I am Thankful for...

Day 149 - 24 November, 2009

Teddy Bears

Sometimes you just need to cuddle.

I wonder if this need is deep-rooted from our childhood...

There's something deeply satisfying from snuggling up.

Something secure.

On lazy days, or sick days, some days you just need your teddy bear.




Day 150 - 25 November, 2009

Dessert

Tis the season for dessert.

I like making pies, and while I didn't use it, I think I have stumbled upon the perfect pie crust, at least for open faced pies. I've still got to work on my apple pies, but I hope to have more time for that during winter break.
(pictured: sweet potato, pumpkin, sweet potato with pecan glaze, and chess)

Day 151 - 26 November, 2009

Boys

Yeah for Thanksgiving football.
I used to have mostly guy friends, I used to ove to hang out with my dad, I only have brothers, and no sisters. I love everything BOY. But, for whatever reason, people don't take that seriously and insist that I don't need to know things like "the rules to football" or other such "manly" things. One day they'll take me seriously. I do so love boys.

Day 152 - 27 November, 2009

Seasons

When there's a crispness in the air, and the seasons change, it brings the thrill that comes with seasonal shift.

Falling leaves,
pumpkins and squashes,
Thanksgiving,
family,
and snuggling indoors.

I love it when the seasons change, and I love the holiday season.





Day 153 - 28 November, 2009

The Telephone

We had a second Thanksgiving with my in-laws and ended up staying the night. It was so fun, and we did a lot of reminiscing... There was a point when we tried calling family, and couldn't find the phones. But, I found them. I am so grateful for he invention of the telephone. My family lives on the other coast, and without this wonder, it would take so long to spread any news, or to discuss life, or ask advice.

Day 154 - 29 November, 2009

Pumpkin

The linger longer social after church today was pumpkin themed.

Tis the season for pumpkins.

I love pumpkin bread
pumpkin cheesecake
pumpkin pudding
pumpkin bars
and oh yes, pumpkin hummus.

I should do more photography as art. It's fun.

Day 147 - 22 November, 2009

A Botched Photo

This was yesterday, and I don't remember what it was I snapped a quick photo of.

Whatever it was, it obviously didn't turn out.

Good thing I have photo shop.



Turned Cool Artwork

This is another one that I am tempted to print, and put on my wall.

I really want to do more like these, so that when we have a place I want to adequately decorate, I can do canvas.









Day 148 - 23 November, 2009

When Tim Cooks

I eat really well.

I also like it when he cleans.

On days he does both, it is heaven.

I love him more every day.

Humor to the Nth Degree

Day 143 - 18 November, 2009

Fireplace Envy

I am grateful to have a visiting teaching partner again. I know my schedule is crazy, but visiting is important. I love Allyn Boney. She makes me happy. I swear we are supposed to be good friends, but, it has been hard breaking in. Mostly because I suck at being a friend. Her new kitchen is looking awesome, and before my partner arrived, I snapped a photo of her two-sided fireplace. I have fireplace envy. Especially at this time of year.






Day 144 - 19 November, 2009

OBGYN

So, I had an appointment with my midwife. They have moved out of the crowded upstairs office, and are downstairs away from all those pesky doctors. While I like this chair that is in the waiting room of the new office, I cannot tell you how hysterical I was, laughing at the image I get when looking at this before my gynecologist appointment. It was especially funny to me when Malcolm climbed onto it.







Day 145 - 20 November, 2009

One week ago, today

I was surveying the damage from that killer Nor'easter.

Today on my commute home, I could not help but notice that there wasn't a cloud in the sky.









Day 146 - 21 November, 2009

Today Sucked

But, not really.

I wasted a lot of time waiting on my car, when a lot of that mess could have been avoided months ago. The 3 mile walk to my in-laws was WONDERFUL! But... I forgot my camera this morning, and had no less than a dozen ideal shots for my photo of the day in this out of the ordinary side track in my week. I am still kicking myself. So, instead I snagged a blurry photo of the 24 hour, check cashing, fried chicken, and gas station place at the end of our street. For the record, I have never been there.

Second place, my son is cute.

Those Men of Mine

Day 139 - 14 November, 2009

Family Dinner

We've started doing family dinners again, but we moved the day to Saturday. I am a big fan. I really think this time of year is a convenient time to do it anyhow, we seem to be meeting a lot anyway with the holidays. So, my photo is of my two men. I have decided that Tim is my favorite person. I like him a lot. I especially like him here because he is grinning like a cheshire cat. For those of you who do not know him well, he does not generally smile for pictures. While smiling is a rarity, THIS smile is non existent in photos. It is only due to my photography cunning that I caught it. And, it makes my heart melt.





