Weekend W's

My weekend W's:

Woo-hoo: Most of my Christmas decor is up- yay!

Whine: Why is my laundry is never caught up?

Wisdom: Do not fear going forward slowly; fear only to stand still. -Chinese Proverb

Weakness: Hershey Kisses w/Almonds

Want: An English toffee cappuccino from Tim Horton's

Worry: The possible 8 inches of snow we may get tonight into tomorrow. Ugh.

Web: Instructables- How to make anything and everything w/instructions.

Wish: Chicken piccata for dinner made by my personal chef? =)

Weird: I didn't do much shopping this weekend.Very weird- I love to shop.

Happy Sunday!
-Jen

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers

The breaking waves dash'd high
On a stern and rock-bound coast,
And the woods against a stormy sky
Their giant branches toss'd;

And the heavy night hung dark,
The hills and waters o'er,
When a band of exiles moor'd their bark
On the wild New England shore.

Not as the conqueror comes,
They, the true-hearted, came;
Not with the roll of the stirring drums,
And the trumpet that sings of fame;

Not as the flying come,
In silence and in fear;-
They shook the depths of the desert gloom
With their hymns of lofty cheer.

Amidst the storm they sang,
And the stars heard and the sea:
And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang
To the anthem of the free!

The ocean eagle soar'd
From his nest by the white wave's foam
And the rocking pines of the forest roar'd-
This was their welcome home!

There were men with hoary hair
Amidst that pilgrim band:-
Why had they come to wither there,
Away from their childhood's land?

There was woman's fearless eye,
Lit by her deep love's truth;
There was manhood's brow serenely high,
And the fiery heart of youth.

What sought they thus afar?
Bright jewels of the mine?
The wealth of seas, the spoils of war?
They sought a faith's pure shrine!

Ay, call it holy ground,
The soil where first they trode.
They have left unstained, what there they found
Freedom to worship God.

~Felicia Dorothea Hemans
1826

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! =)

Semi Wordless Wednesday!

Every year, I have quite a few Christmas picture rejects. You know, those 50 pictures you took before you got the perfect shot.

Let me share a few with you a few of mine from Christmas' past:

2006



2007




If you participate in WW, don't forget to add your blog @ 5 Minutes for Mom!


Happy WW!

This work-thingy

... is really kicking my boot-tay! Seriously, I have to ask myself, 'woman, where's your stamina?!'

Last night I got home around 8ish, finally ate some dinner and put little one to bed, and guess what I did? Zzzzzz... I klonked out. At least after today, I have the rest of the week off- woo-hoo!

**********************************

Ever get a song in your head, and you wonder how that happened because you don't remember actually hearing the song in a long while?

That happened to me the other day.

I'm doing my thing around the house and boom- this song is in my head, and I'm singing away. Yeah, la-lala-la, used to love this song. Anyone remember these lyrics...

I see your true colors shining through,
I see your true colors, and that's why I love you.
So don't be afraid, to let them show
Your true colors
True colors are beautiful
like a rainbow...

If you guessed the amazingly awesome Miss Cyndi Lauper's, 'True Colors' you are so right on. =)

Being a mom of a teen girl, I try to really let her know how much I love her and respect her individuality. {This can be a hard thing to do when she's walking around like she owns everything and thinks she's 30 instead of 13}

I just think it's really important for me to this. So, I write a lot of little notes/cards here and there. On her big dry-erase board in her room, I wrote the same lyrics that I just wrote above. Here's what happened later that evening:

{Haley comes into my room}

Haley: Oh my God, Mom. {Wet eyes?} Did you write that?
Me: Write what? {remembers} Oh yeah, did you like it?
Haley: It's soooooo good. Did you write that, Mom?
Me: {Oh, she means did those words come from my noggin'} No, Cyndi Lauper did. It's a song.
Haley: Oh. Cool. {she's smiling walking back into her room}
Me: love you. {thinking} Yep, she liked that I wrote that on her board. =)


“Happiness is self-contentedness.” - Aristotle

My Celebrity look-alikes

This threw me for a loop- Marcia Cross 90%?!

What do you think?

Do I really look like her?

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

Aloha Friday! Hosting?

It's Aloha Friday!


My Aloha Friday question is:




Are you hosting Thanksgiving this year?

I'm not hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year. We are going over to my Mom's house and I'm bringing a few side dishes plus dessert. How's that for easy? =)

Head on over to An Island Life for more Aloha Friday questions and to play.


-Jen

Natural Wonders

Natural Wonders

A babbling brook turned to a raging river
by the flooding of spring.
The roar of an ocean surf
beating against the sand.
These are the changes a passionate
embrace can bring,
comparable to the feelings I get
from the gentle brush of the hand.
As if a volcano emptying it's fiery spray,
body and soul are fulfilled this way.

