Happy New Year!

Good bye 2013...It was a good year.

• My job brought a new adventure. 6th graders are interesting, funny, and child-like. I know. They are children. But they are so different from 8th graders who believe they are very grown-up and mature. 
• I bought a new home...buying a house has been a different adventure. It feels like home which is nice and cozy and yet home ownership is such a huge responsibility.
• I came to some personal realizations. Man (or in my case woman) plans...God laughs. Some of the hopes/dreams/plans don't pan out the way you expect but you get up and move forward.

Hello 2014!

• A new year. 
• A fresh start.
• New opportunities.
• New adventures.

For the past few years I've been working to document my life for a variety of reasons. I've tried blogging, scrapbooking, focus words, photos, journaling....I've discovered that no one thing works perfectly, or best. They all have their ups and downs. Some days/weeks/months I don't feel much like doing any of it. I've also noticed that I have some very regimented aspects of my life. Is it tradition? Habit? Why do I do what I do, when I do it and how I do it? Is it because that's expected? I suspect there is truth to all of these reasons. But I really got to thinking about this as I tried to define my focus word for 2014.

It's January 1 and I still don't have my 2014 word...This is not an auspicious beginning.

Thanksgiving Weekend

It was a busy weekend. I had Wednesday off, and spent the day taking care of household chores. I also made Lemon Angel bars for Thanksgiving dinner before heading to my parents'.

We had a really nice Thanksgiving even though about one-third of the family was just getting over being sick, sick, or headed toward being sick. Luckily, I've managed to avoid getting sick so far. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of the day to share. They all came out really bad.

My mother, sister and I braved the Black Friday shopping spree again. We pulled an all-nighter and finished quite a bit of shopping. I bought myself a new camera to avoid future missed holidays.

Friday afternoon we cut Christmas trees at the home of my 8th grade math teacher. He's retired now and grows a few on his property. Usually, I have a Nordmann fir. This year, I went with a grand fir.

It looks good in my new house. I spent the rest of the weekend working on decorating my house. Some things haven't been out of storage in years, so it was fun to unpack and display them. 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Birthday!

With the guys away, the girls (and kids) will play...Happy Birthday Mama!

Sunny Fall Days

We just had to enjoy the incredibly beautiful weather.

The Pumpkin Patch

Today was not a school day, so we headed out the pumpkin patch at E-Z Orchards for some fun and games. The were slides and peddle tractors, funny cut-outs and farm animals, donuts and cider, and of course, pumpkins. It was a good way to spend a Friday.

A Short Rant....

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."

This is the oath of office taken by our elected congressional representatives. Today marked Day 5 of the Government Shutdown, and I personally do not believe that our representatives are doing their job. I sincerely hope each and every one of them, regardless of political affiliation, is voted out of office at the earliest opportunity!