Day 140 - 15 November, 2009

Scrapbooking Again

Oh, how I miss this past time. It is therapeutic for me to see my photos laid out in an appealing format. This is the aquarium trip from last year. That's a place we need to revisit.

I am proud of the 6 pages I did this Sunday morning, plus the 12 I did yesterday, maybe I'll be caught up by the time I order more photos.


Day 141 - 16 November, 2009

Man make Fire

This is my guy in his element.

I do not understand how he can sit in front of the computer all day at work, and then stand to get on one when he gets home.

Plus, he's eating while he's at the p.c. and begging to turn on the t.v. (ok, maybe begging is an embellishment)

I almost expect him to start grunting and scratching.


Day 142 - 17 November, 2009

The view at work

I love fall.

The end.

An eventful week off

Day 134 - 10 November, 2009

Lazy Afternoon

I have been exhausted after working so hard to get things in order at work. While I am mostly done, I had fully expected to finish up on Friday. Little did I know the coming events. But, I am so grateful for my lazy afternoon. After some well deserved time at the pool with Mac, we curled up on the couch. I am a little worried about my friend Olivia, but she seems to be ok right now.





Day 135 - 11 November, 2009

Work of art

I am so pleased with myself. We went and hung out with Tim's sister, and her family on this rainy Veteran's day. I was glad Tim had the day off, and almost enjoyed sitting on my butt all day, but I tend to get stir crazy real quick. Especially when they almost tried to make me watch Patton. Not gonna happen. Any guesses what this masterpiece is a picture of? I am so proud of my photo of the day, unaltered.

Here's the still version of a similar shot.

Rainy lights, traveling in the car, on the way home.

I think I want to blow that one up and mount it on my wall!

It even looks like a road.





Day 137 - 12 November, 2009

Let the flooding begin

School is canceled, and I couldn't be happier. We don't have to make it up, and I get day to do all the stuff I didn't get to on my day off. Tim was an idiot, and went to work. When he got back after high tide, at 2 a.m. the flooding had reached new heights. This is not a river, it's our adjoining street. ie, the entrance to our street. So, he swam home after parking further down. Notice how the water goes up to that house.



Day 138 - 13 November, 2009

November Nor'easter

Because the water is so deep, I guess this poor schmuck thought it would be smarter to park on the sidewalk.

Mac and I enjoyed our walk around the carnage today.

Note: Trees are down because the soil is so soft from all the rain.

Note to Self: Do not park in any sinking mud-pits.

One more month of fall.

Day 131 - 7 November, 2009

Turkey Dinner

This is the time of year when turkeys go on sale. We generally try to get about 3 turkeys. One for before Thanksgiving, one for Thanksgiving, and one just to have around afterward. It's hard to beat 25-50 cents per pound any other time of year. If we had a deep freezer, there would be more.

We like to invite friends over, because we get large turkeys, and the Haines indulged us. Malcolm loves to play with other kids. Can you tell?

We love to play with their parents.



Day 132 - 8 November, 2009


The Sabbath

I look forward to the new year, when we have 9 a.m. church. Yes, I said it.

Afternoon church sucks for a toddler's bedtime, and while I love holding a screaming toddler for a half hour until he falls asleep during sacrament meeting (in the mother's lounge of course), I would much rather listen to the service.

This is the foyer. This is where I spend a lot of my time on Sundays. I thought it deserved a place in time.


Day 133 - 9 November, 2009

FHE Photos

We visited our beloved Botanical Gardens to do our Christmas card photos. It was fun to walk around on a nice crisp fall day. It's hard to believe we're already thinking about Christmas, and the leaves have only begun to change.

Malcolm had a ton of fun headbutting flowers. When Tim stopped to smell the roses (literally) Mac thought it was all in good fun. So it most definitely made my photo of the day.

The runner up made my desktop, though not the card.

Putting the past behind me

Day 125 - 1 November, 2009

Spooky Birthday

Originally, my mother-in-law had wanted to do a fun-filled costumer party for my sister-in-law's birthday. What ended up happening, since Uncle Leonard's Memorial Service was on Halloween, was that there was plenty of lounging and food... just the day after. I was sad that we went sans costumes. I thought that was a really cool idea. But alas, no party.





Day 126 - 2 November, 2009

Stripes

We were raking up all of the pine needles from our tall tall pine trees.

Tim has an interesting sense of humor.

Whatever makes the chores get done!









Day 127 - 3 November, 2009

Hand in the candy jar

Just guess whose little mit that is.

Today was a hard day at work, with a big mess from progress reports and online transition, and I could not handle it with all of the stuff going on right now...

So Malcolm helped me put away some of this sugar.




