My goodness…
Posted on: October 19, 2011
…but time sure flies when you’re having fun! We’ve been smack dab in the middle of our first football season & having a blast with it! The hs my son attends does not have soccer so he opted to try football & wow! I’m so glad though that we waited to let him play until he was older & bigger. He’s almost 6’1 & weighs 180lb. He’s able to handle the hits (of course he plays on the line!) then he would have as a younger player. Plus I’m not as terrified for him as I would have been.
We’ve also been smack dab in the middle of soccer, band (trumpet) & horseback riding w/ my daughter. She’s not as much into sports but we’ve found a new horseback riding school & we’re all much happier w/ them than the last one. Another plus is that she’s able to do this w/ two of her friends which makes it ever so much more fun. And she’s taken up the trumpet (which she hates when it comes time to practice even though she only practices for 7 min 5 x a week!) since mom told her she needed to take band for 2 yrs.
Take that & the fact that I’m trying to build up a 1 yr food supply by couponing (got the deodorant for the 4 of us for the next year taken care of!) as well as by canning (it is fun!) & well, we’ve been busy.
Let’s see. What else. Hmmm, for Halloween I’m making a couple of kitty litter box cakes (find recipe here – http://musingsinfood.blogspot.com/2008/10/kitty-litter-box-cake.html) for school & hubby’s work as well as one for a Halloween party. We’re also doing a version of these Halloween cupcakes I found @ a Taste of Home – http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Tombstone-Cupcakes?cpi=1&sort= We did switch it up by using a different cookie (the milanos were very big & hard to get into the cupcake w/o making them fall apart) & changed the icing color to a darker green. We also bought some bone shaped candies from Tar-jhay & used those instead of the pumpkins. They turned out so cute that we’re making them for my son’s seminary class as well as my daughter’s school class! I’ll post photos when I re-make them.
So? What have You been up to?
Never Forget…
Posted on: September 11, 2011
… We will never forget the horror & tragedy of a day that sparked world-wide grief & horror. We will never forget the joy of knowing some survived. We will never forget the pain of those who died. We will never forget the courage exhibited by those we didn’t know but wished we had. We will never forget you, the ones left behind to grieve & mourn; we will always mourn with you. We will always rejoice in your joy to have had those wonderful and amazing people in yours and our lives.
Today we remember and reflect on horror, pain, sorrow, grief, courage, love, heroism, and a love beyond measure. I stand with you & send my love and prayers to those who mourn and those who hate. May we find peace and joy to honor those who gave everything.
Susan
I almost forgot…
Posted on: September 1, 2011
… in all of the busyness of this day I almost forgot! Today is/was (31 Aug) my 20th wedding anniversary! The prince is in football (varsity & jv – he’s only a freshman!) plus he was elected the sr patrol leader for his boy scout troop & the princess has band (she’s learning the trumpet) tues & wed w/ soccer practices just starting for her. So between everything Hubby & I kinda forgot but…
Even though you are a bit odd I love that you love me & our kids. Maybe more importantly, I love How you love me & the kids!
Happy 20th, Honey! Love you much!!
I’m back!!
Posted on: August 31, 2011
Sorry to have left y’all hanging. I couldn’t log in! A helpful person from wordpress named Chris finally managed to get me back in.
Update! Our house survived the fire. We lost two well pipes, some weeds (no big loss there!) & some trees & shrubs. We had other incidental damage (pool full of ash & mold, etc) but basically we’re fine. Our neighbors however weren’t so lucky. Everyone around us had some type of structural damage including one neighbor who left windows open for their swamp cooler & so had a home that smelled like smoke. The others all had fire damage. This was just on my side of the street. Across from us was almost completely burned out. Only two homes on the opposite side of the street remain. The rest are gone. Between my street & the next almost 50 homes were destroyed. A fireman who witnessed the blazed in my area said that it looked like a tornado that literally rolled over the top of my house. It amazes & humbles me that we still have a home.
So the fire danger for us is pretty much over right now since we’re nearing the end of our monsoon season. The fire did leave us a much bigger legacy in that for the next 3 – 5 yrs we can expect flash flooding in our area. Indeed every time it rains up on the mt we get stuck on our street because the road washes out. We have had a few flood issues on our property but nothing inside buildings. I find it very surreal sometimes to see all of this.
Right now it’s amazing because it’s so green. Easy to see where the big damage is because we used to have big beautiful oaks & now there’s these charred limbs stretching up to the sky. When I first got back I had to pull over because I was sobbing so hard. It looked like something out of a Tim Burton movie.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers, well wishes & support! I love you all & appreciate your kindness!!
Susan
Monument Fire
Posted on: June 17, 2011
Dear friends,
It’s been a long time & for that I apologize. Busy w/ life, liberty & the pursuit thereof, dontcha know! But that’s not why I’m finally back. If anyone does still check this from time to time I hope you’ll see this.
I live down in Arizona where the Monument Fire is burning. Currently we have been evacuated from our home. In fact we were amongst the first grp to be evacuated. We have since learned that our home is standing & from the outside appears completely intact. Most of our neighbors either have damage or are burned out. As in it’s all gone. It’s horrible & frightening but the danger isn’t over. Right now the home we have been staying @ is now under pre-evac orders.