Against this passion it's a hopeless fight.
As if trying to keep a bird from flight.

I need a river rushing into my sea,
an outlet to set my desires free.


Written by my beautiful Aunt who left this earth much too soon.

Wordless Wednesday

My Haley! =)










If you participate in WW, don't forget to add your blog @ 5 Minutes for Mom!

Happy Wednesday!
-Jen

Only the strong survive

And I survived yesterday. Yahoo!

Warning: Very long post. =)

I started my day bright and early, yesterday. {I was still nursing a head-cold but felt okay- I did pack some meds but was going to wait until I got there to take them because of that {drowsy} medicine factor}.

All was going well.

My mil was here to watch Nicholas for me while I did an 8 hour training day. Haley was ready and off to school and Hubby was ready and off to Police Academy as I made my way to the training center for the day in Detroit, with my trusty mapquest map in hand.

The drive was smooth and easy, found my exit no problem.

Then, the fun began.

Let me first start by saying- Detroit is a part of Michigan. We know sometimes we have to venture there for different reasons. Gambling, Fox Theatre, bridge to Canada, etc. And, for the most part, you'll have absolutely no problem at all, with anything.

But...

it's not the safest city you've ever been in. I'll leave it at that.

So, I make my exit and this address on my mapquest is no where to found. No.Where.

The map shows, that after I make my exit I only drive like 28.3 seconds until my destination. Easy, right?

Umm... Sure. If there wasn't a fork in the road!! Do I go right or do I go left? I'll go left because it's the shortest way to go. Yep, right street. Big college on right, umm. not it. Second building on right, I'm looking... wrong address. I'm off by hundreds. Lovely. Well, it must be the other way. I mean, there is only one other building I passed.

I turn around and manage to find myself back on the .... Expressway!!!

Geez, Louise. Nice. Drive to the next exit. Turn around. Get off at the exit I need. Turn the other way. I pass buildings, can't read any addresses. Some are abandoned. So I call hubby. He knows some of D rock city. Nope, he doesn't know. Sorry. {I'm driving while talking, by the way. Getting deeper and deeper into unknown Detroit Territory.

I won't bore you with the rest of the details but, I'll tell you this:

1) Took me 45 minutes to find the building.
2) Building was connected to first building I encountered coming off the expressway 45 minuted earlier.
3) Screeched my tires and almost went off the side of the exit onto the freeway.
4) Had a small crying spurt.
5) Arrived late to training.
6) Nose was running like crazy and experiencing a constant tickle in throat.

So, after walking into a people filled room late {wondering if I'm the only person that couldn't find this PAIN IN THE ARSE building... and sitting just a few minutes-

The constant coughing begins. Yeah, almost to the point of gagging. Nice. Very. Nice.

I secretly pop the two tablets that {should} help, and pray to the good Lord I make it through the day.

I almost didn't. But, I knew I was in trouble when medicine-head me, had to stand and tell a bit about myself along with my most embarrassing moment. {You know to break the ice, they say}. I didn't remember my ramblings five minutes after I sat down. Not good.

Again, not to bore you with yet, more details- Over the remainder of the day this happened:

1) Coughed so much I thought I was going to pee my pants or vomit.
2) Had gas. Not good. I was so scared you-know-what was going to happen.
3) Stomach started grumbling {loudly} after about noon. {they let us out for lunch at one}
4) Had blurred vision trying to keep my eyes open after 6 hours of lecturing.
5) Ate through an entire bag of Halls.

After getting home and making/consuming dinner. I heard these two funny things.

Hubby asking me if he heard his message this morning after I talked to him telling me {not get out of the car if I got lost}- very, very bad area. I can laugh at this now, but imagine if I were to have heard this while driving lost in the very, very bad area?!

Haley telling me how bad it was with the Halls thing- that she doesn't think you are supposed to eat entire bag of Halls. Shoot- I would have ate 3 bags of Halls if it would have stopped my truly embarrassing and completely disruptive coughing fits.

But, guess what?

I.am.a.survivor.

{snort}

Another twilight zone day under my belt. =)

My take on the Christmas Advent Calendar

A Christmas Advent Basket!
We {Haley & I} finished it this weekend and I'm so happy with the way it turned out. =)


Thanks, Martha for the template!


Haley decorated them with trim!


8 days of gifts.
8 days of family activities.
8 days of treats.


All ready for December 1st!


Anyone else gearing up for Christmas? {happy}

Aloha Friday! Where?

It's Aloha Friday! Woo-wee!!


My Aloha Friday question is:

Where were you born? Do you still live in that state/area?



