter and her accomplice ! $ 333 .... I feel blessed, $473 from her in less than a week

my momma & i, our last picture together

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

gift

I had an idea for a fundraiser. I brought that idea to the Eagles at their monthly meeting last night. Before the meeting I was given a gift of money from a friend. She is making candy and selling it at local craft shows to benefit "a woman walking for breast cancer". That woman IS ME ! I cried, I had no idea...I have never had this done for me before, i feel so blessed.

I got home after the meeting and was still kind of in shock. About an hour later my daughter came home as I was telling her what happened I walked into the kitchen.
She said "Mom, your pants are inside out". Are you kidding me? sure enough they were inside out, I had been out in public and at a meeting with my pants inside out. I would like to say I can't believe it but of course I can...I started laughing so hard that I almost fell trying to get my pants off...I'm laughing again as I type this. My daughter also made a rude comment about "liver spots", that was rude but i want to remember that part too.

Yes, I am blessed with good friends AND the ability to laugh at myself

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

feeling deflated

I had an exam today, in my hardest class to date. I had been steadily improving and was hoping to come out with a B
 
I don't think it's gonna happen. I may have to be content with a C
 
  WAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH
 

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Derick & I

 
glasses courtesy Aunt Nora, this picture cracks me up

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Snow day, November 12


  • slept in til 9:30
  • yoga
  • shoveling
  • lunch, chicken noodle soup & grilled cheese rolls (picture at the bottom)
  • watched part of "Frozen"
  • did homework for two classes that needed to be submited by 5pm
  • laundry
  • ventured to the gas station, first time i have driven anywhere since Monday - weird
  • shoveling
  • cudighi's for dinner
  • caught up on my SOA
  • Kathy C. tried booking our Vegas trip...whoa what a hassel for her
  • worked on art project for class
  • relaxed here and there, so wonderful
  • started another "slide"project











baby doll

My first attempt at making a doll, for my friend Kevin's little girls birthday
 
 

Snow day, November 11


  • slept in until 9:30 :)
  • got up and made this


















  • shoveled
  • cleaned out email and made a list of crafts to do
  • cleaned bedroom 
  • organized my closet :)
  • laundry
  • took photos of every room in my house. everyone should do that in case something happens
  • Aubri made dinner !



















  • watched a few more episodes of Gracepoint
it's a great day to be a wildcat !

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

quote


Benefit for Jeanne

I made 2 baskets for the benefit
I hope they raised a few dollars

Sheena & Aaron's wedding

here are a couple...still waiting for the professional photos



i am not a runner

but I have done these...
  • Alex's lemonade stand, Dome, Marquette, MI 2011
  • JP Morgan city chase, Frankfurt, Germany, 2012
  • Blackrock's 5k, Marquette, MI, 2014

random


Most cars we have ever passed on the camp road when we were leaving 37 on July 27th

Kinder Eier

I brought back a couple for Em for his birthday

Monday, November 10, 2014

night class...CANCELLED !

yes, my 6 - 9:20 class is cancelled due to weather. Just what I needed

Monday, November 3, 2014

- 15

In 3 months I will be in New York.
In 5 months I will be in Florida

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Peach dessert


·         1 large can of sliced peaches in syrup (don’t drain)
·         1 pkg. Butter pecan cake mix
·         1 ½ sticks of butter, melted

Pour peaches in a greased 9x13 pan (sometimes some peaches are bigger than others so I cut them in half). Pour dry cake mix over the peaches. Drizzle melted butter over cake mix.

Bake 30 – 40 minutes at 350. Serve with cool whip or ice cream

 
It's so easy and so good. Not sure what the real name is for it, my grandmother always made it and that's just what we called it.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

saturday

I have been sick for weeks, today I decided I would do nothing...Aubri joined me and it was a wonderfully lazy day.

We watched 4 movies:
  1. The Family, starring DeNiro
  2. The Untouchables, starring DeNiro
  3. Last Vegas, starring DeNiro
  4. Ride Along, starring Kevin Hart
It was funny that we started on a DeNiro kick and ended with Ice Cube/Kevin Hart. We ate popcorn, chips & dip, which we have been avoiding. We mustered up enough energy and even went for a walk.

I felt so good when I woke up Sunday, my body must have needed that day of rest

Friday, October 31, 2014

Halloween 2014

Aubri as one AMAZING lion...she won $50 in the Westwood Mall costume contest
 

 
Little red riding hood, Rosie the Riveter and Ms. Kay 

Sam and the amish Tyler (Sam has always been such a good friend to my son, I am thankful for that)
 Sam, Adam & Tyler (i am glad my son has such good friends)




Thursday, October 23, 2014

what being a mother means to me

A mother is someone who is always there for you. From the time you wake up until the time you go to bed. She gives advice when asked, she tries not to pry even though you think she is. She tries to make you happy when you are sad, she tries to do what is best for you even when you think she is annoying. She is excited for your achievements and is sad when you are sad. When you make bad choices she is not happy but tries her best to fix the situation and help you through it. When you are injured or sick she wants to make you feel better at any cost.

She hauls you to and from your athletic events and school functions.  She schedules and get you to haircuts, doctor appointments and rendezvous you have arranged with your friends even on the snowiest of nights. She brings you clothes shopping even though that's not her thing. She plans surprises and birthday parties, she has treasure hunts and hides Easter baskets even though you think you are too old. She colors eggs and carves pumpkins. She tries to remember everything you need to get done in that day without forgetting but sometimes it happens. She sews your clothes when they need mending, she makes Halloween costumes. She teaches you to ride a bike and tie your shoes. She goes without if there is something you need to have or she rearranges her plans to make sure you get to where you are going. She washes your clothes and tries to make meals you like.

She also is not perfect. She makes mistakes and loses her patience. She gets cranky when tired or sick. She snaps after reminding her kids 1000 times to do something they have been asked 1000 times to do. She doesn't want to be talked back to, she wants help when she asks for it, which isn't often and she doesn't want to be lied to. Plain and simple she wants to be loved like she loves you.

She does not get to choose whether she is a mother one day and not the next. She does not get to disappear for months or years at a time and then reappear in her children's life when it's convenient for her. She does not get to turn her children's lives upside down by leaving and then stroll back in as if nothing happened. She does not get to promise to always be there when she has not. She does not get to take credit for raising children, she did not raise. She does not have the right to say she has a "bond" when she has only created that in her own mind.

Mother's Days, birthdays and Holidays are difficult when you lose a parent. Even after 19 years I still struggle. I see myself more like my mother as i get older but I am definitely my own person. My mother was quiet until she laughed, patient until you tried that patience and kind until you upset her child. I am like my mother in one way, the one thing that will keep me from my children is death


Sunday, October 19, 2014

birthday present for K-Dorie

LONG OVERDUE UPDATE FROM JULY 2013
 
Here is her ring, she loves that little heart shaped beauty :)

I can't wait to see what ring is buried inside this candle...i will post a follow up picture

Monday, October 13, 2014

- 12

Phase II
 
but seriously
 
 
I am a happy gal