Since Sunday this fire has burned over 18,500 acres & is growing by the minute. The gov of Az declared a state of emergency today for Cochise County which is where I live due to the numerous fires burning here.
Friends this fire is heading towards the town of Sierra Vista. Over 3700 people have already been evacuated w/ hundreds more ready to go. Please help us w/ prayer or warm thoughts if you would. We are in a severe drought w/ no rain in sight.
I thank all of you for your kindness & compassion. As far as I know all of my neighbors across the street from me are completely burned out. Please remember them too.
Thanks, Susan
*cough, hack, cough*…
Posted on: April 4, 2011
… Excuse me while I dust everything up here. I had no idea it had been so long! Rest assured that I will be back just not when I need to fly down the hill (& hope the cops aren’t around) so that I can p/u my daughter from school!
I promise to not let things go so long. TTFN! (been looking @ the Winnie the Pooh adds thinking that I really want to see that. wonder if anybody would think I was strange for going alone? my kids think they’re too old.)
Tonight I spent…
Posted on: March 23, 2011
… some time w/ my daughter. Just the two of us. Every third Tues of the month, the Prince has a teen mtg called young men/young women @ church for the youth ages 12 – 18. Since we live so far out of town it’s better for whoever takes him to just wait the 1 1/2 hrs until it’s over rather than waist the gas. Usually Hubby does the honors while I get to have quiet time w/ the princess.
Tonight we painted birdhouses (I’ll have to take pix) but didn’t finish. This works out great because tomorrow is boy scouts (different place further in town) so we’ll have the house to ourselves.
Tonight I listened & hummed along w/ my daughter while she sang. Mostly I just listened. I love knowing that she was happy & content enough to sing for me. She sang Taylor Swift mostly! Gotta love that girl (mine & Taylor). Nice to have someone sing things I don’t feel I need to sensor for either of us.
I loved this night & I’m looking forward to tomorrow night too. Maybe we’ll sing Primary songs (church songs for children) tomorrow.
Spring?…
Posted on: March 14, 2011
…what’s that? No, really. We had a few days of winter but for the most part I didn’t even run my heater cause my house stayed 65F all day. Oh, well time to move forward.
Wait. Did I say forward? I meant get on w/ life. While the rest of you were suffering w/ daylight savings we weren’t. I have to admit that I certainly agree w/ Arizona on this one. I love having everybody else change & us in the boonies stay the same. Really. It’s very freeing & wonderful.
Along w/ spring though comes spring break. Guess what? It’s Spring Break! Ack!!! Oh well, time to get the pool ready for summer anyway. It’s not too bad right now. Our pump went out during the non-winter so while the pool needs to be vacuumed (we have those really weird oaks that persist in dropping their leaves in the spring not the fall) & I need to up the chlorine levels & clean the filters, the pool is actually blue. As in it looks pretty decent. So tomorrow the kids & I are going to work around the pool in the am & head to the pool store in the afternoon (ok, this might all wait until tues since we can all sleep in tomorrow!) & get some more chemicals plus order a new solar blanket (plastic wrap that lays on top of the pool & helps to heat the water faster).
This really might be the year that the princess has her pool party around her birthday!
Just because it’s been so…
Posted on: March 7, 2011
… long since I posted anything about the prince.
We (& I use the term loosely) were putting in drain pipes to pull the water away from the house. The good news is that the Prince can use this as part of his home maintenance merit badge for scouts. Sweet.
No, his “shadow” isn’t that fully developed yet. He’d wiped his face w/ his dirty glove. He does need to shave every 3 – 7 days although I can only get him to do it once a week.
My favorite …
Posted on: March 2, 2011
… sheets have a worn spot on them. Actually it’s not even a spot, it’s a hole. They’ve been worn clear through by someone’s feet. I love these sheets though. They are 500 thread count Egyptian sateen cotton. We’ve had them for maybe 6 – 7 yrs now & everytime I wash them I put them straight back on the bed. I splurged when I bought them even though they were on an especially good sale. I can’t tell you how often I’ve wished that I had bought another pair.
Here’s the thing. Hubby & I have been married nearly 20 yrs (Aug). We also have “worn spots” on our marriage. Things aren’t new & shiny anymore. In fact in places they are worn smooth & comfy. Sometimes we even find “holes” or places where we’ve worn “clear through” each other’s patience. But. And this is a big But. We always come back to each other. We know what we have to do to make things right (usually). We know how to patch up that hole as it were, & make things nice & sometimes, better than it was before.
You’re probably wondering why I’m going there. Well, I have not just one couple of friends & not even two, but several friends who are all going through things right now in their marriages, relationships, you name it they are doing it. For that matter, so are we. Sometimes I get a little concerned about Hubby & I. Then I remember that I promised him he was stuck w/ me. Period. I think he remembers the same thing. So. Here we are.
I think I’m going to go work on that sheet. See if maybe I can’t patch that hole somehow. It’s worth it.
Hello, My Name is Susan 