I was born in Florida.
I lived in that warm, golden sunshine until my parents moved up to Michigan when I was a year-old.
{Maybe that's why I'm always cold- I was born in the south. Not here in the frigidness. hehe}
We stayed in Michigan throughout my childhood, and now Jay & I are raising our family here. =)



Head on over to An Island Life for more Aloha Friday questions and to play.


Happy Friday!
-Jen

Working World...

...here I come.

I'm posting this tonight because I won't be able to post it tomorrow 'cause I'll be... at work!!

Yeppers. After 4 short years, I'm back to work. I'm excited but, seriously nervous. Will the knowledge I need, that I've pushed to the abyss of my mind these past 4 years just come rushing back? I doubt it, but {I'm hoping} it will be smooth transition.

I feel like I'm going to miss so much, especially the time with my kids. And, although I believe that nothing will replace that sense of loss, I hope the cold-hard cash in hand will ease that sadness a bit. I hope.

I'm going to miss blogland, too. But, I'm sure I'll survive only spending a few short hours blog reading/hopping at night. {grin}

Wish me luck.

Oh, btw-- look at what I got in the mail today:



A silicone muffin pan! Woo-hoo!
I won it over at Family Traditions.. One Story at a Time!

Thanks, Tara! I can't wait to use it! =)

-Jen

Semi Wordless Wednesday- Made these last night!

Want the recipe?
French-Market Donuts


If you participate in WW, don't forget to add your blog @ 5 Minutes for Mom!

Happy WW! =)
-Jen

French-Market Type Donuts

French-Market Type Donuts

2 cans biscuits
1 c. cinnamon sugar
Oil for frying

1)Cut biscuit dough in half.
2)Put in hot oil and fry until golden.
3)Roll warm donuts in cinnamon sugar.
4)Serve warm~ Enjoy!

A to Z Book Meme

A to Z Book Meme I seen over at Mommablogsalot and I just had to snag it and do my A to Z favorites.

A- Atonement by Ian McEwan
B- Bible
C- Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir
D- Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
E- Everyday Italian (Cookbook) by Giada De Laurentis
F- (The) Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
G- Ghostwalk by Rebeca Stott
H- (The) Hours by Michael Cunningham
I- It Was on Fire Whne I Lay Down on It by Robert Fulghum
J- (The) Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
K- **
L- (The) Life of Elizabeth I by Alison Weir
M- (The) Mercy Seller by Brenda Rickman Vantrease
N- Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
O- (The) Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
P- Pride and Prejudice by Miss Austen
Q- **
R- (The) Roosevelts of Hyde Park by Elliott Roosevelt
S- Sense & Sensibility by Miss Austen
T- Three Weeks With My Brother by Mr. Sparks
U- Uh-Oh by Robert Fulghum
V- Vanity Fair by William Makepeace
W- Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
X- **
Y- Yes, Your Teen is Crazy by Michael Bradley
Z- **




Courageous and Brave Veterans-
We Honor and Thank You!

Silly Face

Nicholas' bedtime routine consists of reading him a few books.
Usually, three.
The Way I Feel is one of those books that he loves for us to read to him.

The other evening I opened the book, read the first line...




...looked over at Nicholas, and this is the face I seen-




So silly


How did I ever live without this little guy?



Here's some toilet paper roll peeps that the kids (Haley & 8 year-old nephew) made over the weekend. Pretty cute Thanksgiving decor, huh?




Thanks to Family Fun for the idea!
{Don't you just love that website for kid's crafts?!}

We're going to make these for Thanksgiving Day.
{I have a big box full of tp rolls that I've saved for crafts}
I'm thinking I could use the same idea for Christmas. =)

Oh, Guess what I woke up to this morning? Snow flurries!! {{brrrr}}

Cherry Chiffon

Today I was in the mood to bake. Something sweet. Never happened.

Fast forward to after dinner, I was {still craving} something sweet. What could I make that was sweet and yummy?

I had all the ingredients for my favorite holiday dessert, Cherry Chiffon.
But, dare I?
I've only made it for the holidays.
Who makes a big bowl of this delicious pink fluff on a whim?

Me!

That's right- I bucked the norm.
I made it!
And it was soooooo good, too.

Who cares that it's not a holiday?!




I'm sharing with you the recipe, that if it could talk, it would say- Don't hate me because I'm pink and delish! {grin}

Cherry Chiffon

1 (21-ounce) can cherry pie filling
1 (15-1/4-ounce) can crushed pineapple- well drained
1 (14-ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)
1 (8-ounce) container frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1/4 c. chopped pecans

1) In large bowl, combine all ingredients; mix well.
2) Chill 30 minutes.
3) Serve and enjoy!

Aloha Friday! Magazines

It's Aloha Friday!

My Aloha Friday question is:

Do you subscribe to any magazines?