Day 128 - 4 November, 2009

Souper Day

I had so much anxiety that I had a mini-meltdown with my principal at work.

I was fairly useless all day. I did not teach a lick, and when I got home all I did was eat soup, and go to bed.





Day 129 - 5 November, 2009

Distractions

Since I though I was going to Katie's viewing this day, I made no plans, but when I found out it was family only, it freed me up to make myself sick again. Jenora was so thoughtful to see what I was up to. AND she was an excellent distraction. I helped her make cupcakes for her husband's birthday, and we talked and I got to vent some of my anxieties.

Yeah for thoughtful friends!






Day 130 - 6 November, 2009

Laid to rest

After being able to get out how uncanny the comparison between my life and Katie's has been for purposes of me stressing out this week, it was a huge relief to bury those feelings, along with Katie. I just keep thinking about the warnings of doctors with my cardiomyopathy and having more children, and the odds of relapse and uncertainty of the future, how Katie has left her husband with two children, and my heart has just hurt as I have watched my worst fears about my own life being acted out in the life of a friend. I know that the risks are not so bad for me anymore, but the pain is still very real. It has been harder on me than I expected, but I am grateful that I have so much, and am so blessed. I am glad to be regaining my sense of peace.

Don't be a Halloweeny

Day 122 - 29 October, 2009

Stencils.

I have everything I need now to make my Halloween costumes complete. It's very exciting.

This year may be even better than last year because I got Tim involved!













Day 123 - 30 October, 2009

Halloween Treats at school make me cool!

I love this bat ring. It has been years since I have worn cheesy Halloween stuff, and this ring just made me happy for some reason.











Day 124 - 31 October, 2009

A Hard Day.

We went to Tim's Uncle Leonard's funeral this afternoon... In combination with Missy (one of my best friends from Junior High on up) calling me about her cousin Katie's death... Well, Katie has always been a great person. One of my childhood friends, and just an all around beautiful girl. She had been fighting Crohn's disease, and was doing well... When she made the stupid mistake of not wearing her safety belt in the car, and the person driving apparently wasn't too careful... Anyway, she paid with her life, leaving behind not only the family I have loved dearly through the years, but a husband and two children.

Anyway, this photo was taken in the parking lot at the memorial service. I was reminded that these things seem to happen in threes.

On a brighter note, our Halloween evening was loads of fun!

Without further ado, here are some highlights of the festivities.

Rushing into a Spooktacular Season

Day 117 - 24 October, 2009

Fall Colors.

Malcolm needed some 18 month photos, and I thought I should capture some good ones before he turned 19 months. I love the yellows in this photo. Outdoor foliage always makes for fantastic photographs, or so I think. There is not much of a better background.

I really enjoyed the part where he began to tackle his teddy bear, and play "BOOM" with him.

Where did I get such a photogenic kid from?







Day 118 - 25 October, 2009

One Year Older.

So, as scary things go, my sister-in-law turned 39 this day. When they arrived back in from a trip, we had the mandatory cake and ice cream. I am not sure whether or not you can get the full effect of the glaring of 39 candles on a cake from this angle, but let me tell you; it was a sight to behold.

She enjoyed endless ribbing about her age from Tim, all night long.

Heaven help her for next year.









Day 119 - 26 October, 2009

Family Home Evening.

I love it when we have actual organized events for family home evening. Monday nights just don't feel quite right when we just lay around "as a family".

Granted, we are spending quality time, and haven't had the energy as of late to do anything fun, but hopefully we broke the laziness trend.

This time of year begets Pumpkin carving, and it was soooooo fun to share it with our friends the Mitchells. My tree turned out fairly well, and Tim did a cute Jack-o-lantern, as per the norm. Malcolm even drew all over his pie pumpkin... it'll be fun to cook up next week!


Day 120 - 27 October, 2009

Trapped!

The next step in scare week is how to trap and torture toddlers. The answer seems to be to leave them on their own.

As I was cooking dinner, I heard this poor schmo wailing on the other side of the baby gate. As it turned out, he had gotten himself into this predicament. It also turned out that it was not so pitiful as it seemed, because after I ran and grabbed my camera, and laughed a lot, he gave up on my rescue, and got himself out.



Day 121 - 28 October, 2009

Halloween Spooktacular!

Every year at the middle school I help at on Wednesdays, I get charged with help setting up for the Halloween concert.

The decorating itself has turned into a beast, but it is a REALLY good time.

This is one of the cooler concert ideas that I have stumbled upon.

This is a terrible shot of Nancy, but a decent shot of the cobwebs behind her. I was too busy dangling from the ceiling to set up creepy stuff to take any decent shots.