I subscribe to two magazines:



and



I love them both!

My mother-in-law is a magazine junkie, so I also get to read about 5or so other magazines that she passes on to me. But, I haven't found any that like as much as the two I subscribe to. =)

Head on over to An Island Life for more Aloha Friday questions and to play.


Have a great weekend bloggers!
-Jen

On Monsieur's Departure

Queen Elizabeth I, a poet?

I'll read anything about the Tudors that I can get my hands on. All that love and courage, betrayal, and beheading. Love it.

Last night, after everyone was in bed, I did what I sometimes like to do. Hop on the computer. Shocking, I know.

After coming across the poet, Giuseppe Ungaretti at Willow Manor awhile back, I made a note to find more of his work online. So last night, that's just what I did. Little did I know, I'd stumble upon this loveliness...

Imagine my surprise.


On Monsieur's Departure

I grieve and dare not show my discontent,
I love and yet am forced to seem to hate,
I do, yet dare not say I ever meant,
I seem stark mute but inwardly to prate.
I am and not, I freeze and yet am burned.
Since from myself another self I turned.

My care is like my shadow in the sun,
Follows me flying, flies when I pursue it,
Stands and lies by me, doth what I have done.
His too familiar care doth make me rue it.
No means I find to rid him from my breast,
Till by the end of things it be supprest.

Some gentler passion slide into my mind,
For I am soft and made of melting snow;
Or be more cruel, love, and so be kind.
Let me or float or sink, be high or low.
Or let me live with some more sweet content,
Or die and so forget what love ere meant.

Beautiful, isn't it?

7 Random Things

I've been tagged by Jenny (Thanks, Jenny!) to post 7 random things about myself. Here goes:

1) I'm a Bargain shopper with a capital B! I get all giddy with excitement when I find something beautiful that doesn't break the bank. Know what I mean?

Here is a prime example:
I found this beauty at Michael's Craft store. It was inexpensive to begin with ($7 maybe), but I grabbed it up at 40% off! Can you believe it?

This sweet birdie, currently sits top on my list of favorite things.

2) I love old furniture. Especially, painted black. Most of my antique pieces I've painted and I've fallen in love with all over again. A few pieces I've yet to touch. (my antique tea table) But, I think it's only a matter of time.

3) I like black & white photos.

Some in my bedroom.


In my living room.



4) I {{think}} I may be afraid of color. (See above pictures) Only 4 rooms in my home are not a color of beige. Two of those rooms are the kids rooms. My home is monochromatic with touches of color here and there. I've told myself it's because it gives me the room to change out decor as often as I do. But, I know why. I'm afraid. Of color.

5) I talk in my sleep. It used to freak hubby out at first, but now he's used to it.

6) One of my favorite childhood memories is playing yahtzee with my grandmother outside on her porch in the warmth of a Florida evening. I remember feeling safe, happy and accepted.

7) I'm a pretty organized gal. Except, when it comes to the computer. I have files here, there and everywhere. My favorites page is probably 8 pages long, and I have folders within folders within folders, and I wonder why I can't find that file? It's on the verge of being ridiculous. But, honestly- who wants to spend precious pc time organizing, when there's blogs to read, boards and forums to visit, email to be checked, and photoshop to be played around with?

Okay, I'm tagging:

1) Angie
2) Tami
3) Julie
4) Andrea

Can't wait to read 7 random things about you, ladies!

Thanks, Starbucks!

It only took 20 minutes at my polling station! Yay!

Now, it's time to sit back and wait for rollcoaster ride to start. =)

Under the weather and the umbrella, today.

It's a rainy morning here.

The fallen, wet leaves out front.




I feel under the weather today. Sinus drainage is for the birds! This morning I couldn't swallow because that yucky drainage did a doozy on my throat while I was fast asleep.

My bff coffee doesn't even taste good. {{gasp}}

As long as I feel halfway decent tomorrow to vote.

Who am I kidding? There's not a thing that could keep me from voting tomorrow. I spent way too much time getting hung up on at the campaign office phone bank these past months.





The kids enjoyed Halloween. (I can't wait to make my blog roll rounds and see all the Halloween pictures today!) Nicholas whispered 'Trick-or-Treat' and 'Thank you' at every house, and I got a few good chuckles from the candy givers who whispered, 'You're Welcome'.





Haley snapped a few good pictures of her & Nicholas. I'd love to have this one for our Christmas cards. Too bad it's cut-off. wdyt?

This one...


Or this one?


When I seen this one, I did a, Whoa!
When did she grow up?

I don't always see her like that, all grown up looking.
Isn't that weird that I don't?

Well, I'm off to read the medicine box again- shouldn't this stuff be working by now?

Happy Monday!
